- Adrian -

The party my village throws is surreal. Torches brighten the dance in contrast with the darkening of the night sky. Food and drink is plentiful. They really went all out. My grandma on my mothers side even traveled with my tiny cousins and aunt from one of the more distant villages. She brought my favorite fruits, although they had almost began to go bad. Still, they were delicious. A band plays stringed instruments while a young boy hammers on a drum. The notes drift jovially around the gathering. I requested several of my favorite songs to play. Most of my relatives have already given their congratulations and what ever going-away gifts they might've though I would like. My mother implored them that I can't bring all that much with me, so if anything a few coins would do the trick. Would give me a little spending money if I find something fancy in a market or wherever.

What a happy day. The joyousness is almost palpable. My uncle sat me down after he had drunken one too many cups and did his best at giving advice from his days in the city. The Forge is surrounded by bustling markets and city life, and he had ventured there in his younger days in pursuit of whatever a young person would find in a city. I smiled and nodded until my grandmother pulled me away to introduce me to someone. A girl, around my age if not older, with bright blue eyes and blonde hair. She was very pretty. I stumbled through an an awkward greeting. The flickering lights of the party swirled in her eyes. It was strange. I never found myself nervous in the presence of a girl.

My grandmother, who I call Shoma (It was what I called her as a baby and it just stuck), introduced her as Adryn. "She is also headed to the city. I figured she could go with you tomorrow."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Are you headed to the Forge as well? I thought I was the only Favored from the villages."

Adryn opens her mouth to speak but Shoma interrupts. "It's not important why she's headed there. She will stay and ride out with you tomorrow morning. I trust you will see she is accommodated for." Shoma was a stern woman when she wanted to be.

"I don't want to impose," Adryn speaks up. "If it's too much trouble I will find another way there."

"He doesn't mind at all, right Adri?" The warning in her tone was unwarranted.

"Of course not!" I emphasize, not wanting to give the wrong idea. "I'm just surprised someone else is heading that way. It's not all that common."

"She has her reasons," Shoma states, her eyes crinkling kindly towards the girl. "Make sure she gets there safe and sound you hear?"

"Yes Ma'am," I affirm with a smile and she wraps me up in a grandma hug.

Tears well up in her eyes. "You're such a nice boy, I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too Shoma." And I will. It's very possible this will be the last time I see Shoma. She isn't a spring chicken. The very though makes my heart falter.

"Now I'll let you two get acquainted," She says, releasing from the embrace and peddling over to the drink table.

I'm left alone with Adryn, and I stand there awkwardly for a moment before trying to spark a conversation.

"Do you drink?" I say motioning to the table which Shoma had approached. Talk about a random question.

She smirks, "No, not really. My parents forbade any sort of substances."

"Same," I reply. "At least until recently. They've let off the breaks just a bit and let me experiment with some things."

"You can do magic right?" She asks, curiousness plastered on her face. "Can you turn water into wine and stuff like that?"

I laugh. "I've never tried. I'm not sure exactly what the full extent of my abilities are or if I'm particularly good at anything."

I walk over to a fire near the edge of the party and sit down. She follows and it's just us outside the cacophony.

"Can you show me some magic?" She asks.

I roll my eyes and laugh internally. Every time someone learns I'm Favored they ask for a demonstration.

"I'm sorry!" She says quickly. "I bet that gets annoying pretty quickly."

"Don't worry about it," I reassure. "I enjoy showing off a little."

I puzzle over what to do for a moment, and then I decide to put on a little show. I hold my hand towards the fire, and closing my eyes, I grasp at the void around the fire. Exerting my will over it, the fire changes from green to blue to red and finally a rainbow of colors. I can sense the change without even opening my eyes. A slight gasp from Adryn confirms the effect.

"That's so cool." She says. "So you can change the color of fire? What do you think they'll teach you about that at the Forge?"

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"I can do a lot more than that."

Grabbing again at the void around the fire, I conjure stallions and great birds and stags of flame. They leap away from the fire and prance around the sky in a rainbow blaze. I guide a small deer to the palm of my hand, where it dances around in a circle. Adryn laughs in amazement. I turn to look at her, and her beauty lighten by the firelight makes my heart skip a beat. I lose focus and my control on the void slips. Her expression of wonder sears into my brain. She turns to look at me and meets my gaze. I hold her eyes for a moment, almost too long, and then turn away sharply in embarrassment. I look back towards the blaze in the sky to find it an outline of Adryns face. Oh shit. The music dies as the partygoers notice the showcase. I quickly regain control and mold the flame into a giant scaled serpent. The serpent winds it way around the party in a glorious blaze, so close you can feel its heat. It guide it higher and higher into the sky, where it spits out a great blast of flame. I take that blast and carve it into a twin serpent, and they dance and coil into the sky. They circle each other in a final goodbye, and I bind them together and then release the energy in a grand explosion. The sparks fly in each direction, painting the starry night in a million golden suns.

"That was incredible," Adryn sounds from beside me. "You're a pyromancer!"

"He's a lot more than just that," Shoma declares proudly from where she approached. "And he's going to do great in the academy."

The onlookers, who stood in awe, begin to clap raucously. I didn't even notice the music had stopped.

Feeling just a little embarrassed at all the attention, I take a small bow and excuse myself to get a glass of water. But instead I diverge into the forest and toward the creek. I find that the water tastes the best when it's cool and fresh. Of course I could just cool the water straight from the jug, but it doesn't feel as satisfying as drinking straight from the creek. I can sense all the creatures of the night. The fireflies that sparkle in the air, the owl perched in a tree some twenty feet away. I can even sense a predator along the edges of my awareness. That's all normal though. The carnivorous animals stay away from the village. They're the apex predators until they run into humans.

After my thirst was quenched I make my way back toward the party. I clear through the tree line and head towards where I had left Adryn and Shoma to find a tall and burly kid talking to Adryn. The sight dives a slight pang of jealous. Balwin is not my favorite person in the world.

"What's up dude," I say as I sit down across from Adryn. He leans against a tree along the woodline and nods his acknowledgement.

"Anyways, there's this really sweet spot along the cliff where you can see all the stars. It's super peaceful." He continues.

"That sounds neat," Adryn responds.

"Cmon, let me show you." He jerks his head towards the dark of the woods. "This party is really lame anyways. They wont let me into any of the drink."

Adryn glances at me momentarily, and then stands up as if to accompany him.

"Don't go with him," I say. I like this girl. I don't want her running off with Balwin.

"What?" He questions, with malignant surprise?

"Why not?" She asks.

"Because." I state, refusing to elaborate. I don't like the feeling this situation is giving me. Balwin is a serial womanizer. I can tell from a mile away what his end-goal is.

"The fuck, dude," He says uncrossing his arms, obviously upset by me getting in his way. "You think since you got these fancy powers you can just start ordering people around?"

"No," I reply. "I just don't want her going with you."

"Why not?" He challenges. "She can do whatever she wants."

"Because I know your game." I stand up and challenge back. I pause and look at her. "And she doesn't. But I won't stop you if you really want to go." She shakes her head and looks down, refusing to meet Balwins gaze.

"Man fuck you. You're lucky you have those powers. I'd toss your shit right here but you're a little bitch and would toast me instead of fighting like a man."

"I would rock the shit outta you, with or without" I fire back. I'm not foreign to getting into scraps. Before I had my powers I would fight with kids from the neighboring villages. We even had mock-gangs for each village and would get into big battles in the fields. I can feel an angry and excited version of myself take over. I want to fight him.

"Yeah? Cmon then pussy. Touch me and see what happens." Ah hell nah. I'm not going to throw the first punch. Then I'll be the one to get in trouble.

"Nah," I wave him down. "I'm not gonna hit you first." I turn to walk away, slightly disappointed, and Adryn stands to follow me.

"Yeah that's what I thought, pussy." This guy. This fucking guy. Knows just how to press my fucking buttons.

"Allllright," I say, turning around and pacing towards him. I take three long strides, open up and swing a right hook right towards his jaw. He saw me coming and squared up, ducking back out of reach of the punch. He returns it with a cross to my right orbital, and I eat that shit. I could stop his punch mid-air, or soften the blow or even break his fist with my face if I wanted. But I enjoy the pain on some level. Not in a masochistic way, but it brings an excited and violent version of me out. The pain is real and human. I step back and shake my head, smirking at him. "Nice shot, fuckhead."

He spits at my feet. "I knew you were a shitty fighter. You rely on your gay ass powers to save you."

"I'm not using them now." I duck his next punch, and clock his chin with a nasty uppercut that he didn't expect. I'm surprised when he doesn't go down. This kid has a thick head. If he knew me better, he'd know not to get into a fight with me. All the other kids in the village know. But he moved here only recently because his mother got remarried.

"How does my shit taste?" I taunt. bouncing up and down and shaking my aching fist. He grunts and lunges at me in a takedown. I let him take me and go for a guillotine choke, wrapping my arm around his neck as his momentum lifts me off the ground and slams me into the dirt. I hit the ground hard, and almost let go of his neck. But I manage to hold on. He realizes too late that he's fucked. I tighten the pressure and count to ten as he droops unconscious. Good thing he didn't go for my balls. I would've used my powers then.

I push him over and off of me and sit up, breathing heavily. Adryn approaches from where she had been spectating and asks if I'm alright. Her demeanor is rather calm, which surprises me.

"Not the first fight you've seen, eh?" I inquire. "Do guys fight over you a lot?"

She laughs and shakes her head. "This is a first. But yeah I've seen a fair share." Her smile drops. "You're all dirty now. You're mother isn't going to be too happy."

"She'll get over it," I say and climb on top of the still-unconscious Balwin. I slug him right in the orbital. A black eye for a black eye. My mother will be more upset about that than the dirty clothes. I stand up and walk back towards the firelight, where one of my younger cousins grins widely from watching.

"What that really necessary?" Adryn asks, a bit of astonishment on her face.

"That's why you don't get into a fight with me," I say simply, and wink at my cousin.