Long ago, magic is what made the country of Veridine thrive. However, that age seems to have been long forgotten by fear and malice. Veridine, made of four regions, was built from the center of the country. Listine, which is the heart of Veridine, is placed at the center of the country. All four regions connect to the center and each region has its own form of ruler. However, all four regions are overseen by the Grand Master, Valeria, in Listine.

When I was five, a magic wielder, who are
often referred to as specialists, attacked the heart of Veridine and came after the Grand Master. That specialist, Delphine, believed her family was wronged by the Grand Master and demanded justice. When the Grand Master refused to meet Delphine's request of a trial, Delphine attacked the Grand Master and her court in Listine.

Delphine burned almost all of Listine to the ground, which put a threat to Veridine as a whole. In fear, the Grand Master retaliated after defeating Delphine by proclaiming that all specialists must forfeit their powers or face death. Thirteen years have passed since that order. Before the order, there were two thousand specialists, compared to the thirty-five million people in Veridine. Now, there are only two hundred specialists left. Thirteen hundred of them were killed, five hundred forfeited their magic, and the last two hundred remain.

As a child, my dad would often tell me fairytales and stories of magic. I grew up idolizing fantasy and specialists, especially the specialists who helped to build Veridine centuries ago. I grew up here with my dad on a small farmhouse in the hills of Sylver, my mom sadly having passed from illness when I was young. In Veridine, the four regions under Listine's rule are Sylver, Maracoste, Asterithe, and Helena.

While Listine's Grand Master controls Veridine, the four region's rulers don't always comply with the will of the Grand Master. The specialists have been revolting against the Grand Master, her court, and her knights ever since the declaration against magic came out. But, in addition to that, the Heiress of Helena has a group of five selected extremely powerful specialists who fulfill her wishes. Helena's heiress, Tatiana, has also become an enemy of the Grand Master because she's having her elite guard, The Horsemen, find all remaining specialists and gather their magic to take back to her. This also includes fighting Listine's soldiers to keep them from furthering their agenda.  

I always wanted to help the specialists. I didn't think it was right for the Grand Master to punish all specialists simply because of the actions of one person. Truthfully, I feel as if there's a bigger reason behind the Grand Master's thinking because her actions don't match how her morals used to be, morals she so strongly believed in for a long time, morals that made her an excellent leader. Now, it's as if she cowers in fear over shadows that her light used to be able to pierce through.

Despite how much he hated magic, my father never held anything against the specialists. In fact, he seemed to love the stories he told me as much as I did. My mother, on the other hand, I remember my dad used to say how much she loved magic and adventure. She was a stubborn and overly empathetic free spirit.

"Tell me again, Father," I looked up into my dad's blue eyes, his messy light brown hair almost falling into them.

"Alright, alright," he chuckled as he rolled up his white shirt sleeves and picked me up to place me on his lap, sitting us in a wooden chair by the fireplace in our small cottage. "Just one more time, then you need to go to bed, alright?"

"Alright!" I beamed, my emerald eyes bright and full of excitement, my smile stretching wide in my eagerness to hear my favorite fairytale again.

"Tell me again, Father..." I whisper, tracing my fingertips on the cold grey stone in front of me as the wind blows the hairs that hang out of my long red braid and frame my face before I stand up, brushing my hands on my faded red dress and white apron.

Eight months ago, shortly after my eighteenth birthday, my father passed away because he was mistaken for a magic wielder and killed, and he was buried here on our farm beside my mother. After having some time to better gather myself, I decided that sitting around and being upset with the world wouldn't change anything. And so, it's time I follow my true destiny and follow my heart. I refuse to let anyone else die under the Grand Master's orders.

"Sorry, Dad," I smile sadly, blinking away my tears as I glance over my shoulder, walking away from the hill and back to the house, leaves blowing in the wind, "but I guess I'm a bit too stubborn. You always did say I got that from Mom."

I'm going to make things right in the world, I promise. Not just to avenge the dead, but also to save the innocent.

***

"And what is your plan here, exactly? Run around fighting the Grand Master's soldiers when you see them after someone with powers?" Emelia says as she leans against the barn door in blue jeans, tall brown riding boots, and a brown and white corset top with bell capped sleeves, her long brown hair framing her hazel eyes.

"No, I just...maybe," I sigh, saddling my horse, having changed my outfit into a pair of black riding pants with knee high black boots and a white top with a black fur-lined jacket and a silver chain necklace that has a teal pendant. "All I know is, I want to help people."

"Yeah, you and every other peace-making magic-loving hippie out there," Emelia scoffs. "You're going to get yourself killed. And then what? You'll be right here beside your parents and then it'll just be me, your runaway best friend who you hid in the stables when we were kids until your dad found me one day and you begged him to let me live with you, to which he said yes because he was kinder than anyone ever had any business being. You're the only family I have left, Rosaline. Don't go dying on me."

"You could always come with me, you know," I sigh, glancing pointedly at her.

"Yeah, but then who would take care of the farm?" Emelia huffs in defeat, uncrossing her arms. "It's whatever. I know this is your calling or something. You were always meant for something greater than this little old place, anyway. Everybody who ever knew you knew that. Who knows, maybe you really will be the one to save the world."

"Thank you for supporting me, Emelia. It means a lot to me. I know how hard this is for you. It's hard for me, too. This place, it's all I've ever known," I sigh. "But...if my mom were alive, I know she'd want me to do this. She used to be the same way."

"Stubborn?" Emelia offers. "Unwaveringly ambitious and far too compassionate for her own good?"

"Yeah," I smile softly. "That."

Emelia sighs before she walks over and pulls me into a tight hug, which I happily return, and my smile only widens.

"Aw, get going," Emelia glances off to the side, blinking a few times and crossing her arms before she glances back at me briefly and gives me a small smile, "you have world saving to do or something. Just remember, you'll always have a home here waiting for you when you're done."

"I know," I nod, "I promise I'll come back. I couldn't leave you like that."

"Pinkie promise?" Emelia grins as she stands beside my horse as I climb in the saddle, extending her hand up in the air.

"Pinkie promise," I smile, leaning down to hook our fingers together. "Take care, Emelia."

"You'll need it more than me, silly goose," Emelia sighs as I start to trot off, my luggage bags strapped to my horse.

As I'm halfway down the dirt road to my farmhouse, I glance over my shoulder to see Emelia waving widely and I wave back, smiling sadly as the sight of my best friend gets farther and farther away until she's no longer in sight.