Sereth's First Adventure

Young Sereth Akkamara had been waiting for this camping trip for nearly two weeks. The trip itself would last only a weekend. He was only eight years old at the time. (about six in draconin years) He had heard his father, Sprizen talk about the beauty of nature before, but Sereth hadn't experienced it for himself. It was all he could think about in recent days, and parts of him were in disbelief that he was actually going to go camping. He wanted so badly for his mother, Sudea to join them, but she had told Sereth that she had important business to attend to at work. He asked only once more before they left, but once again, Sudea gently smiled at her son, and told him the same thing once more.
Sereth and his father began their day long journey to a small forest outside of town. It was a warm summer's day, and the path was theirs alone. Sereth carried only a small knife which his father had just recently given him. Sprizen had opted to carry the necessary supplies for their camping trip. Their path took them near a wide river, and would stay next to that river for the remainder of their trip.
About midway through the journey, boredom gripped at Seteth's mind. As a child does, he would confuse this for fatigue, and started making remarks such as "Are we there yet?" or "Can we stop? I'm tired." Sprizen simply smiled, and said, "Why don't we do something even better?" He spread his massive copper wings. Excitement stretched across Sereth's face. Sprizen picked up his son, and flew straight up into the sky.
Sereth saw more in that moment than he ever had in his life. "I thought you were tired." said Sprizen jokingly. Sereth only chuckled. The supplies on Sprizen's back combined with Sereth's own weight caused fatigue to set in quickly. The flight was short. "There's a lot more to see if we push on, son." said Sprizen softly, struggling to catch his breath. Sereth continued with his father with a newfound curiosity. He had just seen so much in so little time, and his father just said there is more to see! He wanted to see it all!
As they walked, the day would stretch like a lazy cat. When the afternoon turned into evening, Sereth would stumble upon some new curiosities. As the sun began to set, flowers, previously closed would slowly bloom. Their pedals were as silver as the blade on the boy's knife, and each one was heart shaped. As the sky grew dark, and the moon would rise over the south, these flowers would glow with a golden light bright enough to light their path. Sereth bent down to pick one. Sprizen gently stopped him, saying "This sort of beauty is not to be taken. Let them bloom, let them glow. Do not keep its glow for yourself, but rather let it show it glow for others." Sereth didn't fully understand, but obeyed his father none the less.
Not long after, they had arrived on the edge of the small forest they were looking for. Sprizen had heard a noise from behind. A noise he knew well, and feared with every fiber of his being. A noise that reminded him of time spend stranded many years ago. He heard the growling of a Zaerta. The same fear grew in Sereth. Sprizen pushed his son forward, placing himself between the zaerta, and Sereth. Sereth turned to watch what his father would do, and was scared. Not of the zaerta, but for his father. He was scared to see his father get hurt. He watched as Sprizen drew his sword, and saw its bright blue glow. He saw the beast lash out at his father with its massive claws. Sprizen turned to dodge the strike. The zaerta slashed the pack containing the supplies off of Sprizen's back, and into the river next to their path. The slash barely missed Sprizen's wings.
As Sprizen turned to swing back, he enhanced his blade with forceful arcane magic. He slashed at the beast's shoulder. The blade cut deep, and hit with great force, lifting the lizard off its front feet. It came back down with force, landing on its side. When the beast got to its feet, it retreated. "What was that monster?!" asked Sereth, unable to shake out his fear. "Monster' is an apt description, son." answered Sprizen. "That monster was called a 'zaerta'." "What's a zaerta?" asked Sereth. "A zaerta is easily the most terrifying natural thing that walks on Eternity's physical plane. Very few have survived being locked in one's jaws. I am one of those few. They don't usually come this far north. Not during this season. Must've escaped from a ranch."
It is about this time, that Sprizen realized that his pack containing the supplies had been slashed off his back. In a near panic, Sprizen desperately searched for the pack. "I saw the monster throw the pack into the river." said Sereth. Sprizen's shoulders slumped. Instantly, he knew there was no finding it. "Your mother loved that pack. Not sure she'll like that I lost it." It was far too late to turn back. They'd have to survive a night in these woods, and return home the following morning. Sprizen prepped their camping spot while Sereth gathered some firewood from a fallen tree nearby. His knife was sharp enough cut branches off a fallen, dry tree.
He stacked the armful of dry branches in a semi-organized fashion. Just as Sereth began looking for a way to light the fire, his father would breath fire from within, lighting the branches. Sereth tried to do the same, but ended up coughing instead. "It will come with age, son." said Sprizen, "You need only be patient." Sereth contorted his face in irritation. He didn't want to wait to breathe fire, but saw no way to make it come sooner.
After a few minutes next to the fire, he saw a ripple in the light behind his father. The ripple moved from right, to left. "Daddy, I think there's something behind you." Sprizen looked behind him, but the ripple had already passed by. He turned back and said, plainly, "It's not nice to play tricks son, we've talked about this." Right after he finished the statement, at the corner of his eye, he saw the ripple too. His right hand slowly reached for his sword, while his left was ready to cast a spell using his sorcery. The ripple revealed itself to be a ghost wolf. Such wolves will turn invisible to stalk their prey, and become visible as they strike. The wolf lunged at Sereth. With reflexes that only a father could possess, he placed an arcane shield between Sereth, and the wolf. The beast slammed against the barrier. Sereth screamed, and the wolf yipped. Sprizen turned over the barrier, and shaped it into a dome, trapping the wolf.
"Another monster!" Shouted Sereth. "Unlike the zaerta, this is not a monster." Said Sprizen "Dangerous, yes. But not a monster." He paused for a moment. "I suppose I owe you an apology, son. You pointed out a legitimate threat, and I didn't give it a second thought." "It's okay, daddy." said Sereth. "How did you do that?" "I'm sure you've noticed by now that your father is not like other people. Your father has special powers." "What kind of powers?" Sprizen paused before answering. "Great power. I have the unique ability to shape magic into almost whatever I want to. Though there are limitations, son. I can't just do whatever however often I want. There is a certain amount of magic already within me. Every time I use my magic, I spend some of the magic within me. If I run out of magic, then a can no longer safely use it." "Once you run out of magic are you no longer powerful?" "Only for a short while. I don't know how, but when the sun rises the next day, my magic is restored."
Sprizen lifted the dome, and the wolf ran back into the woods. "You should get some sleep, son." Sereth looked left, then right. "What about you?" asked Sereth. "I am going to stay up all night, and make sure nothing attacks us." "Will your magic come back if you don't sleep?" "No, but I won't need to use all of it in one go. Everything will be fine, son." Sereth laid his head on his arm, and closed his eyes. "Can you sing me a song, daddy?" Sprizen thought for a moment, and had an idea.
"Looks like the end of days, The stairway goes both ways, As the green flames lash out to strike The last knight standing is I,
I stand here with my blade in hand, I have fought until the final man, Once perfect armor now is torn, My chest is pierced by darkest thorn,
I lay here now with no regrets, Save the still looming threat, Gods have mercy on the souls that fell, For all of us have failed
Where once we were many, now are none, Still the fight is far from done, For now I say the savior's word, Others will rise to take up the sword."
As Sprizen gently sang, Sereth would slowly drift to sleep.