text: The snow crunched under the man’s feet, briskly passing by the Spruce trees. Wails and howls are heard from the distance, bellowing throughout the darkened forest. The wolves of Nyerdermor have found him. “Where’s a bow and arrow when you need one!” the man jumps over a fallen log, quickly regaining balance, the wolves’ cries nearing his position. His thick fur coat was the only thing that kept his skin from certain death, but damn was it heavy! Pristine blue eyes shine under the radiant moonlight as he takes off his woolen hood. A cave slowly comes into his vision, it was his only respite for now, those damned canines were only getting faster. The mysterious man rushes into the mouth of the cave, narrowly avoiding sharp stalactites forming at it’s entrance. The cave itself was deep and dark, water droplets created from the humidity inside. He thought that it was safe, until small scuffles echo from the back of the crevice. “What was that!” a silver knife is taken out from a hidden sheathe. The scuffling noises suddenly stop. “Show yourself, you bastard!” The blade of the silver knife shatters into sharp pieces. “Argh!” The man falls back, wondering how the hell that happened. “Viribus Meis!” He holds his gloved hand in the direction of the sound. It lights up in a bright yellow hue, engulfing his entire arm. “Solvo!” The yellow light quickly rushes into the middle of the man’s palm, forming into a sphere of dense light. He pulls back his arm, orb of light in hand, and stretches it forward with great force! The ground cracks due to the immense force emitted by the giant beam of light, the entire cave shattering from the raw strength of the beam. It blows a gigantic hole straight through the cave, leaving an opening as large as the cave itself. The foundations start crumbling, and stalactites start falling from the ceiling. The man rushes out as the cave is buried in stone and rubble. “What the hell?” The man gazes upon the sight in extreme confusion. A boy in rugged clothing floats above the newly created opening he’s just made. His eyes are filled with blue energy, azure flames dancing around him. He points his hands toward the man, mimicking the stance the man created earlier. “Universum Solvo!” The boy shouts, all the blue flames congregating between his outstretched palms. They whirl together in a harmonious balance and create a giant orb of blue flame. In one quick gesture, the entire orb disperses into multiple beams of blue light that circle around the man. The blue beams randomly go around the even more confused man, obliterating anything in their vicinity. Unbeknownst to the man, the Nyedremor wolves jumped at him right at the second the blue beams were released, easily destroying the magical creatures. The following wolves turning back and retreating, smart enough to know that they can’t beat this boy. “Damn, Kid....” The man still fixes himself on the boy’s sheer power. That is, until he falls from the sky, losing his shining blue eyes and blue flame. The man leaps up to catch the boy from falling to his death. He lands under a thick layer of snow, laying him on top of it. Instead of the blue light that emanated from the child earlier, he possessed jet black hair and black pupils. Any and all signs of magical power absent, the only mark being a small scratch mark on the boy’s neck. It still glowed faintly with blue light. The man’s home was near the horizon, the smoke billowed from the still lit fireplace. Yet he still thought about the sleeping boy in front of him. He looked to be living in that cave before he arrived, and he looks to have been far away from any town. All that unkempt power... He shudders to imagine what heights the boy’s abilities can reach if not properly controlled. “It’s decided then.” He thinks to himself while lifting the boy up and laying him on his shoulder. The boy would be his own, and he’ll be safe from ever destroying anything again. “Huh? Where am I?” Salvador thinks to himself, remembering he had just been inside a cave. Obviously waking up in a warm, fur bed made him very confused. He stands up, putting his bare feet on the warm wooden floor. The room he was in was quite spacious, even more than that cave was! Salvador looks at the stairs beside the bed he woke up from, it leading down to a larger area. He walks down the stone steps, admiring the shields, artworks, and items attached to the wall. “Oh look, you’re awake.” Salvador’s eyes flicker to the voice. It was a man wearing a long, fur coat and leather armor. He seemed to be eating a large piece of pork, accompanied by red sauce, garlic and strong ale. His stomach grumbled to his discontent, and to the man’s pleasure. He laughs and offers him a chair adjacent to him on a small table. Still very hungry, he rushes to sit on the chair, the hearty meal making him lose all sense. He delves into the pork first, finishing it a few bites. The chewy meat giving him a massive wave of euphoria. He hasn’t been able to taste things like this ever since he abandoned his village! It really was worth the wait. The only thing that he didn’t like was, well, the man staring at him thoughtfully, never even taking a moment to blink. :”E-excuse me sir? Is there anything wrong” The man snaps from his mind and returns with his big , warming smile. “No nothing. It’s quite alright. But I do have a few questions of my own.” The child lets him continue. “What’s your name?” “Salvador.” He replies blankly. “No last name?” Salvador shakes his head. “Well Salvador.” The man leans back onto his chair. “ You can call me De’Vour, or Dev for short.” “Okay Sir Dev.” “ Do you want to know why I brought you here?” Salvador again shakes his head. “Well, it is because of the way you easily dispatched the Nyedermor wolves yesterday.” Salvador’ face turns into a look of confusion. “Wolves? What wolves?” “Hrrgh.” He was unconscious the entire time, yet he killed them like he was stomping on ants! “A-are you okay Sir?” the man was already heavily breathing. “Huh? Oh yes of course.” He regains his composure, but he was still troubled. “Do you realize what power you hold?” Another head shake. Now he was just plain choking. A child like this, lost in the woods! He began to wonder what else this stupid forest hid. What next, a sword made of light? “W-Well Salvador, you have extraordinary powers that you seem to have no understanding, control, or even knowledge of.” Oh did the thought make him dizzy. “Who are your parents? Do you have any family, relatives?” “No sir. The last person I’ve come across was a trader, and he didn’t even see me.” No parents. No understanding or ability to control his power. It was almost too perfect for him to have found the child at such a moment. He contemplated it. And again, and again. And again..... “Well child, I will be your new guardian! I will teach you the ways of magic if my name weren’t De’Vour, the great Elder Lord of Vyertemus!” “Really! That’s awesome!” The child smiled in great delight. It was going to be a long couple of years.