The Gifted

It was a dark and stormy night, the worst by far of this season. I had made camp under an expansive birch tree which provided enough shelter for me and my things. The sheen of the rain was all the eye could see through the darkness. I sat there staring into the night for what felt like hours, but sometimes the dark stares back.

I had decided that there was definitely someone watching me. I still wasn't sure who or what, but I drew my blade all the same. This blade was one I had acquired many seasons ago, in a bet with a traveller. The blade was my most prized possession; it had been made by a master blacksmith. It had a single sapphire set into the hilt at the base of the blade, one edge of which was tinted deep blood red.

I was sure now; there was an intruder in my camp. I did not see how they could have found me; the rain had obliterated all boot prints in the earth. This was worrying; I had heard stories of powerful mages who could enter a man's mind to read and manipulate his thoughts and feelings. These mages were both feared and admired for their prodigious skill as assassins. It was a highly effective technique, to make the enemy forget they saw you as soon as you are out of sight.

I had encountered few thieves on my journey down this road, but those that I had seen were no threat. They had all met an icy demise. There is one aspect of myself that I reveal to few. I was born with what is called 'winter's gift' which allows the gifted one to create and manipulate ice. It was often a cause for fear among the people of the town. Possessors of the gift are rumoured to be destined for great evil.

However, so far my life has consisted of travelling, trading and fighting for my life once in a while.

This was not a thief, which was obvious now. There was something moving just out of sight behind a large tree. It wasn't large, that was obvious, about the size of a man...that was suspicious.

The rain stopped suddenly. But there was a low rumbling of thunder as if there was still a storm. That's when he stepped out from the shadows, and was bathed in the moody glow of moonlight. He was tall and slim, but well-muscled. He had dark hair, and blue eyes that glowed slightly in the gloomy moonlight. He was dressed in black, and wearing the kind of clothing worn by mercenaries. It is tough and resists some magic. He had several small daggers strapped to his belt, clearly assassins tools. The rumbling grew louder. I noticed there was what I could only assume to be lightning, but it was shooting between his fingers. There were very few mages that studied the manipulation of lightning anymore. This was probably due to the risk of electrocution. The ones that did were known by the masses as 'Arc Throwers'.

Slowly the arc thrower began to move towards me. I sheathed my blade, as metal is not advisable to mix with lightening. I summoned my strength for the fight that was about to break out.

He moved first, casting a blue bolt straight for my chest. I raised my arms to a defensive block, and caused a solid wall of ice to arise from the wet earth. The collision made the trees shake. From behind my wall I hurled spear-like icicles, the wall rotating and moving to counter his retaliatory beams and bolts. Not one of my spikes penetrated the man's garments. I selected his exposed hands and head as my targets from then on. He narrowly avoided getting impaled when I sent the wall, now covered in icicles, speeding towards him. However I was now defenceless, and he preyed on this, catching me in the shoulder with a sparking green ball of energy. It hurt, but had done minimal damage; I hurled an ice blade towards his foot in an attempt to stop him moving. Surprisingly his boots were not the same material as his armoured torso and legs. So, with a satisfying thud, the ice dug deep into the ground and pinned his foot where it was. He may have been immobilised but he was still dangerous. I dived and rolled behind a tree to avoid a whip-like blue arc. I peered out from behind the tree to see he was trying to free his foot, not paying much attention to me. I saw my chance, and took it. A moment later both of the man's arms were frozen to the ice blade, his hands safely encased in ice.