Jale, Ronin and Aron were in a cart going to Cranach Dale. They had been on the road for a week and in that time Ronin and taught them both sign language. They had learned enough to get by. They only really needed to be able to recognise the signs because Ronin could hear just fine. Ragalia and Verra had a war before becoming a part of the five kingdoms and during the war as a boy his vocal cords were sliced when a Verran soldier had tried to kill him. He didn’t know who his father was, and his mother had been killed by the very same soldier.

How much further? Ronin asked, brushing his blonde hair out of his eyes. “How am I supposed to know?” Jale said irritably, “if something doesn’t happen soon, I may suffer from boredom attacks.” Aron sat up and slapped Jale straight across the face. “you’re bloody asking for it dumbass. We’re going to get attacked by bandits now.”

A voice drafted in from outside the carriage. “Come out with your hands up!” Ronin smiled as Aron gripped his axes. His axes and bag had been returned to him at the start of the trip. He pulled out the sword and threw it at Ronin. His eyes widened and he nodded his gratitude. He held the sword with familiarity as he walked out of the carriage with Jale, Reyna and Aron close behind.

There were about ten bandits, most armed with rusty swords and crossbows. “Those are some nice weapons there. You hand them over and you’ll have a nice happy life in slavery.” The lead bandit laughed.

“You know, Aron, I don’t really want to give him our weapons.” Jale said as he hefted the knives Aron gave him. “Yeah, I agree. I quite like these.”

“Then we’ll take them off your corpses!” the bandits shot bolts at them. they went right through Ronin as he ran at the lead bandit and impaled him with his sword. Reyna charged a group of six with Jale in tow, killing any who survived Reyna’s attack.

Aron threw his axe at the bandit closest to him, splitting open his head. The axe then pulled itself out of the dead man’s skull and flew back to Aron’s hand. He remembered that Tenkay had told him that once bonded the axes would do that. He run at a duo of bandits with short swords, swinging the twin axes with deadly accuracy. He quickly separated one’s head from their shoulders but the other one proved to be more skilled than his predecessor. He rolled past Aron and picked up his fallen comrade’s blade. Rather than blocking, he dodged and deflected. Aron had a hard time defending as the axes were more suited to offense. He awkwardly stopped the attacks with the axe hilts and swung on more time. The swing literally cut both of his opponent’s swords in two, continued on and cut the man in half. By the time Aron had finished with the swordsman the fight had ended.

None of the prospects for Cranach Dale from the other wagons in the caravan had come out during the battle. Now though people, mostly nobles, spilled out of the carriages to see what had happened. Ronin was covered in blood. Aron and Jale ran to him until he signed none of it is mine. Reyna was eating one of the bandits remains as the crown prince and other High nobles made their way over. These nobles were from around the five kingdoms, the king having invited all prospects to travel in his caravan. “Took you long enough. Although I suppose the fact that you’re a commoner makes it hard to have any sort of skill. The best thing that ever happened to your family was finding out you had magic, so they didn’t have to live in the squalor they belong.” The crown prince directed the snide comment to both him and Ronin. As his lackeys chortled, Aron bristled in fury. All he had heard from nobles since finding out he was a magic user was demeaning and derogatory. Before he could think better of it. Aron picked up the prince and threw him at the closest wagon. To Aron’s surprise, Jale sprinted at a supernatural speed and had a knife under his brothers chin before he had time to react. The nobles all started to do magicks, most too weak to cast on command so they had to do hand gestures. Before any of them got a spell off Ronin had his sword through one of their chests. As a phantom, Ronin could do his blur thing and turn himself and his phantom blade intangible. The young man that had his sword sticking out of his chest didn’t so much as move because he knew that Ronin could turn solid and impale him at any time.

To Aron’s surprise Sommers came flying through the air and landed beside him. Aron thought he was a mage but only elementals could ride the air like he just did. Another elemental landed beside him, this one a girl around his own age, probably a prospect. When Ronin saw the girl, he pulled the sword out of the noble’s chest and bent a knee. The girl looked embarrassed as she told him to rise. Probably a noble from Ragalia he thought. But that didn’t make sense, Ronin had shown nothing but contempt for the higher born.

Sommers looked livid. “What is the meaning of this!” pushing Jale’s knife out of the way, Andrew got up in Sommers face. “None of your concern! Go back to writing your stupid magic…” Andrew was lifted up in the air. “Quiet prospect!” Sommers growled. “I am to be all of your mentor and I will not tolerate things such as this. you are not the only royalty in this class Andrew, and you will do well to remember that!” leaving Andrew squirming in the air, he turned to Jale who was sheathing his knives. “What is the meaning of this?” he repeated in a calmer tone. Jale explained all that transpired. “You handled the situation admirably. I am sorry I could not make it in time to help although you did not need it. Idiots such as these will continue to bother you, so Hazel here will accompany you in your carriage for the rest of the journey.” He turned once more to Andrew and the nobles. “Your conduct is not befitting the crown prince. You would think one would grateful that these three fought of the bandits while you cowered in your carriages like mice. While you have lucked out with your parents, these are the people who will protect your realm. You would do to remember that.” With that, Sommers walked away.

“Wow,” Jale whistled, “didn’t know he had it in him.” He turned to greet Hazel. “Your highness,” he bowed. Hazel once again looked flustered. “Please, just call me Hazel.” Before he realised how stupid it sounded, Aron asked, “so which princess are you?” as Jale smacked his hand against his forehead, the princess laughed and Ronin signed, she is Princess Hazel, heir to the crown of Ragalia. To everyone’s surprise, Hazel nodded. “You are correct phantom. you are Ragali aren’t you? What is your name?” Ronin looked stunned. Ronin, your highness. May I ask how you speak my language? Hazel nodded. “You are not the only one the Verrans mutilated. Far too many in our kingdom speak it.” Fire burned in the princess’ eyes, a hatred of the people who had hurt her people. Her face brightened and she turned to Aron, “and who are you?” she asked, “I had heard that Roxia had found a warlock.” “I’m Aron Wright.” I replied. Getting the sense that Haze was a bit more knowledgeable than his friends, he continued. “This is off topic, but Sommers is obviously an elemental, but I have seen him use a mage bolt. how is that possible?” “Sommers is one of the most powerful sorcerers alive. He has a large magical well, a decent amount above average but nothing unbelievable. The reason he is so powerful is because of his brain. You might have noticed that at times, especially when it comes to communication and basic social interactions, Sommers seems almost soft headed. That’s because he is. But he makes up for it with his mind for magic. Theoretically, anyone can use any of the classes magicks, but while every single person is capable of using a spell, they need magical energy to use it. Even those with magical energy can only use on branch of magic, it being nearly instinct, it’s a part of you, your core being. Imagine that magical energy is like talent. Your branch of magic is something you are naturally good at, something you will learn to master in time. While Sommers is naturally an elemental, he understands magic to such a degree that he has learned to use the mage magic, the simplest branch of magic. To do this he needed to control the way his magic flowed. While it naturally flowed the way an elemental usually would, he learned to make it flow the way a mage’s would. Others have done it to a much lesser extent, but Sommers is now average at mage magic and one of the strongest elementals. While people ridicule him for his simplistic ways, it’s through the intense focus he has that makes him so strong.” Hazel finally finished.

Jale laughed. “Proper Sommers fan club, aren’t you?” Hazel blushed, “I am the only person that has shown anywhere near as much control as he has. My magical well, while nothing to scoff at, is only slightly better than the average noble magic user. He has been teaching me how to make my magic flow in different ways.”

Enough about Sommers, let’s get into the carriage where you can serenade us with your lengthy explanations. As Ronin got into the carriage while Hazel once again blushed. Jale and Aron shared a smile. Ronin had taken to the princess very quickly.