A year and a half passed, and I finally got used to everything. I started to eat small bits of actual food, and I started drinking the 'crystal water' that Kasan kept sending us. My voice began to become more and more clear, turning from a croaking frog to a beautiful blue whale's song.
Every so often, Mother would take me to visit Father at work. Of course, it was excruciatingly hot, but I could get used to it. She also took me out to the town to see everyone. It was just as I remembered: full of attractive people.
One day, both my mother and father decided to take me out. We stopped at a few shops, but we didn't buy anything. "Did you hear? King Vito is thinking about banishing beastmen from the kingdom," I heard someone say. "Mama, is King Vito nice?" I asked. She looked down at me and forced a smile. "I can't say, as I've never met him." She looked back up and kept walking. Well, that's interesting.
I heard the clanking of armor, and my parents moved to the side of the road. Soldiers walked the street with blank expressions on all their faces. Once they disappeared, the crowded streets returned. What was that? I think I've seen that in some stories, but never like this. Usually, there was music or something, but this was just silence, besides the sounds of their footsteps. Once again, I mentally sighed.
After we finished shopping, we returned to the house. "Were some of those suits your work?" Mother asked. "Yeah, some of them were..." He muttered, putting up the groceries. Mother went over to a cabinet and pulled out a tap. She put a flask under it, and I saw water start flowing out of it. She came over to me and put it to my lips. That's where my crystal water comes from?
Knock, knock, knock.
Father went to the door and opened it to see Kasan. "Back so soon?" Father asked with a curious smirk. "I was here last year, that was a while ago. I just need to do another check-up on little Balere, here."
I sat down on a chair as he inspected my throat. "So, how has he been since the last time I saw him?" He questioned. "Well, he's started talking more, but still not a lot. We've been giving him enough crystal water, so I think he just doesn't know a lot of words." Kasan nodded and kept looking.
Jesus, this guy takes a while. He took the stick out of my mouth and stood up. "His vocal cords seem to be healing quite well." Mother smiled and nodded slowly.
"I still think you should come with me to Wothya," He said before taking a seat. Wothya? What the hell is that? A town? Father sighed at his notion. "I wish we could, but you know why we can't. Wild beastmen track that road and try to attack anyone on it," He said, cutting vegetables. "Every time I come here, they stay back. Come on, you know you want to come with me!" He pleaded. What was so important in this town that needed us there?
"Rufus, maybe it's a good idea." He turned to Mother, who was gripping his sleeve. "If it's to help Balere, maybe we should listen." My father turned back to the cutting board. He sighed and put the knife down. "Fine. We can leave tomorrow." Kasan smiled widely and jumped up. "Amazing! We can leave early tomorrow! Let me tell you the details of the trip."
Blah, blah, blah! I ignored his rambling and moved over to the couch. I climbed up onto it and relaxed. I miss television. I guess I took that for granted, too.
After what seemed like an hour, Kasan stood up. "As I previously stated, we'll leave in the early morning," He said before leaving the house. "I'm not sure how he got us wrapped into this..." Father said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It'll be fine. Before we leave, we should have the priest check Balere's spirit." I tilted my head at the word. I knew what it was, but not why, or how, I should have it checked. Maybe I don't know what it means in this world.
Father kneeled in front of me, and I grabbed his beard. "Are you ready?" He asked. I wasn't sure what we were going to do so I just nodded and went along with what he was saying. "Good. Come to the table for dinner."
After dinner, we sat around the fireplace, snuggled up in a blanket. "It's too cold outside. Did we pack blankets?" Father asked. "Rufus, don't worry. We packed everything we need." He sighed and looked into the fire. I did the cycle of comfort, so I like to call it, on his arm, to which he just smiled at me. "You're right, I'm worrying over nothing. So, do you think Balere could become a mage?" He asked. "There's always a chance. Who knows, maybe he'll be the strongest bugger ever!" She squeezed my cheek.
Something all angsty teenagers wish to be, the strongest bugger in the entire world. As I began to grow dreary, Mother picked me up and put me in my crib. "Good night, little Bal."
The next morning, after eating breakfast and getting dressed, my parents took me to a large cathedral. A preacher in a white robe came up to my parents. Looks like the pope. "Hello, how can I help you?" He asked gently. "We would like to check our son's spirit if that's possible," Mother explained. The man nodded and led my parents to a side room.
The room had a semi-large body of water in a perfect circle in the middle. "What's your son's name?" The man asked. "Balere." The preacher nodded and looked down at me. "Balere, please come with me." He grabbed my hand and led me into the water. The water was about as high as my knee, or ankle height for the preacher man.
"I'm going to touch your back, and you'll begin to feel warm. Don't worry about anything and just clear your mind." This guy is creepy. A preacher telling a little boy to not worry while he touches his back? Where have I heard this before?
I cleared my mind and stood there while taking deep breaths. I felt a warmth stemming from the middle of my back. I felt it crawl outward, expanding to every crevice of my body. I heard words being spoken from every direction, but I couldn't hear what they were saying.
Finally, I felt something large being sucked out of my body, thoroughly knocking the breath out of me. I fell to my knees and the preacher nodded. I saw the man's hands at his side. He must have taken it off whenever I ran out of breath.
I looked to my parents, whose eyes were wide and mouths agape. "Congratulations, Balere. You're going to be a mage," The preacher said with a smile. "Me? A mage?" I sputtered out. "Yes, and a strong one at that. Just look."
I stepped back and saw a red, clear man. He had a crown and horns sticking out of his head, holding up a sword. "Who is that?" The words accidentally left my mouth. "Supposedly, the image you're seeing is going to be you in the future. It's different in everyone else's eyes, though." I looked to my parents who began smiling. Thank god, I thought they would fear me for some reason. I turned back to me in the future. Why do I have horns? Is that a crown?
Father took my hand and smiled at me. "Congrats." He put me on my back, and only then did I realize how tired I was from that. "I would suggest getting him a tutor of some kind, to at least find out what type of magic he can use." My parents nodded before exiting the cathedral.
We went back home and saw Kasan waiting outside the house with a cart. "I thought you guys were inside the house. What morning activity did you guys do?" He asked. "We went to get Balere's spirit checked." He raised an eyebrow. "And the results were?"
"He's going to be a mage!" Mother exclaimed. "That's wonderful! Come here, kid!" he pulled me into a headlock and gave me a noogie. "Attaboy! I knew you'd be something special!"
He let me go and I rubbed my head. "Alright, are you guys ready?" My father opened the front door to our house. "At least let us get our bags..."
We finally got in the cart and began driving. "So, what'd you guys see?" He asked with sparkles in his eyes. "I saw a man on one knee, holding a sword, and in his other hand, he was casting a spell." Maybe I turn into a sword? "I saw him sitting on a throne," My father said. Finally, all eyes turned to me. I wasn't sure how to describe it without revealing my abnormally large vocabulary, so I just shrugged. "I bet he could describe it if he read a book or two..." Mother sighed. "I read him books almost every day, but he doesn't seem interested in them. He did seem interested in some of the more advanced books, though." Kasan looked at me from the side of his eye and smirked.
I felt the road begin to get bumpy. "Seems like we've officially left Salwar. Oh, man! I just love road trips!" I'm getting a bad feeling about all this. Tired child, a road where we can get attacked, and the only mage is a healer. God, please let me live.
I heard a winking sound coming from the sky and my father turned his head. He shook it off, but I shuddered. Also my parents?
I sighed and laid down on Mother's lap. And here I thought a fantasy world would be interesting. Maybe it's just boring at the beginning because I have to get used to the world. I shrugged and let sleep take me.
I was awoken by the cart shaking. Uh oh! I saw my parents covering me, and a sliver of Kasan fighting off humans with cat ears and leopard tails. Are these people beastmen? I heard one snarl to the other, and it ran behind him and knocked the cart over slightly.
I saw my father's eyes dart toward a sword that was dropped on the ground. He instantly rushed to it and slashes at the beastman. "Rufus!" My mother held me tightly and kept my head on her shoulder. Soon, the cart was knocked on its side. With it being knocked over, my mother let go and fell out of it. ARE YOU SERIOUS?! A spell hit the cart and I felt it tipping over. "This is how I die again..?" I asked myself quietly.
My mother reached out to me, but I was already falling. FUUUUUU— I was cut off by hitting the FUCKING GROUND!