1 Seeking Magical Enlightenment (Part I)

The smell of manure reeled me back to reality as I found myself in Timberstead's medieval market surrounded by dirt, plebeians, and vendor stalls. Massive oaks partially blocked the autumn sun, hence some of the most successful vendors hung an oil lantern or two in their stalls. But they did not have the cannabis, agave, or nettle I was looking for. I sighed. Why did humans have to be so dimwitted? Now I have to haggle that kid elf again since our town barely owns a port and a few tracks of forest.

Peering at the center of the market, I spotted the familiar rickety cart Armain the light skinned elf had brought with him. It was a wonder that he even bothered to venture all this way down south given how only a few human settlements had sprung up here in the last couple of centuries. Unless of course he wanted to reach whatever was left of the Steel Legion Kingdom, but that would be ludicrous.

Tucking away my coin pouch under my ragged green cloak, I made my way toward his annoying high-pitched voice. Only a few brown haired kids surrounded him at the moment. They cupped their hands around their ears and asked, "what's wrong with your ears? Are you cursed?"

"Pah! Children…" Armain scowled. "I am an elf of the Sacred Scroll Kingdom! We all have beautiful ears like this."

The kids' brown eyes went slightly wide as they stepped back and started muttering.

"It's a Malum."

"Yea, mum told me not to get close to one."

"What's a Malum?"

"Mooommm…"

Leaves rapidly crunched as they began to scurry off into the distance, weaving between the shriveled stalls while loudly repeating, "Malum …. Malum!"

"Hmmm…?" Armain stood there perplexed to which I just rolled my eyes.

"It's their bedtime stories," I grunted just as I got within earshot. "After nearly being annihilated by the Mithril Heart Dwarven Kingdom and that monstrous white dragon you call the Great Mother, all human hope vanished. The survivors had nothing, just the clothes on their backs. Hunger drove us to hunt. Coldness drove us to settle. Fear drove us to learn. To learn that we are nothing but sheep amongst wolves. Hence, we began to foster this fear of the outside world into our younger generations. We can't have some new idiot king sprout up thinking he can raid and conquer any of the other sentient races."

"Pfft, Aldric," Armain spat as he brushed down his ragged yellow clothes and straightened his back. "Serves you right. You idiots just evolved from the magicless chimpanzees in these forests 3 millennia ago. You then proceeded to subvert yourselves under the dirt you call clan leaders or conquer your own rivals for the first millenia until, in the last few centuries, you thought you could tussle with the Mithril Heart Dwarven Kingdom. Serves you right."

Crossing my plump arms, I huffed. Here we go again. "Our race has faced such hardships henceforth, even to the point that we lack meat, oil, and basic silver coins. You can't imagine the poverty that has stricken us."

"Ugh, pitiful humans, why did I even bother to come here," Armain grimaced and motioned at the somewhat healthy orchids, Treant saplings, and other plants hanging from his rickety cart. "Like honestly, who would understand the true value of such magnificent wares."

"Wares? Please, those just look like some flowers and that's it. Like what even is this," I motioned toward a slightly glowing Treant sapling. "Is this just a fancy twig or something?"

"You imbecile! That's a great guardian of the forest stole - Ahem … gifted to me by my wonderful mother. It will keep your whole village safe from the - the - corruption that plagues your primitive minds!"

I raised an eyebrow. This son of a gun is a criminal? "Pah, like we can afford one of those. I think all I have is a mere 10 copper pieces for some awfully worthless cannabis, agave, and nettle."

"10 copper for all of that stuff?! Not this again. I can't have you running off with some of this precious cannabis that you humans keep buying in heaps at nightfall."

"Do I look like I want a heap of weeds? Please, all I need is half a pound. If it was anything more I would go into the wild to get it myself cus it's soo worthless and abundant otherwise."

"You know how long it takes me to get all this junk - I mean goods! It takes me -"

"Junk?! Did you just say that all this stuff is truly worthless?!" I smiled within myself. He just helped me lower the price. "Why am I offering you 10 copper? I should be demanding my cannabis, agave, and nettle for 5 coppers!"

"5 copper?! No, why would I - uh I never meant this was trash I -"

Wrinkles appeared on his forehead as he searched for the right words, only to meet my unyielding scowl. "Bah - I'll give it to you for 15 copper!"

"6 copper."

"14!"

"8!"

"12!"

"10!"

"Deal!" He stretched out his calloused hand smirking, only to realize his mistake when I firmly grasped it.

"Ugh, for someone so fat, you're such a hindrance."

Narrowing my eyes, I tightened my grip on his scrawny hand. "A deal is a deal."

"YoUCh! Hey, heY! Okay, I'll give you your darn cannabis."

Nodding, I released him, letting him go rummage through his jumble of herbs and fruity smells. Ugh, such a disgrace. I glanced down at my plump belly, slightly prodding it. It's not like I wanted to be this way. Like, between gathering alchemical supplies for mother, helping sis and father with difficult patients, and researching different diseases and treatments on rats, I had no time to actually even go outside our dismal little hospital. Only the town guards who worked for our local "baron" per say actually went out into the forests to hunt the occasional deer.

And that's hoping they wouldn't run into an Orc.

Shuddering, I shook off the dark dread of having to face one of those bloodlusty green Malum, what we call a harbinger of evil.

"Here," Armain replied while walking back with… with 3 floating bundles? The only way that would be possible was with air magic! Hiding my inner marvel, I tossed him 10 copper coins, and reached for the herbs. Wind lightly tickled my light brown skin and green cloak once I came about an inch away from the bundles.

What?

How?

Why?

I had so many questions, but there was no way I was gonna let this criminal snob rub it in again that he comes from the glorious Sacred Scroll Kingdom. Taking an extra second to glance at him with the corner at my eye, Armain was haphazardly twirling the copper coins between his slender fingers. Not a single hand sign or word was being uttered, like if it was second nature to him.

Sighing, I took my haul away and continued to ponder over it on my way back. Why couldn't all of us humans be blessed "by the light" too? The only people that seemed to have an ounce of magic were all selected by our "baron", our designated leader. It just so happens that these weak wizards are the only ones that get to decide who our next baron will be. Who would even want to take up the mantle as a leader against someone capable of launching a fireball at your face?

At least I have my father. He was one of the lucky ones, awakening the power of light magic, which can heal the wounded. The baron happened to already have a personal healer and father definitely can't just go off to hunt hoping to heal a deer to death, so father opened his own personal hospital instead.

And then he had my sis and me.

Smiling, I glanced back down at the herbs in my arms. The lengths to which my sister and I have gone to be "blessed by the light" were... ironically dark.

Thank god I have rats.