The next few days were hard. Dana was bedridden after she had fallen ill. The family had kept up their usual routine, though Colby could tell that his parents were worried. Nevertheless, they tried to keep up a sense of normalcy.

One night though, Colby had stayed up and overheard his mom and dad talking at the table.

“She’s getting worse…”

“This isn’t the first time, she’s always had a bit of a bad constitution…”

“Yes, but it’s never been this bad… I’m worried.”

“I’m worried too… She needs medicine, or she might die.”

Colby let out a slight gasp.

“But how will we afford it? We’ve already been saving up for Colby’s education, and even with that we can’t afford medicine…”

“We’ll find a way, honey… don’t you worry.”

His mother burst out into tears “I don’t want to lose another daughter, Edgar.”

Colby couldn’t listen anymore and ran back into the bedroom.

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The next day he was walking through the market again, alone this time. He was on a mission, he wanted to find some way to save his sister. He was looking for any way to raise money when he heard some people talking.

“The Baron’s emissary is in town.”

“Really? What is he doing here?”

“I heard he’s going to check on the garrison.”

“They say he has a magic user with him.”

“Does he really need all that just to check on the barracks?”

“Who knows, what with the war and all. They can never be too careful these days.”

“My son’s in the army. They pay him well.”

“I heard good talented magic users are treated like royalty.”

“I also heard most of them are dead.”

“Yeah, well. The war has killed a lot of skilled people. They say they’ll take any awakened with even a little bit of talent.”

That’s when Colby got an idea. He walked up to the group of people and asked meekly “Excuse, but did you say the Lord’s emissary is hiring magic users?”

The group looked a little oddly at him, but answered his question anyways.

“Well, I don’t know if this emissary specifically is, but I’m sure they need them.”

“W-would you be so kind as to tell me where this man is?”

“Well, I heard that he’s at the barracks right now, drilling the troops. North side of town.”

“Thank you!” Colby hurriedly blurted out, bowing then running off.

His plan was to maybe join the war effort. He was confident that he had what it takes for an awakened. He’d been practicing every day and every night. Occasionally he would see the man in the beige cape again, but he assumed it was just a side effect of his magic. Nobody else seemed to be able to see him, and the man wouldn’t respond when he tried to get his attention, so he decided to ignore it for now.

After a few streets and turns, he found himself in a plaza, one side of the plaza had a stone wall with a single entrance. Inside he could see several soldiers in armour training with each other. They shot arrows at targets, or stabbed at straw dummies. After watching them for a while, Colby saw them all suddenly line up and put their hands over their chest in a Edryic salute.

Then walked out a group of five men, one in fancy robes another in a purple cloak. Two of the men wore standard armour, so they must’ve been guards. The final man was in complete full body metal plate armour, with no way to see who he was. The man in fancy robes was pudgy, with light brown hair and jewelry adorning every part of his body. The purple-robed man was old, with long white hair and weathered features.

Colby was sure they were who he was looking for, and excitedly went to try and meet them without thinking, getting stopped by the guards at the entrance.

“Who are you kid?”

“I-I’m Colby. Colby Cox.”

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“And little Colby, what do you think you’re trying to do?”

The guard’s tone was harsh, and Colby shrunk into himself a little.

“I-I’m sorry. I… I was trying to meet Mr. Emissary.”

“Do you think just any little rat can meet the nobility!? Why I oughta skewer you right here!”

The guard raised his polearm, and Colby felt great fear wash over him.

“Wait! N-no please! I didn’t mean t-”

“What is going on here?”

The old man in the robes strolled up, interrupting the guard. He spoke in a voice dripped in age and wisdom. Although his voice wasn’t strong, it demanded an air of respect.

“This kid was trying to enter the barracks, your magnificence.” The guard replied.

“He was?” The old man looked slightly intrigued. “And why would you want to enter the barracks young one?”

“I’m an awakened. I- I was hoping to meet his lordship to join the war effort. M-My sister’s sick!” Colby hurriedly explained.

The fat pudgy man then walked up to the scene. “Ytra, what in the divines name is going on here?” He demanded.

“This boy here says he wants to join our ranks as a mage.”

“F-For my sister!” Colby piped up.

“Yes… for his sister he says…” The man added, slightly annoyed at the interruption.

“As a mage? He looks pretty young for something that hard.” The noble scoffed.

“P-please sir. My sister is sick. We need the money to save her.” Colby begged, but the noble just smirked.

“Your sister you say? What does she look like?”

Colby thought the question seemed a little out of place, but decided to answer anyway since he needed their help.

“W-well sir, she’s 16. She’s about this tall, has a small frame and orange-blonde hair.”

For a moment the old man looked grim as something sinister passed over the nobles facial expression, but both quickly returned their faces to neutral.

“And where does this sister of yours live, boy?” The fat man asked.

“We live on the South side of town. My father is a miner… Sir.” Colby answered, seeing some hope for the first time. The noble simply laughed.

“And you think you have what it takes to be a mage?” the elderly man questioned.

“Oh, yes Sir! I know how to read and do some basic arithmetic. I am very studious, and- and I can command fire!” Colby answered excitedly.

“Alright boy, let’s test you then.” The noble said with a greatly amused expression. With a clap, the suit of armour that has so far been silent walked up.

“This is my prized golem. If you can beat it, we will take you on. Show us your magic, boy!” The noble yelled viscously as Colby looked worriedly at the Golem of high-quality plate armour.

The old man looked sympathetically at Colby, as the boy was clearly outmatched. The golem gave no time to prepare as it immediately attacked, punching Colby in the stomach and sending him flying backwards.

As Colby went flying, just beyond his earshot the noble commanded the golem “Make it hurt”

His stomach hurt, the breath had left his lungs and before he could even stand he saw the Golem approaching him. He quickly scrambled away from it, as he tried to concentrate enough to cast his rudimentary fireball. But the Golem caught him first, picking him up and throwing him.

Now a crowd was beginning to form in the plaza, looking on with interest. The golem again beat Colby before he could cast a spell, and tears started forming in his eyes. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t take down the metal monster, he couldn’t even cast a coherent spell. He regretted coming here.

But then he remembered his sister and his determination built up inside him. He furiously channeled all the mana he had, trying for something, anything at all even as the golem was pummeling him.

Then, just as his mana was about to reach its peak, the golem threw him one last time and he blacked out.