A young boy ran in the grass. He had blue eyes, like the sky, and platinum blode hair barely reaching his shoulders that surrounded his round and lively face. On his back were a small sack, that bounced up and down as he ran on his small legs. He was tall for his age though, comparing to the other children of the village, at twelve winters old.

As he ran, he tripped on a stone and fell, scratching his knee. He loudly cursed while holding his bloodied knee, and bit his lips.

”Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry...” He mumbled, with tears starting to appear at the corners of his eyes. He quickly wiped them off and then got up. ”Men don’t cry.” He checked his sack and confirmed that no berries had fallen out. And then he began running again, though a little slower.

It took only a few minutes before he reached a small path, at which he turned right. Arriving at the top of a hill, he then saw the small village, only counting a a few dozens og families and houses. He then hurriedly ran downhill, and a few cows lifted their heads to see with the new arrivant, only to lower them again and to continue eating, not having judged the child a threat.

Right before he reached the first houses he slowed down to walking, while catching his breath. Then he suddenly saw a person lying in the grass right next to a mule. He had closed eyes, and was dressed in a grey wool tunic and pants, with high cavalier boots. The boy smiled.

”Dobarn!” He shouted out. He then quickly approached. ”You’re not sleeping are you?”

”No, I am not.” He said while opening his eyes. ”It’s good to see you, boy.” A faint smile formed on his lips.

”Call me by my name, Talr!” He corrected, but his voice was full of joy. Walking over to the mule, he patted it and noticed a big black cape, with a hood, bound to its saddel. He took some berries from his sack. ”There you go, old boy.” With a beaming smile, he began to feed the mule, who greedily eated them.

”Don’t give him too much, you’ll spoil him” Dobran said, though he didn’t make any action to stop him.

”What an ungrateful master, if you come with me, I’ll feed you a lot of berries!” He exclaimed, while looking at Dobarn.

”Hm. What are you going to eat, by the way?” He said and smirked. Talr sighed and took the sack away.

”Anyway, I found you a wand. With this you can start learning magick.” All joy disappeared from his face, as he became serious. ”You body is compatible with magick, which is very rare, as you already know.”

The boy’s eyes turned big, ”But shouln’t I start with a staff? I heard that it is much more difficult with a wand.” Talr said with respect and fear.

"But much more powerful."

”Even you, you still has a staff.”

”Oh, I haven’t found a wand compatible with me yet.” He explained. ”But, I believe you have great talent and intelligence. So if you can master the difficult first, then you will become more powerful very quickly and then you will be able to... Protect and save everyone.” Talr thought for a short moment that he had spotted a strange thing in Dobarn’s eyes, but he ignored it.

” Yes... That is my goal. What do I have to do for the wand to accept me?”

”Sleep with it for a whole night, and be careful to never loose skin contact with it. And in the morning, when you wake up, I will be there.” Dobarn said. He put his hand in the bag, and took a wand out, and slowly handed it to Talr, with it lying on his opened hands.

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Talr took it, while being extremely careful and respectful. He then began inspecting it. The wand was pale, like it had been carved out of bone, with a very small and slim white snake circling around it.

”It is beautiful, isn’t it?” Dobarn said with a smile. ”Quite long though, at thirty-five centimeters.”

”How do I know if it has accepted me tomorrow?” He asked, while still looking at the wand.

”Do not worry. You will know soon enough...” At that moment, Talr thought that Dobarn’s smile was creepy. "Anyway, the day will soon be over. Go find a place to sleep"

”Then see you tomorrow!” He quickly ran off under Dobarn’s watchful gaze.

After Talr had eaten all of his berries, or the rest of them, he took his self-made rope, which he had made with long pieces of bark, and bound the wand to his left arm. That way, he wouldn’t loose skin contact, even if he moved in his sleep.

He was excited, and his heart kept pounding, eager to learn fancy and strong magick, but after a while he managed to fall asleep.

Talr stood on a rock. He looked around, and spotted a person far away. He shouted out. The person didn’t react. He then sprinted towards the person and got a better look at him.

He was dressed entirely in black. A black loose silk shirt, and fitted black silk pants. He had high black leather boots, going halfway up to the knee. And long brown hair, at the limit of black. It all contrasted greatly with his pale and smooth skin. When Talr got closer, he could see his face. It was a captivating face, not one you would forget. He had sharp green eyes, like the ocean can be sometimes. But sharper. A proud and straight nose in the middle of his face, over his slim lips.

As Talr stopped a few meters from him, he noticed that the man was tall. Tall and slim, and well fit.

”Who are you.?” The man finally noticed him. He fixed his piercing gaze on the boy. After a moment, he resbonded.

”You are weak. But you have the Gift.” His strong voice revealed a will of iron.

”Huh? What do you mean? Who are you!?” Talr was scared. He took a step back.

”You cannot escape.” Suddenly, the plains and the sky disappeared, leaving only the nothingness. They both floated in the air, but the man began turning into green smoke. And then he threw himself at Talr, who began screaming while trying to hit the green smoke. His mind felt pressed, like it was being crushed slowly.

But he gathered his will to live, his will to gain power to save and protect people. He shielded himself, with a blue wall surrounding him.

”Why?! Who are you?!” Talr screamed. A green translucid spear formed in the green smoke. It launched itself at his wall and instantly pierced it, continuing its path and reached deep inside Talr, who felt pain like never before.

A high pitched scream sounded. A dying child’s scream.

”I am Adalwulf.” The entity said.