Small town of Hillsborough was coated in thick darkness, no light from stars or moon could penetrate through the clouds on that summer night. The queer and ominous feeling spread around the villagers like an infection. Trouble was hanging in the air, something evil ought to be unveiled that night. Windows were shut, doors barricaded. No living creature dared to venture outside, an agreement of silence and fear was signed that night amongst all livings.
A character dressed in all black, with a broad hood over its head, entered the village. He was followed by a heavy rain suppressing remaining sounds and blocking the vision of any brave, curious eyes that did not yet hide underneath their blankets.
Soon three knocks could be heard at the doors of a local smith. Fear struck their owner, paralysing his movement. His hands started trembling, as he realised that his tricks and deceits have finally backfired at him. Death was upon him, and he had nowhere to run to. His wife, braver or somewhat less aware of the fore coming danger stepped forward to open the door.
'What desperation brings You here in this awful evening stranger?' She asked, trying to see through the shadow lied by the hood.
'I'm after Master Leopodius, rumours tell he dwells here.' A cold female voice replied an aching shiver of fear raced through smith's spine.
'If You're after his service, then You must pardon him, he is not working after dusk, especially during such an unpleasant time. Please come by as soon as the sun rises again above the horizon.' In women's head, the matter has been settled, she was about to put the heavy doors in motion once again and close them at once. However, that never came to occur, an invisible force held doors as they were. Her eyes opened wide in disbelief as her muscles turned to senseless stone and she was slowly pushed aside by another unnatural force.
The invader entered the household. Doors were shut with a loud bang, and within a blink of an eye, they blended with the surrounding wall. A great deal of magic was at work. Smith Leopodius was sitting still next to a fireplace in the living room, awaiting the inevitable. His wife, levitating few inches above the floor, was following the invader. Only quiet moans came out of her mouth. She was unable to speak or scream.
'At last, I've found You.' A soft woman voice filled the room, a short pause in absolute silence followed her words. 'One could think that you're running from something like a reckless fool, but you're not a fool, are you, Master Leopodius?'
But Master Leopodius didn't deny straight away like an ordinary man would do. Long ago has he realised how he brought doom upon himself and his offspring.
'Looks like your woman has something to say, her body is scuffling in convulsions like a fish robbed from water' spell around her mouth dispersed, cracking cry went out.
'It’s-It’s-It's a mistake, we are ju-just smiths, no magicians or criminals, we did nothing bad.'
'You're lucky to be outside the Empire's borders to spit such words, "magicians or criminals" otherwise your tongue would already be squashed underneath my sole. Leopodius is an oath-breaker, thief, fool and coward - last I found out while searching for him across the entire Empire. But you couldn't keep your ego in shadow, huh? Rumours of an incredibly talented smith which works seemed to be filled with magic reached my sensitive ears. Here I'm, hundreds of miles away from the capital, in this miserable Dredonian town. Chasing a mistake, as your woman pointed out'.
'No, please, it's not-' a silencing spell bounded her lips again.
'Leopodius, why won't You tell her what you have done before I crush her for testing my patience.'
Leopodius' fists clenched, not from anger, but from immeasurable shame and guilt. He didn't have to recall anything, these memories and thoughts haunted him repeatedly in his worst nightmares.
He took a deep breath and let his story flow through his throat. It all started almost a dozen years from the present point in time. He already earned his position of master in one of the most renowned forges of Empire's capital- Sol Innaex. To his profession's standards, Leopodius was young and promising, many customers and colleagues praised his works and fed his ego. Rumours of his mastery were so exciting. People often claimed it’s only a matter of time before the creation of his "perfection". One in a lifetime masterpiece that cannot be reproduced by any other human being. The peak of one's talent and skills, unique and more powerful than any other standard making.
However, the grandest work of a great smith, who's will rule over metal and magic, did not seem to occur. His reputation grew more prominent, but so did his impatience and frustration. Jewels, swords and armours enchanted with most marvellous spells, for him were only a mocking reminder of his failure.
He found a mere peace of mind in gambling. A perilous sport - gladiator fights - had even more dangerous business behind them. Gambling at highest stakes, when often a result of a battle decided not gladiator's, but a losing gambler's fate.
After many won prices, misfortune finally found Leopodius. His greed and self-confidence set a trap underneath him. To ensure his victories, he supplied his favourite champion with gear made by himself. These gave its owner strength, agility and stamina unseen amongst other magical equipment.
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Leopodius was in full control of his creations, their strength would never fail, his tools listened to him with blind loyalty. Yet, there was one gladiator that silently planned to betray his trust and made a bad deal with an old gambler who did not like Leopodius' "good luck". Upon a promise of immense profits, he lost a significant fight on purpose, leaving his patron in unimaginable debt.
At this point in his story appears Rhagea- a young-looking female mage who promised to pay off his debts in return for one thing. Leopodius owed her mightiest work he will ever forge. Back then, he lost all his hopes of creating anything grand, so his debt seemed trivial.
It happened on the day of his son's birth. Perhaps it was that temporary and sudden happiness that gave him a necessary boost of strength, or maybe just blind luck. But that same day his hands forged the mightiest rune seen by the living world. For those who might wonder, what blacksmith's rune is. It is a powerful single-use and life-long gift that can be absorbed by any living creature. It can make any common man possess a superior strength or make a wizard capable of becoming a demi-god. A blacksmith controlling magical forces can easily forge temporary or weak runes. Leopodius' creation was unique and worth more than the entire wealth of the Empire. He knew that he has just accomplished what he thought was impossible to him, even though he couldn't understand the absolute value of his work.
He spent long hours gasping at his rune, forgetting about his newly born son. Now that he has finally proved his maestri, he couldn't think about giving it away to someone else. This is when he packed all his belongings and family and went on his escape. A journey comprising hundreds of miles led him to a small Dredonian village, not far away from Empire's border. The unbreakable oath he gave to Rhagea was haunting him day and night. At night terrorising him in dreams, at day echoing in the air each time his hammer struck his works. He could sense her coming, breaking the oath with the wizard meant only one thing- death, there was nothing more confident in the world than this.
Now she stood in his house, with her magic ready to turn him into a pile of ash.
'I'm glad that you shared this fascinating story with your women, now be so kind and finally end this farce. Give me the rune' her hand reached out to him. He somehow managed to look even grimmer. Nothing was passed from him, his head lightly nodded in the direction of a door leading to another room. Rhagea briefly squinted her eyes, something felt wrong to her, she started to expect more deceits from Leopodius.
What she saw behind that door was far from threatening. It confused her at first. When the realisation came upon her, she was filled with a desire to seriously burn Leopodius alive. The room she has just entered in, was, in fact, a child's bedroom, with a toddler sleeping in a tiny bed at the very end of it. The wooden bed was marvellously decorated, definitely built by Leopodius's hands. It wasn't, however, what grasped Rhagea's attention. A toddler was sleeping on his belly, with his entire upper body bare and on sight. On his back, a peculiar black mark was visible, in fact, it covered a large portion of his skin from shoulders to pelvis. Out of all Leopodius' deceits, this was a one she would never think about, if not for the fact she could sense meagre amounts of magic gathering around the mark.
Her thoughts were in mass disorder, accelerated by anger and disbelief. 'How did he dare to betray me again? He wasted both the rune and his life' and at last 'This child has the potential of being the most powerful being in the entire world. Still, there is no way he can survive till that point if anyone finds out about the rune. I should end his misery here and now before others discover him.'.
She decided to deal with everything in an appropriate order, things she was clear and sure about were to be done first.
Her sight once again landed on poor Leopodius.
'You should not have done that; you could just fulfil your oath and keep living as one of the greatest craftsmen in the vast Empire. But you choose doom upon yourself, your son and all your legacy. Your achievements will be forgotten, skills wasted, all your works will turn into dust. You know the consequences of oath-breaking, what are your last words before I annihilate you from the living?'
'I curse every single one of your kin who lusts for ascension. Not even immortality can save you from your failures.'. For the first time since the intruder's arrival, Leopodius was brave enough to look her in the eyes, gather the last bits of courage left and spit out words held since he made the rune.
Rhagea raised her hand, ignoring repeating cries from his wife begging to spare him and take everything else from them, including the child. Barely seen flash went through Leopodius' eyes, after which his body relaxed and sagged into a soft armchair. It was a quick and painless death, Rhagea wasn't cruel, yet she was merciless when it came to timeless customs like oaths. Loud squeak and an even more piercing cry came out from fresh widow. Immediately after her release, she rushed to the dead husband, kissing his hand and dropping dozens of tears on his pale, cold skin.
Rhagea heard quiet whine emerging from the open bedroom. Last case to be resolved before the end of this disappointing night. She sighed, what was about to happen made her weary and tired. She didn't enjoy killing, not to mention the murder of a child. But that boy, he wasn't a simple being. Under different circumstances, he would be her rival, one-in-a-ten-thousand wizard on the edge of ascension. Still, when she looked into his immaculately blue eyes- a unique asset devoted to young children, pure from contamination of the outside world. She saw an incredible vision, an image of a young man standing by her side, ready to sacrifice his life for her. His power matched hers, but she couldn't tell anything more from this brief vision. Was is some deception from semi-god? History has proven that they like to mess with the fates of mortals. Or maybe it was just her, having a unique peek at a complex thread of destinies.
A decision had to be made. She raised her hand in a similar gesture as previously. Whining silenced. A moment later she stepped out from the bedroom, carrying a small body wrapped in bundles of fabric.
'What's his name?' her tired voice drowned out noises made by the widow. Through snorts and sobbing, a single name came through.