Aspen

~

When Aspen was told that he would be in charge of guarding the ancient books of magic, and that he would have to learn from them, he accepted it. Aspen always faced his challenges head on, and he never hesitated. He conformed to the rules, he did everything he could to please the Elders of the clan. To please his parents, his friends, his family. He was born to please others and to do his sacred duty.
So when Aspen was given his first book, he set to work studying it. He figured out how to read the ancient language within days, and he read the entire book in an even shorter amount of time. But when he tried to put it into action, when he tried the magic... It didn't work.
And that's when he came down sick. He was taken to the apothecary of the clan, and told that his magic was trapped within his heart- where his heart was supposed to be. It was a miracle to the clan, but it seemed as if he had been born without a heart. Magic always came from within the heart, and so Aspen wouldn't be able to fulfill his duty.
At first, Aspen tried to cope. He decided that he could just guard the books, that he would protect them and decrypt them. But every time he was around another Gaoler, he could feel the disappointment. He had failed them, he had failed everyone. He was a disgrace to his family and his species, and he didn't deserve a duty so sacred as guarding the ancient texts.
When he went home that night, he packed his most precious belongings. A drawing of his parents, his translations of all the books he had been placed in charge of. And then he ran. He ran as fast as he could, crying and longing to feel the beating of a heart in his chest. He needed to be alive, and how could he be alive without a heart?
He ran until he couldn't anymore, and he collapsed in a very small clearing. In the middle of it was a tree, hundreds of years old. It was the tree that bore his name. Aspen stared up at it through his tears, sobbing quietly. The tree rustled, and then one of its long branches reached down, the leaves wiping away his tears.
"My dear child, what ails you so?" A deep voice thundered. It was rich, like wood sliding against wood.
"I have no heart!" Aspen wailed, clawing at where his heart should be. His claws were sharp, and he tore open his chest to show the tree. There was no blood, because there was nothing to make the liquid of life course through his body. There were only bones and an empty cavity.
The tree hummed quietly, then seemed to smile as it tore off one of its leaves, then placed it inside the cavity. The leaf was shaped like a heart, and it glowed brightly once it touched Aspen.
And then the Gaoler's magic burst from him, and he screamed as his magic was so strong that it flooded through the entire forest. Everyone from his clan stopped what they were doing, and they gathered near the forest entrance, trying to see what had happened.
What they saw was only something that they could dream of. A bright green Gaoler came walking out of the forest, but it almost seemed like he was walking on air. His fur glowed, his eyes studied all before him as he smiled. "My name is Aspen," he roared, and this time, everyone else accepted him, and they bowed before him, for his magic rippled off of him. He was the strongest magic user in the history of the clan.

~