Its early morning, we are into the late part of October, despite being a bright day, it feels gloomy like I'm underwater, the air feels tick and I struggle to move through my early routine, for it is a day that represents a kind of death, a small one if you care for intricacies, the death of what you ask? well... it's about...
[Unkown voice] Lizzie! get up already, don't you think for a second I forgot about your birthday, come to the kitchen asap, I got you a little something.
The voice rang from the other side of our small house, a rustic little cabin, made from wood, the same kind of wood you would see around in the village, the same kind of wood that can be found in the forest nearby, despite it being small it had everything we could need, a couple of bedrooms, a fireplace, an open kitchen and even a cellar. We had nice furniture tough, Gramps made a living out of his trade as a carpenter.
[Lizzie] Gramps! don't yell so early in the morning, you know I don't celebrate my birthday you sweet oaf!
Yeah, so that's my grandpa, Gabriel Hart or Gramps for short, an old man around 67 years old, with short gray hair, a thick bear so characteristic of those resembling lumberjack bears, but to everyone's awe, he sports the most gentle ayes you could find in this realm or the next I bet. It's just the two of us in this house, and he fucking knows I don't like birthdays, I just don't understand the concept of it, nobody ever accomplished nothing by being birthed, if someone would have to be celebrated at all, it should be your mother, I mean, it must be hell to push out of your body a lump of flesh that was about 9 months inside of you, babbies only triumph over birth is to cry after being spanked. My mother was not around anymore, neither of my parents, maybe that's why I hate this date, but that's a story for another time I guess, not in the mood, bite me.
[Lizzie] Gosh! COMING! Just don't do the song bit, please!
[Gramps?] But is the best bit! you should take pity on this old man, and let me sing a bit.
There I am, in front of a small cake of strawberries, don't take me wrong, I'm not complaining about it being small, it's all we can afford anyways, the problem lies on top of it, a couple of candles depicting the number 16 in a deep purple, as to stand out by sheer power of contrast, just to smear salt on my wounds.
[Lizzie] I know you are dying to ask old geezer, shoot me death!
[Gramps] You know I don't care about that, we can be happy anyways, you are the only thing that matters to me anymore, blow them already and ask for a wish!
The thing is, by sixteen, everybody already experienced their awakening to magic, at least, everyone who had any significant talent at magic, these events ranged between an extensive range of spontaneous magical phenomena, the rest of us mortals who haven't had experienced it by our sixteen birthday would never have it after, so yeah, remember when I talked about a small dead? it was hope, hope is dead, the hope of revenge.
[Lizzie] You already know my wish Gramps, it's been the same for a few years anyway, at this rate, I don't expect that pig mother fucking scum to drop dead anymore, excuse my french.
[Gramps] (His facial expression shows an almost existential dread) Lower your voice girl! who knows who might be listening, insulting the son of the Baron is to call danger upon yourself!
[Lizzie] Relax geezer, nobody is up at this hour anyway! If I can´t at least swear at him from time to time I promise you I'll go insane in a few days.
[auspicius sound] BANG BANG BANG BANG!
Someone is at the door, banging as his life depend upon it, I peed myself a little, me and my fucking big mouth, did he hear me? Was he part of the baron guards? The fear started to creep at insane speed upon my limbs, shaking like a kitten out of the bath, searching for Gramps's eyes, to somewhat soothe myself and perhaps find respite in those gentle eyes of his.
[Gramps] HAHAHAHAHAHA that should teach you a lesson hahahahahahaha, the only person besides us that should be up and bangs like that is our neighbor Dillan the Huntsman, serve yourself some cake while I open the door sweetie.
Gramps opened the door to reveal a thin man, a tall, thin man with lean muscles and sharp gaze, too sharp a gaze to my liking, made me feel like there was no place to hide from him if I ever wanted to, it seemed like he could pry open my secrets, my thoughts, and read them like you would a book, naked to reveal bare my intentions, never liked the man, nor I would play poker with him, but I respected him deeply, he was after all the father of my late best friend Cindy, loved that girl as much as I ever loved someone in my short life.
[Gaspar] Well meet Harts, and happy birthday (He said while prompting a smile, which told me for sure, he knew I hate birthdays), indeed you should be careful with your words, you should berate him harder, that fucking troll waste, is someday receiving what he owns us, I promise.
If you haven't put 1+1 together, Sid, the Baron´s son, murdered Cindy and got out impune a few years back, the damn pedophile took a liking to Cindy and ordered her abduction, those were some terrible and desperate days, we found her body a few days later by the side of the river, word had come out from some of the maidens working at the mansion, it's a small town, after all, words spread faster than lightning.
[Gaspar] So, I'm here to take the little one to the talent hunt ceremony, I hope you do well miss.
[Lizzie] Don't get your hopes up, didn't have any awakening experiences thus far, nobody will scout me in this small town, wait a little longer I still need to change, I want to at least look propper to be scouted.
You heard well, Scouted! While talented children could receive owls announcing acceptance to prestigious magic schools to become learned wizards, it was not the only option, nor the most common one, you could also find mentors and teachers in cities and rural areas who could scout you to become Sorcerers, alchemist, druids, shamans and the like. I had hoped to get mentorship whit a sorcerer, to accomplish my wish of the last few years and payback with interest everything Sid had comming for himself.
So I look into the mirror in my room, and I see what everybody should see, a blond short adolescent woman, hair on a single braid, a sober blue dress, and some freckles that should have pointed out my playfulness, my daredevil side, deceit if I ever saw one, the last few years made me mature far too quick, far too sudden, now I was a little ball of resentment at the barons family, to this damn society that allows people like him, that regards to strength and magicians as the rule of justice, at my fleetness, the incapacity of change things, fact that finally struck me today with my oh so important sixteen birthday and the soon to be scouting event.
There I was, among a bunch of children, in a huge room in the central town-building, waiting for the other guys to finish testing their talents when finally my turn came to be. Suddenly I found myself in front of an altar made of stone, carved in gothic design with both angel and demon motives interacting in fluid motion, like dancing at the pace of an eternal sonata, I can almost hear it, regal in tune with a bunch oh violins and an arp. On top of the pedestal, there was a red gem, a crimson red that dragged my mind into it, for a second I swear I saw it pulsating, like a living heart.
[Priest] Come forth Lizbeth Hart, offer your blood as a sacrifice to the ancient gods who look upon lesser beings such as ourselves, the hour of the reckoning of your destiny is onto thee.
[Lizzie] I Lizbeth Hart, offer my blood to be evaluated and classified by the powers that be, to reveal the paths that lay bare to me. (I said while extending my right arm upon the crimson stone, knife at the ready)
Just the second the cold steel ceremonial blade (known as kris, a dagger with a wave-like blade) was about to take a bite on the tender flesh, the musical sensation of the powers that be, came to an abrupt end. There and then my blood vessels constricted by themselves, a shivering cold made me tremble, and I could feel a voice whispering at the back of my head, drilling into my skull just with its soft intonation of alien verses, frozen in place I became unable to even blink, my voice trapped in my throat unable to scream away the terror of this foreign presence making his way into my being, it felt like a bunch of spiders were crawling upon my skin and a bunch of tentacles were trying to ascend through my troath to set themself free, seconds felt like minutes until I recognized everyone looking whit pity at me. The blade had worked his trade, my flesh lays open gushing warm blood upon the gem, who in turn demarks my path of a normal life, no traces of talent or even an element is present, I'm branded as magicless.
Hope died at this moment, one way or another some part of me expected this outcome, my Gramps always said it is important to know your boundaries anyway, or it was supposed to go that way, none of that is the issue right now, I can feel something inside my mind, something calling to me, beaconing into the deep forest, mind you, The forbidden forest.