The plants of the rice field blew gently in the wind like a golden ocean as the summer sun blazed down. Not far away, a small, relatively poor town tried its best to keep afloat. But in the summer heat like today, it was more concerned with keeping cool. Most people stayed in the shade of their houses and huts, and others who lived by it, relaxed near the river. However, there was one figure in particular who had neither luxury. A young boy about 11 years old. His messy black hair was matted with dirt, and his clothes, if you could call them that, were tattered and filthy. He was extremely skinny and looked exhausted. The boy stood under a tree to escape the heat, looking out at the village he often lingered near. His eyes narrowed as he watched children younger than him play around the river, having fun. They were all fairly poor, but they were getting along far better than him. The slender boy slumped against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes. He listened to the birds and felt the wind on his face.... And heard his stomach growl. The pain that ripped through his gut while he held it tightly. As his eyes reopened, the world spun and blurred for a moment before snapping back to normal. He growled; looking towards the village again, then down at the satchel that dangled from his thin frame. His dull brown eyes sparked with a curiosity as he reached down and pulled a book out of it. The boys fingers traced the worn edges, opening it up and flipping through the pages. More than half the book was blank, but what WAS written inside was interesting. Seemingly organized gibberish with strange symbols and drawings. The boy's eyes softened as he flipped away from the last filled out page.

"Ug.. why couldn't there be a spell that alleviates pain or something?.. not that I'd be able to figure out how to use it."

Just then, a scent adrift in the air caught his attention. It smelled like... noodles. REALLY good noodles! His stomach lashed out again at even the mere thought of tasting what he was smelling. Without hesitation, the boy ran towards the direction of the scent. He didn't care how many sharp rocks cut at his bare feet while he ran through the grass; food was the only thing on the mind. Finally, the boy stumbled upon a beautiful looking house. It looked like a royal palace shrunk to be akin to a smaller monastery. There was a courtyard with a training ground, a garden to left side, and a pond full of lily pads. Each one holding a white and or pink flower in bloom. The main attraction was most likely the cherry tree right at the front gate, albeit still behind the wall- like everything else. The gate was stunning, but locked. A cruel mockery of the boy's desperate desires to go into the paradise and relief that awaited inside. Curiosity took over as he walked along the wall, hoping there was something around the back end. And to his delight, there was! A much more unimpressive gate that also appeared to be locked. However, unlike the front door that was made of sturdy slabs of wood, this was made of metal rods spaced a few inches apart from each other. Ultimately, it was still an impressive and sturdy gate, but this was different for another main reason- he could see what was on the other side of this one. It had a stone path that led to the back of house, and right by the gate, only a few feet away? The trash cans. He reached through the bars, desperate to see if he could grab something, anything from them, but he couldn't reach. Frustrated, he threw his satchel to the ground, causing the book to tumble out. It landed in the grass, open to a page. The skinny boy picked it up and his eyes shimmered with intrigue. Something about the page was calling him- begging for him to use the unmarked incantation. Giving into his brain fog from hunger, he tried desperately to preform the spell on the gate, but nothing happened. After several attempts and over half an hour later, his stomach pains had gotten worse. He'd reached his breaking point. He was done.

"I'D HAD ENOUGH OF THIS STUPID, KNOCK OFF, PIECE OF GARBAGE BOOK!" He snapped. "AND I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!!" He pointed towards the gate. Just a split second later, purple lightning shot out of his finger and zapped the lock, turning it to dust. The boy stood horrified for a moment as the gates gently swung open in the breeze. Picking up the book and shoving it back in the bag, he contemplating running for his life. But.. now the garage cans are RIGHT there...

Screw it.

He lunged for the garage and tore through it, looking for anything edible. He didn't know how long he'd spent rummaging, but it was soon cut short by a loud and very irritated sounding voice that made him jump.

"YOU THERE!" It boomed. "What do you think you're doing in my backyard you little rat!?"

The boy was paralyzed. He couldn't move- just look on in fear. There was a young man with fiery red hair and a dark bamboo staff that came to a dangerously sharp point, essentially turning it into a spear. The man looked angered, almost disgusted at the poor boy.

"I don't know how you got in here, but I-" his voice trailed off as he looked up at the gate behind the kid. "The lock... How did you?.. You couldn't have unlocked it, there's only my one key. And it was Vengestone infused, so it's not like your an..." The man went quiet for a moment before speaking up again; aiming his spear at the boy. "Hey, how DID you get in here kid?"

The kid swallowed hard, paralysis slowly wearing off. "I... I used magic to... um.." His eyes threatened to be attacked with tears as he tried to speak. "I'm sorry- I got really hungry and mad.. I.."

The man tilted his head; catching a glance at the book in the bag then looking back at the kid. He looked filthy and emaciated; DEFINITELY homeless by his state. The child was wearing a potato sack for God's sake.

"You can do magic?.."

The boy nodded, closing his eyes and waiting for his life to be cut short by the spear that still stayed aiming at him. What came next though, he didn't expect. Laughter. A few little snickers followed by an outright laugh. It's like the man had told himself a joke in his head and was laughing at it.

"How the heck did a little brat like you get your hands on a spell book?! Aren't those reserved for like- royal sorcerers or something? I don't know about you, but you sure don't look like one to me!" He chuckled again. "I mean look at you! What are you supposed to be?- Royal advisor to the Potato King?" He continues cracking up.

The kid looked down at the sack draped over his skeletal frame almost embarrassed. Obviously he didn't believe that he was capable of using magic. To be honest, even he doubted it until the gate thing.

"Oh, come on kid. You really expect me to believe that you used magic to get in? Just admit I forgot to lock the gate or something." The man smirked, still sounding like this situation was amusing.

"But I did. I just held out my hand and-" Suddenly, a little purple flame sparked in his palm, but almost immediately died.

"Well- as pathetic as that was, I suppose you proved something... kinda." The man looked the boy up and down. "Also why are you still on the ground? Stand up, it's not good manners." As he watched the child stumble to his feet, he stood tall, turning the spear erect once more. "My name is Chen. Master Chen. And you?"

The boy looked away like he was ashamed. "C- Clouse..."

Chen chuckled again mocking him. "Well, C- Clouse- you're pretty pathetic, you know that?" He leaned against his staff almost playfully. After a moment of silence, he smirked. "Good. I like a challenge. It's no fun training students that look like they know what they're doing already."

Clouse looked up confused and shocked at the man who was now walking away. "Student?!.."

Chen glanced back. "What? Got dirt in your ears, Mr. Potato sack? You heard me. Besides, I'm guessing you don't exactly need to ask permission from any parents or anything. You probably live in a hole. Oh well- not anymore!" He snickered.

Clouse slowly followed behind him, flabbergasted. This Chen was a really strange person. He seemed like a funny guy, but he also seemed.. dark. After all, he did just laugh at a homeless child, straight up making fun of him... Chen's sense of humor is... odd. Regardless- he was looking for students, and one that both showed promise and seemed like a challenge just let themselves in through the back door. It didn't take long for Chen to have his fun with the kid, even giving him a pet name. After hours of cleaning up and getting situated in, Chen let him eat a bowl of the noodles he'd made earlier. Clouse had even remarked that they were the greatest noodles ever and that he should open a restaurant. The rest was sort of history...

Clouse's eyes shot open upon hearing his name get called. He turned to see Vex standing at the entrance to the Underworld from the Cursed Realm caverns they were just in. Right. That's where he is now. A ghost...

"You ready to go?" Vex said. His tone implied this sentence was needed to be repeated while Clouse was having flashbacks.

"... yes. I am. Now move."

Vex gave him a 'what's your problem?' look as the ghost shoved past.

Clouse looked down at his hand as the projection of the supposedly doomed egg hovered above it. The sorcerer's eyes narrowed as he stared into its image. "If you are as rare and powerful as Baron said, then let's hope you're just as stubborn as me when I was younger.."