Beware of he, the puppet master
"Perseverance is not a long race, it is many short races one after the other,"
-Walter Elliot
Xander had not had a better week in years. He's always had a fairly stagnant line of tasks the master set out for him. But this week, his work ethic, his dedication, finally paid off. He was given an important mission of finding a new subject of… research. When he was told that by the master himself, his elation was barely hidden beneath his cowl and cloak. Xander was also joyed, although he'd never admit it, to have his longtime partner, Oscar, with him.
'Speaking of Oscar' Xander glanced to his right and saw Oscar doing his best impression of a lovestruck schoolgirl. Pep in his step forcing him to almost glow with excitement. He loves Oscar, he really does, but couldn't he be just a little sane? The master always told him Oscar's tendencies offset his own, creating a perfect balance of unpredictable and methodical approaches. He couldn't agree more. Oscar has the firepower and the charisma, and Xander knew he was the brains. And, while he didn't like him at first, Oscar quickly became a friend that he knew he could rely on.
A fit of movement broke him away from his musings and reminded him of who he had on his shoulder. He looked to his left where a child was draped over him. 'One quick dose of magic from the ring should solve the issue of his awakening,' Xander idly mused, a small grin hiding beneath his purple cowl.
The ring in question was silver with a dull, round green jewel as its centerpiece. As he used the magic of the ring it emitted a green glow, a circle appearing above the jewel at the same instance. The circle was simplistic in design, a set of lines sectioned off from one another. Each set of lines seemed to alternate between clockwise and counter-clockwise. The lines themselves were arranged in a semi-circular pattern, hiding a single triangle in between each of the crevices and divots. The circle's rather sudden entrance didn't so much as make Xander flinch, his exposure to that very circle was commonplace, after all.
The stirring from his cargo stopped almost as soon as the spell was cast. With the ring's mission accomplished, the glow and circle that were there faded away. He then began thinking about his wonderful week yet again. The small form on his shoulder at the forefront of that line of thinking. 'That boy has similar potential to the Ice Empress' daughter' He thought with a vicious sneer on his face that replaced the grin that was there previously.
Xander believed him to be one of many keys to success. The master's goal has to be reached, and he was one of the few blessed with the knowledge of this plan. The master needs powerful followers to accomplish what simply has to be done. And this boy is a perfect candidate, even if his part in this is to go to an ally of the master. 'The… Balam Alliance? Yes, that's the name of it' This alliance, however precarious it is, allows a certain level of coexistence between followers of the dark. Although the likelihood there is more Xander should remember is high.
He was suddenly pulled away from his thoughts by his partner, "Hey, you in there Xander?" Oscar stated with a hand waving in front of his partner's face.
"Uh, sorry. What were you saying?" Xander said coming out of his inner thoughts.
"I said, what magic do you think the little squirt 'll have?" Oscar gave his reply with mild traces of irritation, likely due to Xander's lack of attention.
Xander pondered on this for a small while before giving his response to the question, "Hmm, he has great potential for a form of summoning magic, if the color the lacrima glowed is any indication,"
Xander drew from his deep and rather vast knowledge of magical interactions within lacrimas. Red was a clear sign of fire magic. Blue meant that someone was attuned to a type of water magic; ice, steam, water, etc. But the more obscure the color, the more obscure the magic. White meant light or holy magics came naturally. Green meant some form of nature magic, usually seen in mages that use plant-life. Violet, however, had many magics that it could mean. Sometimes violet meant shadow or teleportation magic; said violets were usually light in hue. Whereas other times, when a lacrima like that glowed a dark violet it meant summoning magic, such as shade magic, was at play. When that boy's contact made it shine a violet brighter and darker than most he's seen, along with a slightly red tint, his excitement was so strong it was nearly tangible. That color could only mean a powerful, or at least obscure, shadow/dark magic; indeed, the mere prospect garnered an absolutely bubbly attitude from the normally stoic man.
Appraising the boy one last time he took note of his appearance. Black hair lightly cropped as to cover his head but not much further. Streaks of red in his black mop shined ever-so-slightly in the dim lighting of dusk. Small curves on the contours of his face that would give way to rigid and rugged features later on in life. 'The boy will certainly be attractive when he grows up… if he survives that is.' With a rather dark and dreary dampener to end his oddly pleasant stream of thoughts.
He focused on the present surroundings. The rolling hills of green had changed to a rocky plateau. Every once-in-a-while a scuttling rodent could be spotted between the stones they trod on. The sun that was once upon high had lowered itself gently below the horizon, only a scant glow could be seen emanating from where it set. A small pink glow being a beautiful send-off for the day almost past.
Xander looked around with a pair of keen eyes and spotted a good place to rest. He started to veer towards it and called to his partner, "Oscar! Let's set up camp for the night,"
Oscar looked around quizzically before he registered what was said, "Oh, found a place already?" Questioned the other half of the duo.
"Yes, I did. Now get over here you twit! And before you ask, No! That did not rhyme and nor did I mean it too!" Xander yelled in exasperation. Oscar's hand, that was poised in a ready stance, slumped forward as did his shoulders. Disappointment evident from the young man's form. Oscar eventually found his way to Xander's makeshift campsite, incoherent grumblings coming from his mouth as he did. A few stones that Xander had scrounged up found their way to a circular formation of their brethren. A few sticks, small logs more specifically, were stacked one atop the other as a small fire was threatening to torch them.
The poor pieces of wood didn't stand a chance.
Xander then found himself sitting across from Oscar; the fire, their only landmark of separation. He took a small glance to his left to see a lump of flesh sleeping peacefully within the confines of a sack of cloth. A rather quaint entombment of patchwork if Xander had anything to say about it. He spent time knitting that bedroll damnit!
Both he and his partner had slipped their cowl and cloak combo for a blanket and robe duo instead. Both being a similar shade of dark purple to their cloaks. Xander saw his partner's face once more. A young man, twenty-six or so, with black hair and brown eyes was seen. This was in stark contrast to Xander's facial features. A mature, grizzled face was the one that had taken place where the cowl had once been. His tame, short blonde hair propped itself on his head. A pair of blue eyes held treachery and experience that gave an air similar to that of a soldier. The air had turned cold, the crisp coolness working its way into their bones.
They had been sitting there for a few minutes before Oscar, bless his shivering, manic self, spoke up, "So, what's the plan when we get the kid back to the boss?" His question prompted an eye-roll and sigh before Xander responded, "We're going to hand him his newest subject before we take a good rest in some actual beds, then wait for orders. As per usual Oscar,"
The man who asked the question pondered his partner's answer before nodding… and proceeded to sleep sitting up; not a muscle twitching from then on. Xander raised his hands from the warm confines of his blanket to rub his temples, attempting to nurse his growing headache. He loves Oscar, really, he does. But… there is never enough remedies for migraine on hand when his questionably sane compatriot is with him. He then shook his head with a small chuckle, before he too, went into the warm embrace of sleep.
'Yes,' Xander thought as he looked at he and Oscar's cargo while said cargo slept, 'This has been a good week,'
Jaeger woke up to the sensation of something, or more accurately; someone, poking him. His eyes fluttered open and were greeted by a newly cloaked Xander. His cowl once again shielded the lower half of his face from sight. The man's dark blue eyes gleamed with something one could only describe as morbid curiosity.
Then Xander spoke, "Come on, rise and shine sleepy head! We have to get going," Jaeger had barely managed to catch what he said before he himself was hoisted up by his diminutive shoulders. He then felt a small ~Bump~ on his rear before he realized he was placed on a mule.
The mule's grunt of effort the only tell that it felt the boy's weight. Jaeger's spot on the mule was its back. The brown leather being only slightly comfortable to the boy. His head was oddly fuzzy as he rode robotically on the mule. A lizard seemingly appeared in front of the mule, its response, buck like a bronco. Takes after his dad, that one.
Then from the shock of the sudden jerk, Jaeger felt: like a freight train, memories emerged, no burst, into Jaeger's mind. His mother clutching a locket before being blasted with a wad of malignant purple light. The locket dropping before revealing a picture of a man. His black and red hair combined with azure blue eyes made him a handsome youth. 'Father…' Thought Jaeger as he saw the picture for the first time in his life. His mother's corpse lying lifelessly on the carpeted floorboards. There was no blood, no scream, merely… death. Then he yelled out, as if his protest would help his now dead mother come back from her early grave. His hoarse cry of grief and pain was met with a loud slapping sound before he felt his mind succumbing to unconsciousness. These thoughts assaulted his mind while a lone tear drifted down from his right eye. If his two captors noticed, they did not care.
He quickly divulged into hysterics as he saw a structure in the horizon. A tower, not unlike those out of fairy tales, stood erect in the middle of the vast, flat plateau he had found himself in. Its thick stone walls were jutting out proudly as it watched over its domain. He knew, right then and there, he knew; his fate was already sealed. If the looks of recognition given to it by his captors weren't assurance enough, the smaller of the two spoke to him, "This, little one, is going to be your home now. You here that? Home," The malice and venom were easily noticed by Jaeger, and would've been further thought on had Jaeger not seen something appear.
Congratulations! Encounter completed!
You have gained:
-2,540 exp
-1 level for each perk already attained
-New Title; 'Imprisoned' (will gain related perks after imprisonment)
-New Magic; Legion (will gain after ?)
His stats then hung off to the side of his vision, detailing his current capabilities, however, limited they may be. The box colored a vibrant pink not out of place in a 4-year-old girl's bedroom.
Stats Profile:
Jaeger Sygandr
Level- 13
Gender- male
Age- 7
Stats:
Dex-(7)
Str-(2)
Cha-(15)
Wis-(13)
Int-(15)
Luk-(-1,000-Locked)
Mag-(3)
Stat points- 44 (Locked-Until Level 10)
Perks/Talents;
-Underneath the Underneath (level- 4)
A talent that gives one the ability to see lies, deception, and hidden nuances of what was said
-Observant (level- 9)
A talent that gives one the ability to perceive the world and what would have been stealthy actions, clearly
Note: Both Underneath the Underneath and Observant grow better alongside their levels and your Wis.
-Cooking (level- 2)
Allows one to make foods edible or more edible, improves dex by +5 every 25 levels
-Reading (level-18)
Allows one to read familiar/unfamiliar text easier for each level, improves int by +1 every 4 levels
-Sprinting (level- 5)
Gives one the ability to go faster for a certain amount of time, improves dex by +1 every 5 levels
Jaeger then gave himself a scolding worthy of his now deceased mother. And vowed, 'I will forever, from now on, give no one the satisfaction of knowing my pain. I will never more let the ones I love suffer from this pain. And I will never give in to the darkness!'
With his mindset, and will, hardened he readied himself for what was to come. Little did he know…
Who, was the better term…
Xander gave himself a silent pat-on-the-back when he saw the kid go into absolute mania. Light chuckles rolled into bellowing guffaws at the latest subject's reaction. But then, he saw something in those small, golden orbs. Determination gave way to a hardened look and overall visage of steel. The brat, who had been moments away from a right and proper panic attack, looked calm. Xander tried to push away the sweat that quickly formed on his brow from this nigh bipolar shift. 'They usually don't… do that. Yeah, they don't do that.' His thoughts mainly consisted of this and other ramblings that tried to justify what had happened.
Oscar also seemed baffled by the change in the child's demeanor. If the absolutely befuddled look he gave the young boy was any indication. That very look almost made Xander go back to his previous chortling. To sum it in one word would be, priceless.
Xander then gave the boy a look of begrudging admiration. A grown man would have a difficult time coming to terms with his situation as the boy in front of him just did. Xander did not expect the brat to have a spine, but a spine he did have.
Then, he decided that the boy was interesting…
'Yes, very interesting indeed'
A/N And that, my lovely readers, is the end of the prologue. Could I have condensed it into one singular chapter? Yes. Why did I not? Well, I felt it would help with the progression of the story if a segmented the chapters and prologue via length. The prologue has roughly 3,000 words a chapter. The regular chapter, chapters will have somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 words each, although the disparity between updates will be rather lengthy. And, please, do note that this is a mere hobby of mine that I do in my very infrequent bouts of free-time. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!
Sincerely,
P.W
A/N Edits done at march, 18, I changed the magic and rectified a few grammar errors. Oh, and adjusted stat stuff.