Under a Pale Sky Ch. 01

He was close. The telltale sign gripped his body mercilessly. The dream grabbed hold of him and held him hostage, forced to relive the day that changed his life so long ago. The sun was particularly strong; its heat beat down upon him while he was walking to the nearby store, casually strolling down the sidewalk. As he finished crossing a small street, a strange feeling began to spread through him. He paused his stride and he looked down at himself in confusion when it suddenly happened. An alien sensation rushed through his body, as if pure electricity channeled itself through him. He was in awe of the sheer power that ran through him without warning, but began to panic when his body became heavier and heavier. Another moment passed and he felt himself collapse on the ground, but he was still standing. The young man looked down and saw himself lying on the sidewalk. *What's happening? How is this possible?* His panic seemed muted for what he was experiencing, but all he could muster was a slight feeling of concern for his predicament, whatever it was.

As if calling to him, he turned his head away from himself and looked to the sky. What was once a clear and deep blue was now a toneless, colorless expanse. He started to drift towards it; his feet separated from the ground and he made his way towards the clouds. As he traveled further into the void that was once the atmosphere, the power became stronger and his speed became faster and faster. All to soon the speed and power were overwhelming; his vision faded away, and the last thing he saw before darkness took him was clear, endless sky.

Daniel awoke quietly, the wooden cart beneath him swaying gently on the beaten path. The straw he laid upon stuck under the fabric of his simple clothing, finding the perfect position to irritate his skin. Daniel frowned slightly and shifted himself into a more comfortable position. "Oi, you act'ly awake back ther," a gruff voice called behind him.

Daniel smirked slightly as he slowly replied, "What makes you think I was sleeping?"

The farmer, the owner of the voice, glanced back from his aged horse to the young man lying in his cart. "I'cn tell when yer sleepin, lad."

Daniel stretched his 6'4 frame languidly, then, without opening his eyes, stated "would you like for me to tell you how long we've traveled to the minute, how far we've gone to the foot, which roads we crossed and when, because I can."

The old farmer harrumphed loudly before replying "Yer types r' all the same. Ye think ye can do anythin', but they all go the same. They always burn out, bite mor' than they can chew." The aged farmer waited for the typical bluster of a clueless rich boy who was too big for his britches trying to prove himself.

He was surprised when silence met him. After a few moments, the youth in his cart replied quietly, "Arrogance is reserved for the foolish. Despite my young age, I do not make any claims lightly."

Daniel spoke with quiet determination, his soothing voice emanated a breadth of knowledge and experience that belied his appearance of twenty three years. The farmer gazed absently ahead of him, taking the boy's words carefully.

"Son, I've seen an' heard a lot through the years. Of all them kids I've come across, not one ever came to be what they wanted. There's wisdom in yer words, but they don't mean nuthin' if ya can't follow through." He paused to let his words sink in. "Listen, ye seem a good kid. Just be careful, an' don't forget yer at the bottom of the barrel of life. Don't let yer head get ahead of itself." The two continued on their quiet journey for a few more moments of silence.

"Thank you for your advice," Daniel spoke calmly. He quickly opened his eyes and smiled, "I'm not sure if I should apologize or be grateful for the absence of bandit attacks. Seems like you got cheated."

The gruff farmer laughed heartily. "I don't mind the company, even if ye aren't pullin yer weight." Daniel laughed with him as he looked over the orange sky as the sun made its way beneath the horizon. The farmer looked back to the front of his carriage, but he couldn't forget the most startling aspect of his traveling companion: his electric green eyes. They spoke of so many things, so many mysteries, so much...loneliness.

That was what struck him the most when he picked him up on the outskirts of the capital. His tall, lanky stature and dark brown hair didn't seem out of his place, and his skin seemed perfected to a golden tan hue. What really caught his attention were those eyes, and although he didn't like taking kids to the fancy school on his way home, this one was a different story. He was one of the few that could be believed when he said he would handle potential bandits. They traveled for a while with more silence. The farmer's horse pulled the cart dutifully, having made the trip to the capital market many times before to sell the farmer's produce.

"I appreciate you taking me as far as you are. Made my journey a little more painless," Daniel offered. He knew they were close to separating and each off to their own way, and the farmer was thinking that the boy's ridiculous claims concerning their proximity to his destination were perhaps not so ridiculous. The farmer only offered a grunt in agreement as a response, but nothing else needed to be said.

A few more moments and, as the duo crested the hill, a split in the road made itself known. They quietly pulled up to the crossroad and the old farmer pulled the reigns on his horse, allowing the youth to collect his single bag of belongings and disembark from his cart. Daniel, with his bag on his shoulder, walked up to the farmer and extended his hand, saying "thanks again, and good luck on the next harvest."

The farmer grasped and shook his hand in return. "Be careful out ther, son."

Daniel gave a small grin. "I'll keep my youthful antics to a minimum."

The farmer laughed loudly in response as he flicked the reigns gently, coaxing his horse to resume his pace. "I'll keep ya to that," he called out heartily. Daniel held his smile as he gave a quick wave to his traveling companion.

The sky was quickly turning dark when he saw the academy. The building, even from this distance, gleamed in opulence that its students expected from the institution. While it was allegedly a school for the extremely gifted in magic, more often than not the sons and daughters of nobles and rulers were the recipients of its attention. Daniel hadn't bothered to investigate the academy other than gaining entry. He certainly didn't need any magical training, he chuckled to himself, just that he needed to be there. Something was going to happen and it was imperative that he be there when it happened.

Daniel's pace was unhurried; he would make it before the gates closed with plenty of time to spare. The person he would have to see when he got there would most likely be displeased but that seemed like a problem they would have to deal with, thought Daniel with an amused hum. He kept his eyes closed as he moved, immersing himself in his surroundings. At first he kept to his passive scan, as he referred to it; everything within a hundred meter vicinity was magically analyzed and interpreted without him even putting thought to it. It took a while to refine it to what it was now but was a constant aspect of his very person. There was never a time when it wasn't active, even when he slept.

He then began to widen his scan to encompass the entire region with his magic. The trail to the academy was surrounded on both sides by a massive forest, with the academy sitting at the base of a tall mountain. With his perfect memory and recollection, he mapped out the entire area in his head: where the positions of the trees were, what the consistency of the soil was, what sort of wildlife lived there and where. His pace never faltered and he never missed a step as he kept to his task. As he moved, Daniel suddenly realized while he was scanning that he was looking for something. Nothing seemed out of place, but he recognized the magical dissonance. Something was off and Daniel needed to know what it was. Soon enough, he found it. A young woman was being chased by a magical wolf, not too far off to his left. Daniel seamlessly diverted his path to intercept the two beings and slightly picked up his pace. It seems that whoever she was, she was going to get a lesson before school even started.

Her breaths were ragged, gasping for air as she fled the beast that pursued her. Not long ago she was admiring the forest during the sunset when it attacked. What frightened her then, and escalated her fear now, was that she couldn't sense the animal. The dire wolf was definitely magical, that much was obvious due to its massive size and unearthly purple fur, but every magical animal gave off a magical signature. The only creatures capable of masking their magical presence were the higher functioning beings; dire wolves were definitely not a part of that list. She ran blindly, trying to get some sort of distance and maybe get away from the animal. She knew the forest cleared on the road to the academy and if she could get to the clearing the animal couldn't ambush her. As long as there is still light, she reminded herself. Her heart pumped more and more erratically, her fear consumed her mind and drove her actions. She just had to get away.

She suddenly ducked and rolled to her left. Not a split second afterword the purple dire wolf lunged where she just was. She got back up on shaky legs, paralyzed by the sight before her. The huge purple wolf, as big as an Imperial war-horse, snarled viciously at her and crouched. Its black claws dug into the ground as it prepared to attack, and a soul-shattering howl pierced through the air. She remained motionless, too afraid to even react. She was staring her death in the face and she couldn't even think, her fear clouded her mind so completely. The wolf howled again and launched itself to finish her off and she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. A moment passed. And another. She cracked her eyes open and the beast was inches away from her face. She let out a startled cry and fell backwards, moving away until she hit the trunk of a tree with her back. The wolf hadn't moved from its position in the air, and her gaze was mixed with terror and confusion.

"Lesson one." The voice behind her snapped her out of her daze and she swung her head to where the voice came from. A young man around her age stood next to the tree she was against, holding out two fingers at the wolf. "Never let fear control you. Even if you are surprised or are in a hopeless situation, stay in control of yourself. The instant you give in to fear, you die." His voice was calm and his posture was relaxed. She just barely registered his words when he continued, "lesson two. Be resourceful. Just because you're on the defensive doesn't mean you're out of the game. If you refuse to improvise, you die."

She stared at him for a moment in amazement, then turning to fury. *Did he just lecture me right now, when I thought I was going to die?!*

He smirked in her direction, as if knowing what she thought, saying, "if you're angry about my help, then you can prove me wrong right now. I'm releasing him from my hold, hopefully you can handle it." She turned abruptly to the beast and saw it was starting to move of its own volition. The paws began to flex and its muscles started to clench, preparing to move on the offensive again.

She began to feel the same fear she had before his timely intervention, but his words broke through. 'Never let fear control you.' She grudgingly accepted them and reevaluated the creature in front of her. The purple fur meant it was a creature of darkness, which was a good and bad thing. She could easily combat darkness with her native powers but that meant revealing her true form and she wanted to avoid that at all possible. Her other magical skills were potent but probably ineffective against its fur. How to defeat it?

'Improvise.' She ground her teeth together in anger, but reluctantly followed the advice. She shifted her attention away from the increasingly mobile beast and examined where she was. She thought how she could use her alternative powers when the answer hit her. She wanted to smack herself it was so obvious. If her magic can't beat the wolf, the nature around her could. "It will be free in moments," the young man warned. She scoffed at him in annoyance and prepared herself for the trap. She channeled her magic into the ground and fashioned a weapon that could end the wolf in one shot.

The wolf finally fell to the ground and shook itself loose from its temporary paralysis. It fixed its eyes on the target and prepared to finish its mission. The dire wolf howled loudly, but she was ready for it this time. She remained where she was, and the wolf seemed to hesitate, sensing a change in its prey. It had its orders, however, and the wolf launched itself to finish her off. Suddenly, just as it was about to reach her, roots in the ground punched through its thick hide and punctured its vital organs. The now immobilized wolf let a dying roar before sagging lifelessly in the roots of the tree, mere feet from where she sat.

She let a sigh of relief as the animal was definitely dead. She could sense through her magic that its essence no longer resided in its body; she was safe. She was safe. The young woman sat there, emotions raging through her as she recounted the entire ordeal, from initial attack to gruesome end.

"Nice work. You might even live for a while."

Whatever she was feeling at that moment, it quickly turned to blinding rage as she turned to the young man. "I almost just died!" she screamed at him. "I was almost killed today and all you have to say is I might live for a while?! Are you fucking insane?!" His face remained passive with a hint of amusement on his face, which made her even angrier. "WHAT'S SO GODDAMN FUNNY?!" A moment of silence passed as she heaved breaths of raw emotion and he simply waited.

"Well," he said slowly, "I wouldn't use just after almost. A bit redundant. Anyway," he continued quickly, sensing her anger rise even higher, "you survived the encounter and if you keep those two lessons in mind, you will go very far. Now that it's over, I'm going to head to the academy. Hopefully their doors aren't closed by the time we get there." With that, he turned away and started walking off, presumably towards the end of the forest.

The woman seriously contemplated on continuing her rant on that... that... She couldn't even describe what he was. *Perhaps I should just kick his ass right now, he definitely deserves it.* Her internal struggles were either unnoticed or ignored by the departing stranger, and she made to angrily follow him to safety.