Keith awoke suddenly. He took a second to feel if anything was wrong, because he remembered that he had been painfully hit. But surprisingly, he felt rather full of energy.
Taking in his surroundings, he saw Dillim standing in a corner of the room. He had his eyes closed, and was leaning against the wall with his legs crossed.
It took Keith a few seconds to realize why he was where he was, but then he remembered what had transpired the day before. He didn’t try to force down his tears this time, and as a result, soon his face was covered in tears. He knew that every prince was always judged by the test they took when they are 9 years old. It would more or less decide how happy they could spend their years at the castle.
hat’s why Keith had been looking forward to his own test. He was fairly confident in himself, and thought that he would at least be able to block a big portion of the strike. That way he could finally show everyone that they were wrong. That he wasn’t a simple omen of bad luck.
Never would he have thought that he wouldn’t be able to do anything at all. He suddenly tensed before he could move, resulting in him getting hit by his father’s complete blow.
“You’re awake.”
Dillim’s rough voice could be heard from the corner of the room. “Don’t cry Keith, you can’t change what happened,” Dillim said, walking towards Keith.
Dillim had always been pretty tough towards Keith. He bluntly said what he thought, as if he didn’t consider Keith’s age at all. Keith had been afraid of Dillim because he always looked so grim, but at least he knew that Dillim would be honest. Most of the time he would only be insulted.
Keith was still in a stupor. Even after hearing Dillim’s words, he couldn’t stop crying at all. He was young, but he was still fairly intelligent. He knew how his brothers with less talent were treated. He also knew that he performed less than them in his own test. This would mean, that combined with how he was treated before, that people would only treat him even worse.
The only opportunity he had to change everyone’s opinion had been wasted. Keith knew he couldn’t do anything about it, or change what happened. But he still couldn’t easily accept what happened. Why would one simple test determine how he would be treated for the rest of his life? Wasn’t that simply too cruel?
Keith looked at Dillim with his eyes full of tears. “W-What should I do?” He asked. It had never crossed his mind before that he would perform so badly. He knew that he would have to change something, or he would have to face the same scorn for the rest of his life.
Dillim looked Keith in the eyes, and answered seriously; “We should leave,” he said, pausing slightly before continuing. “There is nothing you can change or achieve here.”
Within Keith’s eyes a flash of surprise could be seen. Leaving? He had never thought of that. It had never crossed his mind that a prince would be able to avoid the castle completely.
“Leave? But where to? It’s not like we can simply go, right?” Keith stammered.
While talking, Dillim’s expression didn’t change at all. “If you truly want to live happily, then you will need the power to protect that happiness,” he said. “If you don’t have the strength to protect what you cherish, then you will simply live in vain. People will simply be able to barge into your life and take everything.” Dillim’s left hand was balled in fist after he finished speaking. It was slightly shaking, showing how deeply he felt about his own words.
Keith didn’t completely understand what Dillim was talking about, but he had seldom seen Dillim speak with so much emotion. That’s why he took Dillim’s words to heart, he knew that Dillim was speaking about something very important to him. Keith had always seen strength as a method to convince others of how he was worthy of their appreciation, but hearing Dillim speak, he knew that personal strength was even more important than that.
“Yes Dillim, I will work hard,” Keith said. It could be seen that Keith was very serious about his own words. He had never been one to live an easy life. Having been scorned from the moment he was born, he already had a tough character at his young age. He could’ve easily been always gloomy, but Keith was very stubborn. He would show them that he was better than they thought, and he knew he would be able to. He just didn’t know how he would accomplish it yet.
“But how should I obtain strength? I don’t think I can train in the sword. After yesterday, father probably won’t even assign me a teacher…” Thinking back about yesterday, Keith’s eyes had started to tear up again.
“Boy, did you already forget what I said about leaving?” Dillim answered. “From yesterday, it can be seen that you don’t have the necessary talent for the sword, but you just might have what it takes to become a mage.”
“A wizard? But they’re all dishonorable!” Keith couldn’t believe what he just heard. Mages had always been looked down upon in the Lirix kingdom. So logically, Keith also had some bad thoughts about them. He was strongly influenced by the ideas of the people closest to him. It was common knowledge in the Lirix kingdom that becoming a swordsman was the proper path to pick.
“Hmph,” Dillim snorted, “Foolish boy! Never underestimate a mage!” He loudly said. “Have you ever fought one yourself? Have you ever seen what kind of carnage they can bring?” Dillim normally would only get slightly agitated by some comments, but this time he almost turned furious. He brimmed with anger, and intimidated Keith by leaning very close to him. “People tend to fear what they don’t understand. Therefore, they look down on things so that they can feel comfortable about themselves. There is nothing dishonorable about being a mage!”
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He had never liked the discrimination against wizards in the Lirix kingdom. When he traveled to other countries, he had fought against wizards before, barely escaping with his life. He knew that one day, the common discrimination towards wizards would strike the Lirix kingdom in the back.
“Wizards can reach the very pinnacle of strength, just like swordsmen!”
Keith was paying attention by now, he knew that he had said the wrong thing when he saw Dillim almost erupt with anger. “Can they really get just as strong as swordsmen? But I have never seen any mage like that!” The only mages Keith was familiar with, were some of his father’s advisors. But he had seen how his father had simply cut one down when he said something he shouldn’t have.
Dillim frowned, he saw that he had Keith’s attention now, but he still had to deal with his misconceptions. “That’s because none of them were fully trained. They probably studied by themselves, using basic books they found. Only the other kingdoms house mages who can reach the pinnacle of power!” Dillim was glad that Keith was finally listening to him, so he used the most common trick in the book to convince young boys. He started telling grand stories of what mages had accomplished, and what the mages he had met were capable of.
“One time, I met a mage who almost ended me. He was as fast as the wind itself, traveling so fast that it was impossible for the naked eye to perceive. When I couldn’t reach him, he would send violent blades of wind in my direction. They were as sharp and heavy as my own sword blows at that time! If I didn’t exploit my partly magic resistant armor, I would’ve surely fallen that day,” Dillim exclaimed. Then he started telling even more grand stories about some legendary wizards.
Keith’s eyes had started to shine long ago. Like most young boys, he was one to admire power too. He had never heard such grand stories about wizards and their exploits. These stories weren’t common at all in the Lirix kingdom. Only because Dillim had travelled to faraway places, was he able to hear about them.
Slowly but surely Keith’s misconceptions were replaced with a burning desire for the same power the mages in Dillim’s stories had. Keith himself had also realized that his talent for the sword was probably below average. Even though it was hard to admit, he unconsciously knew that he failed the test that assesses his talent for the sword miserably. This made it even more so that he started yearning for magic. If he didn’t have talent for the sword, he would just become the most powerful mage! He would still be able to shake the world with his magical powers, and show everyone that he wasn’t garbage. Even if it might seem dishonorable in the kingdom of Lirix, they wouldn’t be able to say anything if he acquired great powers.
“I still have some connections from my time of travels,” Dillim stated, “I’ll escort you to another kingdom, so you can attend the magic school there.” Dillim knew that Keith was stubborn and that he didn’t have a weak heart. But he still couldn’t manage to tell him the full truth about the King’s plan. That’s why he lied, and made Keith think that it was Dillim’s idea to leave for the magic academy.
“R-Really? Is it really possible for me to acquire such power there, Dillim?” Keith asked with enthusiasm. “But can we simply leave like that? Will father be okay with it?”
Keith was only concerned about his father’s opinion. His mother had passed away when he was born, and furthermore, the sole brothers he was close too had all gone away on journeys. He didn’t know that they passed away in the fight for succession, so he even had a slim hope that his big brother had also left for a magic academy. Maybe he would even be able to meet him there. Thinking that, he only became more eager to go.
“Yes, it has all been taken care of,” Dillim said. His eyes had narrowed to small slits, while he was smiling contently at the eager appearance of Keith. “As for if you can gain a power rivalling those legendary figures, it will depend upon yourself.”
“Heh,” Keith chuckled, “I already know how grand I’ll become. I’ll make everyone appreciate my power one day! Then they won’t care about the sign of bad luck, or being a mage, they’ll be forced to recognize me!”
“Slow down, Keith. If you already get ahead of yourself now, then you will never be able to reach those heights.” Keith felt like Dillim poured a cold bucket over his head.
Keith sulked for a short moment, but immediately regained his usual vigor. “When can we go Dillim? I’m really looking forward to the academy!” Keith asked.
“We can leave next week, so it’s better if you start packing the clothes you need. I will arrange for the rest.”
Dillim had already acquired a small sum of money from the ministers who would supervise this affair. The king would lose face if it turned out one of the princes wouldn’t have any money to travel with. Even though the identity of the prince would be hidden inside the country he would be sent to, the country’s officials would still be aware of him.
It would take around 3 days for one of the Lirix’s top knights to reach the kingdom they wanted to bargain with. That’s why they would only have the answer in 7 days. The ministers were fairly sure that the kingdom known for its magic wouldn’t oppose the idea. They would offer a trade; a few books about the kingdom’s special magic, would be traded for the prince’s enrollment.
The kingdom Keith would be sent to, is called: Erelath.
There had always been a tense relationship between Erelath and Lirix. In the past few centuries, neither had gone to war with each other, but that didn’t mean they didn’t prepare. The Lirix kingdom wanted to trade Keith as a hostage, so they would be able to acquire those books.
Of course, this wasn’t to start training wizards. This was to create exact counter measures against their magic, securing their own tactics against them. The prince would be held hostage in their kingdom in return. Of course, no one really called it that. It was under the cover of simple enrollment. The ministers of the Lirix kingdom weren’t crazy; they believed that the Erelath kingdom would try to sway Keith to their side. That way they could use Keith when he returned later, as their own soldier.
But what the ministers of the Lirix kingdom believed, was that no one would think that the king would simply be able to abandon one of his princes. For the Lirix kingdom, it felt like getting free magic books. They didn’t care about Keith at all. Keith didn’t know any of this, he simply believed that Dillim had instigated everything to help him gain power.
The ignorant and innocent Keith rushed out of the guest room he had been sleeping in to pack his stuff. Even if it was 7 days early, he was already brimming with enthusiasm.