“I don’t get why you went first.” I stopped only a few steps away from the baker’s, unable to hold my thought back any longer. “We both knew you should go second. It was obvious he was looking for magical abilities. If I had gone first, you might have been able to figure out a better plan than that. You wasted your best shot.”

“Excuse me?” Sarah put her hands on her hips, staring veritable daggers at me. “And who are you to judge for me? Do you really think I had some grand plan for what I did? I didn’t Rook. Now get over it.”

“No.” It was my turn to get defiant, unwilling to budge on the subject. “I want to know why. That isn’t like you to pull something like that.”

“Fine, Rook, you want to know? It’s because I thought you were hiding it.”

“Hiding it? What exactly is ‘it’ that I would be hiding?”

“Magic. I was certain that this entire time you were hiding that you’d inherited your mother’s Kin magic. I just thought that… well, by going first, I would give you the best shot at getting out of here. You’ve always been better at scheming than me, so I figured, well….”

Her words drowned out into an unintelligible murmur as I stared at my friend for several seconds, unsure what to say or how to respond.

“I’m sorry.” She finally broke the silence, looking away from me as she did. “I didn’t think you had no magic whatsoever, and I blew it because of that.”

“Well, that makes two of us as far as not wanting to believe I can’t use any magic.” I sighed, sorting my thoughts and feelings within my head. At the very least, it was nice to hear that her reasoning was genuine. “But why do you think I wouldn’t tell you first?”

“I… I thought maybe you were trying to make me feel better.”

I stared at her, stunned.

Me? Make her feel better?

“Sarah, I don’t know else to say this, so I’ll be straight. You’re sixteen, capable of drawing on all five forms of wild magic. And yet, are you saying you think that I, the person who can’t use magic, would be in the position where I’d have to make you feel better? Sarah, your amazing, but you’re also an idiot.”

Sarah’s cheeks turned red as she rubbed at her forearm. “We go through the same sword training, yet I can barely swing a blade without almost taking out someone’s eye.”

“Some would argue that’s a good thing.”

“Not the time for jokes, Rook. I’m serious. Other than magic, what do I have over you?”

“You say that like I’m some genius, Sarah. Turn it around, and other than swordplay, what do I have over you? Hmm?”

“Well, you come from a powerful family.”

“Sure, according to my mother, at least. ‘The Baster family are magic users who could fry a person’s brain without harming a hair on their head.’ A lot of good that does me considering, you know, I don’t have that magic. Second, I’ve never met any family besides my mother. So what good does it do me?”

“I mean-”

“Sarah, don’t overthink it. It doesn’t matter my lineage, nor does it matter yours. I’m still magicless, and you’re a full-blown wild magic wielder. Can’t be any more cut-and-dry than that.”

“I guess,” Sarah looked off to the side for a moment, face an unreadable expression before she shook it off, her expression returning to what I’d grown so familiar with over the years of friendship. “Well, what better way to shake off post-failure blues than with a bite to eat?”

“See, this is why we are friends.” I laughed, looking away as I found my expression softening, unable to hold the façade up much longer.

The bastard of the Baster family can’t even use their famed Kin magic.

“You coming, Rook?”

“Yeah, right behind you.” I turned back to look at her, with no sign of my mental struggles on my face. “I’m dying for a bite to eat after being knocked senseless.”

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

“Alright, well, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” I waved as I began to walk opposite Sarah, who was headed back home to help her father out with some of his customers.

Alright. Jorgsin… Jorgsin… Where does Jorgsin live again?

My mother had instructed me to track the man down while I was in town; he owed her money for something she had helped with several weeks back that he had yet to make good on. The villagers, as a rule, avoided getting on my mother’s wrong side. While she hadn’t done that much to deserve the apprehension toward her, she was still capable of being a terrifying force when angered.

Jorgsin, for whatever reason, decided to ignore the better sensibility of paying my mother what she was owed, so this would be his last mercy before my mother herself would get involved.

I swear, he thinks she will forget about it if he just avoids her for long enough.

I wandered aimlessly through the small village for some time. While it was true I needed to find him, I was enjoying my day out, relaxing in the sun’s gentle warmth. On any other day, I would spend most of my time back home, swinging my sword for hours as I ran through countless exercises.

“It’s fine if you can’t use our magic. Most people in the world can’t use magic, Rook.”

“But I want to! I want to be like you and go on adventures!”

“Honey, I was younger back then. It’s not as great as it sounds.”

“But I want to….”

My mother sighed at kid me before picking me up and placing me on her knee.

“Rook. I won’t try to convince you if that is how you feel. My father always tried to make me change my mind, which never worked. So instead, if you really mean it, you can only do it by dedicating yourself to it fully. A half-hearted dream is just that, a dream. And I know a thing or two about what happens in the head.” She had bent over then, tickling me as I tossed around on her lap like a flopping fish, giggling the entire time.

The fond memory slowly faded as I cupped my hand over my eyes, shielding them from the sun. I’d only been five years old at the time. Shortly after, I’d begun picking up random sticks and swinging them around, eventually moving on to wooden toy swords that my mom had the local carpenter make for me; it was how I had first met Sarah; she would often play around her father’s workshop back then. After over a decade, my childlike longing to be an adventurer had waned. Still, the time I spent practicing with a sword only grew. I may not be able to use magic, but one day my sword would be the key to leaving the tiny village I called home behind.

Just not this year, I guess…

My mood quickly soured at the thought. Needing to distract myself, I began searching in earnest through the town until I reached the opposite end of where my home was oriented. As luck would have it, I was about to turn back around when the sight of someone huddled behind the side of a house caught my attention.

“Jorgsin?” I called out, startling the man.

“What, whose ther- oh, it’s you, Rook. Quick, come here.” He waved me over, shushing me as I opened my mouth to speak again. I walked toward the man, curious as to what had enraptured him.

“Jorgsin, my mom wan-”

“Her money, yes, I know, that’s not important right now. Do me a favor, look around this corner and tell me what you see, will you?”

Wary, I did as he requested of me. Jorgsin wasn’t exactly known for being the nosy type, so for him to act this way had to have been for a good reason, even if it made me suspicious.

Peeking out from around the house, I turned to look back at Jorgsin, confused. “Who are they?”

“I don’t know, and that’s the problem,” Jorgsin whispered.

Around the corner of the house and toward the back alley, three figures in robes were standing amongst themselves, discussing something.

“… you sure about that?”

“Yeah. You heard what she said.”

“Readings like that don’t just show up for no reason.”

“Here, though? In this town of nothing? Why here?”

“How would I know?”

I looked at Jorgsin, whose worry was etched clearly into his brow.

“What are they talking about?” I mouthed at him, suddenly afraid that even whispering would be enough for them to notice us.

“No idea. I only noticed them a bit before you showed up.”

“Why are they here?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

The strangers freaked me out for a reason I couldn’t quite figure out. Beginning to take a step away, I stopped when Jorgsin grabbed my wrist, pointing at me to pay attention once more.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

“…a sage here?”

“Maybe.”

“The fact that a village like this has anyone who might be a suspected sage still seems out there.”

“Just recheck the list.”

For a moment, I heard a ruffle of noise, one of the three pulling a piece of parchment out before scanning it over.

“Let’s see… Something, something of the… right. Balor… Barnt… Here, Baster. Wait, Baster? What the hell is a Baster doing here? And why not bother hiding their name either?”

“How would I know?”

“Not just that….” I heard the paper ruffling again, the man taking a moment to double-check it. “Well, I’ll be damned. Not just any Baster. It’s the Witch of Phantasmal Flames. That can’t be right, can it?”

“The names match, don’t they?”

“But do you think she is the same one?”

“Hard to believe it’s someone else who just happens to have the same name. Even if that were the case, they’d want her anyway, just in case. Still, I can’t believe she’s been out in these boonies for all these years.”

“Makes sense.” The third voice spoke up. “She had already had a reputation before she went into hiding. It would fit that while here, she would take the opportunity to dabble into sage arts.”

“Where do you think she picked it up?”

“Who knows? I wouldn’t be surprised if those damn Basters have kept records of lost information. Or maybe she just stumbled upon it during her time adventuring. Does it really matter?”

My heart felt like it was about to beat straight out of my chest.

My mother. There was no doubt that it was my mother whom they were talking about. While I couldn’t make heads or tails of anything else they mentioned, it was obvious that, at the very least, they were after my mother. I slowly backed up without thinking about it, intending to retreat and alert my mother.

That was, until the back of my foot kicked aside a stray pebble, sending it quietly clacking against the wooden wall of the house we were next to. I sucked in a silent breath of terrified apprehension, feeling horribly exposed.

“Did you hear that?”

I was still frozen in place, terrified, but I saw as the gears within Jorgsin’s mind began rapidly turning. He gave me one last look, the expression on his face making it clear it was time to leave. He gave me a light push before stepping out from our hiding spot, ensuring the three strangers were focused solely on him.

“Hello there.” Jorgsin waved at the three, greeting them as naturally as he could. I continued backing away, my morbid curiosity slowing my immediate escape. “I noticed you three have been standing here for a while. Is something wrong?”

I held my breath, waiting to see what would happen.

“Captain?” One of the cloaked figures looked toward who must have been their leader.

The man scratched at his chin before shrugging. “Whatever. Burn it all down. Faster that way.”

Before I had time to react to how candidly he spoke of such things, Jorgsin was thrust into the air, impaled upon a spike of packed earth that had erupted from beneath him, skewering him as he hung in the air lifelessness, his blood watering the ground below.

I should have run, but the sudden, horrific violence left my mind blank, needing a moment to process what I’d just seen.

“Oh, and don’t let the kid run off, either.”

Now that was enough to snap me out of it.

Turning around, I sprinted, arms pumping hard as a single thought looped through my mind.

Mom!

If there were anyone who could do something about this, it would be my mother. This would be out of anyone else’s scope to deal with; the sudden viciousness of the attack on Jorgsin made that abundantly clear.

If only I had my sword with me.

I shook my head as I ran. What difference would a sword be against magic like that? While I had faith in my sword fighting, there were three of them, and I had no way to defend myself against magic.

Wait, the guards from Theronhold!

At the very least, one of them could protect himself against magic. I’d seen as much when he had tested Sarah. If I could just find them, I could avoid involving my mother, the person they were after in the first place.

Just have to - Woah!

I barely managed to skip out of the way as one of the houses I ran by exploded in a shower of stone splinters and flaming logs. I was keenly aware of other debris intermixed as well, waste of the much more… organic variety, which I forced myself to avert my gaze from.

Don’t think about it.

Distracted by the sudden explosion of a house, I rounded a corner before running face-first into someone, the two of us drawing to the ground in a sprawl.

“Ouch, watch it, assho- Rook?”

My eyes bulged; none other than Yeera, our small village’s chief guard, rubbed her behind as she got up from where she had fallen.

“Yeera! Do you know if the guards from Theronhold are still here?”

“Hmm? No, from what I heard, they left about fifteen or so minutes ago. Are you looking for a second chance?”

She smiled at me in playful jest, but now wasn’t the time.

“We, I mean, there’s, uh-”

“Out with it.” She grabbed my shoulder, steadying me.

“Bad guys!”

“Bad guys? Slow down a moment; you aren’t making sense.”

“Bad guys! Back there, they blew up a house, and-”

My words were cut short as a wall of dancing light appeared before my eyes, a living column of writhing orange flames.

“Watch out!” Yeera shouted, and without being able to do anything to stop her, she lunged forward, shoving me out of the way, and in doing so, took my place at the center of the flaming vortex.

“Yeera!” I shouted, my throat tightening from the sudden explosion of heat.

I could do nothing but watch as the fire dissipated seconds later, and with it gone, I was confronted with the sight of Yeera.

Or what remained of Yeera.

Upon the ground was a small pile of blackened bone and soot, where most of Yeera’s bones had been reduced to ash. Perhaps the worst was that her skull, half incinerated, was looking directly at me, like it was accusing me, holding me responsible for what had happened to her. The only thing untouched in what must have been some sick joke was her sword, which appeared no worse for wear, a small red gem glowing cheerily within its pommel.

“See this? It was enchanted to be immune to fire, or so I’ve heard. Not like I’ve wanted to test myself. My great-grandfather won it in a duel against a mage long ago.”

Yeera was dead.

Yeera was dead.

I wanted to feel sick, but I didn’t have the chance as a familiar voice spoke nearby.

“So this is where you ran off to.”

I spun around, expecting to see one of the cloaked figures, but was greeted instead by a shambling mound of dirt that vaguely resembled a person.

“Can’t have you running off to explain what is going on. Stay still, and I’ll make this painless. Sound good?”

The offer, as… ‘considerate’ as it was, did not sound all that appealing.

The mud golem reached a hand toward me, and as it did, I saw its stubby fingers harden into savagely sharp-looking spears of stone. Preferring to remain in one piece, I ducked out of the way of the deceptively quick golem. My mind running on autopilot, I scrambled toward the fallen sword, picking it up and holding it before me, twirling it once as I tested its weight. It was thinner and lighter than the sword I was used to, but it was better than nothing, the sword lending me a sense of steadiness the moment my fingers wrapped around its hilt.

“I tried to be nice, but we don’t have time for dealing with a kid playing hero.”

The mud golem lunged at me, disturbingly quick for a construct of dense-looking earth. I dodged out of the way, avoiding the strike as its clawed fist smashed through the wall of another house. From inside, I heard muffled yells as the occupants were suddenly surprised by a fist of mud breaking through their wall.

“Gods… damn…. kids....” The mage speaking through the golem sounded irritated, taken off guard by the speed I dodged out of the way.

I won’t roll over that easily.

I backed up a step, putting distance between myself and the golem.

Now, how exactly do I go about this? I don’t think hacking away at an unfeeling animated wall of earth will do much.

Unfortunately, the golem wasn’t looking to grant me the time to think my options through. It again lumbered toward me with unnerving speed, forcing me to react. Without thinking, I dipped past its guard, thrusting the sword into the mud golem.

The good news was the blade struck home.

The bad, albeit expected news, was the golem showed no sign of even noticing that I’d sunk my sword hilt deep within it. It swung at me once more, and I was forced to throw myself out of the way of its heavy stone claws.

Think. The golem doesn’t seem alive, so a sword isn’t going to do anything. So how do I beat it?

I dodged out of the way of another charge by the golem as it bulldozed through the same home its fist had smashed through earlier, the entire house caving in on itself.

I tried to black out the screams of terror that went silent within seconds as the golem stomped through the wreckage.

Think!

If I couldn’t beat it with physical force, there was only one other way.

Magic.

If you weren’t already aware, the issue was that I couldn’t use magic.

Stepping back, my foot crunched something underfoot. A quick look down showed that, much to my horror, I’d stepped onto what remained of Yeera’s skull, which, charred as it was, shattered like overbaked clay.

Overbaked clay… Wait, that’s it!

How had the flame vortex found me?

The answer was obvious.

It hadn’t.

What it had found was Yeera. I could picture it; Yeera had drawn upon her Inner magic in surprise after colliding with me. Even as weak as her magic was, it was enough to bring down the fire vortex upon us, a fire so hot it reduced bone to ash.

The fire was so hot, in fact, that it could probably bake a solid mud golem through in seconds.

Only one way to find out.

Changing tactics, rather than dancing around the golem, I charged it head-on, slipping past it as I stabbed the sword into its back, holding on for dear life.

Please work.

To say I was cut off from magic wasn’t entirely correct. There was one significant difference between myself and ordinary people who couldn’t use magic.

I could agitate the slight amounts of mana within me; I just didn’t have enough to do anything with it.

But I wasn’t the one who needed to do anything special. All I had to do was call the fire down.

Gods, I hope this works.

Deep within me, I felt something akin to a tiny ember flicker to life before dying out a moment later.

Nothing had happened. At least, nothing to me. Instead, I felt a storm of mana brewing above me almost instantly in response to the slight stirring of mana within me. Without any further warning, I shoved myself away from the golem, using all my strength.

It wasn’t a moment too soon as an all-consuming fire enveloped the golem. Nearly half a minute passed as the fire raged before finally dying down.

And when it did, what was left of the golem looked like hardened clay. Tentatively I approached the golem, elation surging through me when it didn’t move.

It worked!

Planting a foot against the golem, I gave it a hard shove, and it fell like a toppled statue, breaking into dozens of pieces.

As much as I wanted to celebrate my little victory, I had to get a move on. I had a head start on the hostile mages; I knew exactly where my mother would be, but it wouldn’t last. Not just that, but rising from pockets throughout the village were greasy black columns of smoke.

The village was burning.

And there was no one here who could defend themselves.

Well, maybe one person.

Sarah was the only one in the village with the magical talent to defend herself from the fire, but the more she did, the more the fire would lock onto her.

Damnit.

I was torn. Sarah would be able to fend for herself, for a time at least, but I feared what would happen if she didn’t catch on to the secret of the magic-seeking fire.

But

But my mother was more pressing. It was her they wanted, after all.

Doing my best to ignore the sounds around me, I oriented myself toward home, running along as fast as possible.

Why do we have to live just so far away?

As I dashed through the village, I counted myself lucky that I hadn’t run into any of the mages since earlier.

How long that luck would last, I wasn’t sure.

There!

As I reached the village outskirt, all that was left was to make the run back home, but I froze before I’d set even a foot on the path back.

Because two of the mages stood a short distance away, their hands outstretched as they battled what appeared to be a lone person.

“Mom!”

Like an orchestra conductor, her hands were moving, fingers dancing as she matched everything they threw at her. Real flames were pushed back by illusions, mud golems contesting phantasmal soldiers. I wasn’t sure how her illusion magic could even interact with the real fire and mud golems, but I tried not to question it. All that mattered was she was okay for now, still wearing the bandana she wore when she baked bread. Before I could rush to her side, I froze, a sense of foreboding emanating nearby. Emerging from the shadows of an alley, a third cloaked figure approached, pulling back a hood to reveal a short bob of curly blond hair. It was a man I was sure couldn’t be older than his mid-thirties.

“Sorry, kid, but I can’t have you trying anything funny.”

He pulled free a thin-looking saber from his side, waving it through the air in what was clearly meant to warn me off.

“Unlike my companions here, I’m not exactly fond of needless death, so I’ll allow you to turn away, but if you get in the way of our mission, I will kill you.”

I glanced helplessly between the cloaked swordsman in my way and my mother.

Stepping back, I nodded to the man.

“Smart choice.” The man half-smiled, a look of relief on his face.

That was until I raised my sword in salute, one arm behind my back, as I gave him a slight bow.

“One swordsman to another, show a sign of respect. Unlike magic, swordplay has no gimmick. It is a test of skill against skill.”

“I can’t just watch.” I nodded toward my mother, locked in battle with the two enemy mages.

The man raised an eyebrow before presenting his sword, much as I had in a show of respect.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but I can admire your resolve at the very least.”

Our short exchange of words was over; all left was an exchange of blades.

Just hold tight, mom.