Soul, Kishna and The Guilds.

Martin shook briefly as he got deposited into a new body. The sensation of being human again and not a soul made him disoriented, but he could feel as something scanned around his soul, puttering a bit as the former occupant got obliterated.

He hid his smile as he opened his eyes to the insides of a tent. In front of him was a pedestal holding a dark sphere with specks of blue, and his hand was on it. Behind it were three people in robes, carrying staffs and wands, though lacking the signator hats.

Tilting his head backwards, he spotted a line of young teens behind him, all looking agitated as they regarded the wizards and the black sphere.

"Spiritual root average." The gravelly voice of the wizard in the black robe broke him out of his observations. Martin lifted his hand from the sphere and saw a number floating inside it. "Two point five, I've never seen a decimal point before. Nonetheless, we'll mark it down as a two. Now move to the side."

Nodding, Martin took the plate with the two written on it, hung it over his head and moved to where the wizard indicated. A few were already waiting there, some smiling while the majority were in various states of distress.

"What's up with your score dude?" A thin and tall man leaned over and whispered into Martin's ear. "I got a three, that girl over there got a two, no one has a weird number like that."

"None of your business is what it is." Martin smirked, leaning away from the lanky man and retreating further towards the back. He spied a girl with a one on her plate, but compared to the others with that number, she wasn't in a state of distress.

Her eyes locked into his the moment he neared her, and he smirked. She would become a steadfast ally with those fiery eyes.

He crouched beside her, and he heard her huff but she didn't move, he counted that as a win. The line had progressed along, with the majority having a below three in their spirit root, the ones who had gotten a four were sent to a whole other tent, apparently they were too precious to mingle with the rabble.

While that was happening, he focused on himself, feeling out the soul-sense. His time floating through the In Between after his death on Earth was illuminating, and he had gotten very intimate with every inch of his soul. He knew where each aspect of himself was housed, the memories, the beliefs, the vices.

What wasn't familiar was a new golden globe that was spinning in the center of his soul, seemingly making space for itself in his own soul without knowledge and any attempt to nudge it was a failure. He enclosed his soul sense around it, and it glowed.

Hundred-fold Quest Reward

That…explained nothing. Turning away from it with a sigh, he concentrated back to the material realm to see the last person in line taking their hand off the Spirit Root Orb. One of the wizards put the orb in a lockbox and the black robed wizard turned towards the crowd that had gathered on the side of the tent.

"The examination is over, and your potential is determined. Whether you are a one, two or three, only hard work will get you anywhere on the wizarding path." The black robed wizard then waved his hand and the tent flap opened. "Go out and see which institution would accept you, don't waste this opportunity."

"Oh please." The woman of the trio laughed and sniffed. "Don't bother your time with these rabble Eldwin, we've got better prospects to talk to."

"Arrogance will be your downfall Evyllin." Eldwin shook his hand and went to the tent where the fours - and the fives if he guessed right - and left them all alone.

"That seals it." Martin stood up and extended his hand to the girl beside him. Her hawk eyes jumped to his hand then to his eyes. He kept eye contact for a long while, unperturbed. "Are you gonna shake my hand or not?"

"Why would I?" She grunted, then ponderously shook my hand, squeezing it. Martin kept up his smile and shook hers. "You are suspicious. You want something."

"I want a lot of things, and one of them is you." Martin unabashedly said, and he could swear that he saw her blush.

"Nothing interesting about me, I am a one." She returned.

"And I am a two, barely better than you in the grand scheme of things." Martin then leaned in close and faux whispered. "And between you and me? We are probably gonna be used as fodder, meat sacks for the enemy to waste their magic on, that's what I predict our fate is."

"And you have a way to change it?" she raised a brow.

"No, but I can raise my chances, and those chances are higher if I have people as determined as you." Martin smiled, focusing on her brown eyes that were steady, not leaving his own. His heart beat a bit faster, "And I love your eyes, you are not gonna go quietly into the night."

Her chest rose and she started chuckling quietly, Martin joined in a moment. The false confidence at his back suddenly without wind, and he felt lost in this new world. There was only so much grandstanding, so much pretending to know what you are doing, before you collapsed into a ball of anxiety and fear.

He got it under control, showing uncertainty and weakness in an unknown environment is a death sentence, and his new companion seemed to have gotten her chuckles under control.

"My name is Kashni." She bowed minutely then straightened. "I'll accept your companionship, as long as you treat me with respect."

"I am Nitra, but you can calm me Martin." He returned the bow. "I hope for a long fruitful journey, that or a painless death, whichever comes first."

They got out of the empty tent a moment later, everyone else had already vacated and had gone their separate ways. Martin shaded his eyes as he found himself in an encampment of tents. People in clothes like theirs, aspirants like them, wandered around, seeing into tents and reading the signs.

There were three dozen or so tents, with some bigger and fancier than the others. The talent inspection tent was in the center of it all, and nearest to them were the nicer tents. Three were most prominent, a large black furred tent which seemed to absorb the light and emanate an uneasy feeling that made his guts clench.

The other was a bright blue with splotches of white and green. He saw one of the examiners talking to students at the entrance. The last one was unassuming if not for the bright tower of light that was visible even in he midday sun.

Hold on, suns.

One blue sun and a green sun. Though the light was still whitish orange it was back on earth. Maybe human eyes evolved differently to account for the discrepancy, meaning he could be color blind if he ever returned to earth.

"Shadow Forest Emperium, Blaze of The Suns, and The Purificators." Kashni pointed to each of the big tents respectively.

"We can probably hide between the throngs of disciples that will be joining those magic factions." Martin scratched his chin, considering the problem ahead of them. "Do you anything about the current politics of these factions."

"No, I am mortal like you." She turned her head slightly towards the lesser tents. "They will value us more there."

"For a given sort of value, we are still dregs, but you are correct that we would be less disposable to a weaker faction." He said. "We'll look for something less ominous than the Shadow Forest whatever, I don't want to join a faction that would just use its students as experiments."

At that, you both left the central square and weaved between the tents and into the outer circle. There was still an appreciable amount of students wandering around, and having Khasni read out loud the signs made the process easier.

They made a real effort to avoid the tents with the evil vibes, and those who had advertisements that seemed a little too good to be true. They even entered a tent for an organization that sounded good, but got chased out instantly by the mage in there.

"Pretentious." Martin swore as he dusted his clothes, the mage had sent a gust of dust at them to chase them out. Rude. "Stuck up and inconsiderate."

"Wizards are a different breed." Kashni dusted her long hair, her irritation barely hidden behind her stone visage. "If you are mortal, you are nothing but ants. In my kingdom, nobles and kings would kneel and beg to one."

"They don't seem immortal, they are human all the same, with all the same faults and flaws." Martin hummed, thinking of the weird dichotomy of power. "Almost childish."

"No hardship." Her eyes steeled further, followed by a great exhale. "Coddled since invitation, wielding their power like idiots."

"Would you become the same?" Martin asked. "if, no, when you become a mage?"

"No." The silence stretched, then she continued. "I will be a better mage, strength is only power and control united. Without one, the other is lacking."

Martin hummed, then before he could continue the conversation, Kishna read aloud another sign, and this one intrigued him.

"Guilds of Asharn." Kishna spoke, the plaque on the front of the tent of every tent was an introductory to the faction, probably for the students to not bother the mages inside with questions. "A collection of guilds in the supercity of Asharn, focused around combat and crafting, with secondary focuses on scholar and merchant guilds. Hiring to train mages for protection, quests, and other necessities for a period of twelve years, further employment is generously rewarded. Spirit Root score, All, no price for entry."

"Seems alright, they aren't promising too much, and are straight forward with what they want." Martin said, then went in, Kishna following him in.

Inside was a spartan, ascetic furniture. A desk, a magic lamp, and a chair. The bare dirt was stark in comparison to other factions that had rolled out crimson red carpets and brazier and golden chairs and desks. Here it was almost primitive.

Yet the man behind the desk solidlu tokd you that this wasn't anything primitive. A solid glare beneath bushy eyes, a shaved head that barely shined under the light, and a uniform that looked prestigious yet rugged. The man was thin and short, his fingers long, his contours bony and rough. His slip of a mouth was still.

A figure like that would have not elicited any feeling of strength, but the man was a mage, and the glowing eye at the center of his forehead that radiated blue energy, eldritch in its focus, made it clear that this was somebody that could rip you apart just by glaring too hard.

Martin repressed a shudder as the third eye made contact with his. His supreme fake confidence made him make eye contact, and he felt like he was going to die for a moment, then the focus on him lessened.

Breathing a sigh of relief internally, he saw Kashni had almost cracked her stony contenance, and sweat was sliding down her forehead.

"A one and a two." The man grumbled, then put the pen in his hand. He stared them down for a moment, then closed his third eye seeing as they were cracking under its pressure. "You will suffice. The guilds aren't for theatrics, they aren't your road to ascendancy, they aren't for heroic tales or evil tragedies. The guilds are consistent, reliable, and disciplined. Do you understand?"

"Yes." They both replied.

"I don't care about your dreams, I don't care about whatever viles shit is in your head, nor about your spirit roots or how good they are." The man rose from his chair and pointed to them both. "I only care that you do your jobs without complaints, and act responsibly in regards to the reputation of the guilds. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"I am Recruit Velkron Goldfield, I will train to the best of my abilities whoever wants to join the Guilds into a level suitable for their talent, that is a guarantee." Then the man made his way around the desk to stand in front of them, he was even less intimidating physically than behind the desk, but even his mundane eyes bore into theirs with restrained ferocity. "You are joining."

Martin and Kishna exchanged a glance, and he saw the same thing that was in his mind in hers. She wished for control, he wished for a routine, someplace to settle down and feel stable in to gather his wits.

"Yes." They both nodded.