Emantarel calmly left the Frozen Tavern under the adventurer’s scrutinizing looks. Clear air lifted his mind as soon as he exited the building.

The young man was glad he decided to come here today. He probably wouldn’t have been in the mood to deal with his colleague’s’ antics had he gone to the army’s canteen.

Emantarel had hoped he received some respect when he wasn’t eliminated during the recruitment. Unfortunately, not much was left after he arrived at the camp.

While contemplating his situation the young soldier followed the stony stairs upwards. He enjoyed the raw nature city folk only knew from stories. Here on the mountain the God of Light’s believers felt closer to the six stars than ever.

Before Emantarel arrived at the army’s cordoned area he subconsciously turned towards the right. Already close to the encampment’s edge, he now left it and entered a forest.

The variety of trees amplified the beauty of nature as all kind of animal sounds reached Emantarel’s ears. He slowed down and followed a dirty path. With every step the young man felt his mind elevated. With rising mood, he even began to hum a little tune taught by the Church of Light.

After a few minutes the young man finally reached his destination. Before his eyes a small clearing opened up. Some rabbit-like animals were startled when someone interrupted their peaceful mealtime. They passed a few squeaks amongst each other before rapidly vanishing among the trees.

A tranquil smile reached Emantarel’s mouth as he watched the animals leaving.

The young man was glad he found this serene place. On the first day of his training Emantarel already got into trouble with some of the former recruits.

Afterwards he sought for a place to cool down and discovered this idyllic scene.

Emantarel took a deep breath as he appreciated the forest’s pleasant smell. Next, he crouched down slightly.

He readied his athletic muscles and focused on the tall boulder in front of him. This stone of a material unknown to the young soldier vaguely attracted some light from its surroundings.

A low noise spread through the nearby forest as Emantarel released his strength and jumped. Without much effort the young man landed on top of the majestic stone.

Although the boulder stood a dozen meters above ground, this height still didn’t allow Emantarel to look past the treetops. Fortunately, the young man only came here to bask in the star’s light.

Felling the all-encompassing warmth around him, Emantarel closed his eyes in contentment. He opened his arms widely. Onlookers might think he wanted to hug the six stars with his posture.

As he let the light wash away his worries Emantarel sank into memories of better days. He longed for the time when his sister wasn’t kidnapped. Back then his mother hadn’t fallen ill yet and his father wasn’t addicted to those nefarious drugs. Although they weren’t well off, their family had lived a simple but honest live.

The young soldier breathed rhythmically as he found solace in the light’s strength. Mana moved around him and nourished his body.

Emantarel unconsciously used the army’s meditation style as he fell into a mindless state. This style was developed to facilitate their soldier’s growth.

Naturally the army had their own system which was based on light magic. As long as soldiers didn’t show some outstanding talent, they had to follow this standardized system.

For poor people like Emantarel this was a blessing, however. With the resources of his family, it would be difficult to prepare a systematic growth. Most poor people could only fumble along as they hoped to find something they were good at.

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Only after they showed at least a little bit of talent would some organizations take them in and teach them. Unfortunately, this was often tied to unreasonable contracts which might sometimes bind warriors for their whole lives.

Therefore, Emantarel didn’t detest the army’s ways. Compared to other organizations they were still rather fair. If you showed talent in the army there existed multiple ways to rise up through the military ranks.

To Emantarel this wasn’t of high importance, however. His mind was rather pure. He only wished to find his sister and rebuild his family. Afterwards he would just stay happily on Hex where he was close to the light.

Unbeknownst to Emantarel it was exactly this pure mindset which helped him improve faster than others.

Peacefull silence engulfed the young man as he opened up his mind. He stood blissfully on top of the smooth boulder. Even some birds landed on his outstretched arms as the young man blended into nature.

An hour later a soothing energy suddenly spread through Emantarel’s body. The young man moaned quietly as his eyes fluttered open.

As he felt his body, he noticed how every single fiber felt relaxed. With a peaceful smile he took a step forward. The athletic soldier easily cushioned the dangerous looking fall.

Emantarel was in a good mood as he knew that his light magic had just reached level 20. For his age this was a solid result, especially amongst poorer people.

He only managed to come this far because Captain Kaquir taught him before he decided to join the army. He silently thanked the man their family owed so much in his head before taking the path back to the base camp.

A short while later Emantarel entered the army’s encampment. A metallic wall separated the orderly army from those uncivilized adventures.

This notion could be felt throughout the soldier’s district. At the gate a stern looking young man ordered Emantarel to show his identification.

After a quick scan of his SMT, the time he left and returned was meticulously recorded. Recruits naturally didn’t have much free time. Furthermore, it wasn’t well received if they didn’t put all their efforts into training. Thus, even the soldier at the gate scoffed lightly as Emantarel passed him.

This small interlude however couldn’t dampen the young man’s mood at the moment. After raising the level of his light magic again, Emantarel’s chest swelled of confidence. He even ignored his twitching arm as he made his way towards the training fields.

Other than in the base camp’s public parts, no lazy warriors could be seen among the army. Like a well-oiled machine every soldier here was busy as they fulfilled their assigned tasks.

On the rare occurrence that they had nothing to do the soldiers either rested or trained, but they would never randomly hang out on the much-used paths.

When he first arrived at the encampment it took a while for Emantarel to get used to the atmosphere. Since his family had only lived in the city’s poorer parts the young man had seldom seen such discipline and cleanliness.

However, he soon realized how much he preferred the army’s structure. No one could waste away their lives under such conditions. No one would loaf about on the streets and sow discord. Everyone worked together for the greater good. Emantarel felt that he finally had an identity he could be proud of.

In order to keep this, the young man swore to do all it took. Thus, he now approached the training field again despite expecting his peer’s ridicule.

The sounds of encouraging shouts and swinging swords grew louder as Emantarel passed by orderly placed buildings. Finally, a wide field opened up in front of his eyes. A lot of effort and ingenuity were spent when the army built this training ground.

It consisted of multiple smaller biomes which simulated heat, cold, deserts and even seas alike. Naturally a miniature version of the Frozen Hell occupied the biggest part. Far off towards Emantarel’s right were even some chained beasts for the soldiers to train with.

On the second day the instructor led them towards those beasts, where he ordered them to stand just outside their chains range. Afterwards he riled up the beasts, which subsequential unleashed their furry against the recruits.

It took all of Emantarel’s will not to flee at the sight of their ferocious teeth right in front of his face. From this experience the future soldier knew that he couldn’t face off against them yet.

Therefore, Emantarel turned towards the left, where a single grassy plain awaited him. To his delight no one trained here right now, leaving the plain to him alone.

The young man readied himself. He took his precious sword from the sheath bound to his waist. With a serious look he approached a metallic platform at the plain’s center. His eyes swiped the anthropomorphic, metallic puppets placed at the platform’s sides.

Emantarel contemplated his next step for a second. He turned his eyes down, focusing them on his left arm. Thoughts shot through his head as he tried to relax it. Unfortunately, he still couldn’t prevent it from twitching once or twice.

Should this really be my future?

Will I always be held back by you?

Why did this happen to me? I didn’t ask for an impaired arm. This wasn’t my fault, but I have to live with it.

Now I have already joined the army. I have already taken the first step in finding Karatara. Maybe it is time for me to take the first step out of my own darkness as well.

Maybe it is time for me to accept myself.

May the God of Light help me. Lead me from darkness to light!