14th Nuru, year 522 Post First Eclipse (P.F.E.)
West of Aestania, Great Forest of Bowa
"Kani! Stop dawdling and finish your work so we can get out of here—I'm freezing!"
As she spoke, the girl squeezed the tips of her brown hair, tying even more around her neck and mouth.
"Hahaha, okay, okay. Sorry, Shyla," Kani replied, his ash-colored eyes crinkling as a broad, warm smile broke across his face.
There was a pleasant atmosphere between the two, in stark contrast to the grim setting of their 'work': a monster extermination request from the villagers of Komba.
As the pair of magicians walked, Kani played with the white wand in his hand out of boredom, Shyla kept retreating through her hair.
Looking ahead, a dim blue light peeped into the forest.
"Look, Kani! We've finally found the source of the undead. I just hope there isn't a Lich inside that rift..."
"Don't worry. The undead we've seen so far were just skeletons and a few ghosts—the lowest tier. If there were a first-grade monster like a Lich in there, getting this close wouldn't have been so easy."
"Kani, I know how it works, thank you."
Shyla answered in a disgruntled tone.
The two looked at each other for a second, and then continued to walk.
In the silence, the girl spoke again.
"I was thinking, the request came to the magical association about a week ago, the inhabitants of Komba are frightened, but they are fine. If there had been a first-class RIP, at this time the village-"
"Shyla! Behind you!"
At that cry, the third-class sorceress turned around, noticing two skeletons running towards her.
Without being alarmed, she bolted to put some distance between her and the two monsters, then placed her open hand stretched forward.
*Breath*
"Terra"
The next second, a golden diagram appeared beneath the two skeletons.
Stone blocks came out of the ground, attaching themselves to the monsters' legs, causing them to fall.
Behind Shyla, Kani held the wand in his left hand, then closed his eyes.
*Breath*
A yellow light shone from the tip of the white wand, while a diagram of the same color as the sun slowly emerged above the two skeletons.
After a few breaths, Kani opened his eyes.
"Lux"
A column of light descended violently on the pair of monsters, instantly charring them.
Seeing the result, the magicians sighed at the same time, while Kani fell to sit on the ground.
"Uff... I thought it was something else, but we noticed it!" Kani said satisfied.
"I would say we're going to finish it here tonight. We go back to the village, we report what is going on through an Armol and we return. After this ambush, I would say that we need second-class magicians... I don't feel comfortable here."
Shyla looked worriedly at the ash pile of the two skeletons.
"You're right, although after this mission we may be the second-class magicians," said Kani, standing up and cleaning his pants.
"I don't care. I need rest, we haven't slept for two nights."
At that moment, the dim light of the RIP grew.
The two magicians turned suddenly towards the light.
"Something came out."
"Yes. Kani, prepare the concealment spell..."
But the moment the words left her mouth, Shyla wished they had left sooner. From the forest emerged a second-grade undead: a Wraith.
"Shit! Hurry up!"
As Kani desperately began to cast, the Wraith locked its lifeless, irisless eyes on Shyla.
Frozen in fear, she couldn't dodge the monster's bolt of lightning, which struck cleanly—severing her neck.
Kani watched in horror, his hands trembling.
The fear shattered his focus and the diagram forming in front of his wand fractured into dust.
The Wraith didn't hesitate. With one swift motion, it sliced off Kani's head.
The first full moon of the month observed the failure of a mission, the beheading of third-class magician Kani Matete, and his partner Shyla Matete.
******
Meanwhile Capital of Aestania, Moder
"Run, Silver! Run!"
*Woof!*
"You little bastard, come here!"
Two small figures were running away from a robust middle-aged man.
The small figure skilfully passed through the peak crowd of the day, his jade-coloured eyes quickly examined the path ahead. The black raven hair with white shades was facing backwards by the running wind.
"I said come back here, kid! I'll kill you!"
Continuing to run without turning around, the boy laughed worriedly.
"Hey Silver, I think we made it big this time!"
*Woof!*
Behind him, a medium-sized dog followed, his silver-coloured fur swayed in the race.
As they ran away, the boy quickly turned to one of the neighborhood's alleys, clumsily avoiding meeting an old woman with a basket of vegetables.
To avoid her, he turned around, falling off his back.
"Ow!"
"Here you are!"
From the beginning of the alley, the pursuer came out, full of sweat.
Looking at him with jade eyes, the boy quickly got up massaging his back.
"Damn it! Go!"
"Shit! Kid! Give me back my fucking money!"
Quickly exiting the alley, he threw himself into the crowd, taking a breather.
Looking down at his furry friend, he put his index finger in front of his mouth.
The dog stared at him, and then looked forward, as if he understood.
Looking up, the boy saw another alley, so he signaled the dog to follow him, stepping out of the crowd again.
"Maybe we did it, Silver...!"
Walking quietly through the alley, the boy followed by the dog turned to the right of the junction, finding a wall with a fence on it.
"Here he is! We won!"
He said as he began to run.
Suddenly, a woman came out from behind a pile of boxes, causing him to fall.
"Ouch! What the hell are you doing?!"
The bag full of money flew to the woman's feet, then she picked it up and ran away.
"Hey! Give me back the bag!"
He tried to tell, while the dog called Silver started barking at the woman.
Immediately, the boy put his arms around his friend.
"Shhh! Shut up, shut up! So you attract the man-"
Not even time to say that from the beginning of the alley, a familiar voice came.
"Here you are, little bastard rat!"
"Damn it!"
The man approached, making the difference in size between the two clear.
The man's brown eyes stared at the boy on the ground.
The dog got between the two, growling heavily.
"Listen! It's not my fault you lost the last hand, you bet badly~" The boy said with a calmness that questioned both his age and his intelligence.
But he said that because he knew that behind him there was a wooden fence over a hole in the wall. An emergency passage.
Currently, his only escape route, but unfortunately, too far from him.
"Believe it or not, but I don't have your coins anymore. Karma goes around, you know?"
The boy was moving slowly towards the wall behind him while he was speaking.
Without giving him an answer, the man mirrored the boy's movements.
Silver stepped back accordingly.
*Woof!*
The man suddenly looked at the dog, who, frightened, began to tremble on the spot.
One step, then another.
The man reached the boy.
"Give me my fucking money."
Shrugging his shoulders, the boy said: "I don't have them anymore, they stole them from me."
The boy's jade eyes immediately noticed a vein on the man's forehead.
A heavy step anticipated the hand of the middle-aged man, which grabbed the child by the throat, first bringing him to his height, and then threw him to the ground, making the boy miss his breath for a second.
Seeing the scene, Silver began to bark at the man, producing no result other than pissing him off even more.
The man began walking towards Silver, which pressed itself against the wall, teeth bared.
"What's wrong dog? Not barking anymore? Fucking beast."
In saying this, he took aim to kick the poor creature.
At that moment, a faint sound ran through the alley.
"Ignis"
A fiery red diagram appeared under Silver, dissolving it into sparks.
The man kicked, but to his great surprise, he missed, causing him to fall to the ground on his butt.
Silver had magically disappeared from there and reappeared next to the boy, who meanwhile continued to cough from the blow from before.
*Clap! Clap!*
A slow, sarcastic clap echoed through the alley.
"Ohoh, is it fun to pick on a child? Do you think I should try it too?"
"And who the fuck are you?", the man said angrily, only to immediately realize that the person in front of him was too peculiar: a crimson red robe cut out the figure in space, in his left hand he had a white birch staff.
Observing the situation, he realized it was better not to play with fire.
The magician began to walk down the alley, getting closer to the man and his figure clearer.
"I apologize for the mess created, Sir. Magician, but the 'child' behind me is
a... thief..."
His hair was pulled back in a bun, which together with its thick grey beard made a wise appearance.
"Look, I'm not even interested in your motives, you shouldn't take justice into your own hands." answered quietly the magician.
"You are absolutely right, I apologize to you, Sir. Magician", a drop of sweat slowly ran down the man's back.
"Today I am pleased because I found the objects I needed..."
Arriving in front of the man, the magician stared at him with his eyes reminiscent of the blue of a moonless night.
"Do you hand yourself over to the Njiwa or will I take you there?" He asked kindly.
"The Njiwa, the civilian force?"
Bowing his head, he thought for a few seconds.
"I wish... Just going home... Sir..."
*Sigh*
The magician nodded, passing the man and going towards the boy on the ground.
"Get out of my sight," he finally said, looking ahead.
"Thank you very much, Sir. Magician, I will remember your mercy for the rest of my life."
At that moment, the boy on the ground had a complete view of the scene: the man, instead of leaving, pulled an iron pole out of his right sock, then turned around and aimed at the magician's head.
His mouth opened wide, trying to shout to warn the old man of the danger.
But there was no need for it.
The magician snapped the staff behind him, blocking the shot, and then slid the two objects over each other.
The man lost his balance, and with it the strength to hold the pole in iron.
Not even time to look up, the birch staff hit the chin first, moving his head backwards and leaving the abdomen uncovered, the site of the second blow.
*Thud!*
The man fell to the ground, bent by the impact.
*Cough! Cough!*
"Ignis"
The magician slammed the birch staff to the ground, generating a fiery red diagram underneath it.
The second after, the same diagram appeared under the man.
As small fiery bars came out around the man, the magician said:
"If you could get away with a night or two in prison before, you now have the death penalty."
The bars closed over the man, creating a fire cage.
Finally, the magician looked down on the prisoner.
"You are under arrest for making an attempt on the life of Red Tower Commander Alexander Rubino."