AoB Gaiden 1.5: A Troubled Past (Complete)

Blue: When my mother found out about the incident at school, she was furious. She scolded me as if I committed a horrible sin.

Mother: Quentin, what have you done!?

Blue: But..I-I didn't mean to! It was an accident!

Mother: That doesn't matter! You've done a terrible thing. Now everyone will see you as nothing but a beast!

Blue: The kids...they were picking on me...

Mother: And you should've done the mature thing and told your teacher. But instead you...you do..THIS. I'm very disappointed with you!

Blue: But mother!

Mother: No buts! Go into your room, now! And don't come out!

Blue: ...You don't even care about what happened to me! I hate you!!

*Blue runs into his room and slams the door shut*

Blue: I ran into my room and began to cry. But they weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of anger. I was mad at those children, my teacher, my mother, everyone. They had no right to treat me like I wasn't even human. So I shut myself off from everybody. I stayed in my room...alone. Just sulking in bitterness and hate.

Jawo: What did you do in all that time?

Blue: I read.

Jawo: Huh?

Blue: In my time alone, I had nothing better to do, so I shuffled through an old bookshelf and found a book on magic. In it, I found out just what the symbol on my body meant, and what kind of person I really was. I continued reading, and I began to discover...that I wasn't a freak or a monster. That I was born with a special gift, not a dreaded curse. I began to discover..myself.

*The young Blue continues flipping through the pages. He stops when he discovers a chapter on magic spells*

Blue: Hey, what's this? Magic...casting...

Blue: Upon reaching that chapter, I learned that I had an affinity for Fire Magic, so I decided to practice the fireball spell, in hopes that I'd be able to recreate what I did at school that day at will.

Blue: Okay..let's try it. ...Fireball!

*Blue attempts the fireball spell. A flame flickers, but immediately fizzles out*

Blue: Aw..it didn't work.

Blue: I failed many a time, but I didn't give up. I kept on trying, taking whatever steps I could to try and improve my chances. And it wasn't before long that I mastered the technique. I guess you could say that I had a real knack for it.

Blue: Alright...one more time. *takes a deep breath* ....Fireball!

*Blue spreads his hands out and successfully conjures a fireball*

Blue: I...did it? I did it! Yes yes yes! I can do magic!!

*Blue tosses the fireball up and down*

Blue: If I can do this...just imagine what else I can do!

Blue: I was so proud of my accomplishment, that I just had to tell someone about it. I didn't care who it was. So at last, I ended my solitary confinement and ran straight to my mother, to show her what I was capable of. I had hoped that she would be proud of me, but...

*Blue runs up to his mom and tugs on her apron*

Blue: Mother! Mother!

Mother: Huh? What is it, Quentin?

Blue: Look look! Look at what I can do!

*Blue happily conjures a fireball in his hand*

Blue: See? I can control it now! Isn't it cool?

Mother: Aaaaah!!!

Blue: Huh?

*Blue's mother slaps him in the face, knocking him to the ground*

Blue: Ugh! W-what was that for!?

Mother: What are you doing!? What have I told you about that dreadful magic!?

Blue: It's not dreadful! It's...it's a gift!

Mother: It's no gift. It's an horrible curse! It's evil! Don't you understand!?

Blue: No! It makes me special! And I'm going to keep practicing it!

Mother: Aaaaah! Look at the evil you've wrought upon this world! You're a terrible child!

Blue: You don't know anything!

Blue: After that point, I was convinced that my mother would never understand me or my kind. She hated me just because of what I was, and I grew to despise her for it. I saw her as an enemy, out to destroy me. So I went back into my room and continued reading about the wonders of magic. I was buried deeper and deeper into my heritage. And I was absolutely fascinated by it. But then, the next day, IT happened.

Lilia: It?

Blue: The day we were notified of my brother's death. It was the day that changed everything...

*A knock on the door is heard, Blue's mother answers and recieves a letter from a man. She closes the door and begins to read, when...*

Mother: *gasp* No...

Blue: Mother, what's wrong?

Mother: NO!!!

*Blue's Mother throws the letter to the ground and breaks out in tears. Blue then picks up the letter and reads it to himself*

Blue: Ah! Brother...he...he was..killed?

Mother: Why did this have to happen!? Why!?

Blue: Mother...

Mother: ...YOU!!!

Blue: Huh?

*Blue Mother glare at him with eyes full of hate. He backs away in fear as she inches towards him*

Jawo: Blue...you haven't told us. Why is your mother so critical of magic users?

Blue: Because...my father..he was killed in the war by a mage of the opposing army.

Jawo: I see. So that's what spurred your mother's hatred of magicians.

Lilia: But how could she take that out on you? You didn't do anything wrong!

Blue: She knew that, but she didn't care. She was just so angry and heartbroken that she needed someone to blame. She needed closure, and she got it by becoming prejudiced against all magic users.

Jawo: Including you...

Blue: *nods* And it only got worse once my brother died. Because as it so happens, he was struck down by a mage as well. I guess..she just couldn't handle the stress of it all. I felt it, as she glared at me with those eyes, she saw the mages who killed my father and brother. She went insane...

Lilia: What happened then, Blue?

Blue: In an act of violent rage, she grabbed a kitchen knife, and charged at me with it.

Mother: Die!!!

Blue: Mother! What are you doing!? Stop this!

*Blue's Mother lunges at him, but he dodges and manages to avoid it*

Mother: You're nothing but demons! Pure evil!

Blue: W-what are you saying!?

Mother: There's no place in the world for your kind. Die here!!

*Blue's Mother lunges again, this time slashing Blue's arm*

Blue: Agh!!

Blue: After she struck me with the knife, I began to grow angry. She was a threat to my well being and I had to do something about it. I began to feel the hatred and rage, brought on from all of the people who mistreated me. And I too, went mad. So in an act of self-preservation, I attacked without any regard for human life...

Blue: Rrraaaggggh!!!

*Blue conjures a fireball and hurls it at his mother, which forces the knife out of her hand. He then throws another, which strikes and knocks her to the ground*

Mother: Aaaagh! You...miserable child. How dare you attack your mother...

Blue: Mother? What mother?!

Mother: Uh?

Blue: I have no mother!!!

*Blue throws a fireball at the ceiling, causing the house to set on fire*

Mother: Ah! Stop! Are you mad!?

Blue: Maybe I am! Hah!!

*Blue throws yet another fireball at the ceiling, causing the fire to spread about the entire house. Burning debris falls in front of Blue's mother, trapping her*

Mother: Ah! You..you people are all the same!! You took everything away from me!

Blue: No! That's not true!

Mother: You're nothing but killers. Murderers! Inhuman monsters! Nobody wants you...

Blue: Stop! You're wrong!

Mother: Everybody would've been happier, had you not been born...

Blue: Shut up! I've heard enough!

*Blue throws one last fireball into the flames, causing the fire to grow even larger and engulf his mother completely*

Blue: *panting* Hah...ha...ha.....

*As the house burns down, Blue runs outdoors to safety. Outside, a group of villagers have been watching the spectacle*

Man: Wah! There! There he is!

Woman: It's the demon!

Blue: No..I'm not a demon...

Man2: He's going to kill us all with his terrible magic!

Woman2: He'll kill us! Just like he killed his mother!!

Blue: Noooooo!

Man3: Go away, you demon child! Leave us be!

*The man throws a rock at Blue, but misses*

Woman3: Wicked sorcerer! Get out of here!

*The woman also throws a rock, this time it hits him in the head*

Blue: Ugh! Stop it! Just..just leave me alone!!

*Blue turns away and quickly flees from the village, with tears flowing from his eyes*

Blue: And..after what happened at home, the villagers banded together, and ran me out of the village. With my family gone and my home destroyed, I had no where else to go. I was all alone in the world. The only thing I could do was run...

Lilia: Blue...you killed your...

Jawo: Lilia!!

*Blue lowers his head as tears slide down his cheeks*

Lilia: I'm...I'm sorry...

Blue: *wipes tears* No, it's alright.

Jawo: Please, Blue. Continue.

Blue: Okay. So as I was saying, I left the village. With nowhere to go, no place to call my home, I just kept running. And I never looked back. I continued until I came upon the Shura Forest on the outskirts of town. And there I met a mysterious man who changed my life forever.