Rise of the rejected tamer

The moment Kael's palm touched the summoning stone, he knew something was wrong.

The circle flickered. The light sputtered. And then the creature appeared. It was pitiful. Its wings hung like torn rags. Its scales were the color of dead leaves. Its body was so thin he could count every rib. It collapsed the moment it materialized. It could not even stand.

The silence in the arena was deafening.

Then someone laughed. A single, sharp sound. It cut through the quiet like a blade. Then another laugh followed. Then another. Soon the entire arena was roaring with laughter. Thousands of people pointing at him. Thousands of voices mocking him. The sound crashed over Kael like a wave of vomit.

"What is that?" someone shouted from the stands. "A lizard with wings?"

"It is a corpse!" another voice answered. "He summoned a corpse!"

Kael's face burned. His hands trembled. He could feel his father's eyes on him. He could feel the weight of his mother's disappointment. He could feel the entire city watching him fail.

The summoning master walked around the creature. He kicked it with his foot. The creature whimpered. It tried to move but could not. The master shook his head. His expression was pure disgust.

"This is not a beast," the master announced. "This is an abomination. A mistake. A defect that should have never been summoned. It has no power. It has no future. It is a waste of magic and a waste of space."

The crowd laughed harder. Someone threw a rotten fruit at Kael. It hit his shoulder and splattered. The juice ran down his shirt. He did not wipe it off.

"Destroy it," the master commanded. "Get this filth out of my sight."

The guards stepped forward. They were large men. Their armor gleamed. Their hands reached for the creature. The creature whimpered again. It looked at Kael with those golden eyes. There was fear in them. There was desperation. There was a plea for help.

Something inside Kael snapped.

He shoved the first guard. The man stumbled backward. Kael grabbed the second guard's wrist and twisted until he yelped. The crowd went silent. No one had expected this. The failure was fighting back.

"What do you think you are doing?" the master screamed. "Step away from the defect before I have you arrested!"

Kael knelt beside the creature. He placed his hand on its head. Its scales were cold and dry. Its body shook with every breath. It was dying. He knew it was dying. But he could not let it die alone.

"I accept this bond," Kael said. His voice was loud. It echoed across the arena. "This creature is mine."

The laughter returned. Louder than before. More vicious. Someone called him a fool. Someone called him a disgrace. Someone said he deserved to be homeless and forgotten.

His father stood up. His face was purple with rage. He pushed through the crowd and stormed down the steps. He grabbed Kael by the collar and pulled him close. His breath smelled like wine. His eyes were wild.

"Are you insane?" his father hissed. "Are you trying to destroy our entire family? Your mother is crying. Your sister is hiding her face. Everyone we know is watching you make a joke of us. Do you have any idea what you have done?"

Kael looked at his father. He saw the hatred. The anger. The disappointment. He had seen those things his whole life. Nothing was ever enough. He was never enough.

"I am not giving it up," Kael said.

His father slapped him. The sound was sharp. It cracked across the arena. The crowd gasped. Then they laughed again. They loved this. They loved watching him crumble.

"You are dead to me," his father said. "You walk out of this arena, you are no longer my son. You are nothing. Do you understand? Nothing. You have no family. No home. No future. You have chosen a defect over everything. Enjoy your miserable life, boy."

His father released him and walked away. He did not look back. He did not hesitate. He was gone.

Kael looked at the stands. His mother was weeping. Her hands covered her face. She would not look at him. She could not bear it. His sister was beside her. She was twelve years old. She did not understand what was happening. But she understood shame. She knew what it looked like.

His mother stood up. She walked away too. She did not say a word. She did not look back. She just left.

Kael felt something break inside him. Something that had been holding him together. It shattered into pieces. He stood there with the creature in his arms and watched his family walk away from him.

Seraphine appeared. She was beautiful. Her dress was blue. Her hair was perfect. She was everything he was not. She looked at him with tears in her eyes. But there was something else in her expression. Pity. She felt sorry for him.

"Kael," she said. Her voice was soft. "Please. Please think about this. You have a chance to fix this. Give them the creature. Apologize. I will stand by you. I will help you rebuild. We can still have our future."

Kael looked at the creature. It was barely breathing. Its eyes were closed. It was slipping away. He could feel its life fading.

"This is my future," he said.

Seraphine's expression hardened. She wiped her tears. She stepped back. She looked at him like he was a stranger. Like she did not know him at all.

"I cannot marry a man with nothing," she said. "I cannot marry a man who chose a defect over dignity. Our engagement is over. I am sorry, Kael. Truly. But I have to think about myself."

She turned and walked away. She did not look back. She disappeared into the crowd. The ceremony continued behind him. Another candidate stepped into the circle. Another beast appeared. Another celebration. Everyone forgot about him. He was already invisible.

He walked out of the arena. The noise faded behind him. The laughter grew distant. He passed through the grand gates and stepped onto the empty streets. People saw him and pointed. They whispered. They laughed. He heard them calling him names. Defect tamer. Failure. Fool.

He kept walking. He did not stop. He did not look back.

He walked until the city became smaller. Until the buildings became shabbier. Until the streets became dirtier. He found an abandoned building. The roof was missing. The walls were cracked. The floor was covered in dust and trash.

He laid the creature on the floor. It did not move. It did not open its eyes. Its chest barely rose and fell.

He sat beside it. He did not cry. He had no tears left. He just sat there in the silence and stared at the thing that had ruined his life.

The creature opened its eyes. It looked at him. Its golden eyes were warm. They were grateful. It made a small sound. A chirp. Like a baby bird. It was trying to comfort him. Even now, even in its broken state, it was trying to comfort him.

"It is okay," Kael whispered. "I am going to take care of you. I promise."

The creature chirped again. Then it closed its eyes and went back to sleep.

Kael leaned against the wall. He had no food. No water. No money. No family. No future. He had nothing. He was alone. He was broken.

But he had his creature. And somehow, that was enough. It had to be. Because he had nothing else.