Unpacking My Own Mess

As the general stood up, I noticed that she lacked her usual composure. Something about her felt off, she wasn't as mean-looking.

The door opened as a nurse rushed in. One of the machines hooked up to my body must have notified them I was awake because the second she saw me, she ran off for the doctor.

The room before me was still a bit hazy but it was steadily becoming clearer. When General Krimm noticed the nurse, she sat back down in her chair. I guess our conversation would be put on hold for now.

I laid back in my bed and placed my arms behind my head like a pillow, "Just you?" I asked, but the general didn't respond.

Actually, it didn't even look like she heard me. It looked like she was contemplating something while she stared at some far-off sight.

"My prince," the doctor said as he walked in, "How are you feeling?"

Well, to be honest, I feel like crap. Like I just had the worst hangover ever before being punched in the gut. But… "I feel fine," I said nonchalantly.

"Hmm… Well, I couldn't find anything wrong with you. While you were asleep, we ran all manner of tests on you and yet we found nothing out of the ordinary. Have you ever had a seizure before?"

"No, never," I lied.

"And I'm told you had a violent outlash, does this kind of stuff occur often?"

"No."

"And you don't believe this to have any relation with the recurring headaches I have on your file from… let's see, oh. It's already been three months, huh? Do you believe this to be-"

"No."

"Hmm, alright… And no trauma? Rather than physical, do you believe there was a psychological trigg-"

"Doctor, I'm fine."

"I see. Well, I'll be frank. There's really nothing for me to do here. Per King Haryon's request, I've run every test and used every top-of-the-line machine we have to examine your body, but everything has come back fine. If you're telling me that there's never been a precedent, then all I can do is prescribe you something to take the edge off and leave it at that. That's what you would like anyway, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, of course."

"I see. Well then, I'll be off. I recommend you remain within our care for the next day at least, but of course, you may do as you like. Just as you always have."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," I said, waving him off.

As he left the room, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Aeric," a voice startled me.

Ah. It had only been a minute or two, but I'd completely forgotten she was there.

"H-hey. I can explain," I said, caught off guard.

Damn. I didn't have a lot of time, but I'd have to pull something out of my ass for this. It wasn't like I could just tell her I've been hearing voices for the past few years; she'd think I'm crazy.

"L-look, uhm-"

"You don't have to explain it all," she said, with her head down, "They're called the Chosen, right?"

Oh, the Chosen. So, she wasn't asking about me. Wait, how did she know their name?

At that moment, for the first time, I realized that the room wasn't as dark as it should've been. I thought it was night, but no. The sun was up.

"Wait… how long have I been asleep?"

"Nearly eight hours," as she spoke, she still never lifted her head.

"Oh, I see."

"A lot has happened in that time. We received word from the earth-runners that both came from, and went to, the city of Balkan. The information that Trok brought us last night was confirmed. The city's gone, tens of thousands are dead, and the enemy is nowhere to be found."

"Nowhere? Wait, you're the head of our military, shouldn't you be out there?"

"No. I've already given my orders. And besides…" she said, finally lifting her head to meet my eyes, "I'm more interested in you. I'm more interested in 'this'."

I was lost for words when she showed me what she held in her hand. I guess it makes sense, anyone could rob my pockets if I'm passed out.

Damn… I've got to come up with some better theft-prevention.

"I want you to start with the Chosen, but first," she paused, "Why the hell do you know 'Ogryn'?"

Huh?

"W-what? Sorry, I don't think I understand your-"

"You spoke it in your sleep. Your father… he said you were mumbling incoherently. Rest assured, I'm the only person he's directly spoken to about anything regarding your current situation. However, when I came to visit you, I realized you were saying the same thing repeatedly. I came to the conclusion that whatever you were saying just wasn't in our language."

"I-is that so?"

"Furthermore, I had Riddick listen to what you were saying. He knows more languages than I could ever hope to understand, and he had some interesting stuff to say. So… dear nephew, why the hell do you know Ogryn?"

She's already asked me that, but hell if I know why!

I've only ever tried to learn elvish when it comes to foreign languages, so the language of ogres? Why would I-

Oh, no. Wait…

"What was it… that I was saying?"

She walked towards me and reached into her pocket as she pulled out a folded sheet of paper. She read it for a moment before handing it to me. On the top was an extremely rudimentary looking line of symbols. Below it was a pronunciation written in our alphabet, followed lastly by its meaning.

When I stared at the piece of paper, I instantly knew something was wrong. I could read… Ogryn.

"The rough translation would be 'Born apart, die together.' Riddick told me it's a mantra of sorts," she said, sitting down in the chair close to my bedside, "It was also like a war cry. The ogres yelled it out as they pushed forward into certain death alongside their brethren. He had to break open a lot of old and dusty tomes to come up with that information. So, again… Why do you know the language of a race that's been dead for nearly two centuries?"

When I read the poorly drawn symbols on the sheet of paper, I saw all sorts of images in my mind.

"Born apart, die together."

So, it wasn't just memories that I inherited from 'them', was it?

I thought about what I would say to her, what excuse I would give, but I knew she could see through any half-assed lie I came up with. In the end, I decided to tell her a warped truth.

"They didn't-" I started, trying to find the right words. I would start, and then I would cut myself short. Everything I tried to say felt wrong for some reason. I knew it was the truth, but it was just the way I phrased it… I struggled for a while before speaking resolutely, "The harpies lied to us."

"Hmm? The harpies? What do they have to do with-"

"You said a race that's been dead for nearly two centuries… You're talking about 'Beg's war', aren't you? Beg, The Marauder? The ogre that led his entire race into the bloodiest war our world has ever seen?"

She gave a slight nod and I let out a sigh.

"Most of what they said is the truth. If the harpies didn't come down from their homeland up north, our kingdom would've fallen just like the rest. The ogres were one of the strongest races to ever be brought into this world, they just had nothing they could do against beasts that could fly. In the end, the harpies chased them to the end of the earth and claimed to have killed them all. The harpies' hunt has gone down in history as some righteous and legendary act when it was actually far from it. I understand their confidence in saying they purged their entire race, the harpies killed non-combatants and children alike after all. But they failed, and they were too prideful to admit it. They let an entire village get away. Sonia," I said, using my aunt's first name as I closed my eyes, "I watched the last of their race die out three years ago."

I didn't look and gauge her response, but she didn't speak for a few seconds. She must've been replaying my own words in her head, undoubtedly trying to place a value on that information. She might've been forming a response, but I beat her to the punch.

"They taught me a little bit of their language, that's all." I waited a moment, but she still didn't speak. "Don't believe me?" I asked.

To that, she finally responded, "It's not that I don't… It's whether or not it's worth the hassle to try to. If they survived the end of the war, like you claimed they did, and they died, like you claimed they did, then what difference does it make? I'll pass that information along to Riddick and-" It was like she was truly uninterested in anything she was saying, but then she had cut herself off. "Three years? That would be after the Advent then, right?"

I knew what she was getting at, so I nodded.

"Supposing you're telling the truth and these ogres had escaped extinction, did they… Were they granted a gift? Did they have magic?"

"I wouldn't know," I lied, "If the ogres had magic, they never let Mira or I see them use it. But none of that is really important," I tried to change topics, "They were killed by the Chosen not long after."

"So, Mira was there too…" she barely let out. "Tell me, Aeric, what the hell happened last night with you? You went into a frenzy and collapsed."

Yeah… I know. Out of everything I needed to explain, this felt like the hardest one. I could spin any number of lies about things she wasn't actually there for. But this…

Hmm…

"I don't think you understand how terrifying the Chosen can be," I started, and this wasn't really a lie, "They're stupid beasts… but they're strong. They killed everyone Mira and I knew at the time and maybe… a part of me hadn't gotten over it. I think that's what happened."

"But you were rambling about being kill-"

"Sonia. I was just scared." I stared into her eyes, trying to end the conversation. I don't know what face I wore at the time, but I doubt it resembled anything close to a 'scared' person.

"Whatever," she scoffed, "You don't want to tell me? Fine. I'm not here on a wellness check anyways. You answered about half of what I wanted out of you, so what about this?" She asked as she raised the small metal rod she stole from me.

"First, how about you answer a question of mine. You said the enemy was nowhere to be found and yet you know the Chosen's name. How? Did Mira say something?"

She lowered her head and broke eye contact, "No, she didn't. She refuses to speak with me, even though you've both been back for this long," she said with a sigh before bringing back the serious air, "I told you earlier, we received earth-runners from Balkan while you slept. Only a handful of people were spared from the evacuation, they were all dwarves, and their sole purpose for remaining alive was to relay a message. Apparently," her eyes narrowed, "one of the Chosen can communicate with us. He's some sort of pseudo-leader, not the big one Trok described."

Ah. 'Him'.

"His name's Rant." I told her, feeling particularly generous.

"Rant? He didn't include his name in the message, how can you be so sure?"

"It's because he's the only one that 'can' talk with us. I heard him speak, but it was strange. He spoke in what seemed to be those creatures' native tongue, but I could somehow understand the meaning behind his words. It doesn't happen with any of the rest."

"That's exactly what the messengers we picked up said. Alright, so his name is Rant. Well, Rant's message can be summed up quite simply. He wishes for us to open our gates and allow his people to ceremoniously murder what remains of the human race." Sonia finished with a soft laugh.

"So, he hasn't changed, huh? I would like to think you turned him down."

"I would, but it's not like they gave us a chance to. I already have nearly two thousand dwarves in Balkan searching through the rubble and looking for survivors. The human portion of the force should arrive sometime tomorrow, they just can't keep up with the dwarves with their magic. From what I've heard, there were no sightings of any Chosen lingering around. All signs look like they pulled back into the wasteland, somewhere we just can't go as of right now. It might be worth revisiting all of those projects our country gave up on… If only we could breathe the air there I would be planning an attack, not bolstering our walls."

So, the Chosen destroyed Balkan and disappeared? That's odd.

[[No it isn't.]]

?!

I was startled by his sudden interruption, the man who damned me to the accursed existence that I thought had ended.

I froze and I noticed Sonia began to look at me, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Why now? When I was in that dream-like world, I couldn't even feel their presence. And when I woke up, the hold they held over me felt so faint that I thought they would never speak again. But now, the very man I hate with all my being had spoken to me like it was the most casual thing in the world.

"Aeric… are you-"

"What else?" I quickly asked, pretending that everything was okay.

"Huh?"

"What else did the messengers say?"

I've only met Rant twice but that still means I know him better than anyone else in our kingdom if I leave out Mira. I have a certain degree of understanding of the way he acts, of why he does some of the things he does.

That being said, Balkan must have been an accident. He doesn't like to leave things up to chance, he wouldn't attack without his full force being there. That must be why only a few thousand launched the invasion.

Also, there was no reason for him to send us a message. I think it would work in his favor more if he had stayed in the dark. But since the rest of our kingdom now knows what the Chosen's goal is, we're able to strategize around that.

"Specifically," I said as I stared her down, "What did he say about the dwarves?"

She paused for a moment before answering my question, "The dwarves would be granted immunity if they aided the Chosen. In fact, the Chosen would welcome any of the other races with open arms if they were to join their cause."

So that's what he was really after, huh?

Rant wants to inspire fear… Give a reason for others to betray us. If the human race is his only target, there's a lot of risk to harboring our people. Besides, our country isn't the only one with humans in them. There's no doubt that at least a few thousand live in other places spread out across the world. If the Chosen offer immunity towards the other races, that's even more of a reason for the others to not aid us.

There would be no reason for foreign countries to join a war when the alternative is to abandon a miniscule portion of their population. It might be morally wrong… but it'd be smart.

Even if we're left to fight this war on our own, our kingdom is strong. We have the dwarves and their magic… but beyond that, the ungifted are useless against beings that can conjure fire.

If the Chosen destroyed Balkan in a single night… I fear what will become of the rest of us. It's not that I'm doubting Sonia's ability to lead, or the strength of our military… but, no matter how I try to slice it, everything comes down to the dwarves.

Their magic is the only thing that gives us a chance at having a fair field to battle on. Even then, there's only so much the rest of us can do. In the past four years since this world received magic, our kingdom has become the leader in technological advancement. The dwarves' ability to manipulate metal and rock to craft machinery with the most minute detail has led to breakthroughs in almost every field you can imagine. Our cities were literally rebuilt from the ground up. Of course, this includes weaponry as well.

Powder explosives were introduced to the world during Beg's war two centuries ago. The ogre's lived far to the northeast in a volcanic region, and they had an expansive supply of materials to craft their bombs. Battles were no longer fought on high walls that could crumble, but from far away on the battlefield where their bombs couldn't reach. However, there was a fatal flaw with the ogre's design.

When it comes to explosives, oftentimes it's not the force of the blast that kills you… it's the shrapnel. Their bombs were meant for walls, not people. Still, with their overwhelming numbers, they didn't need bombs to win on the battlefield. If the ogres had taken the time to refine their invention, they might not have lost the war. Maybe… our kingdom wouldn't exist today. But, because they didn't… because they couldn't reach the harpies in the sky, they lost.

What I'm trying to get to is the fact that what our country has in terms of blasting powder for explosives is extremely small. All the ogres' lands were annexed by the harpies and we've yet to find another source for the materials required to create it. The harpies were the ones that had the most to lose if someone else had taken over the ogres' lands, so I can't blame them for doing so. I say this because our country has invented extremely powerful ranged weapons using what little bit of blasting powder we were able to attain. I understand the harpies' fear of losing the only advantage they had as a flying creature.

But when magic came about, when the dwarves were able to reach the sky using mere rocks, we abandoned a lot of those inventions. We've put our entire country's fate within the hands of the gifted dwarves…

Deep in my gut, I had a bad feeling.

"I think I know why you asked about the dwarves," she broke the silence, "it's not impossible that we'd be betrayed, but…" she paused as she looked away from me, "I'd hate to believe that… I know it's my responsibility to doubt everyone, to always be ready for war. As the head of our military, I've never once made light of that responsibility. But… I don't want to think that things would come to that. I would like to place my faith in the people that we've shared our kingdom with for two centuries." The demeanor she had and the way she spoke was nothing like the cold, calculating person that she always was. She's known as a strong, scary, and unmovable person. But the Sonia in front of me was different. It looked like she was debating something before raising her hand once again, "I think I've heard enough. Just… what is this?"

What she held in her hand was a small metal rod approximately four inches in length. At one end it reached a sharp point, and on the other was a ring that protruded like something could be attached to it.

When it came to this, nothing about me felt generous. I didn't want to talk about it, let alone talk about the 'one' her daughter had. I thought about what I would say before deciding it would be safer to lead with a question.

"What makes you think it's special? It's just a good luck charm I found."

For the first time since we began speaking to each other, it looked like I angered her.

"Aeric, I've never been one to interfere with your life. I thought my older sister was the one that needed to raise you right, not me, but I've come to realize that that responsibility doesn't reside within any one person. You-" she looked away, "Heh, I don't even know what I'm saying. But you… you were the one that raised my daughter. Even if you're the same age as her, I can't even recognize the woman… the warrior, she's become. I can tell that she carries some sort of burden, you and her both, but I want you to stop with the act… to stop lying for once. Maybe you just can't understand because you've never had a child yourself, but… it hurts to see her with that cold face she wears. Not just her… but you too," she paused before continuing, "When I think back... this very well may be the first proper conversation we've had since your mother's funeral. I'm appreciative of what you've already told me, but I want you to stop treating me like I'm some outsider in your life. I know how you feel about this castle and your father, I can see it just by looking at you. But I don't care how many people you hate, I just want you to know that I shouldn't be one of them."

I don't really know why she was bringing all of this up now, but from how the tension left her face with every word she spoke, it looked like it was something she had been carrying for a long time. Nothing she said was wrong, so I don't know why I felt so conflicted and uncomfortable. This just... wasn't something I wanted to talk about in this moment, especially not anything regarding my mother.

Maybe she noticed, because she drew herself back.

"Look. Just tell me, what is this?" she said as she rotated the rod she held in her hand, eyeing it closely, "I thought I'd have a dwarf examine it. But..." she brought it down and looked at me, "they nearly lost their arm just trying to touch it. I think you can understand my curiosity."

I didn't say anything and in fact refused to make eye contact. Sure, I could just tell her the truth about it, but I didn't think there was a point to doing so. It'd probably backfire.

Instead, I chose my words carefully.

"Fine," disregarding all the words Sonia tried to instill into me, I spoke, "It's a weapon. I bought it off of some merchant."

"A weapon, Really? But it's so small..."

"Size doesn't matter! It's more about how you use it. Just, give it to me, I'll show you." I didn't mind showing her what it really did, because honestly, it's not that impressive. I could play it off as something only slightly special and it would get her off my back.

She looked hesitant, but she slowly handed it over.

"I got it in Crale," I lied again, "I don't know how it was made but it's something like dwarven magic, I guess. Just… without the dwarf."

As I took it in my hand, I thought of the word I'm all too used to using by now.

'Release'

In an instant, the tiny metal rod shot out to nearly six feet in length.

"W-what the-" Sonia exclaimed, shocked as she stood up. "D-did that really just- But that was magic. H-how?"

"Beats me," I continued to lie, "It's just a spear. The merchant never said how he found it, but he told me that it would listen to whoever owned it and harm all else."

"Compress." I thought, and the spear shrunk back to its original pocket-sized state.

"Here," I said as I tossed it towards her, "I know you wouldn't have let me go unless I told you the truth. But since I showed you that, I know you're going to want it back. It's magic, but I don't know how. Feel free to try and figure it out, but I guarantee you won't," I said rather confidently. It wasn't a bluff, I truly believed that nobody would be able to comprehend the true nature of this spear. I had that much faith in its creator… in Harone.

"B-but," she stumbled as she nervously caught the small weapon I threw towards her, "How come it doesn't hurt me?"

"Well… I mean, it's not like you've really tried to do anything with it, have you? I imagine that the dwarf you handed it to ran their magic through it and tried to analyze and change its shape, I'd say that's the difference."

"So… It's because I'm magicless?"

In return, I just shrugged my shoulders.

"This… You do realize that this might be something revolutionary, don't you?" she asked, "If we can replicate these, or no… If it's only a spear, then it really isn't anything special. Any dwarf could do the same thing with a metal rod. But, if we can expand on this somehow, we might be able to give our ungifted forces a fighting chance against the Chosen."

I could tell that the excitement in her eyes was real. She must've believed this was the key to arming the ungifted within our ranks, but I just didn't want to rain on her parade. It's impossible.

This weapon... there's only seven in the entire world. Each one is vastly different to the next, and the whereabouts of half of them are unknown. They're legendary, known the world over for their incredible durability and unique designs. Luckily, the weapons that Mira and I have never saw the light of day, meaning they're unrecognizable.

The creator himself gave them to us, making us their first owners. Although, that's a story for another time.

"Thanks," she said standing up, "even though you just slept eight hours you don't look all that great so I'm going to let you get some rest, for now."

"Hmm, thanks," I said laying back. It's not like I really needed it, but it was better than being questioned by her any longer.

"Things are going to be hectic in these coming weeks, I imagine it won't be long before we see the Chosen again-" she was walking towards the door, but she stopped in her tracks, "How come… you never said anything sooner?"

"Hmm?"

"If you knew about the Chosen's existence, how come you didn't inform us? You know how incredibly valuable information on the other races is. Even though it's been four years, we still don't know all the kinds of magic that exist in the world. Especially if it's about a new race that wants to exterminate us, I'd consider withholding that kind of thing treason."

I took in her words and, I… wasn't entirely sure why myself.

"Well," I started exasperatedly, "You blew me off last time. I tried to do the right thing and I sent you a letter about the high elf I found in Crale, but you were being an asshole and said you didn't believe me. I mean, why the hell would I say something again if you weren't going to take my word for it." This was definitely a part of why I didn't say anything, I was a little bit mad, but it didn't feel like the whole truth. However, after I spoke, I realized something was wrong.

"What letter?" She asked.

"Huh?"

"What letter are you talking about? A high elf in Crale?"

"T-the letter. It wasn't too long after Mira and I left, I sent you one from Crale. I ran into a high elf that fled her country, one of the members of the royal family of Eline, I told you all of this. I discovered their magic and everything. I thought it was a pretty big deal because even though we knew about the wood elves, we didn't know about them. But then you basically told me to go fuck myself for running off with your daughter and to not write back."

"W-what!?" she exclaimed, "Y-you never sent anything! That's an incredibly big deal, what?!" she yelled out again.

"Y-yeah, I thought so too. That's why I sent something."

"Y-you fucking idiot!" she raised her voice again. It wasn't because she was mad, but because she just truly couldn't believe it. "I was worried sick about where you guys had run off to! Why the hell would I tell you to not write back?!"

"W-well!" I began to panic, raising my voice to match hers, "I was like fourteen, I was terrified of you! You told me to go die in a ditch! It seemed like something you'd say, it even had your seal on it!"

There was a brief pause in our bickering as Sonia sighed and rubbed her face. This felt like the way I used to argue with Mira before she changed. It was like the fights you got in with a sibling, not that I'd really know.

"I can't believe this," she said as she continued to rub her face, "I'd never say something like that," she sighed as she sat back down once more.

For the record, she would totally say something like that.

"Ugh," she rubbed her forehead as she leaned back in her chair, "you just gave me a headache. Well, you better start talking. All of it, from the beginning."

I spoke and she listened. All in all, it probably took an hour to tell her most of what happened in the five years that Mira and I had left the kingdom. It's been three months since we've returned here, and I've done everything in my power to avoid Sonia.

I mean, I thought she hated my guts. Especially with the state that Mira was in, I thought she'd hate me even more. Turns out it was all because of a misunderstanding. Well, I say misunderstanding, but clearly it was sabotage. Sonia had never received my letter, and someone had sent me a fake one with her seal on it. It wasn't the most well thought out plan on their part as I could've tried to tell Sonia in person afterwards, which is what ended up happening even though it took a few years. But I digress.

Sonia was the first person I had ever been able to talk to about what happened within those years away and I didn't realize how much better I would feel afterwards. I was hesitant to say much, but the further I went the more I wanted to speak. Of course, I left out a lot of things. I didn't explain to her how I really acquired that magic spear, and I didn't tell her about the dead ogres that lived within me. I kept a lot of things about Mira to myself, as I thought she should be the one to tell her, but I gave her a loose explanation. I thought she deserved at least that much.

At some point, Sonia had to leave because of something regarding Balkan and I ate some soup. That was pretty much how the rest of that day was spent and before I knew it, a month had passed.

It turns out that the information I held about the high elves was incredibly valuable. It meant that the list of magic that our government had knowledge of had grown larger once more. There are still so many of the other races' magic that we know nothing about... but that just shows how important of a secret it is to them. I even earned a medal, although it was in private, but I didn't care. We used that information to our advantage and began creating plans for the coming conflict.

The ruins of Balkan had been sifted through and the search for survivors had been called off. The remains were left to rot, and we began evacuating citizens to either Crale or Angleria, the capital. If the chosen were going to come from the wasteland again, the most direct way would be to follow the road from Balkan to here, which meant the capital would be their first target. The mountains make it hard to go around and the days passed as we bolstered our defenses and waited.

A screeching metallic sound rang out as the sword I wielded dragged across the top of my partner's sword and I disarmed him. I threw my sword behind me into the dirt, and I told him to fight.

He tried to throw a punch, but I could see it. The way his body rotated, the way his feet were planted. Even though he was much smaller than the warrior I was seeing a vision of, he was moving the exact same. I examined every part of his body and before I knew it, I had launched myself forward, listening to the voice in my head. I ducked left under the right hand that he threw at me, and I tackled his lower body, lifting him by the legs. I slammed him into the ground and all the air flooded from his lungs. I unsheathed the knife he wore around his waist before bringing it down and-

"I yield! I yield!" He yelled out, "W-what the hell?! You're like… a... monster," he said between breathes as he laid sprawled out on the dirt. "Why can't you just fight… like a normal person?" he chuckled before wincing at the pain from his ribs.

I laughed as I picked myself up off him. I thought about what I would say as I extended a hand. By 'normal', he probably meant like how he was trained. He was a human soldier I stole as a practice partner, but he was supposed to be one of the best ungifted swordsmen around. If he expected me to fight like a soldier from Anglest, then I would never be able to abide by his expectations.

In the past month, I've been able to unpack a lot of the memories that resided within my head, but they were more than just that. They were like… gifts. I realized that I could do things I had never tried without a moment's hesitation. I was able to fluently speak and write in Ogryn, the language of the dead souls that resided within me. I had also adopted certain fighting styles and I had different responses to different things hard wired into me. Even though my body was much bigger in the memories I had, and even though my opponent wasn't always a human within them, I was still able to adapt them to my current situation with a little practice.

Although now, it felt like I was just bullying my opponent. Unfortunately, nothing has really changed though. Against an ungifted warrior, this past month has proven to me that there isn't much of a challenge. I've tried to fight against as many different people as I could. It was even better if they specialized in a weapon that wasn't common, it made things more challenging.

And yet the moment I fought a dwarf, I had my ass handed to me. I thought I was doing great against him, dodging the rocks he shot my way, so I got close and tackled him. Turns out, he was baiting me to do it. The metal chest plate he wore hidden beneath his shirt changed forms into a spear and would've impaled and killed me if we weren't just practicing. I fought him over and over until I hit a wall, figuratively and literally, so I stopped. Now, I'm back to practicing against the ungifted.

I stuck my hand out once more and my partner grabbed it. I helped him to his feet before I spoke to him, "You asked why I don't fight like normal?" He dusted himself off as I looked to the sky, "Because that's what separates the good from the great."

It felt like a cheesy line, but it didn't feel wrong. I'm a weak, powerless human. If I'm going to win against those with the 'gift' of magic, then I need to be everything but normal. For what the strength they were given overnight, I need to work harder than anyone else to overcome.

I looked back at the sword I had thrown to the ground before deciding I was done with it. If I'm going to become strong, I need to give up the sword. Besides, I was much more used to something else. I just needed to get it back from Sonia.

"Prince Aeric!!!!!" A voice yelled out from across the courtyard. A short man came running so fast I thought he was going to fall over his own feet. "I-it's begun!" he yelled out, putting his hands on his knees as he gasped for air, "The Chosen… they're about to engage the first checkpoint!"