Story Unaspected [Fantasy]

[TanteRegenbogen]

Note: If you want to use this setting for your own story, you can. However I will only add any stuff from side stories into canon if they don't significantly alter the timeline.

Chapter 1

For most of her life, Vika had been a happy child with a loving family. Nonetheless, she was occasionally bullied in primary school for her unusual eye color. People said her crimson eyes were creepy. It stood out not only compared to the green eyes of her parents and her brother, but also generally among other children. Otherwise she had the brown hair her parents and brother had. She was taught to never wish evil on others and to be forgiving. So she became a benevolent natured person who was maybe a tad bit too naive.

Her family was pretty religious and believed seriously in the benediction of the gods. They regularly visited their aspected gods and goddesses in hopes for further smooth sailing in life. Vika however was still young at the time to know which her guardian deity was. Every person has mana and after finishing primary school, children touch an orb to see which color or affinity their mana is. While most people have an affinity for one specific magic, some have multiple affinities, so the orb would show multiple colors. Depending on the affinity, called an aspect, a guardian deity will be assigned.

However when the day came, tragedy stuck. Vika turned out to be unaspected, meaning while she had mana, she couldn't be proficient in any specific magic and wouldn't have guardianship of a deity. After that day, her parents' attitudes towards her changed. They felt cold and distant. She was told to prepare for a future career in something that didn't require magic such as an administrative job or be a soldier and learn to use mana to enhance her body. Despite her parents' change, she tried to make the best out of her situation and her older brother was still close to her.

In secondary school, she was bullied and ostracized for being unaspected. She wasn't allowed to enter temples except for festival days or when the high priest was there because she was believed to be cursed. The truth was that she was alive because she was tolerated and nothing more.

Throughout secondary school, she excelled in math, history, foreign languages and more theoretical subjects while honing her combat and enhancement skills after school. As students began to learn magic, some eventually used their magic to bully Vika and due to learning combat and enhancement skills, she eventually learn to dodge anything they shot at her.

Soon the days came when she graduated and came of age:

"Congratulations, Vika. Now it is time for you to find a new home and a job." Vika's father said coldly.

Vika was shocked that as soon as she came of age, she was being kicked out. "What? Why? I can't just find a job and new home." Vika pleaded.

"I am sure you will survive. You managed to survive without an aspect and without a guardian diety. Now ready yourself. You should be out by evening. I will give you a little pocket money for your first few days." The father said.

Vika's mother just stood idly by without saying a word. While Vika's father was cold and cruel, Vika's mother was ashamed, but powerless to the circumstances.

Vika nodded and went to her room to gather her things. At least what she needed to survive. She could get her other stuff if she found a new home. It felt bad. The realization of her situation was crushing. She didn't know how she could survive like this. Fortunately, it was still late summer and she could survive a night on the streets if necessary.

Once she had gathered everything she thought was necessary: Clothes, a tent, cooking utensils, toiletries among others, she went back to her father. He immediately shoved a bag with foodstuff into her arms and handed over a small coinpurse.

"Write us a letter if you make something of yourself." Vika's father said.

Vika bid her farewells and stepped outside. The door slammed shut behind her. Soon after, tears started flowing down her cheeks and she began crying. She tried her best to impress her parents and they just cast her out like that. Vika soon pulled herself together, because she needed to find a place to sleep and a job as soon as possible.

She checked everywhere. The guards house, the inn, the town board, the train station, but no one had a place for her to sleep or any jobs. Or rather it seemed they didn't want to give her anything. Everyone in town was aware of her, as she was the only unaspected person in town. Vika assumed it may be best to just go to a new town where no one knew her and camp in the wilderness on the way there.

Eventually, she made her way out of the town, heading for the town of Heaspik. If she ran into any monsters, she could at least put her combat abilities to good use.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

Chapter 2

Vika passed the town gate. It felt like everyone would celebrate when she is gone. It was dusk as she left the town and she needed to find somewhere to sleep soon. Eventually, she found a spot not far from town where she could set up her tent and sleep until morning. This close to town should be safe from monsters. She hoped that she would feel a little better in the morning. Vika went to lay down in the tent, basically sleeping on the ground with only a blanket.

As Vika drifted into a slumber, it became quite cold. She had a strange dream. A red light filled a void. A force reached out to her like a guiding hand. But before she could identify where the force came from, she woke up. It was still dark out. It sounded like something was in the bushes nearby.

Vika exited the tent to investigate. She was ready in case some monster popped out. To her relief, it was just an opossum that quickly scurried away once it spotted Vika. The young woman considered to lay back down until sunrise and then try to press onward to the next town. Despite it being cold, the night went without event. Vika ate something, packed up and continued on.

Eventually, the footpath would fork off from the main road and lead into the forest. It would be shorter than following the main road. But after a while, Vika got the impression that she must have taken a wrong turn as the forest got darker and darker and the road went from paved to gravel to barely visible. Eventually the path seemed perilous but she had gone too far and was lost in the forest. Trying to find her way, she stumbled and fell down a slope. She fell through a bush into a room. It seemed to have been a concealed location.

Vika was in some pain and the hard stone didn't really help. After laying on the floor for some time, she managed to gather her strength and get up. She still had her stuff on her and didn't seem to lose anything during the fall. Nothing seemed to be broken either. She might get a couple bruises though.

She looked around the room. It seemed to be pretty old and didn't feature much. The mosaics on the walls were barely visible. There were however stairs down in front of her. While it may be dangerous to venture further in, not only did the mystery pique her interest, but it felt like something called her in deeper. Vika took out a light crystal, so she could see on her way down the stairs. The stairs were long but eventually she arrived in a large hall that lay in ruins. In front of her was a pedestal with a book on it. Vika thought to herself, that such an ancient book could fetch a nice price that could help her survive or could maybe even contain useful secrets.

Vika approached the book and picked it up the book. The book however as soon as she picked it up dissolved into dust and she was hit with a vision or maybe she was taken to a complete different space altogether. Before her was a bright light with a red hue. The light wasn't just a light, but a presence, an overwhelming presence. The presence spoke in a language unknown to her, but she could feel it reverberate through her entire body, maybe her entire existence. It was a crushing feeling, but she resisted it. Somehow however she could understand what was being said, despite the language being unknown. The presence greeted her.

Looking up to the light, she was met with an unfathomable appearance, indescribable. It was otherworldly. By no doubt, many humans would lose their sanity just by looking at it. While it did feel like something broke a little in Vika, she both felt fear and an intense euphoria from looking at the presence. Then the presence spoke again in the unknown language that Vika somehow could understand.

"I̸̡̛̲̽m̸̛̲̕p̸̹̀̚ṛ̴͌e̸̛̪̬̍s̵̤̉š̸͔́ḯ̷̢̩̾v̵̲̀e̶̫̔͜,̵͖̪͌̈́ ̷̲͒m̷̙͔͐͑y̵̰̬͋ ̷̗͒c̶̰̫̃h̵̨̄̑ï̴̡͔l̵̮͆͌d̷̰͊.̵̨̰̍." The presence spoke. "E̴̢͓̐v̸̨̠́ë̵̤̝́r̷̟̪̎y̷̭̆̾o̸̳̐̚n̴̙̋̋ẻ̴̡̒ͅ ̶̟̍̕w̵̳̞͛h̵͖̲́o̶͕͆̄ ̶̤̔h̴̨͆͒ą̷͍͠s̴͎͚͋ ̸̠̀s̵̛̘t̸̠̿͊e̶̗͆p̵̠̼͐̎ṗ̶̮͠ē̴̖̤̓d̶̥̺͌ ̴̲̮̈b̶̩̂̉ḛ̶͗̉f̴̨̞̽̊ȍ̴̦̓r̶͆ͅě̴̮ ̶̢̟̎̉m̴͕͝e̴̜͘ ̸̭̹̽͊w̷̻̮̾ô̸̪̕ͅủ̸͚͇l̵̬̏d̸̫̐̅ ̷̛͕̭̔h̸̻͌͠ȃ̸̮̖̒v̸͖͎̿͂e̷̡̒̄ ̶͇̘́͝ȉ̷̒ͅr̵̢̿r̶̗͋e̴̠̥͛v̸̟͒̚e̸͉͂r̸͕̓̚ş̴̀̏i̷̢͆b̴̲̍l̸̟̒̃y̷͚̼̔̚ ̷̮͒l̵̬̱̂̌o̶̲͚͛s̷̼͛̂ṭ̵͓̒̃ ̷̗̂͝t̷̛̝h̶̳̹͑̄ḙ̵͈͗̅ị̸̢͑͒r̶̯̼͂̔ ̵̻̇s̴̱̈́̈́a̵͈̘̎n̸̡͂͂i̴̯̦͘͝t̵͎͊͝y̶̥̚͝ͅ ̵͕̌b̶̲͐y̸͉̋̿ ̵̤̝͛l̷̗͌̿o̵̘̕͝o̴͎͌k̴̬̅͑i̴͙̜̿̾ṇ̵̝̋̐g̴̗͌͘ ̸͍̌̚ā̵͉̽t̴̝̚ ̵͍̟̚ḿ̶͓̦͠e̷̞͌͌ ̵̟͗́f̵̧̯̊͆ọ̶̱̆̎r̴̯̓́ ̵͈͈̾͛t̸̼̩̍̅h̷͕́ͅi̴̭͆͐s̴̱̣͊ ̸̮͗̈l̸̙̍̏o̷̭̫͗n̸̉̕͜g̴̰͚̈́.̷͕͝"

Vika at first struggled to speak but eventually brought her words out: "No doubt, a piece of me may have broken while looking at you."

The presence changed their form and toned down their power, now appearance as an androgynous human like being with red eye color with slitted irises, long silver hair and four black horns. "I expect this form shall be easier for you to bear. I am Malphas, my child. I may what your kind calls a deity. However I have been in a slumber for an aeon. My followers have all been dead for a long time. But after awaking, I feel that this world has been out of balance." Malphas noticed the unaspected nature of Vika's mana. "I see you may have been forsaken by the deities of this world. However I see your strength as you remain composed in my presence. Will you accept my blessing and become my high priestess? With it you will gain the affinity of abyssal magic."

Vika was able to speak more easily now and expressed her thoughts: "I am honored by your presence, Lord Malphas. My name is Vika Serata. You offer me abyssal magic? It is known as an ancient forbidden magic in this world. What if I become hunted?"

"With my blessing, you shall also have my protection. I will also offer you a domain you and your allies can escape to." Malphas replied.

"To be honest, what do I have to lose? As an unaspected, my survival isn't guaranteed anyway. Plus I have been forsaken by the gods. It is gratifying that one at least cares about me. I will accept your blessing and devote myself to spreading your influence. Though I hope I don't have to harm anyone unless it is absolutely necessary." Vika replied with a smile.

Malphas returned a smile: "All I ask for you is to find followers and protect them. The more followers you have, the more strength you will be granted and the more your domain will expand. But keep in mind that the more strength you gain, the more you may change to fit my appearance."

"Horns and silver hair are the least of my worries." Vika replied.

"Then receive my mark and explore your domain. You can train your new abilities there." Malphas said. They then gave Vika a mark on her chest that resembled a seal with intricate writing on it's edges. With a wave of their hand, Vika was teleported to a green plain in an unknown world. Malphas voice echoed in her mind: "Receive your domain and nuture it. Summon a servant to build a home for you."

Vika concentrated and a spell came to her mind. Chanting it came naturally, it was in the ancient language Malphas spoke. In front of her a magic circle formed and a lesser demon appeared. "You have called, my lady? How can I be of service?" The lesser demon appeared like a young man with horns and red eyes. He had a great physique, but was of similar height to Vika.

"Do you have a name?" Vika asked. The demon replied: "Not yet. Will you name me?" "Hmmm. How about Rasfir?" Vika replied. The demon then replied: "A splendid name. Naming me makes me stronger." Vika found it interesting that naming a demon would give them more strength.

Vika then requested of the demon: "Rasfir. Can you build me a small cottage? If you need something to eat first, you may go hunting or foraging first. Be sure to make yourself something too. I hope we can have a good relationship." She smiled. The demon blushed a little and bowed in respect to Vika. "You are too kind, my lady. I will do my best." Rasfir then went on his way to fulfill his task.