Mage One

In a land far, far away, lived a small boy.

This boy had a name, and a family for nine years, until one night, when he was asleep, that changed very suddenly. You see, our boy and his family lived very near to a dangerous part of the forest, and while they thought that there was nothing wrong with trying to look after their own family and staying away from fights and strife, they failed to realize that sometimes, things happen anyway.

The night our boy was lost to his family, there had been howls and roars in the forest hours before they all settled down to go to bed. His parents hugged and kissed their children, and our boy curled up under his blanket and peered through the crack in the shutters, seeing nothing but blackness beyond it.

The coals glowed softly under the soup kettle in the fireplace and our boy drifted off to sleep with a soft sigh, the warmth of his family and home surrounding him for the last time.

Now, is there a reason for what happened afterwards? No one could tell you, I'm sure, but our boy will swear to his dying day that it was simply fate. Who are we to deny him that? But, as it happened, that little crack in the window widened, and widened, until a large furry body crept through right up to our boy and sniffed him cautiously.

Satisfied with whatever he smelled, the furry intruder carefully tucked the blanket tighter around the sleeping boy and scooped him up silently. Gently, he was cradled as his thief crept back out the way they came, making sure to shut the window again so the cold would not cause the bereft family to wake too soon.

The walk back through the forest to a small, dry cave was long, and by the time the wolf returned the dawn was nearing. The wolf laid our boy down on a cot next to another child. This one was dressed in rich clothing, quite unlike our boy's simple clothes, soft and well made though they were. But, just like our boy, this child had also been stolen that very night.

The wolf walked back to the entrance of the cave and sat down to watch the slow brightening of the surrounding forest. It was waiting for someone, and just as the morning sun began to chase the shadows back into the cave mouth, a robed and hooded figure stepped out of the trees.

The figure came forward as the wolf rose to its feet and walked back into the cave and up to the cot. Trailing behind without a word, the mysterious individual bent over the cot and peered at the two children for a few moments.

They straightened up and held out a heavy pouch to the wolf. Quicker than a blink both the pouch and the wolf were gone, disappearing swiftly into the trees.

The hooded figure paid it scant attention as they reached into thin air to twist and pull, opening a doorway with twisting golden edges and a shimmering passage. They gestured sharply and the door rushed forward, swallowing the figure, the cot and the two sleeping children in one simple burst.

Just like that, the cave stood empty again, the forest around it just barely awake and our boy's family soon to wa find a horrifying lack of their dear child.