Chapter 0 - Direction

The sun beat down on Westend realm. Flowers blossomed, birds sang and the smell of fresh grass was pungeant. Most were outside enjoying the sunshine. Kids played in the cities as adults took the opportunity to fish.

Yet the lone figure walking a stone path felt no warmth. Black and white striped trousers mismatched a light grey long-sleeved tunic and shoes. Ciaran Xanderson's walking was slow, and his mood despondent. He'd had enough of his father's elitist bullshit, and left Westend city with a small purse of coins-the only blessing his mother could give him. 

But he felt no joy in his new freedom. He didn't know where to go or what to do from here. He wasn't even sure where to start with his goal of helping those less fortunate. He felt so... lost.

He suddenly heard distant cries over a short hill. He scaled it, drawing his wand from his trouser pocket incase it was as bad as he thought. He saw 4 people. Three men and an elf girl, no older than 10. One of the men held her wrist tightly, dragging her along as she tried to pull herself free.

"No! Get away from me!" the elf cried, before a kick in her stomach winded her enough to leave her silent and doubled over with pain.

"Should fetch quite a nice sack of gold for this one, huh?" one man said confidently.

"Oh yes, elves always go for a high price. Especially the younger ones..." There was a definite gleam in his eye. Almost hungry. 

"Careful, Josh. We don't want a repeat of last time." the third told him.

"Yeah, I know. Nobody likes damaged goods." the second one replied.

Ciaran had heard enough. He raised his wand and chose his spell: "Catena Fulgur!"

A single bolt of lightning hit the bandit in the back, then chained to the other two. As he slid down the hill on his backside, Ciaran took down the middle and left ones with an arcane sagitta each, but missed the bandit on the right.

The brigand abandoned the girl and charged at him. He dodged the attempted attack, took aim and cried "Fluvius ignis!"

A jet of fire burst from Ciaran's wand, engulfing the bandit, who screamed in pain as he was burned. He fell to the floor, desperately rolling from side to side, but the fire wouldn't extinguish, and he soon lay dead too.

Ciaran sheathed his wand, approached the girl and offered a hand, kneeling. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I... I think so..." she answered, taking it and letting him pull her to her feet.

"Meri! Meri, where are you?!" A deep voice called out. 

"Over here, father!"

From behind a tree, a large man emerged. He was so tall and large, he seemed to take up half the space in the clearing. He had dark brown skin barely hidden behind a great luxurious beard of light brown, with shoulder-length hair to match. He wore dark green robes with a fetching pattern of dark brown on them.

"Oh, my dear." he ran over and embraced her tightly. "I keep telling you not to play outside the farm's grounds! Please, for mine and your mother's sake, keep to that rule!"

"It's okay, dad. This nice man saved me." Meri replied, pointing to Ciaran. For a few seconds, the father looked Ciaran up and down. The wizard wondered if he was sizing him up. A wonder that disappeared when the man broke into a wide smile.

"My name is Jeffrey Jeffreyson. Often called Jeff. And you... well, you're the man who saved my younger daughter from brigands." He made a motion to follow. "Please come and eat with us. You're our honoured guest, laddie."

"Why would you treat me in such a way? I'm just another adventurer trying to help people and make some coin in the process." Ciaran asked, though he followed.

Jeff chuckled. "You can fool other people, but you can't fool me, Ciaran Xanderson."

The wizard cringed slightly "Please don't use my surname..."

"Oh? And why do you say that?"

"Because the whole Xanderson family are a bunch of greedy, self-serving bas-" He stopped himself, remembering a child was nearby. "While everyone else was struggling to get by, having to choose between fresh food or fresh clothing, I was living a cushty life in a small mansion. I've never known true hunger or true suffering because I was born a noble. A Xanderson."

"Yes, you're a Xanderson. You're the Xanderson who rejected your father's ideals. The one who I saw trying to help people on my few trips to the city, the one who was so determined to make a difference that he left behind the only life he's ever known to make it happen."

Ciaran was stunned. He didn't know how to answer. He just kept walking; the farm was in sight now. It wasn't very big, but maybe that was because the house looked small; it was one floor.

"You may not know true suffering lad, but when you meet it, you'll spit in it's ugly face. You've already spat in the face of the nobles, after all." Jeff told him.

"I don't see anything I've done as making up for what the rest of the nobles do." Ciaran replied.

"That's because you've only seen your life through your own eyes. Look through the eyes of a commoner. A commoner who saw you lighting fires for the homeless as soon as you could use fire spells, taking over the last hour for fishermen who just wanted to see their wives without feeling exhausted, trying to learn how to pour drinks so the barmaid would be able to tuck her children in for the night-however spectacularly that failed-and, most significantly, shoving your brother's face into a mucky puddle for making fun of a poor kid. Westend's commoners are so used to being beaten down and belittled by the nobles that they're just happy to see one trying to turn things around for them. It gives them hope, and that's something they need." Jeff told him.

Again, Ciaran had no answer as he stepped inside. It was a cosy place, with a large dinner table, wood burning stove and a set of stairs leading down, where Ciaran presumed everyone slept. Little in the way of decorations, however.

"Now, no more arguing." His tone was gentle, but also stern. "Feel free to sit down and chat with my daughters or read. Or to go outside and practice your wandwork. The food shouldn't take too long."

Ciaran chose the latter, heading outside and practicing spells he hadn't mastered yet. 

"Tepid Aqua Imber." A jet of water shot from his wand and onto his left hand, and a moment later he pulled it back, cursing. Still too hot. Blowing on his hand didn't help much.

"Repulsa!" A blast of force erupted from his wand, but it didn't travel very far. Not as far as he needed it to, anyway.

Next, he made a set of motions with his wand and three purple arrows shot out of it, hitting the wall and leaving very small marks. He was improving that at least, but he still wasn't fast enough. Maybe if he just-

"Hey." he heard to his right. He looked over to see a young woman with pink skin, short brown hair and dark green eyes standing in the doorframe. She wore a simple robe and a smile "Thought I'd introduce myself; I'm Wakeeda-Jeff's older daughter."

"Daughter? You don't look-"

"I'm adopted." she answered. "You know, Repulsa works better if you swish your wand like a whip as you say the word. It gives the spell some extra distance."

Ciaran hesitated, but saw no harm in trying it out. He pulled back his arm and shouted "Repulsa!" as his wand pointed forwards from the swing, and he was briefly knocked off balance by the force with which he fired it. The spell traveled far enough to hit the wall with a soft thud."

How did you know that?" Ciaran tried not to sound surprised.

"I didn't. I'm hoping to become both a scientist and a mage. Namely, I'm trying to use scientific methods to empower existing spells and enchantments." She told him, smiling confidently "Such as what you just demonstrated: putting more kinetic energy into a wand movement will empower the spell. Just like swinging a sword."

"Dinner's done!" Jeff called from inside the house.

Ciaran and Wakeeda both headed inside. The wizard was surprised to see a small banquet laid out on the table. Bowls of steamed carrots, boiled and roasted potatoes seasoned with basil, peas, spinach and other vegetables lined the table. Most notable was the large chicken in the centre; he didn't think the common folk was able to afford such food.

Spotting the look on the wizard's face, Jeff spoke "A friend of mine is a chicken farmer. We have a trade in which I give him some of my crops per harvest to save him cutting into profits, and he gives us any chickens that stop laying. Helps deter foxes from his farm."

The next 10 minutes of his life was spent digging into the various foods. He tried a bit of everything, and almost all was delicious (though he avoided the tomatoes-they disagreed with his stomach). The carrots were juicy, the roast potatoes thick and creamy, the peas were flavourful and even the zucchini surprised him with it's sweetness.

The chicken in particular was delicious. Succulent and-thanks to the generous seasoning-piquant. His only regret was not eating more of the skin (his favourite part). Eventually, everyone leaned back in their chairs, all their plates cleaned except for bones.

"That was delicious, Jeff." Ciaran smiled, feeling stuffed.

"Heh. It's good to know my daughters aren't just saying I'm a good cook because I'm their father." he joked. "But there is still one more thank you I have..." he got up and walked down the stairs, looking a little wobbly from the food. He came up about a minute later holding what looked like a hollowed out twig attached to a wide leather strap.

"It's a wand holster. Strap it to your arm and you never have to worry about your wand catching on your trouser pocket when you draw it." Jeff explained. "Served me pretty well when I traveled around."

"Well, thanks a bunch." Ciaran replied. He wished he could thank Jeff for giving him a new purpose too, but the words didn't seem to form in his throat. "But now I think I've overstayed my welcome here so-"

"Wait." Wakeeda stopped him "There are a few more theories I'd like to test out regarding spells. There's even this 'Atma Khappara Silda' spell I recently came across! Couldn't you stay just a bit longer? Please? No other mages pass by this way. I'll even pay you!"

"Pay me in what?" Ciaran asked.

She stammered "Um... Uh... What about kisses? Boys think girls are pretty, right?" She asked, completely seriously.

Unable to contain it, Ciaran laughed out loud for the first time in 3 months. Jeff laughed with him, and Medi soon joined in. Eventually, Wakeeda began laughing too. It took a long time for them to stop laughing. 

When they did, Ciaran wiped a tear away and smiled at Wakeeda. "Sure, I'll help you for a few kisses." 