Rise from the ashes

Chapter 8 - The Story

I don’t know if it was the drink he gave me, or the way he talked in his slow drowsy voice, but I wanted to listen. We were told this story as kids, but tonight I felt like I was going to get the whole story, the story that didn’t put our kind in the best of light.
  
  He took a deep breath and began. “It started about 500 years ago. The magic used to rule above the common folk. We were the leaders and them our followers, until a dark day indeed. One was born with the power of sight, a curse you could say, for he could not go a single day without seeing an inevitable future laid out in front of him.” 

“He would see building being burnt and people dying days before they would happen, but not be able to tell exactly when disaster would strike. Common folk died and they blamed him for not warning them of the danger, cities were burnt to the ground and they again, blamed him. He was driven out of every town he came to, not able to find a place to call his own. Until one day he foresaw four children with the power to destroy worlds.”
“He saw it fit to warn everyone, but in the end, that was his demise. You see, everyone had heard of his power, they knew what he could do, and they became scared. The common folk decreed that all magic was to be banned and all magic doers to be killed. We ran, we fled from what were once our homes, driven out by our own people. “

“Among all the chaos and destruction a group of warlocks formed to take down the common folk, and regain what was once ours.”

I leaned forward in my chair, anxious to hear what happened.

“Don’t be dumb boy, we obviously lost. We’re here, aren’t we?”

Oh right.

“The Common folk brought out their machines and drove us back. When we asked for help from all the other magic folk, they turned us down. They said it wasn’t right what we were doing. They turned on their own kind when we needed them most, and we’ll never forgive them.” 

I sat back in my chair, my drink churning in my stomach. “What did we do then?” I asked

He blew air out of his nose. “That’s the wrong question. What you needed to ask was what are we still doing?” 

I swallowed hard. “What are we still doing?” I squeaked out.
  
  He laughed “What needs to be done”

~******~
   
My mind was still spinning when the man took my drink and led me to another room, where someone was waiting to adorn me with my new cloak. 
   
He looked at me with penetrating eyes. “Size 7, new, green, produce it please.” 
 
   I turned to ask the man who brought me in what was going on, but he had vanished. 
   
“Come on, I don’t have all day.” The other man said impatiently. 

    “You want my cloak”
 
   He nodded in sharp agreement

    I got my cloak out of my bag and gave it to him, flinching a little as he stretched the cloth almost to breaking point. 
 
   “7 inches, bottom with a slight curve on the side. 8 inch hood with beveled edge. 45 by 32.” He said speaking to nobody. He grabbed pins and started pinching and stabbing the cloth. He worked, it seemed, in one fluid motion, pinching and cutting and sewing the fabric all at once. It was only then did I realize his cloak was a bunch of fabric squares sewed together. This must have been his talent. He drew runes in the air, their shimmering lines reflecting off the mirror in front of me.
 
   I stood there and decided to ask him what was on my mind. “So in the other room-” He cut me off with a finger. “All will be explained in process of due time.”
 
   I closed my mouth, this guy was weird. He approached me with the cloak, it looked exactly the same, but when he put it on me it slid over my shoulders like water and hovered just a couple inches off the ground. He put my hood up and something stirred inside, a feeling of power. I felt as if I could take on an army of men and come out unscathed. Then I remembered the story of our ancestors. I took the hood off and the man smiled at me. 

    “My work here is done, wait and another will be along” he walked out the door I came in and I just stood there. Today had to be the weirdest day of my entire life. 

Within the minute another man walked in wearing a cloak I had never seen before. Everything about it was different; the color obviously was different, as with every job, but the shape was also all wrong. Instead of a cloak that covered your whole body, this cloak was only knee length and the sleeves only came halfway down the arm. It was also skin tight, as where a traditional cloak hung off the body loosely. The color was a mix of black and dark green, arranged in splotches everywhere along the cloak.  

I tried not to stare, but I couldn’t help myself.  “Wha-”

 “SIT” he commanded. I did. His voice was deep and gravely, it was so commanding it was hard not to follow what it said. “Now, it’s time to discuss why you’re really here.”

“Finally”

“SHUSH, as you’ve told, our kind has suffered a great loss, and we’re here to get revenge.”

“Well I wouldn’t call it a loss” I mumbled 

“If you talk out of turn again, it’s not going to be good” he said “You’re not soldier material, I don’t know why he told me to check you out, if you’re not good at what you’re supposed to be good at, what makes him think you can fight.” He mumbled to himself.  

He cleared his throat “As you already know, we are the last of the warlocks. What I'm here to do is recruit you to join the bravest of us in regaining the throne. It’s been an ongoing battle for the past many millenniums, but you’re needed in the fight.

I thought about it for a second, there was no way I was going to willingly kill someone to get back a throne that was taken from us 500 years ago. “Well, see, I don’t really want to, I'm a nature warlock, and I would like to spend the rest of my days as one.”

He looked at me with eyes that could cut steel. “But you see, I need a yes.” I shook my head. He grabbed the back of my cloak and pulled me to his face, I could smell the rot in his teeth on his breath. “Listen here; I didn’t come all this way to be rejected by a punk like you.” 

I squirmed in his grip. “But I have a job here”

He sighed and I almost gagged. “Listen, it’s your uncle right? Well he sent me to recruit you to the cause. His words were something like you are a useless nobody that can’t help the community so the least you could do was help on our front.” 

My body stilled. There was no way this was true, but why wouldn’t it be, they had hated me all my life. This seemed exactly like something they would do. I laughed “Well you see, sir, there is no way I'm going with you.”  

He gave me the pity look and I snapped. I kicked off the chair I was sitting in and my body went over his arm while he was still holding on to my collar. I grabbed his arm and twisted until he let go. His face didn’t show any sign of pain, but I knew that had to hurt. He lunged for me, but I sidestepped easily. I noticed some lavender in a vase and grabbed it, not really knowing what I was doing. He lunged again and grabbed my leg. I crunched the flowers in my hand and on instinct I blew them at his and purple powder came from my hand, choking him enough to let me escape.  

I burst through the door and just kept running, my legs burning with every step. I ran and ran until I couldn’t see the village anymore, only then did I slow down.  I did it, I didn’t have to live by my crummy uncles rules anymore, I didn’t have to fight, I was safe.

Then came the wolf.