A/N: Hey Guys! I'm back after a very very… very…. VERY long time, and I do apologize. I've been trying to get through a lot of stuff and just did not have the motivation to write anything. I don't know when I'll get to updating my stories, and I did delete quite a few that only had one chapter 'cause I know I'll never finish them. I'm sorry if the ones I deleted were ones you guys liked! I just want to get a fresh start. I will be taking some requests because, honestly, I have no idea what to write! Since I'm most comfortable with john and any striders, I prefer to get scenarios for them. They can be realistic, fantasy, futuristic, you name it! Anywhozzles, this is a brand new story based on one of my (too) many cherubplay prompts. I hope you guys enjoy!

The Wizard Scribe of Skaia

Chapter 1

The kingdom of Skaia was vast. A lush, green land with incredible forests, lakes, and fields. It was a land that anyone would fight to keep. Or fight to take.

The neighboring kingdom of Noir was a desolate place. The land was dry and cracked. According to myth, however, Noir used to be twice as luscious as Skaia and the people twice as selfish. Legend had it they hadn't had rain in a thousand years because the Noiran's ancestors made the gods jealous with their bountiful crops and livestock and that they received little but fat and bones as tribute while the Noirans gorged themselves on perfect cuts of meat and ripe vegetables. The gods abandoned the Noirans and cursed the land to never be able to bear perfect crops or be able to host large herds of livestock.

The Noirans turned into a nomadic people, barbarians that travelled all across their lands countless times a year, settling in places for no longer than a month. That was how long it took for their hearty, disgusting crops to grow, sucking the land dry of whatever nutrients there was.

The Noirans, about twenty years ago, grew tired of their nomadic lifestyle. They started pining after Skaia. The bountiful land tempted them, just across the ravine that was the border between the two countries.

The tribes all gathered together. Electing a leader, a deceitful and powerful man named Jack, they made their move. It started out with just sending a few raid parties across the ravine. They ransacked border towns, which were only a few miles away from the ravine. The parties took what they could, armor it the town was large enough to have guards posted there, weapons, food, and livestock. They took women and children as slaves and slaughtered all the men.

When the King of Skaia heard of what was happening on the borders, he called for able bodied men to fight and women to help with the injured and cooking for all the soldiers. It was optional, but the amount of people flocking to the capital was incredible. Thousands of men and women determined to fight for their country.

John was born in the year the raids began. His village was a bit further inland, but it was not spared from the raids. But that tale is for a little later.

His father left just a year after his birth to join the army. His mother stayed behind to raise him. From a young age, John showed talent in many academic endeavors. He was chosen by the villages scribe to learn under him. Scribes were the only people who knew the art of writing. Sure, royals knew how to write, but they hardly had the time to deal with all the paper work of the kingdom, so they left that job to scribes, which was what John was training to be.

By age 19, just a few months before his 20th birthday, his village was attacked. Barbarians from Noir came in the middle of the day, riding Skaian horses which they had stolen during raids. John was at work in the armory, taking inventory of all the items they had received in preparation for the soldiers that were to be posted once they arrived from the capitol.

He heard the screams of the townspeople as the raiders rode through the main street of the village. He stayed inside, terrified. The sounds died down, and he assumed that the barbarians were just passing through to get to another village.

Cautiously, he stepped outside. As soon as he did, the men came back. Torches ablaze, they started setting fire to the town. With thatch and straw roofs, they caught on fire immediately. John ran home. It was all he could think to do. Get home, and protect his mother. But when he got there, they were dragging her out of the house.

He froze. What could a scrawny kid like him do? He was average height, toned, but not nearly strong enough to take on a barbarian. He felt himself start to hyperventilate, panic setting in. He was helpless. He couldn't do anything. His vision blurred and went black.

When John woke up, he was in a carriage. It was fairly fancy, seats of velvet with silk pillows. It seemed like it was fit for royalty. A woman voiced her presence across from him, saying that she was glad he was awake before they reached the capitol.

John panicked once again, but the woman must have had lots of experience with things such as this. She immediately comforted him, saying his mother and everyone in his village had survived. When he asked how that was possible, she grew incredibly serious.

"Master John," she said. "You used magic. Your magic blew away the invaders and put out all the fires set to the houses. It musta taken lots out of you, 'cause you've been sleepin for over two and a half weeks."

John was stunned into silence. Magic? He wasn't a wizard… Was he? He was so confused…

The woman talked to him more, explaining that magic didn't usually surface unless the person was in grave danger or experiencing strong enough emotions. She continued to say that it had been generations since the last wizard had passed, and now a new one had arrived to help the kingdom. She did a good job of answering Johns questions, and when he asked how she knew so much, she said it was her great great grandfather who held the title of wizard all those years ago. She said that the previous wizard left all sorts of things for the next wizard and educated select people in the castle about wizards, when one my surface and how, so they would know how to take care of him or her when they arrived, knowing that the person, whoever they were, would probably be incredibly confused.

It took about another week for them to reach the capitol. When they arrived, there were all kinds of people waiting on the front steps of the castle. The king, a tall man with Blond hair wearing red and a prince wearing orange. John eyed the prince as the carriage pulled around. He was… stunning. Even the king didn't catch his eye like the prince did. And the Prince looked positively bored.

Dirk was the Prince's name. And he was positively bored. He figured this new wizard was going to be some older man with a bad attitude. He didn't fancy all these fancy welcomings. They occurred more often than one may think. He let out an annoyed sigh as the carriage approached, straightening up. He knew his older brother, the King, would punish him later if he wasn't the utmost respectful. He said that the wizard had been through a lot of change the past few weeks and was probably going to be a bit over whelmed. He tasked Dirk with making sure the wizard got used to the castle as soon as possible.

The carriage stopped and Dirk resisted the urge to groan as the trumpets sounded announcing the Wizard. When the boy stepped out, Dirk's jaw dropped slightly as he laid eyes on the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

The carriage had stopped earlier that day so that John could change into something fancier and appropriate, something fitting a wizard. His maid told him that the clothes wizards wore were a bit odd, but they helped focus magical energy in a unique way. They came from a foreign country, and her great great grandfather had discovered their unique attributes and had stocked up many for the next wizard

They left quite a bit of skin visible, the tops had high collars and only a few had sleeves, they cut off at the ribs, leaving his stomach visible. The bottoms were like skirts, with mid-thigh length black shorts attached to the inside and slits up to his hips on each side, leaving panels of fabric on the front and back. The needle work was symmetrical on the panels and the top. The patterns held gems. John knew that they would help magnify any spell. How… how did he know that?

He didn't really worry about it too much. He had a feeling there would be a lot of strange things going on that he wouldn't understand at first.

His maid had given him all kinds of jewelry too. Anklets, arm bands, pendants, earrings. He knew he had pierced his ears for something. He had settled on the silver jewelry for everything. It felt like his metal, like he had an earthly connection to it. Once he had the jewelry on, he discarded his shoes. It was strange, with his shoes off, he could feel all kinds of things in the earth. He had a feeling that he wouldn't be wearing shoes any more.

Back to the present, the carriage pulled around to the steps. Once the trumpets sounded, his maid motioned for him to stand and exit the carriage. He quickly complied and stepped out when the door to the carriage opened.

All eyes were on him. Some guards looked at him with surprise, some gave happy smiles, some looked at him with odd lust, which worried him. The king looked genuinely happy to see him and the prince looked stunned. He shifted nervously. What was he supposed to do? Bow? That might be right. He swept one foot behind him and placed his right hand across his heart, kneeling down and then standing. The king smiled. Well, he seemed to have been right in that regard.

"Wizard John," The king said in a booming voice. "We welcome you to the castle and to the capitol city. From this day forward, you shall be regarded as royalty, treated with the upmost respect, and given anything you so need or desire. We hope your stay here is pleasant, and anything you may need, you need only ask."

With those words, the king bowed at the waist, as did everyone else. It was the only time The prince had taken his eyes off of him since he stepped out of the carriage.

"My brother, Prince Dirk, will be your guide until you become familiar with the surroundings," With a hand he motioned and the prince walked down the steps towards John, holding out a hand to him as if he was a lady in waiting.

"Wizard John," He said, "If you would follow me, I will show you to your chambers."

John nodded quietly and took the prince's hand, allowing him to lead him inside the castle. Once they were inside and away from the majority of the people, the prince dropped his hand.

John said nothing. He was still in a bit of shock, and he couldn't tell if the prince liked him or hated him. The fact that he hadn't said a word since they entered the castle didn't exactly inspire confidence.

They soon reached the end of a long corridor and he opened the door to a large se of rooms. When you first walk in, there is a sitting room with tall windows and couches and a table for snacks and drinks. Further in was the bed chamber with floor to ceiling windows that opened up to a marble balcony that looked over the soldier training grounds to one side and the gardens to another, silk curtains, and a large round bed with lovely privacy curtains. Branching off from the bed chamber was an enormous closet already filled with clothes and jewelry and a bathing room with large windows and a smaller balcony for him to wait on while the water cooled or it he was waiting for it to be filled.

There was also a direct staircase to the library, which the prince said held all kinds of books left by previous wizards for him to look at freely, since no one else needed them.

"well. Sir Wizard, if you need anything, my rooms are just down the hall," He said, bowing and turning to leave.

"w-wait!" John said, stepping after him. The prince stopped and turned to look at him. He fidgeted and looked at the ground. "I would like you to just call me John, please."

Without a word, the prince nodded and left, leaving john a bit confused.

Outside in the hall, Prince Dirk walked towards his own rooms, a small smile on his face. He realized he had already started to fall for the boy with magic in his veins.

A/N: Oh my lord that took forever haha. I hope you guys liked it! I can give no date for when I may update this, possibly tomorrow, possibly a week from now. It just depends, I suppose. And a little clarification, for John's wizardy cloths, I was thinking a mix of belly dancer and traditional Asian style clothes. It's hard to describe, so I just wanted to explain my thoughts on it.