"I may not cross the border with you but... I'll always be with you. Right here..." She said, pointing at my chest. Her face had a peaceful smile, as she drew her last breath.
I didn't move, I don't know how long I stayed that way. Tears dropped freely from my eyes.
I dug a grave using an item I got from the bandits. It was hard, but I just kept digging. The grave wasn't deep. I was still a small boy so I didn't know if it would be shallow or deep.
I raised my head up, realizing the night was gone, morning had come. I wrapped her up in a big piece of cloth and put her in the ground. I cleaned myself up with water and some rags. Not doing anything to the dead bandits. I left them there to rot.
I took one last glance at the grave, and looked up. Today was my birthday and also the day I buried my mother.
*********
I held my knife, heading for the Iyun province. It was now an item of comfort to me.
Flashbacks of the scene kept going through my mind, putting me in a state of numbness. I had a pouch of filled with money, so I knew I would survive when I got to the city.
I reached the borderlands. I got questioned by the guards at the border. I told them I got robbed by bandits and my parents helped me escape, telling me to wait for them in the city.
The guards took pity on me and assigned someone to help me find my way in the city. The person also rented a week's worth of residence at an inn for me to stay while I waited for my parents.
He also promised to come check on me by the end of the week. I went to my room, dropped off my belongings. I cleaned myself up in the bathroom.
At night, I couldn't sleep, the events were fresh in my mind. I was tired but everytime I closed my eyes, what happened kept coming to mind rousing a sense of anxiety, terror and agony. I stayed awake till daybreak.
Leaving the inn on the third day and going outside. I didn't eat anything for some time now, so I bought some snacks on the street while staying out till nightfall.
I went back to my room, falling asleep as soon as my body touched the bed. It was the first time I slept in a while.
My body jolted a bit as I woke up after having a bad dream. It was already daybreak though. After having my bath and a change of clothes, I took my stuff and left the inn. I was never planning to wait for the guard.
Today, wearing my best clothes and styling my hair to look more dignified. I went out with a goal in mind. The money I had on hand was enough for me to rent a house and stay comfortable for a while, and that's exactly what I did. I saw commercial lodging in a small neighborhood. The landlord thought I was one of those spoilt kids who ran away from home and didn't want to sell at first, not wanting earn the ire of a noble house.
I convinced him to rent it to me. I just threatened to report him for abuse and he complied. I paid to rent the one bedroom apartment for a year. It was a nice place, the building was big, having ten rooms.
The neighbours were a bit wary of me, I think the landlord told them I was a noble. So they didn't want to risk offending me. It didn't feel bad, in fact it was preferable compared to having nosy neighbours.
The next day, I went out to the streets, this time I was looking for information. Feeling the need to know what happened to the barony after we left.
I bought the weekly journal. It was a set of papers that contained information on the happenings of the kingdom.
The journal had information on the barony. My father Fahad, was now declared a fallen noble. He and his second wife Diana were caught and killed by the knolls. It turned out that they were misinformed on the actual direction of the knolls attack. Unfortunately for them, when they encountered the knolls, it was already too late for them to turn back.
For the first time in a long time, I smiled. The news of their deaths brought a pleasant feeling. At the same time I also felt sad, if only mom were here. I left the place and went back home with the paper in hand.
After spending two weeks at home doing nothing but eat, sleep and sometimes cry. I was bored and empty. I made some inquiries and decided to enroll in a school.
It wasn't that easy, I required the signature of a parent or guardian. Pondering on what to do and coming up with no better solution than to seek the assistance of my landlord.
He firmly disagreed. This time I had no other choice but to come clean about my predicament. He may have heard about what happened to the Dimworth's barony.
He had a look of sympathy and understanding on his face. This time he agreed to stand in as a guardian. That was how I went back to school.
Using school to divert the attention of my uncomfortable circumstance, I made friends and even pretended to be happy.
The truth was, feelings and sensitivity died on the day mom left this world. I didn't see humans as good. Except for a few like the guards at the border or my landlord. Good people were few and far between.
The people that I hated the most, however, were dark mages. A dark mage ruined my family and a dark mage killed my mother.
Having experienced their acts firsthand, knowing what they were capable of.
I also heard that in some parts, they were seen as evil for their abilities. However, what I believe is that they shouldn't exist, any of them. They are a curse on the society. A curse that should be removed. To me they're worse than the knolls.
I lived in Kane city at the Iyun province. There was an abundance of dark mages, so I saw a lot of them everyday. It only fueled my hatred though. Regardless, I bottled it all in. Keeping a facade of geniality, I made friends with the kids living in my neighborhood.
A year went on this manner, I was now thirteen years old. Just a year before my awakening. One day, me and my friends were engaged in a conversation about it.
That was when I heard about a boy known as the prodigy of the kingdom. A person of noble blood and heir to a ducal house. A boy by the name of Oscar. When they realized I had no idea who the boy was they were surprised.
They went on to tell me everything they knew about him before I could even ask. How he was able to use magic at the age of eight. How he could control flames without a core. I thought it to be exaggerated. So I made some findings, looked for articles written about him, I even sought after depicted images of him.
It was all true. A boy of noble blood, born to a family of fire mages. Thinking about this, it all felt familiar. I'm a boy of noble background, my father and mother were fire mages. It was just so similar.
At that point I felt a lot of emotions, the strongest of all was envy. Yes, I envied him, everything I lost, he possessed in abundance.
I looked up at the sky, questioning no one in particular. I muttered "why?..."
I held this thought till I reached my abode.
"Why was it not me, what did he do to get all of this. What wrong did I commit to get plagued with such misfortune." I had a strong feeling of displeasure.
I knew it wasn't possible to reach the level of such a monster. My prospects were dim, I was starting to go broke. The only way I could achieve my goals was to have a high grade talent. The me of before would have felt it was possible. But after going through so much and seeing how disappointing reality was, I knew that gaining a mid-grade talent would be considered as fortunate for me.
Fortune however, always eludes me. Never smiling, always keeping it's distance.
"I can only continue to live, after my awakening, even though I end up with a low-grade I'll make sure to do all I can to destroy the dark mages."
Time went on till the day of the awakening. I was anxious, so was everyone who was in my shoes.