Choices for the Future (IseeTea and Smystar99)

Almos nodded. "Good call. Let's get going, then." He said, starting off in the direction of the barracks.

Lark nodded and followed after him. She took a deep breath needing to keep her cool. This wig was starting to become a hassle to have on. Never mind the pain she was getting from the wrap around.

Almos slowed down a bit so that he could walk next to her. "So, did you want to become a knight?"

Lark shook her head. "No, I didn`t want to be. My father said it would be a wise choice to become one instead of opening my own shop as a Blacksmith. He said I`d have a honorable life if I became a knight instead. What about you?"

Almos looked down at the ground. "I was taken from my home. They said this was the only way to escape judgement."

"I`m sorry, the road here must have been a very difficult one for you. I could imagine how bad it must have been." Lark said and looked straight ahead.

Almos nodded. "Yeah. I don't like it, but its better than death. I don't understand what this Church has against magic. They went so far as to seal mine off." He said, taking off his glove, revealing a burn mark.

Lark looked at the mark in disgust. "They all should burn in hell for doing such a thing. That`s going too far. We have mages and clerics around here but no, an outsider has to be treated like that. It`s just a cruel thing to do to people. All of this stuff pisses me off. No one should have to endure such pain for doing nothing!"

Almos shook his head, vigorously. "Please keep your voice down. I'm not supposed to show anybody this." He said, putting the gauntlet back on. "Your mages are different than me. The ones here use holy magic. My people use other varieties."

"It still doesn`t justify what they did. This whole kingdom is run by the stupid church. One day I hope everyone actually has a choice. I don`t think it will be in our life times though." Lark said and sighed.

Almos shook his head. "No, it wouldn't appear so. There's no way for me to use magic without it being lifted by a priest or cleric. And I doubt we'll meet one kind enough to do that."

"You never know, the few people lucky enough to have jobs around here as a female are clerics and mages." Lark explained.

Almos shrugged. "I guess, but they're still part of the church. I doubt they'll disobey orders and remove it." He said, opening the door to the barracks and walking inside.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see then." Lark said as they made it to where they would be sleeping for the next few weeks and walked inside. A couple of the other trainees were standing outside talking.

Almos nodded and looked around. The room was more of a corridor with eight beds next to eachother with about two feet of space between them and only enough room for one person to walk in front of them. "Do we choose our own?" He asked.

"I have no idea, you'd think they woud be assigned to us." Lark said looking around wondering what to do. "I'm just going to take the bed closest to the door." She said and walked to the closet bed.

Almos nodded. "Good call. I'll take the second one, then." He said, walking over to the second one and sitting down on it. Just then another recruit walked inside. This recruit was strong in appearance. He was extremely muscular, and was obviously in this program by choice. He walked over to Almos and stood in front of him, his arms crossed and a sneer on his face. "That's my bed, Dominer." He said, menacingly. Almos stood up, immediately. "S-Sorry, didn't know they were assigned." He said, stepping away from the bed. The recruit started laughing. "They aren't. I just want this one."

"Well buzz off bug brain he got to it first." Lark said and stood up from her bed and walked up the guy being almost a foot shorter then him. "If this was game of musical beds I should have been told sooner." She said with a menising smile looking quite smug.

The recruit turned around. "What'd you say Shorty?" He asked, cracking his knuckles, looking down at her. Almos looked at him, sudden confidence flowing through him. "Hey, don't talk to him like that." Algos said to the recruit, his voice raised. The recruit turned around once again. "I will report this insolence to Ludwig at once, Dominer."

"Your the only insolent one here. He claimed the bed and you in here acting like you own the damn place. Well sorry to break it ya but ya don't, and such behavors will land you a spot on my list. You don't want to be on my list. Now why don't we settle all of this tomorrow in the sparin ring." Lark suggested. She was fed up with people like this guy.

The recruit smirked and let out a confident. "Hmph. Suit yourself Tiny." He said, pushing Almos out of the way and beginning to walk down the line of beds to find a new one.

Almos sat down on the bed. "Thanks again. But I feel so bad that you have to keep standing up for me."

"If you feel bad about it then try standing up for yourself. If they don't understand, make them." Lark said and walked back over to her bed before sitting down.

Almos sighed. "I tried. Its just.. I'm not the type for strength. I was going to learn magic. I can't even use what I had learned."

"Someone once told me magic is more then mental it`s physical too. You have to be strong in both aspects for it to work. A magic user could easily have the strength to do what a knight does." Lark said and laid down on her bed. "You need to learn how to harness your strength."

Almos frowned. "I don't know if that's true, because I was fine before my power was sealed."