The cold and unforgiving wind swept across the large open plane as a hooded figure forced his way through the veil of wind.
Even though the man was wrapped in his dark navy cloak, the icy winds were still biting, he gritted his teeth against the cold and pushed forward. His braided auburn beard whipped around him, he growled in annoyance at his facial hairs behaviour in the weather.
Soon however he let out a sigh of relief, his destination was in sight, a rather large cliff face. As he stood at the base of the cliff he paused to take in the sheer climb ahead of him. With another sigh he adjusted his satchel and fixed his leather gloves.
With a heaving grunt he began his climb up the rocky height, his determination fuelled him, he had to get back to the settlement with the information that he managed to procure. It would give them the much needed advantage in the war.
He climbed the rock face with no apparent fear and without any professional equipment to aid him, who is this man? This man is Jacob Reigns and he is a rather powerful sorcerer. Beneath his feet the rock seemingly morphed to provide him with sufficient footholds, however exerting such magic was always tiring for Jacob especially Earth magic, it was never his strongest form of sorcery.
After what felt like days of climbing Jacob managed to make it to the precipice. He let out a fatigued groan, falling into a kneeling position.
With a heavy grunt he hoisted himself to his feet, before him was a simple stone archway that stood solitary upon the mountaintop, Jacob approached and held out his hand focusing on the arch.
Soon the archway began to glow and Jacob stepped through.
The sight on the other side horrified Jacob, where there was once a beautiful and vibrant village of mages, was now a mass of destruction. The wretched smell of burned flesh and spilled blood made him want to gag.
All the buildings were burned to the ground and any that remained standing were half demolished. Corpses littered the streets, but Jacob couldn’t stop to check on them, he needed to find his wife and children.
Running through the village he slipped and skidded on congealed blood, and tripped over the occasional body, but at the moment nothing else mattered to him than getting to his family and making sure they had survived this horror.
When he arrived at where his cottage was, he felt as if someone had punched the air out of his lungs. Half of the cottage was destroyed and in ruin, what remained looked weak and ready to collapse. But what horrified him the most was the corpse of his daughter Olivia hanging from the oak tree that stood within their garden, he let out a shaky sob as he slowly lowered her from the vine noose that had choked the life from her. Her azure eyes were staring blankly and the look of pain was still etched into her porcelain features.
“Rest my daughter,” he said with suppressed agony as he gently closed her eyes, “We shall be reunited some day.”
With as much delicacy he could muster he laid her down on the soft grass, whilst he prepared to enter the house, knowing what potential devastation would await him.
He pushed the door open slowly, instantly he could see that some form of battle had occurred within these walls. Furniture was destroyed, there were holes in the walls and in the floor as well, but what stood out the most was the sheer amount of blood spatter on every possible surface.
“JULIE!” he called out in panic and fear.
Carefully he entered the living room and immediately he threw up; his wife’s body lay on the floor torn in two, her top half laying on the floor with her entrails almost pulled from her upper body entirely, her bottom half lay next to the couch completely mangled.
“J-Jacob,” came a weakened voice. He couldn’t believe it, she was alive, but barely as he grew closer he noticed her normally platinum blonde hair was now pink and crimson with her own blood.
“Julie, hold on my love,” he begged, “We can save you. I can find help.”
She weakly grabbed his hand, “It’s taking all of my magic to keep me alive to tell you this. It was the Demons Of The Chimera, they attacked the sanctum.”
“H-How is it possible for them to get past the barriers?” he gasped at the revelation.
“I don’t know, but they killed everyone,” gasped Julie in pain, “But Olivia was killed instantly. I tried to fight them off. I wasn’t strong enough. But Jason is alive.”
“Where-?”
“He’s hidden in the chamber under the house,” she sounded weaker and weaker with each passing second, “Promise me you will keep him safe. He may not be your son. But I want you to raise him as your own.”
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“I promise Jules,” he sobbed as the life faded from her eyes.
Her hand relaxed and fell with a thud and her eyes remained fixed on his, lifeless and cold. He gently closed her eyes before getting to his feet, “I promise Jules. I will raise him like he was my own, I will keep him safe. I swear.”
Turning his back to her he exited the living room and entered the kitchen, approaching a door he opened it to reveal an entrance to a cellar. He descended into the darkness. Holding out his hand a purple flame erupted to provide him some light to see. The cellar was cluttered with junk, he had promised Julie he would clean it out, but that never happened.
Approaching the wall next to an old boiler he held out his free hand, “Reveal to me your secrets,” he spoke firmly and commandingly. In response the bricks began to move, forming an archway into a hidden room. Which was lit by a roaring fire in the large ornate fireplace.
In front of the fireplace lay a crib, slowly Jacob approached and gazed down at the sleeping baby within. With gentle and loving hands he slowly lifted the child into his arms, careful not to jostle him, not wanting the baby boy to wake in this house of horrors.
“Hello Cardinal,” spoke a gruff voice from behind him.
Jacob let out a soft curse under his breath before turning to face the intruder. A man in black robes, dawning a leather plague doctors bird mask with his hood up.
“Hello to you too Lord Chimera,” he growled in suppressed rage.
“Hand over the boy and you may live to see another day Cardinal,” said Lord Chimera with a dangerous tone to his voice, “Disobey and you will die with the child.”
“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to die,” he snarled back in response.
“Have it your way then,” he bellowed and he threw a jet of purple flames from his outstretched hands. Jacob stomped his foot and a wall of stone erupted in front of him and Jason protecting them from the blast.
With what remaining energy he had left he began muttering an enchantment. The wall began to crack with the sheer force of the flaming onslaught of Lord Chimera.
As the wall fell a portal opened beneath Jacob and Jason. Lord Chimera let out a roar, “NO!” as the duo fell through and the portal snapped shut behind them.
Jacob held baby Jason close to his chest as they fell onto the forest floor. He let out a groan of pain from the impact, and the baby began to cry obviously awakened by the fall.
“Sorry little one,” said Jacob as he slowly managed to get to his feet whilst cradling the child, “We need to get somewhere safe.”
He was so exhausted he felt like he was going to pass out, but he pulled his hood up over he messy mane of auburn hair and made his way through the forest.
After what felt like hours he managed to arrive at a small hut in the middle of a clearing. He approached and knocked the door loudly whilst calling, “Gandor buddy I need your help!”
The door opened revealing a tall man with platinum blonde shoulder length hair and a very well trimmed beard, but what stood out the most was the pointed ears. He was an elf. The elf smiled upon seeing his old friend, “Ah Jacob I haven’t laid eyes on you in six years. It’s good to see you old friend.”
“I wish that the circumstances were better,” said Jacob heavily as he entered the Elvish home, “But Lord Chimera has taken the sanctum and slaughtered everyone there. Including-”
He couldn’t finish his sentence as he choked on a sob. The elf laid a hand on his shoulder in comfort, “Whatever you need I will aid you. You saved my life and now I return the favour.”
“I just need to disappear,” says Jacob softly, “I need to save the boy.”
The elf looked at the baby in his arms with a furrowed brow, “He’s an odd little fellow isn’t he?” asked Gandor with a look of puzzlement, “To be so young and to have access to ancient magic.”
“What?” asked Jacob.
“Can you not sense it?” asked Gandor, “The child is steeped in ancient magic. One day he will be a powerful sorcerer. I can tell.”
“That’s why Lord Chimera wanted him,” he gasped in realisation, “If he can use the boy for his abilities then he would be unstoppable.”
“Or if he were to kill the child then he would have no potential rivals,” said Gandor in contemplation, “His magic however would be easy to trace.”
“Then how the hell are we supposed to be safe!?” yelled Jacob in frustration.
“That I can help with,” said Gandor with a smile. With surprisingly gentle hands he took the baby from Jacob and set him on the table. Jason smiled at the elf and looked on with curious eyes.
Gandor smiled back at the baby and laid a hand on the baby’s chest. He began muttering in a strange tongue, Jason giggled as he began to glow a bright blue, soon the light faded and Jason yawned before dozing off on the table.
Jacob noticed a marking on Jason’s arm, it was the witchcraft symbol for protection, it almost resembled a Celtic design.
“I have placed a protection spell on the boy,” says Gandor softly, “It will mask his powerful magic. Well until he is old enough to receive training.”
“No,” says Jacob firmly, “He won’t have anything to do with this life. I want to raise him in the mortal world where he can live a happy and safe life without the risks of magic.”
“You know that once he is of age that the Masters Of Chaos will come to take him,” says Gandor, “You wouldn’t be able to stand a chance against all five of them.”
“I’d kill them all before I would allow them to take my boy,” he stated firmly.
“Well then my friend I wish you luck,” says Gandor with a smile.