The day had finally come, Judgment Day. The day where my sister would have her aptitude to magic tested. In my mind, the day should be Testing Day. Judgment Day just sounds so foreboding, like an execution sentence is about to be passed. But then, I’m not the one who makes the big bucks so I don’t get to decide this stuff. If I ever get the chance to change the name I will without a second thought. Regardless, the day had come and preparations were well underway for the event.

Servants rushed back and forth, carrying chairs and small tables outside as the day was looking to be a nice one. The sun was shining, the birds singing, and Lakka was sitting in the gazebo with Mytti and so nervous that she shook like a heroin addict without their fix. Were I an evil monster of a brother, I’d sneak up on her and make a loud noise. But because I’m such a good brother, I only considered it. With a spring in my step, I approached my sisters.

“Mornin’ Mytti. Mornin’ Birthday girl.” I greeted as I sat beside Lakka and ruffled her black hair. “Nervous I see.” She nodded rapidly in response.

“Scared.” She stated simply.

“I keep telling her that its nothing bad. An Enchanter and a Priest come with an orb that you hold on to for a few minutes. If you have an aptitude for magic its supposed to change color. If not, it stays dark.” Mytti explained as she gestured with her hands like she was holding the orb.

“Daen should go first.” Lakka whined.

“Yeah, let’s switch birthdays. Worry not sis, I will save you from being first!” I rose to my feet and placed my hand over my heart in a mock vow. A light slap on the arm and a giggle were my rewards.

Mytti merely rolled her eyes. “You two are two peas in a pod. Hopefully one of you has the gift. Though I hope Lakka has it instead of you Daen. Your head is already too big for your shoulders.” She grinned. All eyes were truly on Lakka and I as the other three children didn’t have the gift. I read that the gift itself was rare as well, only manifesting in one child out of hundreds. We shared a grin as the call for breakfast rung out.

“Food!” I shouted and led the charge into the mansion. Together, the family sat at the large dining room table with our heads bowed.

“By the Five we so live, they steel our hearts and minds to face whatever may come. Through times dark and light may we be forever grateful for their guidance. May our child be blessed this day. Praise be.” My father led the prayer.

“Praise be.” We echoed and began to eat. Breakfast was light today, only consisting of eggs and a side of ham. We had to save room for today was going to be a big party full of food and drink with many guests arriving to celebrate.

“So Lakka. How are you? Nervous?” My father asked as he ate a slice of ham.

“I was. I still am. But Daen helped a bit.” She said with a smile. “But I’m also so excited I can barely think.” My father smirked and nodded.

“What about you Daen? Your Judgment will be next week after all.” I tapped my chin thoughtfully then shrugged,

“Eh, whatever happens, happens. No point worrying about it until its time to.” I stated simply and took a bite of egg. At this Grashel laughed. He had become close to the family over the years he had been training Kelmon. These days he shared our family meal with us. Breidda did as well, but not today. Today she was ruling the servants with an iron fist to make sure preparations were well underway.

“Boy’s got a point. Too much worryin’ is bad fer ya.” Grashel stated as he took a bite of food. Myril then cleared her throat.

“Theres a time and place for everything, even worry. Not worrying enough is also detrimental.”

“Though its true he doesn’t have to worry much right now,” My mother butted in, “Since even if he does have a gift, he doesn’t leave the home until he turns eight to go to the college.”

Thanks to the one of the books I had read, I learned a bit about the College of Enchanters. Which, obviously, was a school dedicated to teaching those with a gift to harness and use their powers. Mostly in some form of offensive powers so that the country would continue to be the strongest force on this continent. Though I don’t enjoy the thought of becoming a weapon for the country, I did like the idea of shooting fireballs.

“We’ll find out next week!” I exclaimed with a smile as I finished off my eggs. Good family, good food, good life.

“That we will.” My father nodded in agreement.

I waited at the table for the rest of the family to finish breakfast as was proper in this household. Us children passed the time by making smalltalk such as our hopes and dreams. Kelmon’s dream was to become a high ranked officer in the Dominion’s armies. I could definitely see him doing well there, he had the qualities that would make a grand officer. Mytti’s dream was quite simple, she wanted to marry a man she loved and have a family of her own. The women at the table said “Awww” while Jeral and I said “Blech”.

Jeral on the other hand, dreamed of becoming a famous adventurer that would explore the uncharted wilderness. Scale the highest mountains and find forgotten treasures told about only in stories. Father rolled his eyes at this and I joined him. That wasn’t going to happen. Sorry Jeral, but it was true. As for Lakka she immediately said she wanted to be an Enchanter. Nobody wanted to tell her that her chances were pretty slim, but we’d know if she’d be able to follow her dream later today.

As for me…I didn’t really have a dream other than wanting to visit other countries and learn what I could about them. My mother called me her little academic which was true. If I wasn’t running around I was reading in the library. I had joined Grashel one morning as he jogged around the estate’s walls for morning exercise. Though I could only manage to do two laps before I became winded, he could do six. The man truly was a beast but he also gave me a goal to shoot for. If he could do it, so could I.

After breakfast was finished Lakka and I went back outside to sit in the gazebo and watch the guests arrive. She didn’t speak much so I always had to be the one to initiate conversation.

“So why was six afraid of seven?” I asked, which caused her to look at me in confusion.

“Why would six be afraid of seven? They’re just numbers.”

“No, no. You have to guess why you think six is afraid of seven.”

“Oh.” A few moments passed as she scrunched her face in thought. “Because the number is higher?”

“Because seven ate nine.” She stared at me. “You know, ate like eating sounds like eight the number. So seven ate nine!” Her eyes widened as she finally understood the joke. Bless her soul.

“Alright I got another joke for ya. What do you call a cheese that isn’t yours?”

“Hmmm. Not yet purchased cheese?”

“Nacho cheese!” Yet another blank stare. “It’d make sense if this world had nachos.” I grumbled silently.

It wasn’t long until the first guests arrived. High class lords and ladies were a common sight walking past the gate in their well-tailored clothing. Honestly, I wasn’t too interested in them so I stayed in the gazebo. A group of musicians was next to arrive and they immediately set up inside the gazebo so I got a front row seat to their performance. I don’t care who you are, violins are an amazing instrument and the sounds they make are out of this world.

Though my favorite would always be the saxophone. Mostly because I’m biased and played it when I was in the middle school band a lifetime ago.

It wasn’t long until the guests I had been looking for arrived. I had grown close to the man who ran the one food stall I stood at in the market. Every time we would visit town I’d make some excuse to help him out while my family shopped. After my family left me in his care I had begun putting my plans into action. First I had to explain to him that he needed a catchy name for his stall to draw attention. He was skeptical, obviously. So I told him to wait until next time I was around to show him what I meant. I had drawn up a sign for his stall using paints and a piece of wood. Thus, the next time we visited, Little Shopkeep Produce was born. It wasn’t long until the man, whose name was Nemmel Tindolst, brought his daughter Ilsha, who was a year older than I, to help.

Like her father, she had reddish-brown hair. As for looks, nothing about her really stood out. She was, for lack of a better term, rather plain. But then, who was I to judge? I considered myself to be quite plain as well. When I first met her, she was very shy, so she just stood behind her father mostly. But over time she began to help out at the stall. Using ourselves as mascots, we had the illusion of professionalism on our side.

And people are always drawn to professionals.

Business boomed while he did business. Always selling far more than he ever had before. Before my family came and got me to go home, Nemmel would give us a large bag of his best produce. He would always bow and give his thanks for help with his shop. Before long I had suggested to my mother that we invite the man and his family to our Judgment celebrations this month. She seemed hesitant at first, but conceded to my puppy dog eyes. The man was overwhelmed that we would invite a lowly farmer like him to our estate. But in the end, he accepted and said he would bring along his wife and daughter.

And now they were here! Perfect. It looked like they had bought some higher class clothing than they were normally used to. His daughter in particular was very pleased. Probably was pretending to be a princess. I approached the family and we exchanged greetings. They acted quite out of place at our mansion, so I brought them to a table close to the gazebo where the band was playing. This way they could enjoy the music while attempting to blend in.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a party like this before…” Nemmel said while looking around.

“Its certainly…” His wife, Pattelia began before thanking a servant who had brought us some drinks. “Certainly a high class event. Thank you for inviting us.” She then bowed her head to me.

“I look out for those who look out for me. Mr. Tindolst helped me when I had been separated from my family. So in turn, I help him out.” Nemmel smiled sheepishly and scratched his head, while Pattelia smiled,

“I see he wasn’t exaggerating when he said you were quite well-spoken for a five year old.”

“I’ve always been told I’m advanced for my age.” I shrugged, “I just think its all the books I read, its like I’ve got a lifetime of experience behind me.” The two parents chuckled while their daughter had her eyes glued to the band playing their instruments. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go speak with my family. Don’t be afraid to call over one of the workers if you need anything.” I bowed lightly to them and walked off. As I left them I could hear bits of their conversation. Then Pattelia dropped a bomb by saying something about marriage. Their daughter squeaked out loud with her hair flying left and right as she shook her head.

Sorry friends, but I had no plans for getting hitched at this point in my life.

As I walked towards the mansion I caught sight of my father heading towards the gate. Curious, I turned my head to see two robed people enter our property. One was a female with long golden hair and a kindly face that seemed to have a smile plastered to it. She wore red robes with a golden trim. The same colors worn by my father when he left the house to go to some nobility meetings. Guess they liked to color coordinate. But what really caught my eye was the wooden staff the woman used as a walking stick. If I knew my fantasy, that was a mage’s staff. With it, she could weave powers unimaginable. Awesome!

The man however, wore pure white robes with the golden symbol of the five pointed star. His face was quite rotund, but not fat. He looked naturally rounded. As for hair, well, he had none. I could tell that he was a priest of the Five. Interesting, I hadn’t been able to read much about the religion of the Five but here was a source of knowledge himself. I’d be sure to pick the man’s brain later, as is my custom. Its also my right as a child, the ability to ask endless questions is one reserved no matter what world you’re on. And boy did I have questions.

I really wanted to rush over and unleash my barrage of questions, but I was part nobility myself. So I had to take purposeful, measured steps. Which were taken rapidly. When I reached the pair that my father was speaking with I waited for them to stop their conversation.

“So we’ll be testing Lakka in a few minutes.” The priest spoke as the woman and my father nodded.

“That is fine, its almost noon after all.” My father nodded.

“Indeed, we’ll finish this quickly so you can get on with-” The woman paused as she noticed my presence, “Oh my is this little Daen?”

“Yes it is.” My father nodded, “Go ahead and introduce yourself son.”

“Greetings,” I bowed, “ I am Daen Faltelo. Pleased to meet you.” My father nodded with a smile at my introduction. My second mother had drilled etiquette into me for the past two months. Looks like my father believed that they had payed off. Time to sunder his expectations, I had questions.

“Is that your staff? Does it help with your spells Miss Mage? What kind of magic can you use?” With a sigh my father shook his head.

“Apologies, sometimes Daen is very inquisitive.” The priest and mage both chuckled.

“Its not a problem Sir Faltelo.” The woman spoke, “I can use most magics, but I am best in the Earth school of spells. And no, my staff is merely a walking stick. I have never heard of an object to increase magical power. Quite the imagination you have there young master.”

No magic staves? Lame. As I opened my mouth to ask more questions my father put a hand upon my head.

“More questions later Daen. I’m sure our guests would enjoy a drink and a moment of rest before we test Lakka.” Reluctantly, I nodded my head and left the group to hang out with Jeral. It wasn’t long until I found him walking around the gardens with a group of boys around his age that I recognized. This was Jeral’s so-called Band of Adventurers, boys from the town that he would walk around the surrounding wilderness with. Accompanied by guards of course. There were wild beasts in the surrounding countryside after all. I joined up with the group and began to converse.

After a bit of wandering around and talking about imaginary adventures, it was time for the testing. The call for assembly had been shouted. And so we gathered in a large circle of people to watch Lakka’s Judgment. I, as a member of the family, got to stand closest to Lakka with a clear view of her, the priest, the mage, and the crystalline orb that the priest held. The orb was currently dark as the priest had no aptitude with magic. Lakka was nervous, visibly so. But with her head held high she reached out and grasped the orb held before her.

For a time, nobody made a sound. It was like we were all frozen in time as Lakka held the orb with her eyes shut. Moments passed until the orb began to change. From darkness a small green light began to form within the core. Gasps were heard throughout the crowd and mine was also among them. Tentatively, Lakka opened her eyes and stared at the orb that was lightly glowing.

“Yeaaaahhhhhh!” Grashel had his fist raised high in the air and led the crowd in a loud cheer that made my ears ring. But I joined in, adding my voice to the cacophony. With tears in her eyes, Lakka held the orb high which only made the crowd cheer even louder. The priest had his hand held out to receive the orb back, which Lakka gave.

“Congratulations, Lakka Faltelo. You have the gift.” He spoke reverently

“Allow me to be the first to welcome you into the ranks of Enchanters.” The mage bowed her head. “May you learn much at the College when you enroll.”

“Th-thank you!” My sister bowed to both the priest and the mage. She then turned to me with the biggest smile I had ever seen her have. I gave her a grin back and a thumbs-up.

My sister was going to become a mage.

From that moment, the party began in earnest.