Destiny Hearts: The Academy

Faded Memories...or were they ever even there...?

My thoughts blur like the sky through the lens of the surface...

I try to clutch thick water as I fall...fall...then I see them...a boy and a girl...

Through the blues of the water I can only try to make them out as my friends...

They try to pull me up from the water...But the sword on my waist weighs me down...

They're too far away...they can't reach me...

Is this...

...my destiny...?



                                                 



                             





IT was a peculiarly young deer.



A fawn of no more than a few months old, it surprised him how well it's chestnut fur was able to blend in with the surrounding bright green woods. It was too young to be without a mother in the forest, yet somehow found itself there, alone.  But to a trained eye like his, it wasn't very hard to observe the contrast between the brown blur and the surrounding grass. Marc slowly crept closer.  The boy hunter raised his bow, pulling the bow string and arrow back, feeling the sharp, familiar pressure from the bow string on his fingers. He felt odd; he couldn't let go of the arrow. It's big, black marble eyes looked straight at him,the morning sunlight glancing off of them; he knew that it could see him, despite the distance between them. This should have been as easy at it had always been.

These were the same woods Marc had always ran around with his uncle. The same woods where they would lay together in the night, on the grass, while Uncle Garrow would point up at the stars and tell him fantastic tales of magic and dragons, of wizards and knights, who all lived on the other side. About how before his parents passed, they had once lived in the land, as magical beings. And how one day, when Marc were a man, he might be able to cross the woods and venture to the 'other side of the stars' as he called it.

Before Uncle Garrow died, he taught Marc everything he knew. Hunting, farming...although they had lived on a farm, the woods were just nearby, and it had felt like a whole other magical land to him. While there were constant rumors of the woods being a dangerous place, to the point that no one would ever step foot in there, young Marc had always felt safe around his uncle.

         Now, he felt nothing. He felt no magic, he felt no safety. He knew that his uncle was just telling him silly things, stories to help them both cope with the world around. Now, his bow was his safety, and his awareness his magic. Ever since his uncle, the only family he ever knew, had passed, and his moving in with Sloan, those two weapons were imperative for survival.

         Sloan was a rival farmer who, when Uncle Garrow's farm had been put on sale, was the only one who would buy up all of the debts on the farm. Sloan took Marc into his home and made him go into the forest and hunt animals to sell so that he could start to pay back all of the debt owed by his uncle.

         Which meant he had to fulfill his daily quota. The clear, blue sky told him it was mid-morning and he hadn't gotten anywhere yet. He had to kill it. But...I just can't, he thought. He raised the bow even higher, the arrow pointing up to the sky directly above him, and shot.

         The arrow whizzed upwards and plummeted back down, hitting the grass only a few feet away. The baby deer scampered back into the green thickness of the forest.

         On his walk back home, Marc suddenly remembered the dream he had the night before. He couldn't really make out the boy's face, but the young woman's appearance was still as vivid as he felt the dream was; her long, straight, jet-black hair being the most prominent. The thought quickly faded once he got out of the woods.

         The town was mostly a vast plain littered with small homes spread apart by miles of farmland. Sloan's home was on its outskirts, and so was the first home he had seen after hunting. It used to be his home, Uncle's home, but the land was merged by Sloan. Marc took out the key from the pouch by his side and opened the door. A foul smell of some stew in a pot hit Marc's nostrils right away. He put his shirt over his nose and went to his room.

         His room was the same as it had always been since he moved into Sloan's. It was old and wooden, like the rest of the home, but very small. He could only take a small step from one side to the other, and it almost made him feel like some sort of giant. There was a single window at the other side, near a bed. Or at least it was how Sloan saw it. There was a single thing missing from the picture: a large book underneath Marc's bed. It was the only thing Marc had left of his uncle. He had read it from front to cover more times than he could remember, a book of fairy tales. It said History of Magic. It was more a history book in general, but I guess the book title could work out since it said that 'magic is everywhere'.

         Sloan had once seen him with the book and hated him reading the books of magic. Sloan controlled every part of Marc's life. Sloan felt more like a ruthless tyrant than a caretaker; he only cared about Marc hunting enough animals to sell and make Sloan money.

         He opened up the large anthology and flipped through its pages, remembering the old stories that were embedded in his memory. He had read about how the Seven Great Wizards came together to form the Castle at Alvaria, a fortress, sanctuary and stronghold for all those who opposed evil; how young men and women his age were trained there as swordsmen, wizards, archers and the like. How a young wizard rose up to become a Dark Lord, Mortus, who spread his wicked hand over every corner of the earth, exerting wicked power over every land, nation and kingdom, save Alvaria.

         He had read about the ancient magical artifacts of the world, like the Dragon Books, four books that alone gave the user certain magicks but when put together had unspeakable power. He read of the sword of Light, a weapon that gave the Wielder the power of all other ancient Wielders before him.

         It was Sloan. He slammed the book shut and slid it underneath his bed, pulling up the covers and pretending to be asleep. The door burst open, revealing a middle-aged man. He wore an apron underneath a hide, his belly protruding from underneath.  He was balding, with a light, gruffy beard over his pudgy face. A foul stench filled the room with him; Marc had to lift his blanket over his nose.  

         "WHAT IN THE HELL IS THIS! I TOLD YOU NOT TO INVOLVE YOURSELF WITH SUCH FANTASIES!"

         "Well...what if they're not fantasies?" Marc wished that his shaky voice was strong, that he felt what he was suggesting. But he knew...he knew they were just--

         "FAIRY TALES!" Sloan barked. " hah...what if they were real? AHAH!" Marc wanted to plug his ears from the sound of Sloan's gruffy, hoarse cackles. I don't care if there's a thousand castles with a thousand unicorns! its none of your business! your business is working for me until you pay off the debt your deadbeat uncle--"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Marc said in a fit of rage. He would never let this man, this fat, ugly, smelly, greedy, slimy excuse of a man insult his uncle. "Don't you dare talk about my uncle like that."

"GET OUT!" Sloan exclaimed.

Marc got up and ran out of the home. His legs ached as the adrenaline and blood pumped through them, the grass rustling under his feet, the surrounding forest a speedy blur. His heart was racing, his lungs felt like they were burning.

         He stopped, and the dizzying green of the forest started to stop, creating the familiar woods. His heart pounded violently, and he sat, his back leaning on an oak tree. Forget this, he said, lying completely down on the grassy field. He sighed with relaxation when he saw the surrounding forest; the cut grass around him that moved slightly with the calm breeze; the trees that were on either side of him, with fast moving squirrels chasing each other up and down the tree's length, spiraling the oak like snakes.

         When he dozed off to sleep, he saw her again. He at first saw a blur of white in a background in all green, but when he focused he could make out a young woman. She was running frantically through the forest, her long hair flowing in the wind. He knew there was something wrong with her; he tried to reach out, but he couldn't seem to move. She jerked her head towards him, her long, blond hair waving through the air, her icy blue eyes meeting his.

         He woke with a start, his eyes aching. He sat up and rubbed them, clearing his vision. He saw a dot of red far in the distance, through the thick trees. Is that... He shot up, racing after his burning home. The rest strengthened him, as well as the adrenaline, but his stomach still ached with hunger. He was there in a surprisingly short amount of time. His widened when he saw the extent of the fire; the inferno had already enveloped the whole small structure. The image of the book flashed in his mind. I need that book! He raced, eyes closed, to the fiery house.

         The image of the house was in full view, the burning and crackling gettng louder as he got closer. He kicked open the burning door easily, fire covering the walls of the main room. He raced up the stairs to his room, through the smoke and flames. I need that book! He stopped when he heard crying and wailing. Sloan! he thought. His lungs were burning, cursing himself for inhaling the thick smoke. He quickly stuffed his nose in his tunic, but the smoke was so heavy it didn't do much.  His skin felt like it was melting off of his body.

         Marc hated Sloan with all of his being; Sloan took everything he had left of his father and made him a half-slave in his own home. But he couldn't let Sloan die. "Sloan!" he called through the debris that was falling from the cieling.

         He heard Sloan's gruffy, panicked voice again: "I told you I don't know where he is--wait, I can hear him! He's in the room! He's the one you want!"

         Marc felt like his heart shot up. He darted away from where he heard the voice and stopped in his tracks. Suddenly a few shadowy humanlike figures appeared, nearing Marc. Another piece of wood from the burning cieling crashed to the floor between them, and a spark of fire lit the dark room enough for him to see their faces.

         They definitely weren't human; he knew that. They wore all dark clothing and had some sort of beak, and evil eyes. They're screeching pierced his ears and he ran out of the house. His legs felt weak again, and he entered into the forest. The fire had spread so far it was consuming the outer part of the woods, spreading as he ran through it. The forest blurred in green, brown and fiery red as Marc felt new surges of adrenaline through him. The heat of the surrounding forest made him sweat more. More and more of the monsters seemed to appear as he ran, and he had to keep changing direction as more and more appeared, weaving through the trees.

         His legs felt like there were huge weights around them. His eyes burned from the air filling smoke and his lungs ached out for fresh air. He felt his aching legs give way and fell forward when he felt an arm wrap around his torso. He knew it was a Raa'zac and he felt himself lose consciousness as the last thing he thought of was the woman in his dreams, her elegant white dress flowing in the forest.

         

2

I've been having these weird thoughts lately...

Like, is any of this for real...or not?



He woke up feeling something hairy underneath him. He realized he was riding on a horse, and man sat in front of him riding it. The giant of a man seemed to dwarf the steed in size; his face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard,  the heavy man easily hoisted marc on the horse's back while he maneuvered his horse through the forest. a raa'zac appeared in front of them as hagrid charges straight ahead. the blurriness cleared a bit but marc still was hazy. Even though the hazy vision he could see the raazac. Hagrid threw something from his arm--a small explosion of blue light -- the monster was gone. He brought his thick robed arm swishing down through the air to point at the menacing beasts behind them -- there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, and when the light was gone, he was fully on the horse, behind the man, as it galloped through the forest. Thick patches of trees and grass and bushes shot by them as they sped through the forest.

Too many raazac.

"Hold on, kid," the man's gruff voice boomed through the cackling of the surrounding flames.

"Huh?"

"By the way, th' nam's Hagrid.' he pulled hard on the horses reins, and they shot up in

the air. The wind rushed down into marc's face, shooting his spiky hair back, and his heart jerked into his stomach. He looked back and saw the fiery forest diminute below them as the green landscape overwhelmed it. He had to be a hundred feet in the air. He was still amazed that he was even awake, and even mroe amazed that he still had the orb in his...

His hands were empty.

"The ball!" he said in shock, looking down at the huge forest below.

Hagrid held it up with one hand. "Gotcha right here, lad. Any more questions."

"Uh...can I just ask one question?" Marc said.

"What in the blazes is going on?" guessed Hagrid.

"Yeah, something to that effect."

3

"So basically, let me ask you the first question. Where the hell've you been?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Wait, first," the man said, reaching for something in his bag, "Drink this." He handed

Marc a leather vial and the boy opened it, looking inside. "What is it?" The putrid smell widened his eyes and made him want to vomit, but the he looked down realizing again that they were flying and he quickly realized what the drink was for. He plugged his nose and downed the liquid in one gulp.

"So I'm guessing you now know it's for,"

"Yeah, but it's not really helping me not vomit," Marc said, trying not to barf.

"Well that's because you looked down, lad," Hagrid said. "Just don't get it on the horse I just cleaned him and he's got kind of a temper, wouldn't want him throwing anyone off."

"You trusted a horse to lift you hundreds of feet in the air, and you don't know if he might go off the rails and shake both of us off?"

"Well, the horse and I go back," Hagrid smiled. "He wouldn't throw me off. But you, I'm not so sure."

"Couldn't you just do some magic to save me in case I do end up falling hundreds of feet in mid air?"

"If I could fly, the hell I'd need a horse for?"

Marc frowned, nodding. "That's fair."

"Back to my question." Hagrid turned around and looked at Marc.

"Hey, eyes on the...well, whatever we're riding on. I didn't know you guys were looking for me."

"Yeh lad, de Grandmaster told me t' find yew."

Grandmaster? That name sounds so famiiar... and why does someone want to find me? "Well how'd you do it?"

"Galfan told me you'd be around here somewhere," replied Hagrid, "but somewhere is a big place. Took me a few days to even know where you were at and that was because I felt your mag reading go off the charts."

Suddenly Marc remembered. Those names -- grandmaster, mag,' they were all in the Current History of Magic book that he had read and reread so many times over.

"What's that?"

"You'll learn soon enough, lad. You've got more than enough questions already, and I ain't complainin' cause I'd have bout terdy more if I were you. Don't wanna be confoosin ya more dan y'already ares."

"What were those things?" Marc shuddered to think of the shadowy figures with feathery skin and red eyes.

         "Raazac," Hagrid said. "Parenly they were sent lookin' for ya. Good thing we got to you before they did."

         Marc laughed. "Yeah." He shuddered to think what happened to Sloan, and wondered if even a man like Sloan deserved such a fate. !!! The Raazac were the same monsters he had read about in the current history of magic book!

         "Are ya just some sorta forest-boy or are ya living with someone?"

         "I've been in the forest most of my life but I lived with a neighbor after my uncle passed."

         "Eh. Sorry to hear that mate."

         Marc nodded. "But you never really told me where were going."

         "Why tell you," Hagrid said, "When I can show you."

         It was breathtaking.

         In the distance, surrounded by forest, was a vast castle with countless towers. It was magnificent in its size and structure; it looked made with the land itself and yet at the same time seemed like it was built yesterday.

         "Holy..."

         "This..." Hagrid said, "Is the Academy."

         

4

         Everything was real.

         The kingdoms of the elves, the dwarves, the magic, the Academy...all of it had to be true.          "The Raazac, the Academy...all of it was in the book."

         "What book?"

         Marc realized he must've left the book at the house. NO! "The Current History of Magic...I must've left it behind!"

         "Oh, that book?" Hagrid smiled. "We've got tons of copies back at the castle. And of course it was in the book. Why you ask that?"

         "So...it's all true?"

         " 'Course it's all true. Wait...you didn't know? About any of this stuff?"

         Marc remembered the long nights awake reading the book. He still was never able to finish it, and he read it nonstop. Everything my uncle told me...I thought they were just stories...Why didn't he tell me?

         "I...I lived my whole life hunting and gathering wood and berries. All I know is the forest, and I thought that was all there was."

         Hagrid nodded, his face filled with contemplation. "Mm...well, now you know, lad, and there's a lot you've to know. But no worries, mate. All in good time."

         The castle got larger and larger as they got closer, and it already seemed massive. Even from hundreds of feet away, the structure looked like it was only a few feet away, compared to the surrounding trees that looked like twigs around it.

         "Well," Hagrid said. "Here's your stop."

         "Don't you mean our stop?"

         "Nope."

Hagrid tugged the reins sharply to the right. Before Marc knew it he slid off the horse and felt nothing under him. The wind violently shot up underneath him, and he yelled at the top of his lungs as he plummeted. The thrill was unreal, and his heart felt like it was in his throat. He was shooting down so fast when he looked up he could only see Hagrid on the horse, still in the air, smiling down at him, for a split second before fell into the wooded area, feeling branches snap under him and leaves rustling in a blur of dark green. He heard a thump and felt the dry, grassy floor. He seethed, trying to get up as blunt pain shot through his side.

         Surprisingly the pain left quickly. Hhe sighed. At least the forestation broke his fall.



he plummets from the flying horse to the grassy ground, disoriented. He sighs as a blunt feeling of pain shoots through his side. As he looks up the pain goes away when he sees a beautiful girl kneeling beside him. "Are you okay?" she asks. she was sparring w the other griff girls when she sees him. a group of girls with bows, sword buckles, etc, crowd behind her.

He is silent with awe at how beautiful she is. then describe her. he didnt think I ever felt my heart thump so hard ever.During Science class we had a surprise, a new class mate was joining us, it was a bit strange as it was about half way through the new year. She was very attractive, I don't think I ever felt my heart thump so hard ever.



Hagrid explains what just happened, that they'd been looking all over for him, that 'I saw those burnt up books in that cabin o' urs. Current History of Magic ur sum'n''

well it wasnt really my cabin, it was that jerk sloan's but yeah.

'well, lad, i hope yuer reed'n dem books, 'cause eretin datuss in dem books is real, lad, and it's hatnin right new.'

"Wh..whaaat?? You know, I'm still really friggin conf--"

"Get some rest. You'll need it." Hagrid tapped Marc twice on the shoulder and he felt dizzier. Then, he felt nothing and saw darkness.

Marc blinked a couple of times, and looked in front of him. He was still in the air.

"How you feelin', lad?"

"A lot less hazy, but still a bit --wait, how did you make me go to --"

he sees the amazing castle in the distance and realizes it is just like he said.

"Wait...what if I'm dreaming all this?"

Hagrid brushed Marc with a quick sweep, and Marc no longer felt the horses back under him. He was falling, plummetting fast. His flailing arm did nothing to help him as th

ground got slightly closer and closer. Right when he felt like he was going to his the hard, grassy floor, he dropped right onto the horses back, right behind hagrid, the same place he had been only minutes ago.

"If that didn't wake you up, I don't know what will. Besides, if you're dreaming about sleeping on a flying horse next to a smelly fat hairy old guy, then yooove got more problems than I thought, lad."

"We're..we're actually flying!"

"Hah-HAH! How's it feel, lad? Check this out!" Hagrid tilted his body forward as the horse shot down through the air, accelerating as it got closer to the ground. The tops of trees that made up the view of the forest got closer and closer.



GG commencement speech, the speech he does to start everyone's new year of hogwarts, he says 'good morning, my sudents, etc etc words that could be used during speech:



newjourney you face ahead

like pericles speech of the pelo war, college graduation speeches



The auditorium was breathtakingly huge. The sea of students stretched as far as he could see. There was a stage in the distance and he could see a small dot appear on it. Suddenly the stadium-like auditorium filled itself with roars and cheers from the audience. When it finally died down, the students sat down. Marc found a comfy seat in the back with Joey. It was so soft it felt like like he was going to sink into the seat. "man, this academy's got everything," joey said, taking great pleasure in easing himself in. "even comfortable chairs." marc can easily see now that the figure is gg speaks says welcoe to academy roars and cheers again. r