One Hour

A soft squeak of wood jostled me from my sleep, and I slowly cracked one eye, to see who, or what, was standing before me. As the haze faded from my vision, the sight of a tall, red man, with two horns on his head, greeted me. I tried to keep my breathing even. The same man from the night before. He was wearing all black regalia now, matching the raven sitting astride his right shoulder. I took another calm breath. What on earth does he want? He looked directly at me, giving me the same calculating stare as he had at the bar. He took a step forward, and I immediately jumped into action. I wrenched the blade from beneath my mattress, squeezing it tight with anxiety, drawing blood from my palm. I deftly rolled up onto my feet, and ready myself to lunge, one hand outstretched. His eyes narrowed into a frown, but then a smile began to form at his lips. The raven squawked once, and flapped its wings, lifting off of the man's shoulder, and glided down to rest on my arm. It turned its head, also looking me in the eyes. But those eyes were cold, and there was no smile. "It's in your best interest" he began, "to drop that knife. I have no desire to harm you, but my safety comes first." The raven cawed again. "And El. His safety comes before yours, as well." This was surreal. It wasn't the first time someone had broken into my house, but these circumstances were just too strange.

My mind raced as I tried to plan out my moves. Without a second thought, I quickly grabbed the bird off of my arm, so my hand wrapped around both wings, and I squeezed. El made a horrendous noise, a wheeze almost, and I brought him straight down to the floor. With the moment of my drop, I swung my arm over head, and threw the blade straight at the fiend across from me. It sailed through the air, and caught him just below the lapel of his robe, causing him to take a step back. It didn't stick, though. It slowly, almost unnaturally, clattered to the floor, muffled by the carpet over the wood. He took a step forward, resetting himself into his prior position. From beneath his robes, he drew two short metal rods, sharpened to points at the ends, and dropped them on the floor. When they struck the carpet, a blinding light filled the room. I covered my eyes, and staggered back, slipping on the blood that had spilled from my hand, and fell backwards onto the mattress. As the light receded, I lifted my arm, and looked at the man, who, somehow, now had a raven straddling his shoulder, his left this time. But now, he was standing directly over me, his hand out reached. I kicked straight up, catching him in the crook of the legs, and with a groan, he fell, landing on his hands and knees. I rolled, threw myself up onto my feet, and swiped a kick out behind me, catching him in the shoulder. My foot met what felt like solid stone, and he grabbed my ankle, rising, and bringing me up with him, albeit hanging upside down. All the while, the smile never left his lips.

"Finished yet?" I thrashed and kicked, but his ironclad grip held me solid, and the more I tried, the weaker I felt. As darkness began to set around the corners of my eyes, I felt the blood dripping down my arm begin to cool rapidly, and I began to panic. In the center of my brain, I felt the cold, crisp snap of magic, and closed my eyes, terrified of what was going to happen next. A sharp prick raced down my arm to my fingertips, and the soft tinkle of cracking ice chimed, followed by a rush of air, filled the room. I opened my eyes, and was shocked at what I saw. The walls, the carpet, the ceiling, the rack of books, even my still sleeping dog, were covered in ice. Everything, except myself, the man, and the raven. "Interesting" he quipped. His grip loosened, and I fell down, landing on my shoulders, and fell backward, stopping on my stomach. He outstretched his hand once more. "My name is Aaron." He began. "Aaron Kahlir. This is El." He gestured toward the bird, seemingly unharmed, who gave a loud squawk. "What do you want with me?" I shot back, terrified. "That spell you cast. It's a rare sighting to see someone so undisciplined focus that much energy. When I was your age, I could hardly bring the water in my glass below room temperature." He took another step forward, his hand still extended. "Please, come with me." "Why?" The same sound of cracking ice filled the air, but this time, an icy tendril slowly made its way down his robe sleeve. It grew to about 2 feet in length, ending in a menacing curve, that was somehow impossibly smooth, but ferociously jagged. As soon as it had finished forming, It began to drip, and the wicked edge became less defined, and fell away as the ice melted. When their was nothing left, he extended his hand once more. "I noticed something in the tavern" He said. "Something powerful. I came to talk to you, to see if my assumption was correct. I had no intention of harming you, which is why I chose not to fight back."

In the palm of his hand, still outstretched, a small sphere of Crimson and gold began to swirl and grow. The ice in the room began to melt, the water droplets evaporating in the air. The humidity, however, never seemed to rise. "It appears I was correct. Impressive magic for someone so young." I reached out, and took his hand, surprised at how gentle it felt. He pulled me to my feet, and turned my arm over. He wrapped his fingers around my wrists, and slowly moved them up my hand. Steam rose from my palm, tainting the air with copper. The pain pulsing through my arm ceased, and I was amazed to withdraw my hand and see no wound, not even a scar. "I believe I've demonstrated some of my ability, as well as my intentions. Will you join me?" "You still haven't explained why." "Hera, I can make you the sorceress you were born to be. Be my apprentice. Let me teach you." "How do you know my name?" I took a step back, suddenly worried. He laughed. "Hera, I've known you for longer than you know. But this will all be revealed as time goes on. Every story has its plot. Let this one be the same. Is this not proof enough?" I shuffled my feet, looking around. The ice was gone, as was the wound on my hand. Sybenn, miraculously, still snored at the foot of the mattress. I thought about the life I was living now. A thief. A rogue surviving on the charity of a few questionable men. Terrified of what I was, and here was someone offering me a chance to escape. I looked up, caught his gaze, and was immediately overcome with a very strong compulsion to join him. “I accept.” “Excellent.” The smile grew. “Now, gather your things. We leave in one hour.”