V

  Kaz stood there in the street, looking down, studying the texture and the coloring of the cobblestone street. He truly was left alone. He tried to get his emotions under control, as he realized there was actually nothing he can do now, besides try to go along his Path and prove his friends wrong. The pain of him losing his friends essentially ripped something away from him, but there was nothing to do, just to carry on, as he had a journey ahead of him. He took a deep breath, shaky at first, but becoming steadier as he continued. And off he went, looking for the Library.

  For what seemed like hours, he tried to find the Library. He asked a few people along the way, but everyone had the same exact reaction, avoidance. When they looked into his eyes, which have become a dull gray color, they quickly adverted their gaze and continued along with their day. It wasn’t until an older Dwarven woman finally gave him the directions on how to get to the Library. As Kaz was about to walk away after thanking the Dwarf, she softly spoke out to him, her voice slightly raspy from her age, “Don’t worry young one, sometimes the best thing to do is to find a new beginning. No reason to stay where you are not wanted. I recommend going to the north, plenty of opportunity to grow your worth there.”

  Kaz, dumbfounded by this sudden chain of events, stood there, his mouth slightly open and staring back at the Dwarf. She gave him the smile that a grandmother would give to their children and shooed him away. “Thank you, I will take your word for it,” he stuttered out, quickly going along his way.

  Arriving at the Library, he marveled at it, as it was a beautiful building from the outside, with large stone bricks and massive stained-glass windows. It looked so out of place among the wood and stone houses that surrounded it. He walked up the steps and entered through the large open doors. Immediately he was overwhelmed by the size inside, which seemed so much smaller on the outside.

  Along the middle of the Library, there was one very long wooden table, filled with books, lamps, and parchment paper. People were discussing and working together in small groups, whispering away, and others sat alone, looking for answers to their questions through many books. Along the sides of the Library were tall shelves, filled with all kinds of books. He looked up, and saw the second floor, a mezzanine where it seemed like it was off limits to someone like him. And along the slanted roof, huge chandeliers lit the whole Library, a soft pale yellow that seemed to perfectly light the building. Feeling overwhelmed, he didn’t know where to start.

  “Hi there, do you need any help?”

  He was startled at the soft voice next to him and looked up into the eyes of an Elven lady. She didn’t look much older than him, and her eyes shone a deep red behind a set of thick glasses.

  “Um, I need some books about the general stuff I should be doing as a newly Awakened Mage,” he replied quietly, whispering to not disturb the peace.

  She folded her arms and lightly tapped her chin. She looked deep in thought as her eye scanned the shelves from a distance. Then her eyes lit up, and she smiled, “Aha! Found the books, go take a seat at the table and I will bring them over to you.”

  Kaz walked over the table and sat far away from anyone, trying to hide his face, hoping no one would recognize him. He was quite surprised the Elf helped, as someone her age should definitely know the current... gossip that was going around. A few moments later, she came back to him with three books. She set them down, and explained to him, “Okay here are three books. Unfortunately, this the best you could get from our Library. As you may know, most of the best books are restricted to students of the Academy. But these should cover general information about your Calling, so you should be able to have the basics.” He nodded in thanks, and she walked away already going to someone else who needed help finding books.

  Three books sat in front of him, “Basics of the Calling of the Mage: Volume 3”, “The Guide to the Beginning of Skill Abilities: Calling of the Mage”, and finally, “Guide for Passive Abilities for Newly Awakened, Volume 5”. He shrugged his shoulders, already growing bored even though he hadn’t opened a book. He decided that he should just read through them, just to get it over with.

  Just like that, hours and hours passed till the same Elf approached him, reminding him that he should possibly take a break to drink some water or grab something to eat. He refused politely, looking at the massive clock that hung from the end of the wall in the Library. It was around the 14th hour of the day. He rubbed his eyes, and he wondered where the time went. He was wrapping up his third book, getting close to the end of it. He politely replied to the Elf that he will only be there for another half hour in order to finish the book. The Elf nodded with a smile and walked away.

  As he was looking back down to his book, he felt a ball of parchment hit his head. He looked around and saw a group of young people, two Human boys, one Gnome, and one Elf. They snickered at him and started whispering to each other. He flushed with embarrassment but continued to read, more determined to finish quickly so he could leave.

  He finally wrapped up his last book, and the Elf came by and picked up the books, wishing him a great rest of his day. He smiled genuinely at her and thanked her, walking out of the Library. He saw the other group start to get up after him, so he quickly ran into an alley and started looking around for a place to hide. He hid behind a bunch of empty wooden boxes, and waited, holding his breath.

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  “It seems like the little Demon ran away. Not surprising that they would be good at hiding in the shadows. Too bad we couldn’t take out the threat before it grows,” he heard coming from one of them, a voice that was quite nasally but lower pitched.

  “I don’t know why the Elders haven’t executed him yet. The signs were there.”

  “Well, let’s get going boys, time to start our move into the Academy!”

  Kaz waited a long time before he felt like they actually left. He nearly lost it when a rat decided that it wanted to share the space with him. He quickly got up and walked back into the street. He decided he needed something to hide his face and thought a robe with a hood would suit him best, as it was the most common attire to wear. A hat would draw attention, and a mask wouldn’t hide his gray eyes and the brown mess on the top of his head that people called hair.

  He walked until he found the Tailor that he visited earlier for the ceremonial robes. Thankfully, it seemed like her shop was empty, so he walked in. She immediately came over, her smile slightly faltering.

  “Hi there dear, what can I help you with? Did something happen to your ceremonial robe?” Bryda asked him.

  “Oh, the robe was great! I just need a new robe, one with a hood that could… hide my face,” he explained, his voice wavering and growing quiet with each word. His emotions were starting to flare up, the pent-up emotions of everyone ignoring him directly or treating him like he was… a Demon, like one of the boys called him.

  Bryda nodded her head understandingly, her eyes softening. “I understand, dear. Let me get your measurements again and I will create something for you.”

  She began measuring him and when she was finished, she stood up and started walking to the back room, where she would make the robe.

  Kaz quickly spoke up, trying to keep his voice steady, “Miss Bryda, um, could you please use something cheap for the material? I unfortunately do not have a lot of Tokens that I could spare for something of higher quality like the ceremonial robe.” He winced when he finished speaking, feeling embarrassed by the situation.

  “Of course, dear. I will take that into consideration, do not worry about it,” she assured him.

  She went in and came back out a few minutes later. She handed him a brown robe, one that felt sturdy, but also felt like it was better quality. It had no glow to it, so it must have been still a Simple quality robe, but it felt really nice.

  “Um, Miss Bryda, I don’t know—,” he began saying meekly.

  “That will be one Silver Token please,” she cut him off, a warm smile plastered on her face.

  He stood there, looking at the robe and then looked at her, unable to accept the price. “This is worth way more than one Silver Token. Even I can tell that. Why are you doing this for me?”

  “Young one, please, sometimes it’s ok to accept things from others, whether it’s a gift, a favor, or even advice. So, bearing that in mind, one Silver token please.” She told him sternly, in a way where he knew there was no getting out of this without having it her way.

  He grabbed one of his two remaining Silver Tokens and handed it over to her.

  “Thank you for doing this for me, Miss Bryda. I will find a way to repay you one day,” he declared.

  “You are welcome, young Kaz. Take care and be safe out there,” she replied to him, smirking at his declaration.

  He put on his robe, which of course fit perfectly, and put his hood over his head. It was perfectly covering his face, and he was still able to see ahead of him. As he stepped out, he realized the day was coming close to an end. He wanted to visit the Adventurer’s Guild branch in their town to pick some things up, especially basic supplies and a map for his journey. He hurriedly rushed towards the massive building, as he knew by heart where it was.

  It was a less spectacular than the Temple and the Library, but he knew it was built to be functional. It was a building that mixed both stone and wood very well, and had smaller windows than the library, but the windows were clear. It was a round building, sort of like a ring, as it had a massive open area in the middle. A ground for people to train, duel, or hold competitions. It was where Adventurer’s would spend their time between their quests.

  He walked through the front doors and was immediately blown away from the noise that was coming from inside. People were sitting around tables, discussing their plans or their tales from their previous missions. Some were in front of a massive board, where pieces of parchment were hanging. And some were in front of the desks at the end of the room, where they were being helped by the various Clerks.

  Kaz decided he should approach the desks and ask one of the Clerks about how he should go about getting what he needed. He walked up to one of them who seemed not occupied. A Human lady who was quite tall and had bright green hair. On her desk, there was a metal plate that read “Monica”, and he assumed that was her name. When he neared her desk, everything got quiet, which startled him and made him lose his step.

  “Hi there! My name is Monica, how may I help you today, Adventurer?” She greeted him politely with an amused smile.

  He straightened himself, blushing from embarrassment, “Hello, I was wondering about a few things, if you could help me with that.”

  A few minutes later, he was able to purchase a map of the Northern part of their continent, a Starter’s kit, which included a health potion, small guidebook to the monsters out in the wild and which vegetation is edible, and a fire-starting kit. And it all cost him 1 whole Silver Token. He only had 5 Copper Tokens left.

  “And finally, we can now get you registered to join the Guild! May you please take off your hood for your identification purposes and state your name and Calling.”

  He hesitated, but then he knew he would have to do it if he wanted to. He pulled back his hood and simply stated, “Kaz. Calling of the Mage.”

  The Clerk stared at him for a bit, stopping her writing as she looked up at him. Feeling uncomfortable, he started to fidget and looked around. He realized that was a mistake as everyone’s eyes was on him. They recognized him. Some looked away, some looked disgusted, and most looked at him with hostility. He quickly came to a decision and stated quietly, “Forget it. Another time.” He pulled up his hood and quickly rushed out of the building, but thankfully this time, nobody followed him.

  Kaz made it back to the orphanage as it was starting to get dark. He quickly went into his room, took off his robe, and packed his things. He put all of his items and clothes he had into a small bag that hung across his shoulder, barely holding everything together. He wondered why his life was like this. What went wrong for him to be cursed with such misfortune?