Hope

Morning came, they both got ready for the day ahead.

"Good morning Athenis!, breakfast is ready" Zaria said whilst yawning seated by the small wooden table they both shared.

Athenis wasn't a morning person but seeing his sister brought a bit of joy to his mornings, "What's for breakfast?" He asked dragging his feet to sit by the chair opposite her.

"Only the best for you dear brother! A meal fit for a king", she slowly pushed a plate with a piece of old hardened dry bread towards him, the bread itself looked harder than the small cracked plate it was sitting in.

This was their daily meal since they were too poor to afford anything else, they bought the stale old bread from the bakery just before they threw it out, it wasn't much but it ensured their survival.

He looked at it and immediately scoffed, "I'm sick and tired of living like this, even rats have a better lifestyle but today that all changes, today we will join the Black Rose Knights and we will dine with the king himself one day, and wont ever have to eat this crap ever again" he spoke as he struggled to break the bread apart.

Zaria saw the spark of determination in his eyes, she smiled giggling at his expression and his failing attempt to split the bread in two, in that moment they both laughed at the irony of their circumstances, no words were spoken but it was if they both silently said to one another , "We can do this!, no matter how long it takes life will get better from now on.."

The two made preparations for quitting their respective jobs Athenis went to the merchant guild to sell the armour and weapons he had earned during his tenure as a guard and Zaria went to the black market to sell the monster parts, crystals and magical cores she had been storing.

As Zaria was walking she heard a familiar voice in the distance which caused her to shudder.

"Oi would you look who it is, well if isn't the G class adventurer trash, funny to be meeting you here" Varix said mockingly brushing shoulders with Zaria as he passed her.

Zaria quickly turned back and shouted "Least this will be the last time I'd be taking any shit from you lot, when I become a Black Rose Knight I won't have to deal with the likes of you any longer!"

Varix and his men laughed, "What a coincidence! We're joining the knight's faction too, you're not the only one who knows their enlisting, and definitely won't be joining that low ranking useless unit Black Rose ? Is what they call it?", one of Varix's men nodded in confirmation.

"You think we would miss the opportunity to join the Knights Guild at least we now know would have a plaything whilst were there" Varix said with an evil grin on his face, he grabbed Zaria by her short hair and pulled her close to his face. He had a large build and was a tall and formidable man. His bad breath suffocated Zaria, the pungent stench of meat and alcohol from the previous night filled his every breath.

Zaria had a sudden change of expression her relief suddenly turned to grief. "That's my girl, that's the face I love to see, show me the despair in your eyes! low ranked people like you are nothing in this world just mere pests and shit for us to trample on" he said with an expression of pleasure as he pulled her back and forth with his large fingers gripping her hair tighter and tighter.

"Stop that this instance, this place forbids fighting!" One stand merchant shouted as he watched everything unfold. Varix let her go forcibly throwing her to the ground.

"Fine, I apologize for my behaviour" Throwing his hands in the air as if he was doing nothing wrong, small strands of Zarias' hair could be seen falling from his hand and blowing away slowly in the breeze. "We adventurers get up to stuff like this all the time, I will leave now" he said in a tone that made it almost believable to onlookers, as him and his men walked away he looked back at Zaria and let out a smile and a murderous expression whilst in a sexual manner sniffing the scent of her hair off the palms of his hand, his intention could be felt in the air by the people around him. It was that of pure disgusting sadism.

"Young man are you okay ?" The stand merchant said with concern. Slowly approaching Zaria with caution.

Zaria got up and dusted herself off, "It's okay thank you for the help but I'm not a man" she responded rudely to the old man.

The stand keeper with confusion looked at her "My apologies but from the clothes you're wearing anyone would assume you're a man..."

Zaria had a depressing but yet gentle smile on her face which tried to mask her shame, "My brother and I are too poor and I don't make enough money as an adventurer to buy the nice clothes that ladies wear nowadays so my brother hands me down his old clothes since I'm small, and as you can see I'm not much to look at."

The old man pitied her, "Come my child let's see what you're selling maybe I could give you a good price for what you have, today might be your lucky day" he said with a reassuring smile on his face, leading Zaria away from the scene to the small stand he owned.

This was the first time anyone other than her family had shown her kindness, they both shared conversation as she haggled to sell her things, in the end the old man gave her a pouch of copper coins mixed with a few silver coins. Zaria was grateful that she could make this much, it was the largest amount of money she had ever made, even though to some it was spare change to her it was the earnings of all her struggle and the torment she had to endure as an adventurer. As she left the old man stopped her and handed her two unfamiliar gold coins she had never seen before.

"What is this?, I've never seen this currency anywhere is it valuable what is it!?" Zaria said excitedly, trying to familiarise with this weirdly looking currency.

The old man saw the joy in her face, he smiled, "These are Tokens, they hold no real value, practically they are worthless, even though they sure are pretty, they can't buy anything but think of it as a gift from one stranger to another, I overheard that you want to be a knight so stay safe in your new journey and I wish you Good Luck"

This small act of kindness brought a warmth in Zaria's heart one she hadn't felt in a while, she looked at the tokens in her hand, clenched her fist and held them close to her chest. "I won't forget this old man, and when I become a high ranking Knight I will surely return with these tokens and I promise to treat you to some ale and an expensive meal"

Zaria walked away with a reawakened sense of purpose and confidence, as she looked back one last time, she saw the old man smiling and waving to her goodbye.

Later that afternoon Zaria met up with Athenis in the city square, where they had planned to meet after they had sold their items.

"Brother ! I managed to sell all my armour and belongings in the black market" She said in an excited and proud manner, showing him the pouch of coins she held in her hands. Her face was full of pride and she pouted as if she had made a fortune.

Athenis looked at her pouch and pulled out his, it was full of silver coins and had 8 gold Goins in it, "Are you sure you weren't scammed?" He said with a cheeky smirk ok his face, mimicking her proud pouting expression.

Zaria pouted in embarrassment "No! My equipment wasn't high ranked as yours so, so you know , ah ! Forget it" she said stuttering and blushing.

Athenis gently touched her head and started roughly ruffling her short hair back and forth like how a big brother teases his little sister, "There there, you did your best now we have enough money to register in the knights' guild let's get going, today just got better"

They both smiled at each other and made their way to the biggest guild in the city, bigger than the adventurer, hunter, blacksmith and merchant guild. It was one of the kingdoms biggest and heavily funded organisations and it was their turn to walk through its doors for the first time.

As they walked in there was already a crowd of people who were willing to join, all had gathered in its hall awaiting further instruction. There were was a mix of different races, dragon folk, beastmen, elves and even humans also, no demonfolk were present as they never took part in the matters of humanity.

Athenis and Zaria stood in the midst of the hall in awe of the armour decorated walls, a figure could be seen approaching what seemed to be some sort of stage before them. As the figure approached a great magical pressure could be felt, a pressure that could only be made by a being with an absurd amount of mana and magical power. Everyone within the hall knew that the person before them was not one to be taken lightly.

"Greetings to all you gathered here today I am Avaris the Kings Sword the Captain of the Kings guard I welcome you all today"

"No way !, the personal knight of the king is here today, this is my first time seeing him in person" one person beside Athenis and Zaria exclaimed, people were excited and began to cheer.

"Silence everyone, with me today is the Oracle she will be responsible for commanding all new entrants to the knights faction as some of you may know there are multiple factions within the Knights Order, so depending on your rank and class you will be given a rank and assigned to a respective faction, may the favour of the old gods keep you safe" he unsheathed his sword and raised it towards the air, every person in the hall began to cheer in celebration. Avaris walked off stage. The Oracle approached, she was a pale skinned elf with crystal white eyes and glistening white skin, without saying a word she began to converse with everyone in their minds using her telekinetic powers. People stood there in shock and awe

"I am Oracle Fay, former royal Sage, may you please make your way to the assessment hall, we will determine your magical rank, and assign you to your respective faction for you who are not aware the ranks are as follows, S rank is the highest, followed by A, B, C, D, E and lastly F. And for each rank exists a faction, good luck brave souls for you will be in my care". She quickly turned and walked away from the stage. A group of assessors began to fill the main and and began escorting everyone into various rooms for their assessment.

As the process occurred the assessors called each person to stand in a group with people of their respective ranks to join a faction the first was the S rank, they were only 3 people in this group the faction name was the Zenith Knights, second was the A ranked the Royal Knights, B the Braves, C The Queen's Guard, D Blood and Steel, E Talons of Theron, F The Black Rose Knights.

Athenis was standing with his group Talons of Theron since he was an E rank, shocked wondering what was going on, he quickly tried to walk to Zaria who was standing alone bewildered also.

"Where do you think you're going,?" The assessor held his arm to stop him from moving further.

"I think there's been a mistake, that's my sister, we both aimed to join the Black Rose Knights together." He said trying to pull his hand away from the assessor.

The assessor with a stern look on her face pushed him back to his group, it was evident that this woman was of a high rank of power to be able to push him so easily.

"As a civilian when you see them they look amazing as they return from war and subjugations but in reality the Black Rose is the Kingdoms symbol for death, they are the lowest ranking knights, they are basically cannon fodder, dispensable and expendable pawns, do not dare wish to be part of that suicide faction or else you would be signing your own death warrant" she said with a distasteful look on her face. Athenis shocked, how this all could be, that his and Zaria's dream was not more than the worst possible thing to wish for, he suddenly understood his place and remained with his group.

The Oracle returned to the stage but one thing caught her attention, she saw Zaria standing alone with no group. "You there child what is your name and rank also why haven't you been assigned a faction yet?" she spoke for the first time and her voice reverberated throughout the room, everyone stood in silence staring at Zaria waiting for her response.

Zaria being timid and afraid acted instinctively, she quickly kneeled whilst bowing her head and shouted, "Oracle of the white flame my name is Zaria I am a G rank my dream is to join the Black Rose Knights!" Everyone broke out in laughter after hearing her speak. "What !? A G rank !? Isn't everyone born with F rank ? This is the first time I've seen or heard any person being below F rank" one person blurted out in the laughter.

"Silence!" the Oracle spoke in an intimidating tone that left everyone in fear, "Raise your head child and stand on your feet!", as she stretched her pale hand towards Zaria.

"Your desire is pure, and you show courage some lack, and for that I acknowledge your bravery now rise to a new purpose my new sworn Black Rose Knight, and may the light of Solaris guide you throughout your battles." Her voice commanding instilling fear within everyone in the hall.

Everyone stood in shock to what they were witnessing, how could such a low ranking person be acknowledged by one of the most powerful people in the kingdom if not the entire continent.

Athenis quickly rushed to her side in joy, grabbing her shaking hands. "You made it! We made it!, we can finally earn enough to save mother". Tears streamed down her face within her joy and confusion.

A group of other adventurers approached the pair in excitement, a small dwarven girl in her excitement spoke out, "We're so glad the Oracle accepted you I'm Keldorna but you can call me Kel, these other guys are F ranked like me and I guess we will be all in the black rose knights". The other individuals looked kind all with gentle smiles on their faces congratulating Zaria.

A new voice sounded from the stage, "Alright! New recruits your first order, make your way to the barracks located on the eastern side of the city, I am Lord Aris your Knight commander and in your ranks you must know, my word is law, and as one of the highest ranking knights in the kingdom it would be wise of you not to test my strength and patience".

One S ranked recruit scoffed at these remarks, "Would you get a load of this big shot thinking he can push us around does he know who we are, or better yet what ranks we are?"

In a blink of an eye Aris seemed to vanish from the stage and suddenly appeared in front of the S ranked recruit, only a powerful gust of air and sonic boom was the only trail he left as he vanished from the stage, the force was so powerful it pushed the other recruits away.

He gripped the neck of the recruit and lifted the huge man with ease. And as the man struggled to breathe being choked by one hand Lord Aris began to speak "Many of you may not know me, many of you have never seen me, and the reason being, I was raised on the battlefield, I have slain countless demon Lords all the heroes past and present fear me, over 300 years I have walked this planet and not one living or dead has surpassed me in battle, so do you wish to continue spewing your insults weakling?"

Only a shimmer of what looked like golden eyes glistened though Avari's helmet. The recruit now trembling in fear and about to pass out gargled as he spoke, "Forgive me.. Lord commander ...I did not know my place..."

And as soon as it started it ended, the grip on his neck loosened and he fell to his knees. "Healers, would you kindly give this man assistance" Avaris said as he slowly walked away from the scene.

"Wow! I had no idea the knights were this powerful" Kel spoke, the others who were with Zaria were also left amazed.

Athenis knew it was his time to depart with his group, and after exchanging pleasantries with Zaria's unit he left with his, Zaria shocked and excited introduced herself to her group, they were all happy to meet her and excited for what laid ahead.

The group decided to celebrate in the evening at the local tavern to take it as an opportunity to share their stories in order to get to know each other better, Zaria informed them that she needed to make a stop before meeting them and they all parted ways in the city before sunset.

The sun was beginning to sink and business's in the black market was winding down.

"Hey wait!" Zaria shouted as she ran to the stall she had previously sold her belongings to.

"Old man ! I made it, I finally became a knight!", Zaria exclaimed in excitement.

The old man gently smiled as he packed his things for the day.

"Old man, thank you for believing in me, I came here to give you your tokens back, it seems my goal came earlier than expected thank you for again".

As she stretched her hand out with the tokens the old man pushed it back towards her "Young lady you promised to return these when you become a high ranking knight, don't you remember you told me that earlier on, or is this old man getting senile in his ways?", scratching his messy short white beard.

Zaria laughed and gripped the tokens tightly, "Okay old man but today we celebrate why not come and have that ale I promised you?"

The old man smiled and shook his head "Today is not the day we share that drink my child someday we will, but tonight is your chance to let go of your past and start a new life with new friends, go on now, go and have fun"

Zaria laughed gently but this warmed her heart and as she turned to run towards the inner city not to be late to the tavern she shouted in the distance "Won't let you down old man ! You better stay alive so I can repay you for your kindness!" She said as she waved goodbye to him, glancing at the old man's silhouette one last time.

As Zaria walked into the tavern she expected to see a lively crowd but to her surprise it was just 4 people at a table and the barkeep serving them drinks.

"Hey there come join us" Kel waved to Zaria excitedly. Zaria made her way to the table, she slowly pulled out a vacant chair and sat down, as soon as she sat the bar keep handed her a glass of ale, she looked at it weirdly seeing the froth oozing from the top, she was perplexed as she had never drunk out of glass before, she was used to the wooden cups she used to use all the time.

The group laughed in amusement and one said, "Is this your first time seeing ale?, my name is Max I'm the tank of the group, pleasure to meet you!" He said with a wide smile patting her on the back in reassurance.

The group continued to introduce themselves, "We met earlier I'm Kel, I used to be a wondering Black Smith Maiden till I decided to join this merry band of miscreants haha, I'm the teams warrior"

"I'm Anna the group's healer" she said in a shy low tone.

The last to speak was the oldest in the group, he stroked his silky white beard as he smiled at the scene, "Forgive her Anna is not much for words, I go by the name Valor one of the last remaining Cursed Dark Elves and I am your groups Mage, been around for quite a while 120 years but haven't managed to level up from rank F"

"Hey old man no one asked for your sad life story haha!" Max said as he banged his glass on the table teasing the old man.

They both laughed lifting their glasses in the air. The mood in the air was pure bliss something Zaria hadn't felt in a long time, she smiled quickly grabbed her glass and chugged all the ale down, and with a light burp she chuckled.

"Pleasure to meet you all I'm Zaria, a rank G and former adventurer and porter I'm not good in combat but I wish for you all to teach me I'll be in your care!" She exclaimed.

Everyone looked at her and the room fell silent for a minute as if you could hear a pin fall to the ground, and in moment the whole group cheered. "Welcome to the family Zaria" Valor said leaning back in his chair with a welcoming smile, Max gave her a grin and a thumbs up, Kel began laughing and clapping her hands in joy and Anna just gave Zaria a gentle smile and a nod of acceptance.

Kel hushed the group, "So with the pleasantries out of the way let me tell you all about us, I'm a Dwarf, Max is a half human half Dragonfolk although he looks human, Anna is a beastfolk demihuman, she always wears a hood to hide her ears because of the stigma associated with her race and Valor is ... Well you can tell he's old that's for sure" she said teasing him and laughing.

Max was a Wyrmkin: Weak dragon men, often struggling to survive in a harsh world (Lowest Tier Rank )

Keldorna was a Krag: Dwarves who have lost their connection to their heritage and traditions struggling to find their place (Lowest Tier)

Anna was of the Felari: Cat beast men, with agility, night vision and sharp claws (Lower Tier), however she had more of a human look and because of this was an outcast in her own clan.

Valor was a N'el: corrupted or twisted elves, often result of dark magic or curses, with diminished abilities (Lowest Tier)

Anna pointed at Zaria "what might you be Zaria". Zaria was caught off guard because she herself didn't know what she was, "I think I'm human" she said in a low tone afraid to be criticized.

Valor leaned in and with a reassuring smile spoke softly "listen child even I myself had no clue I was a dark elf till I was 60 I lived among the woodland elves thinking I was part of them but such is the mystery of life, you don't need to know what you are just know who you are and that you're a black rose knight now".

Zaria was finally happy that she was with a group of people who accepted her and didn't judge or mock her.

The barkeep came towards the table and congratulated the group with the finest cuts of wild bore she had.

"I would like to congratulate you on joining the faction" the Barkeep said with a warm gentle smile on her face.

"Legend has it the black rose is a symbol of death and wherever the vanguard fell Black roses that could cure any disease grew from their corpses, the legend also says that if you drink the elixir made from its petals you could live forever and not age, that's how the black rose knights got their name" she placed the last remaining plate on the table and began to walk away.

"Wait , please explain how you know that, this is new to me also!" Kel said.

The barkeep turned around with a smile and teary eyes, "Because I'm an elf who has been around for many years, many young hopefuls like you have come through my doors but never return, seeing you five really made me reminiscent of the old days, promise me you will return to this tavern, some day and share such joy again."

Max stood up, barely able to stand as he was getting drunk, "Okay!" With a thumbs up raised and his signature grin on his face, "from this day onwards this will be our home away from home, this will be the official black rose tavern!, may we fight for our country and never die!"

The barkeep quickly shouted back "And may your cups never run dry!"

Everyone laughed in joy and cheered as they drank the night away.

As the night winded down they said goodbye to the barkeep and started making their way to the barracks.

Max carrying Anna on his back who had passed out from the alcohol, looked at Zaria who was also struggling to keep balance "Whoa easy goes it, don't fall okay!, listen Zaria, we decided to celebrate here because of how people would treat us at the main barracks, we're all weak, some of us our races are rejects to society but all we got is ourselves, so keep your chin up" Zaria finally knew that this is where she belonged.

They snuck into the barracks unnoticed, and managed to make it to their factions dormitory, it wasn't as good as the other rooms the other factions had but to Zaria it was better than sleeping on the cold bare floor.

Zaria was now hopeful and happy that she had made it this far. It was all going to be better from now on the life she had dreamt of was finally going to happen, this was the happiness she longed for, or was it?....