Combat Ready?

Dante

The wolf has its jaws on my arm but Its teeth haven't broken through my skin. I take the poker and swing it at the wolf. But it disappears into a mist. When it reappears it takes a while for it to reappear. I run towards it and swing the poker aiming at its head. Once again it disappears. But, this time it reappears behind me. It snarls at me and swings its tail. Its tail hits me and sends me flying into a tree trunk. I get up and the wolf is on pouncing at me. I roll out of the way of the wolf's attack and blindly swing the poker. It hits the wolf in the back and it flies over the stump landing on its feet. But it's noticeably hurt by the hit. I run towards it as it pounces at me, sliding on the mud and stopping myself against the log as it soars above my head. I throw the poker at it before it can land and hit it right in the center of its back. The poker ricocheted up and away from the wolf onto a nearby bush.

"I didn't think this through," I mumble as the wolf runs at me. I stand up and grab the book holster around my waist. It has a decent amount of weight. So I spin it around my head and swing it at the wolf as it steps right in front of me. It's so close that I can see the white sparkles in its iris. It closes its eyes and lets the book hit it. The book sends it rolling through the mud onto its side. I begin to celebrate beating it and step closer to get a closer look. The wolf is having a hard time breathing and it's beginning to disappear. The red amber in my pocket begins to glow and the glow grows stronger as the wolf disappears. I take the amber out of my pocket and inside of it. A tiny version of the wolf is slowly beginning to form inside of it.

The wolf completely fades and the amber gains weight. The amber that was once red slowly begins to change to a faint purple. I let the weight of the amber settle in my palm before I hear a voice.

"You beat me out of luck," it says. But I can hear the voice in the back of my head. It's almost as if it's a thought of my own. As it seamlessly appears and disappears in my mind. I try to stand up but my leg is shot full of pain.

"You will slowly begin to feel all of my pain," It stated. I could feel the anger in it's words.

"Why?"I asked. I didn't expect an answer. I just wanted to believe I might be given a reason.

"I am now your familiar," It replied. It had began to snarl at me as the pain I inflicted it with had begun to inch into my body. My leg began to bruise as pain shot through my back. I nearly passed out as the wolves pain had mixed with my own. The adrenaline had begun to wear off and I felt like I had been hit by a bag of bricks. I grabbed the poker and used it as a crutch while I slowly made my way to the estate. My leg had begun to bleed. The blood mixed with the mud and sweat covering me and my clothes. I began to see the lights from the house before I heard his voice again.

"Give me a name human, "It commanded. It was almost as if it was annoyed, and it wouldn't take no for an answer. I racked my mind for names, objects, even street names to call him. but none of them seemed to fit him. Then I remembered the fae my mom would tell me stories about. They were magic creatures that lived in and controlled the woods. But it still didn't seem unique enough for his harsh, steely mannerisms. So I thought of some sort of metal, something hard to break like his attitude. Something like ... Mithril.

"Your name will be Faedril," I state. I can feel his newfound pride in his name. It doesn't go away until we walk into the house. I find my mom walking down the stairs. I turn around. i don't want her to see me bleeding. She's been through too much already. I hide behind the door and wait till she passes me before I make my way to my room. By the time I've reached my room, the bleeding has stopped and the pain has begun to fade. I change out of my mud-covered clothes and change into a pair of shorts and a white shirt. I slide under the covers and immediately fall asleep dreaming of tomorrow.

***************

I wake up and see my mom. Her face is crumpled with a frown and she's begun to release a little bit of mana from her body. I immediately close my eyes and try to look like I'm asleep but it's too late. She grabs me and looks me in the eyes.

"Your dad wants to see you." She tells me before letting my feet touch the ground. I look through my dirty clothes and pull out the amber. The red orb still inside it's yellow shell. I pull it out and hand it to my mother.

"Mom, can you get someone to make a chain that can hold that?" I ask. I smile and grab her hand before she can say no. Her expression softens before she pats my head.

"Fine," She shrugs. Before leaving the room. I gathered my clothes and looked through them. I ended up leaving to see my father in a white button up with a black suit vest and dress pants. They were a little big on me. But it was comfortable. It wasn't too tight or too loose. So you wouldn't really notice unless you were the one wearing them. I arrived into the throne room and was in utter disbelief at its sheer beauty.

The rug on the room was a crimson red that had golden twist borders. It was long enough to reach the throne while being short enough that the doors to the room could swing open with swiftness. and thin enough that only a small group of six could stand on it at the same time. It was perfectly centered in the room. The floor to the room was a darker type of wood that shined brilliantly with the light that came from the two grand windows that were seated on completely opposite walls. Behind the throne was a painting of my father holding a sword as if it were a cane with a smile on his face. He looked much younger than he did when I saw him.

He had a mixture of white and gray hair when he that was combed back. His eyes were a clear amber that looked as bright as the sun. Though they were covered in glasses. He had the stubble of a beard that had not been shaved recently. His face had an air around him that was full of unreadable wisdom. He himself seemed to contrast with this room that had been seemingly designed for him.

"Come here boy," His voice struck me like thunder. I walked over to him with my head perfectly straight. Too low and I felt he might feel as though I was a coward. While if it was too high I felt as though he would do whatever in his power to lower it.

"I heard you battled a wolf yesterday," He told me. He was expecting an answer and I didn't want to give it to him. The air around him had seemed to darken in color and gained a weight that felt as though it would crush me without a second of hesitation.

"I did sir, "I answered as confidently as I could. I looked him in the eyes and saw that they were full of anger. I immediately moved my head back to the perfectly straightway I had been carrying it. I could hear a weight coming off of the throne as his thunderous footsteps came down the stairs.

"Leave us!" He bellowed. Everyone in the room had left the room with swiftness making no sound. The door closed with a thud that seemed to echo in the now empty room. I straightened my posture to stop myself from running. As he stopped in front of me and grabbed my shoulder. He bent down on one knee and looked at me.

"I'm proud of you son, But I need to punish you. So if Orion does something wrong you are to take the blame." He commanded. He stood up and walked back to his throne. Without another hint of consideration. He waves me out of the room and when I don't move. He stares me down. So I leave. I knock on the door and someone opens it. When I am down the hallway I look back to see people flooding into the throne room. With a new punishment forced onto me.