"Will you take the first step on the path of the First Warrior and become the first Sorcerer Knight of the Bloodroot Empire?"
To Reynold, the question felt strangely light. It was a serious moment. His father's life hung in the balance. Thus far, he'd managed to bull his way into becoming a lynchpin in the negotiations between his family and the Southern Steppe, but things had taken a very strange turn when Aspakos interceded in the process.
Aspakos had told Reynold that he had his best interests at heart, but everything that had followed felt more and more like the stuff of fairy stories and less like it had anything to do with him. Great destiny? A blessing from a mythic Oracle? None of it felt real.
