Once Upon A Mage

Finn

They ran without looking back. Finn didn't want to abandon the people that saved him, especially Nesta. The baby in his arms whimpered, and Finn held him tighter to his chest. Next to him, Rohan was determined as he held his hand and led the way to the river. 

The sound of rushing water neared as the river grew close. They stopped at the bank and Finn's dread grew, The river was violent and wide, they would need a sturdy boat to cross it and even then it wasn't a guaranteed safe crossing.

"Curses! How are we going to cross that?" Rohan exclaimed Finn's thoughts. Finn hadn't dared speak himself, he didn't trust his voice, he didn't trust Rohan. A shrill cry resonated from behind them. Finn turned and watched with horror as the beast charged at them. Nesta and the twins were hot on his trail.

"Finn, Rohan, look out!" She cried out as the beast opened his mouth and a bolt of shadows flung at them. The world slowed as Finn watched the projectile get closer. At that moment his mind blanked, his heart slowed, and his whole body tingled. He felt something jolt in him at the last minute and he threw his free hand up in the air.

The blast hit an invisible wall before them and then vanished. Finn's eyes were glowing gold again. The monster seemed to halt just for an instant and Finn took advantage of it, he didn't know what he was doing, but every fiber in his being moved as if his power was guiding him. He had never thought of himself being able to do anything he accomplished in the past few days, but now his life and the lives of everyone else present depended on him.

The vines burst out from the ground and trapped the monster as he thought of them. the monster bit at them and thrashed, but they were holding steady. That was his chance, he could kill the beast, he was about to until the faintest voice whispered in his head; 'Volvel taah'

For some reason, Finn felt like it was necessary to repeat those words, it came to him like a rush of echoes. "Volvel Taah!" He exclaimed and the beast stilled, in fact, everyone stilled like statues stuck in time. he looked where the monster was and instead of the beast stood a man. he looked confused and emitted a silver glow that shimmered in the light. The man was dead, and Finn was somehow seeing his soul.

"Wh-Where am I?" he asked as he looked around. "Where is my family?"

Finn's heart clenched. "My name is Finn. what's yours?" He asked.

"Jaskell" The man answered, looking lost. "Wait, am I- am I dead?" he asked, more panicked. Finn couldn't answer, and the man took his silence as confirmation.

"Do you know how I died? do you know who killed me?" He asked. Finn shook his head no to both questions. He just couldn't have imagined that the monster that wanted to kill him earlier was just an innocent man who had been probably unjustly killed. "Then why can I talk to you if I am dead?"

"I don't know, I am a mage, maybe it has something to do with my powers. Even I don't understand the extent of them." Finn answered honestly. " But up until I met you, I and my friends were being hunted by a terrible monster. I think it was you under the influence of some spell." Finn motioned to the group still frozen in time. the man exhaled.

"Well, I guess there's nothing for me to do her anymore, I can never go back to being alive. But thank you, for freeing me from whatever made me cause harm." he attempted a small smile, but Finn saw all the sadness behind his eyes. Then he vanished.

Everything suddenly came back to normal as everyone resumed moving. "What just happened?" Nesta asked as she neared Finn, Rohan, and the baby. The twins looked equally surprised as they all looked at where the monster once stood, instead it was just a pile of dust that got swept away by the wind.

"I-I don't know, I have no idea I was powerful enough to do that," Finn answered.

" And you are much more powerful than you think," A strange voice said as a blinding ray of light came down toward them. everyone shielded their eyes as it approached, followed by a silver light shaped like a crescent moon. when the lights faded, two of the most ethereal-looking women stood before them. The first one was cast in a radiant sunny glow; she wore a golden gown that Finn had never seen before, her blonde hair was woven into an intricate pattern, and atop her head rested a golden crown with an image of the sun at its center. Behind her stretched beautiful white-feathered wings. the other woman was cast in a silver shimmer; She wore a similar gown but hers was pure white and contrasted well with her ebony skin. She wore a tiara that was encrusted with small black gemstones, and at the center of it was the moon. She had a pair of midnight black wings, but under the light, they gave off a blue glimmer.

"Your highnesses" Nesta proclaimed as she and the twins bowed deep in reverence. Finn could have guessed it on his own, but Nesta and the others just confirmed that he was, in fact, standing in the presence of royalty. mage royalty.