Fen

Fen let out a groan, her tail swished slowly behind her. She didn't feel so well, with a slicing headache and heavy feeling limbs. But in a strange way, she felt different, like something in her changed. She remembered having the weirdest dream.

She remembered being back at her parent’s farm. Then them… being killed by the elf slaver. Then the slaver had died and she wanted to die too. But before she was about to die, a Black Angel stopped her.

Her mind was still a little groggy, but she tried to remember what the black angel had looked like. It had… it looked like a demon. No, it looked like…

Fen’s eyes shot open, all feelings of tiredness forgotten. The black angel looked like Lost.

Her vision swam in and out of focus. Fen closed her eyes again and reopened them, her vision focusing. Lost was holding her on his lap. He peered down at her, worried, with a little curiosity, and not wearing his hood.

Fen shrieked in surprise. A bright flash of light appeared and it sent Lost reeling back, dropping Fen. He let out a bark of pain, covering his face with his hands.

“GAH!” Lost said, still clutching his face, his eyes were clamped shut.

Fen just sat there, looking at him. Her tail was curled around herself. She tried to shrink into a ball, expecting Lost to lash out a her. It had always been that way with elves, when she made them mad they would lash out at her, hurting her. She didn't know what she had done to him, but it looked like she had just really hurt him.

“You! Grah!” Lost said, looking in Fen’s general direction. He took several deep breaths, obviously trying to calm himself. After a minute, he had calmed down again. His eyes were open now, looking at Fen. Oddly there was no hostility of any kind in them.

“I didn't think you’d attack me, I was just trying to help you. Do you know how much torture I went through to help you?! I had to sit there watching you eating soup! It smelled so good, too!” Lost said in mock hurt, rubbing his amber eyes.

Fen cocked her head to the side. ‘Watching me… eat soup? I haven't eaten anything.’

Lost got up, stopping in front of Fen, “Looks like i'm going to have to teach you how to use it. Along with strengthening it, but i'm not good at illusion. My cloak.”

He held out his hand. Fen looked down at herself, sure enough, she was wearing his black cloak. It was incredibly soft, and light. She hadn't even known she was wearing it till he mentioned it. Reluctantly taking it off, she handed it back to him.

He slung it over his shoulders with a flourish, pulling the hood up. The shadow in the hood enveloped his face, except for his glowing amber eyes. He nodded and walked off, mumbling something about illusions and magic.

Lost picked up where he had set his sword and belt. He buckled the belt on his chest, the sheath and sword on his back. Readjusting it to fit him better he started walking back to the dirt road, “Come on kid. I got a lot of explaining to do, and I would rather do it while being productive.”

Fen got up, about to follow him, “Oh no! Where'd it go?”

She looked around at the ground, trying to find the clear orb Lost had given her. He looked over his shoulder at her, stopping.

“What is it?” He said, not sounding too pleased.

“I lost the glass ball you gave me!”

Lost snorted and responded, “It's gone. It turned into itty bitty pieces of glass.”

Fen looked at him in surprise, with a little bit of horror. That was one of very few things she had been given by anyone since her parents died. It also just made her feel comfortable, like the embrace of her mother.

A twinge of pain went through her heart at the memory, then the thoughts of the black angel reappeared. It had told her that it wouldn't leave her, even though it might not be able to protect her from harm. But surely it couldn't have been Lost, right?

“It… broke?” Fen said, following Lost down the road.

“Yea. You shattered the thing in your sleep,” Lost said with a nod, he started walking again.

“I broke it? But…” Fen’s sentence trailed off, as she tried to remember breaking it.

“Well… It wasn't exactly your fault, more mine. I lied to you about it, it wasn't meant for protecting,” said Lost looking back at her.

Fen was slightly shocked and upset. But it wasn't all that surprising, she hardly knew anything about this person. He seemed cold most of the time, but somehow also kind. Prone to angry outbursts as well.

“Calm down, kid. It wasn't that kind of lie, I just didn't tell you what it actually did. It’s something called a Mana Core, or was, at least. It’s a uncommon magical item that can awaken and help people bond with magic. Though you used it more as a giant hammer, as a way to project an illusion through the massive crack you made to release your power. A very good one, might I add.” Lost tried to reassure her.

Fen only nodded. She didn't understand everything he was saying, but she got most of it.

They walked on in silence, Fen trying to remember her dream. But it had long since faded, only the thoughts of the black angel remaining.

Lost started the conversation again, “Alright. So, how shall I explain how to use your magic?”

He looked back at her, his glowing eyes looking her up and down. Fen only shrugged, she knew what most knew of magic. That it allowed people to use it do amazing things and wasn't supposed to be real.

“Hhhmmm,” Lost looked forward again, “I'll just give you the general idea of it and help you later to master your own magic. Where to start, where to start?”

After a few moments of him mumbling, he spoke to her again, “Aha! Well let me start on what magic is. All magic can be traced back to four base elements and two opposing forces. It is seen in this world very often. The base elements are, earth, water, air and fire. They can be combined to create lots of things, like air and water can be used to create illusions, with a bit of light magic in there. Now! Onto the topic of the two opposing types of magic.”

He looked back at her, making sure she was still following. Fen nodded in confirmation.

“Alright! There are two types of opposing forces or magic, whatever you like to call them. The first one is called light magic, this is viewed as generally a ‘good’ magic. It allows users to bend light and, in rare cases, life to their will, but only so much so. If one is skilled enough in it then you can even create their own life. Of course, i'm not skilled in this, sadly. The other type of magic or force is Dark Magic. It usually goes by the name of Black magic and is considered evil. While we are on the topic of good vs evil, there is no such thing. Magic has no mind, no sides, no opinions. It just is. Magic comes in many forms, but it has no side. It only does what it wishes. If it is in a pure form it will become very chaotic and hard to control. Black magic is very powerful, but with great power comes consequences. Dark magic is known for driving its users to insanity or a malicious urge to destroy and kill. Just a general urge to be a total jerk, we all have a little dark magic in us, even if we can't use or sense it. It is not that it is evil, but it brings out the darker side of people, usually making it so powerful it consumes the lighter side of that person. Light magic does a similar thing, but if one has a strong enough will, they can keep it balanced. Do you follow?”

He looked at Fen once again, and she nodded her understanding.

“Okay. I can rant on and on about magic, but i'll just wrap it up and tell you what I know of your’s. Dark magic is called ‘dark’ because of its ability to control shadow and other shi- things like that. It is also considered evil because of its ability to corrupt light magic, light magic is considered holy magic sometimes because of its ability to ‘purify’ the darkness. It's all very complex and would give me a headache to explain to you, so i'll stop on that for now.”

He waved his hand and continued, “Next! Yes, well try not to get too excited about this. But you have magic. From what I know of your people, the snow wolves that is, is that you have a gift for water and/or ice magic, along with the ability to create powerful illusions. Illusions are pretty cool, but they serve no real purpose other than distraction and confusion. It is a great ability, but not much use in combat. One could call it the anything power, but that's not exactly true. It's just if you have enough focus and can imagine it in great detail, you can bring it out into this world. I know a little illusion magic, my most powerful you have already seen. The duplicate illusion, the one I used to get us away from that monster. I also know this illusion magic.”

Lost pointed a finger at his hood, “It's rather simple, I just need a little bit of shadow with dark magic and I can stretch it out to cover my entire face, concealing it. Of course, for some reason, my eyes’ glow seems to be able to penetrate through the thin layer of shadow, but that's fine. One last thing, your magic is rather weak right now, so I highly doubt you will be able to do much with it. Maybe the manipulation of water, possibly ice. You obviously have a gift for illusion and light magic, as demonstrated when you set off a flash bang in my face. I will try to help you learn to use your magic to the best of my ability to teach, just a warning, i'm a horrible teacher. I dont have the patience for it, most would say. But I digress. I will teach you how to purify and store the surrounding magic in yourself, to help grow your own abilities. Phew… That was a lot of talking, I probably said some things that you won't understand till later, but that's the only way I can describe magic.”

He fell silent again, and did not speak, leaving Fen to digest the information for herself. It was a lot. He had basically just said that magic exists, but it comes in many forms. She supposedly had magic. One thought struck her.

“W-why are you telling me this? I-I… thought your were going to leave...?”

Lost snorted at that and Fen was pretty sure he was frowning, “Because plans change. Now… That you have magic, I find it would be best to teach you how to use it. Lest you may end up killing yourself or someone else with it.”

Fen only nodded at that.

They kept walking on in silence, the forest around them slowly thinning. The trees were growing smaller and farther apart. Less shrubbery. Eventually they saw the first signs of civilization other than the road. It was a weathered stone bridge, that arched over a small rushing river.

“Yes! Just one more step closer to food!” Lost exclaimed, pumping his fists in the air. Fen had to admit she was hungry too, but probably not as much as him. He had given her his food yesterday, not saving anything for himself.

She giggled at the memory of him freaking out about the berries. He seemed fine now though, so she guessed he would be okay.

They kept walking on in silence, Lost looking back at her every once in awhile, probably to make sure she was still following. Eventually the forest vanished and they crested a hill.

A large town nestled between two large rocky hills was in their way. It had a large log wall spread from one end of the valley to the other. The only way, other than climb the rocky hills, to get around was through the valley. You could see the thatched and shingled red roofs over the wall.

The gates were open, admitting wagons in and out from other roads stretching out into and around the forest.

They slowly made their way to the large wooden gate. It stood at least 9 meters high. Two walls made of varying lengths of logs on both sides. It was an imposing sight, but not as much so as the border wall. The elven guards there glared at Fen, advancing towards her. They drew their swords, pointed at her.

Before she knew it, she was surrounded. Fen looked around, were they going to kill her? It sure seemed like it. She had stolen food from them and they had seen her being taken away in the cart to be killed.

“Ahem! I can not let you hurt my friend.” Lost said from outside the circle of 6 guardsmen. The surrounding elves from the town and entering the city had stopped to look at the drama. All the guards turned towards Lost, but stayed in a circle around Fen.

Some of the guard’s eyes opened wider in their metal helmets, while others took a step back. Lost just stood there, not moving. But he gave off an aura of power and killing intent, like some evil monster. Fen hadn't ever felt this kind of fear before. Sure she had been scared of his appearance at first, but this was different. The hate and malicious intent was palpable in the air, and it was coming off of Lost in droves. Fen shook under the killing intent waves, all except one of the guards was trembling.

“I suggest you step away from her and let us pass. Or else you may later regret it.” Lost was staring intently at the guards, his glowing yellow eyes piercing right through them.

Three of the guards immediately backed off, but the one not trembling, most likely their captain or leading officer because he wore a red paldron on his shoulder, yelled at them to get back into formation. They did as the commanding officer said, more out of sheer habit overpowering their fear.

“Sir, I suggest you come peacefully with us or we will be forced to use violence,” Said the elven captain. Though he wasn't trembling, it was obvious it was under sheer will power and he was sweating profusely.

“I must refuse, I am pressed for time as it is. Sadly, if I were to come with you to be arrested, I believe that I would not be able to complete my mission within time. So I suggest you call your men off of my friend, or I will have to use force to make you.” It was clear that Lost was getting annoyed, but the guards stood their ground.

The guard captain was looking around now, unsure if he would be able to win this. Many of the towns folk were a couple meters away from the ensuing drama. “I… Can’t do that sir. This girl is a criminal and no one is above the law of the king.” The guard captain said, leveling a shaking sword at Lost.

Lost only sighed, like he was disappointed in them. He was disturbingly calm, Fen almost preferred him when he was angry. How could he be just so calm? It was like he was looking down on all those present, even though he was slightly shorter.

He mumbled a word, and vanished. One minute he was there, and the next he wasn't. There wasn't any sound, nothing. It was like he had never been there.

The guards looked on confused, they searched the crowd that had accumulated around them. All in the crowd were looking around, just as confused. Fen, too, was befuddled. Where had he gone?

A fter a minute that felt like a tense moment of eternity, there was a scream. Lost was suddenly next to Fen, three of the six guards groaning on the ground. They each had dropped their weapons, which lay at their feet in the dirt.

The guard captain turned around, “What-”

He never finished his sentence, as he was sent flying at least 5 meters back from a single punch to the gut from Lost. The captain landed in a heap, unconscious on the dirt road.

The remaining two guards immediately dropped their weapons, backing away. Shaking hands up in surrender.

Fen stood gaping, she hadn't even seen him move, he was next to her one minute, then he was standing where the captain previously stood.

He chuckled, as if amused by the expressions of fear and shock, “Is there anyone else who would like to try? No? Alright then, come on Fen. I'm famished.” He said coolly, walking back into town. Fen followed him quickly, as the fear broke in the crowd and they started running away, screaming about demons and black magic. Lost didn't even seem to notice.

Fen reached his side, clutching onto the back of his dark cloak. He looked down at her, and she swore she saw a slight smile beneath the hood, he turned back.

He said something under his breath, “I can't believe I pulled that off.”