Avril’s Backstory

Instructions

TW: contains death, violence, semi-gross descriptions Avril was an ordinary villager in Brisk, enjoying a quiet, calm, and peaceful fishing life with her family. …not really. She was sick of being ordinary. All her life, she wanted to be special. To have magic. Like those stupid “solstice warriors” tromping around town like they owned the place. Every day for years, she searched spellbook after spellbook and read hundreds of ancient texts, hoping to find some way for her to use magic. But it was fruitless. And then, she got her wish. A one-eyed bat monster was her savior as it crashed in the center of Brisk under a blood-red sky. She ran to where it was falling, scared but curious. Until- she was too close. It was going to land almost directly on her. She panicked, stumbling to get out of the way, but too late. The blast knocked her into a wall, which broke, and sent her tumbling down the side, badly injuring the right side of her head and tearing up her arm. She instantly fainted from the pain and was at the verge of death. As the dweller’s minions started spreading out, they took notice of Avril’s lifeless, partially mangled body. One of them? Perhaps. Their eyesight wasn’t that great. Surrounding her, the minions healed her, patching the bloody, broken areas with their magic. But it wasn’t…perfect. It left scars, black burns, and mutated to give her a horn and bat wing on her head. She twitched, starting to wake up. Their job done, the strife minions floated away to terrorize the villagers. Avril groaned, disoriented and confused. She blinked and looked at her hands. …what had happened to her!? She recoiled. Her right hand had sharp nails, and was blackened and had a strange fleshy texture. Disgusting. Had she been caught in a fire or something? She got up, feeling surprisingly energetic. She could feel power coursing through her. Wait. This feeling. Could it be… Magic? Not daring to be too hopeful, she tentatively practiced what she had been learning for years through magic books. Reach out with intent, and focus, Glowing red spikes burst out from the ground, stabbing a bird flying by. She laughed in disbelief. Magic. What else could she do with this? Gleeful, Avril started throwing out magic attacks everywhere, not even knowing what she was doing and blatantly disregarding human lives in her excitement to use it. As she was running, she noticed the solstice warriors fighting from a distance. Hm. She could deal with them later, but she had to go find her parents. She was going to prove them wrong about her pursuit for magic being pointless! They would learn of their wrong. She smiled. She made it to her house. They were probably hiding in there. She walked in, looking around. “Avril..?” Her father peeked out from behind a table. “Dad?” She turned to face him. “AGH! W-what happened to you, Avy!?” “I think I got hurt from the explosion, maybe? It’s fine. But look.” She summoned a glowing red orb and smiled wickedly. Her father didn’t respond. He was shaking in fear. Avril frowned and narrowed her eyes. Of course he would react like this. Where was her mom, anyway? It didn’t matter. “I finally have magic. Aren’t you proud?” He ducked behind the table. “FINE! DO YOU WANT ME TO SHOW YOU WHAT I CAN REALLY DO!?” She held out her hand, and- Her sister, Kelra burst through the front door. “AVRIL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” She paused and lowered her hand. “…Kelra?” Kelra’s breathing was heavy. “I heard your voice. A-are you…okay?” She tried to hide her fear. “Oh, I’ve never been better. I’ve just got what I wanted my whole life.” “Avril…” “What? You could have it too. You could join me. I think I know how to give you some of my magic.” “I don’t want it. You… you’ve become a monster, Avril!” Her eyes widened, and she scowled. “NONE OF YOU EVER BELIEVED IN ME!” she shouted as she thrust out her arms, sending a blast of magic out. Kelra shot back into the wall, then crumpled limp onto the floor. Avril stood still in shock for a moment. “N-no! I didn’t mean to- Kelra!” Avril started sobbing uncontrollably. “W-what have I done..?” Blood covered Avril’s hands that day as a moon dripping red in the sky. - EPILOGUE - Unable to deal with the guilt of killing her sister, Avril now does what she has been doing for so many years. She searches spellbook after spellbook. Perhaps one of them will be able to bring her sister back. Growing ever desperate, she seeks the help of necromancers, alchemists, and perhaps even the Fleshmancer himself… -END-