Ferin

I looked blankly at the desk in front of my bed, then past my pile of things and to the mirror, lost. The person who looked back wasn't me; it couldn't be. Even though the drugs I'd been given, I could still feel the phantom pain of where the wood and stone had split my skin all over my body. I took in a long breath, trying to focus and not start crying again.

The stump that ended right above where my elbow should have been twitched. That was perhaps one of the worst parts, still trying to move it, to grab things with it. Even with the two weeks that had gone by, I was still doing that and probably would keep doing it. Shaking my head, I looked away from the mirror to the window. I couldn't stand to look at myself; my missing arm wasn't the worst part of what had happened, not by far. I would have given up my other arm to not be the only one that was left.

Waking up in a healer's room in Aggoten had been my first memory after the explosion. I had been left in the room, only able to think while healing for the last twenty days.

The entire time I had laid in the bed, all I could see was their faces. Caleb, Gnard, Lira, they were all dead, and what was left of them was already buried long before I'd woken up.

I had been found by another adventuring group that had had the same idea as us. Out of the goodness of their hearts or honestly the reward for bringing injured adventures to the nearest guild hall, I had been saved, or most of me had. Letters had been sent to the closest kin by the guild, but nothing more than that.

The lesser healing magic from a grade three was all I'd gotten for free from the guild for being a grade one. After all, who would waste money on someone who is not important?

I had cried and broken down so many times I lost count. It was all I could think to do, but none of it had eased any part of what had happened.

I curled my fingers into a fist as I tried to think, to refocus on what needed to be done. I had one more day in this room. Then I'd have to start paying for it, something I couldn't afford to do. The only other option was to leave, do something, and stop thinking about them. I chuckled, the sound hollow in the almost empty room. I had nearly no choices on what I could do, only really two, which made things easy, I guess. I was missing most of an arm, something that in later grades, or with more coin to pay for a healer wouldn't be a problem, but both of those things were fantasies to me.

My first option was to continue to be an adventure to do the lowest of the low quest to earn a few coppers a day or maybe more. They would have to be the lowest, picking up trash, finding lost animals, cleaning out stables, and I'd have to do them alone because what group would accept someone like me? It might be enough for food and a place to sleep with some coin saved over time. Do that for a couple of years, probably a decade, and maybe find some back-end healer that could get me something resembling an arm to use.

My second option was to become a soldier. I looked down at my lap, picking up the pamphlet that I'd read a few times. It was simple and easy for people to understand. Karvum was recruiting anyone and everyone in the lower grades, even broken ones like me. Joining would get you either a promise of half gold after training or a one-time examination and healing from a grade five or higher healer before training. It was tempting, and that was a problem. It showed that Karvum was desperate for new soldiers, and a war hadn't even started yet. Joining the military would also require a five-year contract after training, five years of doing what the empire wanted me to. I would gain levels, money, and experience that was if I didn't die first. I felt like I had already died like I was on borrowed time waiting for the goddess of death, Mortea, to claim my soul, so signing it to another person temporarily wouldn't be so bad.

In the end, there was one choice I could pick and only one reason for that. The explosion, the bomb. It had been made by elven magic, the mana in my body that had to be removed had been full of nature affinity, and the metal used was only produced in Arilon. The connections were obvious. The Kingdom had killed my friends and my party members and maimed me.

The reason? No one knew. The Adventures Guild had reported it, and I had been interviewed by more people in military uniforms than I knew what to do with, not that any of them had tried to help me. All they did was ask questions and leave. It was one of the reasons I'd kept the token a secret.

I reached my only hand into my pocket and withdrew the black disk that glittered, the token, a chance.

[Bound Void Event Token - Unique - The token required for entry to the Void Merge Realm Event. Event Begins in 9 Months, 1 Day, 12 Hours, and 3 Minutes of current realm time. Item is bound and will return to owner if separated.]

I don't know how I got the token. It had been in my pocket when I woke up, bound to me, and no one else had asked about it.

It was my first bound item and likely my last one. There was no reason to try to sell it; no one would buy it after seeing the description and that it was already bound, but I didn't think I would have, regardless.

There was a realm event coming up, and this was needed to participate.

I had no clue what a realm event was or would require, but it had to be something better than what my future currently held. I had just over nine months until it started, enough time to complete what the Karvum called entry training and, if timed just right, right before contracts had to be signed. I didn't know much about the training that took place in the military, but everyone came out of it in grade two or higher, so I would progress and probably gain a few skills and advance some of the ones I had.

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That was my plan would be to join the military until the event, and then I would participate in the event. After that, I didn't really know, stay with the military? Not a chance.

I wanted revenge, wanted it so bad it felt like a fire burning in me, but I wasn't stupid. I wouldn't go to die on the front line of a war for an emperor who had never done anything for me. I'd find other ways to get revenge. That didn't mean I couldn't use Karvum to get healed and advance to grade two, though. With a deep breath and some effect I didn't know I had left, I slowly got to my feet.

Looking at the booth in the middle of town, I was a bit…well, let down wasn't the right word for it. Underwhelmed felt right.

I had seen the booths in towns before, so I knew what they looked like. I assumed now I was actually going to sign up that I expected more out of it. I shifted slightly, the weight of the pack on my back awkward with only one strap. The other had been destroyed in the explosion. I paused as I inspected myself. I had bought new clothes because my previous armor and other clothes were so badly ripped I had looked quite indecent. An old brown tunic with one sleeve was tied off and a pair of pants. Neither was comfortable, but I'd get something else in training to wear.

Straightening my shoulders, I walked up to the booth. The man behind the counter was later into his years, his brown hair and beard having strands of gray. His age, however, didn't take away from his military look. His back was straight, and his uniform looked as perfect as it could be. His gaze, which had been angled down the street, turned to me as I approached, and I almost stumbled under his brown eyes. His uniform was a mix of black with red accents. Patches over his head signified rank and accomplishments and multiple various things I didn't know. It was a dress uniform made to look good.

“I'm here to apply to join the military,” I said, standing as tall as I could, and I internally winced at my words. I probably should've thought of something more formal to say. If he felt any disdain, though, he didn't show it as he picked up a clipboard off of the booth.

“Name and city of birth?” His voice was deep, deep enough to come from a troll, not that I'd met one or wanted to. I was glad that he had gotten straight to it.

“Ferin Dunklen, Faltrin”

He wrote something down. “Age, Grade, Level?”

“Eighteen, first grade, sixty-three.” I was actually still a month away from being eighteen, but it was the minimum requirement to join, and by the time they checked the required records at Faltrin, I'd be eighteen already.

“I assume you want the healer at entry over the half gold after training?” He raised an eyebrow.

I stared at him a bit stupidly, then looked down at the half of my left arm. I then raised it and shook it in the air for all to see. “Yes. I would love that. I don't think they would accept me as it.''

Was that a twitch of the lips I saw? Success! Making jokes at my own expense so far had gotten me half of a loaf of bread on the way here. Whether that was because he felt bad or had actually found it funny didn't matter. I was going to take every advantage I could.

“Are you aware a system contract is required to be signed after entry training?” He asked while writing.

I nodded then, because I couldn't keep my mouth shut, asked, “Why isn't the contract made before entry?”

He paused for the first time, seeming to debate something before responding, “Only eight out of ten recruits pass through the basic training. No point wasting mana on people who are going to end up dead.”

I didn't know how to respond to that. It was hard to think that the military would just let twenty percent of recruits die. What kind of training was I signing up for?

“Sill want to go through with this, miss Dunklen?” His gaze hadn't changed, but his voice had dropped lower as if to be a whisper, but it was still louder than my normal talking voice.

I gave it thought. It was an honest question that deserved at least a moment of thought, but in the end, I really didn't have another path viable to me that was worth taking. “I don't have another choice,” I answered honestly.

He gave a nod, seeming to understand, and then he pointed to one patch on his chest. It was one of the first on the long list. “This is for graduating. Once you get this patch, you gain access to military healers for any service-related injury as long as you're with the military. I nodded, trying to look appreciative, but I knew if I could avoid it, I'd never have that patch.

“Appear at the east gate entrance tomorrow morning at the third bell chime. There will be three healers there with the military, and then you set out.” he put the clipboard down. “Failure to appear will withdraw your application and block any attempts to register for two months, and you will be required to pay a three silver fine.”

I gave a nod, a bit surprised that no other information was required, but perhaps there would be more tomorrow. I backed away and then started down the street, a bit off my footing. If I was being honest with myself, I was a little naïve for thinking that when I signed up, I'd be shipped off through some teleporter like I was special. I'd make tonight count and use any coin I had left to have a good time, as well as make as much use out of my half arm as I could.

Also, before I left, I'd have to have a drink for my party and find out if they were buried in the city. It was something they deserved even if I didn't like to drink. It did, after all, sound like a lot of struggling was in my future, and if I survived, then who knew what waited?

Telmok Graves

Graves watched the girl go. She was a terrible liar, something she would need to get better at in the upcoming months.

The military wasn't a place kids should be sent to. Yes, there was the cadet academy in the capital for children who planned to go to the military, but the cost was something only high officials or royalty could afford. He would have called the child out on it, but the military needed as many troops as it could get, and she had a missing arm. There weren't many other places a child could go to get it fixed. Briefly, he let his eyes look up to the sky, sending a prayer to any gods that might be watching the child to keep her safe. His attention was dragged away as a man approached him.

He didn't say anything as the man placed a piece of paper on the table and then walked away. He knew the man, his captain. He was here for the same reason Graves was: to get their real orders. There was something to be said about hiding in plain sight. No one looked twice at a uniformed officer who was recruiting, after all. He clipped the paper to the board, taking only a moment to discover the code.

The hatchling flies east past the border out of the forest.

The code was vague, but it had to be when you were part of Karvum special forces. He knew what it meant. Things were about to get interesting.