Raymond Watkin
-"To think my own son would be a dual elemental- with fire affinity no less. Me and Violet can pretty kiss poverty goodbye, if we can manage to get Kenny recognized he could easily join the mage corps. I shouldn't be greedy though, just be grateful to have been blessed with this little squirt."-
I've always been happy to be able to raise my own son, yet the guilt of bringing someone into such a poor family had never subsided. Ken didn't seem to be bothered by it though, which was a huge weight off our chests.
The weather started to drop, along with the sun over the horizon. Beautiful streaks of orange filled the sky and branded the earth. Clouds were dyed a light purple and pink color, and in the distance, I spotted a carriage. A different carriage than the one we had arrived on.
This is troublesome. It didn't have the black, white and navy colors of the military carriages, this had to be a group of smugglers searching for their trade route through the Holy Woods to either Duratus or Antitheus. Duratus meant they were smuggling slaves and Antitheus would mean drugs, either way, these were dangerous people.
-"I can handle this on my own, but I don't want to expose Ken to any kind of violence. Not yet at least."-
"Kiddo, I think you should hide."
"How come? What's the matter?"
"You see that carriage over there? Those are smugglers, very bad, very dangerous people. If it comes down to it, I might have to fight them and don't want you to get in the way, understand?"
"But I can fight wit- "
"Don't be naïve Kenny, you just learned how to control it, not apply it. If I start to overpower them, they might play dirty and use you against me. Now go, hide somewhere safe, but not too far away."
Kenny waddled away as I prepared the soon-to-be battlefield. From the few months I spent in the military, they taught us how to prepare before a fight. Create sinkholes, hidden spiked pits, carve sharp projectiles and scatter them about and be ready to fight. Turn the battlefield into your playground.
By the time I finished preparing, my mana was at about 80% capacity, the carriage barely 50 meters ahead of me. My nerves were a mess but I kept my cool, acting like I hadn't noticed the unwelcomed visitors.
Hearing the carriage come to halt, followed by about 3 or 4 pairs of feet approaching me, I finally spoke out.
"How can I help you gentleman today?" I tried my best to stay friendly, but it was easy to tell that they were slave traders judging by the whimpers and whispers coming from the carriage.
Turning around I immediately sized up my potential opponents. Three scruffy men wearing leather clothing, a knife in each hand, all looking at me, like I was their cornered prey.
"I'll keep this short and simple old man, give us everything you have and we won't bother you or the little runt."
-"I've just about had enough of people calling me old man today, and how the hell do they know about Kenny? That means they probably know about the traps I set up too."-
Instantly proving me wrong, the man to the right stepped in my sink hole, not wasting the opportunity I closed the hole with enough force to see blood seep through the crack in the ground, followed by the mans screams. The man to the left charged at me with his dagger, making the air hiss as I easily dodged his sloppy attacks.
Weaving and dodging the seemingly drunk man's sloppy attacks, I momentarily shifted my attention to the spot where the third man was standing, and then to where Kenny had hidden himself, I had to get rid of this fool in front of me and fast. The man continued to swing at me with large arcs, until he swung inwards, his shoulder exposed to me and his balance on one foot. He was finally off balance. Grabbing him by his non-dominant arm and throwing him like a ragdoll felt good, hearing the mans face crack against a nearby boulder did not feel so good though, even for me.
Pushing the queasy feeling away I searched for Kenny and the third man. Not being able to spot anyone in the dark, I started to panic. "Kenny are you there?" I shouted; my fatherly instinct starting to kick in.
"I'm over here." I heard a frail and trembling voice. Kenny's voice. I rushed over to him, almost stumbling over the first man that tried to attack me, still alive and stuck in the ground. Laid out next to Kenny was the third man, a puddle of bile and bits of steaming rock.
***
Kenny Watkin
-"Ray is f*cking incredible!"-
He fought like a soldier, and used all the chances he had to their fullest extent, not getting too greedy either. Then again, these guys looked like complete idiots, not even using magic to fight.
I was so infatuated by my father that I failed to notice someone behind me, one of the three smugglers. He lifted me by my shirts collar to get a closer look at me.
"You should fetch a fair bit of money for me in the Duratus markets, lad. Hell, I might even keep you for myself to work in the fields. I just have to get rid of your dad first, it shouldn't be a problem though, those two idiots can't even use magic and he's just barely staying alive. Don't worry though kid, I'll make his death a swift one."
"I think its time for you to shut the f*ck up." I steeled myself for what was to come. I only had one chance at this, failure was not an option.
His blabbering gave me just enough time to form a fireball in my palm, it was my last bit of mana and I barely had the strength to lift my arm. For a fraction of a second, I doubted what I was about to do, I've never hurt someone before and didn't think I'd have to so early in my life, but then I thought about Ray and how valiantly he had fought, and Violet back home and how I would have to protect her someday. Like a turkey on thanksgiving, I stuffed the smoldering ball in his mouth, making sure it went all the way back to his throat.
He dropped me and clawed at his neck, to no avail. The veins in his neck bulged out, the whites of his eyes exposed. He tried to scream but only muffled wails and a singing sound akin to boiling water could be heard. He passed out shortly after, putting an end to his suffering.
My whole body was trembling and my hands were shaking violently, I had no control over my body and heaved out the meal I had that afternoon. I was scared and the dark didn't help much.
-"I have to see if Ray is okay, but what about this guy, did I kill him? Surely not, he just passed out from shock, right?"-
My mind was spinning like a top, a faint voice pulled me back to reality. Rays' voice.
"Son, what happened are you okay?" His voice had become frail, his hands scanning my body for any injuries.
I couldn't get any words out. My father's embrace was all I needed to fully regain my senses, and I sobbed until I got a splitting headache. Suddenly, I remembered my life back on earth, and how whenever I was sad, I had Michael to listen to my problems, or my mothers' shoulders to lean on, but never my fathers.
My sadness turned into joy as I realized that my new life had granted me two loving parents, parents willing to risk their lives for me on a whim, only time could tell if I would be able to do the same for them.
The lack of mana and mental exertion finally granted me the virtue of a long overdue nap.
***
Johann
I approached the area where the Watkins' were awakening and was surprised to see another carriage. Worried, I ran to their campsite, the rocky terrain made it hard for my carriage to move much faster, only to see that they had received a few unwanted guests, but were accommodating them well. Three men, battered to a pulp, and five others, presumably slaves.
"Raymond what happened here? Are you and the boy safe?"
"Yes, we're fine. You should take a look at these fine gentlemen instead. I was minding my business until they decided to confront me, threatening to take Kenny as a slave."
I looked over at the bound and gagged men. One was bleeding from his forehead and nose, the next had a crushed right foot and the third seemed to be salivating profusely.
"Well, good job on handling them, don't worry about facing any fines or jailtime. These guys are slave traders and have been on our radar for quite some time now. I am terribly sorry for not warning you about them, as for freeing the slaves, you will be compensated for your troubles."
-"If Raymond decides to speak to my superiors about this blunder, I'll never hear the end of it."-
"Don't worry, they were no threat to me or Kenny, he handled the situation quite well. Take a closer look at the chubby one's mouth."
I removed the gag from the unconscious man sitting cross legged against the carriage the slaves were kept in. Thick saliva and blood stuck to the gag and as I removed the cloth, a chunk of his tongue fell out.
-"burn marks? Looks like this kid has been blessed by the phoenix."-
Standing back up to face Raymond, I could see pride written all over him.
"Again, I commend you and your boy for your bravery. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."
Raymond's expression went from a smirk to a wide grin. "I already have something in mind, officer."
***
Kenny Watkin
I woke up, staring at the familiar thatch ceiling in the village.
-"Man, I just woke up, why do I feel like cr*p already? oh right, yesterday. I really hope I didn't kill that poor man."-
After contemplating my actions from the day before, I decided to leave it in the past and that there was nothing that can be changed at this point.
Our house was small and upon leaving my room, I entered the living space where my parents were waiting for me to wake up, my mother looked like she had aged a decade.
"Oh, you're finally awake!" my mother rushed over to comfort me, almost tackling me back into my room. After a long embrace and a few sniffles, she pushed me away, looking me in the eyes. "Are you okay hun? Please tell your mother the truth."
"I'm okay mom I promise, still just a little exhausted." In my daze, I completely forgot about my speech mannerisms that I had been using for the past few months, neither of my parents noticed though so I decided to use this as an excuse to let go of them completely.
"I'm glad you're safe hun, and dad told me all about your awakening and how you protected him by fighting off one of the bad guys all on your own. I'm so proud of you." she said, holding back her tears and pulling me into a hug again.
I looked at my father who gave me a thumbs up. I think he spun the story a bit differently to make me sound a bit more heroic.
-"I appreciate the gesture, but this could completely backfire on me, Raymond."-
I couldn't stay mad at him though; He probably had his reasons to alter the truth a bit, potentially benefitting our whole family. Violet finally retracted upon Tess's entry, along with her officer friend, bearing food. I'm pretty sure everyone in the house could hear my stomach roar from hunger.
Tess handed me my food with a smirk that told me 'Good job out there.' I returned the gesture with a small bow before devouring the food. Shortly after, I received the news from Tess that the man that I attacked was still alive and currently in custody.
-"Thank goodness, that's a huge weight off my chest and an even bigger burden off of my infantile mind. Despite technically being 19 years of age mentally, I have to be weary of my body's mental capacity, otherwise I might turn into a physco…"-
"So, Raymond, have you thought about your compensation for catch- freeing those slaves yet?" Tess quickly corrected herself, avoiding sounding like the slaves were of no importance.
"I have, seeing that Ken is a dual-elemental, and that we lack the funds, I was hoping he could be granted tuition into an academy once he's old enough."
Tess went silent for a few seconds before resuming the conversation.
"Hmm, that won't be easy, but I'll speak to the higher ups and let you know A-S-A-P. In the meantime, you should let Ken visit Patria. If he competes in the mage games, I'm sure he'll be able to earn some extra merit, which will make it easier to get into an academy of his choice. If you want, I could take him there the next time I swing by."
-"What! Seriously? I have to go back to school?!"-