The Rising of the Mages

The sun beat down on the back of my neck as I trudged along the dusty road. My stomach rumbled and I reached into my satchel for a piece of dry bread. It was hard as a rock. I swore under my breath and tossed it aside.

Behind me, a young boy ran to catch up with me. His dirty blonde hair was uncombed and he was missing two of his front teeth. He tripped over a stone and fell face forward into the dust. He slowly got back up and covered his mouth, afraid to swallow any of the earthy dust.

"Don't eat that, Edmund," he said, spitting out bits of dirt. "It's too hard to chew."

I laughed despite my hunger and told him that it was just as well. In another hour or so we would reach the next town where we could find something more substantial than crusty bread to eat. Edmund smiled at me with those wide blue eyes that reminded me of his mother, who had died just days ago from the plague that had swept through our village.

"Do you think there will be room at the inn this evening?" he asked hopefully. "I haven't slept in a proper bed in weeks."

"They'll have a room for us, don't worry about it." I tried to sound optimistic myself but our prospects looked dim. The plague had decimated the population in these parts and all of the townsfolk were stretched thin trying to keep their own families fed while also tending to all of the sickly travelers that passed through their villages seeking sanctuary from the horror that was ravaging their homes. I had heard rumors that some towns were even burning those suspected of being infected with fire before they could infect anyone else. We were lucky to have found safe refuge here in Pouvrées for as long as we had but we were running dangerously low on coin and our stay would soon come to an end soon if we didn't find work soon.

We walked on in silence for another hour until we finally made it into town. As we approached what used to be the market square, I noticed that there were no longer any tents set up by merchants selling fresh vegetables or baked goods from their carts; nothing except for a tall wooden platform at the center surrounded by several soldiers wearing armor fashioned from bronze plates over their leather tunics and leggings. A few men stood around looking defeated while others shouted angrily at them, demanding answers and retribution for loved ones who had died at the soldiers' hands only days ago when they showed up unannounced at their doorsteps with orders from their king to burn every building in sight if they suspected anyone inside might be infected with this terrible disease that seemed intent on wiping out everyone outside its reach as well.

The king's men hadn't been shy about carrying out their orders either, setting entire homes ablaze if someone living there started coughing or sneezing without having first been checked by one of the king's doctors who insisted on humiliating everyone requiring their services by stripping them naked before prodding them thoroughly with sharp sticks in search of tell-tale signs of infection where someone might otherwise have been bitten by a flea or some other insect that carried this terrible illness across village borders without warning or mercy. And worse yet, many times those unlucky enough to be suspected were simply dragged from their homes into the street where they were summarily executed regardless of whether or not they really were infected or not because word always got around about what happened to those who got caught trying anything like that in order to avoid being caught themselves: no right to trial, no right to speak on one's own behalf, no right to protest; just summary execution followed by swift cremation so as not to leave any trace of evidence behind lest it become contagious somehow and spread throughout all four corners of the kingdom like wildfire before anyone could do anything about it. The message was clear: either stay home, shut your mouth, and die alone quietly or get yourself killed trying something stupid like leaving your house in search of help elsewhere because once you left your home you'd better not look back until you reached another town far away from your own where you could seek shelter without fear of burning alive along with everything else you owned in case someone thought you looked like you might be infected anymore than anyone else who was unfortunate enough to live near you ever since this plague first struck so many months ago now that killed thousands within hours after people started getting together with others who were exposed during those first dreadful days when people didn't know what else to do but lock themselves inside their houses for fear that whatever people were getting sick and dying wherever they happened to be would jump onto them somehow like fleas jumping off cats onto dogs even though fleas are known for jumping off dogs onto cats but maybe hurting someone is different from jumping because if someone hurts you then it's not jumping at all but rather hitting which is something entirely different and therefore nothing like jumping even if both actions may seem similar at first glance which is why everything was so confusing when I was little because I couldn't figure out why everyone wanted me dead just because sometimes I hurt people when I jumped on them instead of kissing them like mommy always said she wanted me to do whenever she picked me up after work each day after she had finished cleaning people's houses or businesses free of charge because she wanted everyone everywhere she went throughout her whole life no matter how far away they lived across nations or continents wherever she went she wanted everyone everywhere she went throughout her whole life no matter how far away they lived across nations or continents wherever she went she wanted everyone everywhere she went throughout her whole life no matter how far away they lived across nations or continents wherever she went she wanted everyone everywhere she went throughout her whole life no matter how far away they lived across nations or continents wherever she went -

"Ahem." Edmund nudged me roughly with his elbow. "Hello? Are you listening?"

I looked up startled from my thoughts and realized we had wandered past most of the soldiers standing guard around the execution platform towards two soldiers standing directly in front of us blocking our way down what used to be Main Street in Pouvrées. They wore soldier's uniforms similar to most other men wearing armor created from bronze plating over leather tunics while wielding swords forged entirely out of bronze blades engraved intricately with magical symbols designed specifically for killing mages such as myself but these two soldiers also wore additional plating over their chests which closely resembled pauldrons shaped like wings spreading outward from each shoulder which immediately made me understand why these two men caught my attention above all others still standing guard around us: these two men were special agents sent by King Laurent himself tasked with hunting down every last mageblood across every corner of his land once word got around about what happened with them back during his coronation ceremony years ago when several magebloods made an attempt on his life during his coronation ceremony which is exactly why he ordered every single mageblood still alive captured and burned alive just like all those other poor souls who got diagnosed wrongly with this horrible plague because they never actually had this sickness plaguing them at all! There must've been hundreds just like Edmund here suffering similarly whose parents died horribly right before my very eyes killed by some disease which wasn't real but just pretend (just like when Eddy used pretend magic pretending he wasn't hungry when really he was!) because now King Laurent wants us all dead too!