When he turned ten, his schedule changed as his Father began to teach him hand to hand combat. In the mornings he would temper his body, in the evening he expanded his mind, and at night he would spar with his Father. This was his everyday schedule for another two years, until he was almost of age to enroll in the Knight's apprenticeship of the Army.

He learned from his Father not just martial combat, but what it meant to be a warrior in times of peace. What it meant to have the strength to defend his family from the looming threats beyond the wall, and when to fight or retreat.

"If you are anything like me, you will lead your own Squad and you will be responsible for their lives as well as your own." Alexander would often be caught saying these words to Willem before and after spars, hammering in the values his own Father taught him.

Life, however, is seemingly as fickle as the weather in the Bastion of Hope. One fateful storming night, Willem's life changed forever.

As the Bastion of Hope was engulfed in the strongest lightning storm it had seen in months, Sarah and Willem Saye waited for Alexander to return from the subjugation of a Dryad that had been withering the crops of the farmers beyond the outer ring.

Twenty trained soldiers went out to deal with the Dryad, whom was a creature classified as a level two beast, with Alexander leading the forces.

The classification for levels was based on how many soldiers it took to kill it. In this manner, a level one magical beast could be killed by ten level one soldiers.

When the storm finally broke, and the first light of the sun encroached the edge of the Mountain top, an alarming rumor filled the minor houses of the inner city. Twenty soldiers of tier two training went to deal with a Dryad, but only one returned after successfully fleeing. The others all died after encountering a level three red-winged wyvern.

Alexander was known to be the leader of the tier two soldiers, and both Sarah and Willem waited to hear from him with anxiety written all over their faces. Many sleepless nights and long days passed before Sarah and Willem finally got the information they desired. Though Willem and his Mother had stayed resolute in their belief that Alexander would return, time was against them.

Suddenly, one day a small box was brought to the Saye family doorstep, and the fighters whom had delivered it gave their condolences. By this point, Willem had barely eaten and his Mother was growing thin and despondent. The news came as too much of a shock and they both cried for days.

Many people came to console them, only to be refused at the door by Willem. If anything, Willem knew that his Mother was in no shape to see guests. He conveyed his thanks to the respective families and stayed with his Mother in mourning.

The King had sent many letters to the family household asking for Sarah's presence at the Royal Palace, but she burned every letter that came, unable to even look at the seal of the King.

After a week had passed since they had officially heard news of his death, the Saye family had finally run out of food. Willem took to the markets, knowing that his Mother could not do it in her present condition. He took what money he could find around the house and went to the market not too far away.

Though sickly and hunched over, Willem eventually hobbled to the local market and bought some fresh food, hoping against all hope that it would revitalize his Mother's spirit.

In his absence, Sarah found the strength to locate hemp rope and tied a noose to hang herself with. When Willem returned, he found his Mother's corpse dangling from the support beams of the small home.

Fumbling and in a panic, he carefully ran to the kitchen and grabbed a stool so that he could lift her down. He lifted her pale and light corpse down and laid her on the nearby bed. He closed her bloodshot eyes and for once in the past two weeks she seemed to be at peace.

In her hand was a letter stained with blood and wine explaining to her eleven year old son that she would be joining her husband in the afterlife.

- To my dearest Son,

Forgive me my big, beautiful son, I know you see me as the strong Mother that raised you, disciplined you and protected you, but truthfully I am weak.

If it were not for the love of Alexander, I would not be where I am today, nor could I have protected you. In truth, you are not born of my blood and sweat, but from another woman.

It seems like such a long time ago that I first held you in my arms as I ran for my life from the Magical Beings that hunted you. I am sorry I could not tell you, but I feared you would never forgive me.

I am going to be with my Husband now, and even though I can never forgive myself for leaving you, I know I have raised a strong, caring boy. Please find it in your heart to forgive me for being such a coward.

Your Mother, Always.

Sarah Saye. -

Willem was unsure of what to do for a long time.

For the first time in his life, he was without anyone to guide him. Not knowing what to do, and fearing for the future, Willem went to everyone he knew to seek advice.

Soon, one of the families that he had turned to for advice notified the palace that the family was deceased. With no income to speak of, his family home that he had grown up in for twelve whole years was taken away.

The twelve year old boy was given a small sum of money and was forced to leave his home forever.

His Mother was buried a kilometer outside the Bastion of Hope in an unmarked grave, despite being the record-keeper of the King. Suicide was known as a cowards way out, and the crown could not claim to have in their employment someone who chose that way to die without there being some bad reputation being attached to their name.

Willem ducked around the alleys, living in boxes of straw outside merchant shops and spending what little money he had left on almost spoiled food while waiting for the apprenticeship Knight tests to begin.

Within one of the abandoned shacks in the outer ring, Willem hid his most valuable treasures. The small box that was given to the Saye Family after Alexander's death, the handwritten letters from his Mother, they were all precious memories to Willem.

The one thing Willem kept on him and kept him moving forward no matter where he went or what he did was the pendant given to him by his Father.

As Willem sat in the hovel of the broken down shack he called home, he reminded himself of his Mother's teachings.

Long before he was born there existed a wandering tribe of humans, whom were led by the One True King.

The Human Tribe was what they called themselves and although they were primitive sounding, they remained a quickly growing power that had consolidated its strength in order to challenge the oppression of the Magical Beings whom had enslaved them.

Before they were free, humans were treated as slaves only useful for manual labor. Once they had become useless, either by malnourishment or poor living conditions, they would be quickly put to death in order to maintain food stocks. Contrarily, beautiful human women were treated with a little more respect as those whom had become concubines for strong magical creatures were even allowed to bathe and eat full meals.

Due to the malicious treatment of lesser humans, resistance fighters would gradually form to do their best and fight against their oppressors. Eventually, a strong descendant of mankind came and united these freedom fighters, forming the first Human Tribe with the sole intent of freeing humanity from the constant threats of death and suffering.

The man whom had gathered the desperate humans and forged for them a new destiny became known as "The One True King".

In a word, he was a brilliant genius that came along once in a thousand years, and through diligent study of magical beasts he learned the art of magical manipulation, eventually learning how to control the six fundamental elements of power.

Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Darkness and Light.

He shared his discoveries with all the other humans who followed him. Eventually it was recognized as common fact that human women were more adept at magic then men, as there was roughly fifty percent chance for women to be capable of some form of magic, while men were only at a staggering twenty percent.

The One True King came up with a devilish plan to take revenge on the Magical Beings, and men in his company became willing slaves in name, presenting themselves to be weak, only to one night ambush and kill the magical tribes who enslaved them with the very magic that had previously been used to force them to submit.

Once the leader of the magical races learned of this trickery, any humans whom were in the magical lands were put to death after being tortured. Nonetheless hundreds of thousands of tribes were slaughtered before they had been caught, and for a time it had appeared that humans had gained the freedom they had truly wished for.

After The One True King forced the magical tribes of the Mountain against the Sea in the northern continent out of their homes, he took as many humans as he could find and built a fortress in the Northern Mountain. With their backs against the sea, it became a stronghold not easily retaken by the magical race, even after hundreds of years of war and countless skirmishes.

By use of Earthen Magic and Fire Magic, walls were erected and strengthened to the point that not even the mighty giants of the Magical Beings could smash them down.

As humans began to understand more and more about magic, they realized that their knowledge on the subject was small compared to the truth. They found that by manipulating the forces of nature one could alter dimensional space. It came to be known as spatial magic. By writing scriptures of intention, and imbuing magic, one could make scrolls with will. This gave birth to magic scrolls, and in turn gave birth to summoning magic.

As the humans gained more territory, they made settlements around the Mountain and began to grow in vast numbers.

Generations of humans were born with the knowledge that they were not inherently weak, and could forge for themselves their own path.

Willem himself had once tried his hand at manipulating magic, to see if he had any talent for it. When his Mother had him tested, he could not produce a single ounce of magical intent.

Even more so, the magic that others casted while around him seemed to lose their strength compared to normal. Willem was like a dampener that sucked the magical energy of those around him. While it was peculiar, since he had no magical talent, he was not invited to the Magic Academy.

With nowhere else to turn and no one willing to take him in, Willem decided on what he would do. Now that he was twelve years old, he could join the Knight's apprenticeship. The actual test itself was only a few days away, and he had enough copper coins to survive until then.

He told his closest friends, and all but one cheered him on as they understood his position and hoped he would pass.

Eleanor was the only one that did not seem pleased with Willem's decision. Reaching only up to his Willem's shoulder in height, the young girl was the very definition of youthful exuberance. She wore a yellow sunflower dress and leather sandals, with a gentle opal necklace dangling from her slender neck.