[AVO]

"...Youngest prisoner, you won't miss him."

A stern voice woke Avo up. He opened his eyes to see a reddish stone floor and metal bars reaching up to the ceiling in front of him. While trying to get up he found his hands shackled. It was dark, the only light came from a candle burning in the hallway that separated his cell from another one. He wondered how much time had passed since he was brought in here.

After getting to his feet, he felt a sharp pain strike across his body. Clutching his face he looked straight down, eyes wide open.

The stone wasn't red, he just stained the area where he had been sleeping with blood. He could see the outline of the small pool he must have created when he was dragged in the cell. Reaching up to his face he could feel rough, bruised skin.

Suddenly the memories of him being beaten in the alley all came back to him. He gasped, falling to his knees. The way he was kicked over and over again in the face... it was almost unbearable to think about. He grabbed onto his face even tighter.

"Hey there, are you alright?"

The gruff and concerned voice snapped Avo out of his trance. Looking forward, he made out a bulky figure standing in the hallway. The man was huge. His large muscles looked even more impressive as they were being illuminated by the candlelight, casting shadows on every chiseled crevice in his arms. Avo looked to the man's face. He had shaggy black hair and a black beard that extended a bit below his chin. His expression showed that he was quite worried, despite his overall intimidating appearance.

Realizing that he should speak up, Avo spoke neutrally,

"Not really. I was beaten in an alley and got arrested. Are you with Wilbaum's guard? I've never seen you around here before."

The large man scratched the back of his head with one of his large hands, seemingly embarrassed,

"Huh, I guess that was a bad question..."

He shook his head, as if leaving that train of thought behind,

"Listen kid, I'm not part of the guard, but I am here because they told me an interesting story."

Avo raised an eyebrow, but he doubted the man could see his expression too well in the dark cell. The man continued, his gruff voice echoing through the prison,

"All I need you to do is tell me is if anything I say sounds familiar, OK?"

He rustled through his pockets, pulling out a small book.

"Hmm let's see here... ah, found it. Ok kid, while you were in that alley, did you see any bright flashing lights? Were you glowing? Did you see any unnatural colors? How about a smoky smell? Anything that reminded you of lightning?"

Avo recalled the events that happened in the alley one more time. A memory flashed in his mind. A bright flash. Han's singed body falling to the ground. Had that all really happened? It was all so vivid in his head once he focused on it.

The boy slowly approached the bars to get closer to the large figure standing on the other side. When they stood that close Avo could see how tall the man really was. About two or three heads taller. The man's eyes slightly widened as Avo stepped into the light. The boy's face was full of wounds that had only just sealed.

Finally Avo spoke in a cautious tone,

"What do you know?"

The man sighed as the tension broke, and then gave Avo a smile.

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"Look kid, first of all you can call me by my name. It's Rawlins. Sir Rawlins. It's clear to me that you don't know what you are."

Rawlins stared into Avo's eyes for a moment. The boy's eyes were filled with fear and curiosity. But also something else. Hunger.

"Kid. Have you ever heard of mages?"

Avo looked deep into Rawlins eyes,

"I know the stories. I've heard soldiers talk about them from time to time. They say a mage is as strong as a thousand bannermen."

Rawlins laughed deeply,

"Some are! The very strongest can stir up a real storm on the battlefield, that's for damn sure. But it takes practice. Proper training, you know?"

The boy began to think. Then he looked up at Rawlins, angry,

"This is some kind of trick isn't it. What kind of scam are you trying to pull on me?"

Rawlins laughed again,

"You're a funny one. What's your name, kid?"

The boy became calm again,

"Avo."

"Avo...?"

"Just Avo."

Rawlins nodded, looking very proper all of a sudden,

"Well, young Avo! Let me be the first to tell you. You are a mage."

Avo still wasn't sure if this was a trick or not. One thing he did know was what he experienced in that alley was very real. He wanted answers, and for now it seemed like 'Sir Rawlins' could give them to him. He just needed to play along. If he was truly a mage... that would change everything. All his life he was a speck of dirt. He was tired of it.

A thought dawned on Avo,

"Rawlins... I killed Han, didn't I? I killed someone."

Rawlins blinked, surprised by his words,

"If you mean that boy in the alley, yes. You killed him."

Silence took over the prison for several moments before Rawlins broke it again.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened... but it seems like you experienced a dangerous awakening."

"Awakening?"

"Yes, all mages experience 'awakenings'. It is when a mage's mana suddenly spills to the outside of their body, creating an aura around them. Sometimes that aura can become unstable, this was most likely your case, as I assume your body was reacting to some kind of violent threat. Am I right?"

Avo thought back. He definitely was acting in self defense, but he had wanted to kill Han. He had felt bloodlust in that moment. He wondered if he should tell Rawlins that.

No he still didn't really trust him. Better to go along with what Rawlins was saying,

"Han and some other boys attacked me. My body, or aura, lashed out, just like you said."

Rawlins seemed very understanding,

"I've seen this all the time. Your body was just trying to protect itself. It forced mana out of you and concentrated it into a spell in self-preservation. This is something that can only happen in an awakening. Don't feel bad about what happened, it was completely out of your control, Avo."

Avo looked down at his hands.

Completely out of my control....

Rawlins reached a hand through the bars and patted Avo on the shoulder. It made Avo jump a bit, making Rawlins shake his head in sadness for a second. After struggling to get his thick arm back between the bars, Rawlins pulled out some keys and began unlocking Avo's cell.

The boy was shocked,

"Wait, so I'm free? Even though I killed someone?"

Rawlins nodded,

"You need training, kid. We can't just let young mages run the streets, you know? More people would die. It's in every Kingdom's interest to keep mages and regular folk separate, unless its on the battlefield."

He couldn't believe it. He was a mage. Even the fact that he killed a person could be waved away due to his potential power.

The huge man swung the cell door open, moving to unlock Avo's shackles with another key,

"As for the life you took... well that's already being taken into account by me being here."

Avo was curious,

"You'll be training me, Rawlins?"

The man chuckled,

"Well I might have a hand in some of your teachings, but there's a whole school for young mages like you."

"Like me?"

Rawlins scratched the back of his head again as Avo's shackles dropped to the ground,

"I'm going to be honest with you, Avo. Because you awakened this late in your life you're going to have to go to a more 'discipline-oriented' school. Y'know, to catch you up with all the other mages at your age."

Avo opened his mouth to speak, but Rawlins could sense the boy's worry and interrupted him,

"It's nothing dangerous, trust me, I work there and it's just fine! We just can't bring mages who freshly awakened so late in their life like you with mages who haven't. Since you awakened at this age you'll be seen as a bit... dumb in the magic world... sorry kid."

Avo supposed it made sense. In the way that every group had their own stupid rules. It didn't matter, though. This was starting to sound more and more real. Avo wanted more, but he was feeling much better than when he had woken up in this cell.

"What's the plan then? Are we headed straight to your school, Rawlins?"

Rawlins guided Avo out the cell,

"First of all, it's not my school, I just teach there. Second, we need to stop by a doctor to get you patched up first."

Avo touched his face again, wincing as he felt the bump wounds and bruises. A doctor was definitely in order.

"Say, Rawlins, what's the name of the school?"

Candlelight revealed a glint in Rawlins' eyes as the two exited the prison.

"It's Michael Medici's School for Magical Mavericks."