The gate to Ragni was a magnificent fort of stone bricks, reinforced fully with mana. There must have been mages constantly holding up the mana shield.
Guards wielding spears were positioned at the base of the wall, spears by their sides and ready for use against attackers. Archers lined the ramparts, readying their bows at the sight of us.
What I didn't comprehend was the sheer amount of warriors on the royal guard. Warriors usually wielded spears or swords, and specialised in close-range combat, but it would be good to have a diversity of classes defending areas such as this. There were a few archers, but such little ranged defence was unlikely to make much of a difference.
There should have been more mages for area of effect, to clear out large hordes of undead, should they attack, seeing as undead liked to attack in packs from my past two encounters. Assassins would also be helpful, to take more powerful opponents by surprise and dispatch them, something none of the other classes could do.
Then it occurred to me. Where was this strategising coming from? It had just appeared in my mind the moment I studied the fort, and I felt an instinctual disdain to the way the defences were arranged. Perhaps I had held a military position in Fruma?
I shook it off. I would learn in time. For now, I just had to begin my adventure.
The two guards closest to the gate heaved and pulled, and it finally creaked open. Through it, I could see a hallway lined with red and yellow carpet, and a blazing fireplace at the end of it.
"Head straight and take a right at the end," one of the guards said gruffly. "Also - be careful with His Majesty. I wouldn't want to clean up another dead body."
I swallowed. Aledar patted me on the shoulder.
"Don't sweat it, kid," he smiled, eyes twinkling. "You're a good kid. Just train hard and you'll be fine."
Tasim fumbled through his backpack, finally pulling out a long wooden box adorned with little gold strips and sparkling pieces of amethyst.
"The box is just a little something I made while we were travelling." He handed me the box. "Open it."
I carefully pried open the box, not wanting to damage it, and gasped when I saw its contents.
In the box, snugly wrapped in silk, was a wand so beautiful I could only hope to fully describe it.
It was a slender stick made of a wood I had never seen before. It was the colour of aubergine, and radiated a mana signature so strong I that the air around it blurred and shifted constantly. The lower half of this wand was covered fully with amethyst, making a very comfortable and luxurious-looking handle. Perhaps the most eye-catching part of the wand was probably the unique crescent-like curve at the top, resembling the blade of a sickle. Unfamiliar runes were etched on the surface, and seemingly floating in the centre of the crescent was a singular prismatic gem.
"It's beautiful," I breathed. I reached out to the wand, and it literally floated right into my grip.
"I found it on my travels," Tasim grinned, scratching the back of his head. "Anyone I gave it to would come to me the next day, telling me it was completely incapable of harnessing magic. But it seems like it's found its true owner." He smiled. "Why don't you try it out?"
I raised the wand and willed mana to flow through it, trying to conjure a beam of light like before. However, what came next was completely unexpected.
The wand began to transform, stretching and growing like a typical image of a werewolf transforming during the full moon. It shuddered and convulsed, almost like it was alive, and stopped growing when it reached my height.
The beautiful wand had turned into a magnificent staff.
I did some experimenting, and it seemed that when I concentrated mana into the wand, it stored the mana inside it transformed into this staff, and when I withdrew the mana, it turned back into a wand.
Finally, I concentrated my mana into the formation I had used to create the beam the first time, but found that with this wand, it required even less mana. I released it, and what followed was even more unexpected.
A beam shot out of the wand, but this one was completely black instead of the usual white. The black laser made the surrounding air twist and spin, almost as if the presence of such magic had an effect on the atmosphere. The beam hit a rock, and it... vanished.
The rock popped out of existence.
No ashes. No loud sounds. No explosion. Not a trace of destruction.
My escorts and I stood there, dumbfounded, while I could see the guards stationed at the wall exchanging wary glances.
"Well, uh..." Aledar let out a nervous laugh. "There you have it."
"May I know the name of this weapon of destruction?" I asked, retracting my mana from the staff and turning the resulting wand in my palm to examine it.
"The Identifier couldn't recognise the weapon, but he did managed to read the runes, which spell out Destiny."
Item Identifiers. A mysterious group of people that were scattered across the world. No one knew of their origins, only that they had an almost inhuman memory and could identify any weapon or armour piece by searching through their shared mental database. Many weapons were found in chests or guarded by monsters, so they were most likely crafted by the people of old, who shared similar weaponsmithing practices amongst their communities. Thus, matching items got the same names. Identifiers also had a specialty for translating the ancient runes.
The amount of information Tasim had told me that I had subconsciously absorbed was absurd.
"Destiny..." I mumbled. "I like that name."
You are destiny, the Dern Beast's voice echoed.
It truly was destiny that I got handed a weapon called Destiny. Was the Dern Beast secretly pulling the strings? No, it couldn't be. He had civilisations to destroy, right? He wouldn't waste time on me...
"Are you done with your farewells?" one guard grunted. "Or would you like us to shut the gate right now?"
"No, that's fine!" I practically stumbled over myself in my haste to walk through the gate.
I turned back one last time. "Tasim, Aledar, I had fun."
Aledar winked. "See you around, kid."
Tasim waved at me, and the duo each withdrew a scroll from their pockets. They both unrolled the scrolls, chanted a few words, and with that, they were gone.
"Hurry up, kid!" barked the guard, and I hurried into the hallway. The gate slammed shut behind me.
Well, that's not terrifying, I thought.
Safe to say, I wouldn't be going back through that gate any time soon.
I followed the guard's instructions and headed forward, but couldn't help but take a peek in a room on the left. It was a little room with a tapestry on the wall. Armour stands with sets of iron armour lined the walls, possibly backup equipment in times of need. I continued forward, and turned right.
I was greeted by the majestic sight of the spacious throne room. The floor was made of marble and was so polished you could see every fine detail of the actual room reflected upon it. The ceiling was at least thirty metres high, and was a simple red with gold patterns spread across it. At the end of the hall was the throne, and behind it, a flag with the giant letter 'R' on it.
I walked forward as elegantly as I could, and knelt at the foot of the throne. "Your Majesty. It is an honour to meet you."
The King of Ragni was a potbellied old man dressed in a gilded blue robe. A tuft of silver hair covered his shining bald head, and on top, he wore a dazzling gold crown decorated with an assortment of gems and minerals.
The King gave me a kindly smile. "Recruit! Welcome to my kingdom! Please, rise. I wouldn't like to cause you any discomfort, seeing as you're the first well-mannered recruit I've seen in a decade!" He chuckled heartily and gestured for me to get up.
"Now, recruit." The King's face suddenly transformed into a stone-cold wall with absolutely no emotion. I could definitely see why he held authority now. "It's time for you to begin your adventure. The Queen of Fruma expects great things from you, and that woman... well, she is very difficult to please. So, it would be in your best interest to train hard, and stop the Corruption that is spreading across the world."
"Yes, sir." I bowed.
"One more thing!" The King waved at the guard standing by his throne. The guard bowed and strode towards me, then knelt and held up his hands, in which there were a few things. The first was a scroll similar to the ones Tasim and Aledar had used. It was a simple roll of parchment with some runes written on it, but I could tell the runes contained power, as I could see them glowing slightly.
The next item was a map. I took it and examined it, and found that it was just an empty piece of paper, except for a tiny speck. When I willed mana into it, the map zoomed in, and I could see the section of the throne room I was standing in. I walked a few steps forward, and the map updated itself to show more of the throne roon.
"A smart one, eh?" the King chuckled. "You'll be an important figure in the future, I wager."
The third and last item was a drawstring pouch. When I shook it, I heard not the expected jingling of coins, but instead a melodic tinkling. Curiously, I opened the pouch, and inside was a pile of shining emeralds.
"Emeralds are our main form of currency," the King explained. "They're used worldwide, except for some rare occasions like Rymek, where the currency is gold bars."
He patted my shoulder. "Now, it's time for you to get going! Train hard, and don't die!" He basically pushed me out of the throne room, and I was greeted with a wonderful sight.
The outside.
As I stepped into the fresh air, the scent of freshly baked bread wafted by my nose. Children giggled and sprinted all over the place, shouting, "You're it!" and such. The architecture was breathtaking.
Marvelous buildings packed the city, constructed of stone bricks, marble and wood. In the centre of it all was an almost magical fountain of glimmering quartz, spewing sparkling water. Families sat by the fountain, talking, and I couldn't help but marvel at the liveliness this place possessed.
I just knew. This was the place.
This was where my adventure would begin.