Becquerel
Legacy Name: Becquerel

The boy simply shook his head.

Vern frowned. It wasn't like his apprentice to be so silent. He had grown so accustomed to the constant barrage of questions from the in-training wizard that he was quickly becoming worried. But even being one of the most powerful living wizards (which, given the sharp decline of magic-users over the past couple of centuries, wasn't quite such an extraordinary feat) didn't help much with figuring people out.

So the wizard didn't press matters any further and continued instructing his now strangely mute apprentice.

The old man was growing suspicious. Becquerel knew he'd have to act soon, or risk blowing his cover..

Vern had spent all evening preparing his study for Sol's next lesson -- summoning other magical creatures to do his bidding. Of course, he wouldn't summon anything extraordinarily powerful, for fear that things might get out of hand. But the demon he'd researched would suit his needs just fine.

The room was lit by nothing but candles, and the strong odor of incense filled the air. A number of runes had been etched onto the wooden floors in chalk. Sol stood against the wall, waiting. The ritual was about to begin.

Becquerel watched as the wizard began muttering incantations -- incantations the apprentice had been forced to memorize.

It wasn't long before the form of the demon began to take shape in the middle of the circle of runes. The magic in the air was almost suffocating, like a wet blanket had been draped across the entire room.

And then Becquerel leaped, paying no mind to the boy's shell of a body as it crumpled to the ground beneath him.

But the wizard turned sharply just before the white bolt of pure magical energy reached him, and deflected the demon with a quick spell.

With nowhere else to go, the demon flung himself desperately at the only other living thing in the room -- the wizard's pet cat that sat sleeping on a table. He was only faintly aware of a second spell that hit him as he bolted out the door, down the stairs, and out an open window.

The old wizard stood alone in the room. His apprentice was dead, and there was an angry scorch mark on the floorboards in the circle of runes where the summoned demon had apparently escaped.
And his cat was gone.

Even after all this time, he hadn't found a way to break the curse placed on him. He returned to the wizard's home only to find the entire building gone, transported to a safer place. So, for years he settled into the life of a cat, living on the streets, until just recently. Only a few months ago he'd started out on another journey, taken in by a friendly, intriguing, carefree traveler.