Light poured through the windows into the office. A single fellow poured over notes and writing, full of logistics, first-hand accounts of morale and war conditions. Weather reports and supply updates. He paid attention with utmost detail, double checking everything he wrote down.

"Sir! Sir!" The man snapped his head up, he had been busy looking over the papers and files and surprised when his page entered the room. "This year's conscription was on an all-time low, which wasn't to say they weren't conscripting any men, it was just that volunteers were on the rise, the idea that Rembrant, someone viewed so highly in their media and by other nobles was actually an insidious spy scared many people, and the benefits of the military, coupled with the low mortality rates of the war and the benefits for the deceased's families created a rather massive incentive to serve. Many able-bodied second and third sons unable to receive a suitable inheritance and not blessed with magic of any kind joined. Because of this, there had been a growing anti-mage sentiment, other than becoming a mage, one had to become a soldier in order to make a decent amount if one wasn't inheriting a trade, or already came from money, a mix of envy and prejudice and disdain came from both sides. His page fidgeted, nervous and waiting for the man's response.

"What is it?" He asked, he was getting on in the years, with somewhat greying hair, grizzled features and a squarish jaw. He frowned as he looked at his page. The boy nervously fidgeted.

"I apologize for bothering you sir! I just was sent a missive, to relay to you someone applying to be an officer."

"That all? Why should I be notified?"

"Well sir the applicant is only eleven years of age."

The grizzled man laughed, "That's younger than you Joshua, tell them to refund his payment and force him out on his way."

"That's just it, sir, they wanted you to see it before they do so."

"Alright fine… let me see it." The old man grumbled as he took the document, "Okay, elven years, uhuh, hmmm…" He looked at Joshua, "You know who's name is on it right?"

"Yes…"

"Isn't he a mage?"

"I heard he lost his magic sir, in fact he's still recovering in the hospital."

"What? So, the queen wants to kill him? There are easier ways than joining the army."

"He requested it himself sir…"

"Oh…" The man grew suspicious, "Do the mages know?"

"I don't believe so, none have made moves to apprehend or question him, but we wouldn't know."

"Well, he's a hero, and a martyr. My faction took a severe hit when Rembrant was outed as a blasted traitor." His blood still boiled at the memory, he had trusted Rembrant with his life, thinking of him as one of the few mages he could trust, a fellow soldier once himself. To say being wrong disappointed him was an understatement. While he held some pity for the boy, he also knew many of his faction held open animosity to the child, as far as many were concerned, losing his magic was a just punishment for abusing it. He on the other hand, once privy to the full story felt somewhat bad for the boy. The children he avenged, a survivor who had come forward reminded him of his granddaughter. He'd need to speak with the boy himself. "Well… we'll have to see what happens…"

A single pale red light illuminated the room, Dr. Mendel prostrated himself before the woman with scarlet hair in front of him. Behind him, the enhanced children stood far back, fear and apprehension on their faces, the only one not far was Eta, she lay before the woman as well, with a listless face, drooling slightly, as if she had lost her mind. The children were paralyzed, they felt her energy, massive, dark, cold, Delta was nothing to her, in fact, even if they combined all their efforts, they would not achieve a tenth her power. The woman was petting a large cat that lay by her, its pelt was odd, a deep red with black stripes, and equally red eyes, not blood shot, but red, glowing as it stared at them all, as if determining whether or not they were worth devouring.

"…So, these are the gifts you bring me…" The shade looked down on Dr. Mendel. "Would it not have been easier to simply create shades?"

"Sh-sh-shades cannot be controlled my leader, you yourself the greatest example.

"So… you instead kill my brethren? I knew you were experimenting, but…" The woman smiled, "I'm disappointed."

Dr. Mendel burst into tears as he brought a knife to his neck. "I'm sorry…" He whispered. The children shuddered as he completed his grisly task with an awful jerk before collapsing forward, blood pooling below him.

"Pity, he was brilliant, but he was greedy, he thought he could earn my love by attaining power." She turned to the children, smiling sadly "But I already loved him, I love all who follow me." She cocked her head, "You all fear me, you don't have to, it's likely the spirit corpses within you, you can feel it." The children whimpered as they felt ghostly tendrils wrap around their necks. Jahat smiled, "You're all quite impressive though." She smiled, "But… he was more impressive, wasn't he?" She turned to Alpha, "I wonder, are you willing to receive my love?"

The sun began to rise in the hospital room, Faris looked at Venka, she was inscrutable at first. He sighed, he had already sworn he was speaking the truth in the ancient language, that he would not twist his words as he explained everything to the best of his knowledge pertaining to this. He knew the things he said visibly shocked her, some of the things he said and did horrified her. And she had listened to the last of his explanation stonily. "I know you probably hate m-!" Faris had expected Venka to smack him when she rushed up to him, to flick him on the nose, to yell at him, call him a freak, a liar, an ass. Much of what he said he knew scared even him in retrospect, but instead of the hardness of her hand striking his face. He felt her soft lips in contact with his. After what seemed an eternity, yet also a few seconds, she broke the kiss. She looked away red. "Wha- wha-wha?!" Faris felt himself unable to say anything.

"You've been hiding all of this… all this while." She frowned a bit, "It might take a bit to get used to, but it makes sense now, why you act more mature, why you know so much… Albeit it wasn't what I was expecting. But I fell in love with you Faris, everything you've done and experienced made you the boy I'm looking at right now." Faris smiled awkwardly despite himself. "And besides," Venka added with a cheeky grin, "In 4 years I'll be 16, and you won't have to worry about the age difference."

Faris turned a deeper dark red, "Except that I might be technically 30."

"Aren't you like over a thousand if we count all those other memories." She frowned, "But please…" She looked to the side, "Don't do that anymore, its… scary."

"It's not like I can do it anymore, and… I know, I'm paying for it now, but please, Venka, understand, even if you know all about me, I can't stay."

"I know, so… you're going to become a military recruit, and vie for an officer position?"

"Yes…"

"Don't worry…" She began, "I won't tell them, I'll pretend I don't know. But…" She looked at him slyly, "That hair stands out."

"I'm going to dye it." Faris smiled, relieved he could share his feelings. It was different from Angela or Elva. Angela was his teacher, and Elva would understand his discomforts regardless, so he seldom had to articulate his feelings. Venka, she was, in his opinion a bit on the dull side, not stupid by any mean, she was brilliant in her own way, but when it came to book smarts and the likes, and interpersonal skills, she was more often than not somewhat bumbling through. Unlike Faris, who did his best to understand the character and personality of anyone he interacted with to approach the situation as best he could, Venka acted the same, she never hid her honest opinions. Or when she did, she did so terribly, he could feel a level of apprehension from her, he had known her long enough to understand it. But he also understood that her care was genuine. And he loved her for that. "Thanks."

"Don't go thanking me yet." Venka frowned, "Fuck you for lying all this while, but I understand why you did as well, please don't lie to me." She put her hand on her chest, "If everyone else turns against you, I'll still be on your side." She hugged Faris. "When will the doctors let you out?"

"Tomorrow."

"Then it's probably best you enter and take your stuff while we're still in classes. That way no one will stop or question you. Will I be able to talk to you?"

"Remember than 'fake language' we messed around with for a while?"

"You mean before Anya came and all this started? Yeah, I remember, it's been a while but I can still read and write it."

"It wasn't made up, it's called Spanish, it's, different enough from what we speak, different enough to an extreme." Faris smiled, Ventus told me he didn't mind ferrying letters between me and my parents, I hope he doesn't mind a third person."

After Venka left, Faris rested easier, he felt warm, and happy as he lay down. He didn't feel as alone, or as ashamed of some of his actions as before. "I still…" He understood that he did wrong and right things, but he also understood that he could do them again. Even if Venka didn't fully condone or like what he did, she understood somewhat why he did some things. He closed his eyes, if need be, he'd still kill, if need be, he'd lie, steal, destroy, and cheat to protect what he needed to, though he hated the thought of even resorting to such acts, yet at the same time, it was the fate of the weak. To struggle, employing whatever advantage they had. A new, unfamiliar place awaited him, with new and unfamiliar people, some of which may come to hate and fear him. He cared little, he knew what he wanted to do. He had hope of regaining his magic, it was slim, but it was there. But before that, there were things to take care of, he reached for the letter under his pillow, tomorrow the head master of the military academy wanted to speak to him…

The next day rolled by softly. Faris's friends went about their daily tasks and came to his room, to find his bed and corner lacking its usual items, even Ventus was missing, in its place was a giant cake, and several dozen other confectionaries and a few drinks.

Hey guys, sorry. I was an ass, it's still awkward to speak to you all, on orders I've left for medical rehabilitation. So, it's goodbye for now. But you'll see me again. Ventus left with me, I'll message back to Venka and my parents every once in a while, so you can see my letters then.

P.S. Para leer más. Aplique calor, pero no queme el papel

P.P.S. That's just an inside joke between me and Venka. I hope hard feelings only last a year at most.

"What the hell…" Nya looked cross, "Are we supposed to accept this?!"

"Probably," Morgan shrugged, "Regardless, he did apologize, so he's somewhat self-aware of his actions and conduct. Besides, we have more things to worry about." He turned to Venka, "Captain, Bartholomew was cornered by some gold rank mages, they tried to forcibly recruit him, and when he claimed to be in our group, they robbed him of a few hundred gold as a tax for being in a different group, Bartholomew is interested in challenging them, but as the higher party, and the ones being challenged, they set up that you, Nya, and Seya cannot participate if they agree to the duel."

"Oh?" Venka smiled, "Any other rules?"

"Nope."

"We accept then. They're going easy on us…"

Faris stood at attention in front of the grizzled man, he had been in this same position, faced forward, standing straight, arms up, for almost an hour, he had almost broken composure when a fly decided to settle on his nose, but a sharp gust of wind saved him from that torture. As he stood the man, who was named Donovan, looked over him with almost boredom. Faris felt sweat drip down his face, just back from the hospital, any form of exercise would leave him feeling tired, but he felt shame that just standing tall and straight could leave his arms so tired. After by his reckoning another half an hour Donovan finally spoke, his voice rough and deep.

"I understand you want to join us."

Faris did not let down his arms, "Sir yes sir!"

Donovan cocked one eye up, "Oh? You have training already?"

"No sir! I just observe the discipline elite soldiers put on and believed emulating their demeanor and discipline would be good. Sir!"

Donovan shook his head, "I've seen enough. You're dismissed, I'll ask that if you're so inclined, you should probably leave and come back in 3 years."

Faris did not let his hands down, "I do not have three years sir!"

"Oh? And why is that?"

"I plan to graduate by three years sir!"

"Oh?" Donovan frowned, "And I haven't even admitted you, why should I allow you in. You're already so exhausted from this."

"Sir! Permission to speak frankly!"

"Permission granted, but keep those arms up."

Faris looked at Donovan, "To be honest sir, being a soldier for the crown does not interest me too much, it's the reward for the top ranked officer."

Donavan smiled in realization, "Ah, so you really did lose your magic."

"I thought it was already well known I lost my magic." Faris frowned, "Anyways, I know the signet in production will be the final one. And it won't be completed until three years are up."

"And how do you know that?" Donovan was curious.

"The signet requires some, questionable ingredients, non the least is shade's blood. Rembrant's writings and the writings of a Magister 6, the same one who experimented on me, extrapolate into more detail. Whilst it can grant someone magical abilities, the person's prowess is dependent on their own skills. And the shade in question whose blood was extracted and sent to Rembrant is no longer a relevant factor, neither is Rembrant, nor his Magister 6." Faris hid his temper as he spoke of them. "Whilst it's not common knowledge, more than a few mage investigators understand what it is, and more than a few people fear it. If I end up getting it, and restoring my magic, it would do two things. It would make the anti-mage faction look good, for helping restore a victim of Rembrant's evil, and it would quell concerns of the few who know the ingredients."

Donovan scowled, "I recently learned it myself, why should I trust you? What do you want?"

"Ultimately, I'm here on behalf of Lord Jaya, well previous Lord Jaya, he wants me to restore my magic, and hide it for a bit, the platinum signet winners never reveal that their magic comes from the signet's enchantment, there have only been 5 of them, so it's not even common as well. He wants to use me to bargain back his position."

"So, you admit it? Then why should I admit you?"

"Because his replacement is honestly almost as bad as Rembrant, but in the opposite, he believes mages should have more rights, and should all be considered nobility, he wishes to change the kingdom into a mage hegemony."

"Can you prove any of these statements?"

"Not really, I can just swear in the ancient language that I'm speaking the truth, but if the ancient language was trusted, I wouldn't be in this predicament…" Faris smiled, "I heard your brother is a pretty fair judge, could you ask him why he kept me imprisoned for so long?" Donovan frowned.

"And why should I ask him that? Do you think he was colluding with Rembrant?"

"I don't know." Faris frowned, "You should ask his son, you might not remember, but you lost a pretty outstanding Captain because of it."

Donovan grit his teeth, "What are you playing at."

"Do you remember a man by the name of Braxton, he spent a good 20 years, both as part of the Varden's forces for a short bit, and as a great soldier, serving the kingdom and retiring 2 years ago. He had a beautiful daughter; her name was Kathleen. Kathleen was honestly a lovely girl with a lovely singing voice with plenty of suitors. Eventually the son of a high-ranking judge and nephew of a retired General attempted to woo her. She was enamored by his beauty and charm, and so she, without her father's knowledge or permission began a relationship with him. Even though he had more than enough funds to marry her. She slowly became more and more disillusioned, but she had already given him her honor and virginity, something she could never get back, if she didn't marry him, then she'd be a lonely spinster. She began writing it in a diary, talking about every time she found him drunk in the arms of another woman. Eventually, he was kicked out of the military and she realized she had fallen for the wrong man. But it was too late for her, she had gone past the normal marrying age, and all her original suitors found others. She could find no one to her taste because she looked too late, and her shame kept her from finding others." Faris frowned, "The judge's son got into gambling, and one day he gambled away a small fortune. Desperate to keep the news from spreading, he agreed that if he didn't have the money, he'd pay a different way." Donovan stared uncomfortably, he had remembered the hatred in Braxton's eyes as he had been arrested for the attempted murder of his nephew, he hadn't understood, and hadn't attended the trial, which had been closed to the public.

"What happened…" His voice sounded hoarse and dry.

"Well, he came to her, telling her he had been a fool, and that he'd marry her. But that she needed to come somewhere with him first. She was excited, and she decided she'd sneak out and follow him. Let me ask you, what happens when a man can't pay off his debts, and offers a woman? I'm only eleven so I couldn't possibly understand right? Forgive me, I must just be a stupid child for thinking that bastard is one of the worst creatures alive."

"What do you want…" Donovan said, suddenly tired.

"I want Braxton's release, he was kind to me whilst I was wrongly imprisoned, by that same judge of course. I want to be admitted to the school as well."

"Anything else?" Donovan eyed him with a bit of apprehension.

"Well of course, I'll make some odd requests, I'll never ask anything to aid me in classes, those things I'll pay for normally if required, no, I'll be asking for odd things here and there, food stuffs, metals, herbs and the like. I would like my requests taken seriously and completed quickly. Also. Your nephew? How is he? What does he do?"

Donovan looked at him, "He's an accountant, it's all he's good for, he still gambles and drinks I've heard."

Faris frowned dispassionately, "If anything happens to me, everything I've revealed will be released to the public. The anti-mage faction, who you and your brother belong to, are just barely recovering from Rembrant, I advise you to take care." He straitened his face. "Now! Sir! I want to join the force sir! I don't give two shits about the difficulty sir! Give me a fair trial for the officer track sir!"

Donovan shook his head, "…Fine…"

.

.

.

Afterword:

I wonder how you guys feel about this development. I know I'm excited to see where things are going. Now that Faris's magic isn't able to filter the memories he absorbed from his own, he's going to be a bit less kind to rude strangers. This of course is just the beginning, he's not done devising ways to take advantage of what happened to him. He's not going to just get even, in his eyes, he's owed by not just Rembrant and Yacob, but by the Anti-Mage Faction, Rembrant's guards, and that Judge that allowed him to rot for a month. His heart also goes out to Braxton, who tried to take vengeance into his own hands but did it in a straight forward honest way, paying for his naivety. Faris is normally more cautious anyway, and taking Braxton into consideration, he's set up several means of keeping himself safe while extorting the ones who harmed him. He, and I think you all, will find though that Donovan is a more noble man than his brother or nephew. Though even then, there will be animosity between the two. I also think it's a fun dynamic that someone now knows really who he is in Venka. She believes him, though cares for him still. This in itself is a great deal of relief to Faris mentally. And it will help him cope with his newfound solo think. As for what Faris still has in his arsenal?
His swords, knives, and the later, a few magical tools with a bit of energy left in them, like the mirrors, balances for the cannon, and papers for launching the burning flying paper airplanes and paper cranes to be launched into purple soldier. His crossbow, his Urgal Horn Great Bow, the armor made for him (If you remember from the letter from his father) and several more tools. Faris will be surviving without magic for a good while, and may even fight without it. Hopefully his understanding of fighting with magic will allow him to fight without it.