Although there were many villages, there were only twenty-six cities in Anthropos. The king named those cities with twenty-six alphabets, A to Z.
Among them, J city was at the northeast of Anthropos. It could be said that J city was in the safe zone since it was near the territories of dwarves and elves. Although they were not very friendly with humans, they were not hostile. At west of Anthropos, beastman races lived. Most of them were mercenaries. Although some were hostile to humans, most of their races were only interested in money and wealth. So they were not a real threat to humans. The only enemy, the nature enemy, of humans was orges who lived on the south side of this world. The orges were the most dangerous beings in this world for humans. They loved to fight and kill. Strength was everything for them. They even fought between their own races to show who was stronger. But there were many defense cities between them and J city. That is why J city was one of the safest and stable cities of Anthropos. At the same time, it was populated. Traders, merchants, magic academy...the city was so lively. There was only one magic academy per city. Every twelve year old child could go to academy and train for their magic elements. Because of this, the children from the villages near J city had to come to the city.
"Jame__hey Jame! Are you staring at the academy again? Come on! I can't wait to tell you about today's lessons." Bam called and walked in the direction of the city gate.
Jame stopped thinking and followed him. Bam was his neighbor and also his childhood friend. In the past, they promised each other to become rankers when they grew up. But now__
"How about you? Is everything ok?" Jame asked with a heavy tone of voice.
"Yes, not only teachers but also students are nice. I can still feel the excitement. You know? Our headmaster is very kind and cool. He said he will teach beginners like us by himself. How lucky! He says my ice element is rare and __" Bam was talking continuously about how great the academy was and his experience as he was so excited.
Jame was not listening. In fact, he couldn't listen. Seventy percent of humans in this world were born with magic power. Once they reached twelve, their attribute elements were formed in their bodies and they could start learning magic. But for him, he was born without magic power. Even the daughter of the carpenter who lived in front of his house was born with little magic power. He didn't even have a strand of magic.
How did he know? Well, there was a test for every eleven year old children. At that test, the king sent rankers to test the children whether they had magic power or not and to test how strong. Children with extreme high magic power were called geniuses and were taken to the capital for advanced training but those kinds of kids were extremely rare.
Last year, he knew he had no magic power. Since then, he was disappointed in himself and couldn't do any proper things. For a child, it was too much. Jame thought of the past and tears started to fall slowly. But he stopped his tears with his left hand as he didn't wanna show Bam his weak side.
Bam was still talking even after they had passed a big market and many buildings while walking on the way to the gate. Jame steps were heavy but Bam didn't notice. After rambling about his experience non-stop for about an hour, he started noticing Jame's heavy mood. "Are you listening, Jame?" Bam stopped walking and asked.
"Y._ye_yes, of course." Jame answered with a stuttering tone of voice.
Bam knew he was lying. "Don't lie me. I have known you since we were children. I can tell what you are thinking just by looking at your face. I am sorry. Even knowing you have no magic, I was only talking about my experience at the academy." Bam's words were kind and soft.
"__" Jame was silent.
Suddenly Bam hugged him tightly and cheered, "You know? You don't need to be depressed and don't need to feel guilty. You can still be a ranker. Come on! Today is the first day of the academy. Didn't you come here to congratulate me? Cheer up! Smile! I don't want to see my friend's sad face. Promise me that you won't be depressed anymore and you will try your best to become a ranker. We will become rankers together as we promised."
Jame was still surprised because of Bam's sudden hug. It was warm and at the same time he felt safe. Before he realized, he also had hugged him too. He didn't even realize when his hands moved. But one thing was for sure. It was so warm. After hugging for a moment, Bam left his hands on his shoulder and said, "So can you promise me?"
Bam looked so determined with serious eyes on his face. Bam's words were strength for him. He always admired him since childhood. Bam was so brave and kind. He was determined and always scolded him as he was lazy and fooling around when they were young. Bam once fought with a group of kids who bullied him in school just to protect him. Bam was like a brother to him, like a high wall protecting him.
Jame's long-lost courage and spirit returned to him. He felt like an unknown energy entered his body. He decided to try one more time and said, "Yes, you are right. I am so weak now. I don't even have magic but as long as you are here, I shouldn't give up so easily. Sorry. I promise. Next time, I won't be weak like this. I promise Bam."
"Yes, this is the Jame I know. Remember? Since then, you were depressed and didn't even play with me like usual. I was worried. Don't be like that again." Bam's voice was soft and kind.
After making their promise, they kept walking to the gate. Jame's mood was now quite different. "I understand now. Come. Let't go back to home. From today, I will try my best. I will ask my father to teach me martial arts when I get back home. I should have asked him from the start. I hope it is not too late to ask him." Although Jame said that, his face seemed regretful.
Jame's father was a warrior. He was born without magic like Jame but he didn't give up. He became the leader of the village guards with his own effort. He was like a hero to the villagers. He protected the village from many dangers even knowing he had no magic. He showed that humans can be strong even without magic. All the villagers, even some magic users in the village admired him for his courage and personality. Jame couldn't see those qualities in his father before but now he was different.
Bam comforted, "Of course, it is never too late to ask your parents for advice. He is your father after all. The city gate is there. We should better hurry. The sun is about to__" Someone crashed Bam and he fell down to ground while talking.
"Hey! Watch your way." Jame pulled him up and yelled.
The one who crashed Bam was a city guard. He ignored Jame's words and rushed to the gate. He seemed to be in a hurry. His whole body was covered in sweat.
"__" Jame was a little angry for his behavior. But soon, he saw some uniformed guards were also rushing to the gate.
"It is ok, not a big deal. But I have never seen such a rush of guards. What's going on? Come." Bam said and ran to the gate as he wanted to know what was happening.
Jame knew it was not a good sign. This city had been peaceful for years. He had never seen such a rush of guards before. There was only one reason why they were rushing like this.
"Impossible." Jame muttered and followed Bam.
It seemed quite serious. The closer he got to gate, the more guards he saw, even rankers. They looked so busy. Some were preparing weapons. Some were forming defensive stand, so lively.
"Send some men to contact the capital immediately. How many rankers do we have now? Report nearby cities and villages to be alert. Hurry! We can't know how many villages have already fallen while we are talking now. This battle is too sudden." Someone who seemed to be the captain was giving orders. Bam and Jame were staring at the guards with confused faces without understanding anything.
"What were the children like you doing here? Go back into the city. Now!" He saw them and asked. Jame was a little afraid because of his loud yelling.
"Excuse me, sir. We are from a village outside the city. Can we leave to go back home?" But Bam asked with courage since he knew Jame would not dare to ask.
Suddenly, the captain's hard eyes softened. "So you kids are from the village. Poor kids. I am sorry but for now, you can't leave the city." Both of them nodded.
"Why? What happen?" Bam's tone of voice seemed anxious. He was worried about his family outside the city. Jame was standing like a stone statue.
"I don't want to say it but listen carefully kids. There is a battle outside the city now. It is safer for you to stay in the city for a while." The captain advised.
Bam was worried more and asked, "Battle? Isn't this area safe? Who dare start a fight between the territories of elf and dwarf?"
The captain explained, "They themselves. I am not sure why. Look, kids. That is all I know. We are kinda busy now. So get back to the city." He couldn't waste any more time with these kids. So as soon as he finished speaking, he hurried back to give orders.
They had no choice. So they went back to the city and waited. They were obsessed with their own thoughts, praying for their family. Not all the citizens knew about the current situation. They were still acting like normal days. The noises made Bam and Jame more uncomfortable as they knew a battle could be here anytime.
After about an hour, a group of rankers came into the city. Some were blue capes. Some were green capes but most were brown capes. There was only one white cape. Behind them, a group of city guards were following in military stance. The citizens were chatting among themselves.
After whispering something to a guard, the white cape ranker announced. "The king's message!" All the citizen who heard kneeled down to the ground including Bam and Jame. The city became silent immediately as they were waiting to listen to the king's order.
The white cape continued, "I am a warrior of his Majesty and a white cape ranker. I swear my loyalty to his Majesty. As his Majesty's order, I will announce that from today on, this area is not safe either. Both the elf and dwarf have declared war on each other. The king has ordered to place this city with high rankers for security. So be careful from today. We, rankers, will also try our best to protect this city. I hope their battles won't affect this city too much. But sadly, all the villages outside the city were destroyed as a result of their battle. No survivors have been found yet. I am sorry. That's all his Majesty's message."
As soon as he finished announcing, he left with the guards and other rankers. The citizens chatted among themselves again and the city became noisy again. Some were crying. Some were still kneeling with confused faces. But the same thing about them was they all were in fear now.
"It can't be." Jame said with a tremble in his voice. His whole body was trembling too. The tears kept falling non-stop. Even Bam was trembling.
"All the villages near the city are destroyed? Is this even possible? No, no. I don't believe. Tell me Bam. It was a lie, right?" Jame yelled and held Bam's shoulders. He felt Bam's shoulders trembling through his hands. They both felt lifeless.
What they were feeling right now was only pain and sorrow. Why did this happen when he finally decided to try again? He didn't know the answer. Well, no one knew.
From that day, J city turned into a different city. The people had to live in fear. Sometimes, the elves and dwarves even attacked humans to take over human territory for supply and transport for war against each other. The king couldn't stand anymore as they became a threat to the citizens. He ordered to kill them immediately if they were spotted in human territory. Although he didn't declare war officially, the hatred between the three races gradually grew more and more. No one couldn't turn back now.
The war had begun.
**************************************
(Thanks for reading.😇)