5 Dawn of a new day

The sun sunk into the horizon, swarms of birds can be heard cooing, flying back to their nests.

It was time for Korvis to close his shop for the day. As he walked up to close the windows, he noticed a shadowy figure standing by the window. Was it the rumoured void killer that has been responsible for the many recent disappearances? Has he finally made his way into Arcadium? Korvis stared at the figure, it becoming clearer and clearer as the figure approached the window. To his relief it was only Fulrian. She was carrying gently the battered and bruised Caerum.

Korvis pushed opened the door stepping out and shouted "Fulrian!? What did you do?"

Korvis started darting towards them.

"There is nothin' to worry about, he just got a bit beaten up during trainin'." assured Fulrian

"You call this a bit?" Korvis shot back.

Korvis placed an open hand over Caerum. Channeling his mana into his palms, creating a luminescent sphere of water and was splashed over Caerum. The water seeped through his clothes making contact with his skin. When the liquid made contact with a bruise or a cut it would be absorbed into the wound, healing the damage. Korvis had expended a lot of mana creating that bit of water. Creating healing water took at least 10 times more mana than it did to create normal water.

"He can rest at my place tonight." Korvis told Fulrian, not letting her argue.

Korvis beckoned for Fulrian to follow him into the back of the store. Pushing through the stores' doors, he lead them into the second floor. Bringing them to a spacious bedroom; his bedroom.

"Caerum can rest here tonight." Korvis told Fulrian.

Korvis was giving up his bed for Caerum tonight. Fulrian laid Caerum gently onto Korvis' bed.

"You can go now, I can take care of Caerum until he wakes up." Korvis said simply.

Korvis threw a blanket over the sleeping Caerum.

"Nah, I'll keep him company for now." Fulrian comfortably sat herself on a chair beside Caerum and watched his peaceful, sleeping face.

"Okay, but you better not do anything bad." Korvis whispered in fear of waking Caerum.

"Kay!"Fulrian whispered back.

Korvis hopped down stairs. He rummaged around the desk and took out today's earnings. He had made a great profit today, but it still wasn't enough for him to afford what he had wanted.

The sun had now fully set. Since the store was located in the outer circle, it was eerily quiet and dark. His only hopes right now, were that the two wouldn't do anything stupid while he was away from the store. At night a different side of Korvis comes out,. He would always visit the inner circle in the dead of night to have some fun. Opening the wardrobe as he prepared for another one of his night.

Fulrian thought back to the training that had conspired recently. She may have gotten too into the training, losing a bit of her self control near the end. Caerum was actually able to hold his own at his last bout. She recalled how he fought during his final bout, analysing his fighting style. She concluded that he would be best suited to wield a spear. Tomorrow when Korvis returns, she'll purchase a spear for Caerum to wield. Tomorrow Caerum won't have the luxury of a human opponent such as herself. Looking at Caerum, she saw no reason to stay awake anymore, she too needed rest. Fulrian slumped onto her chair and drifted off into a deep slumber.

In the ambient morning a loud rumble and a crash came from a store nearby, an assistant shopkeeper could be seen sprawled on the floor amongst a crateful of weapons.

Awoken by the noise, Caerum's eyes snapped open to an unfamiliar roof. He wondered where he was. He slowly recalled the memories of yesterday. Confused, his eyes darted towards his arm, the place that had sustained the most damage during the training. His arm no longer had his many bruises, all of his injuries have been healed. His father must of been worried; he hadn't returned home since last night. Looking around the room he spotted Fulrian deep asleep on a chair next to him. He rolled out of the bed, stretching his stiff and rigid body. He had an urge to wake Fulrian from her slumber. Looking closer at Fulrian now, he had noticed a necklace attached around her neck with an azure blue seashell. He had never recalled Fulrian to have ever worn a necklace, but it suited her. It gave her a strange sense of intimacy. A rumbling came from the halls outside the room. The door creaked open and Korvis stood on the other side.

"Hey, Caerum breakfast is ready." Korvis had put on a forced smile, he was a complete mess.

"Huh?" exclaimed a confused Caerum.

Caerum threw Korvis a confused glance.

"Fulrian carried you here after you fainted during your training," Korvis explained while placing down a bowl of porridge and a loaf of bread. "Enjoy your meal!"

Without wasting another second Korvis darted down the hall.

Staring at his meal, he realised how hungry he actually was. He had only eaten one meal yesterday just before getting dragged into an exhausting session of training. Caerum didn't care for what the meal was, with his hunger he could've ate anything. He wolfed down on his meal without a moment's rest.

Fulrian was wide awake after the exchange between Caerum and Korvis. She noticed that Caerum was now filled with energy and eating his breakfast vigorously. He was ready for the next stage of training.

Fulrian slipped out of the room silently and moved swiftly down the stairs. Korvis was packing the store with great haste. His movements were somewhat sluggish. Beneath his eyes were dark bags.

"Mornin," Fulrian rested her arms on the reception desk.

"Oh, good morning Fulrian." Korvis answered as he flips the sign showing that the store was open. "Is there anything you need?".

"Yeah, I'd like to get a nice spear for Caerum."Fulrian said.

Korvis rummaged through a crate of weapons, "9 Mana crystals, Comourdium spear." Korvis said as he place the spear onto the counter, "Just leave the Crystals on the counter."

Korvis rushed around the shop rearranging the items neatly. Fulrian picked up and inspected the spear, it was high quality and appropriate for its price. The shaft was made using flame hardened Sylvawood. The tip of the spear was made using Comourdium: a hard, tough material superior to steel. It also had the ability to conduct mana, yet is also resistant to external magic.

"Oh, I'd also like a side bag, for extra storage." said Fulrian.

With a sigh, Korvis grabbed a leather side bag from a shelf. "Just take it, It's free." Korvis said as he tossed the bag towards Fulrian.

Caerum went downstairs after finishing his breakfast. He felt refreshed and ready to start a new day.

"Morning Caerum, got ya a present!" saying that Fulrian chucked the spear at Caerums' direction.

"Ah!" Caerum screamed and reached his hands out and barely catching the spear. He stumbled a little as his arms were still sore from the training yesterday.

"B-be careful Fulrian! That's dangerous."He stammered.

Fulrian let out a snicker, "You'll know what true danger is soon." Hearing that, Caerum felt a chill run done his spine.

"We're gonna go train off in the Magus forest this time!" Fulrian announced. "We'll see ya later Korvis." Fulrian waved to Korvis as she left the store.

"Okay, I hope to see you again. Not too soon though." Korvis replied.

Just as he was about to dash for Fulrian, he remembered that he hadn't yet gotten a chance to tell his father about the recent events.

"Oh, if my father wonders where I've gone, tell him I'm training with Fulrian." Caerum told Korvis before he left.

After the pair left, Korvis slumped over the counter; he hadn't had much sleep since after his recent events.

"W-wait, I haven't even mentally prepared myself!" Caerum exclaimed.

Caerum jogged off to catch up With Fulrian. Surprisingly for Caerum, Fulrian didn't run nor drag him across the streets as before, she just walked at a brisk, leisurely pace.

"Hey, Fulrian aren't you gonna drag me across half of arcadium?" Caerum said as he runs up to her side.

"Oh, I was just in a bit of a rush before." Fulrian replied.

The uplifting atmosphere from the past few days haven't slowed in any way. In fact it only accelerated. Even though it has only been 3 days since he graduated, he already misses his days in Alistair Academy. Back in Alistair although he faced many troubles and sufferings, it wasn't to the extent of what he was experiencing right now. He never imagined that just a few days after graduation, his life would suddenly turn upside down. Passing 'Magus, Eats' Caerum thought about the incident that occurred previously. It seemed like the patrols around Arcadium City had increased since then. Military patrol groups could be seen sprawled throughout both the inner and outer circles now.

"Um, we've always talked about my goals and all, but… we've never talked about yours." Caerum inquired.

"It's nothing important. Right now, I want to help you get into the Silver Wolves." She casually replied. Caerum didn't feel very comfortable walking through the city carrying a long spear; he had caught a few strange gazes. Trotting past were many horse pulled wagons and carts, they were about to meet the gate of the Magus forest. The gate was posted with many guards from the Arcadium Military. The guards stopped merchants as they passed through the gate. Inspecting their goods and intents.

"You shall not pass."

The guard that stopped them and signalled for his companion to come over.

"Speak your purpose." The guard immediately activated his magic, True sight.

"We're here to train in the Magus Forest."

Seeing that she wasn't lying, the guards parted. As they had passed the gates, one of the guards couldn't help but voice his concerns. "Do you really think it's okay for these new graduates to enter the Magus forest?"

"Don't worry one of them wields Aether lightning, they will be fine."

Caerum tightened his grip of his spear, he was tensing up in anticipation. He had never stepped past the safety of the walls of Arcadium City. He was about to step into a whole other world.

"Come on, whatcha waiting for?" Fulrian pushed Caerum through the gate. Stumbling over, Caerum was now in the Magus Forest. Being on the outskirts of the forest it was relatively safe, the trees were of an expected size, only small forest critters lived so close to human settlements. There was also a defined path that cut through the shallows of the forest. Caerum took a deep breath, he was feeling a tiny bit uncomfortable. The forest was abundant in mana, though it was only the outskirts and he already felt intimidated. A butterfly seemingly made of pink light fluttered towards Caerum, it looked delicate ethereal. The butterfly perched itself on Caerums shoulder.

"You prepared yourself? Good, cause your real training starts now." startled by the noise the butterfly flew back into the depths of the Magus Forest.