"What in the seven suns are you doing?"

My meditation was broken for the second time in as many days. This time I was much happier to see who interrupted me.

A small mousey face popped up outside. Sammy climbed through my window, much the same as he always did. The simple act of him coming in brought me back to a darker time.

Gone was the smile on the small man, instead replaced by a gaunt expression of a dying man. Eyes that were now quick and agile, darting around the room as they always did. Once empty and devoid of hope.

I would do everything I could to change that result for Sammy. He was one of the few who deserved it.

The shell he once was. That was nowhere to be seen. He walked into my room as if he owned the place. He's always moved a bit too quickly. He picked up one of the books lying on my bed.

"Introduction to the 1st Circle. How did you get your hands on this, Ganley."

I slowly got up, stretching my body in the process. This body had not learned to meditate yet.

"My mother got them for me. She wants me to enter the Forpus Academy?"

He laughed at that as he began to leaf through the book.

"She has some sense of humor that woman. I knew she was good for something."

I walked up to him. He had been there for me whenever I needed him, yet he never revealed what was going on behind his closed doors.

"She's serious, Sammy, She wants me to become a mage."

He turned on me, throwing the book on the bed in the same movement.

"She can want a lot of things, doesn't make anyone of us a Mage, don't matter what books you read."

The gentle light I summoned sent him tumbling back over my bed.

"How you doing that, Gan? What's going on?"

I picked up the books he had dropped to the ground. Stacking them once again and moving them out of the way. Not that there was a lot of 'out of the way' in this hovel. I had become an organized person, and I wasn't going to let a simple rebirth change that.

"The books make sense to me, Sammy, it feels like what I was meant to do. Thanks to my mother, I will become a mage."

His stare bored into me for a few brief seconds—his steely gaze proving his reputation on the streets right. The ferret wasn't born out of nothing.

"Well, it looks like I can be a lot cockier on the streets from now on."

His hug grabbed me quickly. His practiced body still a lot faster than this skeletal form.

"You are going to get out of these streets at last. You weren't made for the outer ring Gan."

Sammy and I had grown up together. He had always protected me. Helped me. I moved towards the window, looking out into the slums of the Outer Ring.

"Who's going up against you this week?"

His look of confusion would have got past the old me. He was far too inexperienced an actor to get past the new one.

"Don't play with me, Sammy, I have known about your gang for a long time now. Finally, I can help out."

I was stupid not to realize it in my past life. A gang called the Fanged Ferret. How could I have possibly missed what he was going through?

"Plus, being a mage isn't cheap. I am going to need something to measure up with those noble fucks from the academy."

He grabbed me by the shoulder. Turning me slightly so he could stare into my eyes. After a few seconds, he nodded.

"I can see your point, but how can you help. We have no shortage of apprentice mages. What makes you special."

I pulled up my sleeve, showing the silver runes shifting beneath my clothes. Sammy took some seconds to respond.

"How did you get runic enhancements? Most master mages aren't even capable of that. That must have cost your mother a whole lot."

Keeping a secret was never my strong suit in the past. Any discovery I made, I wanted to spread to everyone who cared. A trait that hindered more than helped.

"I can help out in a few territory fights. Those I can guarantee you will win."

"Okay, Gan, brothers help each other out. That much is true. I can't get you killed, though. I would never forgive myself."

I would have to do a demonstration. Sammy was always more a proof first kind of guy.

"Come on, follow me."

I jumped from the window—his shout trailing behind me as I used mage hands to slow my fall.

His face appearing from the window, eyes lighting up in shock as he stared down at me, waving him down.

That would be a moment I would cherish. I had never managed to surprise Sammy before.

He scaled the wall quickly down to join me. He had nothing to say as I led the way. I was moving through the gaps in the hovels. Going to the Scar was a simple route for me by this point, even though I hadn't been there yet in this life.

"Where are we going?"

"The Scar"

He stopped for a second. My walk continued unabated. He had to jog to catch up a few moments later. He grabbed me by the arm.

"You can't be serious; there is no way you would survive there."

Underground betting arenas were always famous, especially so when mages were battling it out against each other.

"You may want to get us some masks. I don't want to reveal myself too soon."

His gaze was filled with confusion.

"If you don't I will. It will only take a few seconds to make one."

The fact that such a mask would be easily seen through was his only motivation for us to get some. I followed him to one of his local stash houses. A run-down building devoid of any souls.

Taking off one of the floorboards revealed a small hoard of armor and weapons. Sammy was running quite the operation.

The masks he got were of surprisingly high quality as well.

With that, we could make our way to the Scar. Every step of the way, Sammy was trying to convince me to turn around. This would kill two birds with one stone, though.

I could prove to Sammy that I could be a help, however small it was for the moment. I also would start to build a reputation of a talented youngster rising through the ranks.

The mask Sammy had gotten for me was also perfect. A hawk. I couldn't have asked for a better one.

The Hawkrose family, one of the premier noble families in the Capital. Also, the family my mother was married into. My little half-sister being a Hawkrose. I would make both of them proud, that is, until I was strong enough to rip apart the family and give them the life they deserved. We went through twisting turns, making our way through the ruins of both the Slums and the oldtown before we got to our destination. In the shadows of the great wall was a small tavern.

The Gilded Scar was probably one of the most blatant openings to the arena. With their backing, they didn't have to worry about being subtle.

We moved into a side alley along the path. Putting masks on us both before we made our way to an innocuous piece of the wall.

"How do you know where it is?"

Sammy's nervous tone was the only thing breaking the unnatural silence around us. For someone who would happily run the street with an iron fist, he was very nervous going in here.

I knocked on the wall three times. Ignoring his question. It didn't take long for enchantments to race up along the wall, opening up into a dark room.

"How did you do that."

"Magic, now follow me."

The stairs down were cramped and tight. A constant spiral down. Even our light footsteps were echoing heavily around the chamber.

A few minutes later, we breached one of the small enchantments on the stairs. With it, an explosion of noise seemed to rip out from the entranceway. One that was blocked by quite a large Ogre. I hoped he was friendly. I had never met this particular guard before

Walking up with confidence, the Ogre looked me up and down before turning to Sammy, who was a nervous wreck behind me.

"His first time here?"

The gravelly voice nearly sent us reeling. He wasn't beyond playing games with the newbies.

"Yes, can we go in?"

"Sure, you bettin or fightin?"

"I'm fighting, He's betting, can we go in now?"

He nodded before moving around and giving the door three mighty thumps. It opened with a speed and smoothness that was only possible with enchanted doors revealing the scene within.

The noise was the least exciting thing going on.