(Third Person POV)
[Six Months Later]
"Bang!"
The wooden target that was behind the Greyclaw Home shattered violently, splinters flying everywhere as the hold that suspended it flailed violently.
The target was dozens of meters behind the house, just down a grassy hill. Samuel was standing some distance away, smirking as he held a small revolver in his hand. Behind him, his sisters were sitting down on a blanket.
"Ah!" Maria shrieked in fear as she clutched her book to her chest, "Samuel!!!"
Lydia was taken aback as well, "I did not think it had an actual round in it." She said, "Samuel, that is dangerous!"
"I like shooting." Samuel said as he held the small revolver in his hand, "Aren't I great? I summoned this gun!"
"Tch...." Maria said as she stood up, stomping over to Samuel, "Give me that thing! You'll hurt someone!"
She tried to take the gun away from Samuel, who was scowling and pulling away.
"No!" He shouted, "I won't! Leave me alone, I'll call Mother!"
"Stop that!" Lydia exclaimed, "Maria, what if there's a round in it!"
"Samuel, give me the damn thing!!" She said, "You're pissing me off!!"
"What, no!" Samuel said as Maria pushed him to the ground, having pried the gun off his hand, "Dammit! What are you doing?!"
Samuel scowled at her, "You....!!"
Maria held the gun in her hand, "This is dangerous, you dumb brat!!" she said, "You can get someone hurt!"
"I'm not doing anything wrong!" Samuel pointed at the target, "I'm just target shooting!"
"I don't care!" Maria said, "Shut up!"
"What's going on?" a voice said
They looked up to see Sonya walking down the hill, wearing a beautiful red dress that fluttered on the wind.
"Mom!" Maria ran up to her, holding the small gun in her hand, "Samuel is shooting this thing!"
Sonya widened her eyes in surprise, "That thing has rounds in it??" She said, grabbing it, "Samuel! No, you can hurt someone."
Samuel stood up, "No, I won't." He pouted, "But whatever. I don't want to play anyways."
Sonya walked towards him, "My love, this isn't a toy." She said, "This is a dangerous weapon."
"It's just a gun." Samuel said, "And it's magic. Everyone here uses magic, why can't I?"
"Your magic is different." Sonya patted his cheek, "Until you get the proper tutelage for it, you cannot use it recklessly."
"But I can shoot!" Samuel said, "I once beat Old Billy in a Duel, gunning him down in front of the Saloon in Amarillo!"
Sonya blinked, "What?"
Samuel pumped his fist, "It was awesome." he said, "I am a good aim, Mother! Look, I hit that target dead on. Nobody can do it like me!"
"I...." Sonya gulped, looking at the target that was shot at, "That's great, darling....but no more guns until you can control your magic."
Samuel sighed with disappointment, "Fine...."
Sonya straightened up and noticed an approaching presence. She turned around in alarm, seeing a young woman casually walking up to them. She didn't recognize her but saw that it was a tall woman with tanned skin, wearing black pants and a cropped shirt which was so short, it could be mistaken for a bra, exposing her hard-toned abs. She had a large chest and a curvy body, similar to Sonya's proportions, which were already quite alluring.
She had white hair that reached her neck, and the most notable thing about her was her pure white fox ears that twitched. Her deadpan purple eyes stared right at Sonya as she stood there, holding a sack over her shoulder, a brown cigarette in her mouth, smoke curling from it.
"Who is that?" Lydia said
"That coat....!" Maria said, "It has the Legion emblem!"
The woman wore a coat over her shoulders, which fluttered in the breeze like a cape. The coat was black in color with red and gold outlines. On the side, there was a large shield crest emblem on it. Inside the black shield, a horned skull with red eyes was visible.
This was the symbol of the Midnight Legion; the Abaddon Kingdom's military force, led by Queen Asothia and her Commanders. It was a symbol of power and might, as those who join the Legion are considered to be incredibly powerful warriors who would fight relentlessly.
Sonya stepped defensively in front of Samuel, "Girls..." She said with alarm, "Get over here."
Maria and Lydia did as they were told, swiftly running towards Sonya and stood besides their mother.
"Hm?" The young woman said, "Oh, no worries, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm Kiyomi, I was sent on Her Majesty's orders. I was told to find some Greyclaw kid with an affinity for Runepowder weapons?"
"Her Majesty?" Sonya said, "Q-Queen Asothia sent you?"
Kiyomi nodded, "Yea." She said, exhaling some smoke while still holding the cigarette in her mouth, "If it weren't for that old fool, Sincast, she wouldn't even know about this... erm...Sammy?"
"No, my name is Samuel Grey." Samuel stepped from behind her, "Who are you?"
Kiyomi looked at him, blinking slightly, "Huh?" She said, "This kid? How old is he?"
"He's about to turn Five soon." Sonya said
Kiyomi took her cigarette out, "Are you kidding me?" She said, "I have to teach some five-year-old kid on how to summon runepowder weapons properly? Come on! What did I do to deserve this?"
"Pardon me?" Sonya asked, "You know how to do this?"
Kiyomi dropped the cigarette on the ground and stomped on it, extinguishing it as she shrugged, "Yea, I guess so."
Sonya frowned, "How old are you?"
"Me?" She said, "17, about to turn 18 soon."
"And you're dressed like that? Your shirt needs to have more cover." Sonya said
"Listen, lady, I didn't come here to judge anyone." Kiyomi frowned, "So I would appreciate it if you didn't judge me. Anyways, I'm here to stay until I receive orders to stop the lessons."
"I..." Sonya said, "I have to discuss this with my husband."
"What's there to discuss?" Kiyomi said, "The Queen's orders are absolute. I got the royal decree in my bag."
"Hey, show me your gun!" Samuel ran up to her, "If you're so proudly like me!"
Kiyomi raised an eyebrow, "Huh?" She said, "You wanna see?"
"Yea, of course!" Samuel said
"Alright." Kiyomi extended her arm outwards
"Samuel, get back!" Sonya called out
A light appeared in front of Kiyomi's palm and suddenly, what looked like a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun emerged from the light.
Kiyomi grabbed it by the handle, "There ya go."
"Wow...." Samuel said, entranced by it, "Sawed-Off..."
"Ya know it?" Kiyomi asked, "Nice. Watch this neat trick."
Kiyomi aimed at the ground and pulled the trigger, shooting a powerful torrent of wind that ripped apart the ground, resulting in a fierce shockwave that nearly toppled Samuel over.
"Amazing!!" Samuel shouted in excitement, "That is simply amazing!"
"Summoning or constructing a firearm is quite simple if you know it." Kiyomi said, "But to use it to its full potential, you must know how to enchant it."
"You have much to learn, kiddo."
*****************
[The Next Night]
Samuel was lying in his bed, tossing and turning, his face covered in sweat as he was having a bad dream.
"N-No..." he said as he pressed his body against the wall while lying down, "A-Ah...."
Within the dream, there were flashes of lights and loud voices that filled the air. Samuel was disoriented; his unidentified body felt heavy.
He then heard a loud snap, followed by "Action!"
The dreamscape suddenly changed and Samuel was suddenly atop a horse, in a body much more grown than he remembered. He was riding the horse, galloping through the sands of a desert, being followed by a massive group of riders that were shooting at him.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Whiiz! whiiiz!! Whiiiz!!"
There was an intense feeling of anxiety that filled his body as he felt the bullets fly right past him, the thrill of danger was powerful at that very moment.
He would turn back and fire back, shooting and hitting the riders.
The dreamscape would suddenly change yet again to a showdown in the middle of an old western-themed town, where he was facing off against an old man in a dark brown desperado coat.
"This town ain't big enough for the two of us." the man would say
"Luckily, only one of us is getting out of this alive." Samuel would say, his voice slightly distorted
"Well....." The man drew his revolver. "Die!"
Samuel would draw quicker and open fire, hitting him right between the eyes and killing him.
After the man fell on the ground, Samuel would spin his revolver and holster it.
"This is why I am-" his voice would be cut off by his vision going black
The next images were the source of his nightmares. Going from an ordinary dream of him being a Gunslinger, riding away from a posse of angry bandits, to a hellish nightmare of his body being pulled through an empty void, large flashes of red emitting everywhere as his body would be mangled and pulled apart.
His mouth would open but no voice came out, the pain spreading out all throughout his body. He felt hot tendrils ripping him apart.
It was unbearable.
"A-Ah!" Samuel shot up from his bed, sweating profusely
"Sammy?" A voice said
Samuel looked to his right, seeing that Lydia was standing next to his bed, "S-Sister...." He said, "I...."
Lydia frowned, touching his forehead with the back of her hand, "Another nightmare?"
Samuel nodded, "Yea..." He said, "But it's okay...."
"I see." Lydia said, "Want to sleep with me tonight?"
Samuel nodded again, "Yes...."
Lydia smiled, "You're just a little boy still, aren't you?" She said, "Come then."
"Let's go to my room."
***************
[Weeks Later]
Kiyomi was sitting down in the Greyclaw's Home kitchen, taking a sip of tea that was brewed by Meadow. In front of her, Sonya and John sat, patiently waiting for her to speak and give her output after weeks of tutoring and training Samuel.
"Hm...." Kiyomi set the teacup down, "That's some good tea. Anyways, do you want me to give it to you straight?"
John nodded, "Yes." He said, "I'd appreciate that."
"Please, be brutally honest with us." Sonya said
"Well, here's the truth." Kiyomi said, her fox ears twitching, "In the entirety of the Blood Star Realm, there are 4 individuals who wield Runepowder Firearms as part of their magic arsenal. Your son is one of them, and it is quite impressive for a boy."
"You're also one of them." John said
"Yes." Kiyomi said, "But mine is just limited to the shotgun. Of course, it doesn't matter because a very powerful artifice mage can enhance the properties of their runepowder rounds."
"Right..." Sonya said, "And this power is Artifice Magic?"
"Yes." Kiyomi said, "Call this specific subtype Gun Magic, it would be quite easier. Runepowder is still used."
"How does it work?" John said
"In a broader sense, Gun Magic is separated in two forms." Kiyomi continued, "Summoning and Constructing."
"I don't understand." Sonya said
"Summoning a Gun and Constructing it." Kiyomi explained, "Basically, upon obtaining a gun, the wielder can store it in a summoning pocket. It's quite simple but limited. But constructing it requires much more delicate magic control. You need knowledge of the gun and it's layout. I think Summoning is far better. But other than those two, there are various branches of Gun Magic that one can learn. You also need the skills to handle such power. It's quite the rare magic here in this Realm, but quite common in other realms."
"I see...." John said, "And Samuel, what does he fall into."
"Both." Kiyomi said with a slight smile, "The boy is a legitimate genius. He knows more than we can ever comprehend."
"I'd say he'll be a powerful Gun Mage."