A fragile moon hung in the void.

  It’s delicate light, piercing the darkness below.

  The yielding shadows, shrivelling and stirring,

  tugging at the desolate land below.

  A frigid breeze drifts ashen snow,

  which dances below pale moonlight.

  The humming wind whispers it’s futile song,

  flaking the barren trees below.

  An expansive abyss stretches beyond the moonlight,

  encircling this wistful waltz.

  The dying wind hums its final song,

  as dreary clouds loom over the barren land below.

  The abyssal darkness stretched beyond the horizon as I fell past the dazzling moonlight. The tangle of tree branches crumbled to dust as I landed onto a pile of soot. Darkness seemed to weigh down my clothes. I felt my lungs burn with each passing breath. My eyes ached trying to grasp at the finest strands of light leaking from the sky. Silence hummed its dreadful song as I stumbled along this desolate land. Fine specks of ashen snow wavered in the air. I held the cane tightly as the void stirred its delicate soot into the sky. There was no sign of the windows above, nor any sign of any building to return to. My eyes started watering as the realization of the unknown pressed on my chest.

  “Where am I? What did I…”

  My hands started to quiver and my mouth felt grainy. The air started to taste like salt. Impossibilities can only happen with a clear image of what you want within the realm of possibility… The words drifted gently along the clouds as if they were hidden in the back of my eyelids. In my internal darkness, I recalled the moon. It’s looming presence, right above this murky fog.

  “Odd… But maybe it could work.”

  I reached for the sky, yearning for something beyond the clouds. A passing memory of the moon flickered in my head. The sea above started to stir, drifting along an unforeseen wind.

  Beyond the endless abyss

  the line of perspective

  Reveals Its delicate light, piercing the darkness below.

  Moonlight pierced through, peeking ever so slightly beyond the clouds. I felt an unending wave of excitement forming around me. The delicate moonlight has stolen my gaze. Trails of ash and soot rise into the void-like sky. My eyes watered and my heart ached. A forsaken world stretched beyond the horizon. However, this crumbling land had already lost its stars.

  An ever-expansive abyss encircled the moon. The pale moonlight thinned as the moon’s brilliance grew smaller and smaller. Until a speck of light hung in the darkness. A lone star, twinkling above my miniature form. I stood, admiring the speck beyond the darkness, and felt my pulsing heart rippling the seams of this world.

  “Wake up… Wake up…”

  My eyes open to a panic-ridden Otto shaking at my shoulders.

  “Hey! Are you alright?

  I meet Otto’s gaze and let out a muffled grunt,

  “Ah! You're alive!”

  Rising up from the uncomfortable chair, I lean towards Otto,

  “So, was it a success?”

  A disheartened look filled Otto’s face,

  “No… the experiment failed. Got stuck in a murky void and was moving towards nothing meaningful.”

  Seeing Otto stirring in his own thoughts, I shake my head

  “It’s alright. I will figure something out.”

  I turn my head towards the window and watch the soft tapping of rain beyond the night sky.

  “...Can I stay here tonight? Or at least until the rain stops.”

  A forceful “sure…” leaked out of Otto’s mouth as he quickly got up and rushed through the door behind the counter. I sat quietly, my mind stirring from the recent event. Closing my eyes, I enjoyed the pleasant darkness and headed to the counter.

  “Actually, the rain seems to be very light, I think I can make it back to the inn before it gets worse."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I notice a waver in the light beyond the door as Otto pushes the door open slightly.

  “That’s fine. You are welcome to come back whenever.”

  Picking up Lily’s books and putting back the few books I bought. I check the amount of money I have left.

  “5 copper and 5 tin… man I need to start making money soon.”

  I thought as I reminisced the silver coins that were once in my pouch. Saying a “farewell”, I pushed open the front door and felt the cold air brushing against my cheeks. The pleasant scent of rain wisps into my nose as raindrops tap on the back of my hand. I let out a sigh as I stepped onto the wet dirt path. Being a reasonable distance away from the library, I admired the sturdy, leafless trees around me. My vision blurred as I started focusing on my breathing.

  one must “open” themselves to the world and feel the “mana” that is within us all.

  I felt the surrounding air heat up as droplets of rain tapped on my head. My relaxing eyes gazed at the clouds above as a howl was heard in the distance, taking my attention away. I raise my hand towards the sky, grasping at the moon beyond the clouds…

  A weight dropped on my chest as my legs quivered. The sound of something approaching crushed the dried leaves in the distance. A silhouette of a 4-legged creature dashed past the treeline. I desperately reached my hip and grabbed at nothing.

  “ I left the dagger at the inn… Damn it”

  Dread washed over me as I kept my eyes on this creature. It’s movements jumped from tree to tree and was slowly circling around me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Feel the mana around me…”

  Each passing breath flowed in and out, in and out… in and out… A wolf stood in front of me, its malnourished form and bearing fangs rumbling with an irritated growl. The second step of the process is to imagine yourself gathering energy. Walking the thin line of being barely conscious, you have to take advantage of your imagination … The words seemed to ever gently flow in front of my eyes. Reality and fiction aligned in my head as flickering darkness separated each world. Heat started swelling around me as droplets swirled above my palm. All of my attention shifted to the wolf as its ravenous form instinctively held still.

  …

  o’ fleeting wind

  …

  The tearing wind howled as the wolf leaped back. A chaotic jolt struck at its head. I held my stance as the injured wolf hobbled towards me. Clenching a fist, my left shoulder tightens as the wolf leapt from its spot. Its claws reached at my skin, tearing at my right arm as I twisted into a left haymaker. Energy surged from my shoulder to my knuckles, knocking the wolf to the ground. I let out the stagnant air and raised my palm. Aiming at the wolf, I closed my eyes, hoping to get back the feeling from before… but to no avail. I started to wobble, pain pulsing at my head. Quickly retreating to the dirt path, I clench at my blood-soaked forearm.

  My limbs started to ache as I saw buildings gradually getting more plentiful. Passing by the city gate, I could not help but be blessed for the rain that deterred the people around. Looking at the wound, the bleeding would not stop. Pressing down with more force, I rushed towards the inn and pushed through the front door.

  The inn had a couple of people conversing and enjoying themselves. three people to be specific. Some of them took a glance and started whispering words towards each other. Their quiet murmurs filled this empty lobby as I approached the counter and rang the bell. The rough, but groggy, innkeeper walked past the door behind the counter.

  “Hello… What can I be of service? Hmm?”

  His eyes light up to the sight of my blood leaking from my fingertips. I signal concern through my eyes as the innkeeper reaches for something behind the counter.

  “Hold on, that looks really bad. I got something, but you might need to see the priest up north for that one.”

  Taking out a cloth, some water and a pouch, the innkeeper signals the cackling bunch.

  “You guys! Go get me some honey and a couple more clean rags.”

  He turns towards me and holds a dampened cloth beside the wound.

  “This is going to hurt, but it’s hard to see the wound”

  I flinched at the boiling hot cloth pressing on my forearm and felt my breathing thin. My face scorn as I clench my fist tightly. Each tap of the cloth radiated pain past my shoulder.

  “Alright, I got something for ya”

  He hands me a pouch filled with leaves.

  “This is a special tea that speeds up healing. Moisten the leaves and leave it on the wound for a bit. It will stain your skin but do not worry about it. Here let me show ya.”

  He sprinkles a bit of the tea leaves onto a cloth and soaks it in water. Trails of brownish-red streaks erupt from the cloth as he hands me the soaked cloth.

  “Here, press this on your wound. It will hurt but you got this.”

  I nodded to his command and pressed the cloth on the wound. Trails of brown liquid dribbled down my arm as a dull ache numbed my forearm. The innkeeper held a soft smile as the cackling bunch pushed past the backdoor.

  “We found the honey, sir.”

  The black-robed man from the bunch placed the honey down as the group sat around me. The innkeeper, ignoring their presence, instructed me to take the blooded cloth off and to lather honey on the wound. Obliging, I felt the cool, sticky honey weighing on my arm. The dulling pain seemed to relieve itself for a moment as I focused on my breath. Wrapping a cloth around the wound, I sat up on the chair and gazed at the ceiling above. The bunch leaned towards me and one of them started tapping on the table.

  “Soo, are you alright? What happened?”

  A pale, brown-haired lady perked her voice up. Her face was filled with curiosity, smothering any lingering concern she held. I let out a sigh and my lips quivered slightly.

  “There was a wolf on the outskirts of the wall. It was a close call, but I managed.”

  A light on the curious lady flickered in her eye as she leaned towards me.

  “A wolf? How did you manage?”

  She glanced at my hip and sat back on the chair.

  “Especially with no weapon on you. How’d you do it?”

  I take out Magica Fundamentals and Guidance and tap on it.

  “I fought the wolf after some studying”

  The curious eyes of the bunch widen at the book as one of them voices out,

  “So you're a mage then?”

  I shook my head no and smiled,

  “No, this is just the start of my journey. I can cast, probably.”

  My eyes started to close as a wave of nauseousness struck at my head. The innkeeper caught my descent towards the table as the bunch looked at each other and the brown haired young lady extended an arm out

  “I’m Yuka! We bunch are a group of mercenaries. Nice to meet you, sir mage!

  I gave a weary nod and rested on the back of the chair.

  “If you are interested… you can join our party after you recover, and you can show us your skills?... We are looking for people to help us out.”

  I let out a hmm* and tilted my head to the side. Yuka glances at the rest of the party and they each nod to her as she takes out a flyer, showing a wolf hunt.

  “We plan on taking out some of the wolves troubling the farmers recently. They will reward us with 30 silver, which is… 7 silver split between us all if you help, sir mage.”

  The innkeeper extends his palm and glares at the party.

  “Leave the man alone. Just look at him, he’s about to pass out.”

  I push the innkeeper aside and lean forward, contemplating the offer. Eventually nodding in agreement.

  “Sure, but don’t expect too much from me.”

  I watched the party glow in excitement as I carefully stood up from the chair.

  “I’m off to get some rest. Hope to see you tomorrow!”

  Sending them off with a light smile, I climb the stairs, enter my room and collapse onto the bed…