Author's Preface
For a week straight, Ryan practiced and figured out what he could do with this shadowmancy. He would sneak out in the middle of the night and practice working with his tendrils. There were three now that he could control. One night, he stared at the shadow beneath a tree several yards away. He focused, imagining one of his tendrils emerging from it. The darkness shifted. A black tendril shot from beneath the tree's shadow and wrapped around its trunk. Ryan's eyes widened.
"Oh, that's fucking useful."
After a week of practice, Ryan sat down for dinner with his family. "So, have you decided the path you're going to take, son?"
"I have."
"Oh, that's great, sweetheart. I'm so happy to see that what happened hasn't stopped you from moving forward," his mother said, and she leaned over and put some meat on his plate.
"You can be my squire, brother. Every knight needs a squire."
"No thanks, June-bug." Ryan patted June on the head.
Jacob grabbed a leg of the chicken, took a bite, then looked at Ryan while he chewed. "Well, spit it out. What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to take the ship tomorrow to Elyndor."
Jacob spit his chicken out. His mother dropped the pan of vegetables on the floor.
"Elyndor? Why? What possible reason could you have to go there?" Jacob asked.
Ryan stared at his father. "I practiced this lie all night. I can't possibly tell them the truth. If anyone finds out I have talents, they'll accuse my family of black magic or something crazy and scrutinize them. Let's hope this works." Ryan cleared his throat. "There's a school of learning there for those who are talentless. Where you can learn skills to contribute to society without the use of mana or talents. I'll go there for a year, learn what I can... then I'll come home and help contribute to the family so you two can take a break." Ryan exhaled.
His father grabbed another piece of chicken and took a bite. "It is a good plan, and you are an adult now. So we can't stop you, but why did you wait until the night before to tell us?"
Ryan opened his mouth to answer as June smacked her plate off the table and ran to her room crying. Jenny sat down beside Jacob. "Don't worry, honey. She's just sad that you are leaving."
Ryan looked back at June's door that she had just slammed shut. "I just made up my mind today about going. I have to do something. I need to make myself useful somehow... and this is the only way I can think of making that happen." Ryan stood from the table. "Father, Mother... excuse me. I have to go handle things with June." Jacob and Jenny looked at each other, smiled, and nodded.
Ryan opened June's door. She sat on the edge of her bed, squeezing a teddy bear that Ryan had made her years ago. Ryan walked up to her and knelt down. "Hey, June-bug. Are you okay?"
June lifted her head and raised the teddy bear to wipe the snot that rolled out of her nose. "I'm fine, but you can't go. Elyndor is dangerous. There's monsters and creatures, and you're... you're, talen... talentless."
"This is something I have to do, June. That way we can all support you when you get that noble-ass-kicking talent you claim you're going to get."
June giggled. "Can't you wait a year, let me go to the ceremony, then I'll go with you and protect you."
"I wish I could, but if I don't go now, I fear I may never go."
"Hrmph. Fine. Take this then." June shoved the teddy into Ryan's chest. "I'm not a baby anymore anyways. You'll need it more than a holy knight of kicking nobles' asses will."
"Shhhh. Don't let Mom and Dad hear you say words like that."
June leaned forward and gave Ryan a hug. "Promise you'll come back in a year and you won't get hurt when you're gone."
"I promise, June-bug. Now let's go back out there and eat. I'm starving."
Ryan and June walked back out to the table as they all sat and ate in silence.
The next afternoon, Ryan stood outside of his home and gave his family one last hug and goodbye. He hopped on the carriage that would take him to the port and the ship. The carriage ride was smooth. It stopped a few more places and picked up three more passengers. Every person was quiet on the ride to the port. When the carriage arrived, the smell of salt hit Ryan before he even stepped off the carriage. Sailors shouted from the docks while merchants competed with each other from rows of cramped stalls. Wooden ships filled the harbor, their masts rising above the market, each adorned with a flag of a different nation. Isvale was a natural meeting point for the east and west continents to conduct trade. Isvale was this world's Switzerland. Neutral, perfectly positioned for trade, and more interested in money than war.
Ryan walked around the market with a small bag of money his parents had given him. He walked by a stand that sold swords and staffs and other weapons. Nothing caught his eye until he saw the mask. A black mask with a purple-looking lightning mark that went across the mask. "That may come in handy." Ryan picked up the mask and handed the man 5 silver coins. The man nodded and took his money. "Oh, by the way, do you know which ship is heading to Elyndor?" Ryan asked the shopkeep. He didn't answer. Instead, he pointed. Ryan turned and noticed a ship that was three times larger than any other ship. It was as big as an aircraft carrier back on Earth. Unlike the other ships, its hull was made from pale wood that almost looked white beneath the sun. Silver markings ran along its sides, occasionally pulsing with faint green light.
"Thank you." Ryan tossed the man a bronze coin for his help. Ryan boarded the ship. The trip would take three full days of sailing to reach the shores of Elyndor. Ryan spent most of the voyage wandering the enormous ship, watching sailors work and staring across an ocean. He watched massive fish the likes he'd never seen on Earth leap out of the water. On the third day, a man stood on the center deck and hollered, "Anyone wanting to sign up to be an adventurer before hitting the mainland, line up here and register."
"Finally, we begin." Ryan looked down at the mask that hung on his side. "Yeah, I'm glad I bought this."
Adventurers were like mercenaries in books and comics back on Earth. Hired guns. Men and women who held no allegiance and could gather strength, wealth, and status by defeating monsters and dungeons and carrying out quests from nobles. The anonymity of being an adventurer is what attracted most people. It is also what attracted Ryan. He grabbed the mask and put it on. He grabbed the hood of the robe his father gave him and slung it over his head. He approached the table for registration.
"Name," the man behind the desk said.
"Kade."
"Talent?"
"Shadow magic."
The man looked up. "Shadow magic... what the fuck is that? Are you trying to pull a fast one on me?"
Ryan summoned a tendril from the man's shadow and made it tap him on the shoulder. The man looked back at the tendril, then back at Ryan. He was clearly frightened. "I guess there's always someone with a talent no one has ever seen before." The man wrote his name and talent on a piece of paper. "Step into the cabin behind me and have your mana pool registered."
Ryan walked past the table and into the cabin. When he walked in, a man stood behind a crystal. His skin was gray, his ears pointy. Ryan muttered, "Holy shit... a real dark elf."
The elf gestured for Ryan to place his hand on the crystal. Ryan did. A moment later, a bright white light lit up the entire room. The dark elf stared at Ryan with wide eyes. Then a slow grin adorned his face. He grabbed Ryan by the arm and dragged him down a small hidden door behind a bookshelf. In the room behind sat another elf behind a desk. This dark elf looked different. He was dressed in fine linens. Golden earrings hung from his ears. His hair was pulled back tightly. Ryan looked around the room. It was small, but lavish. Golden figures hung from the walls. Rows of books lined another. Ryan stood behind the dark elf. It bowed, and they spoke to each other in a language he didn't understand. The elf behind the desk stood abruptly and pulled out another crystal from his desk and approached Ryan. He gestured for Ryan to touch it, so he did. The room lit a bright white again. The elf dropped the crystal and stared at Ryan as the crystal shattered at his feet. "I am Nyx. The Guildmaster of the Elyndor Adventurers Guild. What is your name?"
Ryan started to speak. "Ry- I mean Kade Jones." Ryan smiled. He was using the name of his best friend, the man who fought by his side for fifteen years on Earth.
The elf took Ryan's hand and shook it violently. "Welcome, Mr. Kade. Do you understand how rare you are?"
Ryan looked down at the shattered crystal. "No, but I'm starting to get the picture."
"In the two hundred and fifty years I've been alive, I've never seen a single person with a mana pool as large as yours. It is truly a gift from the gods."
Ryan stared at Nyx for a moment. "Okay, so what does this mean for me exactly?"
"It means... it means you will receive special treatment from the Adventurers Guild, a special rank-"
Ryan put his hand up to stop Nyx from going further. "I'd rather not stand out. I have my reasons for joining the Adventurers Guild. And while I appreciate the offers, I would like to earn any title or recognition I receive, rather than it being handed to me because of my mana pool."
"A true warrior," Nyx said. "Then at least let me give you this." Nyx handed him a golden plaque. "That will allow you to enter the auction house as a VIP under my name. If you ever need anything, use that and it will be purchased for you under my name. Allow me this courtesy, as a way to show respect and hopefully begin a good relationship between the two of us."
Ryan reached out and grabbed the plaque. "I won't refuse your generosity. I appreciate it. I hope you can keep all of this a secret between us three."
Nyx stepped forward. "Of course, Mr. Kade. Your anonymity is safe with us. We will be arriving in Elyndor shortly. When we arrive, head to the Adventurers Guild in the capital. I'll have a room reserved for you."
Ryan shook the man's hand and walked back out of the room onto the deck of the ship. He stared out into the ocean, preparing himself for the next step of his new life in this fantasy world. Finally, one deckhand that stood on top of the tallest mast yelled out, "ELYNDOR AHEAD!"
Ryan rushed to the front of the ship to see the land of the Elves. On the shore, he could see a city full of pale buildings. Behind it was a sea of green forests. "Elves. I actually can't believe it. This is going to be dope."