In a small town in a small house, in a small room an old man sits at the edge of a child's bed "There was once a child born of darkness, and bathed in light. Legend has it that if this child was to discover the power that lurks within him, the world could be trapped in darkness for all time, he was left at the edge of the world where he couldn't harm anyone, the child lay there in a basket crying for help, that was until a beautiful woman descended from the heavens and rescued the child, no one knows the fate of the child, but since the world is still full of light I assume he still hasn't discovered his true purpose" upon the bed a small boy no older than seven lay fighting the losing battle against sleep "grandpa that story sucked, where was the action! Or the adventure!"
"Don't worry little one, the adventure will come soon enough" the old man smiled at the little boy before turning and walking out the door. "Only ten years left, that poor boy only has ten more years to live" the man's smile quickly turned into a scowl. The man walked down the hall of the old broken down home the farther down the hallway he went the more destitute it became, the paint was peeling off the ancient walls. The once beautiful wood floors are now chipped and warped as if no one had stepped on them in centuries, at the end of the hall was a moderately sized room, there was no furniture, no curtains, not even an unbroken window, and there was a thick layer of dust covering the floors and the windowsill of the only window. "of all the places in the world why did she have to bring him here, this place hasn't been touched in years" the man sighed before walking through a small door on the far left wall, on the other side was a kitchen that didn't belong in this hideous house, the walls were pearly white, the tile on the floor were shinny and new, not a single thing was out of place even the marble cooktop glistened with divine purpose. The man walked over to a cabinet and removed a single cup and a tea kettle.
"Hello Custos may I have a moment?" a beautiful woman draped in silk stood at the doorway.
"I'm assuming you're here about the boy? If so you left him in my care and I will do with him as I please"
"It's not that, I was met with a sour dream last night, I believe that they want the child for themselves, they want to use him for a weapon" the worry in the woman's eyes was obvious.
"A weapon? He doesn't even know of his past and not to mention that the prophecy states that once the boy turns seventeen he'll be uncontrollable anyways!"
"You don't know what they are capable of, they have destroyed hundreds of cities blaming it on hurricanes or flooding"
"Are you saying I should fear these creatures?"
"I'm saying you should be careful, we don't know what to expect from them" the woman sighed "maybe we should move him? This isn't a very child friendly space anyway"
"This is the safest place for him! I've lived in this house for seven and a half years!" anger was overflowing from Custos.
"Calm down I just want what's best for him"
"You wish to put him in a cage!"
"I wish to put him in a private school!" tears rolled down the beautiful woman's face "please be reasonable Custos, we have to hide him, I don't want to leave him anymore than you do but war is coming and we have to be prepared"
"Milenec I'll let you take the boy, but I refuse to leave him, when you arrive at the school I will continue to watch over him as I have all his life"
"I wouldn't have it any other way, old friend"
A loud crash could be heard from across the house, it was as if a giant had stubbed his ridiculously large toe on the house's foundation. "Oh no" Milenec cried "they're already here, I'm too late, they've come for my child"
"Milenec take the child I'll hold them off" Custos ran towards the pristine room at the end of the hall, screaming as his entire changed, his face became that of a ferocious lion, with the arms of a dragon, legs of a goat, and the wings of an eagle. Milenec followed behind sprouting her own wings, hers were different instead of the weathered look of Custos hers were neat and proper they were golden and gave off a warmth, like sitting in front of a fire place during a crisp winter night. Custos bust through the door to find a shadow looming over the young boy and broken glass from the window covering the floor.
"STAND DOWN OR I WILL USE DEADLY FORCE!" Custos's voice echoed like a lions roar.
"The boy belongs to us old man, we swear to take good care of our little chosen one" the voice sounded empty, as if the voice was coming from a speaker located somewhere inside of the robes.
"I can't allow you to do that" Custos lunged at the shadow surprisingly taking it off its non-existent feet just long enough for Milenec to grab her son and fly jump through the open window into the cold bitter night, she extended her wings taking of at top speed.
"Mom where are we going?" the young boy rubbed his eyes, he somehow managed to sleep through the fight going on in his own room.
"I'm taking you some where far away, somewhere you can be happy" as she said it she wondered if she believed it, if they could find him here they could find him anywhere, but she couldn't worry about that now she had to get her son out of here. On the ground Custos continued his battle with the shadow creature.
"How dare you stop me from completing my task? Do you know who I am?" the dark figure lunged at Custos throwing him off his balance but failing to knock him down.
"I know he is a coward, if he was truly great he would have come here himself instead of sending his weakling lackey" he grabbed the shadow by the throat lifting him up and throwing him into the house it collapsed on top of him destroying whatever semblance of a home he had "My favorite tea kettle was in there" Custos frowned as he began to walk away from the house returning to his regular form. Custos limped toward a small shed on the neighboring property removing a can of gas and a box of matches, he stumbled back to the house dumping as much gas as he could on the house and dropping a match setting his once home ablaze.
"From Hell you came to Hell I return you" the fire changed from shades of reds and oranges to blues and greens. White smoke rose towards the sky like an alabaster pillar. "Man may fear your kind but I don't you disgusting creature of the night"
