As Martin and his friends took their seats near him, Zeke met the boy's gaze and held it. The two of them were locked into a silent contest of will. After a long moment, Martin looked away and frowned. In the next instant, however, he turned his frown into a sneer.
"Have you lost your two girlfriends, Zeke?" Martin provoked. "You three are together so often, I had started to wonder if you all were the same person."
Zeke didn't miss a beat before countering. "Well, well, well, are you sure that you should be talking like that, Marty? You and your three misses are getting along so well, your parents have already started marriage talks, from what I hear."
Martin's friends grimaced, not meeting each other's eyes. It was a common occurrence for them to end up as collateral damage when Martin and Zeke were trading insults. The three of them had a strict agreement to just ignore everything that was said between the two boys. Even so, Andreas couldn't help but gag a little after hearing Zeke's comment.
Martin didn't like how the first round had turned out and changed the subject. "Do you still believe that you have a chance to become a mage? The chance for a commoner born like you to have a magic core is only one out of 100 at best."
It was Zeke's turn to frown this time. Martin wasn't wrong about that, the chance of him actually having a core was not great. He forced his frown into a smile before it could properly form on his face. Ezekiel had learned long ago that in a trade of insults, you could not let your opponent realize that he got to you.
Zeke made a show of inspecting his fingernails as he replied with a clearly forced nonchalance. "Ohhh come off it, you pretentious cunt. Your father might be the village's only mage, but even a blind man can see that all his good traits have skipped a generation."
Martin immediately shot to his feet, ready to turn this exchange of words into a more physical confrontation. Zeke was not far behind him, also getting up. Martin's friends were visibly tired of their fights always ending the same way. Nevertheless, they also stood, ready to support their friend.
Zeke glanced from Martin to his three friends, inspecting them one by one. He cracked his knuckles, a challenging smirk appearing on his face. Even four-on-one, he liked his chances. When the tension in the carriage had reached its peak, the door was suddenly swung open. The driver stepped into the cabin, looking between the kids that were on their feet. He sent the five of them a withering glare, forcing the kids back on their asses with the weight of his gaze alone.
Satisfied with the result, he hummed a note of contentment and announced, "Alright, kids, that's everyone. Time to get going. We've still got a few hours ahead of us."
Zeke tore his gaze away from Martin and turned to the driver instead. He took a deep breath and focused on what was truly important. He needed to find his friends, Lilly and Markus, as soon as possible. He couldn't bear the thought of spending the long journey to the capital with Martin, and his cronies.
He made his way over to the driver and politely waited for the man to permit him to speak. After receiving a nod, he asked: "Sir, have you met two kids named Lilly and Markus?"
The driver rolled his eyes. "Well, you damn brats don't exactly come up to me and introduce yourself, now do you? I don't even know what you are called, firecracker!"
Zeke could hear Martin and his gang snicker in the background and grit his teeth. With an effort of will, he relaxed his jaw and replied as politely as he could. "My name is Ezekiel, sir. My friend Markus is just a bit taller than me and has dark hair, almost black. His build is on the leaner side for his age. He has brown eyes and a tiny scar above his left eye from a carving knife. He has a serious face, but looks reliable to most people."
Without even taking a moment to catch his breath, he continued: "My friend Lilly is half a head shorter than me. She has curly brown hair and deep green eyes. Most people think that..."
"Aiight, Aiight, that's enough! Damn, boy. You really know how to paint a picture! As a matter of fact, I have seen your two friends earlier. They have entered the carriage just behind us!"
Zeke was overjoyed to hear that, he did not actually expect the man to be able to help him find his friends. He nodded to the driver in thanks and ran for the door. He only stopped for a moment to pat Peter on the shoulder and give the boy a wink in passing. He wanted to reassure Peter that everything was going to be okay. The boy gave him a small smile in return.
He made his way over to the other carriage and saw Lilly and Markus sitting on the steps, their bags at their feet. They looked up as he approached, their faces lighting up with relief.
"Zeke!" Lilly exclaimed, standing up and rushing over to hug him. "I'm so glad you're here. I was starting to worry you wouldn't make it!"
Markus nodded in agreement, his dark eyes flashing with relief. Contrary to his expression, his words were teasing. "It's good that you are here. It would have been such a shame if Lilly and I were to learn about arcane mysteries while you learned about the right amount of cow dung for the average field."
Zeke smiled and hugged the girl back. He couldn't suppress a snicker upon hearing Markus's words. Before he could come up with a pithy reply, however, there was a yell as the head driver's gruff voice interrupted their moment. "All aboard now, kids! Or you'll be left behind," he shouted.
Quickly, the three scrambled into the carriage and found empty seats close to one another. Not a moment too soon, because they had barely fallen into their seats when the carriage lurched into motion with a jolt. Zeke grinned at his friends with a cheerful smile. He could barely believe that the journey had finally started for real.
Lilly sat down on his left. She chose that seat as it was the only spot between Zeke and the door. He knew that the girl had picked the spot on purpose to not have to sit next to a stranger. She would always stutter adorably when talking to somebody for the first time.
Markus, on the other hand, took the seat in front of the two. He shot the kids on either side of his seat a quick nod. Then ignore them thereafter. Zeke had always admired his friend's talent of not being distracted by anything he did not deem important. He had always believed that Markus's single-minded determination would get him far. If only the boy were to finally pick one passion and stick with it.
Markus was incredibly skilled with his hands and was often called upon to fix things or build new objects. Many people expected him to do well in the future because of his talents.
"Soooo," Zeke said, a teasing grin on his face. "Are you guys ready for an adventure? With a bit of luck, all of us could be nobles by the end of the day."
Lilly nodded, but her eyes were filled with worry. "I'm terrified," she admitted. "I don't even know if I'll be able to become a Mage, I don't want to disappoint the both of you."
Markus shrugged, his nonchalant demeanor a contrast to Lilly's anxiety. "I don't know about becoming nobles. From what my parents told me, there are only a few upright noble houses out there. We would have to be incredibly lucky to be picked up by one of them. If we can become mages at all, that is."
Zeke chuckled, feeling his own nerves ease a bit at his friend's casual tone. "Hey, let's stay positive, alright? We have been meditating for years now. I know that you guys don't believe in my technique, but I swear I can feel it doing something. Even Arnold told me that I might be on to something with this."
Markus snickered, "Well if Martin's dad says that it works then there can be no doubt. The two of you are like brothers, after all!"
Zeke frowned at the mental picture of him being Martin's brother. Still, he defended his point. "Hey! Mister Arnold is a nice man. The two of us have been meeting almost every week to talk about magic. I am almost certain that the reason Martin despises me, is because his dad likes me better than him."
Lilly, with a face full of pity, unexpectedly decided to take Martin's side for once. "His dad is the only family that he has left after the death of his mother, Zeke. Maybe you should try to get along with Martin the next time you two talk."
Zeke shared a look with Markus. The other boy just smirked back at him, as if to say: 'That's what you get for talking about this in front of Lilly'. Helpless against Lilly's big green eyes, Zeke could only reluctantly agree with her suggestion. He flicked her forehead playfully and replied: "Ok, ok! You win! I'll try to make peace with Martin as soon as we arrive at the capital. But when it all comes back to bite me in the ass, it's all your fault!"
The girl held her forehead with mock hurt, but the smile on her face was sign enough that she was happy with this result. As the carriage rumbled on, they chatted and laughed, pushing their worries to the back of their minds by focusing on the exciting events ahead. Zeke opened up one of the armored murder holes in the vehicle to look back at the place he had called home.
As the town vanished in the distance, his thoughts drifted to his family. He wished he could have said goodbye to his little sister Maya that morning, but she was still fast asleep in her bed. He had said goodbye to her the night before, but he already missed her dearly.
His eyes constantly flicked back to the slowly disappearing houses in the distance. He had lived there his entire life, surrounded by familiar faces and the comforting routine. Now he was leaving it all behind, venturing out into the unknown in search of something more.
Soon, their village had disappeared from view. The scenery passing by outside grew less and less familiar to Zeke. The rolling hills and fields of snow seemed to stretch on forever, an expression of the vast world beyond their small town.
He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, trying to focus on the present. After a few breaths, he had already fallen into the rhythmic pattern of his meditation technique. His mind calmed almost instantly. In this condition, it was easier for him to focus on the exciting events ahead. He was finally going to have a chance to learn about that connection, discover his potential as a mage, and hopefully be able to explore it.
Zeke had come up with this form of meditation. He developed this system through a combination of different factors. He had talked to any mage that would give him the time of day, often pestering them to at least tell him a little bit about how magic worked. Most of his progress, however, was achieved through hours of trial and error. He had desperately searched for a way to connect with the magic that flowed all around them.
After years of nothing but failure, Zeke was certain that he could feel the tiniest trickle of mana. After that, he had been so eager to have his friends practice with him, wholeheartedly believing in the effectiveness of his invention. They would sit on the floor, close their eyes, and try to feel the magic in their cores. Ezekiel was convinced he could feel his own core, a pulsing energy deep within him that called out to him. But without knowing any more about mana, his practice had reached its limits. He longed to learn more, to unlock the full potential of magic and see where it would take him.
He hoped the evaluation in the capital would provide answers. He hoped it would allow him to unlock the vast potential that he was sure to lay within him. So, as the carriage rumbled on toward the capital, Ezekiel began his meditation once again, focusing all his attention on a last bit of progress.
"Soon," he told himself. "Soon."