“He lacks focus,” my master began. My parents would crease their brows and nod, as if acknowledging what he was saying. “He tends to wield his swords while inside the classroom! It is profusely dangerous, and I’ll have it no more!” And as quick as that, I was kicked out of another class. At ten years old, I loved showing off. Maybe a bit too much.

“Caden,” my mother sighed as we made our way home. “I know you love your affinity for swords but you can’t be playing with them with other kids around.” I continued to stay quiet. My mother glanced at me in the rear view mirror. “Honestly sweetie, it’s dangerous. More for them than for you.”

“But Papa taught me everything I know,” I countered. She sent me a concerning look.

“But did your father tell you to bring your sword to school and toss it around your friends? No, and you’ve only practiced on bags of sand lately, so you’re not to meant use them around human flesh yet, you’re not advanced enough.”

I let out a long breath. How I longed to feel the heaviness of the metal in my hand. To slide my fingers along the smooth, deadly blade and remember how strong I am with it in my hand. I was good at keeping my temper, and I had never lashed at someone with a weapon in my hand. So I didn’t understand why my mother didn’t trust me. “I’m safe with it mother.”

“I know sweetie, I know you are.” She gripped tighter onto the steering wheel and I watched it begin to turn red. “I hate that they look down on weapon wielders, but I promise you, we will find a suitable education for your affinity my boy.”

My mother was an element wielder.

She was one of the few who understood what it was like to live like this in Sunmus.

Sunmus wasn’t as great as it sounded. We were split – a divided nation, even after all the wars. I know, typical. A magical city full of magical sorcery at war - how original. But it was divided thanks to an almighty bastard under the name of Sir Krokup, named after the plant, but ending up sounding more like a frog. However, he was powerful. He had an affinity for all the elements; fire, water, air and land. It was frightening how powerful he was. My great grandparents would tell me about his power, about how his right hand burnt like magma, and his left froze like ice. He could blow down villages and make the land cover the damage. He was unstoppable. But hey, he wasn’t the strongest. In fact, he was measly against Oracius, the almighty king. Oracius wasn’t a normal wielder - he wielded weapons, like I did. He wielded two of the four elements, he had mind wielding powers, and he had healing powers… He was unstoppable. Then Oracius went missing. A man, 8 feet tall, stocked with muscle and magic power… went missing? How do you lose something like that?? He had so much power, that once you entered his kingdom (Not to mention how HUGE his kingdom was), you could sense his power from the gates? People found it hard to believe. It was near impossible – but it was assumed he wasn’t going to return.

Less than two weeks later, Sir Krokup somehow came to power. He hated Oracius, and it was extremely clear. But somehow he came to power. No one knew how. No one to this day knows how. He took over. Soon, he was waging battles that Oracius had peacefully stopped in his reign. He paid for the element wielders; loans for their homes, education, classes in stronger element wielding. He dealt with mind wielders, and he used the powers of the healers… The weapon wielders? We were left to rot. Told to find our own way around the towns, forced to give up our weapons and refrain from using sorcery.

Yes, civil war took toll soon after. Krokup was allegedly killed, no king was ever elected since, and the element wielders were soon after forced to give up their luxuries. The weapon wielders learnt their ways again, and 120 years later, everything was back to normal.

Except it wasn’t.

What happened? The element wielders decided they liked being on top, so divide emerged. Suddenly we were treated as second class citizens. There are many types of wielders; healing, elements, weapons, mind, and way beyond these. Nature and art wielding. Music and gastronomy wielding. Those who chose not to use their powers, and those who specialised in it. But everything around us was used with sorcery.

Anyways, back to my ‘oh-so-boring’ story, of me as a ten year old brat.

When I got home, my dad finally spoke up. “Look, Caden, I know it’s tough for you.”

I looked up at my dad. He was really tall, and I wasn’t exactly catching up. I wanted to be like him so badly. He was so skilled, so strong. So much better than I was. He was the strongest weapon wielder in Sunmus. I hated when the element wielding kids picked on me about him. He made weapons. He used weapons. My father was a born battles man.

“What made you bring the sword in?” my mother asked, as we entered the kitchen. I looked down in shame suddenly, not wanting to admit my reason.

My father went down on one knee and gently grabbed my face, making sure I was looking at him. “What happened?” he softly asked.

I felt myself tear up and I shook myself from his hand, banishing the tears angrily. “They called me a ‘Wimpy weapons wielder’… I couldn’t let them think I was weak. I’m stronger than they are!” I yelled.

“Shhhh,” he cooed and wrapped his arms around me. My mother knelt down beside him and hugged me from the other side. “It’s okay Caden. You are strong, and you are brave. But you needn’t show people; they can underestimate you, and degrade you, but flaunting your sorcery or threatening them with it will not benefit you. It will only please them.”

My mother stroked my dark hair softly. “My Caden, don’t let it get to you son,” she whispered. My father gripped us tighter and I knew in that moment that I was strong, and I was brave.

I was strong… I was brave.

Wanna know why I started the story with that memory of mine?

Because when I was ten, I was happy. Despite the bullying, despite the hatred and anger I felt from those kids, I was happy with my life; my parents, my home, my affinity. I was happy. In fact, I was more than happy. I didn’t know what the future held… I could live life and be happy about it. Not caring about tomorrow or yesterday. And that’s why, to this day, I’m searching. I’m looking for a lost magic. I’m searching for a way to change everything.

A way to bring back what I lost.

What I need.

----------------------------------------

 “Hey! Wait up!” I paused and grumbled quietly to myself. Could she be any slower? One would think that a woman who gets around as much as she does would get around quickly at least. “You’re moving awfully fast, lovely,” she purred.

I glanced sideways at her. Why, oh why, did they love to talk? All I wanted was to get her help for yet another stupid mission, and then rid of her. The alone time I got with these women were just an added bonus. Nothing I took emotions to, nor intended on doing again with the same woman. They were pawns to me; simply using them for magic power. The worst part was is the fact that they knew it. They knew they were pawns, it was their sole purpose in their bland lives. I still didn’t see why they tried to change their fate.

“You’re being quiet, again,” she complained. I turned and looked at her. What had she said her name was? Oh. I remembered with an internal groan of disapproval.

Kitty. How original.

“Hush,” I said, and threw a smile at her to keep her quiet. She giggled and blushed, as if this was the first time I’d noticed her. As if a woman like her could forget what had happened the night before.

“Where are we off to?” she asked, smiling at me. I snorted.

“We’re here,” I answered. She looked forward with concern, trying to make out what was ahead of us. I decided to take one last gander at her. She wore a corset, with a ripped skirt (For effect; I’m not an animal), and her hair was up in a bun. She tried to show off her body; her hands were constantly near her chest and her eyes almost wanted you to look down. I wasn’t foolish. I didn’t ever give these women what they wanted; Far too easy for them to capture your soul. Enslaved witches, as we called them, whose only purpose was to tend to our needs; men or women. Of course I knew some of them were easily underestimated; they still had their godly powers stuck deep below their beautiful figures. They had the power to enslave your soul, if you were in some way stupid enough.

Kitty glanced at me and smiled. She had whiskers tattooed onto her cheeks; you could tell she was a nature wielder before this cursed life of hers. In some ways I felt sorry for these women.

In others, I really didn’t care.

“Now, Kitty,” I said, and pointed to cave ahead of us. “Sit in there.”

Kitty threw a disgusted look towards the cave, but her little shoulders dropped in obedience. “Okay sir…” She wormed her way into the dirty little cave and sat down, without questioning me. They didn’t question; if they did, they could lose a contract.

“Now, I want you to act all pretty and keep your cute little kitty butt down there while I sit over here-” I paused as I sat outside the cave, by a bush “-And wait for him to come.”

“Okay sir… Who’s ‘him’?” she asked.

Oh why, why, did I always get the inquisitive ones?

“‘He’ is a powerful wizard with a fetish for cats,” I answered, smiling. Kitty’s hands hit her chest in shock and she gasped.

“What?! But, that means he will come after me!” I chuckled.

“Sweetheart that’s the whole point.” She continued to look worried as we sat back and waited for him to arrive. I leant back and closed my eyes, not seeming very alert. I pulled my hat down to cover my eyes from the harsh sun and listened to the sounds of nature around me.

“Don’t you think he’d be a bit suspicious that the perfect woman to suit his fetish would be sitting right outside his home?” Kitty blurted as I began to drift. I sighed again. Stupid inquisitive cats.

“No, because this isn’t his home,” I answered, not opening my eyes. She began to raise her voice.

“So I’m sitting in a dirty cave for nothing?” A cheeky grin spread across my face.

“You better stay quiet young one. There’s Ogres in that cave.”

She screeched, and I sped across and covered her mouth in a flash. It took me years to master speed, it was part of my weapon wielding, being able to dash across long distances in the blink of an eye. And what was I using my powers for?

Keeping a cat slave/prostitute quiet.

“Silence, I hear him,” I whispered, and sped back to my spot. I watched on intently, hearing his steps, hoping it would be him.

“Why would any sorcerer come here,” Kitty whispered fiercely towards me.

I made a quiet sound and mouthed to her, missions. She pursed her lips, and I winked at her, knowing she was mad. She looked away and back towards where I had heard the footsteps. It wasn’t too late; Maybe an hour until sundown. It was never too late for fighting ogres anyways; stupid kinsmen were always going on missions for any royal body.

I closed my eyes and tried to listen. I could hear his heartbeat. His footsteps. The clank of his armour. It was an army man alright. I was hoping it was the one I was looking for. Suddenly he rounded the corner, and Kitty sat up a bit straighter, making sure not to look over in my direction. She lay back, as if she was injured, and closed her eyes.

“Maiden! What ails you?!” the man called and began to make his way towards her. His weapon was a staff, a purple staff. This was without a doubt the man I was looking for, and wanna know how I knew…?

On his Shield, which lay on his back, was a crude drawing of a cat.

“Oh, I swooned, there are… Ogres!” Kitty stammered, trying to lie to the man quickly. “I was attacked!” I put my face in my palm. She had no injuries… None that were visible… Oh, we were royally fucked if I didn’t act soon.

“What? Dare a fowl beast harm you, kind, delicate, beautiful… purrfect… woman,” the man drooled. I pulled a face. He spoke like an old man… Was he a per-

Oh shit. Now I have to save the stupid cat.

I jumped out from behind the bush and I commanded my sword. “Halt!” I yelled, holding my sword towards him threateningly from behind. “Are you Kyron of Sunmus?” I asked him. The man tensed from behind.

“You tricked me, you pretty kitty,” he hissed. Kitty lifted her nose in disgust.

“Tell me your name!” I ordered, stabbing towards him with my knife daringly. The man turned to me with his hands raised. Ugh. He was an old man… With a cat fetish… ew.

“I am Kyron, indeed,” he answered. “And I know who you are.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And who may that be?”

“A man who underestimates his opponents!”

The man grabbed his staff and pointed it towards me while chanting ancient words that made no sense to me. Oh, how I hated the older folk of this world… He sent a blast plummeting towards me, a purple blast. I watched it race towards me and could hear the noises from the forest around us. Kitty was running towards me, as if trying to save me. It seemed like I could have died… But in reality…

I was pissed off now.

I held my sword towards it and my sword sucked in the blast. “Oh, you older folk,” I sighed. “The reason we young ones don’t use your magic anymore is because we have stronger magic, don’t you see? I deflected you attack with one of my weakest swords. I wouldn’t use that sword in fighting a baby rabbit,” I said as I began to chuckle. Kyron began to conjure another attack in frustration, but I bounced forward and hit him across the face. “I need you alive, you old fool.”

“You will never take me al-”

Here’s where it got awkward. See, amongst all this, Kitty was screaming. The geyser was yelling, as was I. Magic isn’t exactly quiet either. So naturally, if you were nearby you’d be awoken. And we… well, we were right by a cave. I should really stop giving people advice and not taking it myself… because suddenly Kyron was being gobbled by an Ogre five times our size. I stopped and sighed. I had needed him alive.

“Goddamnit,” I sighed. The ugly beast looked down at me and Kitty. I smiled back. “Thank you for letting us stay so long, I hope you did enjoy that lunch we left you, but we are ever so sorry, we need to leave!” I called up to him. The ogre stared at us with one big ugly eye, and I smiled again. Kitty was backing up, but her and her oh so feline ways managed to trip over a rock. Typical, I thought. Of course the dame would fall at this moment.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Mister not so pretty face decided at that moment we were a tasty snack to follow up Kyron, so I picked Kitty up and ran. He lost us in a moment of seconds, as we made our way back towards Sunmus.  I put Kitty down and walked forward, along the path, without looking at her. She was struggling to walk; probably disorientated from the speed. “Come along, Feline,” I called.

She eventually caught up, just as we hit the gates of the city. We snuck through a gap in the wall and slithered by the guards without a trace. It was late, the moon was out and the stars were visible. After we got through the guards, we hit the edge of the city. Even here, there were drunken men spilling out and running into the pubs. Ladies dressed up to suit these men’s wants, whether it was entertainment, feeding, stabilising; the women were almost equal to the men here, except they weren’t as easily made drunk. I pulled up the hood of my cloak and Kitty did the same. We headed towards The Black Bearded Omen, a pub that wasn’t that crowded. Once inside, no one took heed to our presence. It smelt of alcohol and smoke. Men were falling about, causing fights; it wasn’t crowded, but the people that were inside were making use of the space. I grabbed Kitty’s wrist and we made our way towards the back of the pub. I rapped on the door at the back and it slid open.

“Here,” I said, pushing Kitty inside. “She is unscathed. She was inquisitive, but I have no complaints. I do not wish her to be harmed and I paid in advance.”

The man at the table nodded. He was Lucas, short for Lucifer, which in itself was a negative name. He wasn’t as cruel as you would think… In fact, he just did his job. He was in charge of Witch Slaves like Kitty. Witch slaves had contracts; the length of time they remained with you was up to you. They did as you wished; anything at all. They were once normal sorcerers who went against the old King, and ended up with this punishment. However, with this punishment they often received death, so Lucifer was illegally giving people contracts with these Witches. The witch slaves, although still confined to a harsh life, were thankful for Lucifer. He tried to sign them with decent people; it wasn’t always easy though. Because it was illegal, it had to be done behind closed doors, and he couldn’t let anyone find out, so it was easy to threaten him. Then again… he did have over 30 once powerful wizards bound to contracts which could make them do anything he liked…  I was sure he was fine.

“Good. I’m assuming she did her job for you, Caden?” Lucas questioned as he raised an eyebrow. I smirked.

“Something like that,” I chuckled. Kitty smiled. “The man I was targeting was tragically eaten by our dear friend, the ugliest Ogre I have ever seen.”

Lucas let out a strong laugh. “How often do your victims live?”

I shrugged. “Let’s say not many have lived to tell the tale.” Lucas chuckled again. I smiled. “Anyways Lucy-”

“Don’t call me that,” he ordered with a laugh.

“Lucas, I mean… I need to head back. Leader won’t be happy I’ve been gone so long.”

“Okay, okay, do come back again. I’m sure Kitty was happy with you as a wizard, right Kitty?”

Kitty winked in my direction. “Anytime, Caden.”

I laughed and waved to them as I pulled up my cloak and walked out. I kept my head down and began to head out of the pub, and onto the street. It was full of men fighting, drinking, women laughing, also drinking… and yet I’d never felt more alone in such a crowded area.

I walked down along the cold streets, keeping my head down. It took a small while but I eventually reached a small building tucked into the corner of a long street. It was easy to miss, and looked tiny. I crept in the door, and slipped inside quietly. I listened for any intruders before walking in towards the back. I reached a mat; an obviously placed mat that was crooked, so it was revealing the magic shield that had been put up. I groaned and shoved the mat aside. I jumped through the shield without a bother, and pull the mat across it to cover it properly. I walked down along the dark, cold steps. It always reminded me of a throat, it creeped me out a bit too much. It got darker and darker until I hit the wall with my face. I always had to do that – It didn’t hurt, it was just annoying and I could never see in the darkness. I turned left and made sure to keep my hand on the left wall. I then ran, keeping my hand on the left wall and turning whenever it turned. Eventually I saw the light and ran through the wooden door. It was quickly repaired behind me and I was greeted with laughter.

“Caden!” “CADE!” “Young man where have you been?” “You absolute dog.” “Did another one die this time?”

I sighed as the voices yelled at me from around me. “One beer please, Scotto?” I called. Scotto, reading a book from behind the bar stood up and nodded. I sat at the bar and let the first person attack me as I watched him pull me a cold one.

“Caden,” a loud voice greeted and hit my back with a strong force. I laughed and turned.

“Rayus, it’s good to see you alive,” I chuckled. He smiled and sat beside me.

Rayus was a young sorcerer, like myself, and despite different backgrounds, we were well matched. His affinity was healing and he had one of the elements, fire. When we fought together we were rather unstoppable; he could heal us and attack on his own, while I used my weapons along with my other talents. He was tall, with long dark hair, and wore black a lot. He was a bit dreary at times but I always managed to make him laugh. We were very close, and always had been.

“How did it go this time, did you get Kyron?” he asked hopefully. I shook my head.

“Sadly not. In fact, I had him within my reach, he was an old guy, not very strong. But, me being me, I forgot where we were, and how much noise we were making… sooooo…”

“He got eaten, didn’t he?” Rayus chuckled. I smiled.

“Yeah, sadly, I’m not sure how Leader is going to take it,” I nervously remarked.

“Come on, Leader will understand. Leader knows how tough it can be; even though they’ve been sending you out on tougher missions than you’re meant to be on. Today, I was sent to gather information from Huracious. I wandered about his area for what seemed like ages, I started at dawn and finished a few hours to sundown. All the information I got was that Hura likes women, getting drunk, and telling random men and women how easily he’d beat them; followed by him getting his ass kicked. You’re lucky your missions are interesting.” I chuckled. We were both around 26 revolves. This year was the 998th revolve since recorded time; we were nearing the thousandth. That’s how we recorded time; we could feel the energy of our land floating in circles around a force we couldn’t identify, but you could sense when you had made a full circle from the age of a child. Rayus and I were young, so we weren’t meant to even go on that many assassination or questioning quests, but Leader saw our power. Especially mine.

“Well, that’s one way to spend a day, I guess. Did Hura ever spot you?” I asked.

“No, lucky for me. I used some of Kell’s vanishing magic for the day, she was helpful.”

“Did she go with you?”

“Of course; she’s not weak, Caden. She’s grown up quite a lot.”

I sighed. Of course she had. She wasn’t the young girl that had joined our force all those years ago.

“Is she here?”

“She’s here and she’s fine,” Kell announced and walked over to me. She sat down on the seat opposite me and stared me down. “Rayus, can I talk to Caden for a little bit?” Rayus nodded and stood up.

“Good luck,” he whispered in my ear and chuckled as he walked away. Scotto finally planted the beer in front of me and smiled at me. I looked up to him and smiled.

“Thanks Scotto, do you-”

“-Ahem. I’m right here,” Kell barked. I looked down and smiled, waving Scotto away.

“Another time,” I told him, just about refraining from laughing.

“Caden, did you go on another dangerous mission?” Kell asked, not letting me begin. I turned and looked at her. She was 16 revolves, very young to say the least. She only had the affinity for vanishing at the moment; but it was powerful. She could make entire buildings vanish in front of your eyes, and she could hold it like that for long amounts of time. Leader was always sending her off for more training to try find another affinity she liked, but she was struggling. All she’d ever known was vanishing magic.

“It wasn’t dangerous, didn’t you hear me say? The man was eaten, I barely got into a fight.”

“Did you take a Witch Slave with you?”

I pursed my lips. “Maybe.”

“Oh, for fuck sake Caden.”

“Mind your language. Did you go on a quest with Rayus?” I asked in retaliation.

“Yes,” she said with confidence. “I did, and we did just fine.”

“You got no information, and you call that just fine?”

She rolled her eyes. “We did the best we could. I thought you always said that, right? Do your best Kell, you’ll be fine Kell, don’t worry about quests Kell, you’ll do great Kell,” she mocked.

I laughed at her. “I do say that, don’t I? Well I take back my insult, here let me make it up to you.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a necklace. “I stole it while I was on my quest, and I thought of you.”

She inspected it, then took it from my hands and put it around her neck. She had short, dark blue hair that she kept in a pixie cut. She often wore dark clothes to hide herself, always trying to look normal, inconspicuous. Kell had arrived here in tatters, a young girl who’d been affected so badly, she only ever told me what happened to her.

She didn’t have it easy, not ever.

“Do you like it?” I asked hopefully. She was like my little sister; we were very close.

“Yeah, I must admit,” she remarked, caressing the small diamond in the necklace, “It’s pretty cute, Cade.”

I smiled, and playfully ruffled her hair. I sat back and took a sip of my beer, rubbing my stubble thoughtfully. Kell ordered a drink and leant forward on the bar table.

“Caaaade,” she drew out. I looked across to her and picked up my beer to look like I was doing something.

“Yeah?” I replied, sipping my beer slowly.

“Ever think about leaving?” I looked at her. She was staring over at Scotto making her drink.

“No… You know why we’re here; we’re not meant to just… leave?”

Kell sighed. “I get sick of being here,” she muttered.

“Why?”

“Another marketer died today,” she said quietly, still looking away from me. I inhaled sharply.

“Who?”

“Gabriel,” she whispered. “She was giving away under the table magic because a rich local sorcerer promised her money if she did. She was desperate; someone found out and before you knew it, guards were after her. She was murdered on the street. She wasn’t young at all... But she had so much left in her.” Kell finally drew her gaze towards my face. “Hura did it while we were working. Rayus wouldn’t let me help her, said it’d gain too much attention.”

I put my hand on her shoulder in comfort. “Buck up kid, I know it’s not fair, but that’s what we’re here for.” I smiled crookedly. “We’re trying to change everything, remember?”

Kell put her head in her hands and sighed. I looked at her softly.

This was the hardest part of being a part of this group; this was why I sometimes hated having the mindset and power mixture I had. I wished at times that I was brainwashed like the rest, that my parents weren’t special, that we didn’t see the truths in the world… But we were here. And we had to make the most of it.

“Everyone silent for Leader!” Scotto yelled above the chatter. The room went quiet as Leader’s door opened slowly. We all awaited their entrance, as it wasn’t often we saw Leader. The door opened and we all held our breath’s in almost excitement… Only to have Raavil exit. We all groaned in disappointment.

“Raavil?!” I sighed, as everyone turned back to their chatter. “Why were you in with Leader?”

“Leader needed me!” he said, shrugging. “And wanted to give a message to you.”

I looked around. “A private message? For me?” I asked, imitating an excited little girl. Raavil rolled his eyes. He was a tall, older man, with grey stubble and aged hair. He was well matured, and even I would admit, a little sexy. He was in charge of Leader a lot, handling a lot of their business.

“Yes, for you, dumbass.” I smiled and took the letter awaiting in his hand off him.

“Thank you, sweetie,” I gushed, and turned to leave. No way was I reading a private message from Leader here.

“Eh, where are you off to?” Kell stopped me from behind suddenly. She’d been listening, of course. Acting invisible as always.

“I’m going home,” I answered, not turning towards her.

“Is that another mission from the Leader?” she asked me annoyingly. I smiled and turned to her.

“No, it’s a letter from the milk sourcer, he won’t be providing so I said I’d go sort him out for Raavil,” I lied, smiling hugely. She eyed me carefully as I sent a bit of persuasion magic towards her.

“Okay…” she said unsurely.

I turned on my heel and immediately left, using my quick affinity to get out as fast as possible. As soon as I was on the streets again, it was raining. The night was deep, and almost frightening, the fear of a guard spotting me almost sent me running. I kept my hood up and my head down, making sure no one saw me, as I headed to my home. I hit the wall of the town and leapt up it quickly, not finding it difficult to be so agile. I jumped off the high drop with no worry, and landed safely on my feet. Home, I thought. There I’ll be safe.

I ran a few meters ahead of the wall to my small hole in the ground, which I had safely marked with magic. I fell into it and landed on a wooden floor marked with an x. If it hadn’t been me, I would have fallen straight through. Or so the vender which I bought this magic off had told me.

I sighed with relief and pulled my heavy jacket off myself. I removed the two straps holding many smaller weapons that were across my chest, and laid them on a small wooden desk beside me. My home – a rather large hold in the ground I’d made. It was about 12 feet underground, perhaps more. It was lit up with candles, sorcerer magic lamps, and a fire I never put out. I was a little shocked at first – I’d landed in silence. I looked around. The walls were bright wooden – it was all wooden, really. An oaky feel; I liked the homey look of the place. It also was a lot bigger than it looked, if not a tad compact. You landed in the sitting room, which had two circular openings either side at the end of it. These were kind of like halls; they were spacious tunnels that led to my bedroom and… somewhere else. In the sitting room, if you just walked a few steps forward, you could turn to your left and see a rather unused kitchen jutting out.

Pictures, paintings, shelves of random shit, and weapons filled the walls of each part of my… hovel. I walked towards the left tunnel at the end of my living room, walking by my much loved grassy green armchair. I ducked under the entrance and walked through it, whistling to myself. Suddenly I heard a loud thudding coming my way from behind me. I smiled and turned, arms outstretched.

“Neva!” I greeting the oncoming terror. She ran at me with so much force; the sorcery in the room amplified. I laughed as she jumped into my arms. Neva was a magical creature; an animal, if you will. We didn’t eat animals, we ate some vegetation as sorcerers, but mostly we had potions, things like soups and brews, which often had a magical element added to them. It helped with our internal magic level, making sure we were able to keep up with our magic flow. As I was saying, Neva was knocking me over at this point. She was a rather large, 5 foot tall hound. She was fluffy, with white and spotted grey patterned fur. See, what distinct her from other dogs was the bandage going around her head, covering her eyes, and the straps on her torso. She was blinded many years ago… I wish I could say I had found her and mended her, or say I killed the person who would injure her in such a way… But frankly, it was my own doing from when I was a foolish child. See, living in this world, you don’t just, pick a “pet”. Infact, Neva wasn’t my pet. I did not own her. She owned herself. I had her since I was very young, so we had gone through a lot together.

She wore the bandages to shield her eyes; they weren’t exactly pretty looking scars, and it also made her look pretty fucking awesome. The straps around her torso gave her some protection, with sorcery spells cast on it to protect the wearer. It also held some of weapons sometimes, which was useful.

Did I mention? She was fucking heavy.

“Neva!” I yelled as she knocked me to the ground, licking my face profusely. “Neva sit!” She wouldn’t listen to me – she never did. “Neva please!”

She finally backed off me and sat down, panting in my face; like I said, she was at least 5 foot. She couldn’t see me but all her senses were very acute, so she knew exactly where I was. She knew our house like the back of her fucking massive paw, so she never knocked things over, despite the fact she stumbled everywhere when she was excited to see me. I rubbed her head and smiled, turning to walk back towards the room at the back. I reached my lab, of sorts. It was more of a holding room; it had a cage tucked in the corner, in case I found a wandering creature. Cabinets were everywhere, books hoarding up an entire wall. Everything was locked, but I didn’t come here to grab weapons or make potions. I went over to the desk in the middle of the room and grabbed the small chest, opening it and placing a small pinkish orb that had been hidden deep in my pocket inside. I was meant to put the soul of the man I was to execute in there, but I failed, so I figured I’d keep the orb.

I sighed and wandered out, with Neva following me close behind. She was huge, so having her shadow loom over me was always a tad terrifying. I reached my lounging area, grabbing a beer from the kitchen before wandering over to my green armchair. Neva lay beside it, on her thin, mat like pillow, her head near the arm of my chair. I smiled and rubbed her head affectionately. She loved sleep, as did I. I think we’d both sleep through a storm.

I urged some magic will towards the projector in front of me, and senseless entertainment appeared. I watched it mutely, changing the channel in an attempt at finding something interesting. It showed a live battle between some beasts and a strong sorcerer, so I left it at that, judging the man’s moves.

Hours would pass like this. I would watch my projector, or write something, or research. Sleeping and recovering was my primary concern here, as was eating, and making sure Neva was okay. I was content like this, in peace.

But this stirring, this feeling that everything was not going to be okay, always loomed over me. It loomed over all of us with any sense of rebelling against the kingdom. We knew how much evil went on in there; we knew it was nothing but cruelty. There were sorcerers out there who were free, who had a life and lived with their own people. Most of those were tribes, although from what I’d heard at that point, tribes were a myth. All wiped out by the kingdom, in an act of hatred against their unwillingness to be taken over.

Sitting here, watching this man fight this beast live, knowing that if he wins, he will be awarded by the kingdom and not looked down upon by the cunts of the kingdom, it was easy to tell we lived in a sick part of the land. I looked at Neva, wondering how she perceived it all. Sleeping, as always, I assumed she just thought the world was living here with me, where I cared for her. I envied her momentarily – my loneliness ached me. I loved others, and was very charismatic, but in the end I only lived with Neva. She made me feel safe, less lonely, but I couldn’t talk to her and expect a response. I in some ways wanted a true friend, in others was thankful for my loneliness. No one could hurt me like this.

I shrugged and smiled. I was just fine alone – tomorrow I would go down to our building and end up with a new mission, and meet more people on my way. I had friends – many of them. I didn’t need them around me all the time. I was just fine. Negativity would get me nowhere, of course.

I stood up and turned off all the magic in the living room, ready to sleep in my bed. Neva perked her head up and quickly scrambled herself up to follow me. We walked down the right tunnel towards my room and latrine. I removed my normal wear linen and jumped into bed, Neva naturally worming into the space left over. It was a massive bed, in a rather large room, so there was enough room – she just enjoyed being close to me a bit too much.

I smiled and willed the lights to go out. Neva’s breath hit the back of my neck, as it always did. It almost comforted me at this rate, and I was happy to be home.

I closed my eyes and allowed slumber to seize me.