early beginnings

Little girls danced in the forest, younger leading the older, and their brother followed weakly behind. “We... we shouldn't get too far from home!” he shouted after them, but his sisters either did not hear or ignored his plea.

Both his sisters were mages, along with his father, and they often went on mage outings, leaving poor Carver at home with Leandra. Not knowing the proper way to handle his jealousy and anger, he took it all out on chores. The ones requiring strength and resolve. Chopping wood, hunting food, building furniture and such for his mother.

 And when his sisters and father would return, Carver would forget his less than noble feelings towards them, and join them in casual play. Extra special care and attention would have to be given to the eldest sibling, for since birth she was blind. Catered to and taught magic differently, Ophelia Hawke was kind but greedy. She knew to treat adults with respect and to defend the weak; she was raised to be such a way. However, being spoiled by her family—except Carver—resulted in a selfish little girl. Unless it came to the things she cared about, Ophelia was very willful and hasty. Aggressive, even.

Her aggressive moodswings terrified Carver but excited Bethany. Malcolm and Leandra were not blind to their daughter's behavior, but they could not change her for the better. They were too loving—too nice—to change the ruthlessness in their eldest daughter.

The thing that had bothered them the most was Ophelia's desire to see paired with her drive to get rid of anything in her path. Oftentimes it led their forest adventures into dangerous waters, literally!

This one early afternoon in particular was the beginning of no ordinary playdate between siblings. Ophelia wanted to go somewhere none of them had visited before, and Bethany was more than happy to oblige. Carver did not want to come along in the first place, but the desire of new captivated him. Perhaps his sisters would get into some sort of trouble, and he would save the day, for once?

“All right, careful here, sister. Let me guide you,” Bethany said, a smile plastered onto her face. She led Ophelia across a rotten log bridge over a rapid river.

Carver stood on the shore they had come from, his brows knitted. “Do not slip! Small steps! Bethany, take her by the waist, not the hand. If she slips in, how will you keep her from the water?” He was as sour as ever, but inside he hid the worry well.

“Don't worry, brother. If anything happens, I know you will be there to help us!”

It was at that moment the log bent into the river. A crack similar to that of bone came soon as the fast water hit it, but the sound was barely audible to Carver. The river was too loud.

“Bethany!” Carver screamed as he watched his sisters clutch onto each other before they disappeared into foamy white water.

&&&

Everything was dark—not that Ophelia could see the darkness, anyway. Every day, at all hours, Ophelia's vision was pure white. She was as blind as could be, but over the past fifteen years of her life she had learned how to maneuver the world around her without the vision everyone else was blessed with. Yet still, clear vision was what she longed for the most.

 “Bethany?” she whispered as she groped around on the ground. Mushy. Grainy. Sand? Was this sand? She took a fistful of it and moved it around in her palms. “Wet sand.” After clarifying what she was laying on, she sat up and crawled on all fours, ever groping the ground for her sister.

“Are you there, Bethany?” Her outstretched hands touched water, and in a split second her hands withdrew at the sudden coldness. “I'm on a shore.”

“Indeed you are, human.” The voice came from right behind her and Ophelia shouted in surprise. In fear, she crawled headfirst into the water, only to come crawling out again.

“Who's there?”

“My name is Mymar.”

“M-Mymar?”

“Yes. And you are a mage.”

“You're not a templar, are you?” Her voice rose and fear grew in her chest, suffocating her. She could not see. She could not converse properly with this Myrmar.

“No. I am a hunger demon. And I know you are blind.”

At the mention of demon, Ophelia's fear escaped. In its wake was curiosity. A hunger demon? Why would a hunger demon approach her? She was more prepared for a demon of desire more than one of hunger. She did not understand the proper concept of hunger demons.

“I did not know demons could have names.”

“We name ourselves.”

“Oh...”

“What is your name?”

“Ophelia.”

“I would like to offer a deal with you, blind Ophelia.”

&&&

“Are you sure they fell here, Carver?” Malcolm asked. His son nodded and a grim expression came over his face. The pair were standing where Carver was standing only hours before.

Right after his sisters had washed away, Carver ran back home as fast as his legs could allow. He fetched his father, and brought him back to the site. But by now the sun was gone and it was less than likely the sisters would be found soon.

“Will we stay out tonight, father? To look for Bethany and Ophelia?”

 A deep frown and creases in his brow, Malcolm shook his head. “We will head home for the night. It is too dangerous right now, but we will come back as soon as daylight graces the treetops.”

&&&

In the following morning, the Hawke family was greeted with a miracle. At the front door, just as daylight began to grace the treetops, stood Bethany and Ophelia Hawke.

Later, when asked about her vision, Ophelia replied, “It is because of magic I can see again. That's all.” Malcolm always had an idea of what happened that night, but never mentioned it to anyone.