[7882 PC]
Ivar, his parents, and two siblings were walking quite well and dressed for the average village family. The reason was obvious! Today was the day Ivar got his fate assigned by the seven protectors. The messenger will write down his fate on a paper, commonly known as the Fate paper.
Ivar had grown a lot in the past five years. His green eyes emitted the light of belief. Those were the eyes of someone with belief in oneself. He also was now around 6 feet tall which was quite tall for his age. In fact, he was taller than his father who was walking beside him.
Ivar's little sister spoke, " Mommy mommy after big brother joins the shield, will I be able to go to the city to meet Aunt?"
Anna softly looked at her daughter and replied, " Alright dear, You and your little brother will go. Ivar can take you together."
Ivar smiled and said " I will take you! Just wait and see how cool your older brother is, Alice and Alex."
Ivar's father, Ivan, on the other hand, was smiling from ear to ear, " I can't believe how fast children grow. It feels like just yesterday when Ivar was born, doesn't it Anna? Now he is on his way to get his talent checked and become an Adult!"
"Mother, Father, we have arrived. Although it looks like the gates are still closed. Maybe Lord messenger went to the merchant caravan"
"Hmmm. It should open anytime soon I had already booked an auspicious time before with Lord Messenger. He should still be here. Also, the merchant caravan arrived a week ago they should be leaving today in a few hours. Lord messenger would have already finished whatever business he has before today." Ivan replied.
The gate they were standing in front of had a metal gate with a beautiful-looking insignia. The insignia was that of a shield except it was divided into seven equal segments and each segment looked like the blade of a sword. The sword was even more emphasized by the handles of seven swords above the shield.
It was a shield made of seven swords placed together. The seven swords represented the Seven Protectors. The name of this insignia was — The sword-shield insignia.
After a while, a blond-haired old man with closed eyes opened the gates. All the adults of the family greeted the old man.
"Greetings, Lord messenger." Ivar also copied his parents. This man was after all the one who was going to recite his fate.
The man finally opened his eyes and looked at Ivar. Ivar and he made eye contact. The messenger's iris was cloudy. Ivar could see that his iris was supposed to be black but some kind of pure cloudiness had formed over his iris. That sight made him… uncomfortable.
'Is he blind? Can he see properly?' Ivar pondered.
"You have quite the flashy appearance child. Follow me." The soft and kind voice of the old man broke Ivar from his stupor.
The man once again closed his eyes and started walking inside.
As soon as the family entered the outer metal gate the gate automatically closed. Ivar looked at it with wide eyes.
Inside the compound, there was a big circular garden surrounding the circular main building. The garden was beautiful with flowers, grass, and trees. The notable thing was that all trees were branded with the sword-shield logo same as the one in the gate.
Ivar looked at the only building inside. The white and golden-colored building was circular in shape. On the roof of the building and in the exact center there was an exact physical replica of the logo. Seven swords of varying lengths and shapes are arranged sideways to each other to make them look like a shield. Looking closely, Ivar could see that the swords were real swords and not just made out of wood or clay!
Ivar had never seen such a beautiful building!
Ivar quickly followed the messenger and his parents and entered the building through the wooden door. Inside at the very back, there were seven giant swords—the swords were made up of building blocks and not metal this time— at the elevated platform. The handles of each sword had a name engraved in them. Reading the names, Ivar realized that those were the names of the seven protectors. Other parts of the room had neatly arranged chairs facing the swords.
There were also multiple doors leading to other parts of the building. Ivar guessed that those were to be used by the messenger for his daily stuff.
"Alright kids, You can sit in any one of these chairs. Meanwhile, I will ask your parents some questions." The messenger looked at the kids.
After that, the messenger started asking Ivars parents for some information about him. The questions included information about his date and rough time of birth, his name, and other personal stuff.
"Alright. That much should be enough. You can wait here and I will be back in a while."
The old man then went to the raised platform where the swords were kept. He went behind the seven swords through the gap between them. Behind the seven swords was a book stand where Ivar saw the man holding paper and ink.
The man first remained immobile and then after a while started writing on the paper. The man kept stopping and again writing a few lines for a few minutes. Then he took the brown paper with him and started walking towards Ivar.
Ivar face was notably nervous and excited. This was finally the time to know his fate and talent! Would he directly get hired by the Order of white tigers? Or would be be able to become a mercenary?
Of course, Ivar wanted to be part of the white tigers! Working in the Shield which was run by the seven protectors guaranteed one to have a good future! Money, Fame, and Power! One would get it all! He might even be as strong as he and everyone claimed he would be!
But the next words that escaped the mouth of the old mand were out of the expectations of everyone!
"I am sorry child but you are talentless." The voice of the blond-haired messenger rang through Ivar's mind.
"The great protectors recommend that you become a farmer and hunter, and take after your father. It might not be what you wanted but it is a respectable job." The messenger passed the paper to Ivar's hand.
Ivar's mind, however, was in turmoil. Why was this happening to him?
Wasn't he supposed to be a talented prodigy who could move mountains with a swing of his sword?
Wasn't he destined for greatness?
What was he lacking?
He was intelligent, handsome, tall, and kind-hearted!
Everyone expected greatness from him—his parents, siblings, and even his friends.
He had never doubted that he would not achieve greatness. Talentless was something he never imagined himself to be.
This couldn't be real. The protectors had decided his fate.
And he couldn't even do anything. After all, everyone followed the protectors. No one in the three neighboring villages of one thousand people had ever gone against the message of the protectors that the messenger delivers.
After all, the protectors were who they believed in. They were the shields of Humanity. It made zero sense to not follow them.
But Ivar's next actions would shatter this pristine tradition of this village.
Ivar tore the paper in his hand. His mother, who was extending her hand to console him, froze. The messenger also similarly wide opened his eyes showing off his cloudy irises.