Erzo got onto his hands and knees and then crawled hesitantly to the book. He completely ignored the grime from the damp ground creeping through his fingers. The faint fumes continued to seep out. He reached out his hand.

  Something was special about this book.

  Do not fear me, young half-breed. Feel. Learn. Connect. Do this, and the Ley Lines are forever yours to manipulate.

  Erzo’s eyes grew wide and his hand moved back slowly. “You’re talking to me?” Erzo asked, a little taken back but even more curious.

  Symbols on the book’s binding and cover had begun to form and glowed in a brilliant purple sheen that he had not seen before. He doubted even the king himself had seen something so amazing. Erzo slowly blinked, but when he opened his eyes, everything stopped. The fog and bright light were gone, and the book lay silently on the ground.

  The presence he had felt before vanished but the hairs stood on the back of his neck. Erzo slowly picked up the book with both hands, but it was so heavy it made him fumble with his footing. The old worn leather continued to peel apart as he held it. It smelled horrific. Old leather never smelled good which was surprising to him considering he lived in an unused sewer duct.

  The pages were just barely held together. But each page did not feel like normal parchment. Not to him at least. No, they felt like glass. A flexible, yet smooth, glass. Each word was ridged and every interesting symbol seemed to pop out of the page. The more he gazed upon its unique aesthetic, the more his body drunkenly swayed and relaxed. The symbols and words were becoming clearer by the second as his eyes drank in the images. The bright hue returned and glowed in contrast against the darkness of the room.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Soon, comfort was all he felt. A certain familiarity was similar to what he had felt with his mother. The presence of a soothing caregiver. A protector. It gave him strength.

  His eyes dimmed but Erzo’s confidence flourished. This will be how he gets even. By the sudden grace of the Gods, he was given his source of power to take back what was stripped from him every day since his mother’s assassination: his sense of being.

  Over the next few days, Erzo didn’t leave the sewers. He contemplated how to exact his revenge on the butcher but also where he should go next. What Mel told him the other day sprung an idea. Living out in the forest shouldn’t be too hard right? He found himself in deep thought, without realizing he was packing his things in preparation of leaving his sewer.

  Leaving the city was always allowed, but coming back might prove difficult without proper paperwork. The likes of which were taken from him when his house was seized by the very same nobles that killed his mother. Theoretically, it was a means to control the merchant flow of goods into the city.

  A problem for another day I guess, he thought. He gripped his satchel with a firm grasp and walked out of the city, headed straight for the forest.