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SUMMARY: Here is what actually happened, and the actual beginning of the events that make up my story. Please, give me feedback and rate my writing so that I can see where I need to improve this story.

Volar ran out to get firewood, as was his custom every night. His mother always complained about the cold and his father was always off doing something exciting that involved slaying demonspawn. Volar only wished that he could go once in a while with his father. He had been trained as far back as he could remember to fight with or without weapons. He could hold his own against a demonspawn, but he was still not old enough, at least Rou thought, to journey with him. It seemed like the demonspawn were a bit more active lately. He suspected so, since the summer lasted forever and the autumn lingered two months longer than it should have. The weather was not warm, but it was not as cold as it should have been for this time of the year. Rou warned him to pay attention to the weather. The warm temperatures were not a good sign at all. Neither was the fact that Rou was always gone.

His mother, Maura, was very loving. Though overprotective at times. She had very little faith in his abilities, and even less faith that Volar would even survive an encounter with a demonspawn. Above all, Volar was grateful for her teachings. With Rou gone, she taught him mental exercises to keep his mind focused and how to fight with a knife. He had knowledge of the Elements and how to use them. His mother always told him that the important thing was the understanding. With understanding, power would come naturally. Volar concentrated on what Rou called Augmentation. It enabled him to use the elements to improve the performance of his body. Someday, he hoped to be as good as either one of his parents.

Volar leaped over a small stump and walked toward the pond that was close to his home. The pond was about a kilometer away from the cabin he and his family lived in. They lived very simply, living completely off the land and their animals. A tree he had been working on for a week was there. It was cut into logs already, all he had to do was split it. Maura always enchanted the wood, making it burn unnaturally long. The axe he carried was made by his dad, then enchanted by his mother. He was able to cut wood quickly using the magic of the axe. He had never used the axe's magic, but it was there if he needed it.

The forests around Volar's house thickened as the land dipped. He could see through the treetops of the evergreens, the thick cluster of trees around the pond. The water of the pond was brown and motionless. Fish ruined the stillness as they swam away from his approach. The pond carried with it the delicate scent of moss as a gentle breeze blew across it. There on the other side of the pond was the prepped tree. Methodically, Volar began to hack away at the wood. It was always cleansing to use his own strength to cut and split the wood. He hefted the axe high above his head and then back down again. The log split with a loud crack, and Volar picked up another short log. Up, down, reach and set. Up, down, reach and set.

-'Be sure to always parry down and away when someone stabs at your belly.' Rou said.