8 comments/ 2731 views/ 15 favorites Shaman Chronicles Ch. 01 By: worldwarwalther Author's Note:Hey guys, this is my very first submission to literotica.com! I would really appreciate it if you could give me some feedback. This story has been on my mind for a LONG time and now to finally let it out, (and to practice for my English exam) I decided to write it down.I am not sure if this story is going to have sexual content at ALL and I wanted to tell you ,that I am open for suggestions concerning the story. Since English is NOT my native language I am afraid it might be possible, that I am using words in the wrong context or I am making other mistakes .I hope you can forgive me. Thx for reading , your WorldWarWalther. ------------ Our story starts on a small road, surrounded by fields. The blue of the sky is covered by heavy dark-gray clouds. The rain is pouring down and makes the only sound together with the squeaky wheels of the old, ox-drawn cart. The carter and his passenger were completely and utterly soaked and he was completely and utterly pissed. Why did he have to tour right into the middle of no-where to get just one little kid form a village nobody had ever heard of? It was a complete waste of time and if he didn't know that he would be compensated with enough money to buy a whole brothel he was sure he had never accepted the offer. The big man looked over his shoulder. "What's so special about the boy, anyway? Normally the Academy doesn't recrute village boys",he thought. The "boy" couldn't have been older then nine. He had dark, nearly black, long hair and a pale skin tone. Looking very ordinary the only remarkable feature about him were his piercing blue eyes. He sat there in the cart clothed in a rough vest ,woolen pants and a soaked blanket, staring into nothingness. He was shaking but probably not from the cold, but from the shock how he'd been sold to this strange man by his parents for two silver coins. Thinking about the boys situation he pitied him and he felt guilty for not talking to him once this day. "Hey boy!" he yelled over the sound of the thunder, "You hungry? There's a tavern coming up one mile from here! I think we both can use something to warm to eat." smiling reassuring. The boy looked at him and nodded ,than he returned to looking miserable again. "Why would they do that? How could they do that?" the boy thought to himself, remembering his parents looking overjoyed while taking the two silver coins from this bear of a man. The boy took a closer look at the man and thought again about escaping him. But what for? His parents wouldn't want him back anyway and he had no idea which choice he had left. So he was forced to stay with this man. He could only hope the man had no interest in eating him ,the idea of the man raping him never even coming to his innocent mind. Finally the could see smoke and light on the horizon which meant they only had about half an hour to reach their target. The boy nearly shrieked when he heard an unidentifiable sound realizing it only was the growling of bear man's stomach. Eventually the reached the tavern. The man steered the cart in front of the tavern's stable and got of to get inside. Looking back he saw that the boy was still sitting on the cargo area. "What's the matter? You wanna sleep outside?" he shouted. The startled boy quickly shook his head no. "Then hurry up!" The man entered the tavern and the boy quickly followed suit. Inside it was warm and cozy. The whole dining area was empty, except for two suspicious looking men in a corner. A man,probably the owner, came up to the newcomers. He quickly greeted them revealing his crooked teeth. "What can I do for you?" "We need two beds and something to eat and I have two oxes outside who need some hay." bear-man growled handing him some money . Stealing a glance at the boy the owner made an uneasy smile,obviously trying to find a way of telling him it wasn't enough ,but smart enough not to irritate the intimidating giant. "Of course my friend." with that he disappeared, already yelling at his cook and the weakly looking boy who desperately tried to look like a waiter. The boy and the man quickly settled down near to the fireplace trying to warm their cold bodies. Only moments later the wants-to-be waiter brought them two pints of ale. The thirsty man quickly gulped down half of his drink. Taking a deep breath the boy mustered up all courage he had and asked the question. "Why am I here?" he muttered hoping the scary looking fella wouldn't hear it. "What was that?" the man asked. Of course he heard it, the boy thought. Taking another deep breath the boy asked again: "Why am I here?" The man looked at him like he had just grown wings. "What do you mean?" "Where are you taking me?" the boy hissed becoming visibly annoyed. "To the Academy of course..." "What's that?" Now the man couldn't believe what the boy said. Of course he knew the Academy! He had to! Everybody did! But the boy was still staring at him and waiting for an answer. "What's your name, boy?" he asked ,trying to change the subject. "Jarko." "Ok mine's Thorus." with they shook hands Thorus nearly crushing Jarko's. "So you never heard of the Royal Academy of Magic?" The boy shook his head. "Wow. That's a first!" Thorus laughed. "The Academy is the only place in the Royal Empire where it's tought how to use magic. Have you never heard of magic?" "Well" Jarko said " I've read about it..." So at least he learned how to read, Thorus thought. "... and most of the time magic is something, that gives the wielder the power to do anything he wants." "Well I am no expert but from what I know of it it's a bit more complicated." Thorus inclined smiling at Jarko. "Probably" Jarko said, becoming a bit more relaxed "but why should this bother me?" "Well" Thorus said, "you have magical talent, and since normally the academy doesn't even bother to recruit village boys I think you have the potential to become very poweful." Thorus didn't want Jarko to become full of himself, but he didn't want to lie to him either. Jarko just opened his mouth to respond something when the waiter showed up to bring their food. It was some kind of stew with vegetables and some meat. Jarko was amazed. Real meat! He stared in his bowl. Then he remembered how hungry he was and dug in . When he had eaten up he and was able to think again he tought about Thorus words while he ate. He still couldn't grasp what the bearded giant told him. Jarko the farm-boy, a Magus? He thought about what Thorus said. Suddenly a thought struck him. "how do you know it?" "How do i know what?" Thorus asked. "How do you know that I am to be a powerful Magus? Or that I will be one for that Matter?" "Well..." Thorus began, " every Magus causes a certain event when his talent is activated." "Like what?" "Like a plate flying through the house, for example. The bigger or stranger the event and the younger the Magus is when it happens the stronger he or she is." Suddenly Jarko was very quiet. "What?" Thorus asked, but Jarko still continued to stare so he asked again, "What is it?" and since Jarco wasn't reacting he tried to shake him "awake" "Jarko talk to me!" "They came at dawn." Jarko said quietly still staring into nothingness. "Who?" "A group of outlaws. I don't know how many of them there were. But they were like a plague. They wanted to slaughter every man ,and capture the women." "Oh my god, how did your village survive that?" "Well " Jarko said his voice being nothing more than a whisper, "they were just raiding the first few houses when one of them stabbed one of his comrades, who just wanted to rape a girl, in the back.His friends wanted to stop him but he just kept on gutting his friend. The man wasn't himself and his pupils and irises were gone. He was like a maniac. His friends just stood their shocked, but then another one of them pulled his sword and beheaded the guy next to him, his eyes being only white. After that they were after each other. They kept slaughtering each other until only one of them was left. This last one drove his own fingers in his eyes, without even a single sound. Then he walked away and never returned." Jarko became quiet. Thorus looked around to see if the two men in the corner had heard anything and luckily they didn't. "What do you remember from that night?" Thorus asked Jarko. "Well nothing." Jarko said looking at Thorus with this piercing, ice-blue eyes, "I was just born that night." -------------------------------------------- Shaman Chronicles Ch. 02 Author's note: Hey guys! This is my second chapter of "The Shaman Chronicles" and I just wanted to tell you some things. I REALLY appreciate the feedback! And I WILL try to write longer chapters, starting with this one. It will be hard for me since my exams are due in the few months. Still you're positive feedback more or less made my whole week, so keep doing what you're doing and I am motivated to sit down and abuse my poor little keyboard some more! I (and you should too!) want to thank A.L. for supporting me the way you did and for proofreading this little story of mine. You're the best! That being said, enjoy the newest chapter of "The Shaman Chronicles" Sincerely WorldWarWalther. ------- Thorus just stared at the young boy sitting in front of him. Could it be true? Could his event have taken place right after his birth? What Jarko said made sense, but was still too phenomenal to be true. Snapping out of his stupor Thorus declared that they'd need to sleep now, because of the long way they needed to get behind them, if they wanted to reach the Academy on time. They headed upstairs to their respective bedrooms, not speaking a single word. "Sleep tight little boy! We gonna hit the road when the sun rises." Thorus told Jarko before they slipped through their doors. Jarko peeled of his cloths and used the wooden bucket of water to wash himself. Then our Magus-to-be laid down on his bed nearly passing out from exhaustion. When Thorus heard his new acquaintance snoring like only farm-boys could he smiled, wishing him a dreamless sleep. He'd need it! They still had three days of journey in front of them before they'd reach the academy. He silently cursed their cart. With horses they would need only two days, tops. He studied his maps to see, if they could stop at a bigger city where they would be able to sell the cart, and buy two horses as well as some fresh clothes for Jarko. He decided to go a short way around ,stopping at Arcadia. From there it would only be half a day longer if they had horses.Finally he packed away his maps and went to sleep ,dreaming of a man blinding himself with his own hands. ------- "Wake up boy!" Thorus yelled ,strolling into Jarko's room. Cringing ,Jarko opened his eyes to see the smiling bear-man standing on the foot of his bed. "C'mon, get up! Or you won't be a Magus when your twenty!" Thorus laughed "God damnit", Jarko thought, "how can he be this awake so early?" "Hurry up already! I'll wait downstairs for you." Thorus said, halfway out of Jarko's room. Jarko slowly put on his clothes, which were freezing cold and still somewhat damp. He made his way to the dining-room where Thorus was already eating some bread with cheese and drinking from a wooden cup. Jarko sat down realizing, that he wasn't even hungry. So he just watched Thorus eating up. "Are ya sure you want nothin' to eat?" Thorus asked with a concerned look on his face. "Yes..." Jarko answered. "Well you'd better not whine around when we're on the road! We can't make stops with this slow-ass cart." Jarko didn't mind. Back on the farm he wouldn't get something to eat for days when the crop was bad. "At least drink something." Thorus said ,giving Jarko his cup. Jarko took the cup his friend offered him. Wait a moment, Jarko thought, friend? Looking up into Thorus' face he realized that the man he had known for only one day, had become a friend to him. Showing a little smile Jarko took the cup out of Thorus' hand and sipped on it. Surprisingly the drink was quite hot and Jarko nearly choked on it. It also had quite the bitter taste... Not unpleasant, but still bitter. "What's that?" Jarko asked. "The drink? That's tea." Thorus answered. So this was tea. Jarko had heard a lot about it, but being a farm-boy he'd never actually seen or tasted tea. Of course something like nettle tea was well known and especially when winter came ,but black tea was (at least for Jarko) something he'd only read about. At least he had thought so two days ago. Only two days and his life was completely upside-down. Now he was the soon-to-be Magus drinking tea with his new friend. It was to absurd to actually think it! Laughing ,he took another sip of his cup of black tea. "What's so funny?" Thorus asked him, confused by Jarko's behaviour. "I think you'd call it destiny." Jarko answered, grinning into his cup and completely ignoring the pissed of look on Thorus' face. ------- After breakfast ,our two heroes wasted no time and quickly got the cart ready to hit the road again. This time the weather wasn't as bad as the day before, but there were still enough clouds to hide the sun from the eyes of Thorus and Jarko. Sitting on the coach box the two of them didn't speak a word while they ,ever so slowly ,made their way to the next station of their journey: The city of Arcadia, capital of the federal state Arcadia, the most western of all the seven districts of the Royal Empire. In the very centre of the seven districts the capital of the Royal Empire,the district of Rolyaris and residence of the Emperor and his family, Rolyaris is located. From there the Emperor rules over the country and the other six districts, which are arranged in an nearly perfect circle around the district of Rolyaris. The Royal Academy of Magic, the final destination of the two companions ,is located in the district of Northwind, near the border to the district of Rolyaris. The capital of Northwind, the city of Northwind lays in high in the Windy mountains. The city of Arcadia, where Thorus intended to buy some proper horses and to get rid of the cart, is located very close to the border between the districts Arcadia and Northwind. Now back again to our protagonist and his giant of a friend. ------- Jarko woke up. He realized that he had slept for some time. He looked up to Thorus, who was scanning the woods for danger. Jarko hadn't even thought about bandits or wild animals, but remembering the big bag with money Thorus had on his belt, he could see why they would make some tasty prey to some outlaws. When the cart passed the end of the forest, the tension fell from them like a stone. Now Jarko wanted to break the silence between them. "Are you a Magus?" he asked Thorus quite bluntly. "Nope." Thorus answered. "Then what do you do for the academy?" "I look after the horses and sometimes I get some of the recruits." "Like me?" "No, none of the normal recruits are quite like you." Thorus answered smiling. "Why's that?" Jarko wanted to know. "Well first of all you are bothering to talk to me." Jarko didn't understand. "Why wouldn't the other children talk to you?" "Well most of the time they are coming from rich or noble families. You see, it's unusual for a little farm-boy to have magical talent. Normally it's inherited by birth. So most of the boys have magi as fathers and since a Magus never has a lack of money, they're all stuck up sons of bitches." Thorus laughed staring at the road in front of him. "You'll see yourself, they probably won't accept you, just because you were born poor. It won't change when they find out that you're more powerful than they are." "And they won't talk to you because you're the stable master." Jarko asked incredulously "Yep." Thorus answered. Jarko thought about it a short moment and then finally concluded. "Then they are really stuck up sons of bitches." Thorus looked at Jarko and seeing the grin on his face the two of them burst out laughing. ------- Thorus and Jarko continued their journey in the same way .For two days, their daily routine was getting up, sitting in the cart and getting a room in an inn and getting up again. As boring as that sounds it made the bond they shared only stronger. They could already see the smoke coming out of Arcadian forges, when Thorus told Jarko to hide under the blankets in the cart. Jarko quickly complied. The cart came to an halt and Jarko heard Thorus say "And a nice afternoon to you, gentlemen how can I help you?" "Well we'd like to know how much money you have with you, and take it from you." Jarko heard a voice he'd never heard say. "Bandits!" he thought. He glanced out of his hiding place. Three men were standing in front of the wagon. One of them leaned against the wagon and held a dagger in his hand. The other one had a sword and the third one a bow. "Well" Thorus said "I don't have any money. I want to go to Arcadia to get a job." "Ok you do that and we'll take your cart and your oxes. You don't need them anymore. Or do ya,big boy?" The one with the dagger said with an evil grin plastered on his face. "Well..." Thorus said and gave 'Dagger' a kick in his face. Holding the bloody pulp that used to be his nose he fell to the ground, screaming. Before he hit the ground, the giant quickly jumped of the cart, barely dodging the arrow. He ducked behind it and stomped 'Daggers' face, ending his screams. Then he pulled his sword out of the sheath he had strapped to his back, hidden under the coat. Obviously the group of bandits wasn't used to resistance ,because when Thorus ran into 'Sword' ,the stunned outlaw didn't realize what had happened until the end of Thorus' sword was protruding from his back. Thorus spun around to see himself eye in eye with 'Bow' who already had the next arrow on his bow-string, aiming directly at Thorus' chest. "Are you sure you wanna do that? Have you ever killed a man before?" "Of course I have!" 'Bow' yelled, "I have killed three men, you bloody idiot! And you'll make four!" "Who was talking to you?" Before 'Bow' could comprehend what Thorus had just said, he felt a searing pain in his kneepits and slumped down, his back hitting. Then he saw a young boy, standing over him, the bloody dagger of his passed-out comrade in hand, the ice-blue eyes without any emotion. "It's just not your day." Jarko said before he rammed the dagger in his victims throat. ------- Thorus had just hidden the corpses in the forest, when Jarko finished puking his guts out. Thorus' looked at him with a concerned face. A nine-year-old shouldn't be forced to kill someone. Thorus was sixteen when he had killed his first man, which was still far to early. But it had happened and there was nothing either of the two could do about it. Going over to Jarko he hold out his hand. Jarko raised his eyes to see what Thorus was holding. With a surprised face he looked in Thorus' eyes. "It's yours." Thorus said, "keep it or throw it away.But from now on... It. Is. Yours." Jarko nodded and took the dagger and the sheath from Thorus attaching both to his belt. He nearly shrieked when Thorus kneeled down in front of him, grabbed both of his shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. "Now listen to me Jarko, because what I am about to tell you is important." Jarko nodded dumbly. "You have just killed a man." Thorus started his little speech. "I know from experience, that the first kill isn't something nice. And you will feel guilty. You will wake up in the middle of the night seeing the auburn eyes of the man you killed. I won't tell you that he is going to be the last man you kill, because I would lie. You're going to be a Magus. You'll learn hundreds of ways to kill a man. And if you do that, I want you to remember the young boy with the auburn hair and the brown eyes and the tiny bow in his hand. I want you to remember the first man you killed. And that killing isn't fun or play or anything else. This right here was a necessity. It was either him or you and you knew that he had to die so you could live. That's how it works. It's sad, but what isn't? I just want you to ask yourself one question before you take a life: Is This Really Necessary? Do you understand that?" Jarko nodded, tears in his eyes. "Yes. Yes I understood" Jarko sobbed and buried his head in Thorus shoulder. They stood there/kneeled for god knows how long, while Jarko cried and sobbed like only a child could. When he finished to cry, Thorus took him and sat both of them on the cart. The sky was already becoming red and Thorus and Jarko really needed some sleep,therefore Thorus quickly steered the cart to Arcadia, while Jarko slept leaning on his shoulder. ------- It was late afternoon when Jarko and Thorus eventually reached Arcadia, capital of the district Arcadia. Jarko could only gape in amazement. It was just so big! He had never been in any city, let alone a capital. When he and Thorus passed the gate of the city wall, Jarko couldn't believe his eyes. The walls were nearly 5 meter in width and at least twenty meter in height ,moreover they were of stone! Our farm-boy had never seen anything quite like this. "How many years it must have taken to even build the wall!" Jarko thought. He still couldn't grasp the idea that he wasn't dreaming. When he and Thorus entered the first tavern, he couldn't believe how crowded the place was. Or how loud. Luckily Jarko's companion had a voice like an earthquake otherwise the barmaid wouldn't have understood him, when he tried to get them a room. But they wouldn't have the luck. They visited three other taverns and inns to find a room, but still no luck. "Damnit!" Thorus thought to himself, "I only know one place where we won't be cleaned out." Looking at Jarko he pondered if he should try this last one. "Fuck it! The boy won't sleep in the sewer, not today anyway." Thorus thought to himself. The tavern Thorus thought about wasn't a tavern per se. Of course you could eat and drink there, but you could also order some ... female attention. Thorus went into the brothel, where he was friendly greeted by two girls, one behind and one leaning on the counter. "Well hello big boy, and welcome in the 'Red Curtain', how can we help you?" the girl behind the counter purred. "Well I'd need two beds and something to eat and please cut out the acting, you won't get a penny from me for whatever you're offering." "But you haven't even heard, what's offered." the other girl purred, walking towards Thorus swaying seductively with her hips. "Well, do you know the position 'the loyal husband' cuz that's my favourite." Thorus said to the girl, becoming a bit angry at her antics. Smart enough to get the hint she stopped dead in her tracks. "Well if you change your mind, I am down here aaaall night." she said, disappearing behind the red curtain the brothel was named after and which led to the bar area. Turning to the counter-girl Thorus asked her if they had two free rooms and if somebody could bring the food upstairs, explaining the situation with Jarko. "So you want to tell me you brought a nine-year-old here and don't want to let him know what's normally happening in his bed?" The girl at the counter asked looking up at Thorus, who slumped down in defeat. "If you could arrange that? Of course I will compensate you for your services." he said showing her his purse, which caused the whore's eyes to glow. "And I'll pay a little extra if nobody knocks on my door tonight." Smiling she accepted Thorus' offer and quickly told the other girls about their 'special guests'. A huge weight fell of Thorus' huge chest, when he went to tell Jarko that they had a place to sleep. Before they went upstairs to their respective rooms, our two heroes wanted to finally sell the cart and get some clothes for Jarko, since there was still time before sunset. Driving over the market place, which was already emptying, due to the late hour, they found a guy who was willing to pay a proper price for the cart and the two oxes. Thorus asked the farmer if he'd knew anyone who sold horses or clothes. In fact he knew a good shop for clothes in the city, but the horse-market was a little outside of the city, so Thorus and Jarko decided,that they would leave their 'tavern' tomorrow morning, to buy horses. When they were done in the clothing store, Jarko was wearing his new leather boots, trousers and vest together with his new black shirt and the the dagger on his belt , while Thorus was carrying Jarko's new leather cape with hood . Of course the clothes weren't cheap and probably finer than anything he had ever worn before ,but they were still practical and especially the leather trousers would pay off when they where riding for eight to ten hours straight. Nonetheless Jarko would have felt like the king of the world with his new garments, if it wasn't for his grief caused by the man he had killed only hours before. ------- When they reached their tavern Thorus quickly took Jarko upstairs to his room, so the boy wouldn't see any of the activities going on at the ground floor. Upstairs he told Jarko he would be there soon and that he wasn't allowed to leave the room until Thorus was back. That being said Thorus quickly went downstairs again to order their food. He cursed his luck when, there was nobody at the counter. Taking a deep breath he went passed the red curtain, to find one of the barmaids, that were supposed to bring them their food. ------- Jarko slipped out of the cart and ducked under it, when Thorus smashed the man's face, blood splattering everywhere and drew his sword out of its sheath. Without thinking Jarko grabbed the dagger, which lied at the side of its former owners corpse. It didn't have any decorations. It was a simple steel dagger, but it was sharp.Sharp enough to kill. Looking up from his recently gained weapon, he saw Thorus killing another man, impaling him on his sword. Jarko looked to the third man, who drew his bow-string back, new arrow ready to be shot. Jarko made the decision. He quickly creeped out of his hiding place sneaking up on his victim. Jarko knew if he'd just stab him he might just let go of the drawn arrow killing Thorus. Jarko had to think of something if he wanted to save both of them. "Are you sure you wanna do that?" Jarko's head jerked up. He saw Thorus looking him dead in the eye. "Have you ever killed a man before?" Jarko shook his head. He never had. He hadn't even seen a corpse before. Jarko looked at the head of the boy he was about to kill. He was just a boy. He couldn't have been older than seventeen. "Of course I have!" the boy yelled, "I have killed three men, you bloody idiot! And you'll make four!" What?! This boy had killed three men already? Jarko couldn't believe his ears. He thought about his future as a Magus. Would he kill three men until he was seventeen? Or maybe even more? "Who was talking to you?" Thorus asked the boy. Now Jarko had no time left. He quickly slashed both of the boys kneepits open, which caused the wounded to loose his balance and he fell back. Looking from his weapon ,dripping from blood, to the brown eyes of his first kill , filled with terror. He nearly laughed out loud, thinking of the irony that he and Thorus were supposed to be the terrified ones. "It's just not your day." Jarko said and rammed his dagger, tip-first into the throat of his victim. Warm blood squirted in his face and ran out of the boys mouth. His whole body spasmed and his eyes lost all emotion. Jarko looked down once more again into the face of the very first human he killed. Grimacing the boy beneath Jarko sneered at him, flashing a toothy, gory smile. "Wake up Jarko!" ------- Jarko sat up in his bed, screaming. Thorus nearly fell over , frozen in shock. He had just come upstairs with their food. Looking each other in the eye Jarko realized that he had a nightmare and broke down crying. Thorus was quickly at his side hugging him close, trying to soothe him. They both didn't make a sound, except for Jarko's sobbing. "I dreamed of him." Jarko cried into Thorus shoulder. "Of course you did." Thorus said hugging Jarko closer. The big man carried the boy to the table in his room, after he stopped crying. They ate in silence. Jarko barely even ate anything and stared into nothingness. He was replaying the short fight in his head, again and again. Something was off about it, but Jarko couldn't quite grasp what it was. When they were finished with their meal Thorus brought him back to his bed. Finally Jarko knew what had been so odd. Shaman Chronicles Ch. 02 "This wasn't the first time you were attacked that way,now was it?" he asked Thorus. "No, it wasn't" the big man answered, looking at Jarko. Seeing that Thorus wouldn't talk about it on his own he just asked him: "Well... would you tell me about it?" Thorus sighed. He didn't want to tell this story, but somehow he knew he'd be stuck with the boy for a while, so he told it anyway. Jarko had a right to know it after all they've been through. "Ok. But this ain't the nicest of bed-time-stories." Jarko quickly nodded. "I was twelve, when my father told me he and my mother couldn't afford me anymore, since my new sibling was on its way. I knew the day would come eventually, but I wasn't prepared for it anyway, mentally that is. So I packed my stuff and joined the army. Of course I was never part of a war ,but I was trained regardless. I learned how to fight, how to ride and especially how to drink. Times were good, but I needed the adventure and I wanted to see the world. So I left the army again and joined a group of soldiers, when I was sixteen. They were usually hired to protect transports of gold or something like this, all of them were good men and they certainly knew how to use a blade." Thorus laughed. "We've been attacked often before, but those were rather small groups. Until this one time." Thorus stared into the glowing fireplace. "We were supposed to bring an old relic from Northwind to the Academy. It was night they were eight, we were ten and only three of us awake. I had the first watch and managed to kill two of those fuckers before one of them rammed a dagger in my stomach." Thorus pulled up his shirt revealing an ugly scar next to his navel. "Five of my companions, close friends, died that night, two died from their wounds later and one of them can't walk anymore. I was lucky since no vital organs were damaged and we were very close to the Academy. I was brought to one of the Magaes, who healed the wound, but I wasn't saved yet. I lied in this god damn room for about three weeks, not able to walk or eat . I had to be fed with a goddamn spoon by one of the kitchen-maidens." Thorus smiled like an idiot. "That's how I met my wife. She fed me for three fucking weeks and all I could do was watch her,and let it happen." looking at Jarko he continued "she was quite the looker back then, hell she still is! I think you'll like her. Now I've told enough old stories. You'd better get some sleep now boy, you'll need to be awake when you choose your horse." With that Thorus left the room, and Jarko quickly fell into a dreamless slumber. ------- The next day they left the brothel very early, after an unimpressive breakfast. Jarko was still oblivious to the activities of the usual guests of their sleeping place. He and Thorus walked through the city of Arcadia in the early morning. The sun hadn't fully risen, painting the sky in a crimson shade of red. There were few people on the streets and it was almost too quiet. Jarko was still bedazzled by the size of the city. Houses of all sizes stood side by side forming a network of narrow alleys, branching off the main street. The most impressive building for Jarko was the citadel. A (for the farm-boy) giant construction. It stood on a small hill and was the biggest building Jarko had ever seen, at least to this moment. Finally the he and Thorus reached one of the gates and left the city. They passed some fields which supplied the city with all kinds of goods before they reached one of the outer markets were the horse was supposed to take place. By then it was already high-noon and the marketplace was crowded with people trying to sell or buy horses. As the stable-master of the Academy Thorus surely was an expert on the subject and knew what he was looking for. But before he could make any decision he heard Jarko just say: "That one!" Thorus turned around to see the little farm-boy at a black horse, which couldn't be older than three years . Thorus frowned. Of course it definitely looked like an excellent specimen ,he didn't know if he wanted the boy to ride a horse, which obviously had never been ridden before. Hell he didn't even know if the boy could ride good enough for their long journey! But when he looked into the boys eyes, transfixed on the young black stallion he knew that the decision was made. The bearded man sighed and made his way to the owners booth. "Hello my friends! What's your desire?" the owner asked with a devious smile. Thorus instantly knew that he had to haggle like never before if he wanted a fair price. "Well hello to you too." he said with a faked smile. "The young black stallion you have there looks quite interesting. What's the price?" The salesman looked at the horse and pondered a moment, before he proclaimed the insane price of twenty golden emperors. Thorus looked at him like he had just grown horns before he burst out laughing. "You can't ...*laugh*...you can't be serious!" Thorus said, wiping tears out of his eyes. "I'll give you five silverlings, I feel generous today." Thorus told the guy, who looked quite pissed. After that it was a back and forth of offers, both trying to negotiate the best price for their purse. Finally they settled on one golden emperor and seventy silverlings, sealing the deal with an handshake. After that, Thorus and Jarko sought for a horse, that could carry the bearded giant and some horse tack. Thorus finally found himself a ten year old, brown war horse. They led their new horses outside of the small village before they mounted them. Thorus was surprised at how well Jarko's stallion behaved and he could clearly see how good the choice was, his little friend made. "Let's ride boy! I wanna make up for some lost time before sunset." Thorus yelled and with that both of them spurred on their horses leaving Arcadia behind them. ------- When night settled in the horses and their riders were pretty exhausted. Thorus and Jarko really tried to make it a short trip, but everyone has his limits. Eventually they gave up trying to find a tavern and set up a camp under a tree in a small clearing. Thorus let the horses loose so they could grass, while Jarko sought for some fire-wood. The boy had never ridden a whole day, thus he was completely sore. And hungry! Luckily they had bought some dried meat and some apples and Thorus pulled out a wineskin filled with water. They settled down next to the improvised fireplace and ate. Thorus chewed on some meat when Jarko looked at him and asked: "So you've been in the army, huh?" "Hmm." the exhausted giant answered. "Sooo, you know how to wield a sword?" "Yes." Thorus said carefully , not knowing what the boy was up to. "Axe?" "Of course" "Spear?" "Why not?" "And how about a dagger?" "Ha!" Thorus thought. "That's what he wants" "You want me to teach you how to use that little toothpick on your belt, don't ya?" "Yes." Jarko said quietly. "Why?" "Well if I have one I could at least know how to hold it right, don't I?" "Last time I saw you ,you used it pretty well." Thorus said dryly. He didn't want to teach the boy how to kill. He was nine years old for fucks sake! "That was different." Jarko whispered. He was sad. Now Thorus felt like shit for his comment, immediately regretting it. "The boy is right" he thought "even if I don't wanna teach him , somebody has to." "Ok" Thorus said. "I am gonna show you how to do it. But you'd better always remember what I told you back then." Jarko nodded. Of course he'd remember! Thorus sighed. "I miscalculated ,we need at least two more days until we reach the Academy. Until then every morning before we start and every night before we go to sleep we are going to train starting tomorrow. And when you're an apprentice, you will come down to my house every evening. I think you'll have a tight schedule so we won't have more time than that." Jarko nodded. He was so happy Thorus complied his request. "Don't be so giddy about it. Because I won't treat you like a kid. You'll learn how to use deadly weapons, which means I'll treat you like a man. It'll hurt. YOU will hurt. And I won't stop your training when you want me to. All... or nothin'. Do you understand?" Jarko nodded but not as enthusiastic as before. "Do you still want me to train you?" Jarko nodded again. "Say it!" "Yes." "Yes ,what?" "Yes I want you to train me... Sir?" Thorus smiled. The boy knew what he wanted, he had to give him that. "Alright sleep tight Jarko, tomorrow will be a looooong day." With that he laid down and Jarko quickly followed his example. It didn't took them long to fall asleep. ------- "JARKO! WAKE UP!" Jarko sat upright. He looked up to see Thorus standing above him.Topless, the rising sun right behind him, his long pony tail waving in the wind. Jarko swallowed he had never seen the big man without his shirt. Now he saw that his friend wasn't fat or even chubby. He looked like he was chiseled. No ounce of fat at all, only muscles. "Get up and pull on your trousers!" with that Thorus turned around and walked to the middle of the clearing. Jarko complied nearly frightened by his companion. He took his dagger and ran after this titan of a man. Suddenly a thought struck. "What did you say, you were doing at the Academy?" Thorus turned around. His face like stone. "I am the stable-master. Why do you ask?" "Why are you lying?" Jarko countered looking teacher dead in the eye. They stared at each other for a while, the horses still grassing behind them. "Damn it! The boy is smart." Thorus thought breaking his stare. "You're right.I am not the stable master. I am the armourer. I train the guard." he said. "Why would the Academy of magic need a guard? And why would they send the armourer to get one new recruit?" Jarko asked, not able to believe what the man in front of him said. "Well because there are many noble children and sometimes even the emperors first born son. And I was sent to you because the head-master told me to." Thorus answered. Jarko was dumbstruck. Eventually he broke out of it and stated smiling. "You certainly have to tell me that story." Thorus laughed. "Probably" he said " and I will. I promise. Now loose the dagger." "What? I thought we agreed that you'd train me." "Yes, but who said we were going to start with the dagger?" "Well what are we starting with then?" Jarko asked throwing the dagger next to his clothes. Thorus took a battlestance with his hands raised. "Well hand-to-hand combat of course." he smiled. ------- Jarko hurt. EVERYWHERE. His muscles were aching from training, his butt was sore from riding and his body was covered in bruises. Thorus really didn't go easy on him. Of course if the giant had used everything he had Jarko would have been dead for sure. But he wouldn't give up. "Well Thorus wouldn't let me anyway ..." he thought with a smirk urging his horse to go faster. He passed Thorus laughing and yelling over his shoulder: "C'mon old man! I wanna find a tavern before its dark!" "Old men my ass!" Thorus yelled back and also urged his horse to go faster. They both sped through the forest until the riders and the horses were completely out of breath. When they ,eventually, reached a tavern they put their horses in the stable and ordered a room and something to eat at the counter. Jarko made his way upstairs, when Thorus pulled him back and carried him out of the building. "We'll eat when we finished our evening lessons!" Jarko groaned with frustration. He was hungry enough to eat his horse! They hadn't made a single stop over the whole day. He regretted his decision to ask his friend for training. He wasn't going to give up, but he regretted asking him. Finally Thorus sat the boy down and he took in his stance. Seeing this Jarko did too and soon they began their training. After they finished the two of them were completely famished. They hurried into the tavern , wolfed down their food and shared a second serving. They said each other good night and went up to their respective rooms to take a really needed nap. It didn't took any of the two long to be sound asleep. ------- For the next three days the daily routine of our two heroes was composed of sleeping, training, eating, riding, training, sleeping. On the third day they reached the end of the forest. They rode past the last trees and were blinded by the sun. Jarko shielded his eyes from the light and when he could see again in front of him lied the most magnificient sight. Three rings of buildings surrounded by a large wall. They were all built out of the same grey stone. Outside of the wall there stood wooden buildings and there also were some fields. "Welcome my little friend to the Royal Academy of Magic, were the ways are told and the new ways are born." Thorus said and with that he sped of to leave the completely stunned Jarko behind. He still couldn't believe it. He was going to be a Magus. ------- Thanks for reading again my dear readers. I hope you enjoyed it so far. I would be delighted ,if you could give me some feedback or some suggestions for the story. This story was a shitload of work and effort, since I am still a newbie to writing. I want to thank A.L. again. You really are the best without you I wouldn't have the compassion and the confidence to continue this little story of mine. Sincerely WorldWarWalther.