There was a small village named Elram surrounded by rolling hills and forests.
A lazy river bordered it on one side and a winding road on the other.
It was not a special village as there were many like it on this side of the Bragi Highlands.
But each village told a story of its own.
The old but firm cottages had character, as if they had absorbed the emotions of their residents after watching over generation after generation.
The farmlands were green with abundance and grazing livestock occasionally dotted the scenery. Children helped on the homestead in the morning, milking cows, tilling the land, and collecting eggs.
But the afternoon was theirs to do as they pleased. They ran through the fields and played games only known to them as the sun high in the sky watched them and seemed to glimmer in amusement.
However, not all children had a home and not all was well in the village.
Though the war was over now and 10 years had passed, many children had lost their parents, and become orphans that the village needed to take care of.
They lived in an old converted grain house, and Farther Gregory, the local priest of Hebe watched over them.
And on the front steps of this not so sturdy orphanage a young man sat with a horrified look on his face.
He looked to be no older than 17 or 18 as traces of childishness were still visible on his face.
Though his eyes were a commonly seen warm brown, his hair was rather distinct, it was a color more commonly seen on the elderly. It was a grey reminiscent of the color of ashes.
He seemed to be staring at something in front of him that only he could see.
This young man was Siege, and he was currently looking at the legacy he had received.
'No...no, this can't be right! This isn't like what officer James told me at all!'
....
[Name: Siegfried]
[Legacy: —]
[Rank: —]
[Armament: —]
[Aspect: Farm Boy]
[Attributes: {Stalwart} {Journeyman} {Warrior}]
[Description: A simple farm boy from a common village that can be found anywhere. Though this one has a tendency for violence.]
Sige kept staring at the words hoping that it was all a mistake and would some how change. They didn't.
'Officer James said that I would have a legacy right at the start! What the hell is this!'
Siege was pissed. How was he supposed to survive with no legacy and the abilities of a farm boy.
What was he going to do? Til the monsters' fields?
Siege tried to check his attributes, hoping to find something that will give him a chance for survival.
[Stalwart: Your body is naturally strong with an admirable recovery speed.]
[Journeyman: The wind holds your heart and guides your path. Where it leads you is your destiny.]
[Warrior: A natural fondness for violence and combat, and the instinct to match.]
Siege let out a sigh of relief. Luckily his attributes were mostly combat oriented and gave him a glimmer of hope for surviving. However, Siege had never completed his formal training so his skill with weapon, or unarmed combat was amateurish at best.
Furthermore he couldn't even tell if he was in a storyline themed trial or a unique one.
In this world, his identity was just a orphaned farm boy, and he didn't even have memories of this place. Siege could;dn't help but feel that all the odds were stacked against him.
Siege sluggishly stood up and entered the orphanage.
The wooden door screeched as he pushed his way into the weather building. Mold clung to the corners of the walls and thin beds lined each side, around twelve in total.
A couple of the floor board had come loose so Siege had to watch his step as he made his way to the back of the building and to the only somewhat reasonable part.
Sneakily, he made sure the orphanage was empty before entering the door before him.
Father Gregory's room was separated from the rest and was largely intact. Not only did he have a full sized straw bed, but a whole shelf filled with various worn looking books.
This bookshelf was Siege's target.
Luckily, he was able to understand and read their language despite it clearly not being English.
He hoped to find something in the texts that would help him understand his situation better. Father Gregory had stepped out earlier to meet a village guest, someone rather important apparently, so it would be a while before he returned.
Sifting through the books, Siege found out that they were mostly theological texts related to the goddess Hebe and largely unhelpful for his situation.
What he did manage to learn though was that the nation he was currently in was the Greatlands, ruled by the mighty king Beowulf.
The name Beowulf was extremely familiar to Siege, but he couldn't remember exactly what it meant and the legend surrounding it.
Siege was beginning to get extremely frustrated. He still had no clue what his goal in this trial was and didn't't even get any of the magical powers he was promised. At most, he was just a slightly stronger guy.
Siege quickly exited the priest's room and headed back outside the orphanage. The other kids were out playing so there was no one he could gather information from there.
Siege was lost in contemplation as he followed the dusty path to the village center, so he didn't notice when a little boy, no older than nine appeared before him.
"Siege! Siege! I was just going to get you! The village head wants everyone to meet in the center!"
The little boy's eyes were shining and his hair stuck to his forehead with sweat. He had been running all around the village trying to help gather everyone.
"Alright, I'm coming. I was actually just about to head there." Siege said with a smile.
Although Siege didn't know his name, this kid was so bubbly that it made him relax a bit inside.
The kid scampered off and Siege watched him as he left while continuing his walk. He wonder what announcement could be so important that the village head was gathering everyone with such urgency that he even use a little kid as a messenger.
Eventually Siege made it to the crowded village center.
Two men were standing apart from the rest.
One was an older man dressed in coarse linen. His hair was completely grey but his stern eyes and straight back hinted of his years of authority.
Siege assumed that this was the village head.
Standing next to the head was a large man in iron armor. The main portion of the armor was chainmail, but he had a shining chest plate, and leather arm and shin guards. A peeling leather satchel was strapped around his body and hung from his waist.He held his helmet in his right hand while his left hand rested on his sheathed sword.
The man's eyes were languid though, as if all of this bored him.
Siege silently observed them until it seemed like all of the sixty or so villagers had gathered.
The village head cleared his throat to silence the crowd.
"Good afternoon everyone! Sir Eric Baldwin from the royal capital has come to make an announcement on the behalf of the king!"
The village head's voice cause murmurs of excitement to arise within the crowd.
The head then gestured for Sir Eric to come forward.
Drifting closer to the crowd, Sir Eric dug through his satchel and retrieved a letter.
Unsealing the letter, Sir Eric lifted it high and raised his voice.
"In response to a dragon wreaking havoc on the western border, a draft has been enacted to create an army in aid of our king as he faces the beast even in his old age!"
Clearing his throat, the man continued.
"All men from ages 16 to 40 are required to join in the campaign! Failure to do so will result in the death penalty! This is a call to bare arms for our nation, for our homes, and for our king!"
The village went silent.