chapter 3

Father burst into the house with a smile on his face and said, "Rusius, it's time. Come with me. I have something to show you." I had an idea what he was about to show me – how to use a sword. He looked very excited about it, so I went along with him and acted happy too. It was a sword, just as I expected, and he gave it to me and said, "Happy birthday, son. It's your time to take up a sword." My mom was there too, and she objected to him and started cursing him out because she said that she wanted me to practice magic. They had agreed that if I showed more proficiency in magic or sword, they would let me specialize in it. I didn't want to get involved in their argument, so I left them and went inside to practice my sword skills some more. They argued about that topic for at least two days. In the end, none of them won the argument, so they agreed upon me practicing both the sword and magic. In the end, I won because I was practicing both anyway. So, the next day, my father took me to the training field to teach me how to use a sword, but I was already well-versed in the sword. I didn't want my father to feel bad that I was better than him, so I acted like I didn't know how to use a sword, but I would eventually show him that I was better. The next day, the same thing happened with mother, and from that day, every day, they would rotate and train me in magic and the sword until the day finally arrived when I was going to enroll in the Elysium School of Magic and Sword Proficiency. This was one of three schools that teach children, aged 12 to 17, how to better use magic and sword. It teaches different types of magic and sword techniques. From what my mother and father told me, I would be tested on my skills, and if I passed, I would be enrolled in the school. The day finally came, and I said goodbye to my family. I was picked up by a carriage and traveled to Shadowfen, the region of dark magic and technology in the north, where the Elysium School of Magic and Sword Proficiency is located. On my way to Shadowfen, we went through the forest of elves, where I saw elves for the first time. They lived in treehouses made of wood and were very friendly. There were two types of elves – dark elves and regular elves. Dark elves are more versed in the human language and are able to speak it, which was very interesting to me. I learned that dark elves are offspring of humans, which is why they are able to speak to us. But the regular elves can't. Elves speak in a language called Teldrassil, given to them by the goddess of the land. It was one of the first languages to be made, but it was not only given to the elves. Any creature the goddess of the land bestowed it upon could speak it. Any person that tried to speak the language would be cursed and die because the goddess of the land doesn't want the other gods' creation to speak her language. So, the only way that the elves could communicate with other creatures was through dark elves, or if the goddess of the land took a liking to you. I continued to study about the elves until the day came where it was time to leave.