Somewhere in Haerasong, Several thousand years ago
“Master, what do we do? There are too many of them and only two of us.”
“Are the escape routes cut off?”
“Yes, I can see some of their army marching through the mountain pass even from here.”
“Of course.” The master Sage scratched at their chin, appearing perplexed as if the situation were nothing more than a rather exciting riddle, not the fate of their lives.
“Master!”
“Yes, yes, I get it. Enemies surround us; we are out of allies and likely to make our last stand. All very dramatic, I’m aware.”
“You don’t seem all that bothered.”
“My dear apprentice, if something like this was enough to bother me, I would have never reached the pinnacle and become a true Sage.”
“Is now the time to be flaunting master?”
“It is always the time to be flaunting.”
“Whatever you say, master. How are we getting out of this?”
“Well, do you trust me, my young apprentice?”
“Not really.”
“Wonderful- excuse me?”
“You were saying, master?”
The older Sage eyed their younger apprentice before shaking their head. “I will do you the favor of ignoring your comments. The answer is simple. We are cut off from the world, are we not?”
“Yes?”
“That is where you are wrong! We are cut off from the physical space of the world, thanks to what seems to be a bounded field over reality. But physical space is only one dimension.”
“I’m not sure I’m following-”
“Think!” The master Sage raised their arms in excitement. “If one is trapped in a singular space in time, then simply travel to a different point where one isn’t trapped.”
“Time… travel?”
“Well, not quite.” The overseeing Sage turned to their apprentice, the first sympathetic smile they had shown in a long time. “This may hurt.”
Before the younger of the sages could react, a knife was buried into their neck as they slumped over on the ground in a puddle of their own blood.
“Forgive me. The issue with reincarnation is one must, of course, die as a prerequisite. I’ll treat you to something nice in the future.” The master Sage looked out the window of their tower one last time, feelings of indifference as they watched the world burn. “Well, what is one to expect from such short-minded souls?”
Twirling the same knife that had just taken the life of their apprentice, the Sage pressed the tip against their neck, wincing only slightly.
Not once have I been wrong before.
With a final plunge, the knife was driven into their neck. The Sage instantly dropped as their lifeblood flowed freely from the mortal wound, the world fading to darkness.
Too bad Wisdom never did show me the finished Throne.
Smiling, the Sage uttered two final words before being swallowed by the darkness of death.
“Next time…”
---------------------------------------------
Haerasong, Current day
“Rook, are you coming?”
“Give me a moment!” I shouted from my window, watching as Sarah sighed, tromping off to sit on a nearby log outside my window.
“Why’d she come so early anyway?” I grumbled, hastily throwing on a shirt and pulling on my trousers. We had agreed on half past noon, but here she was, the sun showing it was barely even noon.
She always does this; I don’t know why I’m surprised.
Pulling on the last of my clothes, I quickly bolted from my room, past my mother in our tiny kitchen.
“Rook, where are you going in such a rush?”
“Sarah is here.”
“Oh.” My mother’s expression changed instantly, a coy smile appearing. “Well, tell her she can always come by when she pleases.”
“Yes, Mom, you tell me to tell her the same thing every time.”
My mother shrugged before returning to kneading some bread dough. As I was about to dash out of the room, I heard my mom call me again.
“Oh, and Rook?”
“Yes, mother?”
“If you two head into town, tell Jorgsin that if he doesn’t bring me the money he owes me, I’m going to be taking everything beneath his knees as payment instead.”
Scary.
“Will do, ma’am.”
“Good, now you go have fun with Sarah!”
“Mom, it’s not like that.”
“I’m your mother; I’m allowed to tease you like it is. Now go!”
I didn’t bother to say anything back as I finally made my way out the door of our small home, waving at Sarah as she waited for me on the same log.
“Took you long enough.”
“Took me long enough? You’re the one showing up early!”
“What do you mean ‘early’?” Sarah was up on her feet; I could see a vein in her forehead as her annoyance toward me grew. “I keep telling you, I can’t tell the time from the sun like you!”
“And I keep telling you-” I pointed up toward where the sun hung in the air, “-that where it is now is clearly noon!”
“It looks exactly the same as it will in half an hour!”
“Not at all!”
“Yes, it does!”
“No, it doesn’t!”
“Yes, it does-” I was cut off as my mother’s face appeared, disembodied and ghostly but smiling pleasantly.
“You two, it is such a nice day. It would be a shame if I had to go get my hands dirty. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Both Sarah and I chimed in unison.
“Good.”
The ghostly visage of my mother’s face vanished like a balloon popping.
“Your mom scares me.” Sarah looked at me from the corner of her eye, a smile creeping up on her face already.
“She scares everyone. I just happen to be her son and therefore do not care.”
“Alright, tough guy. Talking a big game won’t here isn’t going to convince the captain any better than your sword will.”
“Hush.” I shook my head as we quickly began to walk away from my home, a tiny abode next to one of many forests the country's northern region was known for. The walk from my house into the village of Junaper, the town we ‘technically’ belonged, was more than a league away. Sarah turned to me without anything to distract us, face lighting up with interest.
“Hey, did you hear about what happened?”
“What do you mean ‘did I hear? I don’t live in the village like you.”
“Well, I figured your mother would know.”
“What, you take my mother as some all-knowing wizard?”
“Isn’t that basically what she is?”
“No,” I said, laughing it off. “If that were the case, I would have never been able to hide anything from her as a kid.”
“Well, I heard that Tallinn, the bakers’ kid, was recently scouted!”
“No way,” I said with a dismissive shake. “Tallinn is what, thirteen? What could he have been scouted for, other than complaining about the other kids playing unfairly?”
“No, really. I heard he showed signs of Kin magic.”
“What? No, no way. His family has no magic users in it in the first place. How could he have any Kin magic? The entire point is that magic is passed down through your family. If his family has no Kin magic, how would he?”
“Just the rumor I heard,” Sarah mumbled as she kicked a nearby rock, her blonde hair shimmering around her face from the sudden movement.
“He probably just ate something bad and mistook the stomachache as a sign of magic.” I waved my hand about, the idea he had shown anything resembling Kin magic preposterous.
“Whatever. Didn’t know you were the all-knowing wizard.”
“Of course-” I said, puffing my chest out. “-now bow before me.”
“Uh-huh. Sure. Maybe I’ll consider it if you beat me there!”
Taking off, my friend darted forward, running ahead of me toward the village that was still the better part of a league away.
“That’s cheating!” I yelled out before chasing after her.
Perhaps in a world where I paid more attention, I would have noticed the pitch-black wolf watching us from just beyond the tree line.
“I win!” I huffed, doing my best to not look as out of breath as I felt.
“No.” Sarah was bent over, sucking in a breath. “That was clearly my win.”
“Do you even have eyes? I got here first.”
“No way, you’re delusional.”
I was about to spit out my counter when I noticed a woman in her early thirties making her way toward us, a surprisingly fancy sword strapped to her side.
“Why is it every time I see you two, you’re bickering?”
“They started it.” Sarah and I pointed at each other in sync, earning a bellyful laugh from the woman.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“I would ask if you’ve sent Sarah’s family some engagement gifts yet, Rook, but honestly, I’m not sure between the two of you who will be the breadwinner.”
I felt my cheeks flush, and a quick glance to my side told me Sarah was feeling the same.
“It’s- it’s not like that, Yeera.”
“That’s Officer Yeera to you two while I’m on duty.” Yeera swatted me in the back, eliciting a quietly whispered ow from me as I rubbed at where she had smacked me. “Anyway, I’m assuming you’re looking for the guard captain?”
“Maybe,” I answered, trying my best not to be so obvious.
“You’re painfully obvious.” Yeera winked at me before pointing further into the town. “Last I heard, he was at the Gilly’s Head.”
“Gilly’s Head? It’s, like, noon.” Sarah said, voice filled with exasperation.
“Well, some like to start their day earlier than others.” Yeera gave us a shrug. “In my opinion, it’s fifty-fifty. Either he will be in an extra good mood, or well… you can guess.”
“Is that really very… captain-ly?” I questioned.
“Trust me, he knows he doesn’t need to be sober to judge whoever will be trying out from a small village like this. Now, get, I’ve got things to do.”
“Like?” Sarah asked, egging Yeera on.
“Guard stuff,” Yeera answered, not bothering to think of anything more creative. “Keep bothering me, and perhaps that will involve locking you up, so your parents have to come to get you.”
“What about Rook!” Sarah shouted as I shot her a victorious grin.
“I’d rather not have his mother torch him, or more importantly, me, alive.”
Before Sarah could protest, I grabbed her by the hand, pulling her along as we made our way through the dirt paths between the village houses. There were only about two hundred people here, nothing compared to the major cities I’d heard of, but it was what I had known all my life.
Which is why I want to leave.
Of the buildings, we soon saw one that stood out, the building listing slightly to the side as if it were the drunk one, fitting given it was the only tavern in the village.
Sarah and I looked at each other. As one, we nodded before turning toward the tavern door, pushing it open, and entering.
Inside was dimly lit, candles scattered at random within wall-mounted sconces. There were several tables, most still empty, too early for the usual customers to have gathered.
That was except for one table where five people sat, dressed in garments that looked like fancier versions of Yeera’s guard uniform.
“That must be them.” Sarah leaned in, whispering in my ear.
“Obviously,” I said, rolling my eyes.
Just to make sure, I caught the eye of the tavern tender, a wiry man in his forties who pointed toward the table albeit discretely so that the patrons wouldn’t notice.
That settles that.
I tugged at Sarah’s wrist and quickly walked toward the occupied table, drawing their attention as we stood before them.
“Oh boy.” I heard one of the seated guards' mutter, her auburn hair bouncing as she nodded toward the man next to her, grabbing his attention.
The man looked up from his drink, eyeing us as we stood silently before him.
This is it.
I felt my fists clench, trying to subconsciously hold back my own excitement.
This is it.
I waited for the man to say anything.
This is it.
At last, he raised an eyebrow at us before redirecting his attention toward his drink, taking a swig that didn’t seem to end.
Sarah’s patience reached its end; she gave a loud cough before pressing her hands to her hips.
“We want to join the Theronhold guard.”
The man continued drinking.
“We are of age.”
The man kept drinking as if trying to finish the mug in one go.
“And we-”
“We get it .” The auburn-haired woman shooshed Sarah, taking a quick drink of her own ale. “I’ll be straight. We are only here out of obligation. Recruiting from these tiny villages is always a slog. Let me guess, you two want to join and get a free ticket out of here, that it?”
I tried not to react as she guessed it perfectly.
“Judging by your reaction, or lack thereof, I hit the nail on the head. Theronhold doesn’t need more guards, but it’s the yearly song and dance, so we are forced to play along. Make it quick, then. If you can beat-” The woman turned to look at her comrades, arching an eyebrow at them. “Which of you is sober enough to go a round or two with some kids?”
“Guess I can.” A man grumbled after the rest eyed each other, unwilling to part from their drinks.
“Great. If you can best Charlie here, there, you’re in. We will bring you back with us to Theronhold. Otherwise, try again next year if you haven’t given up by then.”
Sarah and I looked between ourselves before nodding. “We’re in.” We answered at the same time.
“Jeez, you two sound like you’ve rehearsed this.” The woman scoffed before waving toward our opponent. “Head outside with Charlie. If you win, come grab a drink with us. If you lose, you don’t have to bother coming in to talk to us again.”
We nodded, waiting for the man, who was smaller than I had expected, to pull himself free from the table he was sitting at, heading toward the backdoor of the tavern as we followed along.
This is it.
I shielded my eyes as the door opened, and the sunlight shone down on us again.
“Alright, so here is how we will do this.” The man, Charlie, turned to look at us after taking a moment to shield his eyes. “No weapons. Knock me down once, and it’s your win. You can decide amongst yourself who will go first.”
I looked at Sarah, giving her a quick smile before turning to answer first.
“I’ll go,” Sarah said, beating me to the punch.
I spun back to face her, my jaw dropping.
What is she doing? This wasn’t part of the plan!
The plan was simple, go first and give Sarah a chance to figure out our opponent, regardless of who it would have ended up being. It was a plan devised to provide one of us a better shot at succeeding and leaving the village behind. Of course, we both wanted to pass, but the simple truth was Sarah had the higher odds.
That was just how the world worked.
Yet, for some reason, Sarah had decided to go first and ruin our plan.
Why?
“Well, good to see you have some motivation.” The man stretched his arms out before walking several steps away. When he turned back to face Sarah, who had taken up a spot across from him, his face had changed, steady and lacking in the red hue of drunkenness.
How’d he do that?
“Begin.” The man gestured at Sarah, who shot forward, palm outstretched, head faced down.
“A forward charge. A bit reckless if I say so myself- Woah there!” The man ducked out of the way as an invisible ripple of force whistled past where his head had been moments before.
“Damn.” The man stood back up, looking at Sarah with an impressed expression. “A magic user. Nice Kinzar there..”
“Scorz!” Sarah shouted, no longer hiding her magic by muttering under her breath now that the element of surprise was gone.
The man whistled as a cloud of fire shot from her funneled hands, engulfing him a moment later. Sarah looked at me with surprise, but I shook my head, silently waving toward where the fire engulfed the man, my message clear.
Don’t let your guard down.
“You know, the point was to knock me over, not kill me.”
A second later, the fire was gone as the man swooshed an arm through the air.
He uses Inner Magic!?
Sarah continued her assault, not letting the man’s use of Inner magic dissuade her. Leaning forward, she lashed out with her hand as a spike of earth shot toward the man in time with her shout.
“Rentar!”
“Good changeup and usage of three different fields of wild magic. Not bad.” The man never bothered to avoid the earthen spike, instead backhanding it and exploding it like a loosely packed ball of dirt.
I inwardly cringed. Inner magic, from what I knew, was a form of magic that existed solely within a person, capable of dampening external magic such as Kin or Wild magic.
“Aulous!” Sarah thrust one of her palms upward, and as she did, a torrent of water blasted out from under the guard, soaking him thoroughly.
“Now that’s just rude.” The man said, folding his arms one over the other. “But I stand corrected. Not three, four types of wild magic.”
Sarah wasn’t content with just soaking the man; with the last of her preparations complete, she swept both hands forward as if trying to fan the man with a breeze. “Frezess!”
The world turned frigid, and the guard, soaked as he was, was at the mercy of the invisible subzero talons of the plummeting temperature.
She had him; I was sure of it.
“Scorz.” The man whispered, flicking a finger upward as a flame suddenly exploded between himself and the rushing gust of icy wind.
The two opposite forces met with a hiss and a pop, but the fire proved too strong, drying out the wet area and warming us to the bone.
“Nice strategy. Throw some fire at me before soaking me through and freezing me. A good attempt at sending me into shock. But unpolished.” The man had barely moved from his starting location, smiling at Sarah, whose shoulders had begun to slump in exhaustion. “Anything else? Having access to all five forms of wild magic is rare. Maybe have some Kin magic while you’re at it?”
Sarah finally shook her head. “No.”
“Ahh.” The man seemed disappointed for a moment before shrugging. “So, is that your loss?”
“That’s my loss.” Sarah huffed before looking at me with a smile like she wasn’t bothered by her quick loss.
Liar.
“Well, with another year, you’ll be capable of joining us, I bet. For now, take this as a lesson to work on yourself.” The guard looked at me as I switched places with Sarah. “Now, what about you? Your friend there can throw out all five forms of primal wild magic. Maybe have some Kin magic under your sleeve instead?”
I tried to keep my expression neutral as I took my place across from him.
I’m so screwed.
Rook Baster. I was the son of the famous, or perhaps infamous, Asalyn Baster. Witch of the Phantasmal Flames, Warlock of Ghost Ice, and so on. Her strength came from her Kin magic, illusion magic that directly assaulted the mind, the source of the apparent notoriety of her past.
And I, as her son, had failed to inherit not just her Kin magic but even the slightest affinity for magic in the first place.
I was screwed, and I had known it since it was made clear that our trial would be based on magic alone.
It’s evident in hindsight why.
Theronhold wasn’t just a hold; it was the hold of our region, the regional capital for every other stead, village, and hold in several hundred league radii around it. Physical talent was enough to be a guard in most of the holds throughout the country, something which couldn’t be said for the likes of a regional capital like Theronhold. They would have more than enough applications with magical talent that there would be no point in bothering with a simple swordsperson such as myself.
So, in short, I was royally screwed.
So why?
Why had Sarah chosen to go first? She had to have realized there would be no shot for me when Charlie made this a magic-based trial.
Why?
I shook my head. Even though her behavior didn’t add up, I couldn’t just back down now. The test givers would come by only once a year, and we had been training for years just to qualify. This would be the year we were supposed to finally leave home.
My pride wouldn’t let me surrender, regardless of if there was no point.
I must; I need to try still.
“Ready when you are, kid.” The test giver gave me a nod, a look of tentative excitement and curiosity on his face as he waited to see what I would throw at him; it was only logical that the one with the better passing chance would go second.
Well, not this time.
Nodding toward him, I took a moment to suck in a single breath, clearing my mind.
“I’ve heard different takes on sword fighting or fighting in general. Some say you must clear your mind and be flexible like a flowing river. Others say you need a mind that can analyze and think, thought and intention giving form to motion.”
“What about you?” Young me asked the cloaked figure, an old adventuring friend of my mother who had visited us one rather hot summer.
“Well, I’m no expert, no legendary sword master. I just happened to be fast and quick enough to cut it out in the wide world. But I say having a set of rules or mantras is already a mistake. What’s the point of a flexible sword if you have a rigid mindset? Switch it up, try new things.”
“First style,” I whispered before lunging forward, hands instinctively swinging from the side as if I were holding a sword. I saw his eyes widen for a moment before narrowing just as quickly, suspicious of the lack of mana from my attack.
No magic here.
While I didn’t have my training sword on hand, I kept myself flexible, modifying my attack into a side chop rather than a slash. My chop, intended for his ribs, never even got close as he thrust an upward palm into my wrist. I felt the force of his redirecting strike like I was struck by a hammer.
Ouch.
He was still drawing on his Inner magic; that much was evident from the solidity of the strength within his strike. Part of me had half-heartedly hoped he wouldn’t be cautious, relaxing after his fight with Sarah, but if anything, he was even more on guard. Half jumping, half shuffling back, I quickly went over my options.
First style is out of the picture. It had been a style of swordplay modeled after the typical style of the north where we lived. I had self-taught myself the modified style to get around the rigid practices of a standard sword style, meant to be fast and flexible. Still, if he were using Inner magic, he wouldn’t even bat an eye at the fast but light strikes.
“Second Style it is,” I grunted, charging forward, swinging at him as if I were bringing a sword to bare at his head. I had no sword, so I wrapped my hands around each other, bringing my fists down like a sledgehammer blow, generating as much force as possible.
If I were lucky, perhaps the sudden style shift from fast, fluid strikes to a heavy hit would catch him by surprise and maybe even make him take a step back in surprise.
Hah. A step back. I’ve completely abandoned the thought of knocking him down.
The suspicion had faded from his eyes, and he almost nonchalantly put one of his forearms in the way of my blow. I grunted with effort, using all my body, but when my fists connected, it was like I had swung down at a boulder intending to shatter it with my bare fists.
“Okay, kid, no point wasting my time. Do you have magic, yes or no?”
The words stung my pride, and for a moment, I felt heat behind my eyes, angry, frustrated tears threatening to appear.
No!
I wouldn’t cry. Swept up in my own feelings of anger and frustration, I let out one more yell as I forwent every style, everything I had learned, in favor of swinging wildly-
-where before I knew it, I was lying flat on my back, stunned as I stared at the blue sky above.
“Well, that was a waste of my time.” The man sighed, and I could hear his feet shuffle as he turned toward Sarah. “You have potential. Come back next year, and you honestly have a shot.”
“What-” I was surprised to hear my own voice as if I hadn’t been aware of the words coming from my mouth. “-what about me?”
I dragged my gaze away from the sky, looking toward the man standing slightly off to the side now.
“Easier to crush a dream than let it crush you. Give up, kid. I can see some potential as a sword tutor but give up thinking you’re going to make it as a guard in Theronhold.”
Give up on Theronhold.
Give up.
I would have hung my head in shame if I weren’t already lying on the ground.
Give up.
My best shot at leaving Junaper behind of starting a life away from this small slice of a bigger world.
Give up on it.
Sure, I could leave once I was an adult, but at that point, I would be traveling down another path. Maybe I’d end up a baker or just a simple guard living in a small village like this for the rest of my days.
Give up.
I heard as our test administrator went back inside, leaving Sarah and me alone in the patch of shade behind the tavern.
“C’mon, Rook. Let’s get something to eat. No point in wallowing in it, right?”
I could hear the forced cheer in her voice, trying her best to make me feel better.
“Easy for you to say.” I finally said, a barb of accusation vested within my words.
Give up.
“Oh, don’t be an ass about it.” Sarah kicked me gently in the ribs before extending a hand down to me. “C’mon. I’m hungry and don’t want to see those jerks inside.”
Give up.
“Yeah, you’re right.” I exhaled, telling myself I was okay. “Sorry.”
She hauled me to my feet and dusted me off, and we soon made our way out from behind the tavern, walking down the dirt paths toward the bakery.
Give up.
Give up. Such simple words. For me, someone without magic, perhaps it was for the best.
“Maybe I will.” I exhaled, looking at the sky, the words hanging heavy on me.
“Will what?” Sarah looked at me in puzzlement; the comment had come out of the blue after walking for a minute in silence.
“Nothing.” I lied with a shrug.
I guess there’s no point in fostering a dead dream.