I am im front of my home, the orphanage. I was orphaned at the age of 4 when my both of my parents, who were wizards, died at a mission. They were in the Silverthorn Guild. I heard stories about their exploits. They are my inspiration and the reason why I want to be a Wizard.
As I step in, I was met with a bundle of small colored papers in my face.
"Surprise!"
Wha-
What is happening?!
"Congratulations on your graudation big sister!"
Leonard, a 4 year old, said to me. He is so cute!
Leonard was brought into the orphanage when he was still a baby. No notes, just a baby in the basket. I was 7 years old at that time.
"Thanks Leo!" I lifted him up and hugged him tight.
Even though he was left here, he never take it to heart. He is still the cheerful boy I know.
"Me too! I'm next!"
I laughed and went on and hugged all of them. There are 14 of us here with me being the oldest here at 12 and they are at average around 6 years old. From time to time some are being adopted and babies being left at the front door.
Well for me, no one wants some hormonal teen when they could have a cute toddler. It doesn't bother me that much though.
"Congrats Saph! We'll talk later okay? Have some fun tonight!"
I looked up and saw our mom. She has dark brown eyes and black hair. She has some wrinkles in her face that indicates old age. Even so, she is still so beautiful. A type of beauty that is so captivating.
We will have a talk about my future later. To be honest I am quite nervous about it. She was having second thoughts with me goinf to take the exams for Fortis, the most popular and prestigious magic school. I'm confident that I can pass but she is just anxious about me being alone in the big city.
I had a lot of fun during the party. We played a lot of games and ate some cake. This might be the last time that we can bond like this for a long time so I cherished every moment.
After the party, it was then the "talk"
I am in my room waiting for mom. I can't help but be nervous.
We don't have that much money and the screening is in 3 months. I might save a bit but If I didn't get the scholarship then I might just have to enroll to a local school.
I want to aim high. That's why I've been training all these years. Im the midst of my thoughts, I heard the door open.
"Let's start okay?" My mom said and went to the edge of the bed beside me.
Isabela, the nanny of the orphanage thought long and hard about the future of Saphira. The world is harsh and she is quite smart and strong for her age, she still worries that she might get hurt badly outside. She promised her biological mom, her long time best friend, that she would take care of her.
Fortis is a great school but she wouldn't be able to use her full potential there. It would be much better for her to learn by experience so she thought of a way.
"I have made my decision. You can go." Isabel smiled at her lovingly. She thought long and hard and it was finally time for Saphira to fly her wings.
Really?! I never thought that she would agree so easily. She was always so strict.
"You're not joking right?" Saphira looks at her with a shocked face.
"I don't do jokes dear"
This is it. She can finally go! The entrance exam is in two weeks. It should be enough time to prepare.
"But in one condition" Isabel said with seriousness.
"What is it?" Isabel said excitedly. She didn't mind as long as it wasn't over the top. She can finally go and that is what all mattered to her at the moment.
"You are talented at your young age but there is still so much more for you to know. So, I'll introduce you to someone"
She was ecstatic on who would be. Her mom is a powerful wizard. She had seen her prowess before when she was protecting them by thugs that wanted to kidnap them for money. She often wonders why she became a nanny in the orphanage when she could be something more but Saphira was glad that she became their nanny. She loved them very much and they loved her too.
"You will learn with a good friend of mine. It would be muh better for you to learn by experience don't you think?" My mother said to me.
In the school they would have occasional field training but it was mostly tests and classroom activities. Gaining knowledge is good but without experience she wouldn't do well on battle. Saphira thought that is was a great idea. She would gain first hand experience and knowledge! This is great! You can't learn the tension of battle inside the four walls of a classroom.
Though they would do field battles but that would be on a later. She would gain advance knowledge.
Saphira nodded to her mom. She excited on meeting this friend of hers. She is powerful so her friend must be powerful as well.
Saphira looked at her eyes with excitement.
"When do we start?"
Isabel laughed at her. She was obviously happy and can't wait to begin right away. Her friend, the blonde haired kid, is from a family of well-known magicians. He is probably trained at a young age to be this good. Though, Saphira can put up a good fight, she would lose in a fight of strength and control. She regretted not having her train rigorously when she was still little but no use worrying about it now.
"First, we need to get you two introduced to each other right?"
"Today?!" Saphira shouted at her. She was already bouncing on the bed. The bed creaks everytime her feet landed.
"No jumping on the bed! And it would be tomorrow okay?" Isabel held Saphira down.
Isabel told her to get some sleep for tomorrow and kissed her on her forehead and went out. Saphira however can't sleep. She is already imagining on what training they would do and what techniques she might learn.
The Tree of Mana. No one has every fully explored it. Even thougj it is a tree, it is filled with dungeons inside. Portals are abundant outside the tree. Some say that they are filled with treasures and magical artifacts that grants powers to those who wield it. No one ever been able to go inside though. Wizards have only explored the areas surrounding the Tree so no one knows if these rumors are true.
Saphira wanted to explore the Tree of Mana. They say that her parents died but they never found the body. They were in a exploration mission to go inside the Tree. But when they were close the team mysteriously disappeared and were now pronounced dead.
She didn't believe they were dead. She believed that they are inside the Tree, somewhere. They say that time is slow around and inside the Tree of Mana. zit would seem years have gone by there but it was only a few weeks have gone by outside the perimeters of the Tree of Mana. They might still be alive.
Saphira dreamed of the day where she would find them. She will explore every inch of the Mana Tree. This is her goal.