Hiya. A couple of things:

I kind of completely stopped updating this for a while, but I've decided that I might as well keep this version up to date and reviews are still a great way to improve my own writing skills, so why not? Anyways, here's the updated version of my story.

I am fully aware that the actual Thief hero and lolpirate replacement hero are out now, I just feel that this is something I enjoy so I'll continue it. Many people who follow this story on Basil wanted me to continue as well, so why not?

Anyways, finally, a request. Please leave reviews. If they contain constructive criticism, that's pretty awesome, because that helps me improve my writing. If they don't, well, that's still awesome, because it means people care enough to leave a couple of words. So yeah.

Hope you enjoy.

Prologue: Years and years ago...

Ten years ago, this man... no one had even heard of him, he thought. He was the youngest Hero, the last one to join. He specialized in quick movement and stealth, and had sought out the other Heroes a year after the Black Mage's conquest had begun. He remembered that day clearly.
"You... You're not even sixteen!" Aran had said, despite his display of skill.
Mercedes glanced at the Straw Target Dummy twenty feet away. He seemed to have barely moved, yet somehow he had left her side, sliced the Dummy into six pieces, and returned all in the space of one second... an achievement made even more impressive by the fact that he had a blindfold on. He took it off as Mercedes frowned at Aran. "Age is no indicator of power," she pointed out. "You know this very well."
Freud stayed silent.
In the end, they took him under their wings.

He glanced at Leafre, or what was left of it, anyway. The entire forest, once a lush paradise full of multicolored birds and scampering creatures, was burning. Screams echoed through the night as the Black Mage's minions tore through the peaceful creatures that Halflings had coexisted with for centuries. He vaguely heard Athena Pierce's voice as she conducted the evacuation of Leafre and ordered the last remaining inhabitants into the only ship that had not yet set off. Then Aran's voice, mingling with Athena's; they were conversing worriedly about something. Apparently a child had been left behind in the forest.

As Aran left in search of it, he kept on the lookout for monsters, quickly killing any that dared to appear. He had to make sure the ship got out of this hellish war zone safely with the civilians.

Aran returned, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The lost child was clinging to Aran's back. Athena pleaded with Aran to get on the ship with her, but he knew her efforts were futile. None of the Heroes that had stayed behind to fight would be leaving tonight. He stayed still, blending in with his surroundings. He had an unobstructed vantage point, and yet no one could see him.

Athena Pierce's ship finally disembarked. Aran, now alone, searched around the dock for him, so he raised his hand about two inches. Aran noticed the movement immediately, and beckoned. Aran blinked, and when he opened his eyes, he was by his side.

"The rendezvous point."

Aran nodded. They set off to meet up with the others, and then to put an end to the war for once and for all.

The Black Mage cackled when his spell to freeze Afrien hit home. The great dragon king crashed to the ground, shaking the very earth. Frost spider-webbed across his gleaming scales terrifyingly quickly; Afrien, knocked unconscious by the curse, could do little to resist its influence. Freud gasped as the Spirit Pact was broken and his mind torn from Afrien's; after so many years together, the two, human and dragon, had become one, a single entity, their thoughts and actions the same. An egg and several potions tumbled out of a bag that Afrien was carrying on his back; the potions shattered against the ground, but the thick-shelled egg stayed intact. "Freud, the egg! Get it out, and Afrien's legacy will live on! We'll cover your escape!" Aran yelled.
Freud, hands shaking as if he were dying, picked up the egg. He stumbled out. While the remaining Heroes were distracted, the Black Mage quickly cast a succession of spells and froze them where they stood.
"No," he breathed, as each one of his comrades fell.
The Black Mage laughed, and the ground rumbled. "Don't worry, you needn't grieve much longer... You will soon join them in their misery..."
Tears filled his eyes and rage filled his heart. A smoldering village... a baby crawling out of the ruins. An old man... soup... a steel-tipped fan... a flickering fire... a pair of red eyes... a bloodied scythe... a familiar cackle...
This man had taken all that Luctor had: his friends, his family... his love. It was time for him to strike back. Time for him to take the Black Mage's dearest possession: his life. "You don't remember who I am, do you?" he asked the Black Mage. He jumped from side to side, avoiding the Black Mage's dark bolts of energy.
"I know all I need to know about you. I know you are the last remaining so-called Hero. I know that if you are destroyed, any resistance against me shall lose every seed of hope. I know that as soon as you are crushed, the world will be mine."
The ground rumbled again. He jumped to the ceiling of the cave, and launched himself off of it towards the Black Mage, weapon outstretched.
"You will never remember. But I will," he said. Chains of fire, ice, and lightning sprouted from the ground and caught the Black Mage's arms. The Black Mage roared. He stretched out an arm and swatted him out of the air, straight through the ceiling of the cave half a second before the chains swarmed and completely covered him.