The moonlight bathed the world in a silver glow.
A world in celebration, vibrant and alive.
The sky was a canvas of blooming fireworks.
The atmosphere was festive yet serene.
Lanterns lined the stalls like a trail of fallen stars.
Life was peaceful.
Until...
A sudden gale tore through the streets.
The lanterns in front of the stalls swayed violently as if struck by an invisible force.
The revelers shielded their faces, eyes squinting against the rising dust.
And as quickly as the wind had arrived, it vanished. People began to murmur in confusion. What had just happened?
Amidst the minor chaos of the festival, a merchant securing his goods noticed something peculiar. He blinked, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. Someone was suddenly there, standing before an ancient tree as if they had manifested from the air itself. He shook his head, dismissing the impossibility, and returned to his work.
The youth standing before the tree knelt down. He stroked the bark gently. It felt warm.
"Hey... don't you get tired of standing all the time?" he asked.
The crowd, initially panicked by the freak wind, burst into laughter at the sight of such a "foolish" display.
Time drifted by.
The man who spoke to trees finally stood up, his gaze sweeping across the marketplace. He began to run. He darted here and there, a blur with no apparent destination.
Finally, he came to a halt in front of a stall selling grilled seafood.
His eyes scanned the display as if making a monumental choice.
His finger pointed to one item. Grilled squid.
"You want this one?" the vendor asked.
"Yes... how much?"
"Just 2 Vugo."
The youth rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a coin worth 5 Arsha.
"Hmm... is this enough?" he inquired innocently.
"Oh... just give me 1 Arsha," the vendor replied, already preparing the squid.
The youth simply nodded. When the squid was perfectly charred, the exchange was made.
Business concluded, he walked away from the stall, biting into the succulent squid with pure delight.
He observed the surrounding stalls, and as he narrowed his eyes, he saw something that sparked a sudden excitement within him.
A wide grin spread across his face for reasons known only to him.
Once his snack was finished, he began to stroll toward his intended target.
As he drew near, his path was blocked.
Two men stood in his way, dressed like... guards? Or so he thought.
"What do you want?" one of them barked.
"Hmm... nothing."
As they bickered, a woman who had been walking ahead turned around, sensing the commotion behind her.
She walked toward the three men. "What is the matter?" she asked, looking at the two guards.
"It is nothing, My Lady... this man appeared to be stalking you."
"Is that true?" she asked the brown-haired youth.
"Oh... no, I was not stalking you," he replied, his eyes darting everywhere in a blatant, clumsy lie.
"Sigh... you two return to your posts," she commanded.
"Yes, My Lady."
The guards departed.
"Then why were you following me?"
"Oh... because you are my future wife... Hehe."
The woman met his gaze with a cold, piercing stare. "But—" Her words were cut short as a hand suddenly gripped the youth's arm.
"But... she already has a husband. Me," said a man with a towering physique, dark skin, and stark white hair, grinning broadly.
The youth stared at the tall man with a look of pure, blank confusion. "Who are you?"
The tall man laughed heartily and walked toward the woman. They walked away, hand in hand, completely ignoring the youth.
As he stood there, frozen with a look of utter bewilderment, a sudden gust of wind blew a stray piece of paper directly onto his face.
He pulled the parchment from his eyes. It was a poster. An enrollment notice for an academy. A school of Magic?
However, he did not care for the academy itself. His focus was locked onto one of the figures on the poster. The same woman he had just been following.
"Flynca? Arcana of Fire? Interesting," he muttered, a smirk forming on his lips. A smirk that looked suspiciously like a marmot's.
The onlookers could only stare in bewilderment, wondering what was wrong with this person.
As the youth looked back toward the stalls, he saw the woman from the poster. Or so he thought. She was... hanging? From someone's arm? While crying?
He looked back at the poster, then at the crying woman, repeating the motion several times.
What is wrong with that person? he wondered silently.
The youth finally began to walk away from the spot where he stood.
His steps led him toward a magnificent structure.
He looked up. The building was so colossal it seemed to pierce the very clouds.
"Hmm... so this is it? Arshiven Academy?"