Chapter 6 - The Mysterious Savior

[Author's Note: This is Nero's flashback, exploring the events that directly followed the prologue. If you haven't read it, please do]

"Da!"

The eight-year-old Nero woke up on the smooth grey gravel riverbank in the Wildlands. He looks around in search of his father until he remembers seeing him being attacked by arrows and falling off the bridge their carriage was on.

"No...no! He can't be dead!"

Tears poured down his cheeks, and he rubbed them away while holding back a sob.

"If I survived, then Da would have survived too! Wait... why are my hands covered in blood?"

Nero inspected his hands and the rest of his body. The clothes are covered in blood, holes, and rips. Underneath them, there were no cuts, bruises, or broken bones. He remembered falling from a great height and the pain that overwhelmed his mind and body when he slammed into the small river. He had no memory of what happened beyond that point until he woke up.

"Where is the bridge?"

Nero looked around and couldn't find any sign of the bridge or the mountains his father was driving their carriage through before they were ambushed.

"Did I float down the river?"

As Nero scanned the river, a clump of bloody feathers and broken bones caught his eye on the riverbank. They are over a dozen feet away, and the dead eyes of a Harpy Eagle are staring back at him among the remains. Some creatures had eaten all the meat along with most of the bones in the body and left behind the head, feathers, Talons, and a few bones.

Nero shivered. The predator might still be in the area.

"I need to get out of here!"

Nero was about to bolt toward the forest nearby, but he stopped to look back at the remains of the Eagle. He quickly went over to grab the Talons to use as weapons. Nero took them to the river to clean and saw his reflection in the shallows.

The lower half of Nero's face is covered in dry blood. The are a few feathers stuck to his hair. When he attempted to pull them out, it hurt his scalp. They were glued there by dry blood. Did the wind bring a few feathers to his head?

"Rrrrrrrrr Ggggrrah"

The back of Nero's head had goosebumps when he heard a growl from behind. He slowly turned around to find an Albino Wolf pup approaching him. Nero stood up to face it with a Talon in each hand. The Wolf pup looks about four weeks old.

"AAAAOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUU!"

The pup releases a howl and several howls answered the call from the forest. A pack of Wolves with Grey and Black Fur jump emerge out of the woods and into the river bank. The Wolf pup wags its tail in excitement. Nero panics and jumps into the river, and starts trying to swim to the other side. It is surprisingly deep and cold, but fear forces Nero to ignore it to survive.

The Albino Wolf pup starts barking at him to return and face death. Nero ignores it and continues swimming, but the water is too cold for his body to handle. It sapped away the warmth and strength in his body, forcing him to return to the river bank to avoid drowning.

Four Adult Mountain Wolves with Grey and Black fur gathered around the Albino Wolf pup. Their hungry eyes and drooling mouths welcomed Nero's return.

Nero wanted to cry because he would never reunite with his father or take revenge on the Emperor. His mind raced through memories of his short life. Nero could remember the darkness in his mother's womb. The bright light that welcomed him to the world when he was delivered. His father held him, worrying why his son did not cry. He had to pinch Nero to see if he wasn't mute or had a defect.

Nero explored his home the following month and crawled into boxes to surprise his father. The satisfaction when he ate his first solid food for the first time still stuck with him. The baby teeth growing out of the gums were still fresh. Taking his first steps, riding on a pony, playing with a wooden sword, and taking hot baths in a wooden tub. Nero remembered almost every single detail he saw and experienced. He thought everyone had the same ability until his mother taught him to speak and he shared it with her. She told him that it was a special ability that should be kept a secret. She caught some kind of fever soon after that and never moved again.

Nero remembered the smell of burning human flesh as he watched the flames of a funeral pyre consume his mother.  The first noble clothes he had to wear on his fifth birthday. Memories of the busy and colorful streets filled with statues and fountains. Watching jugglers and entertainers in a circus. Getting haircuts from his father and a small room full of toys to keep him busy while his father went to work.

Seeing the Flag of the Empire pass by his home, carried by the legions as they marched toward the borders. Learning that his father was a Royal Battle Mage who served the Emperor. Moving into a mansion with more bedrooms than he had fingers to count. Watching Gladiator Mages use their spell tomes against each other or on the beasts the Empire obtained from the Wildlands and brought to the Colosseum.

The species of wolves running toward him were among the combatants in the Colosseum death matches. Nero had witnessed plenty of Humans being killed, ripped apart, and devoured. At that time, he wondered how it must have felt, but now he would know.

"Da! I... don't want... to die!"

The Wolves were almost upon him when they suddenly froze into Ice sculptures when their feet touched the shallow water. The Albino Wolf pup yelped in horror and started barking for his pack to move, but they couldn't reply.

Nero stared at the frozen Wolves in disbelief for a few seconds before he noticed the Wolf pup's eyes stare up at something above him. The temperature in the air around him dropped, and the water began to freeze. A huge shadow loomed over him until it became tall as a tree.

Nero closed his eyes and waited for it to attack him or turn him into an Ice Sculpture, but nothing happened. When he opened his eyes, Nero found a young woman petting the Wolf pup in a crouch position. The poor thing looks terrified and is whimpering at her touch. She has long White hair, pale skin, Red eyes, and a slender body covered in a Blue Scale jacket. The gloves and boots have the same material, but the tips and heels are made from Ice.

"Don't worry... your family isn't hurt. I just froze them for a bit. They will return to normal once after I leave with the boy." The woman reassured the Wolf pup who seems to understand her words and relaxes. He lets her pet him and then stares at Nero as he approaches the two.

"Are you a Cryomancer? Did you freeze those Wolves?" Nero asked.

"I know Hydromancy too, and yes, I did save you."

"Arf! Arf!" The Wolf pup barked and let her rub his belly.

"Thank you! I thought I was going to die! But where were you? How did you stay hidden?"

"I know a spell that lets me breathe underwater."

"Were you the one that ate this Bird?" Nero asked as he showed the Talons in his hands and pointed at the clump of Feathers and bones still at the same spot on the riverbank.

"No... you were the one who ate it... alive." She showed a bit of disgust on her face.

"Me? I would never do that... I mean... if it was cooked. But never raw or alive. I don't even remember eating anything."

"I saw what I saw... you should leave here before the Wolves break free of their frozen status."

"I need to find my Da! He fell into the river before me. Can you search for him?"

"I am sorry to say this, but he is dead. I buried his remains in a safe place. But before the Sun sets, you must find shelter with other Humans, or you won't survive in the wildlands."

"No! Da can't be dead! I survived the fall, and so can he."

"You didn't survive it... you have something evil in you that brought you back to life. But it went dormant when you woke up."

"I don't understand what you are saying."

"Focus! You must find other humans to help you survive."

"Why can't you help?"

"I have a strict policy of only helping animals. I made an exception for you since you are soo young. But I cannot be your Guardian... though I can take you to one. He is the chief of a Summoners Village on that mountain."

The young woman points at a mountain that breaks through a layer of clouds. At the halfway point, there are lights made from hundred of fire lamps. It seems to be a village with a waterfall that feeds into Nero's river.

"Summoners? My Da brought me to Wildlands to live with my Ma's family. He said they are Summoners."

"Really? Do you know their name?"

"No."

"What about your Mother's last name?"

"Ramus."

"The Chieftain is also called Ramus. You two might be related. I will take you there."

"Really? But how do we get there before nightfall? It looks so far away."

The young woman raises her hand and aims it at the river. A small boat made of Ice rises out of the water. There is a large hook at the front end.

"Aren't Mages supposed to summon their Spell Tome and say it?"

"With enough time and practice, you don't need to do any of that. Now get on, and I will pull the boat upriver and drop you by the stairway that leads to the Summoner's village."

"Pull the boat... how?"

"You will find out soon."

Nero nods reluctantly and gets on the Iceboat. To his surprise, the Albino Wolf pup joins him.

"Looks like this little fella wants to come along. You should keep him and raise him."

"But his wolf pack will look for him and come after me."

"They already kicked him out of their pack for being different. They only answered his howl because he mentioned food. They might abandon him again to starve to death."

"Oh! I see... wait... you can Speak Wolf?"

"I can communicate with any animal. By the way, his name is Ben. If you live among Summoners, they will order you to make a magical contract with a fierce animal one day. Why not keep Ben, and make him your summon?"

"I like that...Actually... I was telling my Da that I wanted to raise a Wolf. Before he..."

"Let's stop wasting time. It is hard to climb stairs in the dark."

The young woman walks back to the river and submerges her body completely. The water glows, and something huge appears beneath the water and grabs the Hook of the Iceboat with a tail. Nero clings to the boat with one hand and holds onto Ben with the other as it lurches forward. A creature rises out of the water that Nero had only seen in paintings and statues in the capitol.

"Are you... a Dragon?"

End of Chapter 6