I screamed the second that spell was cast; feeling the powerful energy as it ripped through my veins, mutating every cell in an instant. The defenders below were caught off guard when the mages shifted their attention, having already forgotten about me.
Flying just out of reach, I stayed long enough to watch as the entire left flank ceased to exist. Almost one hundred innocent men, women, and children were either dead or else changed beyond recognition. Anyone who knew what had happened to me, or the others, were now gone.
I was arguably a lesser form of life now; still, living as a Blackbird might be fun, at least that's what I kept telling myself as I perched on the edge of the highest tree branch I could find. No longer was I Jake, a student with the fate of every world sitting on my shoulders, I was free to do-'
