This is the story of Aric Trygg.
Tis a story of despair, and retribution.
In the time when all the lands were taken over by an evil known as Vitrollia, Aric was just a young 16 year old Centaur. Aric, a Shape-shifting Centaur, was born of a Shapeshifting Merman as a father, and a Regular Centaur as a mother. Somehow, Aric had been blessed or cursed, depending on how look at it, with the body of a centaur, yet the abilty to shift into any being he wanted to be. He was also empowered with the magic of a sorcerer.
He was a happy kid, had a good childhood, parents that loved him, though he saw his mother more often then his father. Years went by, and his powers start to show, it was with little things, causing a small fire, or making it snow in the summer, just around his mothers house, and all he had to do was be thinking of that element, though to a kid its not an element, but something fun or interesting, even intriguing.
When he reached the age of 16,he had learned that his father was a sorcerer, and that he himself was to have a dark baptism. It was a ceremony, where he would swear to give up his current life, and go to a school where he would learn from some of the most powerful witches, wizards, warlocks and sorcerers and sorceresses.
That night, he did his ceremony, and was celebrating with his family, when he heard a whisper in the wind, through the trees, calling his name, begging for him to help them. He looked at his parents, and the others that were celebrating with him, and wanted to know if any of them were also hearing the voices, but decided it was best to keep it to himself, in case it was a test, a trial of sorts or an initiation, before leaving for school.
He stood and walked cautiously into the woods, looking around, and asking quietly, where they were, and how he could help them. The voice seemed to be coming from all directions. He had not heard about the Evil one known as Vitrollia yet, for they lived in a small village in Thiales, and he didn’t usually venture far from home, due to his mother being sick, and him having to take care of her.
As he started to walk a little faster, and looking around, he bumped into a Centauride. He looked at her, and felt a shiver shoot down his spine. She was gorgeous, yet terrifying at the same time. He just got this eerie feeling from her, that he couldn’t shake. “W-w-w-what can i d-d-d-do for you, ma’am?” he had asked her, and that was all it took.
She smiled, stroked his face, and said “I need you, and your abilities, to assist me in a very urgent matter. Would you be willing to do so, my young friend?” He looked upon her face, and somehow saw sincerity in it.
He stood there, as if frozen in spot and time, everything slowed down around him, and he could feel a wave of heat flow over and through him. He could feel a tug at his heart as well as his brain as he felt himself seem to change on the inside, he seemed stronger, more quick witted, yet, an urge to be subservient to the Centauride. Anything she asked him to do he knew, without a doubt he would do it, no questions asked.
“What have you done to me? I feel……..different” he had asked her. With a smile on her face, and a hand on his face, lightly stroking it, she said “why, i gave you the ability to help me. I will rule this land as my own, with your help. I will make it mine and mine alone, and if you are against me, why, you shall die like any other that goes against me has and will”
He followed her out of the forest, away from everyone that he loved, or….now thought he loved, he wasn’t sure anymore. They went to her hide away, and his training, his dark evil training, had begun.
After months of training, Vitrollia felt he was ready to go out into the land and ‘assist’ her. Most of his time was spent in Willowert Forest. There he was ordered to intercept any messages that might of been sent through the land. There was word of Resistance groups, but nothing was known for sure. Was it Vitrollia’s own paranoia, or were they real, he wasn’t really sure.
On one such stay in the woods, he had seen a raven flying. He grabbed his bow and arrow, (for Vitrollia insisted he did NOT use his magic at this time) and shot the raven through the neck, decapitating him.
The others in the forest, followed him, searching for the body of the raven. When they found it, he picked it up and tossed it to one of the others, and watched as they swung his body around, laughing and hollering, and celebrating such a wonderful victory that they considered it to be. When the body was tossed back to him, he tossed it aside onto the ground and followed the others. The death was pointless. There was no message. He was starting to think Vitollia really was paranoid.
Eventually there was a great battle, that lasted for 6 days and Vitrollia vanished, no where to be found or heard from. The heat and weight he felt on himself was lifted, and he looked around at all the blood and chaos that was strewn about. He felt sick, almost threw up several times, and decided to go grab whatever he could carry with him, and fled. He swore to himself he would never return to Lands of Old again. Not after all he had done, the pain he had caused. The lives he had taken.
After traveling for several weeks, or was it a month, he had lost track of time….He came upon a town and entered. He was tired, thin, and weak. One of the town members saw him, and took him in. After weeks of bed rest, food, and exercise, he was back to his old strength, and started working fields, and at night, he got a job at the town tavern.
He had never been happier in his life, (other then when he was with his parents). He lived like this for many years, each year becoming more and more comfortable, but also, he felt heavier. It was his heart. The guilt was catching up to him. One day, a traveler had come to town, and came to get a drink. Upon talking to him, he found the traveler had ventured through the old lands. He talked about how lush the grass was, how happy the inhabitants were, and that Julala, was the queen of Centauria.
He started to think to himself. ‘Was she the one that he felt, that day with the raven, the one who was filled with pure anguish? Was she the one that had cried over that birds body that he saw, while walking away?’ He felt a sudden tugging inside of him. He had to return. He swore never to return there but he had no choice. So….after his shift, he collected all of his things, and started traveling back to his home.
Once he had ventured to centauria he got a look for himself. It was just as the traveler had said. Yet, it was so much more than he had said. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He asked a town member how he could find the queen. He was looking for a job in the local tavern.
The next day he had his meeting with Queen Julala. She was amazing. She was smart, kind, caring, generous. She was just the Queen Centauria deserved. After their meeting he had become the town barkeep. He met a lot of amazing and wonderful people, and was very happy. He even had his own place near the merfolk.
The only problem was, he kept seeing blood in the water. Not all the time, just sometimes. He could hear the screams of the ones who were dyeing. He was seeing bodies strewn all over the land. He talked to one of the members, and asked if there was anything that they could do to help him. She had explained it was memories of the trauma, that was caused, and coming back had triggered them. She was willing to make potions for him to take, to help keep the hallucinations at bay, but it was a daily regiment that he could not miss.
To this day, Aric does everything he can to help others, to be supportive, he runs the tavern, and lives in centauria now. But, he feels a presence. One like from before. He isn’t sure if its the memory of it, or if it is real. For now, he does everything he can to make up for the things he had done in the past, and to show the others, as well as himself, that he has a bright and wonderful future.