Passing of the Flame? [Atzar] [Open to 1 or 2 more]

[ArcanaFate]

The silence had almost become deafening out in the forested hideaway.

Ezra had spent minutes, possibly even up to an hour in the frigid cold attempting to get this spell to work and having not even a spark to show for it. What were they doing wrong? Were they really that limited in spell power that even producing the simplest of flames was out of their control? The frustration was beginning to seep into their mind, and they stomped their boot into the snow, the crunch almost a cathartic response to the annoyance. Did the Homunculi even have a chance to succeed in the first place? Or was it a farce from the beginning, a failed magical experiment who was brought to life by magic but never wield it for themselves?

The existential crisis, however, would be cut short by the sound of footsteps in snow. Rapid footsteps... people were running? Running towards Ezra? That couldn't be a good sign. The Homunculi quickly dashed for the trees, attempting to hide themselves the best they could as a group of four men came into view. They watched as silently as they could manage, hoping the men weren't here to take Ezra back. They didn't know much about the Church out here in Salvar, but the anti-magic mentality was not to be taken lightly and how they dealt with 'heretics' was not an adventure the Homunculi was wanting to experience. It became clear, however, that the four men were not in a group together, but three of the men were chasing a fourth as an orb of light crashed into a nearby tree branch and splintered the wood. Purple eyes looked the man up and down, and the Homunculi couldn't help but be curious. Average appearance, not too skinny or fat. Black hair, rather unkempt but in this region it made sense to worry less about appearance and more about functionality. Rather young as well, with no or very little facial hair to hide his face. Probably a flirt with the women, using that young face to hi-

Quietly shaking their head and cursing their lack of focus, Ezra began listening in to the conversation between the man and his assailants. Apparently, the group was with the Church, and their leader was preaching the mission of hunting magic users and the salvation of souls and Ezra promptly tuned out the rest of the self-righteous nonsense. Magic itself wasn't inherently evil; at the end of the day, it was up to the caster's will that shaped the magic. Magic simply was, and no amount of zealous speech was going to change that. As the well-trimmed leader got into a defensive position, a spark of energy burst into life inside Ezra's mind. Their eyes almost seemed to glow momentarily, the runes within giving their purple eyes a slight golden hue. The Homunculi blinked in surprise, feeling... something inside. Some kind of veil lingered on their palms.

Before they could really think about what had happened, the young man the Churchmen had been chasing retaliated with a slow formed fireball and Ezra almost squealed with glee. If the young man knew fire magic, maybe Ezra could learn from him? But first, the clash between the men and the mage had to be settled. As the leader of the little group rolled backwards from the blast, the other two watching on in horror. The Churchman picked himself up and raised his palms towards the lone mage. Ezra could barely see the man's lips moving and a spear of light energy rocketed forth from the leader's hands towards Ezra's (hopefully) new mentor.

"Move!"

The Homunculi sprinted from their hiding spot in the trees towards the lone magi, but realized as they ran that he couldn't be shoved out of the way in time. It was possible the mage would dodge the attack but what if they didn't? Ezra didn't really know first aid and the hunters were definitely not going to help him if he was wounded. C'mon, c'mon, gotta protect him somehow! In a last ditch effort, the Homunculi threw up their hands for some kind of miracle spell.

And miracle spell they got.

A very familiar barrier formed in front of Atzar, and the spear of light ricocheted off into one of the nearby trees, shattering a large chunk out of the young pine. The Homunculi looked at their hands, looked between the black-haired mage and the group of Churchmen, and quietly blanched. Their face went slightly red out of embarrassment, and in a meek voice, asked,

"Can we just have a nice talk about this with-without violence?"