Gabriel eyes opened slowly; he was awoken by the slim line of light that began to shine through the small crack in his curtains. It happened every morning due to his curtains not being fully closed. The light from the second moon always made him comfortable, allowing him to fall asleep peacefully. It was when the first sun rose that he would always be interrupted from his slumber. He knew he would have to wake up and get ready for his day.

“First sun, could I please get fifteen more minutes of sleep?” He said this as if the large glowing ball in the sky would respond to him. He sat on the edge of his bed gathering his thoughts, internally trying to figure out what was all scheduled for him today.

Today, however, was a different day. Today was then day that he would transition from being a child to being a young man. Today he learned how powerful he would be and what his power could do for him and his country. Today, he went through the ceremony of determining who he would be. Today was not only Gabriel’s birthday, but also the day he went through “The Becoming.”

But before he could figure out who he would become, he needed to figure out where his clothes were, where his shoes were, and what to do with his hair. His mother would not appreciate him coming into the great hall looking like he had just rolled through the rubbish bins from the town square.

As Gabriel sat at the edge of his bed he stared upward, and his gaze was returned by the ceiling. Gabriel noticed the ornate patterns that have been the same as far back as he could remember. Dust and cobwebs sat in the corners of the ceiling; the green ceiling tiles had a gray hue to them from the layer of dust.

“I should tell the servants to come clean this,” he said internally, adding it to the list of items he had made in his head.

Gabriel sat back on his bed holding himself up and began to daydream, he knew he had a big day ahead of him, but he just wanted a few more moments to be a child. To be free and not weighed down by the duties he knew would come with him transitioning into a true royal prince after the ceremony concluded.

Gabriel looks down at the floor, his marble bedroom floor barely coming through amidst all the clutter. Dirty clothes, books, toys, shoes, and other random items were all over the place. Gabriel could hear his mother telling him that his room looked like a wind torrent had hit it and that this is not how a prince should live.

He looks around the floor but does not see what he is looking for, his new boots that his father had given him to wear to the ceremony. His father wanted Gabriel to look for the part for his ceremony of becoming.

They were made from the kingdom’s finest leather and were dyed black. They had silver plates across the top and around the back covering his calf muscles. The strings the tied the shoes were purple, with a green tip at the end to match the princes green tipped hair.

Gabriel knew that he would not attend his own ceremony if he did not find these boots, his father would duel him with a sword to the death for misplacing them. Gabriel knew this would not happen, but he knew his father would not be pleased.

Gabriel’s gaze went towards the bathroom and closet of his bedroom. The bathroom door was left open, Gabriel woke up during the night to use it and forgot to close the door. His closet door was open, not because he forgot to close it but because he did not clear enough room to close the closet door. Gabriel had so many clothes, either because the kingdom’s tailors wanted to gain favor, or his extended family members wanted to gift the future king with garments made from the finest materials of their respective home steads.

Gabriel got up from his bed and went to brush his teeth and set his hair to allow him to look very regal on his birthday. Usually, Gabriel would let his shoulder length locs of hair flow freely but today he tied them up into a neat ponytail. He figured it would be a smart idea since he knew he would be leaving directly from his bedroom for his training for swords and then for magic.

“The ability to defend oneself and dispatch your foes is necessary for any future king” his father would say to him. Gabriel was gifted, and he knew he was. He knew he would be a better swordman than anyone in the kingdom, he also knew he would be a more powerful mage than any of the heads at the regional temples. He just did not want the pressure of it all.

After taking care of his hygiene, he looked for his royal attire to wear out today. Hanging on his closet door was his outfit. A note attached to the pocket of the coat with his mother’s handwriting.

“May blessing be upon you; may the gods favor you in “The Becoming.” No matter what the results you the star to my eyes will always be, you are a great prince, and the best son for whom I could hope. You will be a great king like your father before you. Also, if this room is not clean then you may not live to see yourself become king, and do not dare ask the servants to clean this mess up. Love, Mom”

Gabriel smiled and exhaled a deep breath. He knew that as much as his mother loved him, she would also punish him for this mess of a room. Gabriel looked at a picture he had hanging in the mirror in his bathroom. He stared at the photo looking intrigued as if it were something inherently wonderful about the photo. As he started his eyes turned bright green and then honey brown and then back to their normal hazel color. When he walked out of his restroom his room was clean.

“The joys of being a gifted mage.” Gabriel exclaimed as he put his outfit on.

Gabriel looked in the mirror near his bedroom door. Brushing the epaulets of his green jacket, Gabriel’s shoulder length locs of hair gradually changed from black to a dark green on the tips. He was always seen wearing white gold studs in his ears with a green gem in the center. This all went together with his white, green, and purple royal uniform. Gabriel’s skin was seen as fair, a lighter shade of brown with red and yellow undertones. His skin reminded others of the caramel candies you would see at the chocolate boutiques that lined the streets. 

He took one last look at his room and realized he had forgotten something. He looked down near his door and picked up his sword. His scabbard was purple, with green gems lining the edges. The edge of the hilt was silver and fit his sword perfectly. His sword had a black blade, edged with silver to accentuate its razor-sharp edge. The hilt of the sword was also silver, with only the hand guard and end of the hilt showing the polished silver finish. The handle of the sword was wrapped in an overly detailed leather, its base was black with green, purple, and white threads sown into the leather to ensure its quality and craftmanship.

“How could I forget you?” He put the blade, named Lunars Folly, onto his shoulder and proceeded to leave the room. His father had gifted him this blade from the family treasury. He said the name matched Gabriel’s mindset at the time. Gabriel was very foolish in the initial stages of his adolescence. He was very brash, spoiled, and privileged.

“As with everything, your destiny is not tied to one decision. If you make changes in your life, then those changes will radiate throughout those around you. When you become less of a fool and more of a Prince then your sword will not be known as a folly but as something far greater.” Gabriel remembered his father saying those words with great confidence. At the time, Gabriel was heartbroken at his father’s choice of weapons to give to him. Now, Gabriel realized it was more of a wake-up call to him, one which he took to heart and has done everything in his power to take advantage of.

While he was given everything, he never had to work for anything. He was never assessed to see what he excelled at, and he never had true competition in anything he was told to do. His parents always paid for his sparring partners, teachers, tutors, and every other person he would meet. Gabriel never knew what it meant to be tried, he never knew how to claw his way from the bottom because he had honestly never been there. Ever since he was given Lunars Folly, Gabriel never showed any sign of arrogance and was known for his indifference to a lot of things. He expressed kindness more than anything else, he always wanted to see the good in everyone.

Gabriel left the room and began his daily routine, even though this day was not going to be routine. He left the room and went to the training grounds. The training grounds were an empty space reserved for training knights of the kingdom, but in the mornings, it was reserved for training those in the royal family who needed it. He marched into the training grounds with his sword in its hilt. He went to the fitting room to change into his training wardrobe because he knew he would not leave it down if he ruined the clothes his family had specially ordered for his ceremony tonight.

“Are you ever on time?” A voice said from the training grounds. As Gabriel looked up to see the voice, even though he knew who it was, he was greeted by his sword art instructor. His instructor’s name was Lucian, he was one of the most veteran knights in the kingdom and served as the head of the royal guard for the king. He was a tall man with gray hairs starting to take over the black of his beard. He was physically imposing, like a bear, but was starting to show his age as his once well-defined muscles looked more like a bulk on his body now. It is fitting that he looks like a bear because they called him “The Grizzly.” He hated the nick name, but he went along with it because it struck fear in people who he meant to scare. His armor had metal bear heads on the shoulders which held up his white and red cape. Gabriel always wondered why people wore capes, and why Lucian chose white as the color of the cape. He thought white was not a smart choice because it would always end up dirty.

“I am on time for certain things, like dinner when the kitchen makes meals I enjoy!” Gabriel said back with a smirk on his face knowing that this was not what Lucian was going for when he asked the initial question.

“You need to focus on your training, you want to make sure you are prepared for anything that comes your way young lord.”

“With you and the other members of the guard here why should I be nervous? I have all the protection I need.”

“What if we are not here? What if we are away and the kingdom is attacked? What if darkness takes over?” Lucian said with a bit of worry in his voice.

“You are speaking in hypotheticals again Sir Lucian.”

“I am speaking about things that may happen at any given time.”

“You know Sir Lucian is correct in his statement” another voice chimed in from the balcony overlooking the training ground, “You can never be too prepared young master, especially as the heir to the kingdom!”

Gabriel looked and saw Javaan standing looking over the training ground. Javan had two titles, he was the head mage of the kingdom, but he also served as the royal spymaster. His titles allowed him free reign in most of the kingdoms, and in return he had an abundance of information about the goings on of what is happening in the kingdom as well as what is happening outside of the kingdom. His information was vital as it allowed my father, the king, to make decisions quickly and keep his people as happy as possible.

Javaan was a tall and slender gentleman, he kept himself very presentable. He wore a dark blue robe, which was normal for mages in the kingdom. His robe was a bit different, it was adorned with a gold belt, and gems surrounded the neckline to make it look like he was wearing a giant necklace. Lastly, he wore blue gauntlets that covered his hands and the lower parts of the arms. When I asked him about the gems earlier in my magic training, he said they allowed for different enhancements when needed, but he never told me what each gem did specifically.

“I’ll be here waiting for your training to finish young master” Javaan stated as he leaned against a post in the balcony, “go ahead and do your sword art training first.”

“Ready position!” Lucian shouted.

Gabriel unsheathed his sword and positioned himself in his sword stance. He made sure his legs were square with his shoulders and held my sword out in front of me. When training, Lucian always told him to try to block the first attack to get a sense for how the battle would play out. So, this is what he always did, he would get in a defensive position and wait for the first blow to cross his sword.

Lucian lunged forward with surprising speed and agility for his age, he swung his sword in a downward motion. It looked like he was swinging a hammer down onto some hot iron to mold it into a sharp blade. In a way it was Gabriel who was being molded into a sharpened blade with Lucian continuing to swing and mold the young prince into a future king. Gabriel did not block the attack, but rather he parried the attack to try to go on the offensive. Gabriel sidestepped and tried to position his sword at Lucian neck area to show that he would be victorious. That is not what happened at all. Instead, Lucian saw the parry coming and used his shoulder to push Gabriel back. The shoulder shove knocked Gabriel off balance and winded him.

“How?” Gabriel muttered.

“Your feet pointed outward, showing your opponent what you intend to do. Do not give tells in a battle, it could cost you more than a momentary loss of breath” Lucian instructed as he stood up straight. “Now I want you to attack me with all you have learned, show me why you are prepared to be king.”

Gabriel got into his offensive sword stance; his sword held backward so he could swing with more velocity. His touched his blade and it started to glow, at this moment Javaan stood up straight to observe what will happen next.

“Well, this should be interesting” Javaan said under his breath.

“Ready when you are” Lucian stated as he stood with his sword out front.

At this moment, Gabriel’s eyes started to glow a bright green. He stepped forward and his appearance seemed distorted to the eyes of Lucian, like he was watching a mirrored reflection of the prince dance about the training ground. Gabriel got in close to Lucian and swung his sword forward, the light that had previously been attached to his blade moving at lighting speed. Gabriel used this light to blind his instructor momentarily. In that moment of blindness Gabriel switched positions and swung his sword down onto his instructor with all his might. He felt the sword connected with metal and felt as though he was victorious in this moment. When he finally looked at what he had connected with, he saw his instructor’s iron glove holding the sword blade while he stood staring intently at the young master.

“What was that” Lucian began scolding Gabriel, “it was nothing I taught you, that’s for sure.”

“Well, you said use everything I have learned” Gabriel responded.

“From me! You did not learn that from me! I have taught you numerous sword arts, stances, techniques and how to use a multitude of different weapons! I feel like you do not want to learn what I must teach young sir.”

“But I do! I just want to learn to use all my abilities together as one. What the point in being gifted with some of these techniques if I do not know how to use them to the best of my ability?” Gabriel cried out.

“The boy has a valid reason Lucian, you should know that he will not be a boy for much longer” said Javaan from the balcony, “you stated the boy should be prepared for impending doom, or something like that, so why not let him use his abilities to counter that doom?”

“This does not concern you Javaan, this is between me and my student” Lucian snarled. Him and Javaan often did not agree completely on many things. Javaan preferred a more nuanced approach to things while Lucian was much more straightforward.

“I see things differently; I see the young master trying to use what I have taught him alongside what you have taught him. He is trying to be the best he can as well as being innovative. The young prince is on the verge of remarkable things. We should discuss combining his sessions so we can better teach him how to use these gifts he was anointed with” Javaan said with a smile on his face.

“You are dismissed,” Lucian said Gabriel with a stern tone in his voice.

“But we just star…” Gabriel said before reading the aura of the training ground and starting towards the changing room.

Javaan leapt down from the balcony using his magic to land softly next to Lucian. He was about to begin a sentence before Lucian started talking.

“You have taught him well Javaan” Lucian said as he fell to a knee and removed the glove from his hand. His hand was covered in blood. Javaan looked at Lucian hand and was shocked.

“You meant to say WE taught him well, look at your hand. He has used my magic teachings combined with your sword arts to do this. He used needle piercing sword art on the light magic he shot at you. This is something I have never seen done before; it also explains why your hand is bleeding even after you caught his blade. This is intriguing; indeed, I feel the gears of the princes’ mind beginning to move in a way that has never been seen” Javaan said as he used his magic to heal Lucian’s hand.

“I know we do not often see eye to eye Javaan, but I agree that we need to work together to hone the princes abilities to be to the benefit of the kingdom, if he can do this without our teachings then he may be able to stop wars before they start. This could turn the tide of this never-ending cycle of hatred amongst the kingdoms. We should go tell the king about this!” Lucian exclaimed as he stood and placed his glove back in his hand.

“Let us wait until the ceremony is complete before we tell the king. This is important but today marks a significant milestone in the young master’s life. One that I believe should be the focus of the day and the victory of our kingdom will be the focus of tomorrow.” Javaan stated with an authoritative tone, “tonight we watch our young master ascend to greatness, and tomorrow we will push our kingdom to ascend to greatness.”

Gabriel changed into his ceremonial wardrobe and was mumbling unpleasantries under his breath after what had happened on the training ground. Gabriel felt the weight of the world on his shoulders with him being next in line to be king. He wanted to lighten the burden by being innovative and pushing himself to transcend those that had come before him.

“What is the point in being the next in line if you are not pushed to be better than the previous generation! This stupid war would be over if people were not so narrow minded in the way they were thinking.”

Gabriel walked out of the changing room and towards the throne room to sit and observe his father going through his daily duties. He walked through the castle and noticed that it was oddly quiet and empty for it to be a ceremony day. He pushed himself through the throne room doors to be greeted by not just those of the royal court, but it seemed as if the entire kingdom crammed into the throne room to congratulate him. The look of shock on his face was apparent and his parents sat on the throne staring at him with joy and admiration. A new chair had been stationed in the throne room to be next to his father. Not as elegant and fancy as his father’s chair, but it did demand a certain amount of respect.

“Come sit next to me my son and learn about how a kingdom is run,” King Frederick said with his deep voice carrying throughout the throne room.

Without a second thought, Gabriel ascended to the chair in the throne room and sat next to his father to learn how to run his future kingdom.