"Being a Better Apprentice"

For most of the people I have encountered, met, or had conversations with in the world of Brunope, they have always said one thing consistently: if I could look back, I would have done things differently. I wish I had been more patient with my mentors, my timeline for accomplishing things, and been more realistic about my goals for accomplishing things.

I happen to have this same line of thinking, especially in regards to my apprenticeship to my master Jiran. If I could go back and change it, I most certainly would. I wish I could have been more appreciative of his teachings and more understanding of the criticisms he launched at me, not to screw me over but to make me better.

Considering what has happened, I would have put a better foot forward so I could have prepared for the danger that was coming toward the world. I wish I had been more eager to take advantage of the opportunities he had given me to improve my craft and become more like those who came before me. Here is the tale of that impatience and disrespect.

At the time, I was recently picked by Jiran to be his apprentice and learn the ways of the Priala Wizards. Though I would never admit this to his face, I was scared to be a wizard myself. The opportunity to me seemed very daunting as the amount of time and studying to be the kind of Wizard I wanted and needed to be for the Priala Order. As a result, I was very impulsive with Jiran as I went through my training, leading to unnecessary mistakes.

One of the major mistakes was not listening to his advice, stating that I should not venture outside the magic tower. According to Jiran, one of the major reasons not to go out was that it was outside the magical jurisdiction of the Priala Wizards and therefore did not offer protection to any of the wizards within the Priala company. My rebellious nature from my childhood encouraged me not to listen to his wishes.

Specifically, he said I was not permitted to go out after sunset due to the danger of my being captured by none other than the Grithiar, who were wolf-like creatures that used dark magic from the moon to destroy some of their victims and resurrect them into their wolf-like army. He thought this possibility was far too dangerous of a possibility and was something to be considered. He did not want his most promising student to get into enemy hands.

So, he forbade me from leaving the premises of the magic tower, which he named the Destined, a magical tower at the top of the world protecting not only me and him from the magical threats that remained outward, but those who visited us as well. For example, one of his co-wizards Priola came to visit from time to time. Since the tower’s magic protected all of the inhabitants, Priola counted as his friends or his subjects.

When Jiran and Priolo were too distracted with their tea to pay attention to what I was doing, I was able to sneak out of my room using my teleportation powers and spells that I had been learning the past three weeks to fly out of the window and down into the medieval town which I had heard so many different stories about. The people seemed friendlier than the unaccepting people my master had come to have me

believe they were.

As I walked through the local village, Tyra, a small part of the capital city of Pyron that comprised mostly the city's most impoverished, I began to notice something was off with the locals, and many of them started to express panic. Near the front of the Partkeepers Inn, a place where not only Viran drank during some of our darkest hours but Priola as well during his visits to us, things began to get a little out of hand.

The two main windows next to the front of the Partkeepers burst open with the glass shattering everywhere, with many of the local townsfolk fleeing in horror. What followed those same townspeople was a horror to behold, which was a wolf-like creature with tons of fur on it, with crazy red eyes that glowed like dripping blood. This creature was, however, not just any wolf; it was a Grithar.

Grithars were some of the most dangerous creatures not only in Pyron, but the world as a whole. Having their powers fueled by the moon, a bite from one of them could instantly turn you into a wolf, enslaving you permanently to their service unless released through a spell cast by a Priala Wizard. Despite my not having the necessary training to be able to take this creature down, I felt a moral obligation to stop what was happening and do something about it.

So, I let myself be known to the creature and that I was going to stop him. Surprisingly, the wolf knew a good amount of English and knew what I was saying. He responded with “Young one, you cannot stop what is coming. My master will inevitably one day take over the world and change it as we know it. There is nothing you can do to stop us. Leave me be, or you will regret it.”

Though I processed his words for only a few seconds, I felt obliged to do the right thing. These people had a right to enjoy themselves and have the right to privacy to enjoy a nice drink or two after a hard day’s work. I confidently replied by saying to him, “I do not think that I am going to do that. I have never been the one to necessarily follow the rules.” Before beginning the battle, I asked him, “What is your name again?”

“Constotole!” he said before leaping into battle with me. Unfortunately, just like my master said, I was unprepared to face him in battle. Even though I used every defense maneuver and trick to defeat him in battle, it was never enough to stop him from entrenching his claws into me.

All seemed lost to me, and it seemed certain that I would face imminent death from Constotole, but fortunately for me, he was blasted with a water blast and a fire blast at the same time. When I turned my head back to look at who was firing those blasts, it was Jiran and Priolo who ran toward me to make sure that I was okay and still breathing. They were able to scare the werewolf away.

But boy, did I listen to my master after that.