The Sorcerer and Storm Maker

Anja reached in to the opened chest and brought out an axe but not just any axe, an axe that greatly resembled another axe he had only seen a few times in his father’s hand.

His father had told him that the axe belonged to his own father, Anja’s grandfather who he was named after and before his death he had passed the axe down to him, saying it was a weapon built to wielder only by a storm maker.

His father had promised him that one day when he was older he was passed the axe on to him like his father did to him but sadly that day never came as his father had fall to the evil hands of the Dark Sorcerer and the axe, which he wielder while battling the army of beasts.

The axe in his chest looked exactly like the one that belonged to his father but at the same time it was different enough for him to tell that they won’t the same, almost as though the axe in the chest was the twin of the axe the was held by his father.

“This axe, it looks exactly like the one my father had but that shouldn’t be possible” said Anja unable to believe that the axe he was holding at the very moment was a replica of his father’s own axe.

The sorceress upon seeing the lack of belief in Anja’s face just smiled before saying, “this axe belonged, along with the one that belonged to you father originally belonged to Anja Thorgo, yours and Braiba’s grandfather. The axes were passed down to his two children, one to his first born son, being your stubborn father, and the other to me, his adopted daughter”.

Anja upon hearing what the sorceress said remained speechless for a brief moment, thinking about everything she said with the thought of the possibility of her truly being their aunt becoming less of a thought and becoming more of a fact in his mind.

“If what you say is true then that would mean that you truly are my aunt” said Anja, having come to terms with the fact that what the woman was saying was the truth and she truly was his aunt.

“I’m sorry for doubting you” said Anja.

“Don’t be, you were only being cautious and considering everything you, Braiba and that princess had gone through your reaction was completely reasonable” said the sorceress.

Anja smiled upon hearing what the sorceress said before looking down at the axe he was holding on his army before saying, “I should probably put this back”.

“No, keep it” said the sorceress.

“What?” said Anja, shocked and surprised at reply he got from the sorceress as he was unable to believe that she had actually told him to keep the axe.

“This axe, like that of your father’s, was crafted to be used by a storm maker and not a sorceress. I only kept it for all these years in to honor my father’s memory but it never really suited me, you on the other hand it suits perfectly” said the sorceress.

“Thank you” Anja said with a smile on his face as he looked at axe given to him by his aunt.

“It’s quite alright child, now please go back to bed, if don’t sleep at night you’ll end up being weak and tearall throughout the day” said the sorceress.

Anja upon hearing the sorceress said sighed as he remembered the horrible nightmares that haunted his dreams each and every time he closed his eyes.

“I can’t sleep” Anja spoke softly, trying his best to hold back his tears as he thought about the dreams he had whenever he tried to sleep and how he lost everyone he ever care about in those nightmares.

“Why can’t you sleep?” asked the sorceress with concern and worry for her nephew evident in her voice as she spoke.

“I have nightmares and in those nightmares I see the Dark Sorcerer, the monster that ended my parents, killed them all over again along with Braiba and Tari, and I’m forced to him while he torment and torture them before finally ending their lives” Anja spoke and as he did so he lacked the strength to hold back his tears.

The sorceress upon hearing what Anja pulled him in to tight hug before bending down to wipe away the tears on his face.

“You’ve been through a lot child and have had to face horrors that could break any man and at such a tender age and all you have to show for it is a bad dream, you truly are an incredible child, possessing strength that many men lack” said the sorceress.

“Really because I don’t feel strong, in fact I feel weak and tired” said Anja with his face bowed down.

“Why? After going through so much and still be able to breathe and feel your heart beat, why should you feel weak?” asked the sorceress.

“Because I am weak, I couldn’t save my parents and instead of being there and taking care of my sister I lashed out at her, blaming her for our parent’s deaths instead of being a good brother. I gave in to my anger and instead of being a good brother I treated my sister like she was an enemy” said Anja with tears falling down from his eyes, remembering how he treated Braiba after hearing about his parent’s deaths.

The sorceress, seeing tears falling down from Anja’s eyes once again as he spoke wiped them away before saying, “No, you’re not. You couldn’t have saved your parents from the Dark Sorcerer because at end of the day, even with all the strength and power you may possess as a storm maker you’re still just a child and the Dark Sorcerer, from what I was told, is a being powerful enough to bring down an entire kingdom to its knees, even the combined efforts of both your parents couldn’t stop him and you, being just a child all you could do was run, if you were to survive”.

“And as for the way you treated Braiba. *Sigh* Sometimes the pain that comes with grief makes us behave and do things we end up deeply regretting, things you can never undo no matter how much you wish you could. At the end of the day all you can do is to try and fix what you broke” said the sorceress.

“What if it can’t be fixed?” Anja asked with his head bowed in shame as he remembered the terrible things he said and did Braiba back when he was blinded by his rage over his parents, he had even properly apologized to her about it and the thought of her harboring great deal of anger or hatred towards torments his heart.

“You’ll never know until you try” said the sorceress.

Anja then sighed, understanding what the sorceress meant and that he had to try and make things right and apologize his sister for every terrible thing he did.

“That dream of yours was just a dream and at the end of it all, when the sun rises and you wake up to see a new day you’ll realize that life goes on and whatever horrors you face would have ended once you awakened. You are strong Anja and don’t let something as silly as a bad dream make you forget it” said the sorceress.

Anja upon hearing what the sorceress said smiled at her before he spoke softly to her, saying, “I’ll try my best”.

Anja then left the room with the axe held firmly on his hand and leaving the room the sorceress couldn’t help but smile as he reminded him so much about his father, her now deceased brother.

Anja made his way to his room but before he reached his room he snuck a glance in to the room where Tari and Braiba were sleeping, watching the two girls sleep so peaceful made the young storm maker smile.

Anja then noticed that Tari’s eyes were faintly opened although it was evident that she was not fully awake.

Anja, not wanting her to see him spy on her and Braiba decided to quickly leave and go back to his.

Once in the room Anja lied down on his bed and slowly allowed himself to drift away to sleep.

As Anja slept he once again had nightmares about the Dark Sorceress slaughtering and tormenting everybody he loved and cared about.

Anja, with the confines of the land of dreams, was frightens and scared beyond believe, feeling helpless and poweras the Dark Sorceress took away everyone he ever cared about but then he remembered the words from the sorceress;

“You strong Anja and don’t let something as silly as a bad dream make you forget it”.

Anja then realized that whatever horrors he was seeing at that moment was all a dream and once the sun rose up and a new day begun the nightmare would be over and he would wake lying on his bed.

Eventually the sun rose up from the eastand the birds that had just woken up began to beautiful and melodious song.

Anja then woke and was greeted by a new day.

He then remembered then remembered the nightmare he had the previous and then felt his heart skip a beat as the horrific face of the Dark Sorcerer torment everyone he care about flashed in his mind.

Anja then closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, remembering the advice he got from his aunt the night before, and then summoned the strength and courage he needed to look past the horrible nightmare he had and focus more on the brand new day he woke up to see, hoping that that was the first of many days free from the pain, sadness, loss and sorrow of the past few days he, Braiba and the princess had to face.

Anja then walked up to his room’s door and then took in a deep breath before opening the door to see what the new day had to offer him.

Once Anja was out of the room he could hear the sounds of pots and pan boiling and cooking, knives slicing and dicing, with a pleasant aroma come from the kitchen.

Anja followed his nose to the kitchen only to see the pleasant sight of Braiba, Tari and his aunt, the sorceress Alali busy in the kitchen cooking breakfast.

Braiba and Tari were busy trying to teach Alali how to cook as she always used magic to create her own meals and never had to restore to cooking it herself but thanks to the constant insistence of Braiba and Tari, Alali submitted and allowed them to use the kitchen to cook while at the same time also teaching her.

Anja could help but chuckle softly upon seeing Tari almost wince in pain after accidentally grabbing hold of a hot pot.

“Anja, you’re awake” said Braiba with a smile on her face upon seeing that her brother.

“Yes, I just woke up. What are you all doing?” asked Anja.

“What does it look like we’re doing, making breakfast obviously” said Tari coldly as she was annoyed and slightly upset with Anja for laughing at her when she held the hot pot.

“Really, so a princess can cook?” Anja spoke mockingly, trying teasing Tari and get on her nerve.

“What are you saying that a princess can’t cook” said Tari while glaring at Anja.

“No, I’m just a little shocked to see you cook” said Anja, enjoying the fact that he was getting on Tari’s nerves.

“Are you forgetting that I cooked back in your home before we left” said Tari.

“That doesn’t count because Braiba helped, you haven’t cooked a singled meal by yourself” said Anja.

“Alright then, I’ll cook something on my own and it will be the best thing you’ll ever taste” said Tari.

“Alright then, afterwards I can always pour dirt in my mouth to remove the awful taste of your food in my mouth” said Anja, annoying and enrage Tari even more.

Braiba and Alali could only watch in silence as Tari brought out an empty pot and began to cook something while Anja sat on the dining table awaiting her meal.

“They aren’t even married yet and their already acting as if they are an old married couple” Alali whispered softly to Braiba who, upon hearing what she said tried her best not to laugh but then she heard Anja scream out to Tari from the dining room, “hurry up with that awful food”.

“My food isn’t awful and would it kill you to wait for a minutes or two” Tari yelled angrily back to Anja.

Braiba upon hearing Anja and Tari bickering couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore and so she burst out in to laughter.

Alali couldn’t help but smile as she watched her niece laugh her brother and the princess, happy to be able to share such a warm and pleasant moment with them.

Soon all the meals were done and everyone was seated at the dining table.

Tari stopped Braiba and Alali from serving anything to Anja, wanting to serve him her meal before anybody else.

Anja looked at the meal placed before him, not having high hopes for the taste and flavor of the meal which was evident from the expression on his face.

“Well, here goes my sense of taste” said Anja before taking bite from the meal prepared for him by Tari.

Anja upon tasting the meal remained silent for a sometime while Tari was busy looming over him waiting for him to say something about her cooking.

Anja then broke his silence by saying, “Not bad it’s actually edible but compared to most of the other meals I’ve had it is pretty mediocre, bland and taste”.

Tari upon hearing what Anja said about her cooking snapped and then in a blind rage she rushed in to the kitchen, grabbed a frying pan and ran straight to Anja with it.

“How dare you insult my cooking” said Tari as she tried to hit Anja with the fry pan but luckily for him he was able to move out of the way before the fry pan could reach him.

Tari then began to chase Anja through the entire house while Braiba and Alali sat down quietly on the dinner table having their meals.

“Do you think we should do something about Anja and Tar” said Braiba, slightly worried that Tari might hurt Anja.

“No, I’m sure Anja can handle him besides I know from experience that their nothing scarier and deadlier than an angry woman holding a fry pan. Thank goodness Tari isn’t a sorceress, she would have been able to create a fry pan the size of this house and slam him down with it” said Alali, remembering the Afini accidentally said Alaelra’s cooking was bad.

Braiba just smiled and giggled upon imagining how much trouble Anja would be in if Tari indeed was a sorceress.

Tari eventually caught up to Anja and then smacked him on the head with the fry pan with enough force strong enough to make the young storm maker yell out in tremendous pain.

Anja, upon being hit by the fry pan, Alali and Braiba interfered before Tari could kill him in a blind rage.

“Calm down Tari, don’t ruin his handsome face over something as trivial matter” said Alali.

“Yeah, it isn’t my fault you’re not that great of cook” said Anja enrage Tari even more.

“That’s it, I’m going to kill him” said Tari, charging at him once again with the fry pan only to be stopped by Alali who used her magic to suspend her in mid air before she could reach Anja.

“Sorry but I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing while you mercilessly beat my poor nephew with that fry pan” said Alali.

Anja just smiled and nodded his head as he watched Tari glare at him with a look of pure anger and rage, almost as though she had the attention of drawing blood the moment she gets a chance to, before saying, “It’s alright aunt, you can put her down”.

“Are you sure about that?” asked Alali with a sinister smile on her face.

“Yes, I’m sure” said Anja while still looking at Tari.

“Alright then” said Alali before freeing Tari from her magic and allowing her to fall right in to Anja’s arms.

Tari, now on Anja’s arms, couldn’t help but stare deeply in to his eyes as did Anja, with both of them for a moment forgetting everything around and losing themselves in each other’s eyes.

The moment shared between Tari and Anja however, came to abrupt end as Alali cleared her throat.

“Sorry about that, I felt some stuck in my throat” said Alali which caused Braiba to giggle a little, knowing the real reason why she cleared her throat.

Anja, no longer lost within Tari’s gaze, placed her down slowly and gently on floor.

“Sorry about what I said about your cooking, it could use some work but it wasn’t that bad” said Anja.

“And I’m sorry about hitting you with a fry pan, it really silly of me to get upset over something so trivial” said Tari, feeling ashamed of the way she behaved all because she thought Anja didn’t like her dish.

“Don’t be, I’m the one that provoked you” said Anja, equally as ashamed for provoke Tari in the first place.

Braiba and Alali watched the two and couldn’t help but think about how perfect they seemed together, and even though they didn’t realize or admit to themselves, it was clear to anyone who had two functioning eyes that the both of them were staring to falling in love with each other.

Braiba couldn’t help but smile, feeling happy for her brother for finding someone he loved and who equally loved him back, now it was only a matter of time before they realize what they felt for each.

The day flew by too fast of anybody notice with Anja, Braiba and Tari deciding to spend their time roaming about and exploring the enchanted lands of Akiriwabuko.

They visited the massive giants which, despite their massive size and the fact that they could crush them underneath their massive feet with just single step, were kind and gentle.

The trolls on the other hands were rough and ruddy, enjoying bickering and fighting with each other, occasionally a troll or two who admire the beauty of either Braiba or Tari would come and make some advancement towards them, speaking to the with kind words and praising their beauty, enraging Anja and leading him to exhibit his fury as storm maker with him being more temperamental with those that came to Tari, striking them with powerful bolts of lightning warning the other trolls that if any of them dared to touch or even look at the two girls, he wouldn’t hesitate to bring full fury of the storm down upon them.

Anja’s display of raw power and fury was enough to scare the trolls away from any ideas of ever getting close to Braiba or Tari but as long as they made no advancements on them however Anja and the trolls got along especially since, despite the fact they always bicker and fight, the trolls loved to celebrate, play and maybe indulge themselves in a drink or two.

Alali made sure to refuse any drinks the trolls offer Anja not only because he was too young for it but also because she knew how strong the brew made by the trolls were and was fairly certain that Anja wouldn’t be in his right senses if he took any and he being a storm maker, if he were to lose his senses due to intoxicating effect of the troll brew would most likely lead to the destruction of the entire village.

The ogres were bitter angry folk who could only speak few words gently and calmly before screaming and yelling in a burst of anger and rage, and upon hearing that Tari was from Buganbal, they screamed out and rocked the stone caves they called home as they hated hearing the name of the kingdom they were forced out of with their hatred also extending to anyone associated with it.

They were not kind to the young princess, mocking and taunting her for leaving her great kingdom and coming to their village.

Alali was about to intervene but before she could Anja speak up, with a thunderous voice that shook the earth underneath his feet, giving the ogres a warning similar to the one given to the trolls, telling them that the next mouth who dares to speak a word against Tari will never speak again.

Braiba upon seeing her brother defend Tari could help but smile as she remembered when Anja would never think of helping anybody from Buganbal, let alone the princess, but here he was, warning the ogres not to speak a word again Tari with lightning in his eyes and thunder in his voice.

Alali upon seeing Braiba smile at Anja over how he defended Tari smiled as well before saying, “That’s the thing about storm maker, they may act as ruthless and unforgiving as a raging storm but underneath the chaos of the rage storm lays as fair, kind and loving heart”.

Braiba upon hearing what Alali said smiled even more, happy that her brother was finally showing a part of himself he rarely showed, his loving and kind self.

After visiting the ogres they went to see the elves, shy and secretive, they mostly kept to themselves, speaking only a few short sentences.

Braiba and Tari could help but be intrigued by the elves and the mystery behind them while Anja had little to no interest with them, seeing them as simple, quiet and boring, and wanted nothing more than to leave them be to continue their quiet simple lives.

After that, they went to visit the sorcerers who, upon hearing that Braiba was Alali’s and Alaelra’s daughter, gathered around her, knowing how great of sorceress both Alaelra and Alali were, having learnt their magic from the mystical kingdom of Latona, they believed that the daughter and niece of such sorceresses would possess truly formidable magic.

Anja and Tari mostly ignored and the Braiba was the sole center of the sorcerers’ attention.

Anja and Tari, however didn’t mind the lack of attention but Braiba on the other hand was overwhelmed with the amount of questions being thrown her way about her magic, her mother and her aunt, question she had little to no answers to.

Luckily for Braiba, Alali managed to her save by telling the sorcerers to leave her alone, but as they left Braiba could help but feel a sense of shame over the many questions asked by the sorcerers about her mother she lacked answers to.

Alali, see the sad face on Braiba’s face asked, “What’s wrong child, why is you face bluer that the sky above your head?”

“It’s nothing” said Braiba not wanting to pester Alali.

Alali upon hearing what Braiba said smiled before saying, “Nothing, that’s what your mother used to say when something was bothering her. It seems as though the apple didn’t tray too away far from the tree”.

Braiba upon hearing what Alali said knew that there was no point in hiding away her trouble thoughts.

“It’s just, there is some much I don’t know about my parents. They never shared much about their past with I and Anja, and being here just reminds me of that fact that I didn’t really know my parents before they died” said Braiba with her face bowed down.

Alali upon what Braiba said just smiled before saying, “Your parents lived interesting lives. Like any man and woman they struggled, made plenty of mistakes, some of which I can understand why they wouldn’t want to tell you or your brother about”.

“I just wish I could know more about that, like they lives they lived before having me and Anja, their childhood, how they met” said Braiba.

Alali couldn’t help but burst in to laughter upon hearing the last thing Braiba said.

“How they met, now that’s story. Your mother and my brother have the most peculiar love story” Alali said before bursting in to laughter once more from just the thought of how strange of a love story her brother and his wife’s story was.

“You know the story?” asked Braiba with excitement in her eyes never hearing the story of how her parents first before.

“Of course I do, Afini couldn’t keep that story away from my eyes even if he tried” said Alali.

“Can you tell me” asked Braiba.

Alali then looked in to Braiba’s eyes which lit up with excitement, wanting desperately to know more about her parents.

“I won’t just tell you how they met; I’ll tell you the entire story, from when they met to when your idiot of a father finally became a man and proposed to your mother all the way to their wedding day. You’ll know everything you need to know about your parents” said Alali.

“Thank you” said Braiba before embracing her in a warm hug.

Alali, although surprised by the hug, hugged her young niece back before her and Braiba along with Tari and Anja continued their tour of through enchanted land known as Akiriwabuko.

Next they went to see the fairies that lived in the fields, building their homes within the beautiful and colorful flowers of the field.

They were shy and timid, scared to come up of their little homes as they feared the unfamiliar faces of Anja, Braiba and Tari, until Alali assure them all that it was alight for them to come out and that Anja, Braiba and Tari would not harm them.

The fairies then slowly came out of their homes, and upon seeing that Anja, Braiba and Tari meant them no harm began to play and dance while flying around, acting like young small little children with wings on their backs.

Anja was a bit annoyed by the fairies flying around him while Braiba and Tari played with them, eventually though, after a little bit of persuasion from Tari, Anja found himself laughing and playing along with Braiba, Tari and the fairies.

Alali watched as the children played together, pleased to see them all laughing and smiling while they, thinking about how they deserved it after everything that had happened to them and now person she have to face what they faced.

Alali then felt a tear fall down from her eyes as she thought about her brother and how she never got a chance to mend their broken relationship.

She then, at that moment, looking at Braiba and Anja, made a vow to help to honor her brother’s memory that she would do everything within her power to protect and keep Anja and Braiba safe; knowing that it would have probably been the dying wish of her late brother and his dead wife.

But that vow would not be easy to maintain as far away, within the kingdom of Buganbal which now had a dark cloud, so thick it stopped even the faintest ray of sunlight from reaching the land, looming over it, the once fertile and rich soil of the land was now barren, the people screaming and crying out in pain as their hands were chained and being dragged about and torture by the great beasts that now ruled the lands, painting the streets red with blood of the people who could only shout while they endure unimaginable pain and agony.

And the new king, sitting on a throne made of black steel with the castle walls, hanging on the wall above the throne was Afini’s axe, hung and displayed on the wall of the king, the Dark Sorcerer himself, who sat on his sipping wine so thick and red that it could be confused for blood where a black crown on his head with a smile on his face as he heard the screams of pain and agony of the people outside the castle’s walls.

Meanwhile down below, in the chambers of the castle, within the dungeon, the Atoni, the former now dethrone king with his hands and feet chained to the wall with shackles and chains forged using the Dark Sorceress’s, created to inflict a pain up the former the king, and just to add salt to Atoni’s open wound, from the dungeon, thanks to the Dark Sorcerer’s dark magic, the king could see all the misery and pain inflicted upon his people by the Dark Sorcerer and all he could do was scream and yell out in pain, partly due to the pain inflicted upon him by his shackles and chain, and partly due to his failure as a king.

The Dark Sorcerer has now conquered the land of Buganbal, but still he sets his eyes on the lands beyond Buganbal, in search of the daughter of the form king as he felt as though his revenge would never truly be complete with having her and forcing her father watch he slowly tortures her before ending her life.

But although the fate of Buganbal seems grin and void of all hope, a hero could be found in the mist of the havoc and chaos, moving through the darkness of the land, slaying beasts of different kinds and freeing most of the people, using his enchanted blade which was the only thing within the four walls of Buganbal that could pierce through the tough hide of beasts.