1 Raven
Under the hot sun of summer, in a small wooden house that was surrounded by many others of its kind, a young mother was in the middle of labor. Assisted by a lone midwife, and a panicked husband that was not helping, the young mother struggled.
"Come on, one final push, Liz." The midwife said and encouraged the young mother, Elizabeth.
"Urhg!" Elizabeth groaned loudly as she gave one final push, squeezing her useless husband's hand almost enough to break the bones in it. She immediately felt the pressure in her lower regions disappear and she fell back, gasping for breath, with sweat running down her face.
A few moments later, a high pitched cry rang out in the room, a sweet sound to the tired mother's ears. The midwife cleaned the baby and wrapped it in a towel before stepping forward.
"Congratulations, Liz. You have a healthy baby boy." She said as she handed him over. She then cleaned up a bit before making herself scarce and giving the new parents some time to themselves.
"Look at him, David." Elizabeth said as her husband cradled her and their son. He gently pushed the little white hair that laid on the baby's head. "Should we still call him that?" She looked up at him, staring into his eyes.
"Yes, we should." David nodded and took in the sight of his son. Soft dark skin and a head of white hair. "Welcome to the world, Raven."
.
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A few months passed in peace as the new family enjoyed themselves. Raven proved to be a bundle of energy and joy, always keeping Elizabeth and David on their feet. However, soon, the parents realized that all was not well.
"What will we do, David?" Elizabeth asked with worry as she looked at her pacing husband. Both of their gazes unintentionally landed on their son who kept staring at his blackened fingertips with curiosity. The pitch black color gradually receded until it vanished and revealed Raven's natural skin color.
When the pitch black color receded, Elizabeth quickly picked up her son. She turned to look at David with a pensive expression.
"Whether we like it or not, our son seemed to have an affinity for Dark Magic." David sighed and rubbed his balding head. "There is nothing we can do but keep it a secret for now. We can limit how he interacts with others outside our supervision and as he grows older, we can explain these things to him." David thought of a stopgap solution. It was not foolproof, but it was better than handing over their son to the Empire to be burnt at a stake.
Yes, burnt at a stake.
Elizabeth and David lived in a village on the outskirts of the White Empire. The White Empire was a powerhouse that placed heavy emphasis on White Magic and other orthodox forms of magic. As a result, all forms of unorthodox magic were strictly banned within the borders of the Empire. In fact, the White Empire even went a step ahead and did its best to conquer and convert the other surrounding nations into following its ideals.
This made the White Empire and the surrounding regions a particularly dangerous place to those who practiced any unorthodox form of magic, Dark Magic included. Now, it had become equally dangerous to this small family.
Elizabeth looked down at the baby that was giggled in her arms. She could not help but feel the worry that refused to be stemmed, even by her husband's words. This world was a dangerous place, even more so when one had to be independent. Her son was too little to be plagued by all these things, and it would make his childhood a lot more complicated then anyone wanted.
Still, there was nothing they could do but accept what life threw at them. As loving parents, they would do their best to ensure that Raven was raised as smoothly as possible. When he grew older to understand, they would explain it all to him and make sure that he was careful with his powers.
.
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As the months sped by, winter soon graced the small village of Romar. With the heavy snow and freezing weather, food was hard to come by and the men of the village had to form a hunting expedition to search for food every once in a while. As expected, David was part of this hunting expedition. Being one of the strongest men of the village, it was unthinkable for him to sit out the expedition.
"I will be back soon, love. Take care of Raven until I return." He kissed Elizabeth's forehead and did the same for Raven.
"Be careful, David." Elizabeth hugged David before holding him close and bowing her head. A few moments later, a small, golden glow lit up the room as Elizabeth's hair turned to a glowing gold and her eyes lit up in the same color.
"May the Gods protect you on your journey." She whispered and David's body warmed up.
"Thank you. I will cherish this blessing." David kissed Elizabeth one last time before turning and picking up his gear before leaving the house.
Elizabeth sat back and let out a sigh. She looked at Raven who was seating in his baby seater and a smile climbed up her face. Everything would be find as long as no one found out about how special her baby boy was. She was sure of it.
"Gah!" Raven cooed and stretched out his hands with a grin, not aware of the troubles that plagued his parents following his birth. But Elizabeth was glad that he was as oblivious, just as any child should be.
