Months of brutal training made my body strong. I could swing a greatsword with ease now and my endurance, although not as abundant as some of the other soldiers', was higher than it had ever been. I woke up well before the sun to make it to morning formation in time and we weren't released until well after sunset. Mama spent her days caring for Pa who had fallen ill and I had a nagging feeling there was something I had forgotten—something important, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember what.

Glad my training was over for the night, I went home to bathe and make myself presentable for Sophie. Mama was at the kitchen table scribbling in a notebook by candlelight. When she heard me come in, she closed the book and put her hands on top of it. Even in the dim light of the flickering candle I could see the dark bruise which had formed under her eye and the dried blood on her cracked lip.

"Mama, what happened?" I rushed over and pulled out the chair next to her, taking her hands in mine. Her eyes welled with tears and threatened to spill down her cheeks.

"It's your father, his mind's not right. I had to give him concentrated valerian root and the poppy extract just to get him settled. He doesn't remember who I am and he says the most awful things to me."

"Mama, I'm sorry you deal with this while I am training. I have the next two days free though so perhaps tomorrow I will take care of him and you can relax and take the day to pamper yourself."

"Gabe, you're such a good boy. I'm so proud of the man you're becoming," she said, forcing a smile.

"Is Pa asleep now?"

Mama nodded as she wiped her eyes and drew in a deep breath.

"I'll put the kettle on for you and then I'm going to go see Sophie. I will be here in the morning though, so take your time getting out of bed, I'll take care of Pa." I told her, crossing the room to grab the kettle. Mama picked up her notebook and excused herself to her bedroom long enough to tuck her private thoughts away in a secret spot. I placed the kettle on the wood stove and prepared mama's tea cup. Then after taking a quick bath and dressing in a clean tunic and trousers I went to see Sophie.

The night air was cool on my freshly bathed skin and the sun was already to the horizon. A single bright star hung low in the evening sky and I thought to myself: if I had the job of naming stars, I would call that one Sophie. What could I say? I was a man in love.

I knocked on Sophie's door and her mother, Samantha let me in.

"Sophie is still getting ready, she will be down in a moment. How is your training going?"

"It's tough, but I think it will be worth all the pain when I am a Silver Soldier. Is Commander Rend here? I would love to say hello," I said.

"He's still at work, apparently there was some guild business he had to attend to. He said he would be gone for a couple of days."

"I'm so sorry to hear it."

"Me too. So you guys be careful out there, don't venture outside the walls tonight, the guards have been turning away some unsavory characters lately," Samantha warned.

"We won't. I'll keep her safe, I promise."

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The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs stole my attention from Samantha. My eyes locked on Sophie's face as she descended the staircase. She had her beautiful red curls pulled to one side in a loose braid. A few tendrils kissed her cheeks, curling softly from her forehead. Her glowing aura reminded me of the tales of celestial beings from the heavens.

"You look beautiful." I put my hand out to accept hers and I wished the moment our hands touched could last forever.

"Thank you," she replied.

With a wave to her mother, we stepped outside hand in hand. Strolling through town center, I listened as she talked about a strange leather journal she found in her family's cellar.

"It has ingredients and strange words written in it. I think they might be incantations."

"Like wizard's magic?"

"Yes, I don't know how to read this language though. I was going to ask you if you could tell what language it is."

"Sure, I can take a look at it."

"Where are we going?" Sophie asked as I led her to the front entrance of the guild hall.

"Since I am a recruit, I'm allowed to dine at The Gilded Lily. I thought we could try it." I opened the door for Sophie and followed her inside to the grand foyer which was filled with people in a panic. At the center of the chaos stood a girl with a brown leather leather bag clutched to her chest.

"When was the last time you saw Commander Rend?" the man who managed the front desk asked.

"When I left the temple, yesterday," she told him.

Sophie walked toward the girl with her eyes fixed on the bag. I reached out to try and stop her but she shrugged away, never breaking her gaze. "Where did you get that satchel?" Sophie asked.

"Commander Rend gave it to me, he told me to run straight here without stopping, but I couldn't. I got tired after a while and was still afraid those men might be chasing me so I crawled into the hollow of a big tree and hid. I fell asleep—or passed out, I'm not sure, and when I woke up, I came straight here."

"Where is my father?" Sophie asked.

"I don't know, the last time I saw him, he was headed west, toward Torzana."

"That bag belongs to my father, I'll take it now if you don't mind." Sophie reached for the satchel and the girl clutched it tighter, taking a step backward. Sophie looked at Hank with a shrug.

"The item I have in this bag got everyone at Temple Ophay murdered. I'm not sure who I am supposed to give it to, I just don't want anyone else to get hurt." A tear slid down her cheek. Her brown skin shined with a soft golden shimmer and I could see the pain in her silvery eyes. The strangest thing about her was her hair—wild curls of blue and purple.

"Beric, please go get Agatha tell her we have a magical item in need of inspection," Hank said to the boy standing next to him. Beric hurried off down the hall and I looked back to Sophie.

"We have to send a group of men out there to look for my father." Sophie pleaded. "What is in the bag he would put his life in danger for?"

The girl's eyes darted from person to person in the room as though she was looking for someone to protect her. Sophie reached out with lightning speed and snatched the bag from her. A few of the others moved to block the girl as she lunged forward to try and take it back. Sophie opened it with haste and pulled out what looked like a crystal ball, only it was swirling with magic. Within the smoke, two dragons swirled around each other in an endless chase.

"Soph, maybe you should put it back in the bag. We don't know wh—

A loud screech tore through the grand foyer and the floor beneath our feet seemed to quake. Sophie hastily shoved the orb back inside the satchel.

"What was that?" Sophie asked, her face filled with fear.

An old woman hobbled over to the group and reached out for Sophie's arm. Looking at the orb, Agatha's eyes lit up a light blue. "You must get this item to The Wizard, Ryul in Lapis Highland and she has to go with you." The woman pointed to the frightened girl. "Your destiny is intertwined and you must claim it. The sooner you leave, the better; they'll be coming for you." She stared into Sophie's eyes as I stood there like a lame ass, without the ability to make a decision.

"Wait, who will be coming for me, and why?" Sophie asked.

Agatha's eyes went from crystal blue to milky white and the color flushed from her face. She relied on her cane to make her way back down the hall without another word.

"Who's coming?" Sophie called after her. If the woman could hear, she did an amazing job of pretending she didn't.