Chapter 1: Hunt

The old wizard walked through the rubble, his long white beard brushed against the broken pieces of stone and wood. The town around him was in ruins, with numerous buildings collapsed and destroyed. The explosion had been so powerful that it had taken down half the buildings in sight in an instant.

The wizard scanned the area, searching for any sign of life. As he turned a corner, he saw something stir under a pile of debris. Cautiously he approached but after a sudden stop, he left a relieved sigh escape his lips.

His magic lifted the heavy stones and timbers with ease.

Under them, he uncovered a young looking boy of 8 or 10 years of age, covered in dust and dirt. The wizard gently lifted the child into his arms and whispered a spell of healing. The child's wounds began to close, and their breathing grew easier.

He looked around at the devastation and shook his head. Many others must be trapped under the rocks like this child, but he could not stay and help them all.

He placed the child on the ground and began walking towards more moving rubble when he felt a small hand grab on his robes.

The wizard  tried to pull away from the child, his mind focused on his mission. But the small child clung to his robe, tears streaming down their dirt-streaked face.

"Please don't leave me," the child whispered, their voice shaking with fear.

A small child like this would be fatigued after having healing magic cast on them, his legs were fine, but he was too tired to walk, and was afraid of being left alone in the rubble.

The wizard's heart softened at the child's plea. He knelt down beside the child and placed a gentle hand on their shoulder.

"Where are your parents?" the wizard asked, looking down at the child by his side.

The child's face fell. "I don't have any," they said, their voice barely above a whisper.

The wizard's heart went out to the child. He had seen too many young lives lost or forever changed by tragedy.

These last 12 years were filled with horrors that even the centuries old war shied away from.

The wizard cast a magical ward around the child, enveloping them in a warm, protective glow. "There," he said. "That should keep you safe until I get back."

The child looked up at the wizard with wide, trusting eyes. "Thank you," they said, finally displaying a smile.

The wizard gave the child a reassuring smile of his own and then set off into the rubble, his magic at the ready.

As he searched through the wreckage, the wizard's senses were on high alert.

Finally, he found the monster half-buried under a rock, its body twisted and broken. The wizard let out a triumphant cry. The creature was humanoid but had very distinct features.

Its arms were covered in shiny green scales, horns grew from its head and sharp teeth adorned its mouth. At each of his sides the monster wings laid broken, twitching in a futile attempt to escape the rubble.

As he stood over the defeated monster, he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

Despite its injuries, the monster's eyes were still full of hatred. As the wizard approached, it let out a low growl and bared its teeth, determined to fight to the end.

"You damned hypocrite", The monster looked up at the wizard and spoke with a weak voice full of rage.

"Goodbye", The wizard summoned his power and casted a spell, blowing the monster's head clean off its shoulders.

As the dust settled, the wizard stood there, covered in sweat and let out a long sigh of relief. It was finally over.

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As the old wizard turned to make his way back to the child, he found that a group of spectators had gathered around looking at him and the monster's body, their eyes fixed on him with a mixture of fear and awe.

The wizard saw that many of them were wounded, their bodies covered in cuts and bruises. Others were frantically searching the rubble, calling out for their loved ones. He couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility.

"Edeus!" He turned to see a young woman landing next to him, a bright smile on her face.

"I finally caught up with you!"  she exclaimed, her tone cheerful and unfitting of the atmosphere.

"Are you all right?"

The woman waved off his concern. "I'm fine," she said. "But I'm more worried about you. Are you okay? You are too old for this kind of things, a little swipe could cut you in half kihihihi". The woman laughed with an annoying cackle.

"I'm fine", Edeus dusted off his robes paying the derision no mind.

From the corner of his eyes he spied the small boy looking at the pair in awe. He was standing on his feet already which surprised Edeus.

The young boy stood before the old wizard, his eyes filled with determination and a hint of desperation. "Please, sir," he begged. "Take me with you. I want to learn magic and become a great wizard like you." The boy raised his fist in excitement.

The old wizard sighed and shook his head. "No way, you are still just a child.", Edeus turned around and started walking away but the young boy would not be deterred. He grabbed onto the wizard's robes and looked up at him with a fierce determination. "It's dangerous everywhere," he said, gesturing towards the destroyed town behind him. "My home is gone. I have nowhere else to go."

The old wizard looked at the boy with a mixture of sadness and understanding. Guilt filling his heart.

The woman tilted her head looking at the situation with a teasing smile. Edeus quickly gave her an angry look deterring any idea in her mind of making any troublesome statement.

The girl only cackled to herself.

Witches were completely insane, not a single one was spared with common sense, one had to make sure they didn't stir any trouble at all times.

Edeus brushed his long white beard thinking to himself. "What is your name, boy", he asked.

"R-Rodderick, sir!", the young boy answered with a mix of nerves and excitement.

"How about this, I will give you a magical test, if you pass, you can join us.", Edeus kept stroking his beard while looking at the child.

"Here", Edeus waved his staff and a wisp of fire appeared, floating on the air. "Turn it off".

Rodderick with no hesitation reached at the flame with both hands trying to contain him between his hands.

"What?!" Edeus quickly dispelled the flame, afraid of melting the child's hands away. "Are you stupid child?! Don't you know how dangerous magic fire is?"

However, Rodderick answered with a huge smile, "There, it's gone"

Edeus was speechless, the witch kept cackling and the kid kept smiling.

"I'm having a really bad day", the wizard sighed exhausted. "Alright, boy, we don't have all day, let's go". The wizard turned around and walked away.

"Yeah!" The child smiled and trotted behind.

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