Brave Heart; Rise of the Dark Mage

One could say it is a common misconception that supernatural beings only exist in myths, fairy tales, and fantasy. But this is untrue. Although I do not believe in the supernatural, I am aware that it exists because it is mentioned in holy books and mythological texts. Though those times are long gone, I do believe giants once roamed the Earth. I also believe that other supernatural beings exist. They live among us in secret.

Because of their power, people who witness these beings are either completely erased from existence in history or refuse to write about them, but as we all know, fate operates in mysterious ways. History is a very crafty thing.

My name is Eric Otero, and I am a soon-to-be graduate and history student. I am quite a celebrity at school after winning the Universal History Quiz contest and bringing fame to our university and the region. Everyone began to see me as a hero, especially the ladies. Not only were the ladies interested in me because of my fame, but I was also quite the charming guy, so not bad if you ask me.

But I am not the type of guy to enjoy fame and luxury for too long. I prefer to be alone and do other activities such as sightseeing and long walks in the forest. Call me strange or spooky, but when I do that, I feel calm and at ease.

Regarding my family, I come from a religious family. My mother, Misses Sara, is a Catholic activist who frequently attended church masses and often delivered forceful sermons about Christ and the Christian faith. My father, Mister Otero, was a well-renowned doctor who typically had little time to spend at home.

Both my brother Lionel and I diverged greatly from our parents' ways. Lionel was the party animal who loved to socialize, enjoy the gifts life had to offer, and spend time with women. Whoa, what a family!

When you put us all together, you might think that we are incompatible, but the truth is that we love each other and support one another through difficult times. Nevertheless, our ideologies are different.

Even though I may think that the paranormal exists, my mother despises it. She used to pray to God in silence at night, asking him to keep us safe from witches and devils. She also would not let me watch any supernatural movies since she said they meant trouble and that you would either be punished or grounded, but that was a long time ago. She would now only lecture and chastise us, particularly me, for it.

" Eric, I've told you times without number, never mentioned those damned creatures here in this house. " Sara condemned as she walked past where Eric sat down trying to prepare for his test.

" But mom, it's not forbidden to talk about them, unless you try to worship them. " Eric rushed to answer in a bid to defend himself.

"I don't care. You're not supposed to be talking about them, they're all servants of the devil, and don't forget this is a Christian home and I won't allow my children to wallow in such devilish conspiracies. That's how it is, always going on. " She replied as she left where he sat, still glued to his books.

Refusing to bring it up in front of Mom was the only way to avoid her reprimands. Illinois is known for its abundant forests and forestry, and it turned out that our house was surrounded by bushes.

Every night, I would go for long walks in the outdoors to pass the time, decompress, and take in the lovely scent of the natural world.

One of my favorite places was under a large oak tree, which some people said was cursed and hundreds of years old.

I would ascend the oak tree to its summit to take in the breathtaking view of the neighborhood.

While walking to my usual spot one Sunday evening, I noticed someone standing in front of the oak tree where I was headed for. I could not identify the person, but I decided to investigate, as I continued to walk towards the tree while looking at the figure, which appeared feminine.

" Hey! You there. Are you lost? " I asked at the top of my voice. As soon as I said that, the person turned around. I couldn't see the face or what the person looked like. All I could say was, the figure disappeared into thin air. I couldn't believe it, she just vanished like she wasn't there. I had to rub my eyes to see if I was dreaming, but I wasn't. In this kind of circumstance, a regular person would run for their dear life, but I didn't. Instead, I walked to where the stranger stood looking around to see if I could see anyone. Strange was the only word I could think of at that moment.

As I was about to walk away, I saw an object on the ground. It looked more like a necklace. I picked it up and examined it. The object on the necklace looked like the devil's triangle, a hexagram as some people may call it.

Despite how it looked, it was beautiful, so I put it in my pocket and went back home. Later that night when my brother and I were in our room, I decided to tell him about it.

" Lion, I want to talk to you. " I called on Lionel as he was setting up his sheets to lie down.

" What? I want to sleep. " Lionel replied with a tone that suggested frustration.

" You believe in ghosts, don't... "

" You've started with these conspiracy theories of yours again. Why would you be talking about ghosts at this time of the night? " He fired back at me before I could finish my sentence.

Silence fell into the room after he finished, but I was determined to get his opinion on the matter, so I continued.

" As I was walking over to the oak tree today, I saw someone standing in front of the tree. I guess it was a girl from the shape. When I tried talking to her, she just vanished. " I said.

" She ran or what? " He asked, as if suddenly picking interest in the topic.

" No, she just vanished, disappeared like that. "

" Disappear? " Lionel cut me short.

" Yes. " I answered, as Lionel suddenly burst into laughter.

" Guy, did you drink something or what? What's wrong with you? See the problem of believing in nonsense, right? Soon you'll go ahead and talk nonsense. " He added.

" No, seriously, I thought it was an illusion, but it was real. See what I found at the place where the girl was before disappearing. " I showed him the necklace, and he collected it and examined it for a while. I was hoping he would see the sense in what I was saying, but before I knew it, he threw the necklace back at me.

" Champ. Go to bed. I think you had too much to drink. Maybe if you sleep, your head might erase that nonsense and tomorrow you will think like a better person. " He said as the necklace landed where I sat down.

" But the necklace. " I hurried to answer to persuade him to believe me. But he seemed not to pay any attention again.

" Hey, please do not disturb me. That necklace is junk. If you go to the jewelry market, you will get something like this. Maybe some idiot has come to throw it your way. Ghosts? Please go to bed. " Lionel pulled his blanket over himself and went to sleep.

Well, at least he listened to what I had to say. But I know I saw something and this necklace isn't something someone threw away because I go to the oak tree every day, so there's no way I couldn't have possibly seen that.

After staring at the necklace for a while, I fell asleep.