Seated, knees curled to his chest, on a stone on the shore of the Ikshula, Ekaitz paused in staring into the rushing waters to bury his head in his folded arms and groan miserably.
He'd met a god today. A well spoken, charming- and completely terrifying- god.
A god who wanted his help. Him, who still couldn't even manage the most basic of spells without completely exhausting himself. Who was referred to in loud whispers as the worst mage apprentice ever to blight Taika. Looking up from his slouch, he could just barely see the city through the trees, magical lights beginning to flicker to life here and there as the sun slowly sank beyond the horizon. The city that had been the focus of his every childhood ambition, his every daydream of acomplishment and greatness. And still was.
Until this afternoon, anyways, when the silver-tonged god had promised him power beyond his imagination (he still doubted that a little to be honest- he had spent his whole life excersizing his extremely vivid imagination after all). Access to knowledge and spells that would turn the city mages green with envy. And as much as the god had scared him right down to his bones, there was still a part of him- too large a part, perhaps- that wanted nothing more than to accept. To be great, to be known, to be admired.
But just as large a part wanted to run for the hills and never look back. How did you say no to a god anyways? Maybe he could flee to the Minidimo mountains and take up life as a hermit, hidden away where nobody would find him. Where nobody would acknowledge him, where he'd never have a chance to prove what he could be capable of...
His head dropped back to his arms with another miserable moan. What was he going to do?
Whatever it was, he was out of time. The god had left him to his thoughts until sunset- to make his decision on his own, he had said- but with a look in those (powerful terrifying awesome) eyes that made him sure there wouldn't be any extensions on this particular deadline. And the sun had all but dissappeared, only the soft orange glow against the clouds still lighting the sky.
With an audible swallow, Ekaitz uncurled stiffly from his place on the rock, picked up his mask from the ground near his feet and, clenching his fist against the shaking that threatened to overcome him, walked off slowly towards his future.