⌠Rest in Peace┘ bastard,■ said the apprentice.
⌠Good work, boy,■ spoke a voice from behind him.
Alkerad turned to see his elder, Makeroy, the one who hired him. ⌠The book? Where is it?■ Makeroy asked.
⌠There!■ he said, pointind to a podium.
⌠Fetch it.■
The apprentice ran over to the book he was to retrieve. He got it and ran, almost stumbling, down to Makeroy.
⌠Very good, Alkerad. You have seemed to have served your purpose in life.■
Alkerad stood, frozen. What did he mean? But before he could say anything, Makeroy shot a fireball. It hit the lad, knocking him against a bench.
And the last thing he heard was, ⌠Rest in Peace┘ bastard.■
Alkerad had awoken, finding himself covered in ash. He looked up to see a mirror in front of him. He gasped.
He was no longer human, but a deformed manifestation of his former self. He was burned, cut, bruised, and scarred.
He howled into the night over his misfortune. He killed the very man that showed him all the happiness in the world, and now, he would remember it for the rest of his days with his scarred face. He was deformed, and alone.
The next day, Alkerad woke up with revenge in his mind. If he did it once, he could kill again.
With vigor, the Acolyte ran out to the armory, hiding his face in the hood of his robe.
Sneaking past the guards, he grabbed a short sword from a rack, but in turn, startled the guards.
⌠Hey! Who the in the name of Thor dares trespass?■
In a raspy voice, Alkerad said, ⌠Your worst nightmare.■
The guards walked in, swords drawn. Alkerad moved as silently as the dead around a heavy shelf with maces. He turned and pushed the shelf over with all the hatred within him, and the guards breathed no more.
Alkerad then walked into Makeroy▓s chapel. The people at the daily sermon gasped when they saw his face. He walked along the aisle, to his destiny.
⌠You┘■ he hissed to Makeroy. He unsheathed his sword and through it at Makeroy.
His aim was true.
He then walked up to the altar as the people screamed. He pried the book, the Grand Grimoire, from Makeroy▓s hands, and opened it, while saying, ⌠Rest in Peace┘ bastard.■
He turned to a page, and no sooner had he gotten there, he disintegrated, along with the book, to Niflheim,
It was cold.
But the book provided warmth.
For three full days he sat there, fueled by the book▓s energy. He didn▓t starve. He didn▓t freeze. He didn▓t breath. The power of the book was so immense.
And the book talked to him. It told him of great things.
⌠You will no longer be called Alkerad, the bumbling acolyte. They will call you Nidhogg, the Dragon King. And we shall be friends. Best friends. Forever. And ever. And ever. And ever. AND EVER!■