Chapter 1

Riverside. A typical rural community seated on the banks of the river Kalde. Fifty souls live here, all of whom make their way through life by farming. It is a tranquil place, recognized only in the greater world as a small military posting. Yet, it is in this quiet hamlet, where a journey begins. The journey of a young man, leaving his serene home of eight years for the world beyond, where something one could only imagine in their wildest fantasies stirs...

A rooster's crow announced the break of dawn to Riverside's residents. As they woke up from another dreamy, starry night, the Miller household had already started their day. Upstairs, the nineteen-year-old Victor prepared for his departure. The big day had come at last, the step into a new life. A life that he hoped would bring a better future for himself, his mother Elizabeth, and his little sister Charlotte. He will join the Civil Defense guild in Ravens Hill, the city only an hour's carriage ride away from Riverside.

"Victor?" his mother called out, "Make sure you have everything you need, dear!"

"Yes, mother!" he replied, as he rummaged through his backpack to double check: Spare clothing, a bag of imperial ducats, some food and drink for on the way, amulet, everything appeared in order. Victor slung the bag behind his back, and gave a last glance around his room, before he stepped out for the final time.

Downstairs, the family got together one last time, to bid Victor goodbye. "Farewell, mother. Goodbye, Charlotte. I'll miss you both." Victor said in a somber tone. The realization hadn’t truly set in until now: he was actually leaving them behind.

"We will miss you so much too, dear," his mother replied, giving him a hug. "Remember to stay out of trouble, sweetheart."

Victor let out a sigh. "Yes mother, I won’t get into trouble, as I’ve said ten times already," he replied. His mother had a knack for giving him advice he already knew. She was usually a worrisome person, but even more so today than normal.

"Big brother!" Victor's little sister exclaimed, as she ran up to him with mist in her eyes. "When will you come back?"

Victor kneeled down to her level, and gave the most reassuring face he could muster; the last thing he wanted to do was to let his little sister down. "I can't say when, but I hope to return to see you both as soon as possible," Victor said, as he stuck a foot out the door.

"Bye, big brother!" Charlotte said.

"Farewell, son!" mother followed.

Victor waved to his mother and sister, who waved back at him until they were out his sight. He summoned his courage with a deep nasal breath, and trotted onwards over the dirt paths connecting the village. The skies were empty, save for the morning sun shining rays of light onto the up and about village. Farmers worked their fields, and the soldiers loafed around as usual at their guard tower playing games with one another, a stretch of grass separating them and their stone tower from Riverside proper.

After a short walk, Victor reached the village edge. The farmlands abruptly turned to a hilly forest, the dirt road running onwards within. The carriage that traveled back and forth between Riverside and Ravens Hill was perched on the road, ready to take off at a moments notice. Victor hailed the coachman, and got onboard. "We will be leaving in ten minutes," the coachman said. Victor nodded in return, and placed his bag on the floor of the carriage.

During the wait, one of the soldiers of the garrison got onboard, and sat opposite of Victor in the carriage. Oh, great. Just who I didn't need to see, and today of all days. Ugh, why is he even here? Doesn't he have someone else to push around?

Not long after leaving, the soldier broke the silence. "Ey there, lad," he said, his voice clearly showing signs of having drank too much the night before. After a few seconds with no response, he leaned over to the uninterested Victor, who pretended there was no one else in the carriage besides him. "Who are ye, lad?" the soldier continued. His tone couldn’t have sounded any more obnoxious.

"I'm Victor," he said, seeing that any attempt at ignoring was hopeless.

"Victor, eh? Tell me, why are ye travelling to the city? Going for family meself,"

"Work. I'm going to sign up for the Civil Defense guild. I have other plans if I don't get in."

The soldier scoffed in response. "Heh, good thing ye got other plans, lad. You know how many farm boys shign up with that second rate militia? Hah! Ye'll be lucky if ye do make it in!"

Victor scowled as the soldier laughed. He picked up his bag off the floor, dropped it on his lap, and stared at the amulet inside. A little time to forget everything for a moment, that’s what he desperately needed. He clasped his hands. Father, wherever you might be, I’m going to make you proud. I’ll be what you wanted me to be ever since I was a little boy...

"What do ye have there, lad? What is that there necklace ye got there?"

Victor pulled his head back up to face the soldier, and pointed at the amulet resting in the bag still. "This? This is one of the few memories I have left of my father," he replied, and bit his lip in regret afterwards. Ugh, why did I tell him that?

The soldier raised one of his eyebrows. "Memories? What do ye mean, memoriesh? What happened to the old man, lad?"

Victor sighed, and pondered a little before speaking, not sure if he wanted to give the soldier more things to beat him over the head with. "He vanished eight years ago, during the takeover. He was in the Lokahnian army back then, and he said that would leave him and the rest of our family in danger should he choose to stay. He promised to return one day. I haven't seen him since."

The soldier cackled again. "Well lad, maybe yer old man should have thought twice before he chose to join that damned dragon cult, am I right? Maybe he wouldn't be dead then! Hahaha!"

Victor punched his leg in frustration. "Look, I don't like it when people talk about me or my father in that way, so if you want to make fun of me or him, just shut up and keep it to yourself!"

"Who do ye think ye are, my captain?" the soldier rose from the carriage seat, his cheeks having colored red in the blink of an eye, "Ye better show shome respect to the men protectin' ya, bastard! Or else ye'll see what happens, when we leave ye to rot! Yer arse will be dead, ya hear me! DEAD!"

The coachman stamped his feet into their rest, interrupting the bickering behind him. "I suggest you two shut up back there, or I will turn this carriage back around, yes?" The soldier and Victor both fell silent, and not a word more was said on the remainder of the way to the city.

* * *

An hour later, as clouds began to settle in the skies, the almost endless trees of the forest gave way to grassy plains. Ravens Hill’s walls rose on the horizon. The carriage came to a stop before the city’s southern gate. Two sentries stood in front, controlling all the people leaving and entering the city. Victor got off the carriage, and waited for the soldier to enter before going in himself. Once the soldier had vanished behind the portcullis, he approached the gate, and was stopped by the sentries.

"Halt. State your name, hometown, and reason for entry."

Taking a deep breath, Victor replied: "Victor Miller, from Riverside. I came here to look for work."

The sentries whispered in each other's ear. A few words about trustworthiness could vaguely be made out, but nothing specific. A minute passed before they finished whispering. "You may pass. Do not cause any trouble." Victor nodded his head in acknowledgement, and walked past the portcullis into the city.

Entering the city is an experience akin to getting caught in a vortex of noise to those uninitiated: The streets of Ravens Hill bustled with people of varying sizes, all on their own routine: workers labouring away, merchants selling goods on the market, guards of the Civil Defense running around and occasionally shouting at passersby, and more. For Victor, it was a giant culture shock. There were more people running around this lone street than there were residents back in Riverside, his home of the previous eight years.

Victor fished the amulet out of his bag, and put it around his neck, hoping that his father's memory would bring him much needed security in this hostile environment. Finding a path through the narrow streets and alleys of the city was a challenge in and of itself, not even considering the seas of people dwelling on them, who made it difficult to differentiate one street from the other. Only the streets with abandoned buildings and the slums stood out in the crowd.

After searching in the streets for over an hour, the clouds overhead having thickened further, Victor found the Civil Defense guild's headquarters, located in the north side of the city. It was an imposing stone structure, taking up the space of seven regular timber-framed buildings.

The large wooden door creaked as Victor opened it. "Hello there, young man. What can the Civil Defense do for you?" said a gravelly voice. At the other side of the hall, a bearded, grey haired man sat behind a table covered entirely with various objects; stacks of parchment, a quill dipped in an ink pot and a small sign, with the words 'Guildmaster Jonathan' written on it in large letters.

Victor swallowed some of his saliva. "I wanted to ask if I could join your guild," he replied to the guildmaster's question, as he walked to the other end of the hall.

"Well, we are always looking for people who are willing to join our ranks," he said, leaning his head against a fist, "but this is a dangerous line of work, with many hardships. Do you have what it takes to be a part of this outfit?"

Victor became nervous. Civil Defense was the thing he had dreamed of doing for months, but he never really considered the dangers involved. "Yes sir, I promise you won't regret recruiting me one bit," he replied.

The guildmaster gave a stern stare back and folded his arms. "Well, we have had plenty of your ilk in here. Most didn't make the cut. You seem to have a slight fire within you, however, and based on what I have seen of the few that did get in, they all had that same spark in their eyes." The guildmaster slouched over and placed his arms on the desk. "So, I am willing to give you a trial. If things do not work out, then that is it. Understood?"

"Yes sir, I understand."

The guildmaster grabbed a parchment off the stack, and asked Victor questions on who he was, the answers to which he wrote down on the parchment with a quill. "Right then," the guildmaster said, as he finished writing down the answers, and placed the quill back in the inkpot, "you are hereby accepted as an initiate of the guild, Victor Miller. Now wait here, a regular member will arrive in a moment, and show you around the guild."

Victor nodded, and watched on as the guildmaster wandered off. Victor busied himself by looking around the hall, as he waited by the desk. The hall was scantily decorated : there was a banner hanging on the wall behind the table, and two statues, that faced each other on opposite sides of the hall, in between a set of hallways and stairwells.

Thirty minutes passed. Victor’s nerves increased as time ticked on. What if this all had been a joke, to chase off 'just another farm boy', as that soldier would put it. The possibility was there, an ever more likely one with every additional minute. But there was also a chance that this was the first test, if he had the determination and fire the guildmaster looked for. Then, just as the dilemma pressed deeper into his skull, footsteps echoed down the stone stairwell to the left. Victor turned to see a familiar face emerge.

"Well now, look who has arrived!"