ShadowKnight

Prologue

Luscar trudged through the trees in the early morning light. He'd been hunting all night, his black coat with the deep hood providing good camouflage in the shadows of the Great Forest of Lollica, where the elves lived in their main city, Kaylyn, and several outlying villages beneath the ancient trees. Underneath the hood, Luscar's hair was white, despite his age of about 25. His eyes glowed blue with powerful magic that threatened to burst through with every beat of his human heart. As he approached the village he felt tense. He could sense something was wrong.
Fire. Luscar could see it through the trees. He could hear the screams and the cry of a baby. The only infant in the elven village was his son. Dropping the bag of game where he stood, Luscar raced forward toward the clearing where he lived with his family.
"Te et Lael!" He shouted, shooting ice from his hands to quell the flames. The fire was out quickly, but the damage was already done. Smoke hung in the air, thick and heavy, and Luscar followed the sound to find his son in the arms of a female elf. "Remira?" He called, but the elf shook her head. As Luscar came closer, he found it was not his wife, Remira, but another elf he didn't quite recognize. She adjusted her grip on the baby, and pointed with one long, white finger at the remains of Luscar's small house, a pile of charred, collapsed wood. Rummaging through the charcoal, he saw her. She was half buried underneath the collapsed thatch of the roof, with the charred remains of the boy's baby blanket in her arms.
Luscar knelt in the ash for a long time as the smoke and dust settled, looking at his wife, holding her cold hand, until a voice sounded behind him.
"Luscar," a female voice said. Luscar turned to see the elf queen, Lunaria, standing at the edge of the burned area with her entourage.
"Your majesty?" Luscar began, confused. "What—Why?"
"Why am I here?" Lunaria laughed, it sounded like wind chimes. Luscar stood up, dusting the ashes off his knees.
"Yes," he replied. "You have no relation to Remira, she was not a member of your precious court. I can't see why you are here to mourn her, when just her friends and family should be here."
Lunaria's smile was pasted on her face. "Such impudence," she said. "Mourn however you would like. But when you have finished, you, and your son, will leave my forest. Humans have no place in my kingdom, particularly your kind. Sorcerers. Look what you've done to this village!" She waved a hand at the charred trees and houses, though the only one that had collapsed was Luscar's.
"Luscar!" The female elf holding his son cried out suddenly. Sparks shot from the boy's fingertips, landing on the already charred ground, causing new fires. Luscar put them out with a wave of his hand and took the child, closing his hand over the baby's tiny fists, stopping the sparks from escaping. He could feel the sting of the flames, but bore it as he turned back towards the queen.
"If I must leave, let the boy stay," he protested. "He's half Elf, that should offer some protection."
"After the display we've just seen?" Lunaria scoffed. "He would burn down this entire forest before he cut his first tooth. No, the boy must go. There is no place for sorcerers in my forest. Humans wielding magic... it is an abomination."
"Abomination," Luscar growled. He lunged forward, only to be stopped by two elven guards, stronger than their slight size would let on. "You have no right to say that about my son!" He struggled against the grip of the guards for a moment, as Lunaria stood, still smiling at him.
"Since you have nothing to take with you besides the clothes on your back," she said finally. "I expect you to leave as soon as you've finished mourning your love."
"You know nothing of love!" Luscar growled.
"I have known my fair share of it," Lunaria said, turning away, " And I know how to protect those under my care. Can you say the same?"
Luscar fell to his knees as the guards released him, cradling his son in his arms.
"Selute me carma," he whispered to his son, quelling the magic still shooting from his fingers. The boy babbled a little, unaware of anything that had happened. Luscar handed the boy back to the she-elf. "Could you take him for a little while, so I can..." He swallowed hard. "I need to say goodbye to Remira."
"Remira was my friend," said the she-elf. "I will watch over him. Will the boy...?"
"No," Luscar shook his head. "I silenced his magic, for now. The spell should last for a little while." He looked at his own hand, burned from the sparks. "My power comes with a price, it takes great discipline to learn how to control it. Remira helped me. I will help him, when he's older."
"Where will you go?"
"I don't know," Luscar sighed and took up a shovel, left by one of Lunaria's guards, no doubt. "This was the only place that would take me in after what I did."
"What did you do?" Asked the she-elf, adjusting her grip on the child.
"It's not important now," he took the body of Remira in his arms, laying her at the base of a large tree. "Just take him for a little while, I'll be back when I've finished..."