As he walked through the darkness of the forest Adam Sullivan thought to himself about the past couple of days.

He remembered the first time he had figured out the shadows protected him. How much it drained him. He was attacked.

Four masked bandits demanded his money, unfortunately that was something his family had so little of that he hardly knew the feeling of coin in his hand. So Adam pleaded with them.

"Please dont hurt me, all i have are the clothes on my back. But i would be more then willing to forget you were ever here".

Their response was frightening they all came at him and started to attack. One of them was in the middle of kicking him in the ribs when it happened.

Something shot out of the darkness to help him. They almost looked like maces, though they had chains coming from four sides with a long deadly blade attached to each end.

When he took up these mighty weapons the fight seemed to end very quickly from the first touch he felt strength not only returning to his body but it almost felt like he was getting faster as well. Within a second he went from being on the ground bleeding to standing behind one of his attackers.

The bandit didnt even see it coming as the blades slipped through the muscles between his shoulders. As he fell the other three knew something was wrong and turned to try to defend themselves but it was to late. With a flick of a wrist all 3 men began to clutch their throats, and as they bled out, they knew that the fight was already over.

The shadowsteel only seemed to last as long as the fight and then the moment they were no longer needed they seemed to fall apart.

Adam knew something was different about them, they were like a dream he once had of flirting with the shadows. It had felt so real, the way they washed over his skin coating his soul in darkness. He thought he would have felt something after having taken the lives of those men, robbers though they may have been lately it seemed like that may never happen again.

Once the shadows touched him he felt empty. Nothing could make him smile or laugh. At that point he realized he had to leave home and find someone that could help him learn to use and control whatever this was. And here he was now all alone the day after.

The woods began to grow brighter as he approached a clearing. It was more beautiful then he could describe from the daffodils to the thorned blackberry bushes. He knew it would be a great place to make a trap for travelers and decided he could stay and watch and maybe just maybe the shadows would bless him again.

He couldnt understand why they had come to him before, he had been trying pretty desperately to get the shadows to do anything for him to prove he wasnt just crazy and figured this could be just as good a chance as any. As he was gathering wood for a campfire he noticed there was another trail that seemed to disappear furthur into the forest. Adam realized this was probably the attack route and wondered if maybe he should just follow it and seek out the bandits he expected to come in the night. But he decided against it.

He knew if he wasnt prepared for the fight without the shadows then he might not survive the night. So along with the firewood he looked for any thick fallen branches he might be able to fashion into a quarterstaff. When he was finished gathering wood adam began to work on his camp.

It was about 20 meters away from the clearing so he was fairly sure it wouldnt be to easy to see him. He kept his fire small so that it would be easier to clean up in the morning. He didnt like to leave traces of where he had been.

Growing up in the forest his parent had taught him a thing or two about tracking and how to stay hidden if he ever needed to. He had considered not even making the fire but he really wanted to eat cooked food that night. So he prepared the fire and before he got it started he went looking for something to eat. He knew this area had rabbit and deer but he also knew not to waste. He realized that with what he had with him meat was probably not an option so he returned to the clearing and began to pick blackberries for supper.

The sweet fruit was better then he thought it would be and soon his belly was full. He figured that he had nothing better to do for the time being so he began to meditate, hoping that maybe he could practice with the shadows again.

As the hours trickled by Adam made a valient effort, but he wasnt able to make the shadows do anything.

"Your doing it all wrong. Your trying to pull energy from thin air."

Adam imediately turned to see who was there and he couldnt find anyone around. He was starting to think maybe was just hearing things. And then it happened again.

"Your looking in all the wrong places. How could you have forgotten me so soon. Last we met i took something from you and before i left your parents were thanking me for doing it."

And then Adam remembered. He was very little when it happened but it had left quite an impact on a child to wake up in the middle of the night floating on a bed of shadows. When she finally got to him it had been three days he had not slept, a fortnight since the bed of shadows.

Adam's mother was there. Alessana. Such a strong woman, she took care of Adam alone during the war of broken memories. She had spent three long years praying for her husband to just come home alive. She knew her prayers had been answered when she came back from a long day of farming to a feast prepared by Christopher. It was a long awaited return and most assuredly one of the best days of her life.

As they stood holding each other by the bedside the couple waited for Esmirelda. The elven mage arrived dressed in robes of green and purple her blond hair long and flowing.

After introductions were made and the situation explained Esmirelda told them the only thing she could do was bind his powers she explained it wouldnt last forever, when the boy was 18 his powers would begin to seep through the binding but he would have no way to control them until the binding was removed. At which point he would have to go with her to study magic or completely lose control. They cried but knew it was the only way to save their son. So they agreed and it was done.

Adam couldnt believe it. He had just assumed it had been a nightmare. The stuff of mages not just the son of a farmer. But now he was begining to understand. Something about him was different, and it had to do with these shadows.

Your powers must be brought under control before you hurt someone else. I know those thugs seemed to have deserved it but magic isnt for those that cant control themselves. To get lost in the power is not unheard of but, when we get to the tower of the light we can begin to help you. Spoke Esmirelda with authority.