He ran without looking back. All the way across town.
"I don't wanna die... I don't wanna die! Damn it! I didn't want to kill them! But they were gonna kill me... bastards! Why do I gotta get in trouble when they were the ones messing with me?"
The Boy slipped and rolled down the muddy hill. He ran to the front gate and slammed his fist into it, trying to get anyone's attention.
"Help! Someone help! Anyone—"
The peephole slid open, and a man glared through.
"What is it, boy? We don't have time for you."
"Why's he sound kind of... strange?"
"The knight! Lady... uh, Lady..." he stammered.
"...What was her name again?"
"Knight? Go on, then. Spit it out."
"Right! Veyra! Lady Veyra sent me! She said you people would help!"
The man opened the gate and stepped out. He squinted, analyzing The Boy up and down. Strangely, he wasn't wearing the clothes of a soldier.
"Well? What'd Lady Veyrath say?"
"She said..." The Boy looked past the man and saw a burning pile of unrecognizable mass. "She said you'd give me shelter and food!"
"Get the fuck out of here, brat. We don't have time for people like you."
Foolishly, The Boy continued. "No, I swear! She's making me her ward when she comes back, I—"
"I said get the fuck out!" the guard shouted, slapping The Boy across the cheek.
He went to grab The Boy, but he headbutted the man and broke into a sprint back into town.
"Gaud dammit! Who the fuck was that!? That was not a soldier! He didn't even get the lady's name right! What is happening in this town!?"
He could hear shouting and footsteps that followed soon after.
The Boy ran through the alleys and streets aimlessly, soaking in the rain and trying desperately to lose whoever it was that was chasing him. Eventually, he dropped to his knees, and piercing through the thunder, he cried a guttural, primal scream.
"HELP ME YOU BASTA—"
Almost instantly, he was cut off by lightning which struck right in front of his very eyes, and a hand slapped over his mouth.
"I heard you, so shut up you damn idiot." The wizard had found him. "I'm overextended as it is already, I can't have you revealing where we are."
"I knew it! He was watching me! Then did he see what happened in the alley? But who are these people that took over the post? And so soon after the knight herself left...? None of this makes any sense!"
The enemy was collapsing on them, and it wouldn't be long before they were completely trapped.
"I didn't expect this place to be so… infected! How many other backwater towns have they completely taken over? And I have to be the one to tell the king… fuck, how is that knight so incompetent? Unless she's being paid off? Fuck, fuck!" The wizard cursed.
"Are we just gonna stand here until we're killed, or are we gonna do something?" The Boy asked. "Who are those guys anyway?"
The wizard tensed his fist. His temper was nearing its breaking point. He wasn't good with children... especially in stressful situations.
"Hold on."
A massive metal bolt whizzed through the air, and the wizard forcefully shoved The Boy into a duck. It nearly tore his head to mist.
The wizard spun around, firing a magical icicle back into the rain.
The Boy's heart skipped a few beats, and he realized he was in true danger. Not the type of danger where you're risking your life, but the type where it's completely out of your hands. Nothing he could do would be able to save his life if it came to it. Not on his own, at least.
"Magic..." The Boy whispered to himself, wide-eyed.
"HAHAHA! STUPID BITCH! BET YOU DIDN'T EXPECT ME TO DETECT YOUR EXACT POSITION! THE THREE OF YOU ARE NEXT! YOU'RE ALL FOOLS FOR THINKING YOU COULD TAKE OUT ALWYN, THE EVERFLAME WIZARD!"
Three cloaked men instantly converged on top of the two of them, and the wizard, Alwyn, slammed his hand into the ground. Three pillars erupted into spikes, cleanly impaling one of them and wounding the other two.
Alwyn held out his hand and a wooden staff flew into it, just in time to block another strike from one of the men. His wizard's cloak blew in the storm, and he used it to protect The Boy while fighting at the same time.
Six more men appeared, then eight, and more bolts started flying every second. The Boy couldn't believe his eyes, watching the wizard fend off the growing force. The ground cracked and crumbled under the weight of the battle.
The Boy was shivering, and he wasn't sure if it was from the cold or nerves. His teeth were involuntarily bared like a poor dog's, and his back was hunched like a feral cat's.
"Fuck it... I'M TORCHING THIS ENTIRE TOWN—oh. You wouldn't like that, would you?" He looked at The Boy. "Shit... here I am being considerate."
"No! It's fine! Torch it! This entire town could burn for all I care!"
He looked confused for a second, then broke into laughter. "Ha! You're a total psycho! Fine, but you better not throw a tantrum after everyone you know... is... DEAD!"
The Boy flew through the air at lightning speed. He nearly passed out from the force of being sent into the air by Alwyn's magic.
As he fell from the clouds, a pitchy ringing pierced his ears, and then a bright pillar of light shot into the sky. He heard a deep rumbling sound, and the pillar of light exploded into a vortex of flame. The clouds parted, and instantly the rain stopped.
The entire town was engulfed in the fire, and though The Boy was watching his hometown turn to ash, and though he was falling to his death, the sight made him erupt into laughter.
"That's... not fruity at all! That's incredible! I want it! I wanna do it, too! Oh, I'm about to die, aren't I?"
Right before he touched the ground, The Boy's fall stopped. The new silence made The Boy's heavy breathing seem loud, and the wizard stood there with his arms crossed.
"You're smiling?" The pillar of flame still swirled in the background, with no signs of stopping. "Are you a psychopath, or am I missing something?"
"Teach me!"
"Huh!?"
"Make me a wizard!"
"Ha! That was it? You were impressed by the art of my spell... well, it's not that easy, see? Becoming a wizard—"
"I don't give a damn! I'll do anything! And you gotta! You owe me!"
"I owe you? Didn't I just save your life?"
"What!? You ruined my life. You've killed everyone I know and you've ruined my chances at becoming a knight! I'd rather you have killed me!"
Of course, The Boy was lying. Because, the wizard hadn't torched anything that mattered to The Boy at all. Not even the two boys, Lori and Andel, who The Boy wouldn't ever admit mattered more than a pair of slaves.
"Ha... HA! Fine then, but it's not like you've convinced me or anything, don't get an ego now. Did you think I'd save you for no reason? I saw it from the moment I met you—your latent magic talent! I was watching you even then, in the alley."
"No way... I have talent? Wait—he was watching me since then? What the hell was he waiting for, then!?"
"Take my hand, but you better know, becoming a wizard is incredibly grueling and—"
"I've heard it before. I said I'd do anything, didn't I?" The Boy said, grabbing the wizard's hand.
"Alright then, that was easy. Usually it takes convincing the mother, then the father, then the brother, then the aunts... well, it's alright, since—"
"STEP AWAY FROM THE WIZARD, BOY!"
"Well, that's twice in a row I've been interrupted mid-sentence. Go on then, what is it?"
The two turned to the source of the shouting. There, across the field, stood the black-iron knight Lady Veyra. Behind her was her band of soldiers, all ready for battle.
"Lady Veyra...? It's alright! This man saved me, he—"
"I SAID STEP AWAY FROM THE WIZARD!"
"Oh, brother..." Alwyn sighed. "Always these knights, assuming the worst. What an incompetent lot. No wonder this nation's going to shit, right?"
"IDENTIFY YOURSELF! NOW!"
"I'm Alwyn, The Everflame Wizard. I'm sure you've heard of me... let's just get this over with, alright? I'm here on official—"
Lady Veyra dashed forwards, instantly closing the large gap. Alwyn waved his staff and a glowing magic barrier formed. She swung her sword, creating cracks along the barrier. But it held true.
"That's the third time I've been interrupted," he sighed. "I should kill you where you stand."
The Boy looked between the wizard, who had saved him, and the knight, who had promised to.
"YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR TREASON, MASS MURDER, WHATEVER THE FUCK! I DON'T KNOW THE DAMN LAWS!" she shouted, swinging again.
"Isn't that your job...!?"
Alwyn looked around for a moment into seemingly thin air, then sighed.
"Lucky bitch," he mumbled, turning to The Boy. "So? You'll do it? You'll become my apprentice, right? You better not waver now that she's here..."
"Well, can I decide after you beat her?"
"...Are you joking?"
"RAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she screamed, stabbing the sword through the barrier. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"I'll do it! I'll become your apprentice!"
"You've made the right decision! Then, take my hand, my apprentice, and let's get out of here!"