“Mommy? Daddy?” Connor yelled frantically between coughs as smoke seared his lungs.

He squinted and blinked away tears. Ash stung his eyes, and everything was a blurry mess of black and orange.

His heart pounded in his chest as the fire raged around him, and the roof above groaned ominously.

He instinctively raised his arms to protect himself from the debris that drifted down, but it did nothing against the oppressive heat around him.

Only one thought pushed him forward. He had to find his parents.

A deafening boom shook the house.

Bookcases crashed to the ground, sending their contents sprawling all over the floor and feeding the hungry flames.

Smoke choked his lungs, and he fell to his knees.

He shook with fear, but when he thought about his parents, he found the strength to stand again even as the floorboards creaked and groaned beneath his feet.

He gritted his teeth and took unsteady steps forward once more.

A wooden beam plummeted from the ceiling and smashed into the floor not far from him, releasing a cloud of ash and cinders.

He jumped back, and a shiver ran down his spine as he looked at the massive, burning beam that could have crushed him.

But, he couldn't give up.

“Mommy? Daddy?” he screamed again as he stumbled down the one path that wasn't blocked by rubble or fire.

“Where are you?” he cried though it came out hoarse and he broke out into a coughing fit.

His parents never let him out of their sight for longer than a second.

He feared never seeing them again. He was only four, but he knew enough to know that things could go away forever… they could… no! He wouldn’t let himself think that.

They were here somewhere.

They were probably trying to find him, but how could they hear him over the explosions that ripped apart the air and shook the earth. How could they see him in the fire and smoke?

“Mo-?” He choked on smoke and coughed as his dry, burning throat couldn’t finish the word. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was filled with ash.

He heard screams outside before an inhuman roar drowned them out again.

He made it to the other side of the passageway, and someone grabbed him and scooped him up.

He couldn't see their face, but he didn't need to.

"Daddy!" he choked out the word though his throat still burned from the smog around them.

"I've got you, my boy... I've got you…" his father said.

"What's happening daddy? Where’s mommy?" Connor asked.

"Shhh, son. It's all okay now. Mommy is fine, she's just busy right now," his father said as he carried Connor through their burning home.

Now that he’d found his dad, everything would be okay. Even so, he held onto his father tightly, afraid that he might somehow disappear.

His father rushed through the house, and into a room that Connor was never allowed into. His father set him down on a workbench and grabbed a piece of parchment while looking around frantically.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Connor picked up a quill next to him without thinking and handed it to his father.

His father took the quill and scribbled something on the parchment, but Connor couldn’t see what.

His father folded it, took a pouch from his belt, and handed both to Connor.

He held Connor's little hands in his massive paws and looked him in the eyes.

"Hold tight onto this. When you see your Uncle Victor you give this to him okay?" his father said.

When he saw his uncle? Victor? Who was that? That made no sense.

But, this was clearly important to his dad. He nodded and clutched the parchment and the pouch as tightly as he could.

"That's my boy," his father said as he tussled Connor's hair.

Connor smiled as he looked at his dad with love in his eyes. Everything would be okay as long as his dad was around.

A chunk of the wall ripped away in a cloud of dust and a shower of rubble, and the house shuddered as though about to collapse.

The debris settled, revealing Connor’s mother where the wall used to be. Her long, dark-blue hair flowed around her, caught in some unseen wind.

Behind her, twenty-foot tall metal statues carrying massive swords as large as they were slashed at robed men.

Flashes of color burst from the robed men, lightning, fire, and blue energy lashed out at the colossal statues, and loud booms sounded after each attack.

So that was where all the noise and the fire had come from? What was happening?

Connor returned his attention to his mother, ready to ask those very questions. But, something dark and red covered her skin and clothes, and the words died on his lips.

“…Mommy?” he said.

"Is he ready?" she asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

Connor's father nodded solemnly. His mother turned to Connor and embraced him tightly, almost crushing him.

He hugged her back with as much strength as he had, still clutching the paper and pouch as tight as he could.

"Be good my baby boy," his mother said as tears streamed down her face, "we love you always."

She raised her hands, and everything went white.

Connor awoke with a start. He tried to get up, but his feet tangled in his bed sheets and he tumbled onto the floor.

He kicked off the snarled mess as he looked around frantically, but there were no flames and no smoke. Just his room in his uncle’s manor on the palace grounds, softly lit by moonlight that streamed in through the window.

Far from the last night he ever saw his parents.

He slumped back against the wooden floorboards and wiped the sweat from his brow as he took in a deep, shuddering breath of cool night air.

He sighed.

It wasn't the first time he'd dreamed of that night, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last either.

How could someone get over losing their parents?

Part of him felt stupid for still having nightmares about something that happened fifteen years ago, but another part was glad that he hadn’t forgotten them.

He still missed them.

Every day.

He clambered to his feet with a groan and rubbed his elbow where he’d caught himself on the floor. At least, he hadn’t landed on his face.

He peered out the window, across the palace grounds with the beautifully maintained gardens and the guards moving about with their shining plate armor gleaming in the soft light of the moon.

“Damn it. It’s too early,” he said as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

His heart still pounded in his chest like a drum.

He took a long, mournful look at his bed and turned away. He wouldn’t get back to sleep now.

Every time he had that dream, he wondered what had happened to his parents.

Were they still out there somewhere, looking for him? Would he ever find them, or at least learn what happened that night?

After that white light, he had found himself somewhere far… far away. His mother had transported him to his uncle Victor, and he had never seen his parents again.

He had asked his uncle about what had happened over and over again, but each time Victor had said he didn’t know.

That didn’t stop Connor from asking.

He wasn’t stupid. The chance they were still alive was slim, but even so, he wanted to know what had happened to them.

To find who, or what took them from him, and make them pay.

“Victor might have given up on them, but I never will,” he muttered darkly.

Today was the day he could finally do something that would put him on the path of vengeance he so craved. It was time to become more than a thief, and a spy.

He lit a candle and stared at his reflection in the mirror as he shaved his beard. His dark eyes grew darker still as thoughts of revenge swirled in his mind.

He cleaned himself up and put on some of his more formal clothes before he left his room.

He felt naked without his leather armor or his rapier, but the old man wasn’t fond of weapons, and Connor wanted to make the best impression he could.

This might be his only chance.

The night was silent as he left his uncle’s manor on the palace grounds, and strode toward the palace itself.

Along the way, he passed a few of the nighttime guards on patrol, and many of them saluted him as he passed.

He gave each a polite nod in return and kept on his way.

These guards had no idea who he or his uncle were, or what service they performed for the palace.

Though there were rumors of course, and he knew them.

As well he should, he’d started most of them.

It helped to keep people guessing.

Going to see Elgar, the head wizard in the city, to become his apprentice should start some new and interesting ones.