Pain.

Sharp rocks against my back and a soaked cotton shirt on my skin. A gentle stream running close by, a soft wind blowing.

Those were my first memories of this world.

Then a little girl was running towards me, her golden locks were long and radiant, and to my young self she seemed as an angel that had come to save me. Florencia Regalla found me on the shore of a narrow river that day, and I could not recall a single thing before that moment, except for my name.

She had been out on a walk with her parents, when she suddenly saw a flash of pink light, a thunderous crack, and ran towards it. There she found me, laying down, soaked and shivering, with a confused look on my face. A thin pink mist rose up above me and disappeared the moment she checked whether I was alive. I only knew my name-—Jonas. Later I was given the last name Espian, meaning on the stones.

Florencia was an only child, born into the family of a logger and storekeeper. They had a comfortable life, by the three of them. But that changed when Florencia demanded that her parents took me in and took care of me. Nobody in the town of Darnel had ever seen me before, or knew of a missing child from any nearby villages. I had no memory of my parents, or any life, before Florencia found me.

So her family took me in, but begrudgingly. Florencia had wanted it, and her father Dorne and mother Lielana didn't know how to refuse her demands. She was, after all, their brilliant darling, smart and clever for her age.

Although I was young then, even I could understand that her parents did not like me. They politely kept their aversions to themselves, trying their best to accommodate the wishes of their precious daughter. Of course later I understood the reason of their disdain. I was another mouth to feed. Another burden on their humble income. Darnel was not a town where one could make many cuenos.

Built in the very middle of Lienor, close to Veneiea and Caffria, the city of Darnel wasn't much to look at to begin with, but a few thousand people lived there and called it home. The expensive buildings were built of strong stone, but most were wooden houses, with the usual problems of rotting support beams, leaky roofs, and mice running under the floorboards.

The nearby farmers grew their produce in endless fertile fields, or worked in the lush forests, often rafting massive trunks of timbers downstream. They had to do that early morning, when the water was just perfect for it. Were the loggers late, the water could not carry the logs as well, and the day's pay was lost. This was one of the few bits of wisdom my adoptive father Dorne told me one time when I helped him cut firewood.

It was a simple life, made of simple work.

So Dorne and Lielana Regalla took me into their family. They fed me, clothed me and gave me a tiny corner next to the kitchen to sleep in. Looking back to those times, I didn't make life easy for my adoptive parents, either. I was quiet and aloof, often spacing out into my imagination where I loved to fight monsters and be a hero. I should have tried more to connect with them, but I was young, and they were under more stress that I was aware of. This unresolved conflict filled the house with tension on most days. It was that I blamed them for not trying enough, and they were spiteful because I was weird, and never got along with anyone. Even the neighbors stayed away from me, and I never had friends, only those who suffered my presence.

But what made me quiet and strange was something I was hesitant to talk about.

I spent my early years out in the woods playing soldier on some kind of adventure, fighting against imaginary enemies. That was when I started seeing the shadow people. They appeared early morning or right before sunset. Only then I could see them. An unmistakable darkness rushing in the corner of my eye, barely seen.

The shadow people, as I called them, were a looming presence I noticed in the corners of the limited world I knew. Always out of sight, never directly seen or felt. As years passed, I noticed them in Darnel late at night, in the dirty places of the town.

One night, a crowd of mercenaries passed through the town and let off steam in the tavern. They were already drunk when one of them slapped the waitress Lora, calling her degrading names before she ran out back. I followed her that night, and when I found her crying her eyes out, that's when I saw a huge shadowy face almost leaning against her shoulder. But Lora saw nothing.

I even saw many shadowy creatures spiraling around a convicted murderer while the oblivious hangman fastened a noose around his neck. The murderer looked on with apathy, seemingly not caring whether he lived or died, never even looking up to where I saw a dozen dark shadow creatures swimming excitedly. That was the only time I saw them in broad daylight, almost joyously dancing.

For many years I was afraid to tell anyone, even Florencia, who was the only person who truly cared about me. I was already an outcast. Why create more trouble with acting crazy?

Then Florencia's mother died. It was a silly accident, where a frightened horse struck Lielana. She fell and hit her head on the sidewalk, and we were told she died instantly. Dorne was never the same again, and the light in his eyes was gone. Struck with grief he was for many years, and Florencia was strong these days. She consoled her father, and tried to keep the cool mood of the household as warm as she could. Where she had the strength, I could never fathom.

It was during that time of grief, while I was lost in my own dark thoughts, thinking I had definitely gone mad, when I felt for the first time a shadow creature close by. It appeared behind me and violently flew through me as a gust of wind. The moment the creature had passed my body, I passed out on my bed. All I could remember was being in the claws of nightmares for a long time, until Florencia came into my room and calmed me down. She was like a ray of sunlight that eased my suffering, and the world made sense again. I promised then to try my very best to repay her for how she behaved during those sad months.

On that long night I told her about the shadow creatures. She listened silently, and by the end of my sob story, only said it was all right, and there was nothing to be afraid of. She said those words with such confidence, that I believed her, and for many years I never saw the shadow creatures again.

A few years passed.

We were finally old enough for Dorne to send us to the local school where many children were taught reading and writing and some simple arithmetic. There we discovered nothing new—Florencia was brilliant. She was blessed by Eki, the minor god of intellect, though she had always been more fond of Iscia. Florencia's mind was sharp as a dagger and quick enough to make it dangerous. And while Florencia flourished with studies, my own aloofness and unwillingness to focus, gave the teachers the impression that I was slow. Though everyone compared to Florencia was slow, so the comparison was unfair, in my opinion. But the truth of the matter was that even though I had not seen the shadow creatures for years, they had left an everlasting impression upon me. A sudden movement in the corner of my eye unnerved me, and I could never truly focus.

Things changed much the day we learned that both Florencia and I could wield magic.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

It happened by accident, when she was reading a strange and old book she picked up from the local library. She read a few lines at the dinner table and tried a technique described there while we were eating. Then the cast-iron crock pot, still filled with warm stew, flew into the wall, cracked the pot and tore up the old crusty plaster. Immediately the pot then launched towards Dorne! Without thinking, I jumped up and reached out my hand towards him to stop the pot, but it stopped by itself mid-air, like it weighed nothing, and crashed on the floor, where it stayed cracked and ruined.

News traveled fast, and by the next day, the whole of Darnel knew we could wield magic. But that would be an exaggeration. Florencia could wield magic. She seemed to have an instinctual understanding of it. I, however, could not sense it, nor could I wield it in any capacity. I wasn't stupid in the general meaning of the word, and understood the theories from what I read in the books. But there was some kind of blockage in my mind, where I could not transfer the understanding into a usable form.

Florencia learned the basics of magic by herself in just a few months, encouraged along by her father. She devoured books from all over the kingdom that she could find on the subject. Neighbors also brought her some from their trips to the larger world outside Darnel. These days, Florencia's father was overjoyed that his brilliant daughter was even more talented than he thought. He was now a made man in Darnel. It didn't bring in more coin, but he was a welcome guest at every table in the tavern.

The reputation of a promising young mage spread so widely that Amasco Linto, the wealthy and influential baron of the province, visited Darnel himself. They had a their short conversation, where the baron expressed his great expectations from Florencia. When the baron was leaving, he politely shook my hand again, and never talked to me, nor Florencia ever again.

Even though I was already used to being shunned by people, I couldn't help but feel defeated. Florencia tried to cheer me up as best as she could, but that time it barely made a difference.

Florencia always cheered me up and tried to keep me in a good mood. She always did. Every time people complimented her over her brilliance, she also tried to shift some attention onto me, which never worked. I was still the strange and quiet boy whom the Regalla family had to take care of. The one who was too stupid to use his magical gift.

As the years passed, the indifference and animosity of my neighbors had less influence over me. I accepted it as the natural way of things and moved on.

By the time we were young teens, Florencia was blasting through book after book about various magical systems. She had learned and understood all the basics of the different schools of magic and even dabbled in the fundamentals of the more esoteric ones, like the disciplines of displacement and making. Something my mind did not even comprehend, which was a rather common theme.

It would be reasonable to assume that I would develop a hatred for Florencia, but that would be wrong. So very wrong. Florencia was always there for me, trying to help and offer support for everything I did. On the many days I would get frustrated over my incompetence, or when I couldn't grasp the simplest ideas, she was there with her gentle presence, trying to calm me down. Telling me to try again differently.

Perhaps she sub-consciously took over the mother role of the family? I don't know.

All I know is that we were very close, and had few secrets between us.

What happened on a warm summer evening was nothing short of miraculous. Dorne had come home from a week-long trip he told us was of great importance. He sat us down at the dinner table, where Florencia had prepared a delicious pot of beef stew. A rather fitting dish for how it would change our lives.

Dorne told us that both Florencia and I were accepted into the most prestigious school for magic in our country—the Cappesand Academy of Esoteric Arts. Or more commonly known as the Cappesand Academy. It was the most magnificent place for learning magic in the southern part of the known world. There were few competitors, and none of whom measured up in any Great Trials, which were held every few decades.

The Cappesand Academy was in the city of Bessou, only a few days' travel west. It was a large city settled on the shore of the Thei lake. Easily over a hundred thousand people lived there, and many more lived in the vast fields and industries surrounding the city. It was a city that had a magically built spire reaching impossibly high in the sky, called the Jewel of Bessou, the crowning achievement of the Cappesand architect mages.

There were hidden and safeguarded sub-levels delving into unknown depths underground, sealed away forever, never again to be discovered. And of course, all and everything that fit in between the High and the Deep. With its history reaching back almost 1400 years, Bessou was ancient, majestic, and from the stories I read, awe-inspiring. Florencia was immediately thrilled over the announcement, and jumped up and embraced her father with tears in her eyes.

I could understand why she was accepted into the academy, but could not think of a single reason why they also accepted me. Florencia outclassed me in almost every aspect that mattered. I could barely snuff out a candle from the other side of the room, or move a pencil with my mind. Neither could I sense or influence the emotions of other people to my will, like Florencia learned to do when she was thirteen, much to her delight. All I could do was tricks for drunks.

Some time later, Florencia confessed she also had no idea why I was accepted into the academy. We were both confused and off balance. But she was happy and later said that she probably would not have gone if I had stayed back in Darnel.

So the complete change of plans was a surprise, and we were mentally very unprepared. I had already arranged on becoming a logger at the same company Dorne worked at, unbeknownst to him. Perhaps that could make him proud of me, and while I wasted my magical gifts, I could still do hard work and earn an honest living. Rafting the fresh timbers down the river was something I could see myself doing for a few years, at least. It seemed peaceful and solitary. And Florencia knew for a fact that she would go south to Caffria, to study in the local university.

But all plans were now void. I was seventeen and Florencia was fifteen years old, and we were going to study in Bessou, in the most prestigious academy for wizardry in the southern part of the world. It didn't matter what I wanted to do instead, I was going and that was that. Dorne took me aside one morning, just the two of us, and made it very clear that I was to look after his daughter, protect her and see that she succeeds with her studies. That was the deal. I could study at Cappesand, but at the price of protecting Florencia.

After Florencia washed the tears off her face, Dorne shocked us again. He looked at the new crock-pot in silence for a moment and then told us we had to leave in two months. We had to get there before the scholarly year would begin in autumn. Florencia and I were stunned, but had little to argue over. The decision was done, and the opportunity was a onetime offer.

Two months went by with many tearful goodbyes over the wonderful Florencia Regalla leaving Darnel and moving on to bigger things in a larger world. I received a few well-wishes from teachers, and a disappointed look from the foreman, who would lose out on a young man to cut down the many trees needed for his next contract.

By that time I didn't even care anymore, and I was happy to go somewhere more lively. Perhaps a new beginning for Florencia was also a new beginning for me.

Of course, the hope lasted for three months. Hope has a habit of clashing with reality and succumbing to it.

When the hot summer started showing hints of an upcoming winter, with the first leaves turned the distinct shade of dark green, Florencia and I set out on a carriage to the city of Bessou. We could not have been any more excited.

Before Dorne commanded me to protect Florencia at Cappesand, I had considered simply not going there. I thought I could find an easy manual labor job somewhere, perhaps at the docks. There was always a shortage of young men willing to unload the cargo ships there, or so I heard. I felt like I was old enough to make my own decisions, but I was wrong. I would have made so many mistakes if I went my own way and ignored Dorne's command. Of course, Florencia always made the correct choices, almost on instinct. It was a rather unfortunate state of affairs that her immaculate decision making did not work on games of chance, more precisely predicting the outcome of a certain dog race, which cost me a week's worth of copper coins, and a painfully bruised eye.

But be that as it may. Dorne was right about sending me to Cappesand, and he was right that Florencia needed protecting. There were many times I regretted almost letting Florencia go alone to Bessou. A fifteen-year-old girl, alone in that enormous city without her oldest friend to take care of her! If something would have happened to her, I might've never forgiven myself.

That didn't happen, though. What happened was that Florencia and I were sitting in a cramped wooden carriage, drawn by a pair of old horses, and a grumpy old coachman whipping them to go faster. The wheels in the back made a creaking noise from the very beginning, and would not stop until we reached our destination.