"Thawne!!!"
Bang!!
Barging through the room, Shen grabbed the child and hugged him tightly. He had grown worried about Thawne, since the injuries inflicted were severe, too severe for a normal human to survive.
"Master Shen… I'm alright. You are squeezing my bones out, Ack!"
Drifting to the side, Thawne pulled his bandaged body away for freedom. Shen stopped after a few minutes, with a satisfied smile and a gleaming face.
"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't get a hold of myself, but I'm glad you survived that. It's surprising how fast your healing capabilities are..", Shen pondered.
"That's because Dad used to stuff a lot of herbs into my mouth. He said it would help against the flies in some swamps, although I never saw those swamps.", Thawne chuckled.
The duo spent some time reminiscing about the past, and after a while, they settled into laughter. They were joyous and relieved to have escaped the chaos, but Thawne felt a bit rigid.
"How did the dreadmourns breach the security into the county? Moreover, I am sure the Baron would have never allowed anything of that sort to happen.", Thawne shrugged.
"Ugh, yeah that was a dire situation. The cause is still being investigated, but some sources claimed it might have been a spy for the dreadmourns. Perhaps a rat who sided with those vile beasts."
"If that would be the concept of the attack, it would make sense. The only way for that to happen is either from the sea or up north after the barony of Ragonbrook. Or from the border near Curgulch, but those seem impossible."
"Either way it stays as confidential information. We have no way to verify these remarks, and the dreadmourns within the city were subdued in time. The only ranked one we saw was the one you defeated.", Shen smiled.
Patting the child on the back in pride, Shen laughed at the thought of bringing up such a capable knight. He never foresaw Thawne's abilities being so strong, and this gave him joy.
Yet in his action of pride, his eyes met the sign of the blessed upon Thawne's chest. It was black and held a dragon's head as its totem. Stricken with surprise, he paused in his actions and bent his head.
His grip tightened on Thawne's shoulder, and with a firm face, he stared at the ground. A golden aura seeped from the pores of his skin, and in seriousness he affirmed.
"Disciple"
"Master"
"Disciple!"
"Master!"
"Disciple!!!"
"Master!!!"
"Why didn't you tell me you were a blessed child? And a dragon totem in reverence. You were chosen by the twelve great gods you brat.", Shen scorned.
*If I answer this wrong, he will kill me. That crazy oldie is always up to no good when he makes a serious face. What should I even say? *
"I…. I would have..", Thawne stuttered.
Thwack!!
Smacking Woodlock's back in strength, Shen laughed in a satisfied manner. His happiness turned sour as he remembered the god he was contracted with was also part of the twelve mighty gods.
"I hope it wasn't a messed-up god", Shen smirked.
"It was Hades….", Thawne scoffed.
Cough Cough!
"Fu**!!"
"You shouldn't be cursing, Master."
"Yeah yeah, brat! Hades is Shi*!!"
"At least he's ranked higher…", Thawne shrugged.
--Awkward silence—
Turning his head to the side slowly, Shen fumed as he drove his body near Thawne. In a burst of revenge to scold the child, the master descended his beatings upon Woodlock.
The result of that? Well, Woodlock ran out of the house for a place to hide. At least till the psychotic master calms his nerves down. At least….
Huff!! Huff!!!
"Well, that was close. That oldie is as mad as I presumed. Doesn't he understand the definition of injured, ugh! But why am I calling him an oldie if I am almost his age.", Thawne paused.
Woodlock had lived eighteen years in his previous life and thirteen in the present one. Adding these two spans together would fit in a total of thirty-one years lived. A proof he was nothing but an old man himself.
Either way, he brushed off those deranged thoughts and strutted through the town. Blackwood was a place he loved since childhood, yet the disaster left by the dreadmourns was highly evident.
Thawne fell into depravity and thought, with a hint of being weak was a luxury he should partake in. Perhaps if he was strong, this would never have occurred in the first place.
However he was too weak to save his mother on time, and in a selfish request, he hung his hopes on revenge. It was all but a way to search for purpose, a purpose to live.
"Being the Eldritch flame wouldn't be enough for your mother, Father. But I know if you heard those words from my mouth today, you couldn't help but feel captivated."
"I will become the Eldritch flame, and hang our family name through the loins of history. That is a hope and purpose I strive for, whilst ridding the earth of those vile beasts."
Thawne clenched his fists in a burst of motivation and stared at the skies as his will burned on. He was invigorated by the sudden steeled resolve he enacted, but that ended shortly after a kid bumped into him.
"Hey!! Can't you watch where you are treading?"
Turning to his side, Thawne grinned at the vague attempt. He had a bad temper since his previous life, and such an attempt only sounded like a bully in his ears.
"Uhh, but it was you who bumped me, not the other way around. You should apologize if you wronged someone.", Thawne replied.
"Huh? Do you know who I am? How dare a commoner speak to a noble of my Caliber? I am Von Ashrizer, cousin of Draven Ashwood. You should eat up the dust like your poor common folks.", Von countered.
"I don't care about who you are or what you are called. Apologize!!", Thawne affirmed.
"How dare you raise your voice at me!! Are you courting death!! I am a blessed child you piece of…"
"Shut the hell up!!"
Thwack!
Striking the temple of Von's head, Thawne sent him off his feet into the dirt. The burst of energy from the punch dazed the noble, and another approached from behind.
It was none other than Draven Ashwood, son of Baron Cedric Ashwood. The heir to the Barony of Blackwood, and a student of the Order of Valor.