Fen was a little uncomfortable.
It had been around two hours since his telling meeting-of-sorts in the grand chamber, and he was now, for some reason, standing within a spacious and trendy boutique, contemplating his life decisions.
The main reason complicit in Fen's evaluation would be the, strong, rugged and downright menacing man standing beside him, who clearly wanted to be here as little as he - Captain Farrowfall.
'Really, the Magistrate should probably learn to sometimes accept no as an answer.'
Despite Fen's great decelerations that he was fine, and needed no such thing as a trip to acquire some fresh clothing, his attempts were futile - just as his futile as his attempts to insist he would be fine without a guard.
Overall, Fen did not blame the Captain's failure to hide his annoyance - he felt the exact same.
'At least there's something to look forward to after this accursed endeavour.'
Before the magistrate had been whisked off to perform some kind of duty - a duty Fen imagined had been procrastinated for a while - he had asked Fen if he wished to have participate in a training-of-sorts with the begrudging Captain.
Fen had gladly accepted - he was, to be honest, incredibly weak as it stood. Even if he were to miraculously reach his first enlightenment without any sort of meditation or training - which as far as Fen knew, was downright impossible - it would simply be like giving a blind man a transcendent sword - he could swing it around, maybe even get lucky, but he would not grasp it, or be able to utilise it to its true potential.
Fen also knew that with status came responsibility - he was certainly not being granted such benefits by the Magistrate out of simple generosity - he, reasonably, would be most likely expecting something in return.
Said return would almost certainly be through what most supernaturals and enlightened ones specialised in - combat - likely against whatever monstrous beings attempted to challenge the picturesque environment that was Felhaven.
Thankfully, Fen had not been forced to divulge more information about his undertaking of the path - Fen knew nothing of what form his abilitys would manifest in, or even if he would be able to gain any!
'That's truly a terrifying thought - the path is not exactly known as the safest journey, and I'm attempting to travel it when it could be a complete outlier from everything ever known about it?'
Fen put this thought to the side. Yes, he had certainly received his awakening through some… different - to say the least - means, but there was nothing to suggest this would result in the actual path straying from its usual pattern.
However usual a one in a million pattern could be, anyway.
Fen was brought back to reality by a dry cough, the source turning out to be his unwelcome companion.
"That would probably look good on you."
Fen turned to the Captain, slightly surprised - he hadn't expected him to help him with something as mundane as clothes shopping, especially considering he was simply here as a guard.
A slight smile playing on his lips, Fen responded:
"It does look quite nice - and in my size. I suppose I'll go try it on then."
The clothing in question - a formal suit of sorts - looked like something Fen would have to sell about half his organs to simply try on, but, thanks to the generous offer of the Magistrate, Fen's expenses would be completely covered.
'Well, I'm certainly not going to complain.'
Leaving behind the slightly flustered Captain who had clearly realised he had broken character somewhat, Fen strolled into one of many large and well decorated changing rooms - complete with grand mirrors and flattering lighting.
The suit did indeed fit well, and was of an incredible texture and colour, contrasting Fen's messy snow-coloured hair with its sleek darkness.
Fen let out an audible chuckle.
'The Captain seems to have a great eye for such things.'
***
An hour later, Fen and his now slightly more relaxed companion exited the resplendent shop, Fen clutching multiple bags filled with - what he had thought was far too many - clothes.
The Captain had insisted on him picking out as many as possible however, mumbling something about using the Magistrate's generosity to its full - Fen remembering the respect in his tone much more than the actual words uttered.
Fen had also now discarded his dust-covered and worn mysterious uniform, choosing to adorn his suit, a set of stylish dark boots, and a silvery cloak.
Combined with his already out of the ordinary facial features, Fen drew more than a few glances.
'So much for staying inconspicuous, I suppose.'
As he weaved in between the bustling, technicolour market, Fen marvelled at the sheer vastness and state of the city around him - it was almost completely clean, and was fairly sleek, yet still had a homely feel, giant wooden and stone cathedrals and towers mixing in with smaller brick-made homes and shops.
Obviously, there was still a gap between the rich, and the poor - as there always was, and always would be in such a society, even if it wasn't as prominent on the surface.
The difference though, between the dark, unwelcoming slums of the uninhabitable zones and the warm, sun bathed cobbled streets of Felhaven was joy.
Everywhere Fen looked, people seemed to be at least content. A few people maybe a little bored, maybe a temporary annoyance clouding over them even, but a vast contrast to the environment Fen had learnt to call the status quo.
After a while, the unlikely duo arrived at a almost monstrously-sized building - one clearly militarised and a stand out among its familiars - not to say it wasn't grand in its own sense.
In fact, it was clearly such a place of importance that various people, some old, some young - all with a slight sense of awe about them - stood in front of it, gazing at its impressive golden brown ingress'.
Fen glanced at the Captain, his gaze holding a little anticipation.
The Captain returned his gaze, proudly stating:
"It seems we have arrived - allow me to welcome you into Saurhorn Garrison, the main military compound responsible for the safety of Felhaven and its citizens. It boasts fou-"
Cutting through the Captain's well-rehearsed speech that had certainly been given thousands of times before, Fen asked:
"I apologise for my interruption Mr Farrowfall, but I don't currently need a full analysis of the garrison - might I assume this is where I will receive training?"
The Captain bristled a little, not used to being interrupted clearly, but he held back any complaints - Fen hadn't exactly been incorrect to stop him.
"Yes, this is indeed where I will be… training you, as you say. That being said, you are not anything like my apprentice, and this will not be anything like a permanent happenstance - I'm simply doing this at the Magistrate's request, due to your dissatisfaction in your own abilitys. I will expect you here at ten every morning after today, and it will not be easy - you will need to put in work, especially if you are truly as inexperienced as you say you are."
Fen let out a semblance of a frown, before quickly hiding it, unwilling to let the Captain think he was unhappy with the arrangement - he was far from it in actuality, and was rather glad it was not being treated as something vastly personal.
What caused Fen's slight pause however, was the sudden change in the Captain's demeanour - the slightly flustered, well meaning man from earlier was all but replaced by a strict, almost isolating personality.
Although Fen doubted this change was something as simple as their change in environment and undertaking, he didn't press the matter - the Captain deserved some privacy, and a change in intensity may of been for the better when it came to the likes of combat tutelage.
That being said…
'This is probably going to hurt.'