"I will be the greatest man you have ever laid eyes upon, greater than anyone this world has ever known. You'll see."-Cameron Ondir, S-class mage

Cameron walked out of his guild hall with delight. He has just handed in his own comb (temporarily) and the key to the city to Flint, which was one item more than anyone else (to Cameron's knowledge, at least). His master had been surprised that he was acting as a participant in the competition, but after explaining to him that it was technically open to any member Flint allowed it.

Cameron stumbled suddenly. He managed to catch his balance before looking down at what caused the incident. His shoelaces lay out at random angles. Grumbling, he hobbled over to a bench and lifted his foot onto it, quickly tying a knot. As if by magic, the knot fell apart the moment his fingers left it. His expression saddened, this really took him back...

Flashback Line Break

Cameron Ondir hails originally from Hargeon Town, just south of Magnolia. He last lived there at 13 years old and went to school, just like anybody did before they became badass superstar S-class wizards. Cameron would say the perfect word to describe him back then was ordinary. He had nothing particularly special about him, no outstanding character aspects. His classmates sometimes forgot he even went to school with them. Physically he was scrawny, short, with glasses and stubby blonde hair. He had a father, but his mother divorced him long ago.

This particular day Cameron was walking to school on a sidewalk squeezed between a road and a wooden fence, books and homework clutched to his chest.

A person stepped out from an alleyway about ten feet in front of him and he recognized them almost immediately. Horror grasped his heart like a claw. In an attempt to avoid the situation, he spun around and went back the way he came. He figured he could just go around the block and avoid her. He would be late, but it would be better than being noticed by-

"Hey Cammy!" A shrill voice called out from behind him.

Rebecca. The word rang in Cameron's brain, causing him to wince. He continued to walk, hoping beyond hope that she would give up and turn, but he knew she wouldn't. She never did.

"Cammy, I called your name! Stop being so rude and stop!" She continued, the voice steadily growing. With a sigh of defeat, he stopped and turned to face her.

"Rebecca, I-" A sharp sting ran across his cheek and threw his head the other way. It was only when he saw her poised hand did Cameron realize she had slapped him

"Are you stupid or something? I told you that you don't get to call me by my name! What you think you're my friend? Call me Miss or Ma'am!"

"Yes... Miss." Embarrassment filled him with its familiar unease. "I can't talk right now, I'm late for school."

"You were going the wrong way, so you obviously weren't worried about being late." Rebecca blew a strand of brown hair out of her face. Cameron couldn't answer that. Even though they both knew he was trying to avoid her, saying it out loud would just be giving her another foothold in the situation. "Geez, you're more useless than I thought you were! You've been going to school for years and you can't even remember the directions! What a waste!"

"Ma'am, can you please let me go aroun-around?" He stumbled on the word in his flustered state. Inwardly he cursed, that would most likely just be fuel for her fire.

"Can't even speak properly, what a waste of skin." Rebecca huffed, walking past him. He tried to step out of her way, but she pushed him into the fence anyway. He hit the wood with a wince. "Everyone's gonna celebrate the day you die, you know that right?" Rebecca called over her shoulder. "It'll be like the world is taking out the trash."

O

"Looks like we are gonna be fighting this one out, Bia." Sandra tucked a book under her arm protectively. They had only gotten his from the library ten minutes ago and someone had already found them. Abraham sniffed the air to identify the newcomer as Cameron. He had heard someone approach, but couldn't place a name to a footstep. Luckily, Cameron's cologne was always easy to pinpoint.

"You've already lost one item to me Sandra, why delay your fate?" Cameron smiled. He knew she would refuse, but he took joy in the look it put on her face.

"Yeah right!" Sandra snarled, throwing the book up in the air. At the apex of its trip, it froze solid and landed on a park bench with a crash. At the noise and the scene people began to scatter from the park. Even they could tell something was going down.

"I will win this battle, and soon the whole contest." Cameron set his face firm. With a single movement, he flung off his dress coat, leaving him in a white dress shirt. He rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles, smiling at them again.

Abraham and Sandra responded in turn. Sandra tied her yellow locks into a ponytail and Abraham took off his cloak, although not with nearly as much grace as Cameron.

"Hadar!" Cameron clapped his hands together before throwing out his palms. From each palm came many streams of light, each curving outwards before curling back towards the two.

Sandra puffed her cheeks before blowing out a gust of icy wind, mixed in with it was hundreds of fist-sized ice shards that smacked into the light streams and stopped them in their tracks.

Abraham ran up the side, before lifting a finger to his brow. "Noh's Brilliance!" from his forehead came a brilliant flash of light, one so bright it would have stunned anyone that wasn't a light mage.

"Betelgeuse!" Cameron countered, making himself glow brightly, Coating himself in light increased his speed, but weakened his combat power. Regardless of power ups, making himself glow in such a way would render Abraham's spell useless. He shot forward and slammed into Sandra, knocking her back. He turned to kick Abraham, was surprised when Abraham blocked it with his staff. Abraham couldn't anticipate the next attack, though, and Cameron blew him back with a punch.

His hands went numb and refused to move. Cameron made a noise and looked down at them to find his arms frozen solid to the ground.

When he looked back up, a strong gust of wind and snow pelted his face. He squinted his eyes shut as wind roared past his ears. Small bits of ice hit his face like needles. He was open to the elements with his hands frozen, and had no clue Abraham was in front of him until he slammed a palm on Cameron's chest. He saw a bright light through his eyelids and suddenly the temperature seemed to get a lot more extreme.

"You made his skin more susceptible to cold?" Sandra ensured.

"Yes, soon it'll get in the way of his fighting skill. That is, if he gets out of the ice." Abraham backed away. Sandra held out a glowing blue hand. A magic seal spun to life underneath her as she slowly lowered the temperature of the street.

"Fat chance..." Cameron gritted his teeth to stop them from clattering together. The ice surrounding his hands turned white. The light shined through the ice and sent shimmering patterns against buildings around them. "I'm not losing!" Cameron broke both of his hands free from the ice with brilliant flashes of light.

O

Well, at least she didn't touch my books Cameron thought. Bruises would heal, but his dad would kill him if he had to buy the same textbook twice. When she could no longer be seen he ran off towards school. At first he thought his haste would bring him there on time, but the bell rang just as he entered the school. After the inevitably awkward entrance, he took his place at the front of his class and did his best to catch back up with the information.

It was on Earthland guild wars between 500-600x again. Luckily Cameron had a book at home on it; recently he hadn't been learning anything new in the class. When the teacher asked the class a question, Cameron eagerly pounced on the opportunity to redeem myself.

"The Bosco Magical Defense Council!" He blurted with maybe a little too much excitement and too little forethought.

"No." The teacher said blandly. "The Bosco Magical Defense Council didn't come around until 632x. The correct answer is actually Bosco Fiore Magic Suppression Pact."

His breath caught in his throat. A handful of people began laughing, and were soon followed by the whole class in at least a chuckle. He sunk in his chair, wishing that he could sink through the floor right there and then to escape the scene. Sadly that was impossible, and Cameron had to sit there with red cheeks as the teacher attempted to calm the class down. For the next hour they were asked a series of questions, all of which he knew the answer to. His hand didn't go up once.

The day passed by at a painful pace for Cameron. He got constant snickers and sideways looks from Rebecca and her friends to ensure that he wouldn't forget what happened in first class. He remained mentally separated all day, barely paying attention in his classes in hopes it would make them go by faster. It didn't seem to do anything, and he had to pay his proper dues before he could finally go home.

On his way back, he spotted Rebecca and two friends waiting on the same fence from this morning. Hopelessness swept over him, he could not escape them. Interaction was inevitably, so he simply bowed his head and tried to walk past them. Someone grabbed the back of his coat, stopping him immediately.

"Please, I'm can't come home late." Cameron pleaded in desperation. He knew deep down that his words would do nothing, but he couldn't just stand there and give in.

"First, let us do the school a favor. You won't need these, dumbass." As another spoke, she slapped his belongings out of his hands. They crashed to the sidewalk and papers spilled everywhere.

"Stop! No!" Cameron fell to his knees and frantically tried to gather the scattered papers. Some of these were important, and he couldn't have them ripped or dirty.

"Anyone around?" One of the standing girls asked her comrade. They scanned the street for a few moments to ensure it was clear before the first lifted back a leg and sent it into his gut, crashing him against the wooden fence. Her partner held back her leg to join in on the fun, but a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"I don't think that would be a smart idea." A red haired man glared down at her.

"What are you talking about? We're just joking around, mind your own business!" The other girl insisted courageously. They were each on their late teens, and even though the man had years on them she must have believed that they could collectively make him back down.

"Do you think I was born yesterday?" The man growled. In an instant he was on her. By the time she blinked he had a finger pushed to her forehead. The body language was simple, a warning. 'I got this close with ease, you can't stop me'. "Now I said scatter, which I think would be a good plan for you right now."

The moment he lifted his finger off of her, the girl scampered across the ground and took off, quickly followed by her companion. Wordlessly, the new man fell to his knees and began to gather the papers for Cameron

"Th-thank you." Cam still shook from the encounter. He couldn't believe that the new man had broken what seemed to be an endless cycle for him, with a single finger! The stranger smiled warmly, using no words to express how little of a problem it was to help. He seemed to be in his late twenties, and wore a red and black racing jacket. Cameron now had a closer look at his most prominent feature, flaming red hair. It was unkempt and only a few inches long, just like Cam's.

"What's your name?" Cameron urged. It seemed odd, but the stranger was surprisingly quiet after his daring move. Cameron backed off for a second, hoping his rushed question hadn't put him off. "Just, you know, curious..."

"My name is Flint, and I'm from the Phoenix Crest guild" Flint smiled. "I'm more interested in what your name is."

"Cameron Ondir." He managed a stiff bow. "As a warning, you might get in some trouble over me. Those girls will warp anything to help themselves out, including their own word. They'll probably make up some story about a scary man following teenage girls on the street, and that's a whole other can of worms."

"And?" Flint smirked. "The fear of consequences is supposed to make me fearful of doing the right thing? Listen to me, never hold back. If you know something is right, do it. Ignore the pain and troubles that may come about. If you don't carve your own path in life, you'll just end up following the trails everyone else has laid out for you."

Cameron stuttered in confusion as he rose, papers now neatly stacked. He did not know how to react to such unexpected insight, and his only response was pushing his glasses back up his nose. Flint snapped his fingers and a flame licked Cameron's fingertips. He jumped, but by then the flames were gone and a small business card was in its place.

Phoenix Crest

Mage Guild

A place where you can heal from the pain of the past and work to become a better person, and in turn help other do the same

Master: Flint Aspen

Magnolia Town, Crocus Street

First of all, Cameron didn't know a lick of magic. He felt that was a major obstacle when joining a magician's guild. Second of all, Cameron couldn't help but wonder: what was this guy's deal? Nobody went up to strangers on the street and asked them to leave their life behind to join his guild. Things that good didn't come around as handouts, you had to get lucky. Cameron had no idea how to voice his concern, but Flint answered before he could.

"Look, I don't expect you to throw your life away, drop everything and come join me. I know you don't know me, and I know this is all a little strange. I just want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to, or if you want to start over again: the guild is there for you. Also don't worry about the magic part, it can be taught with some effort."

Cameron was without words. A master of a guild, right in front of him! And said master was going out of his way to help him out! Cameron looked like an idiot, sitting on the ground with his mouth open, looking up at Flint. After a moment, Flint let out a laugh.

"Promise me you will consider us, okay? If you do, I promise not to disappoint." Flint jogged past him, continuing in his original direction. He turned back to wave. "I'm late for an errand, but I'll see you around!"

"Yeah..." Cameron waved back slowly, bewildered. He looked over the business card in his hand, rereading it again. "Man, I wonder if he can teach me that fire trick..." Cameron muttered as he shoved it in his pocket and continued home.