XXV. The Exile

"Give me a few days! I need to learn skills, this fight is unfair!" said Dag, still painting.

But the guy charged him again, this time accompanied by Aslan, that charged forward with the shield.

Dag focused on them. For a second, he closed his eyes.

He thought about Gridd, and what she told him about 2 vs 1 fights. "Face two enemies as one. Four legs are heavier than two, take advantage".

He opened his eyes back. They both were running towards him, ready to attack. He waited till they were only a few meters from his position and when they swung their weapons he dodged them both, spinning on his left side, the same Aslan was coming from.

Dodging in that direction, the other guy had no chance to hit him, because he was behind the shield, out of his sight.

They were fighting with real weapons, they wanted to hit him for real: the impact could hurt him or worse…kill him.

That world wasn't wired for fairness, it was rude. He couldn't permit anyone to prevail. He must kill, if necessary.

Dag swung widely his sword, striking the guy on his back, making a cut on it.

Then he crossed his arms and performed an Earth Stomp on Aslan, that started to waver.

With a frontal kick, Dag hit his face, right on the mouth.

With the impact of the kick, Aslan released blood from his mouth, then crouched with his hands placed on the ground and spat blood again.

In the bloody blur, Dag could see some of Aslan's teeth, detached from his mouth after the heavy kick.

"I said… I need more time."

Dag almost killed the guy and broke Aslan's teeth, but felt still calm. Thanks to Gridd, he learned advanced combat techniques, even if his skill powers were low.

The guy was on the ground, into a bloodbath. His back was sliced and lots of blood came out from the wound.

Aslan kept touching his mouth, crouched. His hands were red. With wide eyes, he yelled to Dag:

"Who the fuck are you, little bastard?!"

He can't continue to talk, the pain was unsustainable.

"If you try again to get in my way, I will kill you" answered Dag in a strong, clear voice.

In the meanwhile, everybody stopped training in the courtyard. All the warriors heard the screams and saw the fight. They all were shocked.

In a few seconds, Dag realized what he'd done. He dropped his bloodied sword off the ground and stepped back, frightened.

"What the hell have I done! This is not me" he thought.

When he was fighting, he felt an uncommon sensation, as if his opponents deserved what he would do. As if they were inferior beings.

He outplayed them, and he liked it.

Suddenly, he grabbed the scrolls from the ground and ran to the dorm.

"What was that power? Master Magni was right, I'm evil! There's darkness in me, I wasn't aware of my actions!"

Dag continued running to his room, crying.

He entered the door and slammed it after, sliding on it and sitting on the floor.

While his head was leaning against the door, he heard a step sound. Somebody was walking in his direction.

He moved away from the door, dragging himself towards the bed.

The door opened.

"You can't stay here, you're too dangerous for others"

A tall man with long white hair and beard was talking. He held a wooden staff in his right hand and wore a long, green leather dress.

Dag looked him in the eyes. His left eye was missing: on his face, a scar cut his eye starting from the forehead till the cheek.

It should be Master Egill, the Master of healing.

"I healed the two men outside, in the courtyard. The one you hurt on the back almost died" continued Egill. You must go."

"I…I wasn't myself, I swear! Wh…where…where should I go?" said Dag, crying.

"He's coming with me"

Another voice came from the corridor. It was Magni.

"Magni, he's dangerous" said Egill

"I know, Egill, I feel his power" answered Magni.

"He will come with me, on the other side of Mount Torden. I used to live there, in a farmhouse, when I was young" continued.

Egill looked at Dag. Then, without a word, he walked away.

"I'm so sorry, Master! They have left me no choice! I almost killed one of my brothers today, and I felt no regrets soon after! Maybe you're right, I'm evil!"

Dag bowed in front of Magni, with his hands on the floor, imploring for his mercy.

"Evil or not, yours is a unique power. You must cultivate it. Your power will be of great benefit for our Clan, one day. You have to control your dark side, to use it to your own advantage" said Magni.

"I don't know how Master… I just wanted to become a great warrior, as many did before me"

Magni got closed to Dag and lowered in front of him: "You will. I bet on you"

Dag stopped crying. Magni believed in him.

"Now get your things together, we're leaving today in the afternoon" continued.

"What about these?" Dag pointed at the scrolls.

"You can bring them with you. In future days, you will return to the library to take other scrolls if you want"

Dag nodded his head.

He thought about what he did in the courtyard. Probably he deserved to be kicked out of the temple, to be treated like a Renegade. Magni was kind to him, he protected him.

Dag didn't know the reason for all his kindness but had no choice. The other option would be to run away from there to go somewhere, who knows where.

He packed all his stuff and soon got ready to go.

As the Sun began to set, Dag and Magni left the Temple of Orn, this time on horses, one for Dag and one for his Master.