Wings of Betrayal

Wings of Betrayal

My name is Azure Ransen. I was an orphan in a small town who's name...I can not remember...I was found by a man named Harold Ransen who was the owner of the orphanage when I was just a baby. I had no name so Harold named me Azure because of my bright azure blue eyes and also gave me his last name.
During the days of my childhood I was interested in the ways of magic ever since a traveling wizard named Telzar visited my hometown with a caravan. Telzar was old man in his 60’s, he had short grey hair and a short gray beard, and he always wore expensive looking robes which was a clear sign of his wealth. I was fascinated with the magic tricks he could perform. He could make fire dance in the air, turn the flames into many different shapes, make objects disappear, and other fascinating feats. When I heard that he was heading back to his hometown I wanted to go with him and learn how to use magic. On the night he was preparing to leave I jumped into the back of his caravan and hid myself in one of the crates. The only thing in the crate was some clothes so I wasn't uncomfortable, but it was a little cramped. When we arrived at his hometown the next day and I slowly snuck out of the crate, As Telzar walked around to the end of the wagon. He jumped back in surprise at the sight of a young child in the back of his wagon.
“Where did you come from boy?” Telzar asked.
“I came from the town you visited yesterday. I wanted to ask you if I could become your apprentice.” I replied as I hopped out of the back of the caravan.
“What about your family? Won’t they be worried about you?” questioned Telzar.
“I…have no family. My parents were killed by bandits that attacked our village seven years ago. I’m an orphan now with no where else to go…” I answered back.
Telzar let out a sigh then explained "Magic takes years of practice boy, and I'm too old to have an apprentice." My heart sank and I began to think that I would have to return to the orphanage.
Telzar looked at me and then said "Well at the very least I could give you a place to stay." When he said those words I was the happiest boy in the world. “So tell me, what’s your name?” Telzar asked with a smile on his face
“My name is Azure. Azure Ransen.” I answered cheerfully.
“Well Azure, let me show you around.”
Telzar gave me a tour of the town and introduced me to people, then gave me a tour of the tower he lived in. The tower was about forty feet high and was located at the south eastern corner of the town. After Telzar showed me to my to my new room he retired for the night. I sat up in my new bed and wept a tear of joy.
"Finally, I have a place I can call home..." I whispered quietly to myself as I slowly drifted off to sleep.
Over the next four years, I had found out that Telzar’s goal in life was to make a name for himself and to achieve a magical wonder, but old age was getting the better of him and I hadn’t learned enough about magic to be of much help. I felt useless and my master always felt miserable. One night my master snapped, he locked himself away in his lab determined to make a discovery and would allow no one to enter. He locked himself up for almost a week and only came out for food and sleep, although most of the time he would fall asleep in his lab. While I tended to my studies he would work in his lab and I would not dare to disturb him.
One night I woke up to the sound of my master laughing loudly and so I assumed he had finally achieved his goal and so I prepared to go back to sleep thinking that my master had finally made his big discovery. Moments later I started to fall back asleep. Suddenly, I heard my master
"Azure get in here, I need some help with something." Half asleep and tired from studying the previous night, I managed to get myself up and made my way to the lab.
When I entered the room, my master wasn’t there, the only thing in the room were my master's books, some magical components, a table and a caged eagle. At first I thought I only imagined my master called me and that he simply went off to bed, but then the door suddenly slammed shut behind me. I turned around only to see...no one. I started to panic as I became fully awake. All of a sudden, I felt every muscle in my body freeze up and I was unable to move or even speak. I was lifted into the air by a magical force and placed on a table. Magical runes were inscribed all over the wooden table although I couldn't tell what they were for because of the position I was in. Chains started to wrap around my ankles and wrists. I was oblivious to what was going on, the only thing going through my mind was the hope that I was only dreaming. Suddenly I heard my master laughing, but this time the laughter was coming from inside the room. Without warning I was able to move and speak again, although I couldn’t move much because I was tied down.
“Who’s there” were the only words I was able to get out of my mouth. The response to my question would haunt me for the rest of my life.
A figure appeared out of nowhere over the table, leaned over and said “Why Azure, nice of you to join us.” I was looking into the eyes of Telzar, my master. I was shocked and completely speechless, confusion clouded my mind, and I had no idea why he was doing this.
“Speechless…I’m not surprised; I guess being attacked by me was the last thing you expected when you walked through that door.” Telzar said as he turned away from the table and walked over to his books. After a few seconds I managed to gather up the courage to speak.
“What are you doing!? Why did you attack me?”
He turned around and had a sinister look in his eyes, then stated “Well, the answer to both questions is quite simple. I’ve found a way to achieve my goal, but I needed a human test subject to finish my experiment and you where the perfect choice.” My face had grown pale; I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was nothing more that a tool to him now.
Telzar had gone mad in his lust to make a name for himself.
“Don’t worry Azure, the ritual won’t take long and you won’t feel a thing. Well not at first anyway,” he said. He turned around and, without warning, cast a spell. I suddenly felt extremely tired and couldn't keep my eyes open. The last thing I saw was Telzar placing the caged eagle next to me, and then my consciousness left me. Telzar had gone insane in his old age; his lust to become famous had taken him over.
When I awoke, Telzar wasn’t in the room. My body was in immense pain, my limbs were numb and my head felt dizzy. I quickly found out that I was still tied up. I had a strange feeling throughout my whole body, and then I noticed that the cage the eagle was in was empty. I ignored it at first and concentrated on a way to free myself. I couldn’t break myself free because I knew I didn’t have the strength for it and even if I did my limbs were numb and could barely move. I had started to wonder what it was that Telzar had done to me, and then I noticed my hands had been morphed and looked like claws. I had claws; a sense of horror released me from my pain.
I went into a frenzy, struggling with all the strength I could gather to break free. Then I started to feel that I was stronger than I was before. The chains started to snap. With everything I had, I managed to break the chains and free myself. I was released from my current nightmare and tried to stand up, but then I noticed a piece of steel on the desk and noticed for the first time that on my back I had wings and feathers almost all over my body, also there was a strange azure crescent moon one the left side of my face.
“Wh...What...has he done to me…?” I said as I collapsed on my knees. Sorrow and grief filled my head, I was no longer human. "Why...Why did he do this to me...?"
My sense of sorrow was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming toward the room. I managed to come to my senses and gathered the strength to stand up again. The door swung open and Telzar walked in, and then jumped at the sight of me free from the shackles.
“WHAT! How did you get free?” Telzar yelled.
“Telzar, you bastard! Look at what you did to me!” I yelled back. “You’ve gone insane on your quest for your magical discovery.” My blood began to boil with hatred and rage.
“Oh Azure still ticked off I see. I’m sorry but you were the perfect tool I needed to complete my experiment. Because you had no family no one would go looking for you,” Telzar stated, and then began to laugh.
I grew furious, the man who I idolized had used me as a guinea pig and was laughing about what he had done to me, he was proud of it! The new primal side of me took over and I lunged at Telzar with such speed that Telzar didn’t even have time to react, the sound of his neck cracking echoed throughout the room. In one swift moment Telzar was dead.
In a primal fury I destroyed everything in the lab until I managed to finally regain control over myself. Realizing soon after what I had done, I wept…Everything I had was gone and my world was turned upside down. I had nowhere to go. And now, my humanity was taken from me. I walked over to my former master’s body.
“I wanted to be like you. You were the only family I ever had…Rest in peace Telzar knowing you achieved your goal.”