The sky was clear without any clouds obstructing the view. A full moon shone like a jewel in the middle of a blanket of stars that stretched to infinity.

A lone house could be seen in the middle of a moderately sized grass plane. Small fences surrounded the house. On one side of the house was a small veranda, where a woman was sitting currently.

 

"Nero...come here, it doesn't seem to be very cloudy today. You might be able to see the stars again." She called out turning to the inside of the house, dimly lit by rays of the moon.

 

"Woooow the moon is so shiny." A little boy ran towards the woman sitting on the floor.

 

"Oho? It's probably a full moon today then"

 

"A full moon.?"

 

"A full moon is a day we can see the complete shape of the moon. Can you tell me what shape does it look like today.?"

 

"Oh...I know, I know. It's a circle." The boy replied enthusiastically.

 

"Good boy. My Nero is so smart." She ruffled the boy's silky black hair.

 

"There are so many stars too... Mom, how many stars are there?"

 

"How would I know? You tell me, Nero. Mommy can't see after all"

 

"Ohh..that's right.." He replied in a sad tone. Ever since he had the memory of her, Lin couldn't see anything around her. She went blind due to some accident that happened before he was even born.

Even so, he still forgets about this sometimes and asks things like this. It makes him sad when he realizes it, but she doesn't seem to mind it at all.

 

"How about this, if you can count all the stars in the sky mommy will give you a gift."

 

"Really..?"

 

"Yeah, really."

 

"Okaay...then I will start frooom here." He pointed to a part of the sky and started counting.

 

"One..two..three..four...five..six..seven...nine"

 

"Oh, you missed one there, didn't ya."

 

"What.? where..."

 

"It's not nine after seven."

 

"What...it's not nine.!"

 

"Nope..come on, try again.."

 

"ten..?"

 

"Nope"

 

"Five?"

 

"Didn't you already count five.?"

 

"Ohh...I remember...it's eight.!"

 

"That's my boy...now count the rest."

 

"Ehh..but I'm bored of counting."

 

"Don't you want the present..?"

 

"Hmm..that's eight..nine..ten..eleven..." He started again immediately. Causing Lin to chuckle at her son's antics.

 

[Sometime later]

 

"Fifty-eight..fifty nine...fifty ten.."

 

"It's not fifty ten Nero. It's sixty."

 

"Haaaa...I'm tired of this. I GIVE UP.."

 

"Haha..somebody's not that tough as they say huh.."

 

"Say whatever you want mom. I'm not going to count anymore. There are too many stars. Look I started from there and barely got till here." He complained pointing at the sky.

 

"But I can't see it though..!" she said placing her hands on her face.

 

"That's not the point. You understood what I said.."

 

"Hahh..well there are too many stars for anyone to count after all. How could someone possibly count all the stars."

 

"So...you tricked me...?" The boy looked at his mom shocked at the revelation.

 

"Well...I didn't exactly..."

 

"You knew...I couldn't do it.. but still...Hic" Nero began sobbing as his eyes started to tear up.

 

"My..my there's no need to cry now...since you did quite well I suppose you do deserve a reward after all.."

 

"Huh...So you'll give me the gift?" said the boy, instantly stopping the tears.

 

"Hmm...Of course. Here you go." She took off the necklace on her neck and placed it in the boy's hands.

 

"What is this..? I don't want this. I want something cooler. Like a sword or a spear or .."

 

"It's too dangerous for you to keep a weapon. This is something even more precious than that, you know."

 

"Really.!" He began inspecting the pendant in his hands. It was quite cold to touch. Circular in shape, made out of some kind of metal. In the middle, a strange stone was embedded with a peculiar symbol on top of it.

 

"Mom..what does this mean..?" He asked her.

 

"What does what mean exactly..?"

 

"The symbol...On the necklace."

 

"Hmm..that. I think it represents the element of earth."

 

"Earth..? Where did you even get this from.?" He asked putting the necklace on and seeing whether it fits or not.

 

"Your daddy gave it to me Nero."

 

"Really..! Dad gave this you..?"

 

"Mhhm. That's why you should keep it safe. Maybe when you meet someone in the future you really cherish, you can give it to them. Okay.."

 

"Mmmhm.."

 

"Come on. Let's make a promise." She said offering her pinky.

 

"What..! I don't need to make a promise. I'm a big boy." Nero replied puffing his chest.

 

"Ohoo...you're a big boy now...then how about this.." She said tickling the boy's feet.

 

"Haha haa...stop..mom..stop...I can't move my legs...ayy..it stings" It seemed like his feet had fallen asleep after sitting too much.

 

"I won't stop until you make a promise..."

 

"Noooo..ho.hoho"

 

"Come on...say the magic words."

 

"Fine..haaa.aahaa..fine...I promise.." He gave up getting tickled enough.

 

"Yaa..that's what I wanted to hear.." she smiled finally stopping the teasing.

 

Lin loved to tease her son from time to time. After her husband left them, he was all that she had.

 

'One day...my Nero will have to leave too. To see this beautiful world around us. Till then..' She thought as a gentle breeze swept across them.

 

"Seems like it's going get cold tonight."

 

"Hey, mom..." Nero's voice broke her out of the thoughts.

 

"Hmm..what happened, Nero..?"

 

"What does cherish mean..?" he asked cluelessly.

 

"Sigh...It means something you love deeply and want to protect."

 

"Something I love...Then here...you take it." He said offering the pendant back to her.

 

"Ohh..my dear Nero is so sweet..." She swept the boy in front of her and placed him on her lap. Combing through his hair she slowly said.

 

"Listen Nero...when you grow up, you too will find someone. Someone who you love so much even the thought of leaving them will be unbearable."

 

"Like you found dad..?"

 

"Mmmhm. Just like I found your dad."

 

"Then why did dad leave us..?"

 

"..."

 

"He didn't leave us, Nero. He's still with us no...in our memories, he's still there." She squeezed him tighter.

 

"Hmmm"

 

"You know...I still remember the day I met your dad."

 

"You do.!!"

 

"Yeah...mama still had her vision at that time. One day, while exploring an ancient capital city's ruins your dad fell out of the sky onto me."

 

"Haha, dad fell out of the sky.!! Was he an angel or something..?"

 

"Yeah...he was..my angel.." She replied absentmindedly recalling her memories.

 

"And then what..!"

 

"Huh."

 

"And then what happened."

 

"Well...he barely had anything on him, so mama took him with her."

 

"Aand..."

 

"And...we went on lots and lots of adventures together."

 

"Really...was he strong.?"

 

"Of course. He was the strongest person I met my entire life. He was a mage too, just like mama."

 

"He could do magic too.! That's so cool."

 

"We were both earth mages. But dad was much stronger than mama though. He taught me most things I know now." She said waving her hand. And the ground in their backyard started to rise into several pillars along with her hand movement.

 

"Wow...I want to do magic too."

 

"Well, in that case, you need to practice well. If you want to be a mage like your dad."

 

"But I can't do anything, even though you tried to teach me"

 

"Patience Nero. That's what a mage must master first. Do you think I learned to do magic in one day?"

 

"You didn't.!!"

 

"Of course not. The earth is a tough and stubborn element. So if you're not equally persistent with it. You won't be able to budge it. And when you do..."

 

The little boy watched in awe as the hands of his mother started to move.

 

Her hands shifted in a fluid motion as the ground in front of them followed it. Gentle and slow movements caused it to flow like it was water while the fast rigid ones caused it to harden and form different structures.

 

"Waah...That's it. Come on mom. Let's practice magic right now." He bounced up from the floor, ready to train.

 

"Well, that's a story for another day. We're way past your bedtime." She stopped causing the ground to settle and reform its original shape.

 

"But I want to do magic as soon as possible.."

 

"Nope, it's time for you to sleep. It's not like magic will go anywhere tomorrow...Come on chop-chop." She said standing up and stepping inside.

 

"Haaah, Fine.." The boy sulked, following behind her.

 

The interior of the house was quite simple. It had two bedrooms with a single bathroom and a dining- kitchen area which was the one most commonly used.

The house itself was quite a distance from other houses. The village nearest to them was called Ashwell village. A small village on the frontier of the kingdom of Minstrel.

Northwest of them was the port town of Athalan which connected the main trade routes between minstrel and the neighboring kingdom of Fiore.

 

"Mom..."

 

"What's it, Nero?"

 

"You're not gonna leave me like dad too...right?"

 

"Of course not. How could I ever leave my dear Nero alone." She said giving a kiss on his forehead.

 

"Yeah..?" Sleep has been catching up to him. His eyes slowly closed as the fatigue from the day before took over him.

 

"Yeah! Now sleep well, my little angel."

 

---

 

The sky was filled with dark stormy clouds spewing lighting here and there. Tiny droplets of rain mixed in the gust of wind that accompanied fell onto surfaces like bullets.

 

A boy about 13 or 14 years old can be seen running through a wrecked grassland. The land which was previously flat and perfect was now bumpy and filled with cracks and fissures.

 

As he ran towards the familiar house, what greeted him was a giant hill in its place. Jumping onto the inclined surface, he stomped down, causing the ground to shape beneath his feet like a platform. And moved it uphill like skating down a mountain.

 

"Please be safe...mom.."

 

The boy muttered as he jumped from the platform onto the mountain top just as he reached the summit. But the sight in front of him was not the one that he wanted.

In the middle of a small fence encasing were the remains of a crumbled house that was filled with his memories.

 

"No..no NOO..." Frantically crying out, he began throwing the large chunks of walls and stones like nothing. But alas he couldn't find her anywhere.

 

"Please mom...where are you..don't leave me alone." Despair overcame his heart as the reality begun to down upon him.

Suddenly he was startled by a hand touching his shoulders. Turning around he saw the familiar figure once again and latched onto her as if she would fly away if let loose.

 

"You're okay...I was so worried."

 

"You...did this.." But the relief and bliss vanished suddenly as he was taken aback by the menacing voice that came out of the lady's mouth.

 

"What are you..." A lightning bolt crackled as the woman's face was illuminated for a second. That's when he noticed the face of his beloved mother which was now bruised and disfigured.

One of her arms dangled from her shoulders as if it was crushed by something big.

 

"YOU DID THIS TO ME..." The figure roared as the boy fell back on the ground from shock. And the whole world turned dark.

 

"MOM NOO..." Nero cried out loud as he woke up. Quickly looking around he realized that he was no longer in the wreckage of his old house.

 

A small campfire was burning beside him. Almost about to get extinguished. Throwing the blanket which was covering him to the side, the boy walked towards the campfire and took a sip of water from the bottle nearby.

 

"That nightmare...again.."