Archie loved football season in Minashire. Not because his local Harrowstead team was good or anything – they’ve consistently had the worst record in the nation –, but because of the fan festival that would take place on game days. He and his family would wake up every morning before a game to prepare their best desserts for their family's booth. Because they’d sell out quickly, he and his family would need to work in shifts and pairs. Archie was always paired with his brother Troy to work the mornings while his sisters Cadence and Brook worked during the games and his parents worked after the game until sundown. Archie and Troy had made a habit of touring the booths every time they had a chance, and while the offerings were usually the same – local dishes made by home chefs, foreign dishes from the continent of the visiting team whenever international opponents were in town, and overpriced clothing items –, there was one stand in particular that Archie loved to visit. Not to participate in, though, but to watch.
“Are you as strong as you think you are? Will you protect wife from Incubus? Will you protect husband from Succubus? Will you protect child from Baba Yaga? Ah, you do not have Baba Yaga in Minashire. What do you all have? Ah! Will you protect child from Hellhound? Test your strength and find out!”
The “Official 100% Accurate Ptitsa Stranski Aura Evaluator” was Archie’s favorite thing to watch, more so than the football games themselves. In a sea of identical white booths that sat in front of a massive stadium that Archie swore looked like a metal tire, the steam-powered, vibrantly painted booth made of copper-lined steel pipes stood out from all the rest. It was only natural people would gravitate towards it. The lines were always long, and the results were always the same. The massive bear of a man from Ptitsa Strana would stand next to a clear orb on a velvet-lined table and goad young people – usually couples – into attempting the test. They’d fail and call it a scam, then the person behind them would pass and receive some card from the well-hidden Stranski men and women watching the test nearby. According to Troy, the purpose of the test was to raise funds for Stranski schools while also scouting for gifted students.
“You wanna try?” Troy asked Archie as they took their usual spot off to the side to watch.
“No!” Archie answered immediately. “I’m not old enough!”
“The sign says ‘Thirteen and Up’. You just turned thirteen, Arch. You should go for it! What do you have to lose?”
“They’ll make fun of me! There’s no way I can pass this!”
“Congratulations, doll!” The large Stranski man called to a woman walking with an arm around a her partner. “Your boyfriend is handsome man!”
“I know! That’s why I’m dating him!”
“Surely other women think same thing?”
“So what if they do?”
“Well, they might get flirty flirty while you are away!”
“I wish they would!”
“Oh, but I do not! However, it would be good to make sure you can protect your property, no? Come find out if you’re capable!”
“Fine—”
“Wait!” Troy called from beside Archie. His brother had a wide smile on his face as he stared at the Stranski man and the mildly irritated-looking Burnish woman.
Archie pulled on his brother’s white chef coat, but it was no use. The Stranski man, the Burnish woman, and the small crowd of onlookers turned in Troy’s direction, leaving Archie mortified.
“How about my brother?” Troy said, clapping Archie’s shoulder. “I think he’s strong enough to take the test!”
The Stranski man laughed and looked over the two brothers. “Ah! The two chef boys!” He took a few steps closer to Archie and inspected him closely, tucking his bearded chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Hmm, your limbs are little like tree. Perhaps you would be better suited for cooking!”
“Don’t look down on my little brother! We’ve had our share of tussles. He can hold his own!”
“Can he, now?” The Stanski man questioned. When Troy nodded, the man smiled and grabbed Archie by the wrist. “Let us see!”
Archie wanted to protest. He wanted to tell the massive man that he didn’t want to do this and that he wanted to go home or watch the game or some other excuse to get out of this. A crowd had begun to form, and Archie didn’t want to become the laughingstock of the festival for the rest of the day. Yet, he didn’t protest. There was a part of him, a small, silent part of him, that wanted to try this. Perhaps it’d always wanted to take the Aura Evaluation? Was that the reason he’d always been drawn to it?
“Now, boy. Place your favorite hand on orb.”
“Okay…”
Archie did as instructed, placing his hand on the massive clear orb on the velvet-lined table. The steam spewing from the stand's copper-lined pipes whirred and hissed around him, bits of it hitting him in the face as he awaited further instruction.
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“Now, close your eyes and visualize yourself as strong as bear!”
“That’s it!”
“That is it!”
Again, Archie did as instructed. He’d never seen a bear in person as they weren’t native to Minashire, but he understood what the man meant. There were Myths in the world like Animarum and the Light Eater that were said to be the strongest in existence. If Archie were a Myth, what would he be like? He imagined himself as an old man. Thirty years old or so. He had bulging muscles like the Stranski man beside him. He was strong enough to destroy planets with a thought, and had the freedom to travel between universes! He’d be a superhero! Archie laughed at the thought.
Wouldn’t that be–
Crack!
The orb shattered beneath Archie’s hand, immediately breaking his concentration.
“Oh, I’m sorry sir! I’ll call my mother and we’ll pay for–”
“Ha!” The Stranski man laughed. “Perhaps bear should dream of being as strong as you, boy!” Reading the confusion on Archie’s face, he continued. “No offense to our lovely friends in Minashire, but when we run this test we bring our weakest Aura Evaluator. You all have great personalities, but your strength is…err… lacking.” The man smiled wide and patted Archie on the shoulder. “You’ve just raised the bar boy! What is your name?”
Seriously? I really… won? Surely he’s just messing with me? But what if he isn’t?
“A-Archie! Archie Finch!”
“Archie Finch, yes? A man to rival Animarum!” He turned to Troy, who was suddenly surrounded by Stranski men holding business cards. The large Stransk man turned back to Archie. “I was going to ask if your brother trained you, but it seems the vultures acted sooner.” The man smiled and handed Archie a card for “The School for Tomorrow's Heroes”. Archie looked over the intricately designed black and gold card as the man continued. “Give this to your parents and tell them about what happened here today, yes?”
This is real! He isn’t messing with me! I passed!
“I will!” Archie nodded. “I promise! Thank you so much!”
***
“Absolutely not!” Archie’s mother shouted.
Following his showing at the Aura Evaluator, he and Troy had been hounded by Stranski scouts for the rest of the day, making it impossible for either to properly enjoy the festival outside of the game. Troy had begun to find it annoying as he’d been vocal about wanting to visit a few of the beer stands for a drink, each attempt at buying a drink was interrupted by a scout offering to buy his drink before asking about Archie and where he was going to school. Archie appreciated how much his brother put up with it, though, because he’d been looking forward to coming home and sharing the news of the day’s events with his parents.
As soon as he got home he took his shower and waited patiently in the dining room of their condo above their bakery just outside of Harrowstead. He was normally the last to dinner on festival nights, but today was different. He took his usual spot at the center of the table between Cadence and Brook and across from Troy and his parents. His sisters were the first to join them, surprised to find him reading the papers and cards at the table instead of staring ahead at the fine china cabinet on the wall across from him. When he’d told them about it, they’d immediately warned Archie that their mother wouldn’t let this happen. Deep down, Archie knew they were right. Naively, however, he’d hoped she’d make an exception. Deep down, he knew she wouldn’t.
“But they said I was good enough to get in! They’re really strong in Ptitsa Strana, mum!” Archie tried.
His mother gave Archie an incredulous look. “And who are your enemies, boy? Who do you hate so much you’d go to school just to learn how to kick his ass? Let me know and I’ll have Troy kick his shit in, yeah?”
“It’s not about that. You always say people are born with gifts, and maybe my strength is a gift. If I can be strong enough to help people, I want to do that.”
“And what happens when that gets you killed? I’m not gonna let my bloody son get killed because some dickhead convinced him he was the next bloody Animarum!”
“Calm down, Samantha. We’ve gotta let the boy loose someday,” His father began. Archie’s eyes lit up as his mother’s darkened. Before her mother could finish reaching over Troy and grabbing his father’s collar, the man raised a hand. “If he wants to study in Ptitsa Strana, let him do it – after he’s finished his education. We have no place to stop a grown man from doing what he wants, but I can stop my son from getting himself killed.”
His mother grumbled, but she didn’t argue. Archie, however, felt differently. “But they won’t want me when I’m an adult! They want me–”
“Raise your voice at me again and you won’t make it to adulthood, boy. I don’t care how mad you get, we didn’t raise our children to be loudmouthed cunts. Now finish your dinner and wait in the living room. You’ll be washing the dishes tonight, Archie Finch.”
***
As soon as he finished the dishes, Archie stormed into his room and plopped himself into his bed, kicking the mattress and screaming into his pillow. Today had been such a good day. He’d always assumed his destiny was to continue to be a baker and eventually help Troy run the bakery when it was time for his parents to retire. Maybe his mother was right and the Stranski scouts had corrupted his mind because the moment they suggested that he could be more it was all Archie could think about.
He was strong! So much stronger than fully grown men! Yet here he was, kicking and screaming like the child he was. Archie couldn’t accept that. He wouldn’t. Were war heroes like Nori Knight and Mamoru Ruma by their parents like this? Of course not, Archie assumed. They probably started training from the moment they learned to walk!
If I’m gonna follow my destiny, I need to start training.
It was about three in the morning, now. There was no way Archie would be able to sleep given the events of the night. His mother was always the first to fall asleep, followed by his sisters. Troy and his father were always the last to fall asleep as they’d be up watching football games from around the world and tonight hadn’t been different. The Tesoro Garden teams’ games always finished at one in the morning, meaning the coast was clear for Archie to sneak out without anyone noticing.
I’m gonna get strong and you guys are gonna have no choice but to send me to Ptitsa Strana! You’ll see!