Flame

A teen gets himself into more than he plans.

Trolls! Aidyn couldn't believe his misfortune. Trolls weren't supposed to be in this part of the forest, but here was a group of them. His heart raced at the mere sight of them. He had to hide before they could see him. This wouldn't be too hard. Trolls were stupid. Even more stupid in groups of three to five. Aidyn looked at the group to confirm their numbers. Four. Good. Aidyn darted toward a large rock and waited.
    Soon his stomach began to lurch and then churn. The trolls were near. Their stench was incredible. He had to remain silent.
Just a few more minutes of this.
    But the words to himself were of no comfort. His sinuses and stomach could take little more. He had heard how bad trolls smelled, but this was the first time in his fifteen years to be this close any. He silently hoped it would be his last.
    He had to find a way to distract them, he was moments away from doing something quite unpleasant.
    His bag! Of course. The elders had insisted that he take a few tricks and charms with him. He thanked them in his mind as his deft fingers silently swept through the bag, not risking looking. A few seconds and he found what he wanted, two small spheres.
    With no more time to waste, Aidyn threw a sphere in the opposite direction he wanted to go. Without waiting to see if it worked, he relieved the sickness caused by the troll smell. Thus relieved, he looked back and saw the trolls searching for something. With any luck, they were searching for the sphere, which would put them to sleep for five minutes. If he had thrown it properly.
    With the other sphere ready, just in case, he took off running as fast as he could toward the village. He wanted to look back, to see if he was being followed. He didn't dare. He just kept running for the next seven minutes. The village was a welcome sight. The trolls would never make it there, too many traps lay in wait for intruders.
    A few moments of rest were all he afforded himself before heading to the center of town. All of the houses he passed were relatively simple on the outside, meant to make intruders think nothing of them. Even the great hall he was heading toward looked as if it had been built unskilled hands. When entering, all that changed.
    Within the walls of the great hall, it changed. Somehow it was many times larger than on the outside, a concept Aidyn still was unable to understand. The walls were quite sturdy and the decorations were fine, but modest at the same time. The elders obviously had balanced everything in sight.
    Footsteps. Then more. The elders knew he was there and were coming to him. Of course they were, he would not be allowed in their inner sanctum.
    Three men who had a sense of age beyond their looks stood before him. He gulped and forgot himself a moment. Then Aidyn bowed and waited to be spoken to.
    The oldest of the group spoke kindly, but firmly. "Did you obtain it, boy?"
    Aidyn gulped again and searched his pouch, fearing having lost what he had made his journey for. His fingers found it between a few charms, cold against his flesh.
    "Yes Master Kian. I have the stone."
    All three men flashed momentary smiles and then composed themselves. Aidyn pulled the object all the way out and they all stared in aww. Aidyn still was unsure why he had gone through all the trouble for this lump of stone.
    Another elder spoke, this one named Atiq. "May I have it, little one?"
    Aidyn winced to himself at the name, but held his tongue. To the elders, everyone was a little one. Still, it reminded him of his short stature compared to the other youth of the village.
    "Y-yes, Master Atiq."
    He was beginning to be unbearably nervous. It took all his effort not to drop the stone to the floor as he handed it to the elder.
    The man took the stone graciously and breathed in deeply. Almost immediately the stone began to change. Aidyn rubbed his eyes to make sure he was really seeing it. The stone became fluid a few seconds, glowing a sickly green the whole time. The shape continued to change until finally settling on the shape of a chalice.
    The third elder looked to Aidyn a moment. "Tell no one what you saw. No one else would believe."
    Aidyn gulped and nodded. "Yes, Master Priscus."
    The man smiled a moment. "Good boy."
    Aidyn began to leave, but Priscus spoke again. "Wait."
    Aidyn turned back around, confused.
    He looked to the other two and they nodded. Atiq immediately filled the chalice with a purple liquid. Then he handed it over to Aidyn.
    Priscus spoke again. "Drink this, boy."
    Aidyn's eyes lit up, he was caught between fear and awe. He was uncertain of the liquid, yet he dared not deny the command. He took a sip. The liquid was the most awful thing he had tasted. He took another sip. And another. Then he quickly finished the rest. Atiq took the chalice immediately.
    The liquid began to warm in Aidyn's stomach. Then it began to burn. He wanted to cry out. Soon his entire body felt aflame. He was no longer in control. He fell to the floor and curled up in pain as the elders watched.
    The pain went on for what felt like days, but obviously was merely minutes. Then it was simply gone. Slowly he began to rise, his muscles burning with each movement. Yet they felt somehow stronger.
    Priscus nodded and the other elders stood slightly behind him as he began to speak. "You will no longer be known as Aidyn."
    Aidyn blinked a few times before daring to speak. "I do not understand..."
    Priscus responded. "One day you will. One day you will even have even another name. But, today you will be Aedus, for your fire has grown."
    Aedus stood in confusion and then bowed.
    Kian spoke. "You are dismissed. Go home. Eat. Return to us immediately upon waking in the morning. Your training will begin at that time."
    Aedus bowed again and left silently. Training? What had he gotten himself into?

Reviews

[Dorchadas]

I love this... I love fantasy stories and this is amazing... so descriptive it makes you feel like you are there experiencing it too, hearing the sounds, sencing everything that Aidyn does. Amazing work... keep it up, I'm soooooo jealous ~grins~