A small figure approached the door of Eldon’s bedroom. She knocked once.

“Bang”

She knocked twice.

“Bang, bang”

After a few moments of silence, she pushed open the door, and not too gently. It slammed into the wall, where there was an indentation formed by years of abuse caused by the handle of the door. The light in the hallway seeped into the darkness of the room, revealing a lump on a small bed in the middle of the room. The lump stirred slightly when the light came over it, but further than that, it made no other movement.

“Eldon.”

“Mmm…”

“Eldon.”

“...”

The small girl walked to the right side of the bed, and then took in a deep breath.

“ELDON!!!!!!! WAKE UP!!!!” Her scream penetrated right through the flimsy sheets covering the lump, which was promptly woken up with a fright.

“Arghhh!!!!” Eldon shot upright, throwing the covers off his body. His head slammed into the side of his sister’s head, knocking her down onto the floor. Already, a nasty bruise was forming on each of the sibling's head. Fresh tears began to leak from Eldon’s eyes. However, he blinked his blue eyes once, and found that the tears washed away most of the crust that formed in his eyes. Wincing a little bit as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he slowly got off his bed, putting on his slippers. His sister was sitting on the ground, and she also was a little bit teary. She glared at him accusingly.

“Stupid brother! You hurt me! Why didn’t you wake up earlier!”

Eldon sighed. “Sorry, Roxana. There are other methods to wake up someone, though.” Roxana scowled.

“For your information, I had already tried those other methods, and they didn’t work. Anyway, Mom told me to call you for breakfast.” Roxana stood up, brushed off dust on her legs, and left the room.

Feeling the bump on his head, Eldon walked over to his window. He pulled open the maroon colored curtains, squinting a little bit as the bright light of the sunsrise completely illuminated his room. Through the window, he saw one of the town’s lumberjacks, Mr. Smith, hauling a cart full of wood he cut early in the morning, before the suns’ rays even touched the town. His face was full of sweat, and his arms bulged as they pulled the cart.

Mr. Smith is rather unlucky. His only horse has been sick for a while, thought Eldon. He watched as Mr. Smith slowly advanced, and eventually reached his workshop. Manual labor, he thought. Even watching someone else work makes me feel tired.

Eldon turned away from the window, checking out his unkempt appearance in a small, cracked window placed on the table next to his bedroom. He saw a young and slightly chubby face staring back at him, indicating that Eldon was still just a young boy of thirteen years. A mess of light brown hair covered his head, but it didn’t look too bad on him. Even though Eldon was still developing, anyone could tell that Eldon’s face was fairly average. He wasn’t as cute as some other boys in town anymore when they were younger, and he didn’t have any handsome features developing either. As a result, he didn’t induce any jealousy, and nor was he jealous of anyone else. He didn’t speak out much either, and was naturally polite and timid. That was probably why he made friends rather easily than others. He does get a little bit talkative sometimes when he’s happy or excited, though.

Eldon stared blankly at the mirror for a few seconds, before he heard his mother shout, “Eldon!”

“Coming, mother!”

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Eldon entered the dining room, dressed in casual clothing. His hair was still a little bit messy, but a few more brushes of a comb would fix that. He saw his mother and sister already having breakfast.

“Where’s Father?” Eldon said as he sat down onto a wooden chair. He reached for a piece of bread and began chewing.

“Your Father went to greet the recruiters. They came rather early this year,” answered his mother, Veronica Heart, a middle age woman in her 40s. Nevertheless, her figure was still quite good, and her slim stomach showed no sign that she had borne two children. She had brown hair like Eldon, while Roxana had ruby colored hair, like her father.

There was a glint in Eldon’s eyes, and he started a bit when he heard what his mother said. The recruiters came every year to recruit potential future swordsmen and magicians into the largest path school of the Talia Kingdom, the Valis Institute. One had to be at least thirteen years old before they could take the test for entering the school, and Eldon had just recently passed his thirteenth birthday. Unlike many other path schools, the Valis Institute had rather low requirements: One only had to have a good aptitude in one element or have neutral aptitude in two elements, and then one could be accepted as a student. As a result, it was a school many commoners like Eldon dreamed of getting into. He quickly composed himself within a second. However, his mother did not miss her son’s sudden excitement.

“What are you getting excited about? Even though the Valis Institute has the easiest requirements of all the path schools, very few people even have one neutral aptitude. A good aptitude is even rarer. Your father and I, too, wanted to follow a path, but unfortunately, both of us only have one neutral aptitude.” Eldon’s mother sighed. “Even if one is able to enter the Valis Institute, very few ever graduate. One has to break through to Rank 7 in order to receive the benefits that come with graduation. Most spend their entire lives trying to break through to Rank 7, yet they never succeed. I’ve only known a few people who were able to swallow their pride and leave the school without graduating, because they knew that it was an impossible obstacle that they could never overcome.” Roxana was rolling her eyes, having heard this particular lecture quite a few times recently.

“But I haven’t even taken my aptitude-”

“It doesn’t matter. Being able to break through to Rank 7 requires one to have talent on a completely different level than simply passing the requirements. Honey, I know that you, like most kids your age, dream about becoming powerful magicians who can cast spells or becoming swordsmen who are able to shatter boulders and even mountains. However, you would have a much more fruitful life if you became a royal scholar. Your teacher, Mrs. Fern, says how you are much more diligent in your studies than other children of your age. She says that you have the makings of a great scholar. I hope that you do not disappoint Mrs. Fern’s expectations or mine.”

Eldon lowered his head, knowing what his mother said was true. Ever since he was five years old, he preferred to read books and learn quietly than going outside and play by pretending to be magicians and swordsmen with others of his age. Although he was not naturally gifted intellectually, and there were others who were able to grasp ideas much quicker than him with little studying, Eldon was quite a hard worker in his studies. He never had any intention to become a scholar, though. He could only feebly reply, “Yes, mother.” He resumed eating, and the only sounds that could be heard were of food being chewed.

Veronica looked at her son and felt conflicted. I think I was a little bit too harsh. Eldon is still quite young, and it was careless of me to tell him the reality. I feel terrible for making him feel downtrodden. However, I don’t want my child to suffer the struggle of a path. His personality is much more suited to that of a scholar’s than that of a magician or swordsman. Veronica knew that Eldon would not have any amazing aptitudes. A child’s aptitudes were always inherited from his/her parents and ancestors, and although Veronica and her husband’s neutral aptitudes were still rather uncommon, such aptitudes were never enough to break past Rank 8. Magic power/aura seemed to be unrelated with elemental aptitude, but one virtually could never generate and obtain enough power to break to Rank 7 if their aptitudes weren’t outstanding. Veronica made up her mind.

“Although it is unlikely you will be able to pass the requirements necessary for the Valis Institute, it doesn’t mean I won’t give you a chance to get tested,” Veronica said slowly. “BUT, if you are unable to pass the requirements, then I hope that you will wholeheartedly work into becoming a great scholar.” Instantly, Eldon’s sullen mood changed into that of jubilation.

“Thank you, Mother!” Eldon practically jumped onto his mother, hugging her. He was happy that his normally strict mother gave him a chance, and that was all he needed: a chance. He himself also knew of the difficulty to become a magician or swordsman, but that wasn’t going to stop him. His greatest wish was to become a magician, who focused less on close, physical combat and more on support and long ranged combat, without putting themselves in as much danger as swordsmen. He thought that being magician would be ideal for him, as he disliked strenuous physical activity. Even if I don’t have much talent, I’m sure I’ll be able to comprehend how to cast spells with enough studying and practice, he thought. Veronica smiled at Eldon’s happiness, and rubbed his head. “Go fix your hair up a little bit more. It’s still quite messy, and you have class to attend!”

“Oh, right.” Eldon finished the last bits of his bread and rushed to his room to find his comb. Roxana slipped behind her brother, having also finished her breakfast. She tried to move as quickly as possible without appearing suspicious.

“Roxana, where are you going? You need to go to class also.”

“But I went yesterday!” whined Roxana. Roxana was the polar opposite of her studious, quiet brother. She was much more confident and rambunctious; people always thought that she could become a great swordswoman if she had the talent. Nevertheless, only time would tell, as Roxana was three years younger than Eldon, and therefore could not attempt to take the test.

“Class is something you attend every day. It isn’t a place where you can come and go as you please, young lady.” However, Veronica wasn’t too hard on Roxana, because she knew that although Roxana acted like a careless and rowdy child, Roxana was much more mature than she let on.

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Eldon walked to the front door of his small but comfy house, and put on his shoes. “I’m going, Mother!”

“Have fun at class! Watch out for horses and wagons as you cross the roads. Love you!” Veronica shouted back.

“Love you too, Mother!” Eldon quickly opened the door and left, eager to attend the test that would most likely occur in the afternoon. He couldn’t wait!

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