"You shall be allowed to join the guild - but there is a catch," he paused, waiting to see His reaction.
"What is the catch, Sir?" Darwin inquired hesitantly. He already had an idea of what it may be, looking at his father.
"The council would normally allow any noble to become an adventurer, if they so choose, however since you father is the grand general of the army it is a bit more complicated," the head mage paused and took a breath, "if you follow through with your choice you will be striped of your title as a noble and you will no longer be able to use your family name." As he finished speaking, he looked at the general, as if to make sure this is what he had truly intended.
The general nodded and looked at his son. Darwin's eyes widened. He had known his father would try his best to sway Him to join the army, but this seemed excessive. Or maybe his father was nodding in approval. He never understood his fathers' motives, since they almost never talked.
Darwin quickly let the negativity leave his mind; he had got what he wanted. A smile started to slip onto his face. He could not wait for his first mission. "Very well. I will no longer be a Hollows, if that is truly what it takes to achieve my dream." Darwin said as he started to shuffle his feet around. Energy seemed to beam out of him.
"You do realize that in giving up your name you are giving up your status and will no longer be first in line to inherit the noble house of Hollow?" Gorin said - almost angrily. It was obvious the noble elf had wanted Darwin to reconsider his decision.
Darwin looked up to Gorin but he had made his mind up. He nodded his head as to almost confirm to himself that he was indeed about to make one of the biggest decisions of his life - one he would not be able to take back easily.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you head master Gorin, but this is something I must do. I wish to be an adventurer." Darwin spoke firmly. The principal nodded. It was almost as if he wanted this answer from Simon. Simon thought maybe this questioning was some sort of test but he was unsure. He did not like not knowing things.
A young man at the right of the table shuffled in his seat, as if he was going to say something. A shiny black wristband hung around his left hand - a symbol of leadership and rank in the adventurers' guild. Carbonite was an extremely rare material - a fusion of black diamond and fallen star shards. Darwin wondered how this man, who appeared to be around his age, could be so high ranking in the guild.
Since the young age of 5, Darwin had gone through 16 years of schooling. Even as a top ranked student he could only make gold at best, but more than likely he would be a silver first class in the guild. His face seemed to give away his thoughts. The man was scowling at him.
"My name is Robert, and by that look of amazement you were unaware that I am an adventuring master and leader of the central region," he paused, examining Darwin who was no longer standing properly, "Well that's no matter. I like people to underestimate me. Makes it more fun when I surprise them. In any case, you will join the guild as a copper first class. Come to the guild hall by noon tomorrow and meet your adviser and trainer. That is all." With that abrupt statement Robert smiled at Darwin, stood up, bowed to Gorin and the others, and left the hall.
Darwin was stunned. He was unsure what to do. He looked at Gorin who was as stoic as ever, and his father seemed to be holding back a smile. Darwin sighed and bowed toward Gorin. It seemed this meeting was over.
"Thank you for your consideration, Gorin. General Hollow, thank you as well for your input. I hope to have a good life as an adventurer," he said, almost shaking in excitement. All the men at the table and returned the bow. Darwin turned around and walked out of the room. The` oak doors were heavier than they appeared, so he pushed them fairly hard.
There was a stocky well-built dwarf wearing chainmail and pauldrons. A mace hung at his side. Everything was well kept the chainmail almost touched his knees and was high quality mithril the pauldrons. "Hey there kid, names Donar Skullcleaver and you better remember it kid." Donar said almost ambushing Darwin as he exited the chamber. Darwin was rather startled by the rather gruff dwarf but he wasn't about to let Donar see that.
"A pleasure to meet you Donar Skullcleaver, my name is Darwin, May I ask what business do you have with me?" he said with a slight smirk and a bow to the dwarf. Realizing he was no longer a Hollow, his smiled, when Donar interrupted his thoughts.
"Look here kid, I came by today to check out this new recruit to the guild I HAVE to let shadow me. Just so you know I expect you to do well on the battlefield tomorrow. You being a schooled mage and not self-taught you better be worth the trouble." He ranted at Darwin wavering his finger at him. Donar quickly turned around and waved Darwin to follow.
"Battle... What battle? The kingdom is not at war with anyone." Darwin stammered as he followed Donar down the hall toward the stairs.
"Well, it wouldn't be an adventure without a good bit of fighting, now would it!" Donar laughed. Darwin forced a chuckle behind him. Who was this man the guild sent to help him?
"Where are we going Donar?" he asked hesitantly, unsure of whether to trust this man or not. He didn't have any reason to not trust the man in front of him but, he wouldn't put it past his father to pay someone off to spy on him, or try and control his actions through "friendship" that was bought and paid for by The General. Darwin felt the hatred for his father rising up and he pushed it down as he always has done. He was finally free from the school and his father's name. There was no reason to think Donar was on his father's payroll however, it never hurts to be cautious.
"We are heading to the adventurer's guild. We need to get you signed up proper and get you ranked." Donar stated, leaving the stairwell from the west wing of the school into the main hall. Simon nodded along and followed. Looking around the hall always filled him with a sense of wonder. The white marble floor and pillars were contrasted by vivid artwork of dragons and men fighting on the ceiling. There were once many types of dragons, some long and slender with whiskers that looked like beards, some looked like giant turtles carrying whole forests on their backs, and others still had giant leathery wings and horned heads full of fangs. All of them an array of different colors; some a deep blue, a bright pink, a midnight black, or shining silver, and a few were even multi-colored, like a shimmering rainbow, as if the scales were made from the stars and sky. Dragons always fascinated Darwin but they haven't been seen in centuries and none looked like his favorite in the mural full of stars.
Darwin had heard the war was fought over magic gems that held the power of the gods. The first monarch of each country each held a gem in the painting. Not much was known about the gems - only that there were seven and the last people able to use even a fraction of their power had been the original monarchs painted before him. The whereabouts of one stone was known but, anyone who touched the gem died almost immediately. Darwin had to jog to catch up to the dwarf who had kept walking ahead, unaware that Darwin was being left behind.
"...and that's why it's important to get ranked otherwise you could get into a lot of trouble." Donar continued explaining as he walked, assuming the boy was still right behind him. Darwin kept closer now and pretended he had followed along, not wanting to make the dwarf mad or deal with his judgment. He just wanted to get this registration done and start adventuring. "If you're lucky you may make silver rank. But not many adventurers start that high. Only a hand full in the last five years have so don't be disappointed if you're a copper even if you make mid-range copper that's nothing to sneeze at," the dwarf continued as they exited the building.
"Donar are there sub ranks within the normal metal ranks one sees walking around?" Darwin interrupted. Donar turned to face him. Even though he only came up to Darwin's chest, the aura he gave off was still intimidating."Weren't you listening? There are ten ranks and five sub-ranks in each, so don't expect to start with killing Demons and Ogres - more like rats and whatnot." Donar huffed. He obviously didn't like repeating himself. "You will figure it out when you're tested. You have a whole lifetime of adventuring ahead of you. As long as you keep your ears open you shouldn't die in the first month," Donar chuckled at the last bit. Darwin nodded. He had thought he would easily make silver but the way Donar talked, it didn't seem like he would. There was only one way to find out and he was ready for any test the guild would throw at him. With all his training he was sure he would surprise a few people. Their footsteps and words becoming lost in a sea of people as they made their way toward the adventurer's guild.