FMH ~ 5!

“Are you sure you will all be okay without me? I know there are a bunch more boots to make.” Luke nearly begged his father.

“We’ll be fine, son. We’re proud of you, by the way.”

Luke looked over, startled at the sudden emotion in his father’s voice. “Dad?”

His mother walked forward, giving Luke a hug as his father tried to hand him a leather pack. When he was released, he looked at the pack and gasped. “Dad! This is too much! You could sell this for enough money to feed me for a year!”

“Well, it was supposed to be your birthday present next week, but I’m guessing you will be wanting it before you go, hmm?” his father kindly patted his son, taking a deep breath to stave off the shuddering sob that tried to escape.

The pack was well-worked leather, the family crest worked into the back. The outside was hardened leather, which would stop the interior from being crushed, as well as being waterproof. The interior, soft doeskin, was soft and supple, with segmented compartments. It was a large pack, meant for travelers who carried everything they owned. The pack was held to the body with straps going over the shoulders, as well as two straps that could be tightened to hold the pack to the body; making the load feel as light as possible.

“Thank you. Thank you all so much.” Luke spoke to his whole family. It was obvious they had all contributed to this.

“Anything for you big brother.” Cindy tearfully swallowed and gave him a big hug. “Be careful, okay? They said training is two years, right? You’re going to miss my sixteenth and seventeenth birthday, so bring me something nice from far away, alright?”

“I put some tools in there for you, keep in practice.” His dad ordered. His parents gave him one last hug as the call went out to gather; the Ascender corps was about to move, and the trainees were feeling a compulsion to join the group. Joe itched at his forehead, already a little annoyed by the functions of the sigil.

“Goodbye! I’ll write when I can.” Luke promised as his feet forcibly began to move him toward the group. He quickly moved to walk with his friends, getting in the loose formation moving east and away from home. Every new person was nervous, and were trying to alleviate the underlying tension by laughing, joking, and in general making a ruckus.

“That’ll do. Thank you for the escort.” Master Don waved off the soldiers walking along with them. Lieutenant Baker turned his men around and started returning to the village, clapping Luke on the shoulder and trying to smile as he walked past.

“Gather around me, please, initiates. There is much information that you need to know; knowledge that is not allowed to the general public. You will only be allowed to know because your vow to the kingdom will force you to keep your mouth closed. First of all, I want to know why you think we are recruiting right now.” Master Don paused, then pointed at another man near the front.

“Well… it’s the war, innit?” piped up the reedy voice.

“Partly.” MAster Don waved his hand back and forth.

“Monsters.” Taylor was just loud enough to be heard.

“Correct!” Master Don spoke with surprise. “You and I will have a talk about how you know that. Monsters. As you will soon learn, the worlds that we travel to are not safe, by any sense of the word. When we open portals between these worlds, if we are strong enough or the gate is opened forcefully enough, it will stay open until it is closed. This is called a ‘scar’. It will remain open until someone that has trained in that world closes it. Finally, there are gates that open naturally in the world.”

After a short pause to let this sink in, he continued, “Recently, some faction has been moving through our, and our allies, kingdoms. They don’t attack, they don’t take credit for the destruction they cause. All they do…” 

Master Don looked around and into the eyes of these young people, “Is tear open, and leave open, scars into some of the most dangerous worlds that we know of. People are dying. Normally, we don’t allow people so young to attempt to use their power. Even with your oaths, and all the training you are about to go through, you will likely kill someone by accident before you can fully control yourselves.”

“What we need are powerful people that can slay man and beast alike. If you aren’t at the warfront, you will be hunting monsters that have become mankillers. Prepare yourselves now, because this is a task that never seems to end.” The initiates were starting to pale as they came to know what they had actually gotten involved in. “Now, we are going to begin. I am going to use your mana to open a portal to wherever your power wants you to train.” 

“In each of these worlds, the person most qualified to protect you and teach you how best to use your powers should soon arrive and explain everything else. Obviously, this is a long process. Does anyone know how we are able to train everyone?” A sea of blank faces met Master Don’s question. “Then, anyone care to guess my age?”

Silence continued to reign over the group. “I love this part. While we do require much from you, the rewards are worth everything else. First… the process of Ascending slows the aging process. I am over six hundred years old.”

The silence shattered as people exclaimed in awe or disbelief. “Calm down, calm down. It’s true, and this is also why we will be able to train you in time to be useful. Across the portals, time moves… disproportionately. The average speed is four times faster than this world. While you are in another world, your body doesn’t seem to age at all. There are some theories against this, because your body will still grow hair, nails, heal, and scars as usual; but the fact remains that you will go in and come out looking the same age as you do right now.”

“It is highly likely that you will not return to this world - this plane - until you are trained. For this plane, you will be gone roughly two and a half years. For the vast majority of you, it will be nearly ten years. For those with the most difficult paths… it could be much more.” Shock and outrage raced across the faces of the initiates, warring heavily with greed and excitement. 

“Why do you decide who the best person to train us is ? Shouldn’t we get to choose who we are bound to?” Andre demanded as he got over his shock.

“A very good point, young Andre. The simple answer is: I am by far the most qualified person to determine your path. Beyond me, there is no higher authority except the king himself.”

“But that means…” Taylor started speaking with shining eyes.

“Correct! I am Archmage Donec Arriperent, High Authority on all things magical, considered the most powerful in the land, and yes, Taylor. You are still my apprentice.”

“Merlin’s… *cough*… I guess that explains why your people were so shocked.” Taylor composed herself and only let a small smile shine through.

“Unflappable. I knew there was something I liked about you.” Master Don complimented her. “Time to go, everyone. Line up and prepare yourself. Portaling can be a bit… disorienting.”

The emotionally and mentally confused group shuffled together into a rough line. They watched in awe as a Gate was opened. Don reached into the air, light emanating from his fingertips… and pulled. Unnatural light started to pour out of a small space, growing into a door shape as he continued to strain against something invisible. The entire process took about two minutes, and Don blew a sigh of relief as he finished.

“Goodness, that takes a lot out of you. All right, who’s first? Make sure to say your goodbyes, it may be a long time before you see anyone here again.”

Andre stepped forward, showing his willingness to go first. He waved sadly at his friends; they had already said their goodbyes. Master Don nodded approvingly. “Good man. Now, just so you all know, you will be compelled to return here after two and a half years have passed on this plane. Make sure you are strong enough to make your kingdom proud.” 

With a wave of his hand, light passed through Andre. It went in as a light purple, and came out as a deep green. The light was swallowed by the portal, which solidified into a single color. The land beyond was beautiful, but all the visible creatures moved across it at insane speeds. “That’s just the time dilation effect, don't worry. Step through, your trainer will arrive shortly. Don’t keep him waiting.”

Indeed, a man was sprinting toward them at a godlike speed. He stopped at the edge of the Gate, beckoning to Andre with a hand that fluttered faster than a hummingbirds’ wings. Don demanded impatiently, “Sound doesn’t cross over very well. Get going.”

Andre stepped across the shimmering boundary and into the strange land. The last the group saw was the two walking away faster than a horse could sprint.

“Amazing.” Luke whispered, awe evident in his voice. “So that’s what it looks like with time passing faster on that side?”

Others walked forward, and for each one the process repeated. The portal opening, someone sprinting up, then the selected people zipping away. Taylor walked forward, but Don stopped her, “No, you will be coming with me. Luke, you are up, I think we will try you with the… healers, perhaps? As soon as we use your mana, we will know for sure, but since the way is open, I’ll just have them wait a moment longer just in case.”

Master Don sent the light through Luke, and it took a blue tint and filtered into the portal without changing what they were seeing. “Ah, I love being right! A healer! Let’s go, lad.”

Luke stepped forward and waited until someone ran up to the door from the other side. He stepped forward to cross the gate, but as his foot moved to cross the threshold, the blue power that stained the gate flashed into a deep blue for a bare instant. He was sucked though, vanishing from sight. When the blue tint cleared in the blink of an eye, the healer on the other side shrugged and waved his arms in an ‘X’ to show that Luke hadn’t arrived.

“Well that’s new.” Don’s brow furrowed quizzically. “I’ve never seen someone vaporized just trying to use a portal. Ah well, we were expecting some losses, this one was simply a little early. Likely for the best though, it seemed like his power had something to do with resisting oaths. That’d be a death sentence anyway… send someone to notify his family, Reginald. Ready to go, Taylor? Lots to do!”

Taylor simply stared at the shifting portal with moist eyes, a hand pressed to her mouth.