RAY VAN CAMARO

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I decided to enter the military when I turned twelve. If I was going to protect the people I care about, where better to start?

However, one must be at least sixteen years of age to enter the military. Fortunately, there was a pre-military program in the Capital for people under the age of sixteen. It was a program to train youths that wanted to be soldiers. Anyone who transitioned from it was promoted to officer upon entering, skipping the ranks before it.

Pops was supportive when I told him my intentions. Surprisingly, the Payne family was too.

When the new year came and it was time to hand in the yearly report, Pops and his unit escorted me to the Capital. Uncle Tristan even temporarily gifted me Tank (military personnel were allowed to bring their own mounts).

Before we left, Trisha, Czeslaw, and I had our Tarot card readings from Enyaba the seer.

“Who wants to go first?” she asked.

Trisha raised her hand, mixing the deck chaotically. “Me!” She pulled out a card that depicted a woman sitting on a throne holding a sceptre in the midst of a sea of grain. “The Empress.”

“Ah. The card of maternal influence and family. The Empress represents a desire for the creation of life, romance, art, or starting a business.”

Czeslaw nudged her with his elbow. “Romance. I wonder who you’re eyeing.”

She pushed his face away. “Someone with hair.”

Czeslaw went next and pulled out a card containing an old man holding a staff in one hand and a lantern with a six-pointed star in the other. “The Hermit.”

Trisha pointed at him and laughed. “Ahahaha! Hermit? You’re going to be homeless! You’re going to have a family and run away from your wife and kids. That fits you so much!”

Enyaba slammed a fist onto the table. “No interruptions! If you interrupt, you won’t get a reading!”

Czeslaw elbowed Trisha in the gut, causing her to bend over in pain. “Sorry about that, Enyaba. Please continue with my reading.”

Enyaba rubbed her chin. “You are in a phase of introspection. You are drawing attention inwards and looking for answers within. You are in need of a period of inner reflection, away from the current demands of your position.”

He scratched his head. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“That’s for your future to decide.” She turned to me. “Your turn.”

I cut the deck in half and pulled out a card that had a prince holding a sword being swiftly pulled by two horses in a chariot. “The Chariot.”

“Ah. The Chariot represents moving forward through sheer hard work and commitment—moving forward in a positive direction to be victorious.” Enyaba chuckled. “This is very interesting indeed. Three Major Arcana cards in a row. You three are very special. You’ll have interesting futures. That I can promise.”

We gathered outside where Pops and his unit were waiting.

“Hey, Old Man, what’s your tarot card?” Czeslaw asked.

“Will you stop calling me Old Man?” He sighed. “I have The High Priestess. If I remember correctly, it’s a card of mystery, stillness, and passivity. Apparently, I have to retreat and reflect on my situation and trust my instincts. Things around me are not what they appear to be.”

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“Is that a Major Arcana card?” Trisha asked.

“It is.”

“You’re just like us. I’m The Empress, Czeslaw is The Hermit, and Ray is The Chariot.”

“Czeslaw is The Hermit?” Pops wondered. “If he keeps calling me Old Man, he’ll be one. You’re The Empress? You’re too wild right now, Trisha, but I don’t doubt that you’ll make a good mother one day. And Ray’s The Chariot? It’s a good omen for you.”

This would be the last time we’d see each other in a while. So Trisha, Czeslaw, and I all hugged each other before I hopped onto Tank and rode off to the Capital with Pops.

By this point, the jynxists from the Capital had stopped questioning me on how I summoned Marching Dolls. To make sure I kept its secret, I continued to do what my parents told me and drew the fake incantation circle on a glove. If anyone attempted it, I’d just say only I knew how it worked by instinct.

On my first day in the program, someone in our platoon wanted to show dominance. I had strengthened my gates to the point that I could summon fifty Marching Dolls with ease—which was exactly what I did.

I wasn’t even trying to show dominance. I just wanted to make it known that it wasn’t intelligent to mess with me. But that little show shot me up in the hierarchy and I was seen as the boss from there on out.

A few of us dropped out the first couple of weeks, but after that, our platoon was smooth sailing and even surpassed a couple of our seniors.

I already had King Arthureus’ attention because only I knew how to summon without lending any gates to my Fetishes. When he found out I applied for the pre-military program and was planning to enter the military, he was proud. He suggested I take the State Jynxist Exam so I could do more.

My platoon would be graduating in a couple of weeks which would perfectly align with this year’s State Jynxist Exam.

The first phase was a physical team test. I was put on a team with two elves. One was an obnoxious man with long black hair and sharp teeth named Jay Geils. The other was a small apathetic elf with silver hair named Heloise Astell.

Jay Geils was nicknamed the Rookie Crusher because of his tendency to sabotage rookies. Unluckily for us, Heloise and I were both rookies and during the first phase where we were tasked with stealing another team’s briefcase and keeping ours safe, he threw ours over the floating island.

I think that was when the bond between Heloise and I started. Not only did we have to watch out for enemies trying to attack, we also had to watch out for the saboteur within our team.

Normally, we would’ve thrown Jay Geils off the island, but we needed him to pass. So Heloise trapped him in an earth dome and I summoned a couple of my dolls to prevent him from escaping and protect him from other teams.

We had to steal three teams’ briefcases to make up for ours, but it was worth it since we ended up passing. I even found a unique cursed artifact within the floating island—a sword that didn’t do damage until you return it to its hilt within twelve seconds. I ended up naming it Slash.

Phase two was a mental test and a simple trick question.

“Find the exit of the cave,” our proctor said.

Three out of four people went inside. The rest of us followed them, pretending we were pondering which path to take before going back to the entrance and waiting. It was easy. The entrance and exit to a cave were the same thing.

Luckily, Jay Geils was dumb enough to go inside the cave, getting lost and eliminated in the process. Heloise and I celebrated the next night by getting drunk.

By the last phase, I began considering the silver-haired elf a close friend—though I didn’t know what she considered me.

The final phase’s instructions were simple. We had an hour to steal two other participants’ badges without killing anyone.

Heloise and I made a truce not to attack each other or attempt to steal the other’s badge. We only needed two badges to pass and there were twenty-two of us remaining, but there was never a rule stating we couldn’t steal more. Heloise and I’s idea was unanimous—we decided to knock everyone out and steal their badges.

Once the hour passed, Heloise and I were in possession of every badge in the room, thus making us the only two to pass. The higher-ups in the military were quite angry, but King Arthureus remarked that we showed the attributes of a State Jynxist while the others did not.

I was also the youngest person to become a State Jynxist up until that point.

We were given the opportunity to pick our own aliases.

Heloise knew hers instantly. Silver, because she once knew someone who loved her silver hair.

I ended up using my tarot card as my alias. Chariot. To this day, I still regret picking such a boring title.

Heloise stayed in the city and took my suggestion to find a job as a jynx tutor. We often hung out during my free time.