A Warrior through and through

The journey.

The sight before me was one that I knew oh too well. It was a scene of pitchforks and rusted blades; a scene of men with fear in their eyes and brave women clutching holy rocks. Men and women in these rural areas of the nation feared people with gifts. They still worshipped the old father who claimed that all magick apart from his was evil. As a result, most of them have never seen a person use their gift in their entire lives. That was, until today. I smiled, knowing that would throw them off. They expected mages to be cold and evil, not cheery and welcoming.

"Hello Noel," I greeted him with a conversational tone in my voice, "A little cloudy this morning though I think it's going to brighten up this afternoon. What brings you to my home?"

Noel stared at me then shook his head furiously like a dog. The poor man was confused and scared.

"Your home has giant roots stuck in it Walter," Noel meekly said as if I would eat him for raising that simple fact. I looked back at my house like I hadn't noticed. It was nothing but splinters and roots like he said.

"Oh, yes. I forgot. Well, what brings you here to my hill?"

"Are you a daemon?" One person in the crowd shouted.

"Why would you think that?" I asked.

"Because you just summoned lightning from the sky!" Shouted another. He looked a lot like the butcher with his grisly beard and mammoth belly.

"And you commanded the earth to close on another daemon!" Shouted Noel. The crowd erupted into a shouting frenzy. They started to move closer while angrily thrusting their pitchforks and rusted swords up and down. Emotions were rising. I could feel their fear like warm air on a humid day. These people were now well beyond reason.

I gripped her blade tightly and waited for them to charge. A surprising calm slowed the pounding of my heart. Another familiar feeling. I looked at the angry crowd and raised my sword pointed at them as I would have fifteen years ago. This wasn't my first encounter of the sort. I knew I would be alright. 

"WAIT!" Someone shouted above the crowd. A woman ran and stopped in front of me, her hands stretched out both sides. It was Emmy. Everyone stopped.

"What are you all doing? Why are you afraid of him!" She shouted, her shrill voice echoing in the hills. All was silent now. Everybody, including me, lowered their weapons.

"He's a daemon Emmy. He'll kill us!" Noel responded. The crowd burst into cheers and taunts, but they were silenced by Emmy's laughter. She laughed long and hard like she had not a care in this world.

"Was he trying to kill you when he rescued you from that bear, Rotha?" She said looking at the first man who shouted at me, "And you Kevin, was he a daemon when he gave you the meat that he hunted for free?" The man who I thought was the butcher looked away. I hadn't interacted with them enough to know their names.

"Was he evil, Noel, when he fixed our tavern roof? It does not matter what he is, this man has never done any wrong to us. He has helped this village countless times. Who was the one who cleared the path that was blocked by trees? Who has helped fight bandits that raid our village? He has! And you want to try and kill him for using his gift to defend himself from a real daemon? I thought we were good, honest folk. I've seen his kind before In the magisterium. Yes, I went to university to learn the art of cooking. He's not a daemon. His kind are daemon killers. So If you want to try and kill him, go ahead. I thought we were good folk who have a little brain between our ears. But if you want to go against a good man who has done nothing wrong to you, a man who can summon lightning from the sky, be my guest."

There was complete silence after Emmy's speech. Suddenly, the butcher turned around and left. One after the other, they turned around and headed back to the village  as if nothing happened. Soon enough the only people left were Noel and Emmy.

"Thank you," I told Emmy , smiling warmly.

"Thank you for not killing us," she said, her eyes twinkling. Noel came closer to us sowly. His eyes were clear as he looked at me. He opened his mouth to speak.

"No need to apologise. I'm leaving. Not because of what happened here. It's something that I have been putting off for a very long time." I cut him off. He curtly nodded.

"When are you leaving?"  he asked, his voice unusually raspy.

"By sunrise, tomorrow."

"When you leave pass by the tarven, we'll give you a few things to help you on your journey." Emmy said, still smiling.

"Thank you again. Now if you do not mind, I need to salvage what has not been broken from my house," I said nodding towards the mass of roots and wood.

"You can stay the night with us," Noel responded. I shook my head.

"I think I'll be okay here. But thank you for the offer."

"If you change your mind-"

"Our doors are open," Emmy said, finishing her husband's sentence. I nodded and turned to face the wreckage as they started their descent down the hill. As I searched for useful items and books, I could not get Emmy's words out of my head. She considered me a good person. If only she knew. Only one other person had considered me good, and she was dead. 

I gripped her blade even more tightly as I used my magick to remove particularly large pieces of wood. I shook my head vionlently. Enough thinking. I had work to do.

At snrise I would start the journey I should have done fifteen years ago.

It was time I went home.