Ruler Of Iron And Flesh

Alaric thought about many different powers or abilities he could use, but none of them stuck out to him.

He thought about conjuring powers, or abilities and powers that would let him transform, but those weren't appealing either.

Then he thought of elemental abilities, but not the lightning. He wanted something that could be used in almost any kind of situation. Water would be handy, but he would need a source of water to control it. Earth is good too, but not for aerial battles. Fire is highly destructive, but that still wasn't it.

'The wind!' Alaric thought.

"Let me try this then Burt." Burt watched as Alaric crossed his legs and began to focus while sitting down. He imagined being free and feeling the wind whip past his face as he flew in the air. He imagined the flow of the world moving whatever way he wished with a simple wave of his hand.

Suddenly, something in his mind flipped, and he felt a gentle breeze circle him, not blow past him.

He flicked a finger, and a blast of air shot into the arena's wall, leaving a significant dent in it.

Burt's eyebrows raised, "That's a little bit more than what I expected you would get at 12 years old. I'm impressed Alaric, what made you think of the wind?"

Alaric opened his eyes and smiled, "I wanted an ability that I could use anywhere in any kind of situation. That already crossed out Earth and Water, and fire I couldn't see myself using in a small closed space. I didn't want any conjuring ability or something that transformed my body. I like the subtleness of wind but the power that comes with it."

Burt nodded, "alright, then!"

The sun slowly peaked over the horizon, and Alaric swore.

"Watch your language Alaric; your mother would be mad at me if I didn't correct you."

"I didn't get any sleep! Now I have classes all day!"

Burt shrugged, "don't worry too much about it. Your first class is here, anyway. Now, remember, don't show off any more power than your wind. You are much stronger now than before your transformation. Don't hurt anyone."

Alaric nodded, "I'll be careful."

Burt yawned, "good! I'll go grab your books and stuff; you wait here for your next class."

Alaric yawned, too, "Oooooo-kay."

Alaric laid down on the grassy parts of the field as he waited for his classmates to all show-up. He slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

He began to dream, and in his dream, he saw the same dark winged figure once again.

He shivered because he knew exactly who this was now. It was still hard for him to believe that this figure was his father.

"You're back." The figure stated in a grave voice.

"I am. I didn't mean to come back, but I learned your real name while I was gone."

"My...name? You learned my name?"

Alaric nodded, "yes, I learned your name. Your real name is Inian."

Inian's eyes widened, "my name, is Inian! His eyes widened, and he jumped up. What, have I been doing here? I need to go kill the behemoth level monsters!!"

He began moving forward, but Alaric held up a hand and quickly said, "wait, Inian! You already did that. You won already."

Inian's eyes began darting around then opened wide, "I didn't finish killing the monsters, my week is up."

Alaric asked in a confused voice, "what do you mean your week is up?"

Inian didn't respond but began screaming.

This bloodcurdling scream shook Alaric to his bones, and he saw Inian began spastically moving in pain.

That's when his dream ended, and he woke up to Burt shaking him, "wake up Alaric. I have your stuff here with me."

He handed Alaric his bag, and Alaric thanked him.

Burt nodded, "I should get out of here before the rest of the students show up; good luck today!"

"Yeah, thank you."

Alaric waited, and slowly students trickled into the arena for their first class of the day. Eli was among the first to show up, "dude, are you okay? You look like a wreck!"

Part of Alaric's uniform was torn, and he didn't have a chance to get a new pair. "Yeah man, I'm okay. I'm a bit tired, though."

Eli bent in close, "did you figure out your ability?"

Alaric whispered, "yes, but don't tell anyone."

Eli nodded, and suddenly another yell came from a distance, "oh my gosh Alaric! What happened to you?!"

Elizabeth stood over the torn-up looking Alaric, "I'm fine, I just had a long night is all."

She put her hands on her h.i.p.s, "so what, you're not going to tell me? C'mon! I'm your friend!"

"That's all, I swear."

Elizabeth huffed, "fine, don't tell me if that's how you're going to be. I'll be over there with my real friends." She marched over to her girl group that huddled and began whispering to one another when Elizabeth got close.

Alaric sighed, "I guess this is going to be my life now."

Leah came flying in from above the mini arena like she always did, "okay students! Time for class!"