Sett startled awake from his dream. It was the same one as he almost always had.

It was one of those strange dreams that were creepily realistic. Almost enough to feel as if he was really there. The war, the general and mage father-daughter pair, and the demon. They had all felt real enough that he could reach out and touch them if he tried. Even the horrifying tremors and destruction at the end of the dream could be felt as if he were standing in the middle of an earthquake.

This time, however, Sett awoke to almost exactly the same carnage. For a moment he even considered if he was still asleep. But then he remembered.

Earlier that day Sett would not have thought that anything was different. The spring air was nice and warm. The pleasant winds caressing his skin brought a nice respite, ensuring that he would never get too hot. The sky was devoid of clouds, save from a few small ones that drifted lazily high in the sky.

Sett’s mother had recently departed their secluded home in the forest earlier in the morning as she usually did. If all things went well, she would return early in the afternoon. Though today she had mentioned a client from a nearby town, insinuating that she would only be back in the evening.

Sett, for his part, did not mind her taking extra time working house calls further away. Being a healer was after all a noble charge, even if she was a low-tiered one.

Sett, however, saw through her smoke screen easily. She would no doubt make her normal calls and then head to the local town to buy presents. Tomorrow was Sett’s birthday, after all.

Turning thirteen was considered an enormous occasion and one that was celebrated thoroughly. Although entering puberty did play some part in the celebration, it was not the sole reason behind it. On your thirteenth birthday, you would be brought to either the local magistrate or priest, to check your arcane affinities.

The arcane testing was a huge deal that could determine the rest of your life. It could doom you to a life of peasantry or promote you from the retches of society to the kingdom’s court. In some very rare cases, there were even talks of kidnappings after the arcane testing simply because of the teenager’s results.

Just thinking about the arcane testing sent shivers down Sett’s spine. He trembled in both fright and excitement.

Alas, it was not good to think too much about such things before they actually happened. For today, Sett had other plans.

He would visit the town.

Why? It was because he wanted to make money. He wanted to contribute to the household, knowing that his mother was supporting both of them singlehandedly. He had many friends of his own age who had long since begun to work, yet his mother denied him the same. Thus, he could only do it in secret.

He had departed soon after his mother left in secrecy. She did not mind him visiting the village, which they neighboured, but had staunchly opposed him travelling to the town at all. The town, in her words, was a disgusting place. A place where young children would be gobbled up and swallowed whole.

Sett had barely started his journey on the old and overly used gravel road before he heard the sound of someone running from behind him.

“Sett! Slow down!”

Sett turned around and saw one of his few friends running towards him with a goofy carefree smile and her golden hair waving in the tailwind behind her.

“Good morning, Jess.”

Jess held her hands to her knees.

“Jeez, you really let me down, you know…” Jess looked up at Sett with a questioning gaze from beneath her short golden locks and a small pout. “When I saw you walking towards the village, I thought you were coming to play, but then just passed by. What’s that about?”

Sett had decided to use the road that went from Bright oak village, which was where Jess lived, to the town. Naturally, Sett had passed by the outskirts of the village before he arrived at the road.

“Well, I am heading to Lark.” Sett paused and scratched his head. “You know… to deposit some mana.”

“You’re still going to that creepy place to let them drain your mana, just to gain some lousy copper coins?”

“Yes…”

Jess lightly struck Sett squarely on his shoulder with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

“You could’ve just told me, and I would’ve gone with you, you know. Oh well, guess I had nothing better to do today.”

Sett lightly massaged his shoulder.

“You are going with me?”

“Duh. Do you think I’d let you meet with that creepy old geezer alone? Your mother would tear me to shreds if she knew!”

“What about your parents? Are they not going to be confused when you do not return?”

“Nah. Told them I was going to play with you. They won’t ask for me for many hours.”

“Well alright then. You can tack along.”

“Great!” Jess had already skipped ahead of Sett before she heard the answer. “Do you think old Dorians is open today? I really want some of his sweets!”

Listening to his childhood friend, Sett could almost not hold back a smile from forming. He tried to keep a serious mood as he was the most senior of the two, albeit by only two weeks, and because the situation demanded it. That said, he soon found himself joining her in her vivid talks of extraordinary sweets.

The walk to Lark was not long nor short. Bright Oak village was one of ten different villages that existed under the umbrella of Lark. Bright Oak Village was the third closest to Lark, only being a good forty minutes of brisk walking away. Though if they were connected to the main road, like many of the others, they would undoubtedly arrive with far fewer blisters.

The traveling companions, however, did not mind the walk. They were born and bred in the village and were more than used to working physically.

The walk would never be a simple one when Jess was there. One moment, the more unruly of the pair, would challenge Sett to a quick race. The next, she would sprint off to look for a spectacular flower she had spotted, almost dragging Sett with her in the dirt.

Altogether Jess’s antics, which numbered in the twenties by the time they arrived at the town gates, added some fifteen minutes to their journey. Not that Sett cared. The walk to the town was bound to be boring, but with a friend such as Jess, there was never a dull moment.

Lark was the largest settlement Sett and Jess had ever been to and the only town they had ever seen. Compared to the scrawny wooden fences that surrounded Bright Oak Village, the wooden walls of Lark looked mightily impressive.

Sett had been here over ten times, but he was still mightily impressed each time he arrived. The flood of people entering the city, the yell of people trying to communicate over the large spectacle, and the guardsmen who stood with their spears in hand overlooking the flow of people.

He could still remember his bewilderment when his mother told him that Lark was an incredibly small rural town that could not even compare to cities.

“Woah there, Kiddos!” A rather large guardsman grandly exclaimed before the travelling pair. “Where’s ye parents? Did ye get lost in the crowd? Hmmm…”

The rough-looking guardsman lightly crouched down and looked closely at the two children in an exaggerated manner.

“Jack! Stop bothering the kids and get back to checking those crates!”

Another guardsman, this one wearing a slightly more decorated set of armour, arrived to tell off the other guardsman.

“Aww… Fine”

The first guardsman, Jack, sauntered back to where he came from before the pair could get a word in, but not before flashing them a bright smile.

“Jess, Sett. Haven’t seen the two of you in a long time.” The second guardsman ruffled the pair's hair. “What is your business in our fair town today?”

“Good morning, Daniel. You know… It is the usual.”

Sett answered for them both. Which was necessary as Jess was still halfway giggling from Jack’s failed comedy.

“I see, you two be careful.” Daniel waved them in. “And remember not to cause any trouble, alright?”

“Sure thing.” The pair lightly hugged Daniel from both sides before they left him. “See you around, Daniel. And you too, Jack!”

Jack for his part was halfway stuck in a crate and simply waved at them as they left.

Their overly familiar behaviour was not without reason. Daniel and Jack were originally residents of Bright Oak Village. As middle children, there was little for them to inherit and they had to leave to find work elsewhere. They had both left the village on their eighteenth birthday. With Daniel leaving five years ago and Jack joining him three years later.

As they entered the town proper, the traveling pair found themselves smiling grandly. It was not every day they met some of the people they loved and looked up to so far away from home.

The pair’s eyes immediately glazed over with excitement. All the new stimulations assaulted them from all sides.

Although the village was a great place to live in, it did not offer anywhere near the same number of experiences as the city did. The village might be homely and filled with people you love, but you could find new things daily in the city. Be it the constant influx of merchants and adventures, who could tell great stories from afar, or the local entertainers who could be found on the street corners, there was no comparison.

For two inexperienced children from the country, this was the best.

After a few moments of staring with wanting eyes at the different stands, Sett pulled himself together. He expertly reached his hand out towards the scuff of Jess’s dress only a moment after she dazedly walked towards the nearby candy merchant.

“Hey!”

“Do not hey me.” Sett scolded the pouting girl who got caught before she could escape. “You know what we are here for. Also, how were you going to pay? You do not think that Mister Sulli will give you a free treat again, right?”

Sett hit the nail on the head. Between the pair, none of them carried money. They were peasants, after all. They mainly bartered goods and what little amount of money they had, were in the hands of their parents. Even if the stuff the candy merchant sold was made from preserved fruits and was a far cry from proper sugar candy, it was nonetheless not something that would be given away.

“But you promised…”

“I did, huh…” Sett scratched his head. He really did not like having to act like a grown-up especially considering that he too had a considerable sweet tooth. “Fine, we will get it after we have gone and deposited our mana.”

“Yay!”

Seeing the girl run ahead of him with unprecedented energy, Sett could only shake his head.

They quickly passed down the main street where one could find most businesses, ignoring all the tempting stores in their wake. Soon, they found a side street and headed down it.

This side street was Lark’s industrial district.

Only a few years ago you would only find the smithy and some other small craft stores. Yet three years ago, the place was massively expanded with one colossal building.

Sett and Jess stood before that colossal building.

“THYRIA ROYAL MAGI CRAFT COMPANY.”

It grandly announced its own presence with bold golden letters on the board above the entrance.

The two children timidly entered the open doors.

“Hello. What can I help you with?”

The moment the pair entered the building a cold voice addressed them. The woman who spoke to them was dressed in a fancy business dress yet seemed like life had been sucked out of her. The lifeless secretary was one of the many reasons why many locals avoided the place like the plague.

“We are here to deposit mana.”

Sett replied, tightly gripping Jess’s hand in unease.

“Understood.”

The receptionist lightly pressed on a small button and returned to whatever she was doing before the pair arrived.

“Oh… It’s the two of you again? Great! Great! You children sure know how to pick your timing. Come along! Come along!”

The old man ushered them further inside the massive complex with almost manic motions. The eccentric old Dr. Cardric. The owner of the branch company and the primary reason why Jess was apprehensive about depositing the mana.

“With your mana, I should be able to perfect it! Yes, it will be perfect… it has to be!”

The old man rambled on as they walked. Sett and Jess had long since learned it would be useless to interrupt the man in his ramblings.

“With this, they will see that I was right. The grandmaster will surely see the folly in sending me to this godforsaken place! Yes! They will treat me right! With the respect that I deserve! I am sure of it!”

Soon, they arrived in a large open field. The entire area was shrouded in a thin white fog. In the centre of the field was a large contraption. A so-called magi tech device. Even with their untrained eyes, they could see the unrestrained and shimmering energy on the device’s surface.

“Good. Good. We will fill the container up with both your mana pools at the same time. You sit. You come over here.”

Dr. Cardric pointed alternatively between the two children and made each of them sit in a wired chair separated by the massive field.

“Good. Now just let the mana flow…”

Dr. Cardric pulled a lever by the side of the machine and Sett felt his mana drain from the small wires on the backrest. Mana draining was not a particularly unpleasant process, but it took a lot of time.

As time passed, Sett felt stranger and stranger, but not because of mana fatigue. It did not take long before he found the source of his unease. The machine was acting strangely. Very strangely

It was clear for all to see that it was out of control.