The Boy Named Theros

As the hero of the village I, of course, started off my day by being thrown off my ride. I heard snarling and strings of curses come out of my driver’s mouth as I dusted myself off, trying to fix my now messed appearance, only to be hit with flying luggage. I fell to the ground once more, pebbles piercing into my knees and the palms of my hands. I inhaled sharply as I pushed myself off the ground again, making sure to duck any other things my adversary was throwing at me.

I flicked the pebbles off of my hand, grumbled, and turned back to the driver. The tiger was busy looking through the carriage to see if she had left anything, her tail whipping violently behind her before she slammed down the trunk. Her gaze pierced mine as she snarled, baring her stained teeth. “Listen, Busta’, I have had too many of your petty kind ruining my business,” she said with a heavy accent. Her hands coordinated with her words and waved about as if she were swatting a fly. “All ya supernatural folk think you can push me around and tell me what to do! Well, I’m not having it. No, not today!”

The anthropomorphic beast hoisted herself back onto her driving seat and tightly grasped her strains, it was as if she were trying to choke them. I opened my mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a loud growl. “Next time you try ` nd rip me off, I’ll make sure your head will be hung on my wall!”

A crack! reverberated throughout the forest and the n’oveal pulling the carriage dashed on the path. I watched them until they disappeared. My hands clenched into a fist and I felt my throat tighten as I tried not to yell. I picked up the items that fell out of my suitcase and back bag, shoved them into their original places, and checked the area to make sure I didn’t leave anything.

There was loud laughter from behind me. I grabbed the nearest item, prepared myself for danger, and pivoted toward the stranger. He was short and had white hair that was tied into a low ponytail. His many freckles almost covered his entire face, but they didn’t stop there; from what I could see he had more on his neck and hands. The only thing that stood out to me was a tattooed tribal mark that encroached from his shoulder to his neck. He was a stable boy, probably. Guessing from his outfit that consisted of black pants and a button-down shirt and also the n’oveal that was behind him, patiently waiting. The beast was five times his height and cast a shadow that covered him and some of the path. It probably was in its hundreds guessing from how magnificent its antlers were.

Without thinking I threw my notebook at him, only for it to land at their feet. As I internally cursed myself for thinking that a notebook could be used as a weapon, the stranger fell silent. However, he had a cheeky smile on his face. He scanned me with interested eyes and kept in a laugh.

“You’re a messa, eh?” he said. “Well, at least that’s what I overheard from your `conversation’ with the coach driver.”

The nerve of this child, I thought trying to decide if I should answer him or not. Before I opened my mouth, he said, “You sure don’t look like one.”

“Excuse me?” I hissed. “I’ll have you know that I am one of the best messai out here, you little twat.”

He broke into laughter again even though I insulted him. What was wrong with this kid?

“Messai usually have white, flowing curls, dark blue eyes, and tribal marks on their arms, telling which clan they belong to,” He said all matter-of-factly as if I didn’t know my own kind.

Great, another uneducated buffoon who believes in these stereotypes. I rolled my eyes before sliding my bookbag onto my shoulders. I couldn’t blame him. He was apart of a tribe and a child. He probably hasn’t taken the time to travel and see the other messai. It didn’t help that most messai clans don’t approve of technology usage, and he probably believed in that as well.

“Not all messai are the same. I mean, look at you. You don’t have curls, you have perfectly straight hair.” for a moment, he looked hurt. He brushed away a lock of hair that was on his shoulder and gazed down at the floor. He stopped talking, so I took this as an opportunity to leave.

“Anyways, it’s been great uh…whatever your name is, but I’ve just gotten back from a trip and am terribly tired. I need to continue my dri-” I sighed and corrected my mistake. “My walk home, and I don’t have much more land to trek. So if you can excuse me…”

My bare feet were mercilessly being attacked by small, sharp rocks with every step I took. I started to regret not buying another pair of shoes from the last village. I also regretted taking up that task of slaying the dragon that tormented the town. Not only did my legs scream for me to stop, but I felt exhausted. My eyesight was getting worse, black dots invaded my vision from time to time, and my head pounded from all the magic I did. How long could I keep this up before I collapsed?

“M-my name is Theros!” the kid squeaked, which surprised me. I thought he left “You look tired, you should come to my house to rest for a while. A-Also! Night is about to fall, you should take shelter before the monsters come out.” He added the last bit when he saw the uncertainty in my eyes.

I chuckled and looked back at him. Strangely enough, Theros had a small charm to him. “No, it’s fine. I don’t want to intrude on your personal space. Besides, I’ll be fine and can protect myself.”

“Look, I know you said you had a small journey, but I think you’re mistaken. There isn’t another town around here for miles!”

At this, I stopped in my tracks and recalculated my surroundings. My hometown had tropical weather all year round, there were huts on the water, fishing docks, and palm trees. Here, however, the air was freezing cold, I was already sniffling but had mistaken that as one of the disadvantages of my depleted magic. Here, however, N’oveal were prevalent which meant that this had to be a cold region, and my hometown was surrounded by desserts, not the harshness of winter. I groaned and turned back to Theros who had a worried look on his face.

“Where am I?” I asked with apprehension for his answer.

“Windscoul,” he said. I raised an eyebrow; I have heard of almost every village, continent, and county, but not Windscoul. I must’ve looked extremely confused because then he said, “i-if you never heard of us it’s mostly because well, no one does. We’re called ‘Peaceful doves’ by some because nothing really happens. I mean, we have the occasional bear or monster, but not every day like large cities.”

With a sigh of defeat, I walked slowly to him while saying, “ I’m leaving as soon as I find transportation, okay?”

Theros smiled brightly but then looked at me with concern. “That’s going to be hard because drivers gossip a lot. The word about you might be already circling around. Making it hard for you to get a ride from them. Anyways!” he said excitedly and clapped his hands before I got the chance to speak. He patted his N’oveal’s back so it hunched to the floor like a camel. It grunted, as though and didn’t want to do as told, and stared at me with what looked like malevolent, beady eyes as I got on.

Although it’s thick, long fur radiated extra warmth, it was uncomfortable to stay on as we began down the path. I had to wrap my arms around the N’oveal’s neck as Theros instructed me to. We traveled for what seemed like less than a couple of minutes before the trees were more sparse and the smell of burning firewood filled the air, bringing the hope of more warmth to my shivering body. The dirt path ended, however, but Theros seemed to know where he was going. He pulled the strains as we traveled and the N’oveal obeyed every twist and turn down the road.

“I just want to warn you to prepare to be gawked at.”

“Why would I be gawked at?” I chuckled, looking down at him.

“Well, don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t look like a messa and you’re going to seem like a Nookai.”

“A what-now?” I asked, thinking he mispronounced ‘monkey’.

“Nookai, you know, non-magical people. Don’t take this the wrong way, but even though your hair is curly and long, it isn’t white like every messa. You don’t have a mark. Also, you talk with a Nookai accent.”

“You mean British?”

He looked up at me for a moment, puzzled. “Yeaaahh, sure.” He then stopped talking and focused on the road ahead.

My eyes widened when I looked far ahead. From what I could see, there was a mixture of tents and huts. The closer we got, the more I was struck with awe. The tents were heavily embellished with gold lining and sometimes even small bells. When we passed through the gate of the town, I felt a heavy sense of magic wash over me but ignored it as we continued down the town. Smells of lavender and honey tickled at my senses and made me smile subconsciously.

There were small huts where merchants would be selling their products. Many rung bells, telling me how delicious their goods were compared to others, but I just smiled and looked away from them. My eyes darted from booth to booth: Fur coats that were covered in a magical shield to protect from harsh conditions, dragon-hide boots that were extremely expensive and sewed with golden thread, a small bookstore with quills, ink, and more, and the last hut I saw of importance was the one selling candles. The smoke whisked into the air, revealing figures of people dancing or frightening creatures.

“Aren’t you a messa?” Theros asked me, giggling at my expression. “we’re known for our craftsmanship, especially because of the many advantages it gives us.”

“I am, the place I live just doesn’t really like Messai technology,” I said. “They think it will ruin them.”

Theros slowed to a stop. We were now in the quiet part of the town. There weren’t many pedestrians and it was quiet and still. I could still hear the ringing of the bells, but it wasn’t as loud as before. We were in the farmlands, well that’s what he called it. There were bushes of berries that were almost covering the mile of fence post. Although there were different pens, there weren’t any animals inside them. All I could see was the vast land that had been plowed for the upcoming planting seasons. At the end of the dirt path stood a stable that we made our way too.

“Our farm is new, we only built it a week before,” Theros explained as he patted the n’oveal’s back once more and I jumped down. He led the creature inside its stable and it immediately lied down, resting its giant head upon his hooves. “We don’ have any animals yet. We only have our crops planted.”

I would look back at the miles of empty land that stretched for what seemed like forever. A smile tugged at my lips without knowing why. There was just something peaceful about this place and it felt like I actually belonged.

Theros had snapped twice before my attention went back to him. He looked a bit annoyed and I wondered for just how many minutes I had zoned out for. “Are you listening? I was just explaining the history of this place. Eh, it’s whatever. It’s really not as interesting as you think.” With that he would grab my hand, leading me out the stables. I had to hunch over awkwardly we walked. I mean, I was basically a giant compared to him, he only came up to my knees.

“You should stay here forever. I think you’ll like it.” he said as we climbed up a steep hill. He was trekking it easily, as for me I started panting halfway up.

I laughed quietly, although it echoed loudly due to the open space. “And stay where? I don’t think your tribe would want a foreigner in their mist.”

“You can stay with me! My parents won’t mind it. If we have to we’ll hide you in our attic.”

By the looks of it, he wasn’t joking. My laughter turned into snorts, but I covered my mouth with a hand as an attempt to quiet down. “I’m only staying for one night, Theros.”

“Only one?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll see about that.” He said with a playful smile.