The sun had not yet pierced through the veil of mist hanging over the village. Kael sat at the kitchen table, absentmindedly stirring his soup. With every turn of the spoon, the strange moments he'd shared with Ashael the previous night seemed to stare back at him through the rising steam.
His mother, Nerya, noticed his unusual silence while organizing medicinal herbs by the hearth. Setting aside a handful of herbs with trembling hands, she turned to him. Her gaze flickered to the moon ring on Kael's left hand.
"You're still there, aren't you?" she said, her voice as soft as a morning breeze. "Your body is here, but your mind is trapped in what happened yesterday."
Kael looked up, startled. "I just... can't make sense of it, Mom. Ashael, that butterfly... It feels like everything is part of a plan."
Nerya sighed deeply, an indescribable sadness pooling in her eyes. "Sometimes life knocks on our door before we are ready, Kael. But today, you must clear your mind. The forest does not favor a distracted hunter."
Kael nodded and stood up. Slinging his axe over his shoulder, he tried to ignore his mother's warning, but the restlessness in his chest remained.
As he ventured deeper into the woods, the air felt heavier than usual. He swung his axe at a stubborn log, but his strike was off; the blade glanced off the wood and slipped from his grip. Kael stopped, breathless. He looked at the silver ring on his finger. Its glow pulsed rhythmically against the dark green of the forest, like a silent warning signal.
"Focus," he muttered to himself. But right then, the wind carried the first bitter scent to his nose. The clean forest air was suddenly replaced by the choking weight of rotting leaves and sulfur, as if scorched by magic. Birds erupted from the trees in a frantic clamor.
Kael looked up and saw columns of thick, black smoke rising from the direction of the village.
"Mother!" he cried out. His voice echoed through the depths, but the only answer was the frantic beating of wings.
He gripped his axe tighter and sprinted toward the village, his legs burning with effort. He crashed through branches and briars, oblivious to the scratches blooming on his face. When he reached the village entrance, the sight was darker than his worst nightmares.
The peaceful square had turned into a slaughterhouse. Crimson Shadow Wolves, creatures that usually dwelled in the deepest parts of the forest, were attacking everything in sight like possessed monsters. Kael froze as he locked eyes with one. Their eyes glowed a sinister red, and strange, blood-colored runes on their necks seemed to distort the very air around them. They were far larger and more feral than any wolf he had ever seen.
Driven by instinct, Kael swung his heavy wood-cutting axe at the first wolf that lunged. Though only fourteen, years of splitting logs had given him a raw strength that allowed the axe to land a crushing blow on the beast's head. As the creature collapsed with a pained howl, Kael watched the chaos in horror. People were screaming, and the wounded lay scattered across the ground.
A wolf was about to sink its teeth into an elderly villager's throat. Kael lunged forward with everything he had. "Go to the inn! Save yourselves!"
His mind was numb with fear, but his body moved on its own. He had no strategy; he acted not like a warrior, but like a boy terrified of losing everyone he loved. He grabbed a few trembling elders and two crying children, ushering them toward the heavy oak doors of the Ulu Çınar Inn.
But in a brief moment of silence, his heart nearly stopped. In his desperation to save everyone, he had forgotten his own home. "Mother!" he whispered. After pushing the crowd behind the inn's safe walls, he bolted through the fire and wolves toward his own house.
As he sprinted up the hill, his heart hammered against his ribs. But when he reached the garden gate, he went cold. While the village center was a burning hell, his home stood in a state of eerie tranquility.
The air around the house shimmered as if underwater, emitting a faint green glow. Most terrifying were the Crimson Shadow Wolves. Several stood at the edge of the property, but they weren't attacking. They watched with tilted heads and glowing red eyes, as if staring at prey behind an invisible pane of glass. They didn't dare cross the boundary, held back by an ancient fear rather than a physical force.
Kael burst through the door. "Mother!"
Nerya stood in the center of the room. Her face was paler than usual, her breathing ragged. Her hands were raised, trembling as if she were holding invisible strings. She took a sharp breath when she saw him but did not lower her arms. She looked at his soot-covered face, his torn clothes, and the bloodied axe in his hand.
The tension in her arms eased for a split second. Tears streamed down her face as she let out a shaky breath. Seeing her son standing there whole had momentarily eclipsed the apocalypse outside. "Kael... thank the Gods," she breathed.
"Mother, are you okay? This house... the wolves can't even get close!"
Nerya forced a smile and cupped his face. "You are safe here, my son. This barrier... it will protect you as long as I draw breath. But do not go outside. We can do nothing until the Eastern Kingdom arrives."
Kael held her weary hands, but his eyes were fixed on the smoke outside. "I can't, Mom. Those children, those old people I took to the inn... they don't have a shield like this. If I hide here, they will all die."
Seeing the resolve in his eyes, Nerya knew she couldn't lock him away. She gripped his right hand firmly. "If you are going, you cannot go unprotected," she said, her voice trembling.
She began to whisper words in an ancient tongue, and a brilliant green light appeared in Kael's palm. Slowly, the light etched a complex rune onto his skin. Kael could feel a sudden heat and throb in his hand.
"I place this enchantment to protect you against the wolves," she said, looking deep into his eyes. "But listen; this rune does not make you immortal. It has a limit. It will dampen blows and stop claws from rending your flesh, but its power is not infinite. Do not waste it. Be careful, and never throw your life away needlessly!"
Kael stared at the glowing design. His mother's gravity chilled him, but he couldn't stop. He gave her one last hug, gripped his axe, and ran back out into the fray. When a wolf lunged at him near the center, its claws struck his shoulder. But the blow—which should have torn him apart—was deflected by a flash of green light.
"It works..." he muttered. He didn't stop, felling wolves one by one and guiding more people to the safety of the inn.
But as he reached the square again, a deep, bone-chilling howl echoed through the village. The other wolves backed away as a creature far larger and more intelligent stepped forward. This was the Alpha Crimson Shadow Wolf.
Kael knew instantly he was no match. The Alpha was terrifying, radiating a crushing red energy. His mother's words—Don't throw your life away—rang in his ears. His breath was shallow, and the green glow of the rune began to flicker.
He turned and ran for his life. In the chaos, he tripped over debris and hit the ground hard. He scrambled up, but the Alpha had already closed the gap. As Kael rounded a corner, the Alpha's massive shadow loomed over him. The beast swung its claw. Kael raised his arm in a desperate shield, but the strike was too powerful. The green light shattered like glass, and Kael was sent flying, crashing into the dirt.
As the Alpha lunged for the kill, the air was pierced by the sound of clashing metal and galloping horses.
"Hang on, little man!"
Commander Alaric thundered into the square on his horse. Seeing the Alpha mid-leap, he swung his silver-engraved sword with such force that the beast was cleaved in two with a single strike. The elite warriors of the Eastern Kingdom flooded the square like a tide, suppressing the remaining creatures.
When the dust settled, the Kingdom's healers immediately began tending to the wounded. The Eastern Kingdom was far more advanced in alchemy and medicine, their healers trained to soothe even the deepest wounds.
Alaric pointed to Kael on the ground. "Attend to this boy immediately!"
Kael pushed the healer's hand away weakly. "I'm fine," he rasped. "Please, there are others worse off. Help them."
Alaric paused, impressed by the fourteen-year-old's selflessness. He glanced at the rusty, blood-stained wood-axe lying next to the boy and offered a grim smile. "You fought that pack alone with nothing but this simple axe?"
Kael looked at his bloodied weapon and his trembling hands. A sense of profound helplessness washed over him. He knew that if the soldiers hadn't arrived, he would be dead. I wish I were stronger, he thought. Then I could have saved more of them.
Later, as Kael trudged back home, he saw Alaric and his men examining the strange runes on the wolves' necks. These weren't natural; someone had driven these beasts toward the village on purpose. "We must report this to the capital immediately," Alaric ordered.
When Kael reached his doorstep, Nerya was waiting. Seeing his shattered state, she didn't ask questions; she simply opened her arms. Kael collapsed against her shoulder, his stoic mask finally breaking.
"Mother, I couldn't do anything," he sobbed. "The Alpha... it was too strong for the rune. If the soldiers hadn't come, I wouldn't be here. People died right in front of me, and I just watched."
He looked into her eyes with a burning desire she had never seen before. "Please, Mom... Teach me magic. Teach me protection, teach me healing. I want to protect people. I never want to be this helpless again!"
A deep sadness settled on Nerya's face. She wiped the soot from his cheek and remained silent for a long time, as if battling a storm within. Finally, she stood tall, her voice carrying the resolve of a teacher.
"To teach magic is not just to hand you power, Kael," she said, holding his hand tightly. "It is to take the invisible burdens of the world onto your shoulders. Once you begin to play with the balance of nature, nothing will ever feel the same. If you are truly ready... we will begin your first lesson at dawn. But remember; magic is not just for protecting. It is for understanding."
Kael squeezed her hand back. "I'm ready, Mother. I can't protect anyone just by cutting wood and waiting. I'm ready to understand. I'm ready to learn."
Nerya smiled a bittersweet smile. "Then let us rest for now, my son."
Outside, as Commander Alaric departed for the Eastern Kingdom with the runic evidence, the smoke over the village began to clear. The village was silent, but a storm was brewing in Kael's mind. He was ready for the secrets his mother would pull from the dusty shelves and the first real spell she would etch into his soul.