Kest realized that, despite his best efforts, he wouldn’t last long out in the woods. He’d managed to move around the lanterns that lit up the houses in the village, as well as the old guardsman that was likely asleep on his horse, but the trek to the woods was still unnerving. Anything and everything could be dangerous in the dark, even the path that he traveled to the woods.

Despite his initial fear, he kept marching forward into the foreboding cover of the woods. When his father had taken him into the woods to learn various survival skills, he’d always said ‘keep to the path’. It seemed like an obvious thing to do, mostly at least. In this case, though, Kest knew that if he stuck to the path, then they would discover his location. All he had to do was wait a week. Just a week, and then he’d be able to stay with his parents again.

He continued down the path, but soon enough he began to stumble. Stepping from the path, he found a pleasant area beneath a tree where the roots had created an alcove to rest under. He decided to try to get some sleep and would try to travel further in the morning. He wasn’t nearly far enough for his father to stop searching, so traveling further was his best chance. The only thing that he could hope for was that he could move undetected in the daytime, but even he knew that it was a longshot. Instead of continuing to think of how he’d escape, he closed his eyes to sleep for a while.

* * *

A loud yip awoke Kest far too early, but even a lack of sleep couldn’t keep him from bolting upright when several others followed. The base of the tree and soil above made for a rough ceiling, and he was immediately back on his behind with a loud exclamation. The sounds of the animals stopped immediately, and he knew that there was some trouble brewing. With a curse beneath his breath that would have made his mother slap him across his mouth, he check out from beneath the cover of the tree. Immediately he saw a pair of eyes flash under the moonlight as it heard his rustling. He hurried out of his hiding spot and back onto the road as the animals began to follow him. The yipping close behind let him know that he only had a few moments, so he turned and swung his bag at the hunters.

The animal jumped back, and he found that he was being followed by three coyotes. The three began to spread out to make him have to glace between them, and he was beginning to be covered in a cold sweat at this point. He couldn’t die though, not when he was trying to escape from being taken by that strange man.

The coyotes began to feint attacks, and each one made Kest flinch and swing his bag. He’d heard stories of animals that were beginning to hunt humans, but he thought that it was just a story to scare him and the other kids in the village. The idea that the animals were starting to resemble monsters was something he never believed. He began taking cautious steps backwards, gradually attempting to return to the village. If he got to the edge of the forest, he was sure that he could scream for help. A few steps backwards and he found himself falling over a branch that he wasn’t able to see behind him, and he sent the bag falling several feet behind him.

It was then that the coyotes ran towards him, abandoning any semblance of strategy or intelligence. Kest grabbed the branch that tripped him and held it up towards the coyote that had led the other two. He averted his eyes as he felt the full weight of the coyote impale itself upon the branch and land on him. Nausea filled his stomach, but the adrenaline pumping through him awoke the magic that was just below the surface.

In a rush, he pushed the dead animal off of him and quickly got to his feet before running to his bag, eager to make his escape. He thought that the other two would stop chasing him, but they each sunk their fangs into the back of his legs. He fell to the ground and a loud cry escaped his lips. The two released his legs before one of them stood on his back so that the other could begin approaching to rip his throat out. He tried getting up from the ground, but the magic wasn’t strengthening him anymore. He swatted at the approaching coyote that seemed to begin smiling at his discomfort and fear.

The coyote stood above his head, and he saw the glistening, saliva-filled mouth open as it lowered to end his short life. Kest could only think of his family in that moment. His mother and father only had him, and he was about to have thrown his life away just because he didn’t want to leave them.

Selfishness is a feeling that only hurts others, his mother had once said. If a person uses selfishness alone to rise above all others, one of two things will happen. They will stand at the top alone, forever fearing others and cursing themselves for the loneliness, or they will die long before they can succeed.

His selfishness brought him here, and he wasn’t about to let it hurt his parents. He gasped as the mana surged through his body, opening more of his mana channels.The force that erupted threw the coyote off of his back nearly a dozen feet behind him, and unbeknownst to Kest, the other found itself dead with a skull that cracked against a tree. He staggered onto his feet, swaying from the loss of mana and from his injuries. The wounds weren’t deep, but for a child that hadn’t sustained such injuries before they were fatal in his own mind. He grabbed the stick that had impaled the first coyote’s throat and leaned on it as he walked towards the village. By the time he began to come close to the edge of the forest, he was nearly gasping for air, and there were words in his vision that he could not read.

“Help,” he gasped, collapsing on the dirt road that he’d traveled only a few hours before. An exhausted chuckle escaped his lips as he thought about only having lasted alone for a few hours away from home. The exhaustion pulled him into the void, and he fell into what he feared would be his last slumber.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

* * *

Kest awoke some time later to find that he was back in his room lying in bed. He sat up, wincing as his sore legs rubbed against the bed. He looked around the room and noticed that his mother sat in a chair, sweat covering her forehead and soaking her hair. His father stood by the door as if Kest was in any position to make another run for it. Leaning against the wall was the man that had found Kest after his first time using magic. Kest also noticed that there were the same words that he’d seen in his vision before he’d fallen unconscious, but he knew better than to get distracted during a situation that was so serious.

“You wanna tell us what you were doing out there,” Brondin began, and Kest knew that his father was about to lose his cool. “You wanna tell us what you were doing out there,” Brondin began, and Kest knew that his father’s anger was about to erupt. Here, Kest knew that he was both.

“You were out there. Alone. Do you have even the slightest clue how dangerous it was?” His father asked rhetorically, holding a hand up when Kest’s mouth opened. “You nearly died, son. You get that, right? If he wasn’t here, then you’d be dead on the road and the animals or monsters would have eaten your corpse in the woods.”

“He has a name you know,” the man said, standing upright, “and I was only able to find out that he’d snuck out because of the mana surge. Nothing else.”

“That’s not the point, Sven. The point is that my son nearly died tonight. Stay out of this. Your job is taking him from us, and mine is to make sure he lives to become a man,” Brondin said, stepping towards the scout, Sven. The scout let out a sigh before power washed through the room.

“Kneel,” he said, voice thrumming with mana. Brondin tried to fight against the pressure, but the air itself was forcing him onto his hands and knees. “You may be a Baron, but no one defies the King. I am one of many eyes that he has in order to find promising children like your son. You won’t disrespect me, and I won’t have to embarrass you. Are we clear?”

“Yes,” Brondin said grudgingly, raising his eyes to meet Sven’s. The pressure eased, and both Kest and his mother let out breaths they didn’t know they were holding.

“Onto business then,” Sven said, looking over at Kest. He lifted the eyepatch, revealing his bright blue eye that resembled the captured surface of the ocean. “I see. Seems like your son did a little leveling out there. You should be proud,” the man said with a grin.

“His strength was never a question,” Kest’s mother, Alexia, said, with her head between her hands. “Brondin was plenty strong, even before attending the academy. It was a matter of time before Kest awakened to the system, and knowing how much he resembles his father, I knew that he would be a fighter. I knew he’d be strong,” she said, ending in a whisper.

“I know what we discussed,” Brondin said, getting onto his feet. “He’ll be ready in the morning. As you instructed, his I only stopped the bleeding,” he finished, scowling.

“Good, then he won’t be able to leave again tonight. I swear to you, as one of the King’s Seekers, I’ll get him to a medical facility within the academy the day we arrive. Until then, his injuries can remind him not to run from responsibility,” Sven said, covering his eye and flashing Kest a dangerous grin. “If you find that you can’t keep him in his room, feel free to call for me. I’ll be at the inn.”

The mysterious man gave a wave as he walked out of the room, leaving a heavy silence behind. Kest wasn’t sure if he should even open his mouth, but he chose to do so anyway.

“Mom, Dad… I’m sorry for leaving. I was going to disappear, just for a week. That way I didn’t have to go to the academy,” he started, his voice raising in volume as he continued. “I wasn’t trying to cause trouble, and I didn’t want it to end up like this. All I wanted was to stay with you two a little longer.”

“I know, Kest, but we all have our duties,” his father said, grabbing Alexia’s hand. “Your mother helps those in the village with minor ailments so that they don’t have to travel to a healer. She helps people in the village to bring in crops, or to butcher animals. She keeps both us and the village itself together.

On the other hand, I’m the leader. I am supposed to protect and direct the people of our barony, whatever that may take. Son, look at me,” he said, walking to Kest and lifting his head so that his son’s tear-filled eyes met his own. “You will have to take over this position one day. To do that, although you don’t want to, you will have to accept responsibility as it comes your way. Leaving today, or being a soldier in a few years. It doesn’t matter what it is. So long as you do your best and face responsibility and challenges head on, I’ll be proud as your father,” he said, pulling his son in for a hug.

Kest held on to his father as the events of the night and the uncertainty of the future began to burden his mind. Instead of accepting the gift that Sven had given them and spending time with his family and people around the village, he’d squandered the opportunity and selfishly lost the time he could have spent. Sobs began escaping his lips, but within a few minutes, his mother and father were able to calm him. They turned the lights off in the room and left, telling Kestevere to get some sleep before morning came.

Sleep came quickly for the young boy, and he was able to get the minimal rest he’d need to begin the long journey. The morning sunlight began to peek through his window, and he gathered all of his belongings that he thought he’d need. Most of what he’d need was still in the woods, but he would pack another bag and make due with what he could. With a few clothes packed, a couple of books, and some traveling food retrieved from his mother, he was met outside of his childhood home by Sven.

“Let’s get going. I want to get as far as we can before the sun goes down,” the man said with the odd smile that never seemed to leave his face now. Kest nodded before turning to his mother and father.

“I’ll be back. I’ll do my best, and I’ll be the best I can be, mom and dad. I won’t run away,” he said, trying to seem brave despite the tears that were brimming.

His mother and father both knelt down to hug him, and as he released the two of them, he began to brighten up. It’s a trip for a few months at a time. I’ll grow up, and I’ll make them proud! He thought to himself, climbing into the scout’s wagon and trying to make the departure sting just a little less.