Chapter 8

Most people in town paid Naro no real mind, he was a vagrant wandering around in tattered rags there was no need to pay attention to him. Even the guards afforded him the most basic of attention, just to make sure he wasn’t breaking the law. There was nothing he had that anyone wanted, so the words that followed from Beso put more fear in him than he wanted to admit.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

He didn’t respond at first, unsure if he was supposed to talk or just listen. When Baros continued he realized it was the latter.

“Stand up.”

Naro slowly climbed to his feet only for a punch to land into his stomach, he fell to his knees gasping for breath, clutching at the earth as he forced himself to stay conscious.

“I felt you didn’t know the new rules so I came to find you. I’m worried about the water in this place running out…so I’m managing this spot now. If you want to drink from here you have to pay a toll.”

Naro could barely utter a word, only gasps escaped from him when he tried to speak.

“Stand up.”

He really didn’t want to, but a punch he could take, if Beso got upset and drew his sword that would be the end for him. Naro forced himself to his feet, ignoring his trembling legs and the pain in his stomach until he was looking up at him again.

“Do you understand?”

Naro offered a nod, suddenly realizing the looks of the people around him, and why they weren’t near the water. He couldn’t even be upset at them; everyone was just trying to survive, sticking their neck out could mean its removal.

“Good, then hold still.”

Beso held his right hand palm up, something red like sparks seemed to appear around his hands before fire erupted, his hand suddenly surrounded by flames.

Naro’s eyes widened at the sight, even through the pain he couldn’t help but wonder at the sight in front of him.

This was the first time he had actually seen magic being cast.

“The punch was for the water, this is for making me look at you.”

Beso brought his hand forward and the flames erupted from his hand, a ball of rushed towards Naro, he barely had time to raise his hands before the explosion followed, hurling him back into the water. He felt the fire burn his skin, watched as embers danced in the air around him and something else run over his flesh before falling into the canal. If not for the water the flames might have done far more to him.

“I held back this time, next time I’ll make you a human pyre as an example. Now get out of here.”

Naro stood up and stumbling a bit quickly moved past the trio getting as far away from them as fast as he could, doing his best to ignore Beso’s laughter at his back as he forced distance between them.

Nefi sprinted through the streets making his way to Naro’s home, once he reached it he paused outside of it before pushing the tarp to the side and entering. His eyes scanned the room and found Naro in the center of it, sitting on a half-broken stool staring at his hands.

“Human…I heard what happened at the canal. You’re either lucky or durable. What were-”

Nefi’s eyes looked at the singe marks on Naro’s clothes and his next words caught in his throat. He pushed down what was going to come out and spoke again.

“...no I owe you an apology. I didn’t realize Beso had returned, I should have told you the moment I found out. His coming back to the Old District was strange enough, but taking over the only water we have…I wasn’t certain if it was true…but I should have shared it with you earlier, even if it was a rumor. I didn’t believe it until I saw one of his men watching it myself.”

Nefi’s fist clenched as there wasn’t anywhere else to get water without paying for it, and the people here couldn’t even afford the ‘fair’ prices.

Looking back at Naro Nefi noticed he hadn’t moved, his eyes only focused on his hands.

“Human?”

Naro wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting since he ran back home, but at the moment he didn’t care. The moment that fire hit him, it felt as if a switch had been flipped in his body. He could suddenly feel strange pulsations in his own body, the movement of something through his body, like an unending stream circling into itself over and over again. Something in his mind told him what this was, it was Mana…and he could feel it.

So much information started flowing through his mind, he could barely keep his thoughts straight, it was as if he was suddenly remebering things he’d long forgotten, but he was certain he never knew this information.

Yet when he reached towards that knowledge, extending and invisible hand to touch the flow of information, a single word came to him.

“Void.”

In one moment everything flowing within him suddenly flared outwards, exploding out of his body, an invisible pressure pushing against everything around him. Nefi raised his arms as a an invisible force crashed into him almost throwing him off his feet. A stream of energy flowed past his body trying to move him backwards, the sensation was a familiar one and as he looked at Naro’s body, observing the faint purple glow that now surrounded his form, he knew what he was looking at.

“Magic…and so much mana…but I couldn’t sense a thing before. Oi Human! Human!”

Nefi noticed the light had left Naro’s eyes, he only stared blankly at his now glowing hands, the pressure in the air seemed to shift at once pushing suddenly stared pulling, Nefi stumbled forward as the mana suddenly rushed back into Naro’s body.

The glow around the man suddenly faded, and his blank stare slowly shifted to look at Nefi, the youth twitched as he found himself staring into a gaze of pure crimson, wisps of black smoke flowing off Naro’s body.

“Human…you…”

Nefi voice caught in his throat and there was no time to press further, Naro’s eyes shut and his body fell to the side, crashing against the ground the magic around him faded.

“Oi human! Human! Wake up!”