Magnificent Mage of Life

A solemn oath

KAMIZOEL WAS NOT meant to die. That was not Tanis's plan for him. But nothing could save him as he fell over 200m down and crashed into hard sharp boulders. He closed his eyes in death.

At that same moment and coincidentally in a faraway galaxy of the universe. A supernova was happening. A supernova is the death of a white giant star. It emits so much energy that it can disrupt the normal flow of life on a cosmic scale.

It is the energy of the supernova that transported Tanis's soul away from Earth and through worlds, into a world called ANSALON.

KAMIZOEL STIRRED SLIGHTLY and opened his eyes. He could not detect different shapes and colors, he felt so dizzy. He tried to stand up but his hands and legs felt very heavy.

Have I been reborn as another human on Earth? He thought to himself. "Then that would mean Tanis has a wicked sense of humor."

His vision cleared and he could see he was in a large ditch. He tried to sand again but could not even control his feet. After close to 5 minutes of concentration, he managed to wiggle his toes and almost fell unconscious due to exhaustion.

He was lying on his back so the only thing he could see was the plain white skies and birds flying by. The sun was very hot and scorched his skin. He turned his neck to look around and saw that there was a tiny plant an arm's length away from his head. He reached out to touch the plant and stopped when his hand fell short by a few inches. But he felt something. He did not know what it was and could not ponder on it because suddenly, a large shadow fell across his face, blotting out the bright sun.

It was the shadow of a tall, large man dressed in a soldier's garb. The man went on one knee and bowed. "Thank the Eternals that I found you, Your Highness. Your father would have had my head on a spike before nightfall."

What? Your Highness?

These were strange and new words to Kamizoel as he felt himself lifted on strong arms and draped across the shoulder of the man like a sack of potatoes.

A sword! A sword! Kamizoel wept in his heart out of excitement. When was the last time he had seen a sword? There was a sword strapped to the soldier's waist.

"When was the last time I saw a sword?" Kamizoel cried in his heart as he reached down over the man's shoulder, trying to grab hold of the sword.

The man walked on, oblivious that the child he was carrying was struggling to take his sword until they got to a tree where a tall horse was standing patiently waiting.

The man heaved Kamizoel on the horse - who snorted and stomped a foot - before he climbed behind Kamizoel.

"To the palace," The soldier grunted. It seemed to Kamizoel that the horse understood because it set on a fast gallop even without directions from its master.

They rode hard until they got to the entrance of the capital, which was where the palace was located. Then the horse slowed to a soft canter as people parted way and bowed deeply to allow them to pass.

Kamizoel looked around. Intrigued at what sort of place this was. It was no Earth, he knew he had died on Earth. But what type of joke was Tanis playing with him? Or why was he in this place where the air was different, the people were different and they seemed to treat him with the utmost respect? Kamizoel took in everything his eyes could see, it was like he had been transported back in time. These were the times he was familiar with, but this place… there was something about it that he could not place his finger on. It was like something hung in the air, like tiny shiny dust particles.

The palace soon came into view and it was majestic. It was gigantic. It was intimidating. The horse cantered softly across the bridge. The two guards in front of the palace stood apart and bowed as the horse approached.

"Raise the gates! The prince has been found!" The one on the right shouted in a loud voice.

There was a loud crunching sound and a thick heavy metal grid was raised slowly. The soldier nudged his horse with the heel of his boot and the horse walked into the palace.

Kamizoel took in a sharp breath of air which caught in his throat. They came to a stop in front of the large doors. A very beautiful woman stood, waiting for them. Her face was lined with worry and nervousness.

The soldier swung a leg and leaped down from his horse. He went down on one knee and bowed. "Your Highness. I found the young prince Anakin in a ditch." Then he turned and easily lifted the prince from the horse and placed him in front of the woman.

The woman hugged him and rubbed his face. "Oh, my dear son. What were you doing?" She examined his body hastily. "And look, you are all covered with mud and scratches from thorns. You should not endanger yourself like that because of your condition." Then she looked up gratefully at the soldier. "I thank you, Arlen," The beautiful queen said. "Who knows what would have happened if another person had seen him? I hear centaurs patrol that area sometimes."

"Not to worry, my queen," The soldier said. "He is safe now."

The queen nodded and led her child into the palace.

Kamizoel allowed himself to be led through the beautifully decorated hallways. His mind was deep in thought.

From what he had acquired from the short conversation between the soldier and the queen, he was a prince called Anakin. And he had some sort of "condition"

"You may leave," the queen said to some maidens who had joined her. "I will bathe my son, myself."

The maidens bowed and hurried away.

The queen took off the dirty clothes from his body, he was expecting to feel shy or embarrassed that this woman was seeing him naked, instead, he experienced something he had never felt before.

As she tenderly washed his body with soap, Kamizoel felt his heart swell with a strange feeling to protect this woman from any harm.

"Is this what motherly love does?" He asked himself as the dirt pooled at his feet.

She lifted him away from the tub and dried his body with a soft towel. "How did you get to that ditch in the first place?" She asked softly, more to herself than to the child. "Look at these injuries on your body." She sighed. "You know you are low on life, you should not do reckless things like that."

Kamizoel simply stared at her face as she worried about his well-being. She muttered something inaudible under her breath and held her hand over the injuries, and to Kamizoel's surprise, his injuries held up and closed swiftly.

"There." She said. "Good as new." She smiled at him. "Now, to dress you up." She stood up and went to the adjoined room.

Kamizoel used that time to waddle to the closest mirror.

He looked at himself in the mirror and saw that he had been reborn into the body of a handsome little prince of about 9 years old. He peered closely, he could see his own golden streaks of hair amongst the prince's dark brown hair. He stared at himself for a long time, he looked like a healthy child. So what condition are they almost talking about?

"Anakin," His mother's voice called from the other room.

It took a moment for him to remember that his name was now Anakin, and from then, he ceased being Kamizoel.

His mother came back and picked him up. "You have to get ready for the royal feast tonight. All the elders of the continent would be there. Go up to your room and take a nap until it is time." She draped a thick robe over him and led him out.

As he stepped out of the room and looked around the hallway, glimpses of Anakin's memory flashed before his eyes like a movie. He saw that Anakin was the only child of the king, but he had always secretly bullied and despised for not having something called "Life" which was another name for magic.

Anakin's father, Lord Hederick, had adopted a young ward of Anakin's age called Daryth.

Daryth had excessive power of Life compared to his peers, and Lord Hederick had been training him in the art of politics and warfare, but Daryth was not satisfied, he knew that the royal-blooded prince would always be a threat, so he had pretended to play with Anakin and led him to the ditch where he pushed Anakin over to his death.

It was at that same moment that Kamizoel had fallen over the cliff to death too, and following a coincidental upsurge of cosmic energy due to the supernova, Kamizoel had been transported in Prince Anakin's body where the soldier Arlen had found him.

Kamizoel found his way to his room, but just as he was about to walk in, the door opened, and standing in front was his father's adopted ward, Daryth.

Daryth was taken aback at the sight of Anakin. He thought that after the ditch, the next time he would be seeing Anakin would be at a funeral.

Anakin smiled at Daryth's shock as he walked into his room. Daryth snapped his fingers, a little flame popped on his index finger and he returned the smile to Anakin and winked before strutting away.

As he watched Daryth walk away like he owned the place, Kamizoel was fuming in anger, and so he made a vow. "From this moment onwards, Kamizoel has ceases to exist. Now, there is only Anakin, and I will make sure I take the revenge on the people who disgraced and despised you. I will make sure I protect your mother from any danger, and finally, I will master the use of Life that has brought you so much shame. All this I promise you, so you might rest and be happy. We will never be bullied again."