Chapter 1: Mark of a dragon
When the gentle rays of the sun infiltrated through the window and shone right at Willett's face, even in his sleepy state he noticed that something was different. Slowly he raised his body from his comfy bed to sit and he stared blankly in front of him, though his eyes weren't fixed on anything at that moment. He was still very drowsy so his train of thought wasn't quite swift yet, but he still tried to pinpoint what exactly he was feeling. It was like something was swirling inside of him, giving him this odd, energetic and warm sensation. Willett had never felt anything even remotely like this feeling. Although he was tired, his insides were bursting with energy. He lifted his hand to touch his chest. Even his heartbeat felt somewhat more vigorous now. All of this was so strange. He threw his blanket aside and swung his legs to the edge of his bed and heaved his body up and as he did so, he noticed that his body also felt lighter than usual. He walked across his small but now very luminous room, the floor creaking a little as he made his way to the stand where a small bowl of water was waiting for him. Once he reached it, he scooped up a little of that water and washed his face. He repeated this movement few times and when he was done, he looked at himself in the mirror that was hanging from the wall in front of him.
That was when he noticed it.
He had a black mark on his face. Its fine curlicues ran over his left eye. Surprised, Willett blinked his eyes a couple of times, wondering if he was just seeing things. But no, the mark didn't go anywhere. Then he attempted to scrape it in case it was a prank by his little sister, Mioran. He washed his face again in case it was just some smear Mioran had done, but when he looked back in the mirror, the mark still remained there. It hadn't faded even slightly. Willett fumbled his pale blond and messy hair in a confused state, until realization finally hit him and he stared at his own reflection with wide eyes.
It was the mark of a dragon! Of course, why it hadn't occurred to him sooner? His strange feeling and the mark, it made sense now, sort of. Willett was utterly bewildered by it, he couldn't believe that this would happen to him. He hadn't even been aware that this year Emperor of Celestial Beasts would fly around the Earth and choose the next people that would be taken to Belstarr Academy in Heaven to study magic. And he would be one of those few people. He, a simple servant. He would become a mage and bring magic to Earth. The idea of this was so wild and far-fetched that Willett couldn't really digest it. How could this be possible? He had always thought to be just an ordinary person, living an ordinary life. And now this happened.
He shook his head in disbelief.
A mixed chaos of emotions was raging inside of him. Mostly he was confused, but also proud, excited, even a little scared and insecure. Being selected by Emperor was one of the greatest blessings possible. He should wear his mark with pride. But he was afraid of what kind of responsibilities he would have to now carry on his shoulders. Willett tried to calm himself by reasoning that the Celestial Beasts would surely guide him. But what if he still failed somehow and would become a disappointment to all?
This was too much to bear alone at that moment. Willett decided to head to downstairs. He walked to the door of his little room with light steps, feeling a bit tense, because, how would his parents react? He took a hold of the door handle as soon as he reached it and opened the door, slipping out of his room. He came to small space where it was possible to access two other rooms – the bedrooms of Mioran and their parents – and stairs that led down to lower floor. Willett made his way to those stairs and began his descend.
He could hear the chattering noises of his family as he came down to a spacious room. And as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he noted that his parents and little sister were at the table eating breakfast. Willett's mother, Hanalera, was buzzing around the space that served as their kitchen and from the corner of her eye she noticed his presence and said: “Oh good, you're here. I was about to come wake you up. Come, eat some breakfast.”
The young man walked to the table that had four seats, just enough for their little family. He sat down next to an empty seat that was reserved for his mother and took a slice of bread, also cutting a tiny chunk of cheese on top of it and began to nibble his simple meal while his mother gave him a cup of tea. He had barely had time to take one bite from his bread when Mioran fixed her gaze on him and dropped her slice of bread she had been eating and pointed at Willett's face.
“Mom, dad!” she yelled excitedly. “Will has a mark of a dragon!”
Their father, Ranoswan, scowled a little at his daughter's sudden shouting. “What are you talking abo- “
He shut his mouth suddenly, staring at Willett's face with wide eyes. Willett felt a little awkward as he hadn't been sure how to tell his family about the mark. He sighed in his head; of course he should have known that it would be his little sister that would bring it up first. Hanalera stepped next to Willett and took a gentle hold of his head and turned it in order to examine it. She stared at the black mark, even tried to smear it off, but of course it wouldn't smudge.
“Oh my…” she muttered as she let go of Willett. “This is very much unexpected… My boy…”
She tumbled down on the chair, shaking her head. Nobody said anything for a while, which made Willett feel even more awkward.
Everybody knew about the contract that had been made between king Opucrunon and Emperor of Celestial Beasts over four hundred years ago. Earth had been enjoying the magic it had gained from this contract and mages were very respected people. And as far as common folk knew, things were now fine in Heaven as well. Still Heaven and Earth had been continuing to connect their young ones in Belstarr Academy even though there wasn't a practical need for it anymore. But it was true that ever since Belstarr Academy had been founded, the relationship between Heaven and Earth had only got closer, even more as time passed on.
Hanalera recovered from her shock quickly and joy seemed to fill her heart. She captured Willett in a tight embrace out of pure pride and happiness.
“My boy is going to be a mage!” she was exclaiming while squeezing her son.
That was when Ranoswan seemed to get over his state of shock as well and he was smiling happily, having a bit more toned-down reaction than his wife. Mioran was almost bouncing on her seat like an excited bunny and almost made her chair topple down. Willett let himself relax after he escaped his mother's embrace. It should have been obvious that his family would be proud and happy for him, but for a reason even he didn't know, he had felt a little anxious. Perhaps he had been afraid that his family would think that he was abandoning them? He had no idea how people usually reacted to when their loved one was chosen by Emperor of Celestial Beasts, he didn't know a single person who had got the mark of a dragon.
“I'm glad you are happy about this”, Willett said while resuming to eat his breakfast.
Has anyone ever refused to attend Belstarr Academy? He didn't know. But surely there would be other people like him, those who were a little nervous about the whole thing. He was willing to go, of course, this was an opportunity of a life time. But he wasn't really feeling confident and an idea of failure lingered on top of his mind.
“Of course we are”, Hanalera responded and placed her hand on Willett's shoulder. “This is such an honor!”
“This is truly marvelous”, Ranoswan commented. “I can hardly believe that this is really happening… You are so lucky, being chosen by Emperor. I bet he saw hidden talents in you.”
Willett shrugged a little and kept eating.
Mioran couldn't stay still and was still bouncing on her chair and asked: “When are you leaving?”
Willett looked confused for a while. “I… I don't know.”
“You don't have to worry about that”, Hanalera spoke softly. “I'm sure we'll know when the time is right. Now, eat your food, you have to leave soon.”
The whole family enjoyed their simple meal, their topics now focusing on more every-day matters such as weather, what chores Hanalera and Mioran would be doing and how Hanalera was concerned about the illness of one of their neighbors. After they had finished eating, Willett and Ranoswan stood up from the table and began to make their leave. All the family members wished each other a good day before Willett and his father stepped out of their cozy little home.
A warm summer morning welcomed them as they found themselves standing in a small paved street. Other people from their own houses had started to gather and getting ready for the brand-new day, heading to do whatever errands they had to run. The sky was light blue and clear and there wasn't even a single cloud drifting across. The morning sun was brightly shining its golden light, waking up the world below. Willett and his father started to walk along the street, heading to the direction of the main street that would lead to the castle where they worked as servants.
They lived in a relatively small town known as Swarrendel. It wasn't grand or luxurious, but it was a comfortable home for many people and it was one of those types of places where everyone knew everyone. The folks were generally hard-working, mellow and helpful and so it was pleasant to be around most people. Swarrendel wasn't a wealthy place, but people managed, which kept the residents happy.
And when Willett and his father made their way to the busier main street, Willett learned one more thing about Swarrendel: the people were also very curious. While walking towards the castle, he lost count how many passer-byes had stopped to stare at his face after they had caught a glimpse of the mark of a dragon. They didn't approach him, but they were whispering with their accompanies and followed with their eyes his movements. Willett felt a little awkward and wondered: had there ever been a chosen one in Swarrendel before him? He hadn't ever heard of one. And because people were looking at him with great interest, he started to feel that the answer was no.
The main street was getting increasingly busy as Willett and his father were moving forward. Swarrendel was waking up after the long night and bit by bit the town became more lively. Willett and Ranoswan bypassed many shops such as bakery, a butcher's shop and a place where you could buy herbs that worked on many different ailments. Willett also noted that a merchant caravan from the south had arrived to Swarrendel to delight townsfolk with their exotic wares. The young man got curious looks even from these foreign people, although Willett was sure that they had seen marks before, and most likely even full-fledged mages. He tried to ignore the stares, but deep down, he became even more anxious. The people didn't mean any harm, he knew that, but the constant staring was making him uncomfortable.
Willett felt a little relieved when he finally entered the courtyard of the castle, getting away from the mass of people that had gathered on the main street as the sun was rising. He parted ways with his father and as fast as he could he slipped inside the castle through one of the smaller doors around the courtyard that gave access to the building. He found himself in a dim corridor and leaned against a cold stone wall for a while, a sigh escaping from his mouth. Then he got a grip of himself and began his work day, hoping that people would mostly leave him alone.
The castle of Swarrendel wasn't very big or grandeur like the one of the great kingdom of Salvargren, for example. It was modest just like the town surrounding it. The area around Swarrendel was its own little patch of kingdom, ruled by the king Wulfcas and queen Elivin. They also had two offspring that both were well on their journey to adulthood: princess Rysara and prince Nathald. The royal family was known for being compassionate rulers and so they had earned the respect of the people of Swarrendel. There weren't many of those who thought ill about the royal family.
Willett, in fact, was somewhat close with princess Rysara since he was one of her servants together with a young woman called Dahildi. They had served the princess for years, ever since they were adolescents and had grown quite close to each other. It was Willett's first task of the day to find Dahildi. She was known to be a bit of a sleepyhead, but she was conscientious worker once she would get in the zone. But that morning Willett didn't have to even get close to servant's quarters when the familiar figure walked towards him, yawning and rubbing her eyes.
“Did you just wake up?” Willett asked while smiling at the young woman.
“Yeah, yeah…” Dahildi muttered in a slightly irritated tone. “Don't you mock me, I'm still in time for work.”
She yawned again and for the first time that day she looked at Willett. Her mouth stayed open as she stared at her friend's face just like everyone else had done during that morning. The young man wasn't surprised.
“Will, you absolute motherfucker”, Dahildi gasped and shoved her hand on the young man's face and began to fumble it. “Is that the mark of a dragon?!”
“Yeah, it is”, Willett answered and shrugged. “I have gained a lot of attention this morning, people stared at my face the whole time I was coming here.”
“Well, you are a handsome devil, but still, this is incredible!” Dahildi's energy level seemed to bounce up right at that moment, her sleepiness was like washed away. “I'm so happy for you!”
Eventually she stopped squishing Willett's face and left it alone. The young man nodded at the direction where they would be able to get to the kitchen and together they headed towards it in order to fetch breakfast for princess Rysara.
Dahildi's excitement hadn't faded at all. “You're going to get experience what Heaven is like! That's so cool!”
“Yeah, I guess I'm a lucky guy”, Willett responded.
A group of three other servants passed by, but they were so preoccupied by their conversation that they didn't pay any attention to Willett and Dahildi, which meant that they hadn't noticed the mark of a dragon. Willett was glad for this and hoped that interactions with other people around the castle would be like this one.
Soon they arrived to the kitchen. There was one cook working hard over the stove and was too busy to chatter with Willett and Dahildi, they only greeted each other. The young woman snatched some bread to eat quickly while Willett gathered together a meal for princess Rysara. He collected oatmeal, bread, tea and fresh apples that had been cut to slices on a tray and then he and Dahildi, who had managed to finish her bread, started to make their way to Rysara's room. It was located on top of one of the towers so they had a bit of ascending to do, but they did this every morning, so it was routine for them. Lots of people were buzzing around the lower level of the castle, preparing for the new day and Willett even caught a glimpse of his father, but as they headed to the tower, encountering other people significantly decreased. Willett and Dahildi climbed the spiraling stairs and got to upper part of the tower fairly quickly. There was one guard standing by the door to the princess' room; he looked so young and insecure and Willett noted that he hadn't seen this young man before, he must be new, this probably was his first day here as a guard. The young man looked at them, wondering if they were allowed to enter Rysara's room, but eventually came to the conclusion that the duo were servants and gave them permission to go in. Dahildi, whose hands were free, knocked on the wooden door loudly.
“Your Highness, it's time to wake up”, she said while she carefully opened the door slightly ajar. “We have breakfast for you.”
Then she pushed the door open so she and Willett could enter. Dahildi headed to the great windows in order to sweep the red silky curtains aside so the light of the bright morning sun would get in. In her decorative bed, princess Rysara raised her body to sit and she stretched her arms while yawning. Her long and black gorgeous hair flowed on her back, but it looked like it needed some brushing. That was exactly what Dahildi was about to do. She grabbed a beautiful hair brush from a nightstand next to Rysara's bed, sat down behind the princess and began to brush her hair. Meanwhile, Willett brought the breakfast tray to the princess and placed it on the bed in front of her; it had little legs attached to it so it would be comfortable to use even in a soft platform like the bed.
“Thank you, Willett”, princess Rysara said and started to eat.
The young man bowed to her and took few steps backwards to stand at a respectful distance away from her. Then he just waited as the princess was enjoying her meal and Dahildi was making her hair look more beautiful than what it already was.
As soon as Rysara had finished eating, Willett stepped forward again to take the tray with empty dishes so he could bring it back to kitchen. While he was leaning in reaching for the tray, princess looked at him and noticed the black mark on his face.
“You have the mark of a dragon!” she exclaimed, surprised.
“Um… yes, your Highness”, Willett replied, feeling a little awkward as he wasn't sure how to respond correctly to someone like princess about this matter. He just took the tray and began to walk towards the door.
“Well, I'm surely going to miss you, Willett”, Rysara said, her eyes fixed on the windows as Dahildi continued to brush her hair.
The words of the princess really struck the young man. He didn't respond, he just left the room with silence. He passed by the young guard again and headed to the stairs. While descending, his thoughts were locked on the little terrifying fact that he was leaving his whole life behind in order to become someone else. Usually the apprenticeship in Heaven lasted about ten years. That was a long time to be away from the loved ones. During such period, people would surely grow and become someone different. And people were the ones that made the world, so how changed Earth would turn out to be once he would be able to come back? Would he belong to that world anymore?
This made Willett quite afraid. His life had taken a drastic turn and he had no control over it. He could only go with the tide.
