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“Are you still at it? Don’t overdo it, will you, Lucien?”
“I’m not stopping till I’ve mastered cloudburst! I’ve still got a long way to go, you know. I have to do my bit, protect my homeland… Defend the people of Bellicosia…”
Lucien could only be described as a hardworking young man. Ask any other person training with him, and they’d give you the same answer - no-one trained harder than he did. He was always hiding somewhere, mastering his next spell or learning more and more about his beloved Bellicosia. Most would also tell you that he often pushed himself too far or put others before himself. Lucien himself didn’t see that as a bad thing. If some village child could do something for his home, he’d do anything.
From a very young age, Lucien knew he had an aptitude for magic. It wasn’t just that he could do it, no, he excelled in it. Whilst most people, he found, could really only use a few specific types, he could cast anything he put enough effort into. His magic as his pride - and eventually, it was the pride of Bellacosia’s army, too.
Like most, Lucien’s aspirations started off small. He had always seen himself as a protector, a savior. First, to his family. As he grew, it extended to a want to protect his village, and eventually, his country. Maybe a desire for power grew with him too, but - as he always reminded himself, at those times when he wrecked a room with only one rune burned into the air - it was righteous. Of course it was, Bellicosia was perfect.
Or so he thought.
“The order has been given! We are to invade Rubicon, on the Halcyon border. We march on the morrow! The town harbors a sage who must be eliminated. Spare no-one - women and children included.”
His commander's words echoed through his head. Spare… no-one. That couldn’t be it - it couldn’t be! They would never, they would never order him to do this! Take the lives of countless innocents for one man, no, no, that was wrong. It had to be… He saw something in the eyes of the men standing around him. Some of them shared his apprehension, yes, but in others there was a glint, hard as stone. Lucien knew. They would go through with it. And that’s what scared him most. People he thought he knew, prepared to commit such atrocities. This didn’t protect anyone at all!
“An invasion? Women and children..? Why? Why must we go this far? This is wrong! This is not why I studied magic! This is all wrong!”
They were the words Lucien could choke out. Smog filled his lungs and he struggled to breathe. Up in smoke. All of it. Consumed by roaring flames. Flickering flames, running silhouettes and the flash of a rune; it was all too much. The smell. Gods, the smell! It was exactly the sort of smell you’d expect in a burning village, and it made Lucien gag. The noise didn’t help either. Screams. Screams burned into his memory. A horrible noise.
So he ran. It was all too much. He wouldn’t, he couldn’t, take part in all this. Into the forest he went, where for a second, he could pretend things were okay. They weren’t, but still, he could try. Leaning up against a tree, he tried to calm his rapid breaths, mumbling empty patriotic platitudes into the still air. There was no way he could assist in senseless destruction. He was not going back. It might cost him his dream, but he wasn’t sure Bellicosia even deserved his protection anymore.
A sudden noise snapped him out of his thoughts. There was a small bang from behind. He paused. WIth bated breath, he crept closer to the source of the noise. Wait. He could hear… Sobbing? He started to run. He couldn’t help himself. If just one innocent life could be saved by his interference, he’d do whatever he could.
Sitting on the forest floor was a small girl, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands. Lucien’s heart melted. He’d save her. Lowering himself to the floor next to her, he gently tapped her hand.
“You must get away from here!” Lucien pleaded to the girl, and upon seeing her wide, teary eyes, muttered, “Gods, please let me save someone!”
“I’m scared…” She mumbled, her voice tiny.
“Here! Take this!” Although his hands were shaky, he fumbled with his seashell pendant and pressed it into the girl’s hands. “It will protect you, I promise! Now, you must flee from here!”
“I-I’ll try… Thank you…” Wrapping it around her own neck, she stood up on tentative legs and thanked him with a squeeze of his hand. Gathering her courage, she started to run. Lucien watched, the smallest smile on his face. He saved someone. That was enough for him.