*****
Night came like always, as Evin laid quietly in his bed, hoping to fall into slumber. It was a hard task. His mind was a mix of excitement and fear, as he occasionally rolled inside his blanket.
Excitement due to finally becoming a mage, and fear due to the conversation he had with the voice. But he refused to believe it’s warnings. His father was not the best father in the world… but he was his father despite it all. He would understand Evin’s wishes and let him study as a mage in the Academy.
At that point, Evin wouldn’t even have to worry about the voice teaching him its knowledge. Since it could do it, then Evin should be able to do it all the same. He just needed some extra guidance on the subject is all… It wasn't like the Voice was the only one in the world who could cast magic.
To prove this point, Evin practiced his Imagination Casting for an hour or so in the evening. Truth be told, he couldn’t really achieve anything, but he could feel the Fire energy in his body following his commands, despite their apparent unwillingness in it all. It was as if they were highly-trained soldiers under his command, who were forced to follow Evin’s orders.
Alas, Evin was a terrible commander. He could order the energy to move inside his body, maybe expose itself a little and fly around his body, but other than that, there wasn’t much he could do.
But Evin wasn’t one to give up so easily. Afterwards, he began practicing his Pleading Chants.
He experienced some success in this regard. He couldn’t start a fire like the voice did previously, but once again, he could definitely feel the Fire energy responding to him a bit more. It was mostly because he was all alone in the house, with no one nearby to hear his embarrassing Chants.
‘The time will come. No need to be impatient,’ he was thinking, when he heard the house lock rattle.
His father must’ve finally come home, and he must’ve also drunk some alcohol, judging by how violent he was with the lock. Finally, the door opened with a creak and Evin heard his father walking towards his own room with unhurried steps, away from Evin’s.
‘Seems he didn’t drink as much…’ Evin thought worriedly.
As far as he knew, his father had three modes. Sober, drunk, and completely drunk. Through experience, Evin learned that he needed to avoid making a mistake when his father was simply drunk, as that was when he was the quickest to snap. Sober was a bit scary, but it was just that, scary. Out of these three modes, completely drunk was the safest one. Evin’s father didn’t even acknowledge his son’s existence during this moment, only worrying about his bodily needs, like pissing, eating, or sleeping.
The footsteps stopped halfway through the corridor, creating an eerie silence. The sounds suddenly resumed, but the footsteps weren’t going away from Evin’s room, they were coming towards it. Evin looked towards the door with fear, wondering if he should’ve hidden behind something.
A second later, the door opened with a creak, as his father’s slightly intoxicated face popped out from behind the door. He held some kind of vine-like bush branch in his hands, which seemed to be wet, judging by the water drops dripping from its tip.
“We need to talk, boy.”
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“Yes sir…” Evin replied, as he got out of his bed.
“You will refuse the mage’s offer in ten days,” his father said.
“But…” Evin began but was quickly silenced by a lash from the branch. Sharp and burning pain came from his side, but Evin managed to keep the shriek inside.
“Listen to me, boy. You will go to her 10 days later… and tell her that you will NOT become a mage. Do you understand?”
Evin struggled inside, one part of him wished to reveal his heart and thoughts to his father, but another part told him to just do as he said.
"I'll... I want to become a mage..."
Evin didn’t know why he said that. Was he being stubborn because of the voice? Or was he finally going to become more honest with his father? Whatever it was, Evin knew he needed to brace for the consequences. As he expected, his father swung the branch once more. This time, he hit Evin’s shin.
“I can’t believe it. I’ve raised and fed you for 10 whole years, but to think you’d betray me like this. The first chance you get, you immediately think of leaving me behind.”
“I don’t have to leave you behind. The country will help us live better. The Academy’s already in this town, I’ll stay with you!” Evin pleaded.
“You really think those high and mighty mages actually care about you? They only want to help you because you’re useful to them! They’ll dress you up nicely, make you someone better than the common people, but they’ll never let you be better than them!”
“I don’t get it dad! Why are you doing this to me! Why can’t you just let me be happy?! Why are you okay with living like this forever!?”
Oddly, his father did not scream back at him, nor did he strike him. He simply stared at Evin for a few seconds.
“That spell or whatever you did. It’s the Voice inside your head, isn’t it?”
For a second, Evin couldn’t reply immediately.
“N-no. It’s me. Dad. I cast that spell.”
“Don’t lie to me boy. I’m not an idiot.”
“But-”
“That thing is evil, boy. It’s ruined our lives. Your mother left you because of it. No, it made your mother leave us. And it's not all. If given the chance, it’ll ruin the lives of thousands of others. You know that."
“It’s still speaking to you now, isn’t it? Telling you its lies. Endlessly whispering in your head… I feared this day. If you allow it access to those magics… I don’t know what evil we will release into the world. Don’t you understand that we must prevent that at all costs?”
“You’re saying… you believed me?”
Evin was more hurt by that. All his life, he was shunned by all because of his apparent insanity, especially by his father… but now he’s saying that he never truly considered him to be insane in the first place?
The Voice only laughed, not trying to defend itself, nor trying to demean his father.
“I hoped it wasn’t true,” his father continued. “I really did. How easy it was if it was really just that. A voice in your head… But that magic it cast. I can’t look away now. It’s trying to lure you into becoming a mage. Hasn’t it always talked about mages? It’s not that it wants the best for you. It just wants to use you so it can better cause harm! And when it’s done, it’ll throw you away like you’re nothing. Nothing!
“Evin, you must not let it do what you want. And not just that voice. You’ve seen what reaction that mage had, didn’t you? What that creature in your head did, it will get every one of those disgusting mages riled up. They’ll do everything to pry out your secret and when they realize that there’s a voice in your head that can cast magic for you, they won’t even blink as they pry open your head.”
“No, they won’t.”
“They will! Didn’t you see how that woman acted? Even now, she’s probably thinking about how she can get your hands on you. They’re all like that. Heartless monsters who will do anything to become more powerful, to become richer! Do you think she was nice to you because she liked you? No! She only acted that way because you’re useful to her!”
“So what?!” Evin found himself screaming. “Even if they’re using me, I want to become a mage! I finally have a chance to go out there and become someone, but all you think about is having me rot here with you!”
Evin had no time to listen to the Voice, as he saw his father swinging at his ribs. He tried to block with his arm, but pain was pain. Again and again, his arms would feel like it was going to snap off, but there was nothing Evin could do but scream.
“Dad! Stop!”
“Please stop!”
“Dad, no!”
His father did not heed these pleads. The strikes came relentlessly, continuing on for what only felt like an eternity to Evin.
…