The sun was dipping below the horizon, long shadows sprawling across the ground. I gathered up my tools and wiped the sweat from my brow before heading to the shed to put them away.

I opened the door, noticing no one locked it, as usual. I propped the tools up against the wall in their proper places and placed the watering can next to the table before turning to leave.

Greeted by the setting sun, I put my hand up to shield my eyes. I stood there gazing out across the field, filled with a sense of pride at a job well done. It’s coming along nicely, I thought to myself. We should have a good harvest this year with enough to store away to get us through the winter.

I took a deep breath.

It would be dark soon, but I always love watching the sunset. Even way out here, there are a lot of beautiful things to see. This town had its charms, unlike the city where you can’t see the sunset like this because of all the buildings.

I basked in the sun’s glow while absorbing its warmth. I always felt at ease after a long day.

As I stood there, my hand emitted a faint golden glow, radiating from my palm. I examined it with caution, holding my hand away from me, afraid that something bad might happen.

It seemed to react to the sun.

“Hono? Uhh… wha… what’s going on with your hand?”

I didn’t even hear her walk up beside me, and to be honest, it startled me. If I were a lesser man, I might have squealed like a girl.

“O-oh, u-uh, welllll. That’s kinda hard to explain, Siyuri.” I said. When did you even get here?"

“Don’t try to change the subject. You always do that when you don’t wanna answer something.”

“I’m not trying to change the subject. I just can’t explain it.” I pleaded.

“Does it have anything to do with what happened?’

“I don’t know much, but yeah, I think it has something to do with what happened. Whatever it is, I can’t control it and Gramps won’t talk about it.”

“I see....” She flashed me another smile. “At the very least, I don’t think it’s anything to be afraid of. After all, you're not a bad guy…. are you?” she said.

“I don’t know yet, I might be…..” I said playfully

I can’t get enough of her smile. Other than my mom, I’ve never seen one so kind and genuine. The kind of smile that makes you want to hug them.

“Wha.. wha.. whaaaaat are you doing? Get off me, stupid!”

She pushed me away, pouting and blushing at the same time.

“What has gotten into you, Hono? You’re acting weird today.” She said, her head turned to the side, still blushing.

“I mean, it’s not like I mind, but you gotta let a girl know when you're gonna do things like that.”

“Alright, alright I’m sorry,” I said with a grin. “I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

“See ya tomorrow.” She said with a concerned expression on her face.

I shoved my hand in my pocket so that no one else would see. I ignored it for the time being. The warning gramps gave me all those years ago springing to mind. Even though Siyuri has seen it now.

I head for the house with haste, scared that someone else might discover my secret if I stick around for too long. I dash across the field, trying to avoid stepping on the plants. The house was a short distance away. Full speed, it only took me a few minutes to get there.

I slowed down as I neared the house. Climbing the porch steps, I turn and take a seat at the top, still hesitant to remove my hand from my pocket. I can’t let gramps see this either. I look down and drag my hand out, glancing around to make sure no one else was around.

My hand was about halfway out when I noticed the color had changed from a golden glow to a black mist that enveloped it. Even more concerned now, I watched the black mist swirling around my hand.

Lost in thought, I failed to hear the footsteps of gramps coming to the door.

Just as I was trying to put my hand back into my pocket, Gramps swung the door open, grabbed me by the collar, and drag me into the house, slamming the door behind him.

“Hono, did anybody see you?” His back was against the door, breathing heavily.

Unsure of what to say, I took a moment to gather my thoughts so that I could give a proper response. I was sure no one saw me since there wasn’t anyone around, but I understood the gravity of the situation and kept in mind what happened the last time.

“I looked around, so I’m pretty sure no one saw me.”

I looked up at him to see the fear in his eyes dissolve into concern, his features softening as he looked at me. I could see the age on his sullen features. Ever since the passing of my parents, he’s had a sad look about him, in stark contrast to the laughing, cheerful gramps I knew as a child.

Everyone around me seemed so radiant and full of life in those days. It would seem that my life wasn’t the only one affected. Of course, I knew that all along I just never gave it much thought till just now. I never claimed to be a selfless person.

“Just promise me you will be careful. I know tomorrow is your birthday and you’re eager to know, but you must exercise caution, Hono. Even after tomorrow, you must be wary of anyone and everyone you expose yourself to. This world is not so forgiving. There are a lot of self-serving people in this world.”

“I understand Gramps. I honestly didn’t do it on purpose. I was putting the tools away, and it just started doing it on its own.”

Gramps looked at me, unsure of what to say. I was hoping he would tell me what was causing this. He obviously knew something.

“Look, Hono, this isn’t really something that I can explain with a quick explanation, but I can see you’re worried so I’ll give you something to think about.” He said.

There were a lot of possibilities, and all of them stemmed from magic. What kind of magic was the real question?

“Our family is a guardian of sorts. For generations, our ancestors have been the bearers of the Arcanists’ living will as well as his magic and you are the first inheritor that was chosen in over 300 years. I can’t say any more than this.”

With those words, he moved to help me up, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet.

Not knowing what to say, I focused my eyes on the floor at my feet. When I looked up at gramps this time, he wore a broad smile on his face as he looked at me. Grabbing me by the shoulders, gramps pulled me in close and hugged me. Surprised by this, tears welled up in my eyes, but I fought them back. After a moment of silent embrace, gramps pushed me back, still smiling, my heart aching even more at the compassion I felt from him. He is the only family I have left.

I was happy he finally gave me some kind of explanation, but it only brought more questions. I didn’t know what to think about this Arcanist and living will and all that. I don’t know what any of that is supposed to mean, but this magic that I’m supposed to be the inheritor of, what kind of magic is it?

“Alllllright, I think it’s time for dinner wouldn’t you say!” Gramps said to me, seeming to not want to acknowledge the bomb he just dropped on me.

I couldn’t make sense of anything Gramps told me and I knew it was useless to pry, but more than anything, I wanted to know about this magic.

“Sure, I’ll go get things started. Any requests?” I asked.

“I’m sure anything you come up with will be fine,” He replied.

“Alright, I’ll call for you when it’s ready, gramps, so just go relax and I’ll get things taken care of.”

We parted ways, gramps returning to his room and me making way to the kitchen to decide what we would have for dinner tonight.

I open the pantry door and scan the shelves for anything appetizing, but all I came up with was a can of beans and an old can of tomato paste. Seemed like I was going to have to be creative with dinner tonight. Maybe use some fresh veggies from the garden I brought home yesterday after work.

If I had to, I could get Siyuri over here to cook. She was a far better cook than me, and I guess I enjoyed having her around too.

I closed the pantry door and poked my head into the freezer, but as usual, it was empty. Turning my attention to the fridge, I pulled out some carrots, cabbage, a few potatoes, and one celery stalk. Placing the items on the counter, I grabbed the cutting board and began chopping up the veggies. I figured a nice hearty stew would hit the spot.

I grabbed a pot for the stew and a pack of instant stew mix from the cabinet. I scraped the veggies off the cutting board into a bowl and added the mix and a few cups of water to the pot. Before turning the burner to medium and placing the lid on top.

After a few minutes of letting the stew mix boil, I added in the veggies, then placed the lid back on top, and set the timer for twenty minutes.

“Graaamps, I’m making stew for dinner. It’ll be done in about twenty minutes!” I yelled down the hallway.

“Alright, I’ll come to help you set the table while you finish cooking.”

I gathered everything gramps would need from the cabinet to set the table and placed it on the edge of the counter. A few minutes later, he came strolling down the hall into the kitchen.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I took the stew off the cooktop and placed it on a potholder in the center of the table. We both took our seats and dug in.

“You never cease to surprise me with how good of a cook you are, Hono. To take simple ingredients and make something I didn’t expect, taste this good.”

“I think it speaks more to the quality of the ingredients than the quality of my cooking Gramps.”

“That could be too. You really are too modest for your age, Hono.”

He said that with a smile on his face, as if he were proud of me. I couldn’t help but smile back.

We ate the entire pot of stew while we talked and laughed. During moments like this, it was easy to forget the past. We had very few moments like this anymore, so I tried to enjoy them as much as I could.

“Well, what are you thinking of making for dinner tomorrow? Since it’s your birthday and all.”

“I was thinking I might try to get a few cuts of pork from that old man down the road. He caught a wild boar the other day, and he’s selling a few cuts for 150 rol each. I think they are about to go bad soon, so ill have to snatch it up tomorrow.”

“Eh, scratch that. I’ll give you some money. I also have a list of items I want you to get for me from the store. I figured since it was your birthday tomorrow, we would have a splendid dinner to celebrate. I haven’t looked but I’m sure we are running pretty lean. Grab some stuff to make something good, maybe some steaks, hmm? There should be enough money to get what you need besides the stuff on the list.”

I just nodded in agreement. My mouth was already watering just thinking of all the food I could make.

We finished our meal while having a few laughs. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this happy. Not that I’ve been upset or anything, just indifferent, going through the motions like normal.

During times like these, it really was easy to forget…..

I cleaned up the table, putting our dishes in the sink to be washed. Gramps seemed happy as well. I haven’t seen him smile this much in a long time. I finished up the cleaning while he just relaxed at the table. Just as I finished the last dish and put it in the drainer, Gramps got up from the table and handed me the list and a coin purse with a large sum of money in it. Way more than I would need for this little expedition. I stuffed the list and money into my pocket.

“Let me finish up in here and I’ll head to the store.” My mind swimming with food ideas.

I walked to the front door, put on my shoes, opened the door, and stepped out. A light breeze of night air whisking past me. It felt rather cool on my skin.

It was usually pretty dark out by this time, with a few porch lights dotting the side of the road on my way to the store. Most everyone was already settling in for the night, all of us tired from toiling in the fields all day. The store wasn’t all that far, maybe 2 blocks from my house, but it was still an adventure considering we didn’t have street lights.

As I rounded the corner to the store, I could see a light in the far distance, more of a faint glow if I had to describe it better. It was the Capitol. Even from way out here, the glow of the city lights, while faint, was visible.

I dreamed of going there one day and seeing what the other half lived like. Maybe make a place for myself there, hell maybe I’ll strike it big and become famous. A faint smile came to my face, dreaming the dreams of children. But I still had hope.

Even Corinthin couldn’t hold a candle to the Capitol.

Coming up to the front of the store, my eyes could no longer see the faint glow of the capital, they were instead filled with the flickering blue light of the Mini Mart sign on the front of the store.

Opening the door, a faint bell rang to let the attendant know there was a customer. The place was empty except for me. The attendant was propped up on the counter, not paying me any mind.

I began gathering the items on the list first. The list instructed me to get healing powder, a minor portion of healing (mostly used for pain relief but doesn’t heal wounds like healing powder), a core stone, and a small core holder for the stone.

I thought it odd for gramps to need the core stone and holder, but healing powder and minor potion I could understand considering his age. I never knew what gramps was up to, but this also wasn’t the first time he had sent to the store to gather a collection of odd items.

After grabbing the small core stone holder and placing it in the basket, I turned my thoughts to what I wanted to get for dinner tomorrow. I knew I wanted to make a dish that contained rice, so I figure, what goes better with rice than a spicy curry? So curry it was.

I gathered all the ingredients to make spicy curry and placed my basket on the counter to check out. The attendant absentmindedly scanned the items, completely uninterested in making eye contact or even small talk, but that suited me fine. I preferred not to talk, being as awkward as I was when trying to talk to other people.

My mind wandered to the Capitol again as the beep of each item lulled me further into my thoughts. One day I will go to the Capitol and be the top-ranked adventurer. I thought to myself, smirking like an idiot when I heard the attendant trying to get my attention.

“Sir... Sir that’ll be 615 rol,” the attendant said, snapping me out of my daydream, still looking at me with the same disinterested look.

I took the coin purse from my pocket and fished out two 500 rol coins, not even making a dent in the money it contained. Why did gramps give me so much? I thought to myself, still confused.

“Keep the change,” I told the attendant. This time, his face lit up as he placed the change in his pocket. He gave me a faint smile and waved me off as I exited the store.

“Come again.” I hear him yell as the door clanged behind me.

The breeze had more chill to it this time when compared to leaving the house, it sent a shiver up my spine. Something in the air made me feel uneasy, a bad feeling was developing deep in the pit of my stomach. My senses were telling me to run, run as fast as I can, run home in haste.

So I took off full speed down the road toward the house, faster and faster, dropping the groceries along the way. I couldn’t understand this feeling that was propelling me forward. My feet just kept moving.

I could have never expected to see my home in flames as I rounded the corner onto my street. The fire raged as if it were howling at the moon that hung low in the night sky. Fear had gripped me.

What in the hell is going on?"

I fell to my knees as panic set in, arriving at the edge of the yard. I screamed for help, but no one came. I was being ignored as I saw my neighbors one by one turn off their lights, leaving me surrounded by darkness, the only source of light coming from the raging fire consuming my home.