Fate has a funny way of manifesting itself. One may call it a product of coincidence; simply the result of adding location and opportunity and indeed location and opportunity meet on a day-to-day basis, occurring consequently, second after second. Fate, however, is much greater than all of that. In fact, the main ingredient to fate is both known and unknown. Known in the sense that it is granted by a higher power and unknown in the sense that it cannot be created or emulated with current knowledge. It is also unknown whether this ingredient is something desirable or not, but for the young maiden, Nitri, it was not her choice to possess it.
It was not her choice to run through the forest or, more precisely, run from it. It was all the cruel conclusion of location, opportunity and that unknown main ingredient.
“Someone grab ‘er!” yelled a ten foot(3m) ogre.
“Don’t you give out orders, Stumpy,” its companion replied. Stumpy was, in ogre size, quite tiny as an ogre of its age had usually grown to around fifteen feet(4.58m).
“You shoulda nabbed her when you had the chance but you just love playing with your food,” Stumpy growled.
“Knock er off, both of ya!” the third and final ogre said. It was much larger and incomprehensibly uglier which, in ogre terms, made for a fine specimen.
Nitri held the hem of her red dress up as she sprinted through the forest brush. It was partly torn by the wild shrubs but that minor detail was not of the utmost importance. Not when three sets of acrid yellow jaws were chasing at your heels.
Should have stayed home today, but no, I just had to go out! I just had to take a pleasant detour through the Forest of Trivial Encounters(just wait til I get my hands on the nimrod who picked that name!) I just had to meander by that river and I just had to nonchalantly skip the one rock across the water that just HAD TO HIT THE FRICKIN HIDDEN OGRE! Nitri rambled, her internal monologue becoming louder and louder. It was true though. Nitri was a dedicated homebody. Being the daughter of a minor noble, she could afford to not bother with the world beyond her estate’s border. She had everything she needed inside. Everything except for excitement and boy, how she ached for Mrs. Plumbodice’s lecture on “Duties and Manners for the Modern Lady”.
“Kyaaah!” she yelled.
“Here we go, one little human,” the largest of the ogres proclaimed.
“Jest ‘cause you caught her don’t mean you git the largest piece. I was the one who got hit by the rock,” Stumpy complained.
“Well, I was the one who spot ‘er,” the other ogre said.
Nitri kicked and screamed as strongly as she could but, within the iron grips of the orcish green beasts, it was all so very futile. Her red bow bounced on her hair with her flailing. It bounced and bounced loosening with each shake until, with one final violent head movement, it fell off her head.
“Oh, how pretty,” said a quiet voice from below.
“Stumpy, I knew you were a moron, but a priss as well?” the largest ogre said without looking down.
“That wasn’t me, Lumpy!” Stumpy replied.
“Grumpy?” asked Lumpy.
“Nope,” the middle ogre replied.
“That would leave me,” said the quiet voice again.
Nitri and the three ogres looked below. In the middle of them, sitting on a root of one of the great trees was a boy, face overshadowed by his large triangular hat. “Well, hello there,” he added as all four focused on him.
“Another human,” said Lumpy.
“A very stupid one of that,” said Grumpy.
“He looks tasty!” said Stumpy.
“Help me!” screamed Nitri.
“This is yours, right?” the boy said, completely ignoring her plea. He raised the red bow he had caught earlier into the air. “It’s very pretty.”
“Who cares about the stupid bow! Just help me!” she yelled once more.
“Don’t you get any ideas now, Lumpy…” Stumpy growled. The stunted ogre’s face turned meaner, if you can believe that, as he bared his fangs at his massive companion.
“Too late,” Grumpy sighed. “He’s got that stupid grin on his face again.” How they could differentiate how one grin was stupider than the last is an ogre trademarked secret.
“Shut er up you two. You know I like meat pre-heated,” he snapped back. “Now listen here, human. Do you want to help this little girl?”
“I suppose,” the boy replied.
“You suppose? YOU SUPPOSE?” Nitri yelled.
“Eh, maybe not then?” the boy asked inquisitively.
“Help me, idiot!”
“Maybe if you say please,” the boy said a little more loudly.
“Puh-lease!” she cried. “I’m not begging some no name magician to help me. I’d rather be eaten.”
“Suit yourself,” the boy said. He started walking away, just as calmly and quietly as he had walked in. There was no hint of remorse in his stride.
“Wait… wait, you’re not just seriously going to leave me here! Really?!” Nitri screamed.
The boy didn’t turn around. His disinterest would not allow him. There were more important places to be. More grateful people who could be saved.
Nitri’s desperation grew worse when Lumpy’s deformed index finger wrapped around her thigh. Cold, morbid fear crept up her body and seized her throat. The ogres seemed to have forgotten about the boy’s presence with her fresh new screams. Distracting an ogre wasn’t particularly difficult. All five and a half hungry eyes were on her.
“I’ll pay you your weight in gold if you help me!”
The young magician immediately halted. No, it’s more precise to say his legs had grasped the meaning of Nitri’s words even before she had said them. Without changing his earlier tone the boy said, “You give me your weight in gold and it’s a deal.”
“F-fine!” she yelled, her fear not allowing her to realize the disguised insult.
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“It’s settled then,” he replied. “Your weight in gold… it should make this more than worth it.”
“Wait! What do you mean MY weight in gold?”
“Simple mathematics,” the magician replied. “More weight equals more gold.”
Her face reddened in both embarrassment and fury. Nitri swore to wipe the smirk off the boy’s face the moment she was free.
“Ey Lumpy, look who’s back,” said Stumpy as the magician approached. To other magical creatures his return would have not been a surprise. Any simple-minded person would have understood that the magician and damsel in distress had just reached an accord, but ogres could never really be accused of having even vague situational awareness.
“Came back to play?” Lumpy asked the magician boy excitedly, shaking Nitri up and down in the process.
“Well, who doesn’t love good ogre fun every once in a while?” he replied.
Lumpy grinned, the one stupid grin the magician boy decided, and explained the “game”. “The rules are simple! I’ll toss this little human here into the forest as far as I can and you have to try and catch her. Easy, right!?” As mentioned before, ogres are not the brightest of magical creatures. They are, in fact, somewhat crude(if you hadn’t figured that out by yourself yet).
Nitri’s horror-stricken face was accompanied by an equally horror-stricken complaint. “What a stupid game! What do you ogres think I am?! There’s no way he’s going to catch me and even if he does manage to, we’ll both be splattered! Do none of you have even the most basic understanding of physics?! Think of something else or let me down this instant!”
Lumpy’s already contorted face became an angry sort of contorted. The crooked, chipped and blunt yellow teeth in his mouth were in full display. His pungent breath assaulted Nitri’s face. “I’m going to enjoy licking your brains off the grass,” he barked.
“Well, I think it’s a splendid game,” the magician boy replied.
“Don’t encourage them, you fool!” Nitri screamed. Her scream was prolonged by Lumpy’s sudden movement. He cocked his humongous ogre hand back and flung the human in his grip as far as ogerly possible. There is no precise measurement for “as far as ogerly possible” but believe me when I say that it is a rather long distance.
“Go chase her now,” Lumpy commanded.
The magician saluted the three ogres and began walking in the direction Nitri had been flung. He didn’t bother running. For one, it was too tiresome, but it was also quite obvious that he would never reach her in time using his legs.
He placed an open palm to the side of his mouth and called, “O.”
Nothing occurred at first but a warm, gentle breeze came up from behind him, circling around his body before becoming a strong gale. He had to close his eyes to stop them from drying out and then suddenly and without warning the wind died down. The magician opened his eyes and before him, held up by the invisible winds, was a woman no bigger than six inches(15cm) in battle armor. She wore her usual stern face which had a seriousness only matched by the sharpness of the spear strapped to her back. Her olive skin was accentuated by her flowing white hair which obscured one of her red eyes. A simple golden wreath with two silver wings sat on her head.
“I need a favor,” the boy stated.
The small woman called O only nodded.
Way above, up in the sky, Nitri’s face was buffeted by the wind as she flew at unknown speeds through the air. This was definitely the end for her. There was really no other way out of the situation. Think positively. At least I won’t have to pay that magician that ridiculous sum of money… and I’ll die instantly… probably. Not having to pay was a consoling thought but, given the reason why, she couldn’t help but be depressed.
“SCREW YOU, FATE!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.
“You sure love to scream, don’t you?” The calmest, most annoying voice she had ever heard whispered in her ear.
I must be going crazy, now of all times. Death was so cruel. Out of all the things that could have flashed before her eyes, it had to be the sight and voice of that bratty no-name magician.
“I am actually here, you know,” the hallucination repeated. “And I’m not a hallucination,” he added, slightly annoyed.
“Wait—but how!? And why?!”
“Well, the technical explanation can be a little long but I can simplify it for you. Location displacement, commonly and erroneously referred to as teleportation, can be achieved through a variety of means. Light, fire and wind mana can all be employed to this end. I prefer to use wind, personally, but one’s’ attunement will usually dictate what kind of mana the magus uses. Although, I would be remiss to mention that dark mana can provide true teleportation but it’s often limited in its application. All that being said, to depict it crudely, the mana is funneled into—”
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING EXPLAINING ALL THIS NEEDLESS CRAP TO ME RIGHT NOW?! CAN’T YOU SEE WE’RE SPIRALING TO OUR DEATHS?!” Nitri screamed in frustration.
“Correction,” the boy said. “You’re spiraling to your death. I’m quite confident when I say I’m just spiraling.”
“YOU’RE GOING TO BE SPIRALING AND PENNILESS IF YOU DON’T SAVE ME RIGHT NOW!”
“There’s that too… now, how did that spell go again…”
“YOU FORGOT?! ALREADY?!”
“Could you be a bit more silent? I’m trying to remember.”
If Nitri could’ve stomped the air, she would’ve, but she settled with making the most disgruntled face she could muster. The magician was muttering strange words under his breath, stopping and shaking his head seconds after. He was about to reach into his cloak when he suddenly exclaimed. “Ah, that’s right!”
“What’s ri—ahh!” Nitri exclaimed as the young boy embraced her. He did not ask nor did he explain. He simply reached out, placed both hands on the small of her back and pulled her to his chest. He was surprisingly strong. “What are you doing!? Unhand me!” she yelled.
“Do you want to live or die?” The magician’s eyes met hers. There was an utter disregard for her life in there.
“I… I… just warn me next time. You can’t just embrace a woman and expect her to not react.”
“The embrace is necessary to simplify my calculations. Normally, I’d be able to do them for both of us, but at this speed it’d be best if I added our masses together.”
“Of course…” she said.
The magician whispered words in a language she had never heard before, each word seemingly a different story. There were winds, storms, hurricanes—she could picture those powerful forces of nature clearly while not exactly understanding the sounds. The magician’s eyes, a dull brown, glowed an ethereal blue. Wisps of wind mana from the very air around them engulfed them as they rushed to meet the ground beneath them. The wind mana consumed them, leaving only a raging vortex behind.
The natural wind in the air whipped the mana away, revealing empty space where they once were.
“Did it work?” Nitri had closed her eyes as soon as she felt the wind mana, like velvety ribbons, squeeze them together. She could still not feel the solid ground beneath her feet, but the feeling of falling had disappeared. Regardless, mortifying thoughts ran through her head. Forgetting her earlier embarrassment, she clenched the magician even tighter.
“It’s ok now,” he whispered softly.
She opened her eyes slowly. Everything was a green blur at first but she could tell it was the forest backdrop. As her eyesight recovered, she could distinguish individual shapes. Her head turned until her eyes met the magician’s once more. They were still glowing with a blue hue, but the intensity from earlier had diminished. She wanted to know why she was still having trouble feeling the ground. “We’re safe…?” she whispered.
He nodded and, tentatively, she looked down. Their feet were inches from the mossy earth. They were floating within the sea of tree trunks and the only light that caught them came from the sun above that filtered through the leaves.
“Location displacement can be a bit dizzying for first timers. Some people never quite fully get used to it.”
“Ah…” she exclaimed. Slowly, they began to descend onto the ground. Her toes touched first and then the rest followed.
“Mmm… there you go,” the boy said, with a kind smile he had not revealed before. “Oh,” he exclaimed. “There’s something missing.”
There is? Nitri thought.
He reached into his cloak and pulled a neat red bow. Gently, he placed it on her head and clipped it where she had placed it this morning without any particular meaning.
“Thank you,” she said. A tinge of rose played on her cheeks as she became conscious of his proximity. “Er…”
“Em,” said the magician. By then the blue hue had already receded into his eyes.
“Thank you, Em,” she repeated.
They gently touched the ground, he a little sooner than her as his height became apparent now that they were both on solid ground.
“Shall we then?” he asked, letting her go and taking a small step back.
“Lead the way,” replied Nitri.
Maybe fate isn’t so bad.