Prologue

Galen wiped his brow and smiled brightly at the ground in front of him as he sat on his knees surrounded by the overflowing garden. An unassuming shrub settled in the soil where the boy had just transplanted it, finally giving it the full freedom to grow and spread its roots out farther and deeper into the earth. He had been nurturing this petulant little plant for some time now, and despite its demanding nature, it was finally ready to grow outside the greenhouse. It was a very uncommon herb, even containing traces of magic, that the child had worked to save up to purchase just a few seeds. He had saved for months, even doing extra odd jobs around the town. It was difficult to grow even in the hands of very experienced planters, so his pride in the small plant was warranted. 'I can't believe it's growing! I thought for sure that dramatic little thing was going to give up on me.' He thought as he looked at the plant's progress.

The garden around him was filled with vegetable plants, herbs, flowers, and even fruit trees. The stone walls were covered in vines that were either blooming or patiently waiting for their favorite seasons. This garden was his pride. It had been his grandmother's once, and she was the one who taught him to love all of what she termed "flora." He had helped her keep up this garden till she passed away, and he was determined to not only keep their special garden thriving as it had been before but to add to the garden and make it thrive even better than it had when they still tended the garden together.

With one last smile at the garden's newest resident, he stood up and began dusting his tunic and pants as he walked towards the two-story house that stood in front of the garden. Once he was inside, he rushed up the stairs. He changed into a new tunic quickly and habitually stopped in front of a small mirror on the wall to make sure he had no dirt on his face.

The mirror showed a young boy with green and hazel eyes. His beautiful eyes were partially hidden by a mess of dark curly hair that nearly reached his shoulders. His skin was tan from his time spent outdoors, and his face was, as usual, smeared with streaks of dirt.

After furiously rubbing a wet rag across his increasingly reddening face, Galen put the rag down and checked the mirror again. Satisfied with the dirt-free face he saw, he put his hair up and made his way back downstairs. He walked into the kitchen where the family table was already set up with plates of eggs and sausage, as well as fruits and vegetables from Galen's own garden.

"You're late!" Galen's younger brother, Bentley, told him sternly before making a face at him from behind their mother's back. Bentley smiled cheekily and their sister, Ainsley, just jokingly rolled her eyes as she began buttering another piece of toast. Their mother, Ismene, stood in the kitchen prepping some vegetables that would be used later for another meal. She appeared even taller than usual while in the small kitchen. Her dark wavy hair was tied up under a bright handkerchief while she worked.

As she finished her preparations, the door next to the kitchen opened and a light humming tune could be heard before the newcomer's figure appeared. Galen's father, Alden Clarke, was a tall and lean man with dusty gold hair and a close-shaven beard. His dark green eyes sparkled over the lenses of his round glasses as he stopped humming and greeted his present family members. A few chipper hellos and good mornings were exchanged before everyone was seated and began filling their plates.

"Basil is still asleep, but I already set his breakfast aside so don't worry about finishing these plates," Ainsley spoke up while passing the breadbasket to her twin, Bentley, who was sitting beside her. The meal was small but lively and they continued to talk and laugh even as everyone began clearing the table.

When they finished, Galen asked for Basil's tray of food. He grabbed it and snuck a handful of Basil's favorite sweet berries for him onto the plate before heading upstairs to Basil's room. He gave a cheerful knock on the bedroom door and heard a small voice call him in.

Walking into the room, Basil came into view with a bright smile on his small face. Galen's youngest brother was nearly six, but his tiny frame made him appear to be younger than that. His dark hair was a sharp contrast to his pale skin. He looked tired, but his light green eyes still showed his excitement. Basil was born with an incredibly weak constitution. He was always ill in one way or another and the type of medical treatment he would need to even begin to help his frail constitution was far out of their family's financial reach. So, they could only treat his recurring illnesses and make sure he was as safe and comfortable as possible. He looked particularly pale now as he had only begun to recover from his most recent bout of illness.

"I brought you breakfast! I made it all myself." Galen winked at his brother as he set down the tray and settled on the side of the bed.

"Ha! Liar, I could see you in the garden all morning and the eggs aren't burnt, so you definitely didn't cook this." Basil called him out teasingly.

"Fine, Mum, Bentley, and Ainsley made it, but," Galen paused dramatically to gesture to the tray, "I got you sweet berries!"

Basil was delighted with the small treat and they were soon laughing and talking as Basil ate his meal, while the ever-watchful Galen made sure he was eating all his meal, not just the bits he liked. When Basil finally ate enough for Galen's satisfaction, Galen took the tray out of Basil's way.

"I have to leave to work in the shop with Mum and Da. Don't make too much trouble for Bentley and Ainsley… Well, maybe you can make a bit of trouble for Bentley; just not too much." Galen grinned and leaned over to place a kiss on the child's forehead.

"Have a good day!" Basil replied in a happy tone as Galen waved and left his room. Basil's smiled faded after the door closed and he released a soft sigh. Even with Ainsley and Bentley here, it would be a long and quiet day without his mother, father, and brother Galen. Knowing he couldn't ask them to stay, he picked up a well-worn storybook to read once again and hoped the day would go by quickly.

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Galen hurried around his parent's bookshop as he helped prepare to open the store for the day. After Opening the shop windows and sweeping the wooden floors, he stopped to replace a few odd books in their respective places. The clinking sounds of his father's keys in a door signaled that the shop was now open. He tidied a few more things around the shop before he began to sort through the new book orders.

The Clarke family's bookshop sat on one of the busier streets in the small township of Fosterley. Inside the small shop, rows of wooden shelves neatly displayed a variety of volumes on anything from farming to ship carpentry. The Clarkes would have gladly kept a far more diverse selection, but Fosterley already had a low market for books, so the store was only able to continue if it sold mostly occupation-related or instructive books.

The shop was started by Galen's paternal grandfather, Alfred Clarke. He had done all the carpentry for the store himself and every wooden piece in the shop showed his brilliant and beautiful work. All the shelves had carvings of beasts and magical creatures winding their way up the shelf faces. The shop's front counter was a lovingly-carved relief depicting a scene from his grandfather's favorite story; a sad tale of rare love between a Human and an Alf, a magic-gifted race that rarely crossed paths with the Human race anymore. The two fell in love, but never had the courage to ask the other to stay with them. This beloved shop, along with his maternal grandmother's garden, were Galen's favorite places to be and so, the morning passed quickly and it was well into the afternoon by the time Galen finished sorting the new orders.

As Galen stood to stretch, he caught Ismene's attention. "If you've finished with that, I need you to go to the apothecary to pick up Basil's medicine." Ismene looked over the counter to where her son had been sorting and gave a grateful smile for his quick work of sorting the tedious orders. Galen's stretch ended in a slight hop as quickly agreed and hurried to grab his bag and jacket. "And take some extra coins with you. If you need something else for school tomorrow, go ahead and get it now." She added.

Alden had stopped Galen at the door and gave him a few copper and silver coins. "Thank you!" Galen exclaimed, giving a wave to both parents as he dashed out of the bookshop and began making his way in the direction of the apothecary. Alden and Ismene only smiled slightly to themselves before turning back to their work.

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As Galen slipped through the cobbled streets walking farther into town, the crowds grew busier. Though Galen was careful and tried to be polite, there was still the arrogant businessmen who acted like Galen had mortally wounded them if he accidentally jostled them while in the busy street. For these unpleasant people, the boy's polite attitude meant nothing, so Galen indulged in a little cheekiness whenever he crossed one. Otherwise, he kept walking, only occasionally stopping to peer through a shop window as he walked further into town.

Around Galen, there were more trading depots than there were shops. The town was filled with warehouses and depots for storing all sorts of goods that would be sold and exchanged here in town before the traders and merchants had them transported into the cities to sell. Galen kept his eyes on the shops he passed while trying to think which ones would be the best to look in for what he needed. He wanted to replace his old quill, buy a few more sheets of parchment, as well a few chalk sticks.

Tomorrow, Galen began his first day of school. Fosterley had only one school building shared by every grade, from Year Five to Year Eleven. Though the town had no school for the younger children, it was lucky it had a proper school at all given its population. Year Four was the first grade available, with students being ten years old. Children younger than that could only hope to have an older family member able to teach them reading and simple math or be able to afford a tutor. Otherwise, they would end up racing to catch up when they finally began Year Four, learning foundational skills and information that they should have already learned, as well as what they were expected to learn in their current grade. Galen was fortunate his parents were as educated as they were. With books surrounding him since he was a child, and a family that nurtured a love and craving for knowledge, Galen was in fact well past satisfying the educational expectations of his age group. His older cousins complained about school any chance they had, but Galen was excited to start.

Galen managed to gather what he needed in a single shop and finishing this, he went straight to a small building bearing the sign for "Gladwyn's Apothecary." The bell above the door gave a familiar jingle as he entered the store. Despite the uncovered windows, the apothecary's interior was still quite dark. An incredible variety of botanical smells mixed together in the air. After a few loud noises and light curses were heard from the back, the shop's owner found his way to Galen.

"Galen! I was expecting you. Basil's medicines are already prepared. I also had something just for you." Mercer Gladwyn smoothed his work apron and smiled across the counter at Galen. The boy was always here, not just to receive all the various medications for his little brother, but to watch Mercer work. The boy was young, but his focus and knowledge of botanical medicine were truly impressive. The older man enjoyed seeing the child so excited to watch him work. The boy would silently observe over Mercer's shoulder even when he was doing the most basic and tedious apothecary tasks.

Mercer placed the pouch containing all the medicinal items on the counter before placing a small stack of parchment and another pouch next to it. "The pouch has some interesting windflower seeds that are excellent for a variety of different draughts and these notes speak about the flower's environment, care needs, and some of its uses. I know you'll have them thriving in no time." He smiled across at Galen, whose eyes were sparkling looking at the new seeds and notes.

"THANK YOU MASTER GLADWYN!" Galen's voice during this exclamation accidentally went an octave higher because of his unbarred excitement. He grinned sheepishly at the older man after hearing his own voice, but Mercer merely chuckled good-humouredly.

"You need to head back now or it will be dark before you reach home." Mercer reminded Galen. He watched as the boy carefully gathered his items and turned to give the older man a swift bow of gratitude before leaving the shop.

As Galen hurried towards his home, he couldn't help but glance at the precious packages in his arms. 'I won't waste this Master Gladwyn. I've learned so much from you and I'll make sure you can be proud of me.' He thought looking at the contents. His mind drifted to tomorrow when school began. The child didn't expect things to be easy necessarily, but neither he nor the concerned adults in his life could imagine just how difficult the path that he begin the very next day would turn out to be.