Chapter 1
It was a dark and cold night in the little village of Tir Chonaill. The fields of grass gently bent in the breeze. The several houses in the town were all lit, a small beacon of civilization amongst the darkened fields. Sheep quietly grazed in the field while trained guards dogs kept watchful eyes over them. Wolves, native beasts to the surrounding fields, prowled around the outskirts just waiting for one of the dogs to drop its guard or a sheep to wander too far from the herd.
A lone boy, no older than the age of 13, rested against one of the trees with an open book in his hands. Beside him was a little lantern which gave off just enough light to make out the boy's features. He wore a pair of dark blue shorts and a light blue shirt; his shoes were off and rested next to the lantern. His jet black hair was cut short and his dark blue eyes calmly scanned the pages that he was reading.
"So by concentrating hard enough I'm able to-"The boy spoke softly to himself.
"Cail," a woman's voice bellowed from the houses, "Cail it's time to come inside!"
"Alright Nora, I'll be right there!" Cail responded.
He closed the book, slipped on his shoes, and carried the lantern back up to the local Inn, which was his home. He blew the lantern out and set it down on one of the tables. An older woman, who looked to be in her early adult years, stood there smiling. This was Nora; she was like Cail's second mother.
"You've been out late again studying Cail?" Nora asked as she handed the young boy a small bowl of soup.
"So what if I have?" Cail responded before quickly taking a small sip of the soup.
"Cail your parents would have a fit if they knew you were going outside in this kind of weather. And you're not even dressed appropriately!" Nora responded, a hint of worry was in her voice.
"My parents aren't here…they're never here…" Cail responded with a little hint of sadness before taking another, longer sip. The warmth of the soup felt very comforting compared to the cold outside.
"Cail, you know your father's busy with the Royal Army and your mother has to stay with him" Nora said softly, she didn't want to upset the young boy any more.
"Yes I know…thank you for the soup. I think I'll go to bed now." Cail said.
Handing her the bowl, he gave a slight bow of thanks and proceeded upstairs to his room. Returning the book that he had to its spot on the shelf, he glanced at a picture frame on the wall. The picture in the frame was a small portrait drawn by a talented artist; it showed Cail as a little boy smiling with the hand of his unseen father on his head.
"Someday dad…I'll see you again" Cail said as he crawled into bed and drifted off into a comfortable sleep.
The morning came bright and early. The sheep outside began to cry as the shepherd boy Deian herded them to the next field over. The townspeople began to chatter outside as they opened up their various shops. Cail, who had been woken up early to help Nora and her uncle Piaras with daily errands, stood outside of the Inn with Nora.
"So what're we doing today Nora?" Cail asked with a slight yawn.
"Well let's see," Nora started as she pulled out a small piece of paper, "First we need to pick up ingredients from Caitlin at the Grocery Store, then we need to go to Ferghus and get uncle Piaras' cutting knives sharpened, and lastly we need to head over to Deian and return to him this book that I borrowed"
"Sounds easy enough" Cail responded.
The two of them turned the corner and trekked up the hill to the town square of Tir Chonaill. For a small village, Tir Chonaill was usually very busy. Adventurers who wished to explore the Alby or Ciar dungeons usually stopped by the town to pick up supplies. Dilys the healer and Trefor the guard were just up the next him that led towards Alby Dungeon, Malcolm the general store manager was outside cutting up leather into strips to sell, Caitlin the grocer stood behind her counter selling small food supplies, and the village chief Duncan sat in the old wooden rocking chair in front of his house gently humming a tune.
"In here Cail" Nora said as she walked into the grocery store, with Cail right behind her.
"Oh! Hello Nora, Hello Cail. What will it be today?" The red haired woman asked.
"Hello Caitlin. I'll need a few bottles of cream, some salt, some sugar, and some slices of meat please" Nora said with a grin.
"Coming right up!" Caitlin said as she began to gather the ingredients.
"Here Cail," Nora said handing him a wooden case, "Can you head on down to Ferghus and get these knives sharpened?"
"Uhm…sure" Cail replied taking the case and some gold pieces that Nora had given him.
He walked out of the store and headed back down the hill, past the Inn, and over the bridge to where the smithing shop was. An older man stood there, his outfit a simple sleeveless top with shorts. His hair and scruffy beard which were both once black was tinted gray with age. He eyed the young boy approaching him with his dark red eyes and gave a big smile.
"Well now! If it isn't Little Cail" Ferghus chuckled.
"Call me little again and I'll deck you one old man" Cail snapped back.
"Hahaha, take it easy kid I'm just playing around. What can I do for you?" The blacksmith smirked.
"Mister Piaras needs these knives sharpened, can you do it?" Cail responded.
He opened the case and Ferghus reached in, pulling out a pair of slightly worn out daggers. The smithy smiled and motioned for Cail to wait just a moment before walking into his shop. The distinct sound of grinding steel radiated from the small shop. Cail sat down on the grass and watched as the water from the river flowed downstream.
"All finished my boy!" Ferghus yelled from inside the shop.
The smithy returned with the daggers, freshly sharpened. Cail placed them back in the box and handed Ferghus the gold pieces. Just then, Nora walked over the bridge and over to where the two were standing.
"Well now, how are you doing Nora?" Ferghus asked.
"I'm fine Ferghus, Cail are you ready to go?" Nora responded.
"Yeah, let's go see Deian" Cail said happily.
The two waved goodbye to Ferghus and proceeded up the path towards Deian's little hut. As they approached closer and closer, Cail noticed that something was a little off. Normally, Deian would be standing there watching over the sheep, but he was nowhere to be found. Nora grabbed a hold of Cail's hand and began to scan the area with her eyes. Cail did the same and he noticed Deian, slumped over, near one of the trees.
"Deian!" Cail yelled out and ran over to the other boy's side.
The shepherd boy's shirt and pants were torn up. His hat was off showing his messy blonde hair. Small patches of blood could be found all over his body. Nora knelt down next to the boy and checked to make sure he was still alive, thankfully he was.
"Deian, Deian! What happened?!" Nora yelled out in worry.
"Wolves…" Deian said through the pain.
"W-What?" Cail asked in confusion.
"S-Someone was…commanding wolves…they attacked me" Deian said as he coughed up a bit of blood.
"O-Oh no…Cail you stay here with Deian! I'll return to the village and alert Ranald and Trefor!" Nora yelled as she stood up and began to run back to the village.
Ranald was the instructor at the school in Tir Chonaill. While lacking a bit in brains, he made up for by being a great swordsman. When Cail was younger he was given special training directly from Ranald in accordance with his father's wishes. Ranald and Trefor should both be enough to defend the village from some wolves, but what was that about someone controlling them?
"Cail, I'll be fine," Deian said weakly as he opened his eyes and sat up, "The guy ran towards Ciar to get some more wolves. You can probably see what he's up to"
"Deian will you be ok by yourself?" Cail asked worried about the young shepherd boy.
"Don't worry about me," Deian said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small vial of red liquid before drinking it, "I'll be fine. Now hurry, go!"
Cail nodded and stood up. He looked at the case of daggers he had dropped and opened it, taking one out to defend with. Deian also handed him a vial of red liquid like the one he had just drank. These were potions that helped the body's natural healing process.
Taking cover in the grass to make sure that no one was watching him, Cail silently but quickly crept through the tall grass towards Ciar Dungeon. He walked for a few minutes and came to a clearing. Red and gray foxes roamed the area, some were known to be very hostile so Cail kept the dagger out and ready to go. Even though he wasn't experienced enough in actual combat, the training he received from Ranald was enough for him to at least know how to defend himself.
"Tachy Granide Inchatora Mana Prow!" Cail heard someone yell in the distance.
He quickly ran over and hid behind a large boulder. Peering over the side just a little bit, Cail saw a man in a black robe standing over an injured wolf's body. The man repeated this phrase and dropped a small piece of paper on to the wolf. A small pillar of black light erupted from the wolf and it stood back up, a feral and blood thirsty look in its eyes. Cail, shocked by what he had just seen, stepped backwards a little bit and crushed a twig.
"Huh? Who's there?! Show yourself!" The man called out.
Cail remained quiet. He hoped that the man, and his pet, would think that it was just another animal and leave. A minute or so passed, sweat began to pour from Cail's forehead as he waited for something to happen. Finally, he heard the man grumble about something which was then followed by a small pop. Peering around the boulder again, Cail saw that the man had vanished and sighed in relief. He heard a slight growl from behind and quickly turned around, the wolf was right there.
"Ah!" Cail cried as he fell backwards, apparently dodging the wolf as it lunged over his head.
Quickly recovering, Cail held the dagger out as the wolf continued to snarl. Heart racing, breathing increasing, the young boy's body and mind began to work in over drive. The wolf rushed towards Cail and lunged at him again, only for the boy to lunge to the side right before the wolf made contact.
"Stay calm Cail…you just need to stay calm!" The boy kept yelling to himself in his head.
The wolf turned to face its prey again and let out a loud, bloodthirsty growl. Once again it ran towards Cail, who again jumped out of the way, but this time the wolf was smart. It waited until Cail had landed from his jump and then lunged at the boy, knocking him to the ground.
"Gah!" Cail yelled as the dagger was knocked out of his hands as he wrapped them around the wolf's neck and struggled to keep it away from his face.
It was a struggle for survival; Cail could feel his arms starting to give out. The wolf continued snapping its jaws at the young boy's face, the smell of blood filled Cail's nostrils making him cough a bit.
"Is this how I'm going to die? Mom, dad, I don't want to die!" The poor boy cried out in his head. Tears began to well up and spill from his eyes. The wolf's jaws were getting closer and closer.
"I don't want to die!" Cail cried out as loud as he could. A blue aura began to envelop the boy's body and the air around him and the wolf began to grow colder. Cail suddenly remembered what he had read the other night in his book.
"Concentrate on the mana around me" Cail said as he positioned one foot under the wolf's stomach and used all of his strength to push it off.
The wolf wasn't knocked back very far but it was knocked down. Cail stood up and held his palm open towards the sky. The air around his palm began to gather up as the moisture was frozen, forming a small ball of ice, an Icebolt.
"Come on you furry son of a bitch! Stand up!" Cail yelled with confidence.
The wolf struggled to its feet and growled. Cail raised up the ball of ice that floated above his palm and waited. The wolf snarled loudly and attacked. Cail thrusted his arm forward and the Icebolt shot out and hit the wolf dead center between the eyes, killing it midair. The body dropped to the ground as Cail began to pant heavily. In the distance he could see Nora, Ranald, and the other villagers all running towards him. He gave them all a weak smile and tried to walk towards them. However, because of how weak he was, he was only able to walk a few steps before he collapsed onto the ground, blacking out.