Chapter 1: This is Hell

The room reeked of fish, the lighting was poor, the dark tones completed the sad

morbidity of the room in which Arthur sat in the center, resting his arms under the cold

metal table.

– Sir Arthur? – the other sat on the opposite side of the table, calling with his thick voice the young man who refused to answer, his mind was elsewhere.

– Mr. Arthur, are you aware of why you are in this room?

The man was dressed in black, a military uniform with black leather, his frames made a sadistic contrast, the soldier had a vivid face with color, signs of good food and a comfortable place to sleep, while young Arthur had pale skin, his skin hugged bones, had never eaten anything better than kibble or slept in a real bed.

"You were selected to go beyond the wall, as a Marked One. Do you know what that means?

The soldier's words dissipated through the air, Arthur looked at a stain on the wall with his mouth half open, "I'm fucked", was the only thought that was in his head.

- Now, you will serve your Homeland, go beyond these walls and awaken your power to join the patrol - the soldier tired of his useless attempts to speak calmly and respectfully with the boy, he got up from his chair fiercely and walked up to Arthur, grabbing his arms.

This whole situation boiled down to the Mark on Arthur's chest, a birthmark that appeared in humans as a gift from Heaven to protect themselves from the dangers outside the Wall.

Arthur was just one of many young men from the streets of the Kingdom between the Walls, Eden, a land wracked with misery, only a few families were lucky enough to be at the top of the pyramid of power. These families are founded by The Stained.

– Where are you taking me? – Arthur was being pulled out of the room by the soldier, he struggled to resist, he knew what was waiting for him outside that room, his fate sealed by the mark.

–To the center of the Military Academy, prepare to leave the wall and be reborn – the soldier was much bigger and stronger than the boy, he could easily fight his resistance, he held him with one hand and opened the door with the other , letting the strong light from outside invade the boy's eyes, accustomed to the darkness of the room.

That small and stinky room did not do justice to the place they were in, Arthur for a moment stopped resisting, amazed by the size of the military base, it was day, the sun was illuminating the high tower made up of other small black metal towers, planes were tearing the sky around, tanks pounded the land, and boats came up the coast like sea monsters made of polymers.

- The academy is just ahead, you will be escorted by these soldiers - the man released Arthur's arms, handing them to two others in front of him with the same uniform, behind them a huge truck with some other Marked in the back.

– I have my rights, you can't force me to do anything! - Arthur shouted in a tone of despair, trying to prevent being carried into the truck.

The other soldiers laughed at the futile attempt and just threw him in with the other Marked.

"Motherfuckers, if I survive, I swear I will get revenge for this." Arthur grumbled with some dark thoughts as he rubbed his wrists bruised by the soldiers.

Inside the truck he could see other Marked, most with their chests filled with ecstasy and pride for being chosen, some smiled alone, others gathered to chat happily, but the biggest difference between Arthur and the others was his clothes, all there wore glittering crests, proudly wielding their family crest on their fine garments, after all, the Mark was in itself a rare event that happened to only 1% of the population and it was the major Houses that held the Marked through artificial selection of descendants.

Arthur was an extremely rare singularity in that probability.

– That rat, must have tattooed the Mark on his chest to try to escape his misery by coming here after foolish ambitions, he should be grateful to be in front of a Gentleman – the nobles who weren't into bragging, spent their time judging the others there and Jaime of the Fullgam family was an example, raising his voice towards Arthur in an attempt to put him in his place.

"That shit steep nose, I didn't even want to be in this hellhole." The young man bit his lips and clenched his fists, he knew well what happened to those who raised their hands against a nobleman.

- Rats are much more interesting company, sir - With the tone of irony, he ended up letting, with a low voice, escape some thoughts. However, it was enough for Jaime to hear – What did he say? - The blond hair swayed along with the boy who got up from his place towards the ragged young man.

But before the nobleman's hands could reach him, a young woman got in the way, surprising everyone in the truck who watched the scuffle.

- Don't you see that you dishonor your family by acting like that against a similar one? We are all in the same situation, commoner or not – her hair was long, slightly curly and red, her skin was smooth, her cheeks had small freckles that highlighted her deep blue eyes, a face so youthful shone before Arthur.

Jaime just exhaled with his nostrils, turning his face to sit back in his seat, he knew who was the girl who stopped him, Sophia Espinho, from a family as big as his.

- Sorry about that - Sophia rubbed her hands on Arthur's shoulder expressing a smile, long enough to fix the boy's gaze that remained without saying anything, just surprised, then turned back to where he was resting and so, continued the journey, in a silence.

"Maybe it isn't so bad to have this Mark." Arthur had done a lot of thinking as he watched the maiden, but not all thoughts came from the top head.

The closer they got to the academy, the more nervous they got, the grumblings of the others were already bothering Arthur who held back from screaming and telling them to be quiet, but when he was about to open his mouth, the truck stopped, they arrived at the academy.

"We're here," announced the soldier, guiding everyone to get out of the vehicle.

Going into the Military Academy, Arthur was surprised by the size of the place, it was one of the towers that formed the great Base, the interior was filled with Newly Reborn Marked, some holding books, others swords, they walked so calmly with smiles on their faces that even even Arthur had imagined himself there.

However, his delusions were short-lived, he was soon pushed with the other Marked who accompanied him in the truck to a huge hall, on top of a stage was a soldier with wrinkles, white hair, marks of time, but not only that, he was accompanied by badges on his chest, next to him was another gentleman in a blue and red cloak.

The old soldier was the general of the Patrol and the man in the cloak was the Marked director of the military academy.

– You all know why you're here – the general began the speech after all the Marked entered – they came to be reborn! Do you intend to serve your family after being reborn? I'm not bothered. Do you intend to serve the Kingdom by going on patrol? I'm not bothered. Do you know what I care?

Everyone there remained silent, paying attention to what the general was saying. "What medicine will you take when you finish your speech?" Arthur replied with sarcasm in his head, he didn't have the courage to speak aloud.

"I only care about how to kill what's beyond that wall. You are young, do you think you will bring honor to your family? Young people drunk on the flames of ambition. The dangers beyond the wall have wiped out nearly all of humanity and lie in wait to kill everyone left on that wall.

The Marked were starting to get anxious and nervous, little by little their faces darkened, until the Headmaster brought them forward.

– For hundreds of years humanity struggled with that beyond the Wall, by the gift given by the Mark, it is true, humanity lost once, forced to hide behind these great walls, but the power granted to us allowed us to fight back, you will go beyond the Wall to be Reborn, will leave ambitious boys and return as true Marked Ones, ready to avenge humanity and make the coat of arms they carry on their chests proud!

The words resounded through the hall like the freshness of spring to flowers, those who had previously been starting to fear now screamed in ecstasy at the Headmaster's words.

Arthur remained quiet, he didn't celebrate, he didn't get excited, because he knew how rebirth worked. A Mark bearer can only gain its power if he is in a life-or-death situation outside the wall.

– Now go, be reborn!

- Move, time to get off the wall!

There was a large metal gate behind the hall that had opened after the Director and General had announced it, revealing a huge army ship.

Inside the ship, all the Marked smiled and kept asking themselves which class they were going to get, "class" was the way they simplified the manifestation of the Mark:

- Warriors: The Mark empowered brawn, fighters with superhuman capabilities worthy of wielding unique weapons of physical damage.

- Healers: these had the gift of lending the strength of their mark to heal others' wounds, in addition to being able to control some creatures, the only class that could not carry a single weapon.

- Assassins: the Mark granted supernatural speed to these, making them specialists in stealth and quick kills, capable of carrying unique weapons aimed at dexterity.

- Mages: Able to manifest the power of the Mark to cast spells, Mages were possessed of the highest attack power of the Marked, able to wield unique weapons like staffs and read grimoires.

It was clear that healers were the least coveted and most insulted class, but it was the one that Arthur most wanted, after all, he wouldn't need to go on patrol outside the wall, just healing wounds inside the wall, at least safe.

But at that moment Arthur didn't want anything, he could barely think clearly, he couldn't stop shaking his legs and clenching his fists, inside the ship he just wanted to go back to where he came from, he never wanted so much to see that filthy street where he slept again. He was the darkest on that ship.

Until in a moment he felt the warmth of another person touch his hand – Hey, look – Sophia held his hands to draw his attention to her – I'm also scared to death – she smiled while showing her trembling hand. It was silly and even too simple, but sweet, a comfort Arthur had never received, he forced a smile back at her. "Look, how pathetic am I being?" He was grateful and calmer, he could get on with the trip.

– The rat will be a warrior forgotten by his Mark, of the lowest level, he is worthy of it. After all, it is a fault of nature – The journey was being long, Jaime was trying to find fun by making fun of Arthur.

But the boy just ignored it, Sophia had given him an inner peace, big enough to overlook small slurs.

However, the blond nobleman, with a well-defined jaw and trimmed eyebrows, was not satisfied with being ignored, he let go of his belt - Follow me - he called his servants of the lowest rank in his family and followed towards Arthur .

– Get up, rat.

Sophia ordered him to stop the unnecessary fuss, irritated with him.

– Milady Sophia, of the Espinho family, do you believe that it is worth risking a disagreement between our families for just one commoner? – Jaime looked at her seriously, shadows in his eyes – this rat disrespects me, disrespecting me means disrespecting my family, that's why I ask you, do you really want a fight between our families?

Sophia was silent, she didn't know how to respond, how could she risk so much for someone she didn't know, even empathy had limits, she didn't like the situation, but she couldn't do anything either, it was a frustrating impotence.

Until Arthur, seeing her look of pain, gets up from his chair, putting himself in front of Jaime and his two henchmen.

– Do you care that much about a rat? Sir. – everyone witnessed the discussion in silence to see what would happen next, Arthur had his fists clenched prepared for an eventual battle – Maybe the Fullgam are more sensitive than I imagined.

The harsh words came out of Arthur's mouth like poison inciting fury in Jaime who was the first to throw the punch, hitting Arthur's unprotected face, his technique was clean, he was well trained, he had been taught by the best, the drunks Arthur was against did not compare, it was too fast for him to dodge, causing him to fall to the ground with the first punch.

Arthur rubbed his sore jaw from the punch - How generous you are, Sir, giving such a delicate punch - the boy expected to respond in kind, prepared to get up and fight back, however, Jaime's henchmen intercepted him with kicks, leaving the boy in the floor surprised, did not expect such an attitude from a nobleman.

Being beaten by three boys, he could only remain in fetal form to protect himself against kicks and stomps, having to listen to everyone's laughter in the background.

It took a while for them to stop, they only finished when they were tired. Arthur wasbleeding on the floor, with bruises, he could see everyone's face looking at him as inferior, but what hurt him the most was seeing Sophia standing there, looking at him with a face of pity, he wasn't a human, he really felt like a rat, mistreated in the street, worthy only of pity.

Arthur wanted to cry, but he did as much as he could to hold back, he swore revenge to himself, he didn't intend to stay on the ground forever, he was about to get up. However, in an instant, suddenly, the ship began to shake, the pilot shouted for everyone to put their seat belts, Jaime was the first to run to his seat along with his servants.

Arthur tried to reach his chair, but the turbulence threw him to the back of the ship, causing him to hit his head and pass out.

In the dark, he dreamed of many things, he dreamed of who gave him that name, Arthur, it wasn't his parents, he never knew them, his most distant memory was a drunk nicknaming him with the name of the canned food he consumed "Arthur's Salmon".

This was his first and last name since then, growing up in the streets, fighting each day, living one at a time, until he was found by soldiers who saw the marks on his chest and taken to the beginning of all that. But anyway, it was no longer time to dream, the darkness disappeared, the strong light on his face didn't let him sleep anymore, he woke up full of bruises, covered in blood, in a huge gray desert, surrounded by the wreckage of the ship where he was.

He slowly got to his feet, grunting in pain, putting his hands on his broken ribs, limping through the wreckage, seeing the dismembered bodies of the classmates he shared the Mark, the sight was eerie, as if he were in a nightmare.

But the worst was to come, when looking in front of him, with a broken neck, a fragment of the plane stuck in her eye, with only half of her torso, Sophia with her guts out formed the vision of Arthur, who couldn't hold his vomite, falling to the ground again, with tears in his eyes.

"Why?" He had been trying to find survivors, but he had found nothing, and the thought intensified more and more in his head "Why?"

"Why?"quot; the boy walked, ran desperately, until he tripped over a body.

- Help, help me, please - Spitting blood, Jaime was trapped in a wreckage with his eyes slowly losing their shine, begged Arthur for help.

Until then, he was the worst person Arthur had known, but the boy wasn't thinking about that at that moment - Hold on, I'll get you out of there - he expressed the greatest strength he could with the wounds he had to remove the wreckage, but they didn't even move, they were stuck in Jaime's belly.

- I don't want to die, please - Jaime filled his eyes with tears and blood.

- I know, I'll help you, stay with me, don't close your eyes, I'll get you out of here - Arthur was desperate not to be alone, he didn't want to be alone in that gray desert.

– He…lp… – Jaime's last words fade away together with the twinkle in his eyes, it was too late for anything, he had passed away.

Arthur then filled his eyes with tears and shouted to the heavens.

His scream echoed through the silence, disappearing in the air, kneeling on the sand, barely able to stay awake, everything that had sucked his strength, he was about to pass out again, however, while he was closing his eyes, a voice appeared in his head.

Congratulations, the Mark chose you, the powers given to you grant you the gift of Magic.

Unlocked spells are...

Arthur didn't have time to hear it all, he'd tumbled onto the hot sand before.