I had just finished school for the day and was about to head home when I suddenly heard the frantic voice of my friend, Jörg, screaming behind me. “Fanur, slow down. You miss the best parts in life by rushing.” I simply nodded and continued walking. It was the first day of the week and school adds an extra hour of magic practice on the end to try and prepare us for our adult lives. I personally didn’t see the point as I only wanted to get accepted into Kunnana Academy but I just come from Kilead, a village no one has heard of and I have no talent to speak of. “It is your birthday tomorrow and your Dad did say he had a family surprise for you.” I heard Jörg trying to improve the situation despite knowing that nothing would save how useless I was.

“Do you truly wish to speak of this again? You should know more than anyone that despite me putting in more effort than everyone else combined I still barely manage to keep above the lowest ranking in our class.” I replied with this and the look on his face seemed to indicate that he just thought he could cheer me up. That sad appearance led to me inviting him to my home to eat dinner with my family for the night.

After around 5 minutes of walking we arrived at my rather large abode. It was not large due to any sort of money that my family had and was instead large due to us just having a lucky family. My Father was really good friends with the previous village lord for some reason and when he died it was written in the will that the house should go to my Dad. The house was most definitely not what you’d expect from a simple farmer and had 5 bedrooms, a grand dining room with a beautiful ornate table, a kitchen which had a door leading to a pantry which could hold all our food with ease, and the living room which contained within it just a couple of seats and a table which we would sometimes sit and talk around. There is also another room which I struggle to remember. It contained many family heirlooms which seemed valuable despite our low amount of wealth or status.

As we stepped through the grand front entrance I heard the loud complaints of my father. He dislikes Jörg rather strongly due to Jörg being an orphan. I personally don’t see the problem, however, my incredibly stubborn father refuses to change his mind and still views all orphans as thieves. What also didn’t help was that the orphanage was run rather strictly and Jörg was quite well known to be a troublemaker within the orphanage. I quickly showed Jörg the way to the dining table and let him get comfortable.

After I sat down I shouted at my bigoted father. “He is staying here till just before the orphanages curfew. Understand?” He just looked at me in defeat. I looked over at Jörg and noticed his dark eyes darting around from behind his rather light brown hair. I then noticed that he was about to stand up. I quietly asked him if he was alright and he responded affirmatively. This small exchange left me more confused than I was previously. I quickly jumped off the seat and went round to where he was sitting. It was then that I noticed the sound of small yet regularly repeating earthquakes.

Startled by this sudden revelation I made my way to the entrance of the house to leave. At the entrance I found a most bizarre object. This object was a perfect sphere with a perfect white colour yet the strange perfection did not unsettle me, rather I found the sight of the object incredibly comforting and pleasant. I picked it up and rubbed the side. I found that despite appearing incredibly smooth the surface was covered in barbs so tiny that they could not be seen and only be felt. I examined the size and discovered it was only about twice the size of my knuckle bone. I quickly shoved it into my pocket and ran out the door.

A horrendous beast was what greeted me when I left the house. It appeared to have no singular form and was instead a collection of many different forms. Within the forms I found the shapes of many people I knew within the town. I saw my teachers, the merchants, and then my eye happened upon two people. These were people I was very close with and two people I knew Jörg would most definitely miss. They were the kind twins that helped the orphanage. This pair would lie to protect Jörg from the terrible people within the orphanage. They would make him delicious meals and they would comfort him when he was bullied by the older children. I tried to think of a way to respond to this situation but my body just began to run.

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When I was able to think clearly again I found myself on the mountain just next to Kilead. Around me I found the familiar faces of my father and Jörg. Their faces were expressing pure fear unlike anything I had seen before. I then looked down and saw that my red clothes were torn. “Don’t worry, it’s just some light tears.” is what I tried to say before realising that my clothes weren’t normally red. As if by some strange magic I suddenly noticed the colossal amount of pain rising from my head. The pain could only be described as being what I imagine a sword made of every elemental magic being stabbed continuously into my head feeling like. The pain was too much and I fainted.

I heard a strange voice. It demanded mastery over every form of magic and it demanded that I know it’s form. I tried to behold the strange voice’s form but before I could I was pulled away into a different world.

I woke up at home with my father and Jörg peering at me. I found not a single trace of my mother. “Fanur’s Awake!” is what immediately greeted me after my awakening. After the rather rude shout I heard quick, yet strong footsteps rushing towards my room. In the doorway I saw the tall form of my mother. Her vibrant blue eyes quite clearly showed signs of her crying. I simply smiled at her as she rushed towards me to pull me into a hug.

Despite the inappropriate timing my mind immediately went to the white sphere. At this time I longed for the wonderful feeling of the sphere more than my mothers love. I quickly yet clearly asked “Have any of you seen a white sphere?” None responded but my father’s face showed signs of worry. I continued on by asking what the current situation was. My father’s face turned grim and he told me of the thing that attacked the village. He mentioned that it didn’t seem to act as a being but instead acted as though it just had a strict list of orders it needed to adhere to. He then continued on by saying that we’d be moving to the capital in a couple of days and that I’d need to attend a school in the capital.

I looked at Jörg and remembered that it was my birthday. I simply looked at them and said “It’s my birthday!” in a somewhat excited voice. Their expressions changed to a mixture of pity and sadness. My mother explained that my birthday was a week ago and that I had slept a deep sleep all this time. I was simply shocked. I didn’t understand how I could have stayed like that for so long. My father tried to remedy the situation by saying he’d give me my gift now. He went on to explain that his family was descended from dragons. Each generation would undergo a ritual to awaken their draconic powers. The colour of the dragons would change each generation but each generation their power’s weakened. He then said that I’d be lucky if I got a breath weapon never mind scale armour.

We walked into the easily forgotten room of family history. I looked around and saw various pedestals with large objects on them that seemed to have more history than any other object I’d ever seen. We continued walking until we reached a large hole in the floor. It appeared to be something similar to what I’ve heard of certain cults doing. It involves having your head shoved underneath the water until you nearly lose consciousness. I looked at my father and he explained that I’d need to sit in the hole while he fills it up with a special liquid. This liquid would then be absorbed into me and I’d awaken as a member of the Karrilion bloodline.

I looked at Jörg and he seemed to understand that he couldn’t get me out of this situation. I reluctantly removed my clothing and sat in the bottom of the hole. I signalled towards my father that I was alright and ready to go. He left my sight and I heard the powerful noise of a seemingly magical piece of machinery.