It had been a week since my routine had switched from 12-mile marches through undead-infested swamps because an officer “knew” a shortcut and month-long battles against the barbarians of the Kotoran Tribes to the mind-numbing process of collecting the required signatures, turning in my issued gear, and saying goodbye to the few friends I had left. Some small part of me knew I would miss it. The sense of belonging, the power I felt when I burned the flesh of my enemies, and even the chance to move outside the Empire’s borders without having spies follow my every move. Yet, inside I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. The admiration I once held for my fellow battle mages draped in our dark leather armor that bore the insignia of the Emperor proudly on its chest had faded long ago. Now whenever I see that blue serpent coiling around its’ holy sword I can only see it mocking me for my foolishness. I had given them ten years of my life in the end, only five were worth it. Now I move towards the office of the sole reason my life has been a living hell.
Standing outside her door I have to take a deep breath and center myself before I muster up my courage and knock on her door. It takes a moment and I hear her as she shuffles with paperwork most likely putting away any documents containing sensitive information before her shrill voice rings out,
“Come in”
Opening her door I am bombarded with the sickly sweet smell of her perfume. Her blue eyes stared up at me with a cold indifferent gaze it takes all of my willpower not to point out that she had gained even more weight. I swallow my pride as I move to place my Record of Discharge on her desk then snap to the position of attention and in a lifeless almost robotic tone I simply state,
“Mam, I just need your signature here”
Taking the form, she takes her time as she reads it in its entirety line by line. As the minutes drag on my mind drifts to everything I want to say to her. How she lead my friends to their deaths, how she’s a failure of a commander, and I even feel the temptation to throw out some childish name-calling. Yet when the paper is slid back over to me and I see her jump back into her work without even sparing me a glance I can’t stop the smile from spreading on my face as I take it and run from her office. Sprinting through the halls I feel free for the first time in years and when I make it to my room in the barracks I fall to the floor panting as tears fill my eyes. It takes me almost an hour before I calmed the raging emotions inside me.
With shaking hands, I collect the few belongings I have and prepare for the journey ahead of me. It doesn’t take a genius to see this last step for what it truly is. Forcing anyone who wants to leave Emperor Melfyn Artica IV’s service to travel to the capital regardless of where they are to officialize their exit from the army without providing any supporting funds is solely to trick anyone too lazy to make the trip into staying. Thankfully, I had been preparing for this for years. With the two-hundred gold I had saved, I had enough to make the trip and enough left over to make it back to my family’s home. As I leave my room I take one last glance back letting the nostalgia wash over me before finally closing the door.
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I stroll through the once-familiar streets of the base. Weaving my way through the crowds of people that moved with a focus and an almost single-minded purpose that reminded me of Zombies and I let myself fall into an even lazier pace—reveling in the knowledge that I will never be like them again. Despite my snail-like speed it doesn’t take me long to enter the city proper finally. As I make my way into a small General Store my instincts take over momentarily as I hunt for all of the buildings' exits before I calm down with a sigh and walk to the counter. Sitting high off the ground on a stool is a little girl with dark hair and brown eyes common in the Artican Empire. She stares at a misshapen piece of wood tilting her head in different directions as if trying to appraise it. It takes a quiet cough from me to startle her back to reality and in a clumsy movement she hides the wood model behind her back before asking in an energetic tone,
“Hi! How can I help you?”
A sly smile crawling onto my face I replied, “ I’m looking for a few travel supplies. A waterproof bag, bedroll, rope, and two weeks' worth of rations if you have it.” As I spoke I could see the increasingly blank look she gave me before she embarrassedly hopped off her stool and ran into the back of the store while shouting,
“Wait one second ok! I’m gonna get my papa! He can help you!”
Left alone in the storefront, my paranoia gets the better of me and I decide to channel a favorite spell of mine. Despite being a Rank 0 spell, Resonate has always held a special place in my heart for its ridiculously low mana cost, there are arguably better spells for scouting, but Resonate can give just as much detail as all of them combined if not more, the only problem is the difficulty trying to interpret it forcing its users to rely on their intuition to understand it.
Closing my eyes as soon as the corresponding Sigil activates I feel time slow to a crawl as millions of sensations, from how the air blows across my skin to the feeling of a spider crawling across the wooden floorboards fight for my attention. I focus my willpower until I find the answer I am looking for. With a calm smile coming to my face I allow the pure innocence and love for her father to be all the confirmation I need and I stop channeling the spell.
It only takes a short while for the father-daughter duo to return with the trained smile I see on almost every merchant he greets me,
“Welcome, sir! Sorry for not being here to greet you earlier just had a bit of inventory that needed finishing. But don’t worry, Emily told me about the travel supplies you needed, and I have a pack ready for thirty Gold.”
Seeing the nervous looks he gives makes me not even bother trying to haggle. Standing at 6 ft and my eyes no doubt as black as an abyss after channeling magic earlier, it was clear he was afraid. My simple grey tunic and dark brown pants did nothing to hide the Mana Burns trailing from my fingertips and the numerous scars along my arms. I placed his coin on the counter and left with my newly acquired gear.
Finally, with relaxed steps, I head to the city gates and say goodbye to this part of my life.