Sanderson hall 12:34 August 17th. I was 6 years old and part of the 1% in fact my family was one of the top 10 richest families until that day. My father was one of a few bright people who foreseen the disasters and the pre nightmare war of the old world of course he didn't see the nightmare coming but that's probably true for everyone, still he saw far enough and so we capitalized on the war staying as far away from it while making money off it and soon after capitalizing on anything from memories to spelltech at one point we even had a group of sleepers under our family banner and technically had the first semi legacy clan out there however on that day it was all gone. My brother Lincoln was declared dead eating in a restaurant where a Aspirant who didn't even know he was one died in a nightmare and brought out disaster to all who were in the restaurant at the time unfortunately the selection was much more chaotic and so few had time to surrender to the police let alone have a sleeper keep watch on them. That day was also when my mother and father died on the way to Sanderson hall to inform me of my brothers death and stumbled on a gate one that took almost 2 million lives simply because we didn't know how to handle it back in the day it was also the day my uncle used the passing of my father who he hated to sneakily steal all our money and left me a 6 year boy alone with my 2 year old sister on my birthday all by myself helplessly crying. Unfortunately those days crying helped nothing really but I did make it I might not be a top 10 richest man like my father but both me and your aunt rose are alive and well and we both remained true to our family becoming solid merchants in a new world with new rules even without the spell choosing us. So my boy the point is if I made it from the top of the world to the bottom and then somewhere in the middle you can bet your ass you will do much better and remember I might not have been in a nightmare but we did teach you how to face one as best we can so no matter what happens or how frightened you get in the nightmare remember the real world is no less daunting and as much bad the nightmare spell brings he brings just as much good for those who pass it.and the good news is you will have 4 months in the academy some don't get even a month.
Yes dad I know it's just I always thought I'll be a merchant you know how good I am at that but now I have to fight monsters to survive I know the government says awakened are what we should aspire to be but as you said us Silverman are 5th generation of merchants it doesn't matter how different the type of merchants we are we love the money and the glory and power that comes with it especially when we don't need to risk our lives for it every time we make a deal.
I understand my boy but we don't choose the spell does and we can only make the most of it so you better survive I didn't raise a quitter you hear me Roy Silverman you are meant to do great things I can feel it in my bones.
That was the end of the conversation a man who will one day be known as an urban legend and his father ended right before he surrendered to the police station and entered his first nightmare right about the same time broken sword and his cohort entered the 3rd nightmare and about 16 years before a poor outskirts boy was chosen by the spell.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your first trial]
In a sort of a god like vision Roy saw a city marketplace burn to the ground only in reverse he didn't see who burned it nor did he know for sure it was a market in the first place but it sure did seem like a old market from the books his dad give him to read up on his journey to become a merchant and of course he was correct it was not only a market it was the market the one and only Grimavia market the place where the top auction's and best shops resided.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]
Just like that Roy found himself in the body of a boy around his size wearing a weird suit kind of like formal attire but closer to a waiter than a tuxedo and like he was trained to do his first action was of course to summon his runes
Name:Roy Silverman.
True name:——
Rank:Aspirant.
Soul core: Dormant.
Memories:——
Echoes:——
Attributes:[Lucky][Dealmaker][Apprentice].
Aspect:[merchant apprentice].
Aspect Description:
[money make the world go round and in it's presence even power can fall short.A merchant moves this money around trading it for anything and everything and his apprentice will one day become just like him or fail spectacularly at the very least he will still know some tricks and skills of a merchant in training].
[Lucky] Attribute Description:This boy is favored by fortune.
[Dealmaker] Attribute Description: Where others see trash you see hidden treasure and you know exactly how to sell that picture to them right back for a profit].
[Apprentice] Attribute Description:
Everyone needs to start somewhere apprenticeship is where you learn the most the fastest and it lets you glimpse at the secrets of a chosen field].
And so Roy looked around with a big grin he knew some people think the nightmare spell know what to choose as a path for them but he believed it to be a superstition but if even in his nightmare he was a merchant even just an apprentice of one it might not be as much of a superstition as he thought.
Now all he had to do is survive and based on the time rewind before he got here he has around a few hours before the fire begins.
"Sam what's up with you why are you so out of focus we open shop in 5 no time for standing around get to work"
Roy looked around and saw a big man in a much more glamorous suit than his own and it appears he was talking to him so maybe his name will be Sam for a few hours or so.
Yea yes back to work what should I do Sir he asked in a awkward tone and got a angry response of "what's with you today you seem unfocused go look in the back we have 2 orders from yesterday to package and deliver I will man the front for now you take care of those clear your head and come back before rush hour got it??"
Yes Sir I'm on it
And with that Roy's first conversation with his new "boss" ended and he went to the back room where most awakened who witnessed the inventory would cry tears of joy swords,armor,tools from the normal to the magical variety all in non memory form yet no less exquisite and for anyone in the first nightmare that was like a gold mine especially when Roy was taught sword fighting from a young age to prepare for this possibility.
He took a sword that looked especially good yet small enough to carry without being spotted as well as some sort of smoke bomb that he was supposed to deliver not that it matters because the market only has a few hours before burning so who will blame him and he emptied the boxes he needed to deliver hid the things in them in the back and filled them with the strongest armor he saw and something called a water stone that he wasn't too sure what it really did yet was the only "magical" tool with water in it and although it was big he could find place for it in the one of the boxes he also took something he could probably not use but at the same time could be very useful in theory money he took basically every coin the back room had after all he figured he will not be back here anyway and money while useless in the fire itself might still come in handy elsewhere truly a merchant mind.
After around 10 or so minutes of packing everything up he left the shop his idea was getting as far as he could from the market in fact he wanted out of this city all together and it was not as hard as he thought it would be it took him 30 minutes to find a transport out of the city it costs a pretty penny but he had plenty of that at the moment so he got inside changed clothes for armor and set down playing with a gold coin between his fingers and so for the next hour he got as far away from the city as he could until as if by fate itself his transport made contact with a fire lizard and not just one but hundreds of fire lizards all looked not to strong but together he could say without a doubt the source of that fire he saw was now clear.