Thick plumes of smoke rose from the buildings that had been set on fire, their charred remains the result of a powerful explosion that had engulfed the entire plaza. Through the rubble, an old wizard made his way, using his long wooden staff as support. His long white beard was flecked with ash and dirt. He used his eyes and scanned the area with urgency.

People were screaming and running in all directions, panic etched on their faces. The old man paid them no mind, his focus solely on the rubble before him. He saw it move, and attentively, he raised his staff and slowly made his way towards the collapsed building where he sensed a faint glimmer of life. If what he was looking for was buried beneath the debris, he would make sure to turn to turn it into its permanent tomb.

He aimed his staff at the rubble and the large rocks lifted themselves into the air, floating without any support.

Under it, a young child of eight or ten years of age, covered in dust and dirt. It was not what he was looking for. He was about to walk away, but something stopped him, he looked at the child with guilt in his heart.

Stopping himself, he knelt next to the child and placed his palm gently on his forehead. He uttered a few words as the boy looked at him with weak eyes. Suddenly, light embraced the boy’s body. His wounds began to close and his breathing grew easier. Looking at the child heal, the wizard stood up and looked at the scenery once again.

Many people were trapped under the rubble, and he couldn’t help them all, why did he stop for the kid then? This wasn’t like himself. He sighed and started walking away, however, a small hand grabbed unto his gray robes.

The wizard tried to pull away from the child, his mind focused on his mission. But the small child clung to him harder, tears streaming down their dirt-streaked face.

"Please don't leave me," the boy whispered, his voice weak.

“Still awake huh kid? You are a tough one”. A small child like him would be fatigued after having healing magic cast on them. The fact that he was awake and had enough strength to grab his robes surprised him greatly.

With a wave of his staff, the wizard cast a magical ward around the child, enveloping him in a warm, protective glow. "There," he said with a smile. "That should keep you safe, now there’s nothing to fear“.

The child looked up at the magical field with wide, admiring eyes and turned to the old man with a smile. "Thank you," he said as weakly as he begged.

The wizard nodded and turned around setting off into the rubble to continue with his search. As he scanned through the wreckage, his senses were on high alert.

It didn’t take long for him to find another sign of life, however, this time he saw a broken pair of wings covered in shinning green scales sprouting from under the rocks. He found what he was looking for.

He walked forward until he was standing in front of the buried creature.

The wizard let out a triumphant cry as he stood over the defeated monster, its body twisted and broken, half-buried under a rock. Though humanoid, the creature had very distinct features, with shiny green scales covering its arms like armor, horns on its head, and sharp teeth in its mouth that could cut even through steel. At its sides, its wings lay broken, twitching in a futile attempt to escape the rubble.

Despite its injuries, the monster's eyes were still full of hatred. As the wizard approached, it let out a low growl and bared its teeth, determined to fight to the end.

It was a demon, a powerful one that took the features of dragons. It was incredibly rare for a demon this strong to make its way so far south, however the wizard had a good idea as to why it had ventured into these lands. He wanted to confirm just how much information the enemy had, and so he set about interrogating the demon.

"Give up, you are outmatched. Why don't you answer some questions for me instead of forcing me to finish you off?", the old mage spoke in an authoritative tone, his voice carrying the weight of his power. But the demon would have none of it. With a fierce growl, it opened its jaws and flames formed in its mouth, swirling with power as heat rose in an instant. But before it could unleash its fire upon the city once again, the old mage waved his staff and an invisible force struck the the demon's neck with such force that it’s head was sent rolling on the ground.

“Thought so”, the wizard sighed, closing his eyes in disappointment. As the old wizard turned to make his way back, he found that a group of spectators had gathered around looking at him and the monster's body, their eyes fixed on them with a mixture of fear and awe.

He saw that many of them were wounded, their bodies covered in cuts and bruises.

Past them. He could see others who were frantically searching the rubble, calling out for their loved ones.

"Edeus!", he turned to see a young woman landing next to him, a bright smile on her face.

"I finally caught up with you!", she exclaimed, her tone cheerful and unfitting of the atmosphere.

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“You are late, Ember.”, the wizard answered roughly, he was not in the mood to entertain the witch.

“Well, you were late too, if you had been faster the town wouldn’t be on fire”, the woman shrugged defending herself.

“It had nothing to do with my speed, he just fired his breath down this city in the hopes that I would prioritize saving these people instead of continuing the pursuit. Ironically, the fact that he slowed down to fire was what allowed me to get a good hit on him”, Edeus explained, his tone still laced with annoyance.

“Sure, whatever makes you feel better, kihihihi". The woman laughed with an annoying cackle as she raised her two hands behind her head and rested on them.

“Let’s get out of here, Adrian isn’t here, if he was, the commotion would have brought him out.”, Edeus dusted off his robes paying the witch’s derisions no mind. In reality, hunting down the demon was only secondary, his real goal was to find Adrian. He had visited a few towns when he saw the dangerous demon flying over the sky and decided to fly after him.

“Wait please!”.

Edeus turned, from the corner of his eyes he spied the small boy looking at the pair in awe. He was standing on his feet already which surprised Edeus.

The young boy stood before the old wizard, his eyes filled with determination and a hint of desperation. "Please, sir," he begged. "Take me with you. I want to learn magic and become a great wizard like you!"

“No”, Edeus gave the boy a dry response and turned around. He started walking away but the young boy would not be so easily deterred. He grabbed onto the wizard's robes and looked up at him with a fierce determination. "It's dangerous everywhere!", he said, gesturing towards the destroyed town behind him. "My home is gone. I have nowhere else to go."

Ember tilted her head looking at the situation with a teasing smile.

“Just go back to your parents kid, I’m already babysitting someone”, the wizard said looking at the witch at his side through the corner of his eyes, the witch only cackled to herself, amused.

“Please! Sir, I don’t have parents, I have no family, I have no friends either. They all died on the war. I have no talent with the sword, but maybe I can be of help to people with magic! Please, please teach me, I will do anything!”, the kid was almost yelling, his words spilling out with fierce passion. He had witnessed firsthand the tragedies brought about by war - the strong trampling over the weak, who had no choice but to stay down and watch hopelessly as they were walked all over. The kid's voice shook with emotion as he spoke, his experiences etched deeply into his soul.

This mysterious wizard had come out of nowhere and saved his life, to the young boy, it felt like a sign, perhaps this was the world giving him an opportunity to take his life on his own hands, to stop laying down in fear hoping for the best, to stand up and change the world.

Edeus' heart ached for the child. Many young lives had been lost or forever changed by tragedy and this kid was no different. The past 12 years had been filled with so many horrors that it made his back shiver. The war against demons had always been ruthless, but since Hexecate had taken over the throne, everything had changed for the worse, and at an alarming speed that nobody was ready for.

Edeus brushed his long white beard thinking to himself. "What is your name, boy?", he asked.

"R-Rodderick, sir!", the young boy answered with a mix of nerves and excitement.

"How about this, I will give you a magical test, if you pass, you can join us.", Edeus kept stroking his beard while looking at the child.

"Here", Edeus waved his staff and a wisp of fire appeared, floating on the air. "Turn it off".

The magical flame heated everything around in an instant, it was a powerful fire spell that even proper mages would have trouble dealing with, it was Edeus way to make the child realize he wasn't ready.

As Rodderick watched the fireball floating, he couldn't help but gulp at the sight, the magic fire was floating even from a distance, he could feel the immense heat hitting his body body, enveloping him entirely.

However, he was not willing to give up, no matter what, if he missed this chance, he would never be able to stand on his own feet. He had made up his mind the moment he asked the wizard to take him along.

With no hesitation, the young boy reached at the flame with both his hands trying to contain it between.

"What?!" Edeus quickly dispelled the flame, afraid of melting the child's hands.

"Are you stupid child?! Don't you know how dangerous magic fire is?!"

However, Rodderick answered by giving the wizard a huge smile. "There, it's gone".

Edeus was speechless, Ember cackled to herself and the child kept smiling, proud of himself.

The old wizard sighed exhausted. He realized his jaw was hanging open and he quickly corrected it. He once again took his stoic attitude and closed his eyes.

"Alright, boy, we don't have all day, let's go". It had been many decades since he had been defeated. Out of respect for the kid’s bravery, he could no longer reject him.

Edeus turned around and walked away.

"Yeah!" The child smiled and trotted behind.