Selene Gaios is a 4th generation warrior born in the village of Olous, where she lived most of her life. Her father was a skilled member of the Warrior’s Guild. Seeing him train and hearing tales about his adventures, passion was ignited in Selene’s heart. She insisted to be taught the art of swordsmanship and her father obliged. At every opportunity, he would train her to the best of his abilities. Occasionally, he also took her to the nearby port-city of Lapithos in order to visit the Warrior’s Guild branch located there.

After turning 13, Selene learned that her father was killed during a mission. This, of course, was a common occurrence for hired swords. Most of her warrior ancestors had perished in the same way. Living a long time is quite rare. Nonetheless, losing the person she treasured the most so suddenly was a shock. It was the only time when her resolve truly wavered.

A few months later, she walked up to her mother with a new resolve and declared that she wanted to join the Warrior’s Guild. Selene adamantly refused to live out her life as a farmer in the village. Also, her mother could not support the family by herself. The compensation they received from the Guild would eventually run out. Asking the village for help was an option, but there was a better alternative. As a sword for hire, she could make considerable amounts of money and would therefore be able to support the family. The mother reluctantly agreed.

Selene joined the Warrior’s Guild as an apprentice at age 13. Her passion and talent for swordsmanship was quickly made evident. Her skills grew at a tremendous speed. By age 19, she became an experienced silver-rank fighter, the second highest rank in the Guild. There was little doubt that she would eventually reach gold rank.

Every couple of years, she would return to Olous to visit her family and deliver money. This particular year, she returned twice because there were many requests for fighters. Lapithos was located near the kingdom’s border. The kingdom of Amisos had poor relations with the Athenite Empire on the other side. From time to time, there were border disputes that resulted in bloodshed. For this and other reasons, Lapithos requested the Warrior’s Guild assistance. Selene accepted this call-to-arms because it gave her a chance to visit her hometown on the way.

One fateful day, she notices an unusual presence in the village. A young man is wandering without any clear goal while attracting attention from the villagers. His dark blue clothes are a bit muddy and look old, though they seem to be made of good material. He stands out with his blond hair that reaches his shoulders and clear, green eyes that are observing the village with curiosity. On his shoulder hangs an ordinary bag attached with a strap. At his side is a small, clean and expensive-looking blade with a white, ornate sheath. Because of the contrast with his ragged appearance, Selene suspects the dagger may be stolen. She decides to approach him to find out more.

The young man introduces himself as a traveller named Dion and then asks for the location of the local lord.

“Are you talking about Duke Cassius?” she inquires.

“Cassius? Isn’t he one of the nine Royal Councillors?”

“Yes and he is also the top authority in this region. You have business with him?”

“That remains to be seen. Do you know his current location?”

“I believe he is at his residence in the port-city of Lapithos, about 2 days’ journey to the East from here.”

A look of understanding appears in the man’s eyes. He then frowns slightly and becomes silent, deep in thought. Selene studies his troubled expression but can’t make out what he is thinking so hard about. She offers a suggestion.

“Actually, I will be travelling to Lapithos tomorrow. I could guide you there.”

The man looks a bit surprised by the sudden offer, but accepts with gratitude.

The next day, while the two are preparing to leave, Selene is shocked to discover that the man doesn’t have a horse.

“You mean you arrived here on foot!?”

“I’ve been travelling for a long time and can move fairly quickly with magic. Ah, right. I forgot to mention I’m a mage.”

She had lowered her guard after Dion didn’t do anything suspicious during the night. These revelations are raising new red flags however. Mages are not particularly common and it’s even rarer to see them wandering in this region. Most of them are fighting in the border conflict, while the others stop by the port-city to rest before departing somewhere else. Certainly none have ever visited the village of Olous.

The journey begins as planned. Dion is walking with his bag while Selene is riding a horse loaded with supplies and equipment. She brought her armor, a few weapons and a small shield because she may need to fight in a Guild mission soon. As the two travel together, Selene tries to probe him for information while disguising it as idle chatter. Dion explains that he lived in the forest as part of his training. To her, it seems rather extreme but there are cultures with those kinds of traditions. He tells various stories about his adventures as a mage and the dangers of researching magic. Selene is quite intrigued by what she learns and they continue to talk casually for the rest of the day.

At night, they camp on the roadside. Seeing that he hasn’t brought anything, she offers food and water. He thanks her and offers a healing potion from his bag in return for the hospitality. Knowing that such potions aren’t cheap, she accepts it gratefully.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

On the second day of the trip, Rigel and Selene slow their pace when they notice something unusual. Three armed men in metal armor are guarding a wooden barricade that is blocking the road.

“Is that some kind of checkpoint?” Rigel inquires about the obstacle ahead.

“They look like soldiers from Lapithos. How strange… There were never any checkpoints when I passed through here before. I wonder what happened.” Selene replies with a perplexed expression.

As the two travellers come within 5 meters of the barricade, one of the soldiers raises a hand and calls out.

“Halt! Where are you two from? What is your business here?”

“We are travelling from Olous to the port-city of Lapithos. Why do you need to know our business?” Selene answers with a stern voice.

“I’m the one asking the questions here, lady. You with the blond hair, what are you carrying in that bag? Bring it over here for inspection.”

“This bag contains mana crystals and potions.” Rigel answers curtly without moving from his spot.

“Mana crystals, huh? That’s too suspicious. I’m afraid we’ll need to confiscate that.”

“Now, wait just a moment. Under whose authority are you—” Selene cuts in angrily but she is interrupted by Rigel pulling on her sleeve. He leans in close and whispers.

“We are surrounded. There are at least a dozen people hiding on both sides of the road and they don’t seem friendly.”

Her eyes become wide with surprise. She looks around and sees no one. There are lots of trees and bushes that could be used to hide however.

“What do you mean? How could you possibly know that?” She almost fails to keep her voice down.

“I’ll tell you later. Right now we are in danger. Let me take the first shot and then we escape. Turn your horse around and run as soon as I cast the first spell. Watch out for archers.” Using a serious expression and a calm voice, Rigel says something ridiculous. Selene is baffled. Before she can form a reply, the soldier ahead raises his voice again.

“What are you two whispering about over there? Hey!”

Rigel starts walking toward him with a slow pace and speaks with a malicious tone.

“Soldiers are assisting bandits to rob people? If you surrender and explain, I will allow you bastards to live.”

“What was that? Are you threatening us!?” Behind him, the other soldiers signal their friends.

Armed men with cheap-looking leather armor start slowly appearing from bushes on the roadside. Rigel understands that his words aren’t being taken seriously, so he goes on the offensive.

“Wrath of the Sky Dragon”

A glowing whirlpool of mana forms in front of Rigel and fires toward the three soldiers in front of him at the speed of sound. A loud boom shakes the air, almost like cannon fire. Too slow to react, the three are blown off their feet along with their barricade. They fly backwards two dozen meters before landing unconscious on their backs.

“… He’s a mage! Get him!” The other bandits recover from their shock and start their attack. Rigel follows up with another spell.

“Dark Fog”

The area is covered by an opaque fog that seems to materialize out of thin air. It emits a harrowing smell of death and the bandits feel a cold shiver when they come into contact with it. Having lost sight of their target, they are confused and don’t know what to do. A few are swinging their weapons blindly through the air, desperately trying to thin out the fog. This does nothing but agitate them further. Meanwhile, flashes of light are flying through the air, briefly illuminating the space they pass through. One by one, the bandits are dropping like flies. None are left standing when the fog finally disappears by itself.

Rigel carefully scans the area, checking for any remaining threats. The last bandit, who is holding a bow, is beaten down by Selene. She kicks him in the stomach and then knocks him out with a clean hit to the chin. Rigel told her to run for her own safety, but she immediately came back and took down the archers on the roadside. Initially, the ‘Dark Fog’ spell surprised Selene as well, but she quickly recovered and fought with a clear mind, disabling all of the bandits she could find without killing them. After the fight is over, she approaches Rigel in a friendly manner.

“I think we’re fine now. That was all of them.” Her voice is calm at first but then switches to excitement. “You’re full of surprises, Dion. I’ve seen magic before but that was something else! Did you also use some kind of spell to find the ones who were hiding?”

“Not quite. With proper training, a mage is able to sense external mana. It’s also possible to tell which direction it is coming from. Since all living creatures contain mana, this skill is quite potent when mastered.”

“It’s incredibly useful! This may sound shameless, but could you teach me how to sense mana? Just a little bit when you have time is fine.”

Rigel ponders for a few moments. Then he smiles and says “If you keep quiet about what you saw here, I promise to do my best to teach you.”

“I understand. Mages are pretty secretive after all.”