One night, there was a strange light in the sky, bright, red, like fire streaking across the stars. People said it made the air feel heavy. Horses kicked at their stalls. Dogs barked all night. And somewhere deep in the woods, a newborn cried.
That was the night Mirna found him. She wasn't looking for a baby. She was just out gathering herbs near the old stone well, the one everyone avoided. But then she heard a soft, weak sound, barely even a cry of a baby.
When she found him, he was lying on the grass, wrapped in a torn cloak. There was no blood. Nobody around not even his mother, just the boy. His eyes were glowing violet.
Mirna took the child in. She was a healer, used to strange things. She cleaned him, fed him, and gave him a name 'Lucas'
No one asked too many questions. Dellwyn the capital of Ozile was small and quiet, and people liked it that way. But they still whispered.
~TEN YEARS LATER ~
Lucas grew up just outside the village, in a small wooden house near the woods. He helped Mirna with herbs and plants, carried water, fed the chickens. He didn't talk much. But he watched everything. Sometimes too closely. Lucas Wasn't Normal
Before he turned ten, Lucas already knew he was different. He didn't get sick like the other kids. He could stay out in the cold without shaking. And sometimes, when he was scared or angry, strange things happened.
On a Sunday morning, Lucas was feeding the chickens behind the cottage when a fox came out of the woods. It was early. The sun had just started rising, and the grass was still wet with dew. Lucas held a small wooden bucket filled with cracked corn, tossing handfuls toward the excited chickens.
"Easy, Daisy," he laughed as one white hen flapped her wings and tried to steal from the others. "There's plenty for everyone."
The moment felt peaceful, like most mornings in Dellwyn, Quiet and Normal. Until he saw something unusual. A flash of orange fur, low to the ground, moving fast. Lucas froze.
At the edge of the tree line stood a fox, thin, sharp, and too bold for this hour. It wasn't scared. Its eyes locked onto the hens, then slowly slid over to him. Lucas tightened his grip on the bucket.
The chickens didn't even notice at first. They kept pecking at the dirt until the fox stepped closer. Then chaos unleashed. Squawking, Flapping, wings, Feathers flew everywhere.
"Hey!" Lucas shouted, dropping the bucket. "Get away!" The fox pounced. One of the hens,the little brown one he called Buttons screamed as the fox grabbed her by the neck. Lucas ran forward without thinking. "Leave her alone!". The fox turned toward him, growling low.
Lucas felt something rise inside him, hot and strange. His heart raced, and his hands tingled like they were falling asleep. He didn't know what he was doing. He just felt angry. more than angry.
He raised his hand. "I said stop!" The air around him shimmered, and then without warning the fox's body went stiff. It's eyes rolled back. And it dropped dead. Just like that. Lucas gasped. His hands were still out in front of him, shaking.
"What happened? I... I didn't touch it…" He backed away slowly. The chickens had scattered. Only the body of the fox and a few feathers remained. Then the cottage door slammed open.
"What did you do?" Mirna groaned as she stood at the doorway, her apron still on, hair in a loose braid. She stared at the fox's body, then at Lucas. He turned to her, breathless. "It went after the hens. It had Buttons.... I didn't mean to..."
Mirna rushed over. She knelt beside the fox, checking it quickly. "No blood," she said softly. Lucas nodded. "I told it to stop. And it… did." Mirna stood slowly. Her face was pale.
"This is worse than I expected, You used it didn't you?"
"Used what?"
She didn't answer at least not right away.
Instead, she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.
Mirna sat him down at the wooden table in their small kitchen. The fire crackled behind them, casting soft shadows on the walls. Lucas could still hear the echo of his own voice in his head. He couldn't shake the image of the fox dropping like a puppet with its strings cut.
"I didn't mean to," he said again, softer this time. "It just happened." Mirna nodded slowly, then got up. She walked over to the tall cupboard in the corner, the one he wasn't allowed to touch and opened it.
Lucas sat up straighter. She pulled something down from the top shelf. A cloth bundle, wrapped tight in red linen.
"What's that?" he asked. She unwrapped it carefully. Inside was a thick, worn book with a dark leather cover. Strange symbols were carved into it. "This was found with you," she said. Lucas blinked.
"What?"
"The day you showed up ten years ago, I found you in the woods, you were Just a baby, crying near the old well. This book was next to you." She placed it gently on the table. Lucas hesitated. "It's humming," he whispered. "I can feel it."
"Do you wanna touch it," Mirna said, though her voice trembled. Lucas placed his hand on the cover. The symbols lit up. He yanked his hand back, eyes wide. but the book opened on its own. Pages turned quickly, like something inside was searching for the right one. Then it stopped. A mark glowed faintly on the yellowed paper an eye inside a circle of stars.
Lucas leaned in. "What is this?"
Mirna sat down beside him, staring at the page like she hadn't seen it in years.
"It's a mark," she said.
"The mark of a Magi. A magic-born." Lucas looked at her.
"You mean… like a wizard?" She nodded.
"Yes. And a powerful one. I think that's what you are."He shook his head.
"But I can't be. Magic is gone. The King..."
"Wiped them out," Mirna finished. "Years ago. Every last one he could find. He took their powers and sealed them inside his royal ring. That's how he keeps control."
She looked at him, her eyes soft now. "You're not just different, Lucas. You're the last one. Maybe the only one." Lucas stood up, his chest tight. "No… that's not me. I don't want that. I didn't ask for it."
"I know," Mirna said gently. "But it's in you, whether you want it or not. And if people find out…"
"They'll come for me," he whispered. Mirna nodded. "Which is why we can't let that happen. Not again."
He looked down at his hands. The same hands that fed chickens, built fences, helped Mirna stir soup… and now killed a fox with a single shout.
"What if I hurt someone?" he asked.
"Then we train," Mirna said firmly. "We train so you don't. We train so you control it before it controls you." He met her eyes.
"Okay," he said, voice low but sure. "Teach me."
That Night ~ Lucas couldn't sleep. The wind outside rattled the windows. The fire had burned low. He sat up in bed, holding the book. It had closed again, but the warmth still pulsed from its cover. A quiet hum, like a whisper meant only for him.
He opened it slowly. The first page was blank. Then, just beneath his fingers, words began to form. "You are not alone. You are the last. But not the end." Lucas stared at the page as the letters glowed once, then faded. He closed the book gently and lay back as his heart pounded. This was only the beginning.