I slowly regain consciousness and sit up, and look around. It's still dark, and there are bodies all around. As I glance at the woman closest to me with her chest partially cut open, everything comes flooding back. The creature killed them and made me kill her, but I did get magic in return, but I can't remember what; it's all still a bit hazy. A deep and powerful voice resounds in my head.

(you mortals and your feeble minds, I gave you power over fire and the ability to influence the human mind. Now, what you do with it is up to you; grow this power, experiment, and develop your skills with it, but remember, I am always here, always watching. Keep feeding me the souls of this planet, and I might help you out occasionally. And stop thinking of me as the creature. I have a name, and you better start using it.) I look around in fright, the crea- my chest flares with pain. Right, right, sorry. Belroth is in my head, and I feel it's not going away anytime soon.

"power over fire, huh?" I whisper to myself and think back to the tomes I used to read from the magus of the past and how they first used their powers. I raise my hand and try to use magic for the first time. "fire, I call to you, spri-" I start, but before I can finish the incantation, a ball of flame appears in my hand. " that was a lot easier then I've ever seen!"

(That's because the mages of your world use an inferior magic to mine. Do away with those flowery words; don't ask the fire to do something. Picture it in your mind, then make the world bend to your will. you are the source of this magic, not some false god or pathetic elemental.) belroth informs me with a hint of amusement in his voice. I think about what I want to happen; I raise my other hand and visualize the ball of flame jumping from one to the other. Nothing happens; I feel anger well up inside me. He said I just had to imagine it, so why in the blazing hell won't it jump! Suddenly, it flies from my right hand into my left. My eyes widen in surprise. I did it, I can finally use magic, maybe not as I've always pictured, but it's mine! I jump and spin in joy; as I spin I notice I'm still in the woods, but I've got magic. Now I'm no longer a disgrace I can go back home, but which way is home? Belroth sighs, and my head jerks to the west. " thank you, Belroth." with that said, I start heading out. I don't think I was out that long, but I feel full of energy. As I walked, the sun started to rise. I continued walking, and as it started to set, I caught my first glimpse of the village. My stomach growls, and I pick up the pace; it's probably just my imagination, but I swear I can smell my Mother's cooking, and I start salivating. A gruff voice shouts at me as I get close to the walls.

"Hold it right there, what brings you to this village? After dark, no less."

A smile touches my face as I reply, "Darrow is that you, you old fart? I thought you retired a month ago?" Darrow used to be the guard captain and a long-time family friend. I heard an audible gasp.

"Aldair, is that really you?" Darrow asks in what I can only describe as hope-filled bewilderment.

" Of course it's me, who else looks this good after being in the woods all night!" I smile and feel the anxiety I've been holding since I left finally melt away. I hear him talking to somebody up on the wall before he yells back down to me.

"Kid, it's been over a week since you disappeared; the whole village has been out looking for you!" before I can say anymore, my mother runs out of the village, tears streaming down her face, and I fear she is gonna bowl me into the ground, but she stops a couple of feet away.

"My boy, is that really you? What happened? Why didn't you come home? Where have you been? What-" I interrupt her before she can pass out from lack of oxygen.

"I'm okay, really. I'll explain everything, but I could really use something to eat right now." I smile, trying to ease her worry. I glance over her shoulder to see my father standing calmly at the gate.

"Yes, of course, I'll make something right away!" Mother runs off almost as fast as she got here, and I slowly started following after her, father watching my every step.

(don't tell them about me, not yet. Not until you're stronger. There are people of this world who will kill you just for knowing that there is other magic out there let alone being able to use it.) I stop suddenly; that... makes sense. I glance at my father; he's one of the strongest in the village. Can he tell just by looking at me? he raises an eyebrow and tilts his head towards the house, then starts waking in front of me. I hesitate a second longer, then continue to follow him and mother home. As I walked through the village, my neighbors, friends, and teachers, all came out of their houses to look at me, and most of them welcomed me home. As I turn down my street, I pause when I see her, Mia Blonk, my first true love. My mind flashes to that night in the cemetery when we snuck out and gazed at the stars, talked about life, and fell more in love. Then, one day, her family found out she was sneaking out with me, and she cut all ties. I tried talking to her to figure out how I could fix things. I would've done anything to keep talking to her, to see her smile, to hear her laugh. Deep down, I know that given the chance, I would drop everything, anyone, to be with her again, and I most likely always will, but I know she would rather I die in the woods than ever talk to me again. I feel my heart break again like it has a hundred thousand times since she walked away. All I want to do is run to her and try to get her to understand and talk to me again, but I sigh and continue towards my house. Maybe one day, she will reach out, and we can at least start as friends again. No matter how long it takes, I will always hope for that day, wait for it, and gladly take the smallest relationship she will give. As I walk inside, I push the past out of my mind. I sit at the table and Mother brings me a sandwich.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

" I know it's not much, dear, but it's the best I can do on short notice."

as I finish eating, Father clears his throat. "It's good to see you again son, now that you've eaten why don't you tell us what happened? You've been gone over a week and your mother and I have been worried sick, most of the village has been out looking for you."

I swallow the lump in my throat and begin. I tell them about being rejected, about walking home in defeat, about seeing them happy and thinking that they would be disappointed in me for not being able to follow in one of their footsteps, about running into the woods to die, but instead of telling them about Belroth I make up a story about how I ran into a bear and when actually faced with the possibility of my death something snapped in me, how I had a burning desire to live to see them again to see Clarisa grow up. Deep down, I know a small part of me wanted to live for the small chance to talk to Mia again, but I decided not to tell them that. Instead, I told them how all those feelings built in me until the bear was looming over me, and I thrust out my hands, and a stream of fire burst forth and consumed the bear. My Mother's eyes are the size of saucers by the time I'm done, and Father has a look of pride on his face. Mother rushes around the table and wraps me in her arms.

" You stupid, stupid boy, we would never be ashamed of you. we would have loved you no matter what path you took in life, how could you possibly think otherwise!" Mother is practically shouting at the end but Father puts a hand on her shoulder and looks at me.

"there is no need to belittle him. I'm sure he knows how ridiculous it was to think that way now, but no matter, our boy is home safe and sound, and on top of that, he awakened his own potential, so there is no way he can think we'll be ashamed now isn't that right son?" father smiles at me, and I feel my heart swell with happiness.

I sigh. "You're both right. Mother, I'm sorry. I should have known that you would love and support me no matter what, but I was just overcome with sadness that I would never be a great magus like Father or a high-ranking priest like you; it felt like everything I ever wanted, everything you ever taught me, was wasted. But it's fine now it's in the past. I can use fire now so I can follow Father's steps and become a great magus myself." I smile up at them, and Father smiles right back, but I can see they're both exhausted, like they haven't slept a second since I left. "Why don't we head to bed? I want to practice my magic, but I think we could all use some sleep after this past week, don't you?"

I see Mother flinch, and Father nods sagely like I just shared a secret of the world; if only he knew the truth. "Your right, son; we've been so worried about you and spent as much time as possible looking for you that I've barely slept, your Mother even less so since she had to stay home and take care of Clarisa instead of helping us look for you."

Mother starts openly crying, " I'm sorry, son, I should have been out there too; I should have helped more, I should have-" I cut her off.

"It's fine, Mother. You didn't know what happened, didn't even know if I was still alive. You did the right thing, and even if I were dead, I would have felt terrible if you neglected Clarisa because you were worried about me. I don't blame you, not one bit. But I'm home now lets get some sleep we'll have plenty of time together tomorrow." as I finish talking, Mother slowly stops crying, and Father helps her to their room. Before he closes the door to finally get some sleep he smiles at me.

"Welcome home, son."

With the door shut, I get up and wash my dishes before heading to bed myself. As I get to my room, I strip off my clothes and climb into bed. My mind wanders to thoughts of Mia, about what it would be like if we were still together, how happy we could have been. My last thought is of her smiling face every time I told her I would love her, Alway and Forever.