AN: Author Here. All of what I am posting are rough drafts and are cluttered with various errors and read coarsely. I had an enlightening post on chapter five with various suggestions to improve not only my writing but the flow of my story. If anyone has any constructive suggestions like that, feel free to post. Or you can post your thanks or what you like. Your feedback is the equivalent to cookies for authors.

That is all.

A week had passed by since their stop in Avery. Weillin used his own coin to buy supplies for the families in their caravan earning a lot of gratitude. Weillin became fast friends with a lot of the other men through the help of Axel, Eber and Gerard. He got a good understanding of their circumstances and their strengths.

A lot of the men were former soldiers and hunters while their families worked farms. Weillin’s father was expanding the number of villages in their territories and was starting one outside some ways from their town. They were lacking able bodied men who could serve as guards. The younger sons would serve as recruits and their fathers would continue on as hunters while some of the younger sons worked their farms.

Axel, Eber, and Gerard were close friends of Weillin and had jobs already made as guards on his property. The three would also help train the younger ones in the axe, bow, and spear as they already had a sword instructor. The guard jobs paid well so Leanna and the girls didn’t need to work fields or raise animals like they used to. Paden wondered what they would do when they got to Weillin and Marie’s.

“Wrong. That word is disfigurement,” corrected Marie.

“Disfigurement,” repeated Paden.

He and Marie were reading one of the common magic texts that were purchased in Avery. The boy picked up reading easily. He made some minor errors but they would correct themselves as he regularly practiced reading. The problem was his lack of vocabulary. There was no quick fix for that either. He would have to read and gradually expand it himself.

“Alright, that is enough,” declared Marie.

Marie and Paden had their own carriage. They did not ride with Leanna and the others as they had before. Paden was at a critical juncture where a moment’s distraction could harm or possibly kill him.

Paden was now more adept at controlling his magical powers. Marie found to her surprise he didn’t need external aids such as charms or chants to manifest his ability. She had suspicions after Weillin’s recount of what happened in the forest but she did not dare believe it. Mages who went beyond rigid practices in chants and charms were far too rare. She was filled with pride that her nephew was an adept in dark magic. This ability mirrored her elder brother’s own ability.

“Now we will begin magic practice,” began Marie. “Feel the power that wells in your chest. Let its power fill you. Hold out your hand and focus it over your hand. Imagine a sphere.”

Paden focused inwardly on his chest, trying to recall that familiar sensation. A hot stream of lava filled his chest. He raised his hand and looked at the space above it, imagining a sphere as his aunt instructed. The feeling of lava seemed to flow in his veins and move along his right arm to his hand. A dark sphere appeared in the air. He smiled. This was the ninth time he had succeeded.

“Good, good,” Marie spoke while clapping her hands with a smile. “Immediate success. Far better than last week. Very good progress. Next, we need to deal with your speed.”

“Speed?” Paden asked quizzically.

“Yes, speed,” Marie spoke gravely. “Speed is very important. Your enemies will not sit back and let you cast your spells. That habit of closing your eyes will also have to be corrected. Those weaknesses will get you killed,” Marie warned him.

Paden gulped as he considered her words. The vision of him trying to cast a spell only to be charged by an orc and killed in an instant filled his head. He nodded at his aunt. Paden understood he was not strong, not yet. He was probably behind the children of nobility much less those of his age. This was not good. The recent events in Avery filled him with a desire to quickly grow stronger.

This was a world where a commoner could be killed by a noble without question. His aunt was a noble. His father was a noble. However, that did not make him a noble. He would need to fight and earn recognition on the fields of war like his father and earn a title for himself. Even then, there would be others above him who could easily snuff out his life. Paden could feel the faint specter of an axe raised to his neck. He needed more power and he needed it soon.

“How do we increase my speed?”

“As we don’t have the necessary items or facilities, just continue to manifest the dark sphere. Try to go faster and faster,” Marie replied casually.

Paden just stared. That’s it?! Paden sighed and began to channel his power. Thud! Paden felt something hit his head and opened his eyes.

“Stop closing your eyes,” Marie instructed him.

Paden kept his eyes open and began channeling his magic. Thud! This time he saw it coming and looked in irritation.

“Too slow!” Marie complained.

Like this, Marie ‘instructed’ Paden. The day concluded with very little learned and Paden feeling like a punching bag for his aunt. A large lump had formed at the top of his skull which stung when he touched it. Paden was feeling wronged and wished the affable Weillin was teaching him at this point. Where had his soft, kind aunt gone this last week?

The caravan found a camping spot in a clearing near the main road and organized their wagons in a box formation. Weillin’s guards were stationed around the camp in organized groups for protection. The guards and men would alternate in mixed pairs for night watch. The women would organize several areas for cooking.

Dinner that night consisted of preserved meat, beans, potatoes, and various herbs and spices in a type of stew. Another group baked some bread with the white flour Weillin provided. Best bread Paden ever had. Most of his experience with bread was the hard loaves made of a type of flour that made harder bread. He was very happy with the meals since leaving the village and slightly pined for the taste of demonic beast meat like he had in Avery.

That night Paden and his sister slept in their wagon with Leanna. Axel had watch duty with Gerard and was out with the other guards. The night was still and the group quietly slept with full bellies.

Groups of men hid themselves in the woods next to the clearing Paden’s group had set camp. Their numbers were more than fifty and had rushed from their normal area of operations to find this particular group.

The city lord of Avery had been a busy man. He had been thrown out of office after a vote made from its leaders. The guards had reported the man’s brother had tried to kill the child of a noble family and was instead killed. The Lord had then sent men to arrest them, knowing they were nobles. Not only that, he had failed to inform the guards those nobles were magicians.

This caused unrest amongst the guards who made complaints. The leaders used this opportunity to censure the Lord and vote him out of office. The former lord then decided the cause of his situation was Weillin and his group. He then went out and hired a group of mercenaries to find and kill them.

The mercenaries had finished their scouting. They had heard there was a female dark mage in the group but had made preparations. They quietly approached the camp from the woods using the night to their advantage. However, luck was not on their side and they approached the area Gerard and Axel were at.

Axel had keen vision and senses. He was alerted by the abrupt silence of the surrounding insects and change in the night air. He managed to glimpse a flash from an uncovered portion of metal one of the mercenaries were wearing and tossed a torch over their heads, revealing their approaching numbers.

“Attack!” Axel boomed as he raised the alarms.

The trained soldiers of Weillin and the other men leapt to action. Paden awoke to the yells and clash of metal outside their camp. The noise woke his sisters who were frightened by the obvious sound of battle. Paden left his knife with Leanna and took his bow and quiver to join the men.

Paden found the area with the other boys of his age. They were not shooting as they had no visibility of the battle. They could barely make out shadows of people. However, their prayers for light were answered. A large sphere of light ascended into the sky and illuminated the battlefield. The boys and Paden quickly took to flying their arrows onto the lines of attacking men further at the back.

“Light mage!” shouted a mercenary.

The commander cursed inwardly. They had prepared for the dark mage but the light mage would be difficult. He contemplated sounding the retreat then and there. However, the bonus offered by the former lord was too irresistible. So what if he lost a few men?

Paden and the youths launched arrows on the rear enemies as Axel and the guards defended the perimeter. Paden saw Randolph charge into the enemies. His swordplay was impressive as he darted about with sword and shield. Even surrounded by five men, Randolph would effortlessly move as if he had eyes on the back of his head.

Paden looked transfixed on Weillin as he stood on top of one of the wagons. Some of the attackers launched arrows but a thin layer of light reflected them. Weillin withdrew a sword at his wait and an intense light enveloped a dumbfounded battlefield. The light receded and Weillin was donned in a resplendent white armor that exuded a soft light. The mercenary leader saw this change in Weillin and paled in fright.

“B-b-battle mage!” cried the man, sending his forces into panic.

Weillin’s side roared in cheer as their morale soared. Weillin jumped off the wagon and dashed into the battlefield. Men fell one after another to his swift speed and impenetrable defense. Paden looked and found, to his surprise, that men who had light bruising and injuries were visibly healing before his eyes. What sort of magic was this? Weillin secured several mercenaries and the man he suspected to be the leader.

Cheers resounded amongst the men. Not a single soul was lost and all those who had been injured, were miraculously restored to full health. Paden went back with his friends while the older men looted the field. The bodies would be left out for vultures but the armor and weapons would serve to earn them coin. They would divide the loot later.

Meanwhile, Weillin was interrogating the surviving mercenaries. A few minutes alone with Randolph served to loosen their tongues. Weillin frowned as he heard their master was the cousin of the man they killed earlier. He was no longer lord. Although he still had his wealth that would not protect him, not from Weillin.

Weillin already decided to murder the man. Some coin to an assassin group would silence the man forever. Weillin had employed them on numerous occasions and their ability as well as silence was top notch amongst the others of their profession. Killing a former lord who was a commoner would incur no loss or retribution from his side. Should have known his place and kept quiet, Weillin inwardly thought.

He also recalled this extended from the events in Avery. He toyed with bringing in Paden and making him understood the cause of tonight's attack. The boy lacked an awareness for his position and worse, lacked the decisiveness to take action. That immaturity would need to be fixed soon or he will not survive the Academy much less the world.