Today is finally the day we arrive at Nokt, or at least that is what I was told at dinner yesterday by one of Nero’s guards. All in all, we had a very bumpy ride but I feel like many good things came out of it. My parents still ask me questions but rarely about myself and mostly about earth in general and I, in turn, try to ask about this world. Some things are hard to explain about earth, while others are hard for my parents to explain to me about this new world.

As I ponder, I feel my clothes being tugged and look to my side and what greets me is the face of Gabriella. After spending some time together I found out she’s almost two whole years bigger than me, making her three years old. By now I am fairly certain of her character as well, at first I thought that she would be a spoiled brat given her high-class status in Nokt, but then I found out she was very shy, not at all what I had expected.

“Ragnar, are we there yet?”

I shake my head and sigh to myself, she only communicates with two people, one being me and the other being mother, when father or other people speak to her she always grabs either my shirt or my mother’s dress. She got attached to mother because she’s the only woman in the convoy and she became attached to me because we’re both the only kids.

“It’s still a bit far off Gabriella.”

“Hum” She nods in understanding and goes back to dozing off.

Out of boredom, I start to meditate again and feel the mana flowing around me. After transforming into that 'thing', I have been able to sense my surroundings better while at the same time my body strength is almost five times higher than what it was. Obviously, as I am developing much faster than a normal child, mother had to lie about my age to everyone, saying I’m four years old.

No matter how much of a genius someone is, it’s impossible that by the age of one I am able to speak, walk or read like I do.

‘That’s strange.’ With my eyes closed, I focus on my surroundings and I meditate by beckoning the small particles towards me, bending and gathering them by my own will. ‘It’s much faster than yesterday, and I suddenly there is more mana around me, such progress is not normal, right?”

“Mother...” Opening my eyes and looking at my parents in front of me, I voice my concern. “Mother, the mana is gathering faster than normal and in larger amounts.”

“Hum? Oh, my baby, that is….” Looking at me her features, they suffer alterations from shock to happiness. “You’re an apprentice now!”

‘Hum? Apprentice?’ With a puzzled look I try to understand what that word means, but after a while, I give up and ask. “Mother, what is an apprentice?”

“That’s right! Even after all we spoke about we haven’t explained the stages of magic or augmentation one goes through,” Clapping her hands while smiling she continues to unload information. “They are fundamentally different, but at the same time equal. Normally young children are instructed in magic that affects the surrounding while child augmenters focus on affecting his or her body.”

Rising a finger she starts to use her magic to draw yellow letters, numbers, and pictures that form a basic system. “As you can see, normally someone starts learning magic or augmentation between the ages of five or six, reaching the apprentice stage or the first stage as a mage approximately two to three years after, then the more you practice the more your magic control and magic gathering ability raises.”

“The stages are divided in: Apprentice Magician; Initiate; Enlightened Magician; Master; Enlightened Master; Archmaster; Immortal magician and lastly God’s mage. Above being a God’s mage, there is no information of what comes next, some say a person can become a God in theory, but there have never been records off anyone reaching the Immortal magician stage, so nobody knows for sure.”

I ponder and digest the information about this magical system, and in the end, I voice my question. “Mother, at what level of magic are you? Everyone calls you an archmage but there is no stage called that.”

“He-he” Father laughs at my words while looking at me. “Your Mother holds the title of Archmage but her stage is actually that of a master, still, it’s a powerful stage for her age and that is one of the reasons the elders didn’t try to kill us but instead alienate us, that is until we decided to tip the scales of power and became useless in a political standpoint.”

“Yes, and it’s very difficult to advance as they are divided into three sub-stages, the more one advances the more it complicates things as there is more than to gather mana.” Mother finishes her drawings while the magical particles still linger in the air. “But there are also the augmentation stages, but your father is a better choice to explain that.”

“Yes! That's right, augmentators have their own stages and their own rules.” He starts explaining the augmentation side. “It’s very simple, magical particles imbue themselves with one's own body to produce strength and then bring out the explosive power of the muscles and other variants.”

“It’s total stages are: Apprentice Warrior; Initiate; Enlightened Warrior; Conscript Warrior; Master Warrior; Higher body; Immortal body; God’s Warrior body,” Father explains the various stages with a bittersweet smile. “I really would have liked for you to choose the augmenters path, but the magician's path is good none the less.”

My eyebrows shoot up in a realization of what I just did becoming an apprentice magician. ‘I chose the Magicians path thinking that I could use both, but now I'm not entirely sure!' Face sunken I hurriedly ask my father. “Can I not be both, a magician and augmenter?”

“Of course not, because when you turn five you get a totem from the gods to help you channel magic in accordance with what you’re naturally better at, be it magic or augmentation. Either you are born better at controlling the environment or your own body.”

‘Shit, Fuck!’ All form of insults are said in my mind as the realization hits me, big mistake on my part when I started to train magic thinking that it would give me an edge over the others. ‘Oh, how ignorant I was.’

Mother brows furrow as she sees my expression.

“You did mean to train in your magical ability, did you?”

“No...” Ashen-faced I reply to my mother. "I-i thought it would give me an edge over others..."

Both father and mother look at my ashen face and sigh at my foolishness. After the explanation, I realize the biggest problem is that if I had more talent for augmentation than I have for magic, then I wasted the opportunity for becoming much more powerful and dangerous.

“Don’t worry, my darling son. If you’re an apprentice at your age then you surely are more talented at magic then augmentation.” She tries to cheer me up, but I cannot stop thinking about how foolish I am. “Well we can discuss things later, there is still time until you get your totem when you turn five.”

I nod signaling my dejection only to realize we’re coming to a halt. I try to move my torso but feel something heavy in my legs, looking down I realize Gabriella fell asleep in my left tight while we were having the lengthy talk. Grabbing her head gently I perform the old switcharoo with a pillow and get up to go see what is happening.

“Halt!” A deep and scratchy voice reaches my ears before I can peek through the driver's high seat. “This is Nokt’s outer border, you are to step outside for inspection and pay the entrance fee!”

I hurry to jump out of the carriage as everyone else does and stand to the side of the wheels while the black and silver armored human soldiers inspect our caravans. One of the approaching soldiers emanates a commanding aura, evidently being a human and their commanding officer, he nods towards all the products and other miscellaneous things while looking thoroughly for smuggled weapons or other paraphernalia.

“Clear!” One of the soldiers says while inspecting the first carriage of our entourage and soon after we hear the same from every other carriage. “Ok, who is the leader of this merchant band?”

Suddenly Nero appears next to the tall and commanding man as if by teleporting and says. “It’s me sergeant Nizze, I’m returning home after a long trip if you could please hurry the procedures for payment...”

“Oh, Mr. Nero I didn’t know it was you sir.” The man named Nizze suddenly straightens and respectfully addresses Nero. “Of course I wouldn't want to delay your homecoming Sir.”

And just like that, the procedures went smoothly and without a hitch with the soldiers. My parents had to pay the hefty sum of two golden coins, while Gabriella and I had to pay one gold coin each. The carriages rolled slowly throw the amazingly high, fortified and sandy colored walls dividing the Raktack forest from the Nokt land.

Half a day later, expecting to have long reached the city of Nokt I watch as the sun finishes setting with my elbow resting in my tight and my hand firmly placed on my chin while listening to the crickets melodies and the fading golden shine of the wheat crops.

“I thought that by now we would have reached the damned City.” I complain like a little kid towards no one in particular.

“Don’t be impatient, we will only reach the actual City tomorrow at mid-day,” Father informs me. “For now we’re in the outskirts that the locals call the Elysian Fields, crops and farms used to fuel the needs of the actual city, tonight we won’t camp outside, as there is a small village roughly two clicks (2km) away.”

Looking in amazement towards my father my mood rapidly improves after the news of indoor sleep coupled with clean beds. Slowly night descends, unforgiven, while the stars shine in the sky while we approach a bunch of brick houses through a well-illuminated pathway.

“We’re here, don’t worry about Gabriella ill take her inside.” Mother lifts her small body while we descend from the carriage heading towards a simple yet homely building. Inside what greets us is hall connected to a living room filled with loud noises and a festive ambient, while rowdy men chat about all sorts of things we make our way towards the front desk of the middle sized Inn.

We ask for the biggest room and head upwards through a wooden staircase reaching a long corridor. After entering the room we eat, talk and later in the evening we go to sleep. While in bed I wonder what kind of adventures will greet me tomorrow.