Chapter 11: The Fire Grows

The next morning, Tavin awoke bleary-eyed to the sun already climbing above the horizon. He was late. He shot up, threw on his boots, and darted out the door. He didn’t bother going down to town, opting instead to cut directly through the forest, running directly to his new makeshift training ground.

His heart thundered as he focused as hard as he could on his destination. It was all downhill, and in his sprint he could feel that he was losing control of his momentum. He ducked beneath a branch, then leapt over a fallen tree, but his boot caught the edge of it and sent him tumbling. He rolled a few times, raising his arms to protect his face as he spun end over end.

As he slowed, he kicked himself up and somehow ended up back on his feet. He resumed his sprint, but as he did so something caught his eye. He thought it was a person, but if so they looked incredibly pale, with stark white hair. He glanced in the direction without slowing down, but couldn’t find them again.