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--Little is known about the Formers; their declining numbers and the lack of archives concerning their practice, makes their existence mystical. They once dominated upon the land of Εmperos. Feared even by the elemental artists, formers had the ability to turn any situation to their benefit. Limited only by his intelligence and imagination a former could perform unique feats of power. He could not bend the elements to his will and he could not cut through the physical laws as magic could, however a true Former could shape not only his environment but also the very essence of it. Leerun was one such former, not one practitioner of forming remains that could hold a candle to Leerun; merciless, powerful and methodical. He was a true master Former. (From the book of ''Formers' history'' by Kaltin)
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Dart looked at the night sky, his cold feet trembled beneath the tattered cloth he was wearing for the past year. The stars shined playfully above the colorful rooftops of the market district on the city of Arcoun. His only solace was his crude hopes; thoughts that popped in and out, allowing him to imagine a place where food and warmth can exist.
He got up from a dark corner he found in the market district. In a few hours the place would be teemed with life, merchants with various goods and shiny emblems decorating their shops. Woven carpets, delightful treats of exotic food or even clothes with decorative strings of woolen material or silk. Every day for the past week that dart settled himself on the district of this small city, his thoughts traveled to a previous life. A long forgotten one, he was once the son of such merchants, traveling the land of Emperos. Their success made his life a comfortable one; dining on the best food the world had to offer, and he could enter any building with the air of confidence that comes only by the spoiled temperament of a rich kid. His reminiscence was cut short, a group of short, shadowy figures move silently and sneakily around the backstreets. Dart knew these were one of the groups of kids that moved around the city; mischievous little rats, that knew how to be unnoticed, unlike Dart, they were born into this life of mischief, they knew how to survive.
They turned their heads towards where Dart was holed up, he froze as the figures started moving, obviously concerned with a different objective in mind once they have located him. He gripped his dirty, thin blanket and curled himself in a dark corner, hoping they will pass by him. But instead they headed right for him. He felt the first kick hit him in the lower back, he squeaked from the pain.
"You are still here stupid kid?" their leader screamed at him. She pounded him with force hitting his neck and sides. He curled into a ball to try to defend against the barrage. Three of them were hitting him with kicks and punches. He almost passed out but before he did he felt the pressure subside. He looked up to see the spiteful kids back away from a figure standing above him. He looked up only to see a huge man with a long black beard with green eyes. The kids observed him cautiously for a moment and proceeded to move within the shadows of the city once again, but not before giving Dart a threatening look.
The big man offered his hand and Dart took it with a slight hesitation. He touched his lips with his fingers; droplets of blood were formed in the dirt beneath his feet. He looked at the stranger with suspicion. In this town no one would help someone like him. And especially a gentleman like him, with a dashing coat and a neatly groomed beard, everything on him indicated a noble.
"Thank you for saving me, sir, but there is nothing I can offer you" Dart murmured weakly.
"Kid'' he said with a deep voice.
Dart turned in an attempt to face him, he hazily looked in his direction with his eyes swollen from the beating.
"You won't survive long in here if you can't even defend yourself, this was pitiful display of victimhood" the man said coldly.
Dart's eyes widened, he was angry and disheartened from the beating but that remark infuriated him further. What would this man know? He is living a life of leisure. Dart tried to restrain himself from offending the noble while answering.
"They ganged up on me; it was not really a fair fight".
"You sound like a spoiled kid. Fair has no place on these streets. I used to roam streets just like these before my life changed. Every day is a struggle and no one will protect you." The tall man said reminiscently.
Dart thought the man was lying just to make a point. But his eyes spoke of the truth.
"How did you survive them then?"
"Oh that's simple; I made sure that I was never the one getting picked on" the man said steadily.
"So you were just a bully" Dart said disappointed with a crooked expression. He kneeled down to gather his sad belongings to move away from the corner with bad memories.
"There are no bullies, kid. There is only the winner and the loser". He stopped for a second and pulled out a knife, Dart almost turned to run away. But the man turned the edge inwards and handed to him. "Here's a start. Start making sure you won't get picked to be a victim again."
"What?" Dart asked shocked. "They will kill me for sure if they find me with a knife and a knife that good-looking".
"You might die anyway, kid. Take care." And with that, the man turned away to leave throwing the knife behind his back in an arc towards Dart. Dart dropped his dirty blankets to grab the knife. He managed to grab it in midair by the handle with his quick reflexes.
"Nice catch" he said as he was moving brazenly towards the castle.
Dart hid his knife inside his dirty clothing and began to make his way towards another corner of the city; far away from those dangerous kids. He finally found a small crevice between two houses and settled in. He would soon have to find something to eat. And that was always a struggle. He was nearing 11 years old and his body was that of a smaller child. That would sometimes get him some pity scraps from the butcher or a shop owner with a product that went bad a long time ago.
But there were many days were he would simply have to settle to no food at all. His stomach would churn and churn till he would give up and would go out of the city searching for fresh grass to eat to settle his stomach and his mind. But of course no good would come out of it. A few times he was left outside the city to fend for himself if he happened to forget the time that the gates close.
He took out the knife and observed it closely. The blade was made of forged steel. The handle had precious ornaments with intertwined golden and silver metallic nets. This knife was priceless. Dart could sell it and have a considerable amount to spend on food or other delicacies. But of course it wasn't as easy as that. The moment he would enter a shop with such a precious knife he would be accused of thievery. The guards would be on him and before long, bad things will befall him. If he did manage to sell it, holding such a large amount would only mean he would be targeted more by the rest of the shady elements that were moving around the city's streets. All he could do was keeping it, and hoping that one day it will be useful instead of becoming his undoing. Dart wondered if that man knew what he was doing when he gave him the knife. Of course he could always throw it aside somewhere but his roots as the son of a merchant couldn't permit him to leave behind such a work of art. He gave up on figuring what do and put it back in its place. He had to find some food away from the market district for a while and that wouldn't be as easy, he fell to sleep inside the crevice. Despite his fears and the pains from his body, his tired mind soon drifted off to better dreams.
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The sun rays touched his covered head. The small tattered linen was not enough to protect him from the light. He sat up whilst his stomach gave him the first morning signs of hunger. He hastily stepped over the cobblestone tiles running throughout the streets of the market district. The city began to awake. Windows would be turned aside to make way for the morning sun and air to reach the inside of people's homes, shops would open the doors to the first customers and the fisherman would shout for their fresh fish to be noticed.
Dart run through the streets hoping to not run in any more trouble today. He jumped above the various market stalls that were left behind and zipped around trying to secure a good begging spot.
It was only a couple of hours before the market exploded with life. People moved like busy bees swarming around the various goods that were placed on the wooden stalls. Sweets, fruit and garments colored the market district. Dart looked around trying to find someone who was willing to leave a coin to his hopeful outstretched hands. But no one even turned to look at him, people passed by even pushing his hands aside. It was hours upon hours waiting in the shade. Finally a figure came near him and shoved a coin in his still outstretched and tired hand. He looked at the coin with amazement, he looked up to see the figure who saved him from suffering another day, but the sun blinded him and by the time he looked around there was no one next to him. His eyes caught a quick movement on far end of the market.
They have noticed his gains. And these were the worst news possible. Dart gathered his garments one more time and raced away from the market. If he had stayed any longer they would have waited for the crowd in the market to disperse and then they would have followed behind him till they could isolate him and beat him to death or till they managed to snatch the coin.
He ran looking behind him. He was getting paranoid and more fearful with each leap through the narrow streets of the city. He had a coin and the rats of these streets wouldn't let him get away with it.
He cut through a corner and changed directions grabbing the wall. He thought it was enough to evade them, before a shadow from above grabbed his back and pushed him with force towards the ground. Before he knew it more shadows circled around, his vision was obscure by liquid running down his face. As he was lying on the ground he touched his head only to see his fingers bloodied. He looked up at the individuals around him; he barely got a good look before a punch knocked his face back into the ground. He heard the familiar, by now voice of the leader of the group. Her voice was filled with disgust for having to speak to someone beneath her.
"Didn't I tell ya to get out of town? You don't learn little rat, do ya?" She spit on him and the rest of the crew laughed at him as he looked disgusted and pitiful. Maybe even he would laugh with his state, if he was as apathetic as those brats around him.
He felt a strong hand grab him and pull him towards the darker corners of the narrow streets they had found themselves on. He felt relief for a moment as they carried him there, it only lasted for a few moments and then they threw him violently on the dead-end corner.
He knew what it was coming; he could feel their blood thirst. The taller boys pulled out some stone shivs and strode towards him while laughing and mocking him. He had barely recovered from the earlier beat up he received but the boys wasted no time and shot a kick aimed at his jaw, he swirled around in the ground and managed to catch the kick on the sides. He heard the cracking sound of the now broken left ribcage. The gang of thieves continued to barrage him with kicks and punches. He rolled into a ball in an attempt to lessen the damage. But his body was getting hit from every direction.
"Wait" the girl said and the hitting stopped for a moment. He attempted to sneak a peek behind his guarded face. The girl approached him and squatted over him. She felt trying to grab his hurt sides, the exact position where the knife he was hiding was nested. She has spotted the real treasure and she seemed entranced by the sight.
He was still squawking from his bloated sides and his broken bones, but his mind raced ahead none the less. He knew the moment she had grabbed the knife, everything would be over as well as his life. So he did the only sensible thing he could think of; he turned around facing the girl, with a quick notion he pulled out the knife. Her face convulsed into a shocked mask, while Dart turned the knife in an arc, blood splattered all along his clothes and the dirty floor. The girl's eyes widened, the side of her neck was soaking wet with blood. Dart got up on all fours and looked around, the 4 boys who witnessed the scene took a slight step back. Dart grumbled while he was trying to stand, he damned his luck for not cutting her on a vital spot. But his near deadly attack put a small pause to their beating. He shook his head as he was bending over the street. He clutched the knife firmly and watched the gang look at his expectedly. He was a small boy, with no training and not an ounce of bravery. Though he knew one thing; it was either him or them.
His pummeled face was making it hard to see all his enemies' form clearly even though it was midday. He saw someone passing by behind the boys he looked perplexed at the scene but he quickly looked down and started pacing away hurriedly. It was obvious to Dart that he was alone, he always was so this was no different. Maybe this was than just him, trying to protect his last drop of pride and maybe his life. This felt to Dart like his final stand against life's brutal treatment. He was absolutely prepared to fall. He looked the boys with determination, were they prepared as well? He wondered.
One of the boys took the first step, he was the biggest and most assured of his skill, the other boys laughed sardonically. He pulled a knife. He heard the girl say "fucking kill that rat" with a nauseating amount of animosity in her voice. She was holding her wound trying not to bleed out while witnessing the scene. She preferred to watch him die in the street like a dog rather than treating her wound.
The boy attacked without any indication. Dart jumped sideways and put his knife up in a guarding position. The boy laughed harder this time and the rest of their gang joined in. They would enjoy his slow and methodical murder. All of them were moving around him and fainting attacks, Dart was only focused on the big boy, he knew not of them would dare move while he was playing with him. The boy slashed the air next to Dart's check; his eyes turned at the knife's slashing arc, he also knew what was coming next. His sides hurt while he hurled around a knee aimed at his stomach. The big boy looked at him with genuine curiosity. Dart was not done, his hands moved quicker than his mind, he slashed at the boy's thigh with a smooth movement. A stream of blood spewed to his pale shoes. The boy screamed in pain. It was the first time Dart was seeing so much blood. The boy's thigh and calve was already covered in red. The blood run rampart and the kid, without being able to stop it, started panicking. The rest of the boys felt unsettled.
But they made a decision real quickly "go kill him, no more playing. Kill the fucker" the leader screamed with a trembling voice. Dart jumped back still holding the knife. His knee buckled and fell sideways, the three boys rushed to end him while he was down. They were punching and kicking again, he glided away, but one of the panicked boys took out a small sharp object and stabbed him on his calf while sliding. Dart screamed in agony while watching his calf muscle gets sliced in two. Before he could recover his stance the boys rushed him to pummel him. But after a few punches they withdrew to make way for the boy holding the shiv.
He smirked at him, Dart couldn't do much more he simply rushed forward to attack him but the other two grabbed him easily by the two sides, his fast spring was diminished due to his injury so this spring was a desperate attempt to inflict some more damage before they ended him. Now they were holding him in their grasp, he couldn't move one inch. Even if he could his whole body was in pain. The boy stepped slowly holding the shiv with purpose, he pushed it quickly into his sides. He looked at the blood pooling around the inserted object, he couldn't even scream from the shock. The boys laughed manically.
They let him go and he crawled to the nearest wall; every step was a herculean attempt to stay conscious. He touched the rocky surface and put his back onto it. His breath was quick and panicked and his hands trembled whilst his legs were unmoving. He scouted around hoping that someone would see his plight, but none would turn their head or even acknowledge their existence. The street thugs were observing him with a mocking smile on their faces. A couple of them were angry, especially their leader. They didn't even seem to care about the big boy who was bleeding to death on the dirty street right in front of their feet.
The boy with the shiv once again came forward. This time he would not stop. He would maul him down. Just before he reached a striking distance, Dart gathered all he strength he could and leaped forward and with his two hands grabbed the edge of the handle and smashed it on the foot of the boy. His loud shrieking pierced the air. With all his strength gone, his sight and hearing were dissipating, he was falling into unconsciousness. But a whizzing sound kept him awake for a moment longer, an arrow had landed in front of the advancing gang, they looked confused and unsure, looking around, his eyes closed before he witnessed to whom the heavy footsteps that rung to his ears belonged to.