The Dark Legacy

Chapter 1: A young boy's aspiration

" Kris where are you? come on your foods are getting cold." A woman's voice came from a poor looking broken house.

" Yes, right away mother." A young boy came running,he was at the age of eight to ten. He was skinny,looking very malnourished,his skins were pale and white .He looked at the woman with his big round sparkling eyes of his. She was his mother Elisa.

"I told you not to go too far away from house,where were you?" The woman asked feigning anger.

" I was just around the corner, playing with the kitty." The young boy named Kris replied with a childish grin. He sat on the chair, started gulping on the foods quickly.

" Mother where did you buy this?It looks expensive." He asked while eating.

" Don't talk with food in your mouth, your father got some extra salary this month, so i brought some good things for you with the extra money." Elisa said sitting beside Kris ,looking at him eating with her loving gaze.

" Mother i told you not to stare at me while i eat ." Kris said with dissatisfaction.

" Hehehe why are you so shy my child .I'm your mother you don't need to act cool infront of me." She teased him a little.

" Humph who's shy! I just don't like being stared at while eating." Kris rolled his eyes at her.

Both mother and sons bickering came time to time from the broken house.

Night slowly descended.The whole city was wrapped by a thin layer of darkness. Street lights were flickering here and there,dogs howling could be heard from time to time.

" Mother when will father come?" Kris asked resting his head on his mothers lap.

Elisa rubbed his silk black hairs looking outside the broken small window, heaving a long sigh.

" Your father might not be able to come this month." She replied faintly.

" Why?" Kris asked indignantly.

" Child you have to understand,your father is protecting the city,if your father stays here how will he protect everyone?You need to be a good boy and be patient. " She said looking outside the window.

" The city is restless recently..." Elisa suddenly blurted out but stopped soon after.

" Hmm ! why is that mother ? Isn't the magicians also protecting the city? Ah yes father can talk to the magician uncles and ask for a day off right? " Kris asked innocently looking at Elisa.

Hearing his words Elisa smiled wryly. She can't say that his father wasn't even qualified to wash a magicians shoe's let alone meeting them.

" The Magicians are busy, so your father can't meet them at anytime. Okay no more talk about this. Go to sleep its getting late." Elisa changer the topic .

" Okay ." Kris obediently left for his room.

Looking at the young boy's malnourished and pale body a trace of sadness flashed through her eyes.

As a mother she always wants to feed her son well, wants to see him grow up as a healthy boy. But what can she do! her husband was just a city guard .He sends a small amount of money every month which could barely fill their stomach. There was no way to buy good food everyday which costs more than three pieces of bronze coins.

Even though her stomach was growling from hunger,she still kept a smiling face infront of him,not giving him any chance to realize that she bought those foods not from the extra money.

This was her love as a mother toward her son.

The night passed by quietly,rays of sunlight peeked through the clouds above,basking the city with warm light.

" Kris i'm going to work,be a good boy don't go too far away from the house okay?" Elisa worked at a tavern as a cleaner,she earns seven to eight bronze coins each month after working hard for all day.

" Okay mother come early i don't like to stay alone." Kris said rubbing his eyes.

Elisa gave him a loving smile as she said " You are so big yet you are still afraid of staying alone home! what should i do with you. "

She heaved a sigh touching her forehead which made Kris annoyed instantly,he woke up from his sleepiness and snorted.

" Humph go go,i can stay alone even without you."

Elisa laughed lightly,she gave him a tight hug.

" Okay i know my boy is brave."

Kris became bored staying at home for all day long,he wanted to do something interesting to relieve his boredom.

" Hey Kris are you there? " A young childish voice sounded from outside.

Kris became happy after hearing the voice,he quickly came out from the house only to see a boy similar of his age.

Name Alen ,he was one of Kris's few friend. Alen wasn't as skinny as Kris,he was slightly healthier than him. His hairs were messy, his nose were swollen,large eye bags were under his eyes.

Alen was a little wild,he likes to fight with other children,so maybe he got into a fight with someone ,the reason for his swollen nose.

" Alen you got into a fight again ! Who was it this time? Haha looks like you had it pretty bad right?" Kris saw his face and laughed.

" Heh, you should look at that idiots face instead." Alen smacked his both hands against at each other and said disdainfuly.

" Alright lets go, i'm bored staying here all day long ." Kris pulled Alen's hand impatiently.

They walked around the street. The streets were quite dirty,trashes and garbage were thrown here and there. A foul smell in air all around. The people living here were all lower class commoner, they were used to live in such environment.

Kris wasn't an exception either,he pretty much enjoyed walking around.

" Hey stop there, why did you looked at me like this?" A loud voice sounded from behind.

Kris and Alen looked back and saw a boy around their age looking at them with an aggressive posture. He also got some henchman around him. There age was similar to his.

" Eh? but i never looked at you though." Kris became confused.

Just as his words fell, he felt a gush of wind brushed past him .

In the next moment Kris saw Alen directly punching the boys face , a cracking sound echoed, the boy cried out in pain. The intense pain caused him to roll on the ground. The others stood there dumbly,they never thought Alen would attack so suddenly without any warning.Alen's violent nature was full on display.

Infact Kris himself never expected him to attack so suddenly. Kris laughed looking at the boy rolling on the ground .

" Scram for me if you don't want to end up like him." Kris said with an evil smirk, rubbing his fists.

The other boys gave the rolling boy a quick glance who was still crying on the ground and left hurriedly.

This kind of thing happens more often,these slum kids always likes to compare their strength with each other,they get into fight without any reason.

Kris himself was also a good fighter.He never lost in a fight with someone of his age.

Alen who was known for his violent nature was also once beaten by him until blood flowed from his nose and mouth.

From then on Alen tried befriending Kris, he liked Kris's strong character. If not for his strength, someone like Alen would never be friends with Kris.

Kris accepted Alen's friendship not minding the past business.

They hanged around until evening,it was almost time for Kris's mothers return.

" Alen i need to go,if my mother don't find me home i'll get a good beating ." Kris left in a hurry without waiting for his reply.

" Kris i said you to stay home ,where were you? You weren't even around the house." An angry woman's voice sounded.

" Kris smacked his head in regret." He tip toed inside not making a sound.

" I know you are there ." Elisa stood behind Kris's back, with both hands at her waist.

" Ah....mother i ...i was just..." Kris wanted to explain but Elisa grabbed one if his earlobe, stretching it hard ,also twisting it a little.

" Ahh woo...mother..." Kris cried out in pain struggling.

" Humph i know you are acting ." She twisted again.

" I'm sorry mother, i won't go anymore. I'm sorry." Kris pleaded.

Elisa let go of his ear after he said this.

" Sigh, why don't you listen to me!" Elisa sighed ,looking at his son.

Night came quickly, fewer and fewer people were on the streets outside.Only dogs loud barking could be heard .The night was peaceful but suddenly the ground trembled.

At first it was too faint for anyone to notice but it got violent as time went on.

People became alarmed, this sudden earthquake was a great ominous sign for them.

Elisa also woke up looking far away, but because of the darkness she couldn't see anything.

" Mother what's happening?" Kris asked confusingly.

Elisa frowned tightly, her brows were furrowed into a knot. She knows about some recent news from her husband,now this sudden earthquake made her worried.

" I don't know maybe wild beast attacked the city."

" Wild beast!then what about father?Would he be okay?" Kris asked in worry.

"Your father will be alright don't forget magicians are protecting the city." Elisa said smiling giving him assurance.

Kris nodded his head. He had a deep impression about the magicians. He once saw a magician flying in the sky. The picture was engraved in his mind that day.

Being able to fly in the sky, use fire with bare hands, control the water and wind, he heard so many stories about them it was like a child hearing the story of a hero. As time went on he became more curious , curiosity turned into reverence. In his mind magicians are the heroes, protecting the people of this world against monsters and magic beasts.

Kris as a young boy also has a dream of being magician.He also wants to fly high in the sky basking in the strong wind,control fire and water. Marry a beautiful princess, giving his mother and father a happy life.

If someone outside hear about his dreams then they would laugh so hard until tears and snot get mixed together.

A commoner thinking about being a magician?It was like an ant trying to fly in the clouds.

kris naturally understood this achieving his dream would be extremely hard almost impossible.But he still wanted to try,giving a shot in the dark. Every time he hears about the word magician,his heart would start beating faster,his eyes sparkle with imagination.

Elisa understood his son better than anyone.She also knows about his sons reverence toward a magician.She didn't reprimand him, she never said anything or mentioned anything about it because in her mind he was just a kid now,when he grows up the hard reality would make him give up. So let him run his imagination wild for the time being.

" Go to sleep son, looks like everything's okay now." Elisa said as she closed the window.

Kris obediently left .

The starry night became quiet again.