Hey, guys sorry about the delay life got away from me a little bit recently. But here we are! I hope you guys like this chapter I decided to do something a little different with it and focused on introducing some new characters, so ENJOY!
The far remote village of Hage
"SISTER LILLLLYYYYYYY!" Breaking through the silence of the quiet town, a young man's voice pierced the air, "WILL YOU PLEASE MARRY MEEEEEEEE!"
"Asta…" walking up behind the young man was a young woman with glasses and short blonde hair, "You know she's a woman of the cloth and can't marry." She sheepishly informed the grey-haired young man.
"ARRGGGHHH!" He turned to face her, getting almost uncomfortably close for her liking, "I'LL MAKE IT WORK SOMEHOW! ONCE I'M THE WIZARD KING!"
"Do you have to be yelling at all times of the day?" a taller young man with a few young children around his feet, "Juliet is right, though."
"YUNO, NOT YOU TOO!" Asta's jaw dropped at hearing his best friend and rival attempt to discourage him from his desire to wed the sister.
"Besides, you're not going to be the wizard king," Yuno walked past him and entered the church but stop just short, "That's going to be me." He walked into the church with the little ones at his feet. Asta just grinned at his rival's declaration.
"So, we leave for the capital tomorrow, right?" Juliet stared up into the sky, watching the clouds move freely with the wind.
"Yeah," Asta joined her in cloud gazing, "And the next step after that is the magic knight selection exam, then I'll become the wizard king!"
"Asta…" She looked at the ground, lost in thought.
"Hm? What is it?" He looked towards her noticing her now melancholy demeanor.
"Do you… Do you think I can make it into the magic knights?" She asked after a short moment of silence. "I'm not strong like you or Yuno. My magic isn't even that impressive; I'm just afraid that for me, this trip will end in failure…"
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK LIKE THAT!" His voice once again reached volumes that caused eardrums to bleed, "JULIET, YOU CAN DO IT! YOU'LL BE AN AMAZING MAGIC KNIGHT!"
"He's right, y'know," Sister Lily approached the two with a gentle smile, "We all believe in you, okay?" The sister wiped away the tears that had started to form at the corners of Juliet's eyes.
"Thank you." Juliet wiped the last of the tears that had sprung up with her sleeve.
"Besides, if Asta can make it without any magic, I'm positive you can too!" Lily smiled and got a chuckle out of the younger girl at Asta's expense.
That night they all had a feast of pot potatoes to celebrate the trio that would be setting out for the capital in the morning. It was a precious moment that was enjoyed by all, even with the obnoxious shouting of Asta echoing throughout the meal. Once they all had their fill, everyone except for a single person retired for the night. Juliet couldn't sleep and had climbed up onto the roof of the church to watch the stars. She had fear and doubt in her heart but still smiled as she gazed up at the lights strewn throughout the heavens.
"I promise I'll try my hardest to live the life you all want for me." She thought out loud thinking about her adopted family in the church
Meanwhile, at the Kira residence.
The sounds of combat bounced off the courtyard walls, two brothers spared with the older one having the upper hand and throwing his younger sibling into a pillar.
"Damn…" The younger man with a mess of red hair rubbed his head before standing up and facing off with his brother again, "Do you think you could go a little easier on me, Gaius? I barely got my grimoire a few days ago." Standing above was his older brother: Gaius Kira, despite the sparing his hair was still perfectly slicked back.
"Marius," The older brother looked down at him, "No enemy will go easier on you based upon your inexperience. On the contrary, they will use that to their advantage and outwit you. Now, stand up." He began walking away from his brother as he spoke, turning to face Marius as he finished.
"I don't even have to take that stupid test; you know that, right?" Marius stated as he got up to his feet, "So what's with this training?"
"Yes, you do not need to take the selection exam; that is correct." Gaius outstretched his hand towards his younger brother, "However, before I allow you to join the magic knights, you first must prove yourself to me. Gold creation magic: Gungnir." Gaius fired an ornate golden spear towards Marius.
"Lava magic: Surtur's breath!" Marius quickly responded with a blast of lava from his hand that melted the spear but obstructed his view momentarily. Once the lava dissipated, he saw Gaius closing in on him with another spear in hand, bringing it down in an overhead strike.
"Lava creation magic: Surtur's Hatchet!" Marius managed to create a weapon just in time to parry the strike and pull off a quick counter-attack that ultimately failed as Gaius sidestepped the attack.
"Very good," he remarked, "You're getting faster, and your attacks carry more weight. Gold creation magic: Hugin and Munin." Two golden ravens manifested above both of his shoulders and flew at Marius.
"Shit!" Marius ducked below the two birds but noticed that they immediately turned around and attacked him again. "Lava magic: Surtur's breath!" he once again blasted lava from his hand, but this time towards the ravens, melting them instantly. After the ravens were dealt with, Marius turned to face his brother, who had just closed the distance and planted his foot square in the center of Marius's chest. He finished the kick, sending Marius a few feet backward, landing flat on his back.
"Good effort," Gaius looked down at Marius, "However, you got distracted and lost your focus on the real threat. As far as I'm concerned, you are not prepared. We will spare again tomorrow, be prepared." He spoke as he walked away back into the house. Marius just lay there on the ground going over the whole thing again in his head.
"Damn it," He punched the ground as tears welled up in his eyes, "Damn it, damn it damn it!" with each exclamation of frustration, he beat the ground. He lay there until the sun went down and night fell. Then, with a clenched fist, he gazed up at the sky and focused on the stars.
"I promise," his voice quivered with anger and frustration, "I will get strong, and I will prove myself to you!"
Meanwhile, (again) in the village of Tus in the common realm
A small celebration was being held in the town square celebrating a great harvest season. There were plenty of booths and stalls selling all types of food, and some even had games for the little ones. Amid the festivities, a young man with silvery hair walked between booths helping the workers with odd jobs here and there.
"Lucius," an older gentleman working one of the stalls stopped him, "Enjoy the festivities, young man. After all, aren't you planning to leave for the capital soon?"
"Yes, I will," The young man named Lucius replied, "But why should that stop me from helping you all now? You had a great harvest, and I didn't do much to help with that."
"He's right, y'know," an old woman walked up next to the old man, "You're gonna be a magic knight soon, so you might as well rest now." Before Lucius could protest, a group of small children ran up to him and started pulling on his shirt.
"LUCIUS, COME PLAY WITH US!" He willingly went with them while acting like he didn't want to despite having a smile plastered across his face.
"Okay, guys, so what are we playing?" He crouched down to their level as they formed a circle.
"HIDE AND SEEK!" They all exclaimed at the same time. Lucius just chuckled to himself, thinking about back when he was their age.
"Okay, you guys, go hide then, and I'll start counting," He covered his eyes and began slowly counting as they all ran away to go hide. "eight...nine...TEN! Ready or not, here I come!" He exclaimed as he looked up to see that all the kids had run away. He began looking around for the kids, and luckily it didn't take too long to find them as they were all giggling to themselves, giving away their hiding spots. He quickly found all but one of them.
"Hey guys," he looked at the kids following him, "Do you know Lisa went to hide?" Before any of the kids could answer, a scream pierced the air that sounded like it came from a little girl. "You guys stay here. I'll be right back." Lucius took off in the direction of the scream; once he turned a corner to the alleyway, he saw Lisa on the ground with a feral dog snarling at her.
"Bad… BAD DOGGIE!" Lisa shouted, clearly scared as the dog lunged at her. However, while the dog was mid-jump, she was lifted off the ground by Lucius.
"Don't worry; I got you!" Lucius jumped back with Lisa in his arms as the dog began snarling at him. Before the feral animal got a second chance, he fired a small blast of magic at the ground in front of it, scaring it away. Once the dog left, he turned to head back to the festival with Lisa in his arms.
"Thank you, Lucius!" the young girl was crying into his shoulder. "Thank you for protecting me!"
"Of course," He then looked up into the night sky, "I promise no matter how far I am, I will protect all of you."
Back at the Alabaster Foxes' hideout
Tydus sat on the roof of the hideout looking up at the stars; he traced the constellations with his eyes, he watched as a few shooting stars rocketed through the sky, and he just basked in the beauty that was the night sky. He sat there for what to him felt like an eternity, enjoying the silence of the night.
"So," The silence was broken when a voice cut through the night and approached Tydus, "Can't sleep?" Tydus turned to see who the voice belonged to and saw his captain behind him.
"Not really," He turned back to the stars, "Besides, sometimes star gazing gives me a refreshing view on my life."
"Oh? And how's that?" Lain sat down next to his squadmate and looked up at the stars.
"In the end, all of our problems are small," Tydus started, "Just lookup. Compared to what's out there, we're nothing more than ants than specks of dust. However, the stars aligned to bring us all together and weave our destiny and lives. In the grand scheme of things, we are both insignificant and a miracle."
"A miracle, yes," Lain added, "But I don't think we're insignificant. Remember it was one man alone who saved the clover kingdom from destruction, the first Wizard King. So, to me, despite there being who knows what out there. The fact that we are right here, right now, is a miracle."
"I think that's why I joined your squad," Tydus sighed, "You have a refreshingly optimistic view on everything Lain."
"And you have a realistic view," Lain smiled, "You can keep my head out of the clouds and my feet on the ground. That's why I asked you to be my vice-captain." The two sat there in silence, star gazing.
"The entrance exam is coming up soon," Tydus broke the silence.
"Excited?" Lain looked towards his subordinate, "Let's hope we can find some good candidates."
"I have a feeling we'll get a few at least." Tydus smiled, looking towards the sky.
Alright thanks for reading guys, I promise I'll get back to uploading a chapter a week. As of right now, I'm still taking submissions for OCs if any one wants to see their own pop up in the story! Until next time!