Devin looked at her and replied, "I've changed my mind, would you mind going to the tower instead?"
Forest laughed while she answered, "I haven't got anywhere that I want to go to. One place is the same as another except for the people you meet there."
When he started walking down the trail, she matched his pace and asked, "Why don't you get on my back? We'll get there much faster, and then we could go somewhere else."
Devin looked at her, and stroked her neck, "I don't feel right riding you around."
Forest gave him a friendly smile and nuzzled him before she answered, "I don't mind, your gentler then the other humans. You don't weigh much, either, so it's alright with me."
When he didn't move she moved ahead of him and turned her right flank to him, "Come on, get up."
Devin started moving to his left to go around her, but she moved to stay in front of his new path. Defeated, he walked up to her, and got in the saddle. Once he was firmly in the saddle, she galloped of toward the tower.
The terrain seemed to fly by, and soon they were at the entrance. Rather then slow down and go through the town, she skirted it and continued at her fast paced gallop. The tower grew on the horizon, and soon it seemed to touch the sky.
Forest slowed her pace to a trot, and then to a walk. She kept at that pace, until she came to a sudden stop.
"What's the matter?" asked Devin.
She backed up a few steps, then tried again. "It feels like there's a wall here. I can't get by it."
Devin dismounted, and walked through the wall pulling her by the reins, but she hit the wall again and the reins were destroyed.
"Why doesn't it affect me?"
She shook her head, "I don't know. Why don't you go to the tower without me. I'll wait right here."
The room was dark, very dark. The only light came from the open door, and that was quickly sucked up into darkness. Devin stepped inside, and looked around. There was a murmuring sound, and an even softer humming. For a second he thought he saw a shimmer, but if he did, it quickly faded. Then the room was light up with a dim, dark blue light as a strange spiraling letter came toward him. When it struck him, the air was ripped out of his lungs, and then enveloped him with. Once around him it started to squeeze, and made it so that he couldn't breathe back in. He couldn't see, or maybe he could, but only through tightly woven strands of pain.
For some reason, it was not being able to see that made him mad. He hated the spells caster, and the spell because it made him unable to see. He found himself unconsciously focusing his anger. Then he felt his mind snapped at the spell, and the strange figure shattered. The pain deteriorated and vanished with the figure.
"Very good," said someone as he stepped out of the shadows, "yes, very good indeed."
"Who are you?"
The man ignored the question and started stroking his white beard. "I do believe that you are my first company in maybe five years. I have missed having company over these last few years. You must be the child Darwin wrote me about, I see everything he told me was true."
The mention of his father's name sparked some anger in him, and he hissed out his question again, "I asked you your name, old man. Answer the question!"
The man shook his head, "Too bad he didn't tell me of your impatience. My name is not important, but if you must know it, I'm called Zed'ith. Darwin would have been proud of you, most people would have been torn apart immediately. Yes, I know that Darwin is dead."
Now Devin was just annoyed, and spoke with an edge to his voice, "If you knew it killed most people, then why did you try it on me?"
"And he asks the best questions too," said Zed'ith under his breath, then spoke up with a grin, "Because I was confident Darwin had taught you well. I see I was right."
"Darwin wasn't able to teach me anything about magic," Devin said, and then watched the grin fade from Zed'ith face.
"That makes things different." Zed'ith said in a serious tone, "Do you have any idea how dangerous you are?"
"What do you mean?"
"If Darwin couldn't teach you anything, then I never will. Your magic is linked to your feelings. That is very rare, and dangerous. No one will be able to teach you how to control it. You may learn to use it effectively, but you must be careful. You may be trying to do something good while being angry, and take down an entire city. It is a good thing you came here before it was full manifested in you so you would have warning. Am I getting through to you?"
"What?" Devin asked.
Zed'ith looked at him more intensely, "I am saying that you must control your emotions, or you will cause no end of damage. You don't have to worry about your power for a while, it will come and go at random intervals. But you must remember one thing, never has anyone with your kind of power has lived long enough to reach there full power. They let it take over, and it destroyed them. Try not to let that happen."
Zed'ith turned around, and looked up the stairs, "Now, I know that you have come here for something, though you probably don't realize the truth of that yet."
Devin watched as Zed'ith went to a chest and retrieved some item out of it. He turned around, and carried in hand two small pouches. One of the pouches was sliver, and the other was gold.
"Take these," Zed'ith said and then looked down, "and you need better boots, so when you leave, you'll find your boots fully repaired."
Zed'ith grinned at him, and then looked at the amulet hanging from his neck. The smile quickly faded, "Where did you get that? Who gave it to you?"
"It was given to me by my father, why?"
"Never mind, just get out of here now!" when Devin didn't move, he pointed at the door and continued on angrily, "Get out of here now! Don't ever come back! I swear if you come back I will kill you!"
Devin didn't wait for another warning.
