A tall thin man loomed at the edge of town, black boots crunching the gravel, cloak dancing in the midsummer breeze, hood covering his eyes. The moon casted a shadow over all of his features—making him look ethereal—like a Spector a child sees out of their window in the night. Silently, he glided into town leaving not footprints nor any other trace of his passing at the top of the hill east of town: it was as if he didn’t actually exist.

However, the villagers saw him coming all the same. Most froze with their mouth agape—unable to even fold their hands in prayer. Everyone had heard the the legends of the dark wizards; yet, none of them dared imagine one might walk into their quaint town on the edge of the kingdom.

“The dark wizard!” Someone stammered.

“Lady light protect us,” a woman cried.

“Give him what he wants, or he will end us all,” an elderly man warned.

They dropped to their knees as the hooded figure approached. Eyes wide, they watched as he strolled into town and hurried past them. Stiff as boards, no one dared get up until he disappeared into the local inn.

“Yer gonna havfta getcher booze somewhere else!” the innkeeper growled without looking up as the inn door creaked open.

“I seek only a room,” the hooded wizard sighed.

“Long day, ehh?” The innkeeper laughed and stayed focused on washing a dented mug. He carefully scrubbed it as if it would start to shine, despite the tarnished surface.

“Yes. A lot of traveling and very little rest today…” the wizard sat on a stool and watched the inn keeper for a moment before continuing. “What has been happening around town for you to close so early?”

“Folks around here start early and get unruly if ye let them go all night. The fields need plowin in the mornin if we are ta make it through winter! 3 coppers will getchu a room key though.”

“Ahh indeed, I don’t know if I’ve met such a responsible innkeeper before.”

“I donno if I’ve met sucha-“ the inn keeper looked up and froze; the mug slipped from his fingers as they started to shake.

“Look out,” the wizard said as he waved a hand and muttered an incantation.

Suddenly, a clawed hand burst forth from the shadows behind the bar. As the innkeeper ducked and placed both arms over his head, the claw cradled the mug and lifted it gingerly by the handle. It floated above the bar until the innkeeper dared peek through his trembling arms.

“You can get up,” the wizard cooed. “I certainly am not going to hurt you.”

Still shaking, the innkeeper stood up and accepted the mug from the shady hand. It waved before melding back into the shadows behind the bar. Returning the wave, the innkeeper mumbled, “ya don’t see that around here…”

Just then, the wall at the back of the inn exploded in a burst of light, sending the innkeeper sprawling over the bar. In one swift motion, the dark wizard stood, waved an arm over his head, chanted frantically, and rose a wall of shadows to block the scorching ray of light while scooping up the innkeeper on a wave of shadows.

Transferring the innkeeper to the dirt floor gently behind him, the dark wizard growled, “You may want to run… they finally caught up to me.” With that, the wizard faced three knights clad in platemail armor stepping over the charred remains of the far wall.

“Surrender, demon, in thr name of the lady of light!” one of the knights spat.

“Can we take this outside of this village?” The dark wizard sighed.

In response, two knights readied their swords while the one that spoke held up a hand and uttered a spell under his breath. Light shot out of his palm and illuminated the entire Inn, creating glass on the ground from the intense heat.

Rushing forwards, cloak flowing like a River of darkness, the wizard ducked behind the bar and dropped into the shadows. He reappeared behind the third knight as the beam tore apart the other end of the inn, causing the entire building to collapse in flames. Both knights with their swords at the ready hacked at him, but he was able to slide past them and duck into another building.

Sprinting to the far end of the house, he managed to jump through a window before a ring of light encircled the entire building. With a flash, the house was incinerated. The wood crumbled to dust as the dark wizard ducked into an alley across the street—hidden by the shadows as the intense light obliterated someone’s home.

“Did we get him?” A knight asked.

“No,” another responded. “It wouldn’t be that easy… search the town! Turn it upside down—kill anyone who gets in your way. Finding him is our only priority.”

Sighing, the hooded wizard heard the towns people from the shadows: their whispers were similar to what he had heard before.

“They got here just in time,” someone muttered

“The templars: we are saved!” The woman cried

“Hopefully they can end the dark wizard before he ends us,” the elderly man cautioned.

Another house was irradiated by intense light, forcing the dark wizard to move. He ran into the street in plain view of the templars, cursing under his breath. Waving his arms over his head he shouted, “Looking for me?”

Laughing maniacally, he turned and ran towards the edge of town. He was careful to avoid houses, crowded areas, shops, and livestock as he ducked under rays of light and sprinted to stay ahead of the swords chasing behind him.

“It’s not their fault,” the dark wizard thought to himself. “Someday they will see the truth, and I will rebuild this village without the prejudice.”

Across the kingdom, rumors spread about the night a dark wizard raized a small farming village in cold blood.