Chapter 1.2

Sigeance

Chapter 1.2

"So what did the Elder say?" 

Aria's mother was standing by the clay fire, sweating over shaved carrots and grounded dumbull meat. Around her was a complete and utter mess: shavings of carrots, bits of raw meat, bits of lettuce. Aria had grown used to her mother's messy endeavors. She is known for her famous rolls, dubbed "Sharli's Kimbaps", made popular by the denizens of Flaris. It is a delicacy that many have tasted, and it made her family quite famous. However this kept her mother in a working limbo; never rest and always tired, never out of money, and no progression. 

Unlike Aria, Sharli has been a vagrant all her life. Sharli knows nothing of the books and of first-classery, but she is one hell of a cook. She runs her own stands from morning to midday, with the assistance of Losha on busy days, classifying her as a merchant. Aria admits she is more privileged than most impoverished vagrants, but still she hated witnessing her mother in such disarray and stress. Almost every other night she is kept until the morning hours, and when the sun rises that's her single to take whatever batch she created and sell them at the market. The aroma of her breakfast pancakes, some people say, is what gets them up in the morning. She has a reputation she has to live up to.

Aria hung her coat on the wooden hanger. "The Elder said I passed." she said indifferently.

Her mother stopped her chopping. She gazed at Aria with a look of utmost happiness. "You passed? Oh Aria I'm so proud of you!" She walk to her daughter, but then stopped. "You know what I should do? I should bake you a cake. Yes, a wonderful cake! With flowers and a spritz of lemon. Lemon cake is your favorite, right? Oh and bits of carrots! Oh you'll love it -"

"Mom," Aria interrupted. "It's fine! Really. It's fine. We can celebrate tomorrow after the ceremony."

Sharli took her daughter's hands into hers. "You're right. It's just that I'm so proud of you. To think you just passed one of the hardest tests Madrigal has to offer. The Decennial Exams! Oh my, your name should be on a placard or something."

She hurried back to her cutting board and started to chop the carrots into small pieces. Aria rolled her eyes; she was starting on the cake. "So what job are you going to be?" Sharli seemed to blurt out. Aria froze for what seemed like minutes.

"Um, I got a nice job, mom."

"Is it a magician?"

"No."

"An assist?"

"No."

"Well don't keep me waiting! What is it?"

"A Ranger."

The silence that followed disturbed Aria. Sharli no longer chopped at the carrots. Instead she looked at her daughter straight in the eyes. It was a bitter sweet scene, seeing her mother finally pay attention to something other than the raw food before her. Still, from the look on her face Aria knew she was upset.

For a second Aria saw a glossy, wet shine in her mother's eyes. But it went away just as fast as she suspected it.

"A Ranger?" her voice shook, struggling to stabilize. "That's great, honey. I'm really happy for you! Really, I am." She turned away from her awkwardly, as if a cord connecting them suddenly snapped. Aria sighed and headed up the wooden stairs. The sounds of her mother's relentless chopping haunted her as she closed the bedroom door behind her.

---

"A Ranger?" The sound of the word seemed to caress her lips, sending shivers down the Elder's spine. "Yes, mistress. A ranger. After all these years! Don't you know what this means?"

Suddenly, a crack of dark, black lightning surged from her palms and crashed into the ground before him, making him jump in surprise. It was simply and literally blinding, and unlike any normal lightning. It was if instead of blinding light cover his vision, it just took it away. It was true darkness. Equally haunting was the thunder that resounded. It was deafening; not the active cracking sound of white lightning, but like bloody curdling screams. It was truly haunting.

"Of course I know what this means, fool. Do you take me for an idiot?" He stood in the suffocating darkness, feeling both warmth and anger in the blanketed blackness. The Elder shook his head quickly. "Of course not, mistress."

Somewhere far into the gaping cave, a mouse started squeaking. He saw her notice, and with a smile on her lips she clicked her fingers. An echoing crack - of bones, of brains, of squeals, echoed. Though not as loud as the thunder, the Elder knew the sound was thrice as disturbing. He gulped, not daring to wonder what that kind of power would do to him.

"Just get the girl and bring her to me." she said in that soothing voice that captivated him. "Oh, and how is the Elder?"

He looked toward the cage. Even in the dull moonlight he could see the real Village Elder. He looked deathly pale, and skinny - appearing to be more bony and grotesque than a scavenged Bucrow carcass. Still, he was alive. His chest was raising at a healthy rate. He couldn't believe the amount of suffering and pain this old man can endure. "He looks fine, mistress."

"Good," She chuckled, her voice flowing like smooth satin. "Good."

Chapter 1

Sigeance

Chapter 1

The words of the Village Elder did not quite register into her head. The small man stared at her kindly, awaiting her reaction. "I passed?" she whispered, more to herself than to the man. "Yes you did, Aria. You passed the Decennial Job Test. Now you don't have to wait another ten years like the other ruffians." he said, scoffing as he said 'ruffians'.

"I passed?" she whispered again, still not believing her report.

Aria had been dreading the Decennial report for the past few weeks. Having taken the test prior to Result Day, and knowing she had done poorly, she had thought she was a sure candidate for failing the test. She thought she was going to be destined to be a vagrant forever.

Every ten years, The Decennial committee offer a complex test for those that are capable. Every person that is of the age of fifteen and over is able to take it - granted they did not take the test before. The test is a brutal sequence of physical duties and difficult questions, often dangerous and challenging. It is a rarity for someone to die, but common for a few individuals to get extremely hurt.

Thankfully, Aria was no victim to the huge array of possible injuries that can result from the tasks. In fact, she did not get hurt one bit. However, she lagged far behind her colleagues when accomplishing the task, and was reported to had finished an hour behind the person before her, even though he was injured!

The questions were equally brutal, and at the time of the interview she knew she had suffered mental injury. The questions made no sense, and were often long questions that dealt with extreme situations: a mugging, a fire, an earthquake, and the worst: a masquerpet outbreak. She fumbled on those questions so horribly, the clergy actually had to skip questions because it was too hard for her. She only recalled answering one question in full.

But she passed?! She shook her head in confusion.

"But how? I did horribly on the exam. I could have sworn I was destined to be a vagrant." Aria said.
The Village Elder shook his head quickly. "Don't say that. Being a vagrant is important. We need our workers and merchants in order for the village, nay, the kingdom to be successful."
"Yes. I guess you're right." Aria mumbled. The Village Elder was just being nice for those that failed the exam, but she knew better. Those that fail the exam become vagrants - pit workers who were destined for domesticity. Hard labor, repetitive schedules, and low pay were the normalities of a vagrant. Even the highest position - a merchant, is not as prestigious as the newest first classers.

Aria sighed deeply. She figured she shouldn't question the matter anymore. She was confused, but not stupid. She knew that she would be miserable as a vagrant for the rest of her life, and pursuing her failure will only end up to no good. Naturally she was an adventurer and yearned for quests. Now all that remained was the matter of...

"My job!" she gasped. "If I'm not going to be a vagrant, then what will I be?"

At that moment an array of majestic visualizations surged through Aria's mind. She could be a magician, and wield sparkling wands or magical staves. She could cast spells of all colorful elements - from fire, water, earth, wind, or lightning, with a mere click or wave of her fingers. She could become an assist - wielding the power to heal and bless allies, and being able to utilize the art of the Rallaikum: the martial art fighting of the weapon-less. Or she could be a mercenary - meaty and brutal. Although she was as skimpy as a stick, she did marvel in the use of blades.

"You," the Village Elder began. "Will be an acrobat!"

She blushed in embarrassment. "An acrobat?" she said in disbelief. Acrobats were chaotic individuals; most hoodlums and ruffians become acrobats due to their anarchistic and rebellious nature. They wielded yoyos - used to bash the skulls of anyone unwary, or to restrain individuals with their devastating chains. It wasn't exactly her style, but she knew shecould live with it.

"I guess that's not bad." she smiled, trying to force a kind laugh. "Wielding yoyos might be fun to do, and the chains can be useful for accomplishing tasks."

"A yoyo?" the Village elder said, almost disgustingly. "No, dear girl. I dare not to destine you to a lifetime of nuisancy. Not a kind girl like you." He shook his head. "You will become something much better. Something more prestigious than the most magical magician, the strongest assist, the fastest mercenary."

Better than all that? Aria could not think of such a thing. It nevertheless excited her.

"You will become a Ranger!" the Village Elder said, a wide smile cracking his weatherworn face.

Aria could feel the blood draining from her head, leaving her mortified face in a sheet of deathly white. A Ranger? A Ranger?! That is possibly the lowest class she could ever be - perhaps even lower than being a common vagrant!

Rangers are the black sheep of Madrigal society. Barely anyone becomes a Ranger. Only the Nobodies of society become Rangers - it's like being spiritually and socially expelled from everyone else. Being a Ranger is like having the word "Stupid" or "Incapable" plastered on your forehead. Everyone knew Rangers were terrible warriors. All they had to assist them were skimpy arrows - arrows, for goddesses' sake!

Only a few people, including the Village Elder, knew about Rangers. Apart from flinging their toothpick-of-an-arrow, most don't even know what they do; the class isn't listed in books, described in classrooms, or even mentioned on the battle fields. All they know is that Rangers have only a bow - even your fists can cause more damage than what a bow can do.

"A Ranger?" Aria tried to put on a firm face, but her shaking eyes were incredulous. "Surely there must be a mistake..-"
"A mistake? No no. The clergy never makes mistakes. But why the long face? It is an honor to be a Ranger!"

People knew the Village Elder was becoming senile, but Aria did not know it had advanced to the point where he believed a Ranger would be honorable. A Ranger is anything but honorable. Aria cursed. She would be the laughing stock of the town! She was about to reject her position, but was stopped by a wrinkly finger on her lips. The Village Elder shook his head.

"I know you are excited. No need to be humble! You well deserve this. Now, go tell your loved ones the great news and report back at the Warrior's Hall in Flarine to receive your next instructions. Good bye now!"

She felt herself being turned and pushed toward the doorway. Outside, benches of boys and girls were waiting for their result. But from the looks of their humorous faces and suppressed snickers she knew they had heard.

Oh, she could only imagine what the crowd would do to her.

Oh my god. A ranger? Aria's a Ranger everyone! Let's throw rocks at her!

Oh! It's you!

Aria: "Oh it's you! I can't believe I finally found you.

Where have you been? You know I've been trying to find you for the past few years. What took you so long?

Anyway, Whatever. Now that you're here, I get to introduce you to this awesome blog! Here you will get to read awesome stories made by Jay and his amazing crew of editors and Flyffers. Here you can find short stories, long stories, poems, and whatever Madrigal has to offer.

Huh? What do you have to do, you ask? Just read, silly! Comment if you'd like - in fact Jay loves comments and gets lonely when he doesn't get any. He loves criticism, praises, whatever you have. He also loves to talk, but he never likes to give away hints to his stories. Darn him!

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