Investigation

"Relax."

The guard captain's raspy voice rung in James's and Drake's ears again. He approached with a smile on his face; arms wide open as if ready to embrace James.

"You must be from one of those backwater villages that banned magic." The guard captain patted James of his shoulders and then walked back to his desk to sit on it. "It's very rare to find someone outside of the city at your age that has been able to use magic.

Tell me, what kind of magic can you use?" James hesitated before answering, which did not go unnoticed by the guard captain. "I..I'm not sure. I get stronger and faster, that's all I know that happens when I activate it. Hmm, sounds like augmentation magic. How well can you use it?"

Drake felt a tad bit angry with the current situation. It was as if he didn't exist at the moment. But he knew better that to offend someone like say a guard's captain.

"I can't use it very well. Honestly, I've only ever used it twice. The first time was a few years ago. The second was more recently, today actually. The reason being like you said, we're from a village that doesn't associate with magic. I see," replied the guard captain. He seemed somewhat deep in thought. "What made you use magic today?

We were already on our way here to the capital," James continued to be the voice of him and his brother. "We had made it not too far from the capital but had to rest for the day. We were woken up by growls of something; we were attacked by two …beast. They looked like wolf but also something much more sinister as well. They were deformed and looked really grotesque. The only reason I was able to kill them before they killed us was because one of their deformities caused them to lose their sight." James nor Drake knew what reaction the captain was going to have.

"Hahaha. You sound like a natural born fighter." As quickly as he started laughing, the guard captain got really serious. "So, what happened to your village? Tell me exactly and don't leave any details out."

James and Drake narrated from their perspective on the events that took place. "That is quite hard to believe, I will send some scouts to your village to verify your stories. It is strange that only the two of you were able to make it here. Until then, what are your plans you two? We were hoping to join the military."

Drake took over speaking now. "We have nothing left now, my brother can already use magic so I'm sure I can learn to use it as well." The guard captain smiled from ear to ear after what Drake said.

"Well well. Either you two are the luckiest men alive, or the unluckiest. Tomorrow is the day new recruits start training for a permanent spot in the military. This happens only once every four years. My name is Khan and I'm looking forward to seeing you both in training tomorrow. My nam…" Khan put his hand up to stop Drake. "No need to give your name. Not until I deem you important enough for me to know your name.

Take them to a inn and pay for them to stay for the day. I'm sure they are both hungry and tired, and I want them to be in tip top shape for tomorrow.

Yes sir!"

Khan dismissed them and the gate guard escorted them to a inn. He did not speak much to either of them. They settled down for the day, ate their fill and washed up before immediately falling asleep for the day.

Back at the barracks.

"Hmm they are hiding something. Not with their stories, but definitely with his use of magic. Shadow summon."

Khan's shadow moved violently before something came out of it. It was humanoid, pure darkness incarnate. It moved to the front of Khan and got down on one knew, face looking towards the ground.

"Go to the woods on the outskirts of the South Gate and find me evidence of a small scale battle with creatures that look like wolves." The shadow looked up to Khan and replied in a deep menacing voice. "By your will."

Khan sat back in his chair. He leaned back and put his feet up and interlocked his fingers. He was deep in thought. "I'll investigate whether or not he really killed some beast as he said before even sending anyone to their village.

Hmmm." Khan closed his eyes and started focusing. His vision went from dark to trees moving by at extreme speeds. He was seeing through the eyes of his summoned shadow. Not long after, the shadow came across a small campfire, a clear sign of a campsite. The shadow moved about slowly now, examining its surroundings. It didn't have to go far before it saw two strange creatures lying dead.

Khan opened his eyes, his face scarily serious. He did not know what to think about what he saw. "I will have to mobilize some scouts to see the state of their village, my shadow can't go that far unfortunately. This is very troubling."