Lionheart

The Odd Stranger

"What is it Lin ?.....you don't seem well lately" said Sasha as she gripped Linley's hand , trying to loosen her grip he shook his arm a bit and said with a bit coarse voice "I am fine , leave me be ". Releasing him from her grip she said in a voice filled with concern "I have been with you long enough to know when you are lying" Linley looked at her, her face filled with concern and her brow bent in ,that gave her a rather sad look," Let's go home then we'll talk ok?" he said in a softer voice in order to convince her "Fine, but promise me you'll tell or I'll be after your life until you tell me" Linley smiled a faint smile and said "I promise, happy" Sasha laughed and rushed ahead her pretty black hair fluttered behind her "Then we better rush" she smiled at him and said "Let's see who reaches first, shall we" and she ran cheerfully towards her house . Linley himself now felt better, he was concerned of how he was going to pay the entrance fee if he was going to enter the Theinsford academy , but like always, Sasha's presence soothed him and calmed his mind, just as he was about to run after her he stopped as he saw something peculiar.

It was an odd stranger ,it was not very uncommon to see new faces in their village as the academy acted as an attraction, but the thing strange was that most people who visited the village were either lords or very rich . This man on the other hand looked like neither a noble nor a lord. His face wasn't clearly visible because of his hood that cast a deep black shadow on it, he stumbled a bit as he walked and carried a bag with him, on his right hand Linley saw a scar, and rather a prominent one, it extended from the start of his palms to the back of his hand Linley saw as the man looked at him and when he noticed Linley he walked away to a nearby alley , now Linley stood there thinking that if he should report this to a guard or should he follow the man himself and if he posed a threat, report him.

A lot of thoughts came to his mind at that time but following that odd stranger seemed like a good plan to him. So he went towards the alley the man had went to and saw the man talking to a blacksmith , he could not hear what he was saying but seeing the man at a weapons shop raised his suspicion even more , the shopkeeper and the stranger spoke for a while then the stranger walked towards another path, as Linley took a step onto the path the man stopped and groaned alarmed Linley hid behind a nearby barrel of wheat assuming the man had not noticed him, he peeked and to his surprise the man had vanished , "What!..How did he do that?" ,god smacked Linley stood there as he heard a voice from behind him "Why are you following me?" the voice had such a harsh intensity that it sent shivers down Linley's back."I.....I.... was not" he hesitated then the man interrupted and said" Ok then tell me your name young man" said the man in a rather polite voice Linley hesitated then said in a whisper "My name is Linley" as he said it he heard the man remove his hood the man looked right at Linley, this was the first time Linley saw his face, It was rather elegant than what Linley had in mind ,the man looked aged assumingly in his forties and had light brown hair. The man removed the bag from his shoulder and placed a hand In it, Linley at that moment was scared, he was quiet afraid but to his surprise the man took out a map from his bag and said "So...Linley could you show me the path to Theinsford academy , this map is useless", Linley was shocked the first thing he had thought about the man was that he had nothing to do with the academy, in a soft voice Linley replied "S...sure Sir", and then he started leading him towards the academy.

When they were near the man said "Linley you say is your name eh, it seems familiar to me" the man scratched his head a bit and said "What is the name of your father son" Linley paused for a while and said "My father's name is Kraven " The man stopped his face showed surprise "What! You are Kraven's son? "In a rather confused voice he said " Are You really Kraven's son , that Kraven who was The Great Mage " ,"Yes" said Linley, the man said "Good heavens, I found you " Linley was at that moment really confused "Did you know my father ?" the man's eyes lowered as he said "Yes , I was his duo and...." His eyes filled as he spoke "I am the reason your father died "There was silence thereafter as Linley stood there motionless gazing as the man wiped his eyes and said "lets go to your home kid and talk there" .

Duo = mages were paired in groups of 2 in their training in academy and the pairing was for life .