Rowan was lost. He was supposed to be getting on the Ark heading towards Victoria Island to hide from the Black Mage with his parents, but where was he now? He didn't know. The forest was burning and it was scaring him, the heat from the flames threatening to lick his skin. He could feel the effect of the imminent burns before the fire even touched him.

"HELP ME!" he cried out, hoping someone would see him. He was trembling in fear. What if he didn't make it? Mommy would be so sad. Rowan was always the favourite child; a toddler with the mindset of a teen. He had wandered away from the group wanting to be brave and protect his family but now that his foolish endeavors came to a crashing halt of reality, at four years old, what could he do? He started crying, not sobbing or anything, just letting tears continuously stream down his face, only to find them evaporating before they could drop off his face. His throat was drying up; his skin was itching from the heat. Is it just him or is the fire getting closer? He started to cough from the smoke, from the pain.

"Don't worry, I've got you. I'll take you back to the Ark."

Someone was here. So much smoke had gotten into his eyes, he couldn't see who had found him. The person scooped him up and carried him on their back.

"Let's go. There's nothing to be scared of. I'll bring you to your parents, okay?"

Rowan nodded, not sure if his savior could see him answering the question. The person was a lady, he noted. She would have to thank her later when he wasn't so dizzy and his throat wasn't as swollen. He rested his head against the strong arms that piggy-backed him.

"We're here," the lady said, gently laying him down on the ground.

"Good job, Aran," Rowan heard the steady, strong voice of an elf praise the lady. Her name was Aran? That's… one of the five heroes that are fighting the Black Mage! This was amazing! Rowan would tell everyone about how he got to meet Aran, a legendary hero.

"No, I want to stay here and fight the Black Mage. Make sure everyone else makes it safely to Victoria Island," Aran said in response to a question Rowan didn't catch asked by the elf. "I promise I'll come back." His vision cleared up enough for him to see Aran walking back into the burning forest she had saved him from.

"Wait! Miss Aran!" Rowan croaked after her, his throat still dry.

"Little boy, stay back. It's dangerous," the elf warned him. For good measure, she took Rowan's hand and guided him towards the Ark.

"No!" Rowan protested. He wrenched his arm away from the elf. "I have to thank Aran for saving me!" He ran after Aran, pushing through a group of people. The elf didn't come after him and although it slightly disappointed Rowan that she didn't try to catch him, he continued running.

"Miss Aran! Thank you for saving me!" Rowan called out when he approached a clearing where Aran had stopped.

"What are you doing here?" Aran exclaimed when she saw Rowan tripping after her. "Your parents will be worried sick!"

"I… I didn't get to say thank you…" Rowan said, smoke reentering his eyes and extracting tears from them.

"Go back! It's dangerous!" Aran ordered firmly. "I can't take you back this time; the Black Mage will come any second now. Do you think you can make it back by yourself?"

Rowan realized what he had gotten himself into. He was in the middle of a forest going down in flames and the Black Mage could come any time and kill him. Paralyzed in fear, he didn't respond to Aran.

Suddenly, a huge force pushed him back and caused him to fall on the ground. The ground was hard and rocky and his fall tore a large gash open on his leg. The pain was sharp and growing, but Rowan didn't feel it. Seeing his blood spreading all over the forest floor made him feel numb.

"Aw, crap," he heard Aran mutter. She got blown on to the ground too, but she recovered quickly.

A dark, shadow loomed in front of her, staring at her condescendingly. Then its gaze shifted to Rowan. He felt himself shrinking against the ground. The creature took out a large, bony hand and flicked the air around it. Large spheres of fire manifested in the air and came crashing down towards him. Was this the Black Mage? His presence was truly terrifying and his power frightening, even disturbing.

"Get back!"

Aran's voice brought him back down from his thoughts. Rowan felt her slam into him and push him out of the way, the fireballs hitting exactly where he been less than a second ago. Aran ripped a piece of her cape off and tied it tightly around Rowan's injured leg. Almost immediately, the blood seeped through the black fabric so Aran wrapped another piece of her cape around his leg on top of the first one.

"What's your name?" she asked, a small bruise blooming on her cheekbone.

"Rowan."

"Rowan, can you do something for me?" she whispered. Rowan nodded. Her eyes flitted quickly to the Black Mage then back to Rowan. "Run."

This time, he did what he was told. Slowed down by his wound, he didn't get very far when the Black Mage sent a bolt of blue light after him.

There was a certain amount of dark energy in that light which made Rowan run even faster. The force of the light itself scared him to the point where he couldn't feel his limbs anymore and he might have pissed in his pants.

"Rowan!" Aran called after him. He saw her fling her polearm towards him. It grazed against his cheek lightly and although it left his face bleeding slightly, it had deflected the most of the attack.

But not all.

He could feel the energy from the attack wrapping itself around him and lifting him off of the ground. The energy squeezed him harder until breathing became a near-impossible task for Rowan to complete.

He lost his sense of sight first, followed by his touch. Then the taste of blood in his mouth disappeared and the smell of fire was extinguished. All he was left with was the echo of Aran's voice calling his name when he slowly slipped into abeyance.