One
His heart began to race faster as he sprinted into the woods. The dark night sky didn’t help much as he tried his best to dodge branches and jumped over fallen trees. Sounds of chaos and horse hooves boomed behind as the young man struggled to keep strutting forward, almost losing his balance. His long dark hair flowed in the wind, his large bold eyes searching frantically for a place to hide. Nothing.
“Don’t let him get away!” He heard from behind. Beads of sweat poured down the back of his neck, twigs snapping beneath his feet as he ran. He knew that if he was captured, that would be the end for him. Memories quickly flooded his head of his childhood, his people, his freedom, all lost no thanks to this bloody King...
Earlier that day...
He had been walking in the marketplace in a nearby village, the smell of freshly baked pastries filling the air. Children ran about, while others sold their clothing, salves, and other home goods.
Asir was certainly a sight for sore eyes. Long, almost black hair that reached just below his waist, large bold mysterious eyes and full feminine lips was what usually caught the women’s attention. Most had to admit, Asir was handsome. The only problem was that he failed to realize it. Most men would take advantage of the situation but Asir? Oblivious. Uncannily, the man denied to even think that perhaps a woman was to be attracted to him. And when he spoke, his foreign accent sent women to the restrooms to change their undergarments. He had much to learn from the human culture, but from what he knows so far.... they are a rather odd species.
Not that Asir was anything but human. He indeed looked 100% human. The only difference?
He came from a family of mages, the only royal mages that had existed... had.
To Asir, it didn't mean much. Except the fact that NOW it would mean a bounty for some, and his head served to the King on a silver platter. Part of a rather large Kingdom of mage’s, he was actually royalty; grown to know nothing of the human race and only solely of his own. Yes most who grew from royalty, acted so. But He was humble. Unlike his younger brother, he enjoyed learning from the elders of the kingdom and having his nose stuck in spell books far too advanced for his age. That was his life, but now, he was in an unknown world, unbeknownst to him of the dangers that lurked nearby...
Something about Asir caught the attention of a money hungry peasant, and it wasn’t his looks. No no, he knew a mage when he saw one. He could almost sense it deep within his skin. For a small sack of gold, the peasant would rat anything, and anyONE.
Calling over a group of knights, he whispered over to one of them how he suspected Asir of being
“one of those demon magical people” as he so described.
The knight chuckled, shaking his head as he went to show the peasant that he was delirious, as Asir didn’t see to fit the description of a mage, nor did he look like he could pose a threat. The knight and peasant walked up to Asir, who was observing some fabric, and the knight immediately ripped his shirt without warning. Taken by surprise, Asir stumbled back, showing his bare chest that revealed the marking of his kind: a large X with a vertical line straight down through it. Only mages would carry that symbol, whether it be on their chest, back, forehead, ankle, wrist... where ever fate thought best. It was then that the poor mage began to be surrounded by villagers.
“He’s a mage!”
"I never seen one in person before!"
“The poor lad won’t see the light of day.”
“Is he going to show us his powers?”
The peasant laughed as he saw the knight’s face fall, his hands searching through his pockets for the small bag of coins the peasant so dearly wanted.
Other knights who accompanied him whipped out their swords and pointed them at Asir.
“If ya want a few hours of living I suggest you come with me.” One of them grunted. Three other knights began to encircle the mage, swords drawn. The villagers watching held their breath as they feared the worst, and it was then that Asir scrambled back on his feet and made a run for it. He bolted past innocent villagers and knocking over barrels of wine and stands of fruit in the process. Asir knew that he had to escape from their wrath one way of another...
Now...
“Get back here!” Three knights were now on hot pursuit of the mage on their horses. Out of pure fear Asir spun around and shot a purple bolt from his hand which hit one of the knights in the chest, knocking him from on top of his horse. Startled by the bolt of purple aura, the horse fearfully neighed and began to run off in the opposite direction. The knights stopped as well as Asir, his eyes glued at the motionless body that now lay on the woodland floor. The first knight, the largest of all, hopped off of his horse and knelt near his fallen comrade, removing his helmet, placing two fingers onto his neck.
“He’s... he’s dead.” he gasped in shocked.
The second knight growled, his attention now towards Asir.
“You took one of our own, you bastard! Prepare to DIE!”
Asir snapped back to reality and once again, began to run.
“You can’t run from us any longer!” The second knight yelled out. The larger knight quickly got back on his horse, and once again the chase was on.
Asir tried to make sense of what happened. He didn't mean to kill him, it just... it just happened!
Lost in thought, he tripped on a risen vine and skidded across the ground, landing on his side as the two horses surrounded him. His whole body ached, but he still managed to sit up. Strands of his dark hair fell over his eyes, his shirt now dirty, and ripped to shreds.
The first knight jumped down from his horse, once again his sword drawn.
“There’s no escaping now, demon.”
Asir furrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t want to use his powers, but it seemed that he had no choice... His eyes began to glow a light violet color, his hands trembling with fear. The leaves around him began to dance as the wind began to pick up speed. It was either now or never...
