A cold, brisk breeze blew through the small shack Zekery called home. It wasn't much. Only a few rooms, no windows, and the ground was dirt. But this didn't bother Zekery. Of course not much bothers you when you're only six years old. Apart from losing his mother to the last disease outbreak, he was a happy child, not a worry in the world. He was obedient and self sufficient, the kind of child of parent hopes to have. Hell, the kid could very well take care of himself if he was 4 feet taller. All that aside, Zekery's father, Adam, was the villages only resemblance of anything close to a doctor. Adam takes pride in his work, even if the village folk call it hocus. Most people just pray to the spirits that their ailments be healed, giving up their hope when people begin to pass away. In no way does this help his image because people then turn and blame him for not helping, when no one asked in the first place.
Of course all this was 10 years ago. No one wants to hear the tale of a six year old's brave triumph over a horned gutter snake, instead we move on to the day Zekery leaves for the rest of the world. He leaves his small village, his small world, and his small problems behind to face a much bigger, and much scarier, part of life he had been sheltered from his entire existence. Now is when he finds out who he'll become.
