Chapter 179 - 179)A Stranger Calls

Damianos had no idea who his birth parents were, he never questioned it. His world began and stopped with his grandfather. He was his only best friend and sympathizer. Damianos knew that he was different from the other kids when he was three....when he accidentally set a child's birthday gifts on fire. Accidents and mishaps followed him like clockwork. His grandfather took the blame for most of these "accidents" and soon, became a pariah of sorts. Nobody invited them over anymore; Damianos was left friendless and an outcast. Soon he learned that his "accidents" were actually coming from him.

Setting the gifts on fire, toppling vendors carts, exploding fruits.. all these came from his little mind. He didn't know how to use his power, his grandfather called it a gift, but Damianos considered it a curse! Of course, he never discussed it with his granddad at length, and granddad did tell him to keep it all a secret. He refrained from sharing so as to avoid the risk of being taunted for his clumsiness. He kept his "curse" to himself. The only time he practiced or tried to get a hang of his gift was up near his favorite hideout, the hill where he recently turned a dragonfly into a Dragon.

Granddad took a deep breath and sighed. He knew the day would come when Damianos would be discovered and he would have to answer all kinds of uncomfortable things. Vivien, who was sipping on her whisky quietly at the table in their hut, looked up at Damianos and asked him sharply, "are you sure that voice was not from this village. Did he see you clearly? Did you hear anything else, or see how he looked?" Granddad lifted up his hand, "Hush now, what's done is done, better we sleep on it and wait for what the morning brings. We knew this day would come, Vivien, now let's just get him to bed. He's had a trying day, Goodnight Lil one." Granddad sent Damianos into his room and sat at the table sharing a nightcap with his friend in crime. "Vivien we have to be ready. Things are about to change. I can feel it in the air."

It was the first time in the past decade that it snowed. The villagers thought it was a blessing. While some thought it was magic, others termed it as the beginning of a new age. Granddad and Damianos were eating breakfast when a knock on the door startled them. Damianos looked scared, but he went to the door and opened it.

Outside stood a strapping young boy, the same age as Damianos, he had dark hair and a laughing face that glowed against the snow. He wore a trainers robe with a long fighting stick in his hand. ''Hey! I knew I could find you here. Can I come in, it's freezing out here''.

Granddad ushered the young boy into the house and bade him sit by the fire. Damianos stood like a statue at the door gaping at this new intruder. "Sir I'm a student at Dolorian School in the Dolorian village next to yours, A couple of students and I, are training with the Grandmaster Sensei in the forest here, it's been more than a month or so. Actually, I'm hungry, can I eat something," asked the intruder.

Granddad offered the boy a chair and drew some porridge from the pot into a bowl and set it in front of the boy. Damianos sat quietly, opposite the boy, and watched as he ravenously attacked the porridge with good helpings of bread and butter on the side.

Between mouthfuls, he explained how he and his co-students train rigorously under the able eye of their Sensei for months together away from their villages camping in the woods. And how one evening the boy set out exploring the woods and came across a strange sight.  He witnessed the young Damianos shoot green flames of magic from his hands and make flowers bloom and fade in a second, set a piece of wood on fire, and almost break the rock he was sitting on. He regularly waited for Damianos to see what the boy was up to, but never called or disturbed him.

Damianos almost fell from his chair with shock. Granddad said, "Look boy, my grandson here has no idea what he is capable of, in fact, we don't know what he is. We were hoping that schooling under Rixhard and his team of trainers would help him channelize whatever power he has. Please don't tell anyone what you saw up there in the mountains, He is not ready," pleaded granddad.

The boy finished eating and took his bowl and spoon to the sink and rinsed it out. Damianos stood up and looked at the boy," Look…I. I didn't mean anny offff that ..to happe…n , jussss don't …." his words were cut off when he felt something whizz sharply to his left, the boy had attacked him, he had swung his stick right past Damianos's head and it missed by inches. "Stop!" yelled Damianos but the boy kept lunging forward,  twirling his stick and making an advance towards Damianos.

'You craa azy …Ssss…stop!', and then Greenish blue flame shot out of Damianos's palm directly towards the boy, who deflected it with his stick, and crashed into a pile of pots, breaking everything around him on impact. Granddad rushed over to the boy to help him up. 'What are you doing child? Why did you attack him? Have you lost it?'' The boy stood up grinning '' I think he is ready, old man''.

"Readd dddy for whattt?" Damianous asked. "My dear friend my sensei felt a great presence of magic here a week ago. He sent us out to scout around and see where it was coming from. I discovered you messing around with your little show up in the hill, nobody else in this village has any real talent apart from you. So I was instructed to come and get you .''

"Get mm mee?", spluttered Damianos nervously as he edged towards his grandfather for support. "Yes, you will join us and train under our Sensei, people all over the world come to train under him. We are lucky he set camp recently in our village. He will teach you how to reach your full potential, he will train you and turn your little magic show into something big" he said grinning at Damianos's shocked face.

Grandfather scratched his head in puzzlement and instructed Damanious to go get Vivien. Damianos ran non-stop and was back with Vivien in ten minutes. He had dragged her through the snow talking about the strange boy and magic and training camps. 

Grandad sent the two children out of the house to explain in private and discuss with Viven, the meaning of what just happened in his house. As Damianos sat on the bench outside with the strange boy, he looked at him and asked, "Is this real? Yo..yyou are not joki..ing right?"

The boy shook his head and replied, "We take training very seriously. Sensei will test your skills and assign you to a group. We are a mix of all kinds of talents. I am a fighter, I train in combat, I've been since I was, like, two. I am an orphan, living in school, and I train with the school. It's great fun, Really."

Damianous face lit up and said, "You know. Granddad always told me stories about fighters and Legends. Like Maya, the legendary Magician of my village. How she and her husband became world-famous and now they occupy the highest ranks in the world order. I..I always wanted to be a ll..llegend . That's why I keep practicing magic on the hill. Is your Sensei a Legend ?"

"No not really but he has trained many, or so I was told. I just want to be the world's best fighter. And I must say I'm pretty good at it. In a week there is a tournament in our village. If you come with me now, you can see me fight and win, naturally " he said with a flourish of his stick.

Granddad and Vivien came out of the hut and told the children that they were ready to send Damianos with the boy, but Granddad would accompany them and speak to their sensei himself, drop off the boys with him, only after he was satisfied with the arrangements.

Both children agreed to this plan and decide to set off immediately. As grandfather fastened the luggage to the cart, Vivien hugged Damianos and kissed the top of his head. "Be brave, be happy and always listen to your heart ", she said tapping his locket which clung to his heart and fastening a purple and green cloak around his neck. It was the same cloak that covered the baby when they found him 9 years ago.

"Thank you. It's very warm and makes..me feel gooodd. Thank you for everything Viven," Damianos hugged her and ran up to the waiting cart, where the boy was minding the restless horses and grandfather was waiting. "Hurry! We have to be there before nightfall" said granddad. They waved to Vivien till she was out of sight.

As they edged towards the village, the boy who was expertly handing the reigns of the cart, turned around and shook Granddad's and Damiano's hand. "Where are my manners …My bad,  I forgot to introduce myself properly. My name is Noel, and you, my friend are a Mage". 

(A/N: I think it's obvious but I'm travelling and I'm not in a place to properly write and publish, so I apologize for that. In no way do I want to ruin the quality so, imma take this break and get back once I'm done with the chapter! Thank you for reading and Bad Luck FTW!)