Donovan sat on his throne as his men filtered in to give him news about the current whereabouts of the King’s army. The pathetic excuse for a King wanted to eradicate Donovan’s people as if they were some plague that covered his continent. King Argon had professed that magic bearers were all blasphemous and the spawn on the devil. His people knew the real truth. Argon was afraid that the magic bearers would band together and overthrow him and his power. By forcing the magic bearers out of the city, he inadvertently pushed more and more of them together for safety. Many of the men were deserters of the King’s army after they discovered the danger that the King posed to their families if they were found out.
His people had started a small village deep in the forest where they remained well off the beaten path, and had done their absolute best to stay hidden. That was until one day, the cold became too much and they were forced to start a fire or let their elderly and children die. The smoke rose above the trees and was spotted by Argon’s army which was occupying a nearby city. After investigation, the army knew that they were deserters and magic bearers and began to slaughter the villagers. They fought to their last breaths, Donovan knew because he had stumbled upon them on his way through the forest.
He was no more than twenty-three years at the time and had never actually met another human being with magic. Though most of the people had abilities that varied from telekinesis to minor control of a specific element, Donovan’s was a bit more specific. He had always had an odd control over dogs. In Dragandria, he had fun by collecting the local strays and put on shows in the courtyard for money. Having been an orphan for many years he did what he could to survive. The King had just came out with a decree that all those who appeared to have a form of magic were to be handed over in order to be “justly” tried for crimes against the church. After he’d escaped, with the help of Little Laura, he’d fled to the woods where he met a pack of wolves. It had taken him four years and a fight with the alpha before they finally all had accepted him as their new Alpha. The willful and prideful beasts were not as easily swayed as the strays of Dragandria.
It was the same pack of wolves that helped him take back the small village of magic bearers. He had stood behind a giant oak watching the destruction unfold until he witnessed one blonde woman oddly slamming her arm into the ground with her legs apart in an aggressive posture. It had surprised him even more when after her palm met with the dirt. There was a ripple, no, more like a wave of dirt that threw a man off his feet to land ten yards away. He knew at that moment, that this was the fight he had been waiting for.
He had swooped his pack in and leveled the army. They had invited him to live with them, but he had chosen not to. His pack wandered and he could not force them to stay. It was against their nature. It had been hard for him, though it was even harder for him to admit that to himself. The kindness the village had shown him was unlike anything he had ever felt. It was home. His pack was family, but those people were his home. His wolves must have sensed his confliction because as they made their move to leave the next morning, his pack refused to move. He called them and they sat in the center of the tiny village.
One young man, Marcus, had come out of his tent and saw the scene. “It appears that your friends happen to like us as well.” And so, he had stayed with the village of magic bearers. He and his wolves were given the job of protecting their establishment, and so they had, until one day the elder, who had made all decisions about their people, passed away. With no one to take the role, the people looked to the one person who had been able to successfully protect them from harm. They elected him their leader.
It was all so fresh in his mind but the past five years had made him grow even colder than when he’d been alone, with no one but his wolves in the woods. Sure, these people were his family, but he was their protector and everything fell on his shoulders. It wasn’t a position that he took lightly but it was one that sucked the life force from his blood. Though, he would do anything for his people.
