A Thousand

• Simply an application. || Prelude to my other fic, Freedom.

Characters: Eckhart, Rhinne, Alexandria (unnamed); side: Icarus, Irelia, Verus.

There once was a boy.

In a family and town of blond haired, vibrant warriors, he, with his black hair was the most obvious outlier. A boy who enjoyed reading more than he did fighting, felt out of place with his father and siblings, who enjoyed fighting and being ‘heroic’… The only place he could feel normal was in the company of his mother – a kind woman who was out of place in this ferocious life.

His mother was the most important person in his life – the only one who understood his wants and treated him so kindly. A boy at the age of nine could hardly figure out what was going on around him, so he simply hung around his mother.

And then, she grew extremely ill, and the boy was despairing. He wasn’t stupid – he knew his mother was dying. But as he was in his room, a beautiful spirit came to him – with long blonde hair, and kind blue eyes.

“Would you like to save your mother?” she asked.

He nodded furiously – it was all he wanted. His mother was so important to him that he could not think about trying to live without her, in this oppressive place.

“If you choose, there is a way.” And his eyes widened.

“Please, tell me! My mother, she…” He begged, a word that seemed alien to him as an adult …

“Fold a thousand white cranes. When you do, I will appear again, and I will grant you one wish.” And after that, she disappeared.

Within an hour, the young boy had created over twenty of the birds. Within a day, there had been seventy. This lasted for months, and he created over hundreds of birds just in an attempt to save his mother.

“It’s a waste of time,” his sister would say.

“She’s going to die anyway,” his brother would say.

“Stop wasting your time folding these useless birds, and do something with your life.”

He paid no heed. Within the last hundred, his mother had grown fatally ill, and passed away. At the age of twelve, this hit him hard, and he finally finished the cranes after months. As soon as he finished the last crane, the same spirit appeared before him.

“Your mother is gone,” she said with a sorrowful face.

He took a deep breath, trying to breathe. “She passed a few months ago.”

“Would you like to make another wish?” She offered kindly.

“What could I even wish for?” He asked, more for himself.

“You have friends, do you not?” She said inquiringly.

“Not many,” he confessed, running a hand through his hair. She fell silent, and the boy ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of something.

“I will help you out, young one,” she spoke gently, kneeling down to match his eye level. “There are great things fated for you. You will become a powerful person, surrounded by many allies.” The spirit once again fell silent, wondering if it was right to tell him this…

He blinked at the answer, thinking quietly to himself. “I… I want to protect these allies. Not like my father and sister and brother are doing, not that kind of fake protection. I want to protect them because I can, because I am able. Not because there’s some sort of reward for me. If there is a person I can protect, I want to be able to do it.” Like his mother had protected him from the venom of his own family … and like he hadn’t been able to protect his mother from death.

She smiled. “A noble wish from a noble heart. It shall be so.” She disappeared in a flash of light – and while nothing changed, the boy blinked.

The spirit said he was destined for great things, and he found that a bit after his thirteenth birthday, he would be forced to leave.

And thus, he left Perion without regret, unsure where to go, but knowing that the spirit who had helped him years ago would surely guide him again.