He hated the cold.
He grew up on a little tropical island in the Mordheim kingdom. His village was a little fishing hamlet separated from the rest of the world. It never snowed and was never cold, always leaving him with a warm, fuzzy feeling. As a kid, he would spend days fishing at the local watering holes with his older brother, Sieg.
When he was a kid, the fishing rod he had gotten for his birthday broke while he was at his village's local pond.
At ten years old, Davi Hawker didn't know how to respond to something he cherished breaking, and so, like most kids, he had cried. He cried and cried and cried until, eventually, his father found him.
"Davi! What's with the waterworks? Sieg and I have been looking all over for you!" Orion Hawker wasn't the best dad. He was a man who was trying his best, though, raising two sons all on his own. Orion was a tall man with a muscular build. He was dressed like a blacksmith, with a long apron stained black, and he had messy blonde hair and piercing yellow eyes along with tanned skin. He also always seemed to have a smile on his face, no matter the situation. "What's wrong, kiddo?"
Davi sniffed and held up the fishing rod his dad had made him. The reel had snapped, and the line had become a tangled mess, making it completely useless.
"Is that all?" Orion raised an eyebrow, then ruffled his son's raven hair. "We can get you a new one."
"I don't want a new one. I like this one."
Orion nodded. "Okay, then let's try to fix it." The man gently took the fishing rod and held it up. "When a tool breaks, all you have to do is replace or repair the damaged part. Give me a few hours, and I'll have this thing better than ever!"
"Really?"
"You bet, kiddo."
Orion had kept his word and fixed the rod up. That day, Davi caught a massive catfish, and with the help of his brother Sieg, he cooked it up. It was one of the best meals he ever had. A year later, after turning eleven, Davi went out to fish again, and his rod broke. He didn't cry this time, though. Instead, he took it straight to his dad.
Orion was hammering away at some metal, wiping sweat away from his forehead, when his youngest son appeared in the middle of his forge. "Davi? What's wrong?"
"My fishing rod broke again." Davi sniffed, fighting back tears. "Can you fix it?"
Orion laughed and placed his hand on his son's head. "No." He chirped.
"Why not?" Davi was unable to hold his tears back now and began to cry.
Orion laughed louder when he saw his son begin to panic. His look grew serious, and he removed his hand. "Davi, I'm not always going to be there for you. You're a growing boy. It's only a matter of time before you become old enough to set out on your very own adventure."
"What do you mean?" Davi cocked his head to the side.
"It means you'll be on a long journey," Orion explained. "Everyone who lives their life goes on their own adventure. Going on one means growing, getting older, and experiencing the world. I'm not always going to be there for you. We never know what the future holds. I fixed your fishing rod up the first time because helping someone is the right thing to do if you're able, but what happens if I fix it again for you this time? A year or two later, it'll break. So I'll need to fix it every time it breaks. But will I be around in a year? We just don't know." Orion pointed his thumb at a nearby table. "I got a few tools scattered over there. Tell you what, how about instead of me fixing up your rod, I teach you how to do it? That way, in a year or two from now, if it does break, you can repair it and not have to worry about some old fart like me doing it."
"Okay…" Davi nodded meekly. "But I don't think you're an old fart. I don't want to be away from you a year from now. Not two or three or ever. I want to stay with you, Dad, and Sieg."
Orion chuckled and once again ruffled his son's hair. "You really are my kid." He pressed a finger to Davi's heart and pressed down. "Always so emotional."
That day, Davi learned how to fix his fishing rod. He was taught what all the different tools were and how they worked.
He once again caught a catfish. It was smaller than last time, but he still cooked and ate it. It was pretty good, and he shared it with his brother.
Two years later, at the age of thirteen, after his village was destroyed and everyone he knew and loved froze to death, Davi once again tried to fish in the aftermath of it all. This time, when his rod broke, he didn't cry, and he didn't seek out his father. Instead, he quietly fixed it up because that's what his father taught him to do. When he was done, he could not get any catfish since the pond had been encased in ice.
He truly hated the cold.
***
"Davi!"
Davi felt himself suddenly snap back to reality. He wasn't a helpless kid who was scared of a bit of snow. He was a grown man. Everything came flooding back to him in an instant, and he felt his eyes widen. He was encased in a block of ice that was chilling him down to the bone in the middle of Daisy. He could hear the muffled screams of the guards and Olivia. His armor had kept him safe, shielding him from the ice, but it was struggling, the enchantment fading in and out.
'Did the snake freeze me? It wasn't personal before, but it is now.'
With a grunt, Davi flexed and shattered the ice around him, forcing himself out of the block. He stumbled out of it and raised his shield up just in time as the snake's tail slammed into him. His shield creaked and groaned, but it held strong, and he stabbed out with his sword, but it bounced off the snake's scales. It was gone before he could attack it again, slithering past him at insane speeds. The monster was fast, literally looping circles through the alleyways and going over the buildings.
"Davi!" He turned and found Olivia staring at him. "Are you okay?"
'No, I'm not okay; it froze me.' Davi thought bitterly. Then he finally spoke. "I'm fine. Keep your eyes on it." He muttered. His head spun as he tried to follow the magical beast. Despite its large size, he could barely glimpse it as it went through the alleyways or over buildings. It was shockingly fast, yet somehow didn't break any of the buildings. The other guards were all shouting out spells, sending various bolts of lightning or wind at it, but just as he suspected, none of them had the power to harm a beast on this level. Normal mages just weren't cut out for slaying monsters, and even bullets were ricocheting off the monster's hide. "Here it comes." He said quietly.
Davi wrapped an arm around Olivia's waist, moving her and him out of the way just in time as the snake lunged again. The beast rammed its way through several of the town guards, throwing them all into the air and sending them crashing down around the town square. The snake loomed over a group of the downed guards and bared its fangs, about to strike and devour them, but it stopped at the last moment and instead let out a hiss and began to slither away once more.
Or at least it tried to.
Davi reached it and struck out with his claymore. He ran his blade along its hide, shoving it past some of the scales, and with a tug, he tore several of them off. The snake hissed in pain and darted forward, circling back toward him. Its mouth opened wide, and another wave of ice launched at him, but he was ready for it this time.
He chucked his shield forward, throwing it. As soon as it entered the field of cold that poured from the snake's mouth, it froze over, becoming a block of ice. Davi then ran forward and leapt up, landing on his frozen shield, and used it to launch himself at the snake. He stabbed out with his claymore, impaling it directly into the snake's snout, going through one of its nostrils.
Red rained down the serpent's face, and it let out a scream, not unlike a person. It thrashed around violently and dislodged the sword from its nose, sending Davi flying back. He crashed into a building, cracking the wall a bit, and the snake growled like a dog and bared its fangs. Its eyes were narrowed, and the blood on its snout froze over as it flicked its tongue.
"Row Blood Bolt!" A wave of frozen blood smashed into its neck, forcing the creature to bow for a moment from the force of the attack. Its entire body curled around, and its eyes narrowed, glaring directly at Olivia, who took a nervous step back. Olivia gulped and felt a powerful chill go down her spine as the snake stared directly at her. Then, suddenly, the snake's scales shimmered, and it faded away. It was a slow effect, spreading through it as it began to blend in. It had gone invisible. "It can do that?"
Davi ran forward and jumped in front of her, lifting his sword, getting ready for a strike from the unseen creature, but before the attack could come, a wave of fire danced through the area.
"Row Flame Wheel!" From the other side of the street, Garon and several other guards who had been stationed on the other side of the town appeared. Garon's sword was bathed in bright orange fire, and he swept it out through the air.
'Oh, Garon's here now.'
The flames spun and twisted, melting ice and snow, and the unseen snake suddenly became visible as the flames washed over it. Unlike the other guards, Garon's attack actually caused the monster to shudder, and it let out a loud hiss and blasted off in a direction, trying to escape the fire and cloak once more.
Davi was about to give chase, but he stopped when he felt the cold ease up, and his ears twitched as he heard the snake rapidly slithering away. It left, getting out of the smoke and becoming invisible once more, using the chance to escape. Davi lowered his sword once he was sure the snake was gone.
Just like the last few times, no one was dead, and the only damage was the wall he had crashed into. The snake hadn't harmed any of the houses. Davi wondered if it took anyone. It had left in a hurry and wouldn't have had time even while cloaked, so surely not, but he had this twisting knot in his gut that something was wrong. For the most part, everyone was fine.
"Sir Knight!" Davi turned when he heard the voice, and he found Garon making his way toward him. "Are you okay?" The guard stopped once he got closer and flinched slightly, looking away from Davi.
'No.' Then out loud. "I'm fine," Davi said coldly, his voice bouncing around his helmet.
Garon gave a brief nod. "My men are going door to door, checking to see if anyone is missing. We'll know soon. It looks like the snake got away again, though."
"I see." Davi absently rubbed his scar.
As the commotion of the battle calmed down, lights began to blaze to life with fire as several of the townsfolk began to emerge from their homes. Many gasped when they saw Davi, staring at his ebony armor and the aura of power he radiated. Even without a guild symbol present, this seemed more than enough to trick most folks. Despite their awe, none approached him and even remained at a distance, looking away when he glanced at them.
"Sir," One of Garon's men hesitantly approached. "We went through everyone, and for once, it looks like nobody is missing."
"So the snake didn't take anyone?" Davi rubbed his chin. He had successfully chased it away faster than it could act, yet something about the situation still felt off.
"It looks like you did a good job, sir!" Garon cheered slightly and walked over, the handsome man's smile back on his face. "You being here must have scared the snake away."
"I didn't do much though." Davi said flatly. "I hit it once. It could have kept fighting, but it ran. Why?"
"Maybe it thought it was outmatched and decided to run?" Olivia suggested. "Magical or not, it's still an animal and would know it's a losing battle."
"Maybe." That didn't sit right with him, though. The snake had the chance to kill several of the guards and lower the numbers down but didn't. Not to mention, the only time a building got destroyed was when he went flying into it.
"Either way, it doesn't matter." Garon clapped his hands together, and his grin grew. "You did it, sir. The snake ran off."
"It might be back next week, though." Davi pointed out.
"Why don't you head to the inn?" Garon's voice broke Davi's train of thought. "I'm sure you're tired."
Davi didn't want to admit it, but he did feel a little sick after getting frozen. "Not yet." He said after a moment, causing Garon's smile to fade. Davi looked out at the crowd of nervous people who had been staring at him. One stood out. "I have someone I want to talk to first."
"Sir, it's late," Garon tried to argue. "You should conserve your strength in case the snake does plan to come back—"
"Go away." Davi's tone was blunt, and it caused Garon to flinch. The guard stood there for a moment and then awkwardly shuffled away. Once he was gone, Davi looked back at the crowd, and he took a step toward them, but the entire crowd stepped back. "Huh?"
"I think they might be scared of you." Olivia winced.
Davi glanced down at his hands. "Why?" He asked, a little bummed. "I understand the battle mages being scared of me. After all, they apparently dislike the feel of my mana, but these folks, too?"
"It's your armor," Olivia said after a few seconds of awkward silence.
"My armor?"
Olivia nodded. "I didn't want to say anything since it might be rude, but you kind of look scary." She looked Davi up and down. "There is a story about a Knight who wore armor like yours. The tale of the Ebony Knight is kind of famous, you know. And not in a good way."
"Never heard of him."
"Seriously!" Olivia shook her head and let out a defeated sigh. "Even if someone doesn't know that story, your armor looks so scary. It's got all those edges to it, and sometimes it twitches. I know you're a good person and a kind Arcane Knight, but you can sometimes be off-putting. No offense."
Davi just hummed. "How can I fix that?"
Olivia rubbed her chin, then looked him up and down. "You could remove your helmet." She suggested.
"How does that help?"
"You kind of have this baby face going on, and you're a little cute." She chuckled nervously. "I'm sure people would be a little more at ease if you removed your helmet when you talked to them. At the very least, it would get rid of that blue fire effect that comes out of your eyes and prevent your voice from sounding so muffled and intense."
"What about my scar? Won't people be put off by that?"
"Nah! It makes you look cool!"
Davi stood there, a bit annoyed. His armor wasn't made to look fancy. It was practical, covering him in plate mail that was made to take a hit. Still, it did hurt his feelings a bit to see so much fear in the eyes of the people. Usually people only saw him in his armor after he had helped them, and so they were no longer scared of him, but this time he hadn't done anything to gain the people's support or love since the snake had gotten away, so to them he likely did look like the scary Ebony Knight Olivia had mentioned.
"Does this help?" His helmet bubbled and dripped down his face, as if it were a liquid. It faded into the rest of his armor, revealing his face beneath it. His eyes still glowed, lit up with pure mana, and seemed to brighten the darkness around him, but they no longer blazed out of his helm. "Well, does my pretty face make it all better?" He asked, sweeping his hair back into a semblance of neatness.
Olivia nodded and sheepishly chuckled. "It's worth a shot. People will be too busy looking at your face now to notice your scary armor. So who do you want to talk to anyway?"
"Her." Davi pointed through the crowd and singled out a familiar face. It was the mother they had first talked to when they arrived in Daisy. The only one who had been bitter and hateful to Garon and the mother of Hannah, one of the missing girls.
The woman jumped when he singled her out, and she squeaked and turned to look at him. "It's you! You're an Arcane Knight!" The woman looked him up and down in shock. "I never would have guessed. That armor looks so heavy, but you were in such baggy clothes, I had no idea you were so—"
Davi folded his arms and let out a grunt, cutting her off. "You said the snake uses fire?"
The woman nodded hesitantly. "That's what I saw. It all happened so fast that I didn't get a good look at it, but I saw fire twisting and swirling around my daughter. It grabbed and yanked her away from me. You weren't able to kill it, were you?" The woman asked bitterly.
"No. It got away." Davi frowned, and he glanced back at the houses. The snake had been massive. It was so big that it was able to wrap around a few houses at the same time. There was no way something like that could fit into a building. Not to mention, it had used ice, not fire. "I have no way to track the thing either now since its cloaking makes it impossible to sense."
"I can track it!" Davi turned when Olivia proudly held up her wand.
"You have a way to figure out where it went?"
Olivia nodded her head and looked smug. "Yeah! Unlike you, I have a tracking spell! Bruno and I used to go hunting together in our village and would sell what we caught for money. I would use that money to roll on the gacha in the grimoire app! Long story short, I happen to have a spell just for this occasion! It requires me to hit a target with one of my spells. I hit the snake once, just in case it tried to run." She flicked her wand out and focused on her spell. "Row Blood Map!" Blood flowed out of the tip of her wand, and she became a bit dizzy as she cast her second spell, but she fought through the pain. The blood shifted and became a thin piece of red paper with a black dot on it and several numbers below it, which were rapidly changing in real time, showing how far away the target was.
The final part of a spell was the intent, which was determined by what the mage wanted to do and how they pictured it. A mage couldn't just cast any spell, though, with any string of words. Saying 'Row Shadow Heal' wouldn't suddenly allow someone to heal with shadows even if they had shadow magic. It would only work if they had the ability to use healing magic, which required them to have the spell and the right school of magic.
There were six schools of magic: Alteration, Destruction, Enchantment, Conjuration, Illusion, and Restoration.
The school of Alteration was required for a person to shape their magic and enhance it. It could also alter how a type of magic's mana worked. Making fire burn hotter or turning shadows into a solid substance were things a mage with those magic types could do using this school.
Destruction was the most common type of school and was simple. It allowed a mage to unleash raw power, like firing out beams of lightning or bolts of blood.
Enchantment was the opposite of Destruction, since it was very complicated. Enchantment allowed a mage to program mana, or imbue it into something, giving it a series of commands and allowing their mana to linger or flow on its own. Most complex spells require Enchantment, and it was also one of the rarest schools.
Conjuration was similar to Alteration, where it would shape mana, but unlike Alteration, which was transforming something into something else, Conjuration was focused more on using raw mana and a magical type to create something out of nothing, such as armor forged out of shadows.
Illusion was a lesser form of this school and mixed Alteration and Conjuration, as it shaped and twisted mana, but the school of Illusion only made the outline of something, not actually making or altering anything.
Lastly was the school of Restoration, which was the second rarest right after Enchantment and also simple. It allowed a type of magic to heal. Even should the type be something odd like fire or ice, a person could use it to heal someone in their own unique way should they have this school.
Unlike magical types, which a mage was locked into once they were born, a mage could use multiple different schools, but all at various levels. The schools a mage had access to, like other forms of magic, were based on luck.
Schools could also be combined together since some spells would fall into several categories. A person could be a little skilled in one school but really good in another or average in every single school at once. It varied greatly and was one of the things that shaped a mage. All of this could be viewed in a mage's grimoire, where they could look at their 'stats'.
The map Olivia created lacked most of the things a map has. It was a thin red piece of paper that was more or less a makeshift compass. It had North, West, East, and South on it, as well as the dot and the numbers, but that was it. It was the sort of thing a child would come up with when they needed to find a way to chase after animals quickly, rather than something practical.
Despite that, though, the fact that she was able to do something even remotely like this impressed Davi. The more complex a spell was, the more mana and skill would be required to cast it. Her map was updating in real time and served as a decent enough compass. The spell itself was in the Conjuration and Enchantment schools.
"Not bad." Davi took the paper and looked down at it, letting out a low whistle. "I should be able to find where that thing slithered off to now and finish it off."
Olivia beamed at his praise and chuckled. "Thanks! Let's go take that snake down—"
"No." Davi shook his head. "You stay here."
"Huh? Why!" Olivia whined.
He reached out and poked her in the cheek. "Your face has become really pale. You're suffering from blood loss. You might be able to cast one more spell, but that's it. Besides, now that I know what this thing can do, I know how to beat it and can do it faster on my own."
Olivia wanted to argue, but there was no point. He was right. She had exactly one more spell left in her before she collapsed. "Sometimes, I truly hate having blood magic. Alright, fine. I'll rest up. It won't take me long to get all my blood back since I heal pretty quickly, so I'll try to catch up once I've rested."
"Row Shadow Vault." Davi pulled something out of the darkness of his armor and handed it to Olivia. "Here. In case you can't recover fast enough and need a way to defend yourself."
Olivia's eyes bulged as he casually handed her a heavy-looking handgun. It wasn't a basic one either. She wasn't a gun girl, but this one was freaking huge and heavy and looked like it would pack a serious punch. Several of the guards also stared at the massive gun in shock.
"Where—" She began, but Davi cut her off.
"Found it in a dungeon."
"If you're leaving, I insist on coming with you." Garon suddenly forced himself back into the conversation. He looked hopeful and managed a grin. "I can help you slay the creature."
Davi shook his head, dashing Garon's hope. "No."
"Why not?" Garon demanded.
"I have a way to deal with the creature, but it won't work if I have someone there with me." Davi said simply. "You'd just get in my way."
For the first time, Garon's look seemed to fully shift, and his eyes blazed with fury for a moment before he calmed himself down. "Fine. In that case, you should head out tomorrow. Why don't you rest up and—"
"No."
"Why not?" Garon demanded once more.
"You're annoying, and not listening to you is funny," Davi said casually. He then turned to look back at Olivia. "Stay safe."
"Okay?" Olivia glanced between Davi and Garon. She was totally lost on why the two weren't getting along now. "Go beat that monster!" She clapped Davi on the back and then winced as her hand ached from slapping his armor.
Davi began to leave, and as he did, he could feel Garon's eyes following him. Davi glanced back at Garon for a moment and then turned away.
"This is ending tonight." He stated.
Garon's hand grasped his sword and squeezed down until his knuckles were white. "I don't think you know how right you really are."