MESSAGE FROM LAZYCLOUD

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‘Finally! Today I get to go to the village’ Kaiden thought.

It was early morning and the time it took to go to the village was a few hours. Last night his family explained to him that the day of recruitment was in three parts. There was the Soldiers’ Part where if you were accepted you would be given a training sword and be sent to the barracks for three days a week. After four years of training there was a graduation duel. This determined the rank of the swordsman.

Then there was the Mage’s Path, if you had magical abilities you were taken to the city for five days at a time to be educated in mana control. This was a lifelong training but after four years Then lastly there was the Healer’s Path where those were picked could learned alchemy.

“Have you thought about what you wanted to be Kaiden?” his mother asked as he came to the table to eat. Down here his father was waiting for him so he could take him to town.

“Healer” Kaiden announced.

“Healer? Why?” His father asked.

“So I can help people. If I can help people then families can stay together.” Kaiden replied.

“Oh such a big heart! You must get that from your mother.” Lina said as she came through the front door.

“Good morning Lina” they said in unison.

“Good morning all.”

“Kaiden, before you go I’m going to take a little mana from you ok?”

“Ok, but I don’t want to fall asleep like yesterday.” Kaiden declared.

“Of course not.” She replied. Then they joined hands for a few minutes.

“Ok, All done. Have a good time at the village.” Lina smiled.

“Finish eating and let’s be of. Don’t want to be late.” His father smiled. As Kaiden finished eating he went to leave with his father. His mother and Lina bid him farewell as he got onto his father’s horse and started trotting off.

Lina and Maria went back into the house and finished eating. As they were cleaning up Lina started to ask. “Do you know how much mana your son has saved up in him?”

“No why?”

“He currently has the mana capacity of an Initiate mage.”

“What?!”

“I was surprised too just now. Yesterday he had what felt like grand mage magic considering all the mana I took out of him. Also considering he was able to fill a mana stone it’s not surprising.” She said.

“I thought he was in initiate rank?” Maria stammered.

“Well that’s what his current capacity is now, but he’s going to grow into something amazing.”

“What does that mean?”

“Mana builds up in everything and then there’s a limit. By using mana our storage slowly expands. Kaiden on the other hand is different, when he reaches his maximum capacity it doesn’t just stop, instead his mana slowly grows, further increasing his mana capacity.” She explained

“And what does that mean?” Maria puzzled.

“Basically he will grow into a stronger mage without even trying and by constantly emptying his mana into the mana stones he will slowly increase his ability to hold mana. By the time he is nine he might have more mana than a rank five Initiate, he might even hold more mana than acolyte-rank mages and move onto initiates.” She told Maria.

“That’s… Amazing.” Maria stood there stunned

“Yeah. I’m actually a little jealous.” Lina said. As they finished up they began getting to work on the farm.

Kaiden sat in front of his father on the horse. They were going a decent speed and he could begin to see the village walls at a distance.

“Before we get to the village Kaiden you should know something about our village.” His father said. Kaiden listened with earnest.

“Our little village has a council of five elders. They help make the decisions of our town. There is one elder for every 120 people. So as you can tell there are quite a few people in our village and so you’re going to have to meet a lot of people today.” He explained.

Kaiden was amazed, he knew that it was a village but he wasn’t expecting so many people. What could he learn and do there?

‘For a village of this size there must be so much to see. I can’t wait.’ Kaiden thought.

“Now as for the recruitment exam, all the children are tested the same. I’ll be watching so do your best and show them what the son of ‘The Grey Fang’ can do!” he said earnestly.

“The Grey Fang?” Kaiden asked confused.

“Oh yeah I guess I never told you. I was a mercenary back in the day. After my graduation from training I worked the farm until I was old enough to join a mercenary group that would take me.” He said proudly.

“Wow dad.” Kaiden said. He couldn’t believe such a gentle man could have been a famous mercenary.

“Yeah so do me and your mom proud!” He said.

“I will!” Kaiden said. As they reached the gates of the village the guards stopped them.

“Halt! Who goes there?!” they shouted at a distance.

“It’s me! Christian Greywolf. I have with me my son for the day of recruitment!” He shouted in reply.

“Ah ‘Grey Fang’!” they said with a smile.

“We were starting to doubt if you even had a son since you never brought him into the village! Haha will you introduce us to the lad?” They smiled

“Sure thing come over here. Kaiden this here on the left is dumb and the one next to him is dumber.” his father said.

“Hey! Don’t say such things!” they two guards shouted in unison.

“He’s the dumber one!” they pointed at each other. Then like that they all laughed.

“Just kidding son, that on the left is Robert, and on the left is Fered. They are the guards of the west gate.” His father told him.

“Wow your son looks just like you Christian. Although he looks a bit smarter” Robert said.

“Hah well he is smarter than me I won’t deny it.” His father smiled with pride.

‘Why did you say that dad don’t you have any pride in your intelligence?’ Kaiden thought.

“He got his smarts from Maria not from you Christian.” Fered replied.

“Ain’t that the truth? Where’s the recruitment being held this year?” Christian asked.

“Like it is every year, in the village circle. Hurry up they’re about to start.” Robert gestured as the gate opened.

“Thanks, are your kids in this year?” Christian asked as the gate slowly opened.

“No, maybe next year for my kids” Robert said.

“My daughter is in this year.” Fered said.

He then looked at Kaiden and said, “If you need help ask her, her name is Pam, look for the girl with red hair and brown eyes. There’s only one this year.” He said with a smile.

“Will I see you at the proving?” Christian said to them.

“Of course! Robert is taking double shift so I can.” He laughed while patting Roberts back.

“Don’t forget to tell him about the bet as well” Robert said.

“Haha I’ll tell him later tonight. Who knows maybe Christian will bet too” Fered said. As they finally entered the village.

“We’ll see.” Christian laughed, then he rode off into the village circle. After a few minutes they arrived and Kristian could see a group of kids. Maybe thirty kids were there with their parents. Christian got off the horse and let it to and tied it to the post. Then helped Kaiden off, they then walked to the circle. Kaiden could see all the glances the other parents were giving him and his father.

‘Was I that big a mystery?’ he thought.

As he arrived, another group of men arrived at the square. Kaiden could see they were being led by some people who could only be the elders to the center of their group of kids.

‘Ah, it seems some big fish have arrived’ Kaiden thought to himself.

One of the elders raised his hands and the group silenced. He cleared his throat and began to speak. “Welcome to Recruitment Day! Today we shall see who among our children will become soldiers, mages, or healers. Those who meet the requirements will undergo training in those fields. Those of you do not will then have to wait until the day of professions. Now without further ado we will introduce the three who will be in charge of this year’s recruitment day.”

The first to step up was a man in armor, plate armor to be exact. Around him he could hear the parents saying he must have been a high ranking soldier and he could hear the other kids saying how cool he was.

“This is Raz, commander of the fourth brigade under the 2nd Legion. He has helped defend our Kingdom for over fifteen years and fought in the war against Honione Kingdom ten years ago.” Another Elder declared.

‘Wow a real war hero’ Kaiden thought. He saw Raz step back, then another man stepped forward. Another stepped forward and then told them who he was.

“This is Sune, a mage. Due to circumstances I can’t announce his rank except to let you know he is above a mage of rank three. He was a teacher at the royal magical academy until recently.”

‘I still don’t understand mage rankings, I guess he’s pretty powerful.’ Kaiden figured.

Lastly a woman from their group came forward. She was covered in a hood but removed it to face the crowd. The crowd began to whisper but the elder who was introducing her cleared his throat. “This is Alia and as you can tell she is a half-elf. She is my aunt so I expect you all to be respectful of her.” The elder said with a serious brow.

“Haha ignore Gregor, I am here to tech all those who are adept at the art of healing.” She said while wrapping her arms around the Elder. As they did this the group laughed, and another elder came forward.

“Parents please leave your child and stand outside the village circle. Of course you may still watch but please be silent.” He said. Parents gave their children hugs of encouragement and reassuring looks. Kaiden looked at his father and all he got was a thumbs up then left him there in the circle.

“With this we shall begin the annual recruitment day test!” he bellowed.

“First today we shall be starting with the mages test! Children please stand in a row. Mage Sune will explain what will happen.” The elder then stepped back and Sune the mage came forward. He stepped forward to the first child and told him.

“Touch the ball” he said simply. The child reached and grabbed the ball, waited for a moment yet nothing happened. Then he went to the next child then the next and so on and so forth. For some children the ball did nothing, for some the ball lit up brightly, some dimly. When it was finally his turn he touched the ball and it glowed blue then white. Then the two colors it glowed shone and mixed into what could be said as a light show.

“Good, you have talent” Sune told him.

“Thanks” he replied. Then he moved on yet no other child could replicate his effects on the ball, not even close. After the last child was done Sune went back to the group, without a word. Not sure of what to say an elder quickly came up to them and said.

“Your results will be told to you at the end of the tests. Now next we have the healer’s exam.”

“Hello young ones! I am Alia and for your test it’s quite simple, I have with me a bunch of plants, they are all the same five plants, all of them have poisonous parts yet they all have parts that can be used to cure vitality. Your job is to grab any plant and separate it into poison parts and useful parts.” Alia said.

A cart of the plants then came into view. All the children walked over to the cart with confidence. Every child was taught at a young age what parts were usually dangerous and were ok. Yet when they got to the cart they stopped being so confident. On the cart were plants they’d never seen before?

“A good healer knows how to tell what is dangerous by sight and what isn’t. These are plants found all around this kingdom not just this area.” She said.

All the kids immediately grabbed plants that were what they recognized, by the time Kaiden got to choose all the easy plants were taken. So he grabbed the biggest plant that was left, it was a yellow flower that had purple stripes. It was a true challenge, the first since he’d come to this world. He analyzed, felt the stem, and even tasted a little until he had some hint of the properties but it wasn’t until he smelled it that he had a real idea of what to use. He separated the petals from the stem and broke the roots off from the bottom. He was then left with three piles. All the other children had already finished so Kaiden was last.

“Now times up! Im coming around to look at what you have.” Aila said as she began walking around. Sometimes she smiled but most the time her face was that of she was searching for something.

Alia walked around searching for any talent. For the past year she and the other two had been traveling from village to village searching for talent for the kingdom but normally it was mediocre at best. People could be trained for combat, or taught now to control magic but healing was complicated. Healing took experience or talent, learning how to heal would cost too many lives. As she had already given up at finding any talent in this village she was surprised to see one child who had just put all the parts in the middle in front of him. Curious she just had to ask.

“Why didn’t you separate them?” she asked the boy.

“Because it’s both.” he replied.

“Both?” she repeated.

“Yes because the petals and pollen are paralyzing, so with too much it could kill but with just enough it could relieve pain. The stem and roots are poisonous but I don’t know what they do so they can either be good or bad.” He pointed out.

“I see” she smiled.

‘Finally, some talent. I have to admit I’m surprised there would be talent here.’ she thought.

“That concludes the Healer’s Test everyone. Good work! Like Sune I will tell you all the results after.” She smiled. As Raz heard that he moved to the front of them. With a big smile he pulled out a sword. It wasn’t fancy, at most it looked like a common iron sword with the exception of a emblem on the front..

“Now is my test. As you all know I am Raz and today I have with me special sword. This is the sword of qualification made by the Great Paladin Ezil and the Magus Maxil of the first age. It’s an artifact that will change its form depending on those qualified. It was made for this purpose of finding warriors for the old kingdom. You will all take hold of it one at a time and the emblem on it will change according to your warrior path. Now for some of you the emblem will disappear, but that doesn’t means that you aren’t worthy. So keep your chin up high.” Raz explained.

One by one kids went up to grad the sword. The first one changed into a shield and sword, then a great sword, then two swords came up. Raz smiled for each emblem changing then one child didn’t have an emblem and started crying. Raz stopped and touched the child on the shoulder and told him.

“Don’t worry. You may not be chosen as a warrior but there are other honorable paths don’t worry.” Raz comforted the child then continued until Kaiden. He looked at Kaiden but in his eyes with no hope, Kaiden had shown skills in healing and magic as he understood. No one person would be granted the skills of all three paths. Yet as Kaiden touched the hilt of the sword it glowed and the emblem showed am emblem that Raz had only seen in books. It was a sword covered in ice and fire; it was the path of the magic swordsman.

Raz stood there shocked not sure how to respond until the boy said something.

“I’m sorry what did you say?” Raz responded.

“There’s still other kids you have to test.” The kid responded

“Ah yes” Raz recomposed himself then finished the others.

“This is the end, we will conclude the tests here, Thank you everyone. The results will be shown later tonight.” Raz declared.

Raz joined the others and proceeded to the council house to discuss with the elders the talents of the children. Once inside they all sat in silence, confused the elders asked the examiners.

“Is something wrong, were none of them qualified or something?” the elder worried.

“No not that, it’s just that there’s someone amazing in your village.” Raz began.

“You all noticed as well right?” Raz asked the others.

“Of course.” Sune replied.

“Yes” Alia replied.

“Who in particular are you talking about?” the elders asked.

“The child with the blue eyes. What is his name?” Alia asked.

“Ah” the elders looked to each other unsure what to say.

“What?” Raz asked.

After a brief pause, “That is Kaiden Tala Greywolf. Son Christian ‘The Grey Fang’ Greywolf” an elder said.

“The Grey Fang? Are you sure?” Raz was asked.

“Who’s that?” Sune asked.

“He was a famous mercenary in the Kimala Kingdom. It’s said that he got his name from guarding a group of villagers from a pack of dire wolves. Not including he was said to have been the commander of the last stand of Kimala’s capital.” Raz said.

“Kimala? That’s pretty far but Kimala has been wiped off the map.” Alia asked.

“Yes and he was famous in Kimala and the storm mountains but why is he here?” Raz asked.

“Impressive.” Alia said.

“He retired here, he protects the village from the forest beasts. He doesn’t even have a sword anymore. He told us he found something to live for and wanted to settle down here. He promised us all his enemies didn’t know he was here.” An elder explained. They sat there, stunned in silence how an adventurer retired.

“That child is going to change the world.” Sune said.

“Change the world?” the others said while looked at him.

“The crystal I have is an artifact similar to the Sword of Qualification. It is known as the Destiny Orb one of the seven artifacts of the last age, light gets bigger the more likely their future will bring tough decisions. Also the blue light is a sign that he is blessed by the gods, which one I am unsure.” Sune said.

“Destiny? I thought you were measuring their mana.” Alia said.

“I did that the moment I looked into their eyes, several children have some hint of mana but that boy has a definite chance of it of it.” Sune explained.

“Ok so that child will be a special deal but what about the others?” the elders asked.

“Oh Yes there are going to be quite a few warriors from this village.” Raz said. As they talked and discussed the fate of the other children time flew by and before they knew, it was night time. Traditionally the information would be announced to everyone at the proving grounds. The proving grounds were the guards trained the children in the village also it served as the dueling ring although in their village it was rarely used as that. It was night and every family with a child had made their way to the proving ground to await the results.

As the elders and the examiners came in the crowd silenced. Elder Gregor then started, “Welcome to Recruitment Day! Now is the time we tell these young souls what their life will bring however I should tell you children now. There is never a guarantee, the king himself was told he’d be a warrior, instead he fought against it and became a bringer of peace and prosperity to our side of the world. Now without further ado, Commander Raz if you’d please.”

“I will call out names of those who qualify for the enrollment of warrior training. What you do with that training is up to you. Be an adventurer, a guard, a soldier, or even a mercenary. It’s your life but remember to be a proud citizen of our Kingdom and if the need ever be defend it with your life.” Raz stated.

Slowly he began reading names off the list in his hand, kaiden didn’t hear his name but he didn’t mind as he was hoping for healer. Next the mage Sune came up and said a few words before reading his list. “Those of you gifted with magic will undergo training understanding mana, mana control, and lastly the formation of spells. It may sound easy but it will take you years to fully understand the intricacies of it. With those skills you will have many paths open to you. Be an adventurer like Raz said, or strive to make advancements in magic, perhaps if any of you are unlucky you might get a teaching job like I did.” Sune said with a smile.

Then he began reading his list and again Kaiden’s name wasn’t called.

‘Why am I not getting called for this at least? I know have magic, something doesn’t feel right’ Kaiden thought. He then turned to his dad and whispered.

“Dad how come I wasn’t called?”

With no answer Christian didn’t know what to say. “I don’t know son. I feel something is amiss.”

“Me too, dad.” Kaiden replied.

“Now I will begin my list” Alia said, through their whispering they had missed her speech.

Then just like the other two times his name wasn’t called. A feeling of unease was felt by Christian and Kaiden, then without word the two of them decided to leave without seeing the closing ceremony. As they left the proving grounds they ran into Robert on the way to their horse.

“Hey Christian, how’d it go? What’s your little guy going to be?” he asked.

“They didn’t call his name for anything.” Christian snapped.

“What! No way” Robert shocked.

“Yeah so either something is up or my son is an invalid and we can see he’s not an invalid.” Christian snarled. Never had Kristian seen his father like this in the last five years. The normal kind man who worked a farm was not there right now. In his eyes he could see the eyes of a man planning, searching, and anticipating any move.

“We’re leaving Robert. I’ll send word when I can.” Christian said.

“Ok get out of here.” I’ll try and find out what’s going on.

Kaiden got on the horse with his father and they began a rush home. Kaiden had never seen his father this way in all his life. Kaiden thought for the first time in his life ‘Wow, dad is pretty badass.’

As they reached home they quickly rushed off into the house. Inside his mother was preparing food and humming while Lina say at the table preparing vegetables. As they came through the door in a rush, the two women stared at Christian.

“Get ready and pack! Something is wrong, I have to get into the basement.” Christian shouted. His mother in a panic ran in front of his father.

“What do you mean? Are you sure you need the ‘basement’?” she said with an awkward tone.

“Kaiden wasn’t picked, for anything. Then there was the military examiner today, he was a commander for fifteen years. So he’s most definitely heard of me and the elders had to tell them who Kaiden’s father is and if he knows about Kimala and the rumors about our escape they will be coming here.” He said. After a moment of thinking his mom finally moved aside and went to Lina.

“Help me pack necessities Lina, we don’t have much time grab food and supplies we’ll need out of the Kingdom.” Maria said.

“Ok” Lina said and like that the two woman were like a tornado running around the house getting all sorts of things. Kaiden stood there confused, ‘I know something was off but did it warrant us leaving the kingdom?’ he thought.

For the first time the basement door was open. Kaiden wandered over and down there he could hear sounds he didn’t recognize. After a few moments his father had come out of the basement in armor.

‘What the heck is going on!’ he thought.

“Maria your armor is here, Lina I have a short sword or a dagger which do you prefer?” he asked.

“Dagger.” She said, then his dad threw the dagger at her faster than Kaiden could see. She caught it and tied the hilt to her waist. He mother then came over and started putting her armor on.

‘Just what in the world is going on?!” Kaiden thought. As they were all almost ready they heard horses coming to the house.

“Damn it we were too slow, we might have to fight our way out.” Christian said.

“Where’s the bow, dear?” Maria asked.

“Under the third step.” He replied.

Maria moved across to the stairs to get the bow and as she did that there was a knock on the door. They all stood there in silence, unsure of what to do now, do they attack or reply?

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