“Kaleth! Wait up!” My brother Bjorn called from behind me as we ran along the path through the forest.

“We can’t be late!” I called back, spinning around mid-run to look at him before continuing on without further hesitation. Each step, the loose soil stuck lightly to my bare feet as we ran past rows of wagons. Today was the fall harvest festival and all of the farmers and traders nearby were going to the nearby town of Tharwry to exchange goods and get supplies to prepare for the winter. Several farmers called out to us and waved in recognition as we ran past. 

Bjorn eventually caught up to me, huffing from the effort. “The testing doesn’t even happen until the evening when the inquisitors get here” He gasped out in between breaths. 

“I know I just don’t want to take any chances” I said slowing down slightly “and besides, weren’t you wanting to see Silica beforehand” I prodded in a teasing tone. Silica was the daughter of the town’s tavern owner and Bjorn had a crush on her as soon as he started to notice girls.

Bjorn’s face flushed a bright pink and he stammered sliding to a halt “it isn’t like that” he protested indignantly. 

I stopped a few feet ahead of him rolling my eyes before I turned around. “Stop worrying, my lips are sealed.” I walked over to him, grabbing his shoulder and then giving him a light shove to get him moving again. 

I looked out into the trees as we walked side by side, I always felt equally at home and awed at the massive evergreens that made up the Daleth forest. The ground didn’t grow much grass or small vegetation but the sheer amount of pine needles that fell year round created amazing fertilizer when mixed with this disgusting substance called gypung.  

As such many people moved to the area to seek out a quiet life of farming. The town of Tharwry popped up in the middle of it as a hub to support the farmers, merchants would flock from all around to get good deals on the fresh produce from the forest. Daleth had a reputation of growing vegetables and fruits that would far outlast produce grown elsewhere, something that was appealing to people who travelled a lot.

After a few minutes of silence my brother turned to me with a strange look in his eye “Don’t you have someone you like?” He asked, his voice much quieter than before.

I thought about it for a few minutes as we walked, smoke visible through the gaps in the trees overhead from the stone chimneys of Thawry. As we walked the trees started to grow more and more scarce and a wall soon became visible as we neared the town. ten feet high and mostly constructed out of loose stones dug up when the nearby farmlands were created, it signified a safe haven for farmers should the forest ever get attacked.

“I’ve never really been attracted to anyone seriously.” I replied tentatively, as if testing my response as it came out of my mouth. “I mean, fleeting thoughts and emotions here and there but nothing that’s ever lasted. Besides you, mom and dad of course” 

“Yeah but that’s different” he looked up at the sky thoughtfully before turning to me. Grabbing both my shoulders as he looked me in the eyes. His dark brown hair was messy on top of his head, a pleasant color along with his dark forest green eyes and darker complexion from working outside all day on the farm. A sharp contrast to my white skin that seemed to always burn no matter how long I spent outside and my sandy blond hair.

  “Today, I’m going to ask out Silica today after we go through the testing” he said, his voice serious even though you could tell he was nervous. While we were both fit from working on the farm, him grabbing onto me just reminded me of how much taller he had been growing than me; Nearly hitting six feet tall with no signs of stopping soon.

“But what if it doesn’t go well?” I said, not used to his serious demeanor as he held on to me.

He let go and we continued walking, coming to the gate of the town. A guard waved us through after looking over us for a split second and we squeezed in past a wagon that was being inspected. “I mean, we both know we have some magic since we help mom occasionally. I’m not exactly looking to be some great mage like you want to be given all those stories you listen to” He replied elbowing me as he said the last part.

Almost everyone in the world had some form of magic, but for the most part the average person could only ever learn or master the most basic of useful spells. Our father could barely manage anything without a struggle. Our mother however could use spells that would help protect crops and cattle from disease and infections and other small things like using the air to blow dust off the table. She couldn’t however do much more past that. 

Strong magic users were capable of nearly anything however. I had always run to listen to the bards when they would come to town and tell stories of wizards who could change the weather and elementalist that could level mountains. Occasionally stories even went around of armies being summoned to quell necromancers, however those were much less frequent as necromancy was forbidden across the entire mainland as well as as its isles and islands.

I elbowed him back embarrassed. “I never said I wanted to be a great mage” I joked back “Spirits forbid I leave you to run the farm alone once mom and dad decide to hand it down, you would have the place in flames within weeks if not days” I teased referencing a time he had accidentally build a fire too close to the barn and it had spread across the dry pine nettles last falls, charring a corner of the barn but luckily the majority of it was put out before any serious damage was done.

We passed several alleys before reaching the town square right in the middle of Tharwry. There were several guards’ men moving together large pre-cut pieces of lumber to construct a podium in the middle of the clearing. 

The town in itself was not very big in terms of size but plenty of people lived here. It was rectangular with curved walls around the edges. Two main roads intersected the village cutting it into four corners with a large circular clearing in the middle. 

“That was one time” he muttered as we walked over to one corner of the town square. The roads were covered in stones, the same kind that made up the houses and walls. Off the road was a large grassy clearing that took up a large portion of the southeast corner of town that was reserved for festivals and merchants to set up stands and hold events. 

We kept walking past hundreds of tents and stands people had started to set up, the morning sun illuminating the bright colors of fresh produce and exotic fabrics. Jewelers had their ware’s locked behind glass cases so people could look and weapons merchants had barrels upon barrels of sword and axes, bows hanging from racks and staves so tall and thick it seemed impractical to use for any purpose.

Finally, towards the middle of the clearing we reached a series of roped off areas that could be reserved for local farmers and merchants. Our parents had left early in the morning and were already setting up the tent as we walked up, a wagon next to it that seemed absolutely packed with various items and produce. 

Our mother smiled as she spotted us, crow’s feet wrinkling around the corner of her eyes as she nudged our dad in the side. Living on a farm they both had dark complexions like my brother. However, my mother’s hair was dark brown while my father's was black. All of our clothing, except my mothers, was the same brown and tan as it was easier to keep supplies to fix if we tore them. My mother had put on a yellow dress and had the long skirt tied around her thighs currently so it wouldn’t drag as she helped set up.

My father turned around and was practically beaming when he saw us “There’s my two grown boys” He said boisterously holding his arms open as he dragged us into a hug. We hugged him back as our mother joined us from behind. 

After a few seconds, we let go, our mother turning us around and kneeling down slightly looking us both in the eyes. “Are you excited for the big day?” She asked, smiling as she held onto our shoulders.

I glanced at Bjorn; nervousness appeared in his eyes, seeming just as plainly as I felt the tight knot in my chest. The testing was notorious throughout the kingdom of Geround. The king sent out a small team of his Inquisitors, who normally were stopping cults and beings summoned from the dark, to go among all the villages of the kingdom and test those between the ages of fourteen and seventeen to see how strong their magical potential was. We had both been eligible last year but our parents had asked us to wait another year.

Seeing our glances our mother pulled us into another hug. “You two will be fine. Regardless of what happens you will always have a home on the farm,” She said with a smile pulling away. Turning around she opened a small chest at the back of the wagon and pulled out two small pouches handing one to each of us. “This should allow you plenty of distractions until this afternoon. Just don’t get into any trouble”

As I opened my pouch I heard a gasp from Bjorn. Looking down I saw two silver coins in the bag as well as a handful of bronze coins. My eyes widened in surprise seeing more money than I have ever handled before, with the exception of moving the small chest that my parents kept the money from the markets in. My mind already drifted off thinking about all the things I could buy.

I hugged my mom one last time waving at dad and Bjorn before walking off to look at all the various stands. I caught myself looking at the multitude of treats as I passed by. Apples that were impaled on a stick and just recently dipped in warm caramel and toasted nuts. Small pies stuffed with sweet fruits or savory meats and spices. My stomach growled at the sight of them but for the time being I refrained as I continued walking through the stands.

Throughout the day more and more people funneled into the area. The narrow paths between stands became crowded as I explored. Occasionally groups of guard would pass by keeping the peace. Their thick gambeson red and green with swords and clubs at their hips as they patrolled about.

I caught myself stopping at one stand looking at a necklace that had a delicate silver rose hanging from it. The construction of it was impeccable, as the petals of the flowers were at an angle to catch your eye as light reflected off it regardless of the angle you viewed it.  I thought back to what Bjorn asked me earlier, but was quickly shaken from my thought as the merchant shooed me away after seeing I was not going to buy anything.

As the sun rose high into the midday sky, I could not ignore my stomach anymore and I made my way from the festival towards the town square already planning on what I was going to eat. The tavern was notorious for their stews and pasties. 

My mouth salivated in anticipation as I walked across the town square to the triple story building that was the tavern. As soon as I entered, the rich scent of cooked meat and fresh bread hit my nose. Complimented by the slightly pungent and sweet smell of ale and mead, as well as the enticing scent of various spices and seasonings. 

Sitting at the large wooden bar that dominated a quarter of the room was the tavern’s owner, Jayrod.  A towering yet lanky man that had a fearsome reputation for stopping the various fights that broke out. His blond hair trailed down to his waist behind him, wiry muscled arms crossed. He grinned as I entered and called out to me, indicating to a booth off to the side “Kaleth! Take a seat, make yourself at home.” Turning around he leaned through the window into the kitchen behind him “Tabitha, you’ve got another table”

I walked over to the booth, grateful not to be at one of the tables in the center of the room, and happily took a seat. I spotted Bjorn sitting across from Silica at another booth on the other side of the tavern. I caught his eye briefly and waved at him and he returned with a small nod before going back to his conversation.

A short girl walked over to my table carrying a mug, she was wearing a blue dress that went down to her knees with an orange vest that went over her shoulders. Curly light brown hair bounced around on her head going down to her shoulders. She looked a lot younger than the normal servers in the tavern did and I found that odd. “Apple cider on the house” she said with a wink, gesturing towards Jayrod, as she set it down with barely a sound. “Care for any food or anything else to drink?” 

“One pasty” I said, returning the smile before she turned around walking away. I wrapped my hands around the wooden tankard, grateful for the soft warmth from it. It was not necessarily cold outside or in the tavern but the air held the signs of that changing soon with the coming winter.

I looked up as a shadow fell over me and Jayrod slid into the booth across from me gesturing to the far corner where my brother was sitting. “Okay, spill it, somethings up with him”, He grunted, staring me down. Normally, he was not an overly intimidating person, but I had heard plenty of stories of the things he did to people that messed with his daughter. 

“You know I can’t sell out my own brother. But, nothing unpleasant, I promise you that much at least.” I added the last part hurriedly, hoping it would reassure him.

 The young server passed by, placing my plate in front of me. My mouth watered as I looked at the massive roll of golden brown dough. It was half the size of my head and you could see the small beads of butter dripping down the folds of the pasty, it was easily apparent how soft and delectable the crust would be, already imagining the crisp texture as I bit into it.

He stared at me intently for a few seconds before his expression relaxed, sighing as he sat back in the booth. “I hope for both our sakes that’s true. You’re family has always done me good, providing me a good deal on produce to keep this place running” 

I picked up a fork and split open the pasty, the rich scent of rabbit filled my nostrils and I inhaled deeply taking a bite. “As long as you keep selling these wonderful pasties I’d give you anything I could,” I replied, closing my eyes to savor the rich taste of sweet carrots and softened potatoes mixing in with the succulent rabbit.

“Aye, Marissa makes some of the best in the mainland.” He smiled a twinkle in his eye as he looked off towards the kitchen, obviously lost in thought about his wife. 

I gratefully dug into my food while he did and after a few moments, he turned back to me rubbing his chin. “You two are testing today aren’t you?” 

I nodded enthusiastically, trying to swallow too large a bite of food. I grabbed the mug of cider, using the warm, sweet, spiced drink to down the food. “We are, I was going to head over after grabbing food” I managed out after a few breaths.

“Well, I wish the best of luck to both of you then” He said looking over towards where my brother sat before turning back around. “Consider everything on the house today.” 

I choked on the bite of my food for a second “You? Giving away free food?” I replied sarcastically, smiling.

He turned around with a glower “Don’t make me regret it or you’ll pay double next time you come back” He stood up with a laugh, patting my shoulder as he walked by. “Just know we are all rooting for you two, your family is greatly respected with all the help they give everyone and we are all excited to see the men you two will grow into.”

 

***

 

I sat nervously in a row of seats outside the small tower that belonged to the inquisition. While there were not always occupants it was constructed to be used by their members whenever they were passing by the town. There were a little over twenty of us sat in three rows with me being stuck in the middle of the second row. 

My brother had just gone to be tested and I watched intently as a tall man wearing a gray robe with a leather tunic fastened over it came out of the tower, guiding the last kid to enter. He was clutching a sheet of paper in his hands as he ran over to his parents. I practically jumped up as he waved me up and ended up knocking over my seat. Mentally kicking myself, I sat my chair back up before hurrying over to the door face flush in embarrassment. 

The man led me through a narrow hallway and I followed along staring down at the floor. We stopped at a door and he ushered me into a small room with only two tables and a chair. A man sat in the far chair in a similar robe but this one was Dark brown with red and silver stitching and embroidery. 

He looked up as I entered “Hello, Hello please take a seat” While he was not loud his voice carried easily and it was apparent he was used to being listened to.

I sat down nervously and as he turned around and I noticed a chest behind him that he had been blocking from view as I entered. He opened it up and pulled out a thick sheet of paper as well as a pen. Pens were rare enough and I was intrigued by its sleek golden look as he started to write on the paper.  Without looking up, he spoke to me. “You may call me Tyrilad” He paused for a second frowning as he shook the pen lightly. “What is your name?”

“Kaleth ” I answered, doing my best to keep my voice steady but it cracked slightly and I winced. 

He looked up after writing my name down and gave me a friendly smile “Now now, I’m sure you’re nervous but let me assure you that you have nothing to be afraid of. Do you know how to read?” 

I shook my head yes “My mother goes over reading and writing with us every night before bed” 

“Excellent, that will make this much easier for me,” He said as he reached behind him grabbing a small book, it already opened as he reached it over to me “Now; I will need you to read over that top word as I explain to you how all this works, Don’t say it aloud yet.”

I looked down and the page was covered in large blocky text characteristic of a lot of books from the city. Father said the style of text came from the fact that they use large machines called a printing press to make hundreds of copies of books in a short time. Looking down I started to silently sound out the characters in my head. 

“Have you ever used magic before?” As he asked this I looked up and he had drawn two large circles inside one another on the parchment.

“With my mother to help around the farm some” I said, staring at the circle curiously.

“So you have some practice and capabilities,” he muttered, writing more at the top of the page. “Alright, so judging by your expression you don’t know what this means, most don’t, but allow me to explain” He lectured as he moved his chair to sit beside the table and sat down in it, indicating for me to do the same. 

“In magic we have what are called domains, I’ll try to spare you some of the extensive detail but domains are essentially a way of labeling how you use your magic, or where you get it from. Usually people don’t have more than two or three domains but I’ve heard of some people having up to hundreds.”

“How many domains are there?” I asked doing my best to follow along

“Hundreds of thousands, and every day we discover more. However, mind you some are so similar that it is hard if not nearly impossible to tell them apart. Luckily, we have found a way to show the domain someone has access to on paper as long as they open themselves up to someone strong enough to cast the proper incantation.”

“Open themselves up?” I said curiously sitting back down in front of him, the table off to our side.

“Yes, that is the spell I just had you read. For the most part a user of magic can never view another person’s domains without direct permission. As such, that spell allows me to access and view your domains, and use another spell to transfer them onto that paper. Now before we do this I warn you to never recite this spell outside of this to anyone who would ever mean you harm. The spell itself may be harmless but in the wrong hands it could give someone considerable power over you.”

I nodded in understanding, excitement and nervousness both tugging at me as I held onto his every word.

He stared at me intently for a moment before nodding. “Very well, if you’re ready, put your hands in my right hand and speak what you read aloud.”

Taking a couple of deep breaths, I glanced over at the table and put both my hands in his left hand. “Dra’hti menith tor uctos” I gasped as it felt like a chill swept through me. A cold wind travelling through me as though I was not even there. I heard Tyrilad murmur something as he stretched his left hand out towards my chest. As he did, a bright white ball emerged out of me drifting towards him. As it swirled above his hand it seemed to start to slowly unravel and expand, growing larger and larger, until it could take up much of the area in-between the two of us. Slowly it started to take shape into the two circles he had drawn onto the paper, except in-between these two circles it seemed like countless symbols floated around. 

Sweat glistened his face as the circle started to condense. Some of the symbols grew brighter, brighter while others flickered, and some were barely visible. It twisted and he slowly seemed to push the symbols to a halt laying them down into the paper on the table. With a sigh, he sat back down staring over at the table next to him.

 “Well, this is certainly a surprise” he said groaning, whatever he had done obviously took a lot out of him.

I stared wide eyed as I looked at the chaos that now enveloped the paper, it was nearly impossible at this scale to tell them all apart with how densely packed the circle now was. Out of all of them, ten seemed to be much darker than the others were, and two of them were so dark that they started to bleed onto the paper around them like roots off a tree.

After a few minutes of letting his breathing recover, Tyrilad turned around and removed a massive book from the chest. He set it down on the table with a heavy thunk and started to flip it open as his eyes flicked between the book and the parchment. “You seem to hold quite a few surprises,” He muttered, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. 

“Unfortunately for you I won’t be able to explain every domain you have access to without several hours of time which we do not have.” As he kept flicking through the pages of the book, he ran his hand over the two symbols that were bleeding out away from themselves. At first glance it appeared as though the bleeding out was random but now as I looked at it seemed they reached towards the other eight symbols that were also darker than most. 

“As such I will do my best to translate your strongest ten. That being said...” He trailed off writing something down at the bottom of the parchment before gesturing to the darkest two symbols, “I’ve never seen nor heard of these, and I’ll check but I doubt they are contained in this book even” 

I sat silently for several minutes as he flipped through the book at a rapid pace. Only pausing occasionally to write something down at the bottom of the parchment whenever he found symbols that matched. When he finally flipped the last page, he let out a sigh leaning back in his chair as he stared down at me. Reaching into the chest once again, he brought out an ornate cylinder setting it on the table. It was white with elegant gold etchings sprawling across the surface.

“I couldn’t find those two but five of your other eight are in here,” he said gesturing towards the page. “As such I will go ahead and tell you that even having twenty domains or five really strong ones will grant you a scholarship to Xynthia academy. That’s what this is to give to your parents.” He gestured to the cylinder; I realized it must contain paper rolled up inside of it.

Signalling back to the paper, he pointed to the darker eight symbols going from each one as he told me about them. “You have quite the unusual combination of domains with these though. First off, here you have the domain for heat, which is an impressive ability on its own''

“Why’s it so impressive?” I asked, staring intently at the page doing my best to soak up every bit of info about it that I could. 

“Heat, unlike controlling fire or ice, lets you control temperature. By controlling heat, you not only control the presence of heat but also the lack of presence of heat. Meaning, you will be able to cool things down as well as heat them up.” He paused, taking a breath. 

“Next here you have the domain of life, unlike heat however you cannot control the absence of life. That ability resides with those who practice necromancy or un-life.” As he mentioned necromancy, his eyes furrowed a bit but it quickly faded as he kept talking. “This gives you the potential to be an extremely powerful healer especially with this next one,” he said, moving his hand to the next symbol. 

“This is the symbol of nature, also fondly called the domain of the elves due to their prevalence with it. This domain can allow you to communicate with various animals and use the plants around you for various purposes, most use it to help in building but with this strong an attachment to it you could probably be one of the few to learn to use it in defense or attack as well. Finally you have the two domains of air, and control”

He paused hesitating on the last one before continuing on “Air is fairly self-explanatory, strong air magicians can even go so far as to gain the abilities of flight for short durations. Command on the other hand is even rarer than heat. Command is a domain that is odd in how it works, but once you learn how to use it you can gain the ability to influence others.” He trailed off before looking over to face me. “Do you mind if I run one more test?” 

“Of course” I said excitedly, to think I could have access to these kinds of abilities. It felt unreal, how could some small town boy have access to the kind of power that you only hear about in stories. 

He pulled a small cloth bag from his chest and gestured for me to hold out my hand. As I did, he tipped the bag upside down and I felt a small flutter before a green and while egg fell into my cupped hand. I looked at it curiously staring at the swirling patterns coating its surface. 

He watched me intently “now what I need you to do is hold this with both hands and repeat after me”.

I nodded moving to cup it in both hands instead of just one as I followed along with what he was saying. “De’kath tou persuk met terramium” As the last word left my mouth I felt a wrenching in my gut and my vision flashes red. I screamed, as an intense pressure seemed to try to explode out of me, it stretching against my skin threatening to rip me open.

The egg in my hand shook and then cracked before shattering into a fine dust. “I collapsed back against my chair, breathing erratically as the feeling of the pain lingered all over my body. 

Tyrilad looked concerned and waved his hand, a soft soothing sensation travelled slowly from my head down to my feet causing me to shiver as it swept away the pain. He looked confused as he stared at me for a second “I apologize, that should not have had that reaction.” He said softly before handing me a cup of water. 

I gratefully took a small sip and watched as he grabbed the parchment from the table and gingerly rubbed at a corner. To my surprise the corner split as though there were two pieces of paper and he peeled them apart, the bottom an exact duplicate from the top as he stuck one into the chest and the other he handed to me along with the cylinder. 

“I’m afraid we’ve spent too much time on this as is and I’m sure you want to get back to your family.’ He said placing several things back into the chest slowly gesturing towards the door. “Someone will come for you in three days to see if you accept the offer for the scholarship. I do hope we will be seeing each other shortly Kaleth.” 

With that, he ushered me out of the room and down the hallway, closing the door of the tower behind me. It was only then that I realized it was nearing late evening and I had been in the tower for several hours. 

Baste~