Jeb looked around the Capital. A voice in his head suggested that he could just walk back to Humdrumville. After all, the Censusmaster clearly didn’t care about where he ended up, and he had no real desire to be a part of the Mage Draft.
Two things stopped him from taking the first step. First, the distance. It had been a two month journey on horseback. Even if Jeb knew the route back, it would still be months of travel on foot. Adding to that, he didn’t have any food or money to feed himself during that time.
The second reason was a little simpler. The Censusmaster had threatened his grandfather already for hiding a Mage. If he went back to his family, he would absolutely be avoiding the Mage Draft. Jeb hoped on some level that they would send someone else to check on him, but knew that it would be the Censusmaster, and that he would not be gentle or kind in his treatment. As Jeb stood lost in thought, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
“Hello,” he said, “My name is David. I am a Peacekeeper for the Capital. Can I help you with something? You seem a little lost.”
“Hi,” Jeb replied hesitantly. “I’m Jeb, and the Censusmaster brought me here for something he called a Mage Draft. I don’t really know what that means, though, or where I’m supposed to go for that.”
“Hmm,” the Peacekeeper said, frowning, “did the Censusmaster tell you where he was going?”
Jeb shook his head. “No, but I got a strong indication that he wasn’t coming back for me.”
The Peacekeeper pulled out a pad of paper and began writing. “And where did you say you were from?”
Jeb felt some alarms going off in his mind. Though the Peacekeeper had been nothing but kind to him so far, his family had never raised him to be particularly trusting of the Republic or its employees. His time with the Censusmaster had only solidified that belief, for all that he had been oddly kind in feeding and housing Jeb during their travels.
The Peacekeeper clearly saw Jeb’s apprehension, because he put the pad away.
“You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to,” he said in a gentle tone, “but knowing where you come from can help me to find out which Censusmaster abandoned you here.”
“Do I need to know who abandoned me to report for the Mage Draft?”
The Peacekeeper’s frown returned. “I suppose not, but-”
“Can you show me where I need to go to report for the Mage Draft, then?” Jeb interrupted, hoping to shut down the conversation.
The Peacekeeper paused, clearly considering. Jeb watched as he looked him up and down, plainly trying to decide if Jeb needed help and was just being too proud to accept it. After a few moments, he nodded.
“Follow me,” the Peacekeeper said, taking off at a gentle pace. Jeb followed him through a few large streets. They stopped beside a long line that led into some official looking building.
“This is the line to enroll in the Mage Draft,” the Peacekeeper said. “I know that it looks long, but it moves fairly quickly.” As though to illustrate his point, the entire crowd shifted forward a few feet. Jeb took his place at the end of the line and waved goodbye to the Peacekeeper.
“Thank you for your help!” Jeb said, mostly meaning it. The Peacekeeper paused before waving back, but then turned and walked away.
While waiting in line, Jeb stared at the buildings around him. They were made of stone, like the important buildings in his hometown. That was about where the similarities stopped, though. Each of the stone buildings in his home were covered in art and bright decorations from the local children and a few retired Artisans. These buildings, on the other hand, were grim and imposing sights. They were decorated, sure, but in ornate and dark carved stone.
It gave Jeb the impression of being loomed over by the Capital itself. After a few minutes of consideration, he realized that was likely the purpose of them. Sighing, he looked into the line.
To his slight surprise, most everyone in the line seemed to be about his age. It seemed as though they were all still in the process of growing and developing, like Jeb knew that he was. Even with as sedentary as he’d been on the ride to the Capital, he had still needed to loosen the shoulders in his shirt and lengthen his pants a little. When he did, he was grateful to his family for making them with so much extra material.
Refocusing on the crowd, a thought passed through Jeb’s mind. Maybe the Censusmaster wasn’t lying about the Mage Draft now applying to all Mages, he thought. Given how confused his grandfather had seemed and how unwilling the Censusmaster was to let Jeb talk to anyone else in the town, that still didn’t seem likely. Though, it would do a lot to explain why he seemed to be surrounded by other seventeen year olds in the line.
Immediate surroundings noted, Jeb returned to the practice that had kept him occupied during his long weeks in the back of the Censusmaster’s cart. He called the Ephemeral Song to mind without pulling the lute out of its case.
Even if he wasn’t in the cart anymore, Jeb couldn’t imagine that a city the size of the Capital would let just anyone play music in public. If they could, there would be music playing all around him. The streets were filled with the sounds of talking people, sure, but there was no lilt of melody or instrumental backing to any of it, as far as he could tell. That was telling.
Jeb shook himself out of the thought. Regardless of where he was, there was no reason not to use available time to practice. He slowly began spinning the knot of Mana he knew needed in his mind. As he fed more and more Mana into the Song, a slight shimmer appeared over his hand.
At least it’s in the vague shape of an apple now, Jeb thought, looking at the circular shape hovering in his hand. Even just a few days before, it had been a completely amorphous cloud. As he tried to focus harder on solidifying the shape, the only change he noticed was his Mana emptying faster. Sighing, he released the Song and let the knot spin down and fade away. Refocusing on his surroundings, he saw that he was nearly to the front of the line.
When he got to the front of the line, Jeb saw that there were a number of booths set up, each manned by a different person. Another person stood facing the line, directing everyone to the next available stand. Almost as soon as Jeb reached the front of the line, he pointed for Jeb to go to the stand furthest left.
“Thank you!” Jeb said. He smiled at that, as though it was an unexpected comment.
“Just doing my job,” he said.
Jeb walked over to the furthest left stand and approached the woman sitting behind the booth.
“I’m here to register for the Mage Draft,” Jeb said.
The woman nodded. “What is your name?”
“Jeb.”
The woman waited, as though Jeb should continue speaking. After staring at each other for a few long moments, she spoke again.
“Jeb what?”
“Just Jeb?” he replied.
“Where are you from?” Unlike when the Peacekeeper had asked, Jeb understood that this was not an optional question.
“Humdrumville,” he replied.
“Hmm,” the woman flipped through a booklet on her desk. “Ah, there you are. Jeb Humdrum. I have your Class listed as Least Mud Initiate, as of almost a year ago. Is that still accurate?”
Jeb checked his Status, even though he knew it hadn’t changed. “Yes,” he said, nodding.
“Well, thank you for registering for the Mage Draft, though you did not need to do so until Third Tier. If I may ask, why did you register so early?”
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Jeb frowned. “The Censusmaster told me that I was required to register immediately, and then threatened my family if they did not turn me over.”
The woman paled, before growing angry herself. “What! That is a complete abuse of power. If you would like, I can file an official complaint.”
Jeb bobbed his head, considering. “What would that do?”
The woman flipped a few more pages. “Well,” she said, paging through the book, before stopping. All the energy seemed to fade out of her when she reached the page she was searching for. “In your case, nothing. Your Censusmaster is apparently the President’s cousin. I see that there have been a number of complaints filed against him that were immediately dismissed, including three that have already been filed for your treatment. I’m so sorry.”
Jeb shrugged it off. “At the end of the day, I would have had to come here eventually,” he said. The months of travel had given him time to come to terms with his situation, even if he wasn’t happy with it.
“That is true, I suppose,” she replied. “Now then, would you like to join the Adventuring Corps or-” She cut off, once more frowning at the page.
“Or what?” Jeb asked.
“I was going to ask if you would want to join the Academy, but apparently you have too much debt that needs to be paid off first.”Jeb frowned. “Where would I have gotten debt from?”
She ran her finger down the page. “Apparently you requested fine meals and boarding at every stop along the way here. The Censusmaster had to pay for you, as you refused to give any currency, and so he is demanding his money back, with the appropriate interest for an unsecured loan.”
“That’s not true!” Jeb exclaimed.
The teller nodded sadly. “I’m sure it’s not. But, he has submitted a formal claim against you, and it was approved. Unless there are significant mitigating circumstances-” Once more she froze.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 11023/100
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Total Statistic Load: 563 Physical Load: 218 Strength: 52 Dexterity: 53 Endurance: 54 Vitality: 55 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 345 Intelligence: 68 Willpower: 75 Magic Affinity: 74 Mana Depth: 64 Charisma: 64
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Mana: 1755
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Glyph Attunement: 31 Least Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Water (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Destroy Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Earth Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Air Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Fire Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Sand Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Least Create Sand (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Attune Sand Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell
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Bard Songs Known: 1 Lute Enforcement
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Skills: Least Mud Magic Meditation Mana Manipulation Spell Glyphing Improved Glyph Groking Gift of Gab Running Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lifting Athletics Lute Playing Singing Musician Pollination Brewing Distilling Bardic Magic Smithing Wood Identification Woodworking Soil Improvement Enchanting Glassblowing
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic Glyph Specializer
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)