Entry number one:

My name is Jona Necros, I have just turned 15. My master told me that I should start keeping a journal. He said that doing this will help me feel less alone in this dead city. I live in the abandoned city of Farandal of the Clover Kingdom, previously of the Diamond Kingdom. I guess I should use this first entry to formally introduce myself before giving a history lesson. As I said before, my name is Jona Necros and I am 15. I am a guy. I am approximately 172 cm tall and weigh approximately 84 kg. I have a slight tan from Master's daily training and dark brown hair that reaches just below my hairline in the back. I also have some magic gems embedded in my torso. Apparently, this was a common custom among the nobles of Farandal and the more gems you had embedded would mean that you are more powerful than those with less. I haven't tried to count mine. Master said that I got them embedded when I was 13, but I don't remember it. My gems are in the shape of a 5 leaf clover with a star in the middle. The clover is made up of the darker gems, while it seems the star is made up of the lighter ones. I only know what 1 of them does. It's placed almost right above my heart and can convert my health or "life-force" (as Master put it) in to mana. Master told me to be careful with it, he said it could kill me if I got too careless. Oh yeah, I have just gotten my grimoire. It looks kinda… creepy. I haven't really looked through it yet, I'm kind of scared to. I guess I should explain why it looks creepy. It seems to bound in an extremely old skin. It's black with streaks of green running up and down in some spots. None of them go all the way up or down, though. The creepiest part is in the center, though. It bulges out a little and pulses almost like it has a heart. On the bulge is a 5 leaf clover. I know what that 5th leaf has too. Does this mean that my grimoire is evil? Does this mean I'm evil? Master says that those are for me to answer. I'm worried that this is an omen for my future. Why did I get this grimoire? Well journal, I should get to sleep. Tomorrow I start on my journey to the Capital of the Clover Kingdom. I'm going to be a magic knight. I'm kind of excited. Goodnight Journal.

Entry number 2:

Hello again Journal, I'm ready to tell you the things that have happened recently. This morning, I started my journey the the Capital. Master says it will take a while since Farandal was pretty much on the border between the Clover and Diamond Kingdoms. It was a pretty emotional moment when I left. I just couldn't help but cry when I said goodbye to the others. Even if they weren't really alive and were only remnants of their old personalities, they were the only people in my life for 15 years. My master says that I have to get to the Capital by way of my own 2 feet to prove myself worthy to be a magic knight. My dream is to be a magic knight captain. I want to be one of the few who work to protect the citizens of the Clover Kingdom, constantly fighting the shadows of evil. Master says not to get my hopes up. He also asked why I don't want to be the Wizard King. I was too embarrassed to say it, but I don't think I would be able to live with the stress and responsibility that being the Wizard King entails. I'd also be too scared to make any kind of major decision. It would affect the entire kingdom and I couldn't live with myself if I made a bad one. I have only the highest respect for the Wizard Kings, both previous and present. To have that pressure on you, yet still be able to go on day to day, that takes true strength. No other interesting things happened today, so that's all I have to say. Thanks for listening Journal. I may not be able to talk to you like this daily, so sorry in advance. Goodnight Journal.

Entry no. 3:

Hello Journal, nothing really happened today and I couldn't travel today because of the weather, so I used my earth magic to make a cave to stay in. Since nothing really happened, I'll use this entry to talk about some of the spells in my grimoire. After looking through it, I figured out what kinds of spells it has. It seems to possess mainly offensive and defensive spells, with the occasional support and recovery spell. I know that what I'm about to say sound almost impossible, but my grimoire has 2 attributes. Even though I thought my main magical attribute was earth, it seems that my other magical attribute is, bear with me in this, "death/soul magic." Yeah, I know. Sounds evil, right? Even though it is death/soul magic, it looks like not all the spells are for killing people. The primary death/soul spell is called "Summon Thrall" which can call the "thralls" that inhabit Farandal. I tried it out and called Master. He wasn't very happy when I called him to me. He told me he was working on recording the events of the present for future generations, but when I called him to me, the documents came with him and were ruined by the rain. He lectured me before making me send him back home. Another one of my death spells is called "Magic Scythe" and seems to be pretty basic. All it is is a scythe. There's nothing special about it. It can't cut through anything or instantly kill. It's just a scythe that I can either wield or control. The most powerful "death/soul" spells in my grimoire is called "Death Pentagram." If that doesn't sound evil, I don't know what does. According to some notes in the grimoire, "Death Pentagram" can be used to either instantly kill anyone within a limited area, or completely destroy any magic within the area. As long as I don't use it to kill, I should be okay, right? The more pleasant spells are my earth magic spells. The one I want to use most right now is this spell called "Earth Gate" that basically moves me really fast underground. If I was allowed to use it, I bet I could reach the capital in under a month, possibly even a week! But, as master said, I can only use my own legs to get to the capital. One of my few spells that isn't used for offense or defense is called "Gaia's sealing embrace" which is used to render someone immobile and unable to use magic. It seems that "Gaia's protecting embrace" and "Gaia's loving embrace" are support and defense variants of "Gaia's sealing embrace" that defend allies and heal allies, but render them immobile and defenseless. I probably won't use those. The spell I'm most excited about, though, is "Gaia's demon." This is an offensive and defensive spell that is awesome. It covers my entire body with a thin, yet indestructible layer of earth. It also drastically increases my speed and strength, but I can barely see when I use it. There's this one spell that does seem to be promising as well. It's called "Goliath of Gaia" and creates a massive golem almost instantly. That thing is massive. Like bigger than the church massive. I call the goliath Cuddles because I can scream "Beware, for he is Cuddles!" It's hilarious. The only one of my "death/soul" spells that is purely support is called "Greaves of the ethereal" which basically gives me the properties of being a ghost. I can't physically interact with anyone or thing, but my movement while in that form is limited only by my mind. Well, I need to go to sleep Journal. I've spent most of the day looking at spells and my eyes are sore. Thanks for keeping me company on this journey. Goodnight Journal.

Entry no 4:

I'm really excited for this entry, Journal! Today I went into the first village I've ever seen! I don't know if it is considered small or not, but I find it beautiful. It's not just because this is the first time I've ever seen actual, real live people, but because they all work together and know each other. This is a feeling of camaraderie is something I never experienced back in Farandal. Sure everyone there worked together to a goal, but it missed the life and love that this village has. Even though I was just some random wanderer, the villagers were nice to me and even gave me directions to a small inn where I could sleep for the night. I was scared at first, but I could feel that they were good, loving people deep down, even if they didn't act like it. As thanks for their help, I offered to help them with their harvest. They politely declined at first, not because they didn't like me, but because I was a visitor to their village. In the end, they let me help after I assured them that it was no problem for a future magic knight. As we worked, I talked with the villagers about a lot of things: How was it like living in a small village, where are the other nearby villages, how long it was to the capital by foot, do magic knights help them often, etc. While we talked, we ended up finishing the work earlier than the villagers said they would. They said it was all thanks to me and my hard work, but I knew I was only a small part of it. After we talked for awhile after, we said our goodbyes and I looked for the inn they told me about. The inn was nice and quaint. The owners were an elderly couple who ran the inn with the help of their grandchildren. They seemed happy to see a new face in town. They told me that, even though they love them with all their hearts, seeing the same people every day was getting kind of boring. Out of curiosity, I asked them what happened the the parents of their grandchildren. They told me that their parents went missing awhile back and were never found. They still don't know what happened, but say they're almost positive there son and daughter are no longer of this world. All they wanted was closure. I ended up asking them what happened when they went missing. According them, their son and his wife had went into the forest to try and take care of some boar that were harassing the village. All they know for sure is that the boar stopped coming around, and their son and his wife disappeared. I wished them well and went to my room, as it was very late. I really hope they figure out what happened, maybe I can help when I become a real magic knight. Thanks as always for listening Journal. Your my best friend on this long journey.

Goodnight Journal.

Entry number 5:

I'm sorry if I'm not my usual self today Journal, but I had an emotionally taxing day.

After saying my goodbyes to the inn workers, I started off again. It was going good for a little while, but I started sensing something strange with the natural mana. If I closed my eyes and focused, I could see a kind of trail of mana leading into the woods. I just couldn't help myself, so I went to go investigate. After searching for an hour or so, I happened upon what looked like a sinkhole of sorts. I say of sorts because it looked almost as if it was dug by hand. Not carved out by magic. This meant a few things: this hole was dug here deliberately, it was dug in a place where people wouldn't notice, it was very dangerous for unknowing people walking in the woods, this was the way the innkeeper's son and wife want when they went to deal with the boar. I told myself that they wouldn't be at the bottom of the pit. I used my earth magic to safely get to the pits bottom. When I reached the bottom, I saw something I would never forget. 2 people, sealed in a crystal, embracing for the last time, frozen in an embrace of love, hugging each other for the last time. I cried at the sight. Tears of fear, tears of sadness, tears for the beautiful sight, tears for the lives lost, tears for the long dead, I didn't know which they were. Perhaps all. I climbed out of the pit and returned to the inn. The innkeepers asked why I returned and then saw the look on my face. They were more worried about me than the news a came with. I asked them if their son or his wife had magic with a crystal attribute. They told me that was the magic of their son. I struggled with myself, trying to decide if I should tell them what happened. In the end, I decided that they needed the closure that had waited for all those years. As I told them, their faces went from worry, to a weeping sadness, to a sorrowful smile. I asked them why they smiled and they replied, " They died together. They weren't alone in the end. And before his final breath, our son had frozen time for their bodies. Preserving their final act of affection for all eternity. May their souls be at peace."

I asked them if they wanted me to bring the bodies to the village, and they said that wherever the bodies were, was the best possible grave, because they were together. They thanked me for giving them closure. As I went on my way once more, I started thinking. Is this the kind of thing I will expect as a magic knight? Will I be able to go through something like that again? Will I still be sane if I do? Will I have to cause more death as a magic knight? These thoughts whirled in my head, unstoppable and unforgettable. I didn't know the answer to those questions and I don't know them now. I may never know the answer, and that would be fine with me. I'm sorry Journal. I've talked for so long. I needed someone to confide to, and you're my best friend during my travels. If I didn't have you, I don't know what I would have done. Probably break down crying. Thank you Journal for always listening and never criticizing. I may be alone, but with you, I'm never lonely. It's late now and I'm very tired. Goodnight Journal. Please never leave me.