Five masked men surrounded our cart, weapons at the ready. The boys clung to our mom, and I pressed myself further back into her lap. The man standing in front of Papa waved his dagger in front of his face. "Hurry up, now," Dagger man hissed, "I would really hate to cut up your lovely little family." I bit my lip. The knife was uncomfortably close to my dad's face. 

"Alright, alright." Papa said, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice. He reached into his pocket and handed over his coin pouch. The thief greedily opened it, and looked inside. "Is that it?" He growled, pressing his dagger even closer to dad's face. My eyes started to prick with hot tears. "Hold on!" Mama exclaimed, hurrying to pull out her own coin pouch. She held it up, and a bald bandit came up and grabbed it. "Here, boss." He handed it over to the man with the dagger. 

The apparent leader of the bandits opened Mama's pouch as well. He laughed, mockingly. His men mimicked him. "This is seriously pathetic! Are you blowing all your coins on you kiddies?" He laughed again. "But, you know, I'm feeling generous today. Tell you what. Hand over your wedding bracelets." Mama and Papa hesitated. Here, when couples got married, they tied ribbons around each other's wrists. After a month, the ribbons were replaced with bracelets. Losing or damaging the ribbons or bracelets was considered terrible luck, a sign the relationship wouldn't last. So I understood my parents' hesitation. "No?" Questioned the bandit. "That's too bad." He gestured to his men, who came closer, readying their weapons. "Go ahead and-"

Suddenly, Deren stood up. "STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!" He bellowed. He lifted his arms up, palms facing the closest thief. To my great shock, lightning shot from his hands, striking the tree next to the bandit. The man dropped his knife. There was a moment of silence, as all of us stared at Deren. "GO AWAY, YOU DUMB JERKS!" He shouted, firing off another bolt, narrowly missing another bandit. The criminals didn't need to be twice. They all turned and ran into the woods.

We all sat there, in shocked silence  for several minutes. Deren plopped back down, letting out a big breath of air. Deren was the most introverted of my brothers. He was soft spoken and prefered to stay indoors, practicing on his little wooden flute. Up until now, he had only ever been gentle and quiet. I had never seen him shout or make trouble, a sharp contrast to his boisterous brothers. I had no idea he was capable of such ferocity. 

Mama broke the peace. "That's my boy!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around Deren, who beamed. "You've got lightning magic, just like your mama! I'm so proud of you!" This was not the reaction I was expecting. Papa seemed to come to his senses. He moved the log and hopped back into the cart. He then cleared his throat. "Uh, yes. That was quite impressive, Deren. But it was also very reckless." Now that was the kind of response I had expected. "Son, those were very dangerous people. It's not a good idea to provoke anyone with a weapon." Deren pouted. "I didn't know I could do that. I just wanted them to go away." Deren mumbled, dejectedly. "But that was super cool!" Exclaimed Callan. "Deren went 'zap!' and all the bad guys ran away! He's a hero!" Deren grinned again. 

"Well- that's -" Papa faltered. "Oh, we should throw a party! A big party!" Marden interrupted. Mom chuckled. "Your birthday is just around the corner! And you want another party?" Her eyes danced with amusement. "Ugh, mamma! It's still eleven entire days until our birthday!" Marden retorted. "Besides, our birthday is for all of us! We should have a party just for Deren! Like, tomorrow!" 

"We'll think about it, okay?" Papa offered. "For now we need to head home. It's risky to use magic without training. We need to have a healer take a look at Deren." Mama nodded, trying to be serious. "Your papa makes a good point. We'll make sure Deren is okay, then we can talk about a party." She flicked the reins and the cart lurched forward. We started for home. Deren fell asleep within minutes. He slept the whole journey home. We made a stop at the nearest temple. A priest in blue robes took a look at Deren. "He's fine." She told us. "He just needs a hearty meal and some rest. Oh and of course, he'll need tutoring in magic as well. Your boy is very young, so be sure he takes it slow. I advise that your other sons sit in on his lessons, in case they awaken their magic early as well." My parents thank her, agreeing to find a tutor as soon as possible.

When we got back home, the boys continued to insist Deren needed a special celebration. Eventually, our parents relented. Three days later, we threw a small party for Deren. Our parents make his favorite foods, and gift him a song book for the flute. The story of Deren's heroics has quickly spread through the neighborhood, thanks to Callan and Marden. Many friends and neighbors come to praise him, and offer gentle reprimands. Deren is given numerous treats by his well -wishers, which he graciously shares. Several tutors stop by, eager to offer their services. The boys take a liking to an older man in a patchwork jacket, who brings them a large bag of sour candy. He offers our parents a good rate, and they accept his services.