The day arrived like any other — gray morning, cold air, the familiar sounds of the town waking up. But for Wei Chen, it was the last morning.
He'd packed the night before. One travel bag containing everything he owned that mattered. Clothes. The knife from Lian Xiu. The water flask from his father. The shadow quartz from Merchant Liu. Elder Shen's sealed recommendation letter. Seventeen gold and three hundred fifty silver in a money pouch secured inside his shirt — tuition money from Liu's loan plus personal funds for living expenses.
Wei Chen stood in his small room, looking at the space that had been his entire world for eight years. The bed where he'd slept. The window where he'd watched shadows move. The floor where he'd practiced magic until exhaustion forced him to stop.
All of it felt smaller now. Like a shell he'd outgrown.
His mother called from the main room. "Wei Chen. Breakfast."
The last family meal was quiet. Rice porridge. Pickled vegetables. Salted fish — a luxury his parents had saved for. No one spoke much. The weight of departure filled the spaces between bites.
His father ate methodically, gaze distant. His mother picked at her food, barely eating. Wei Chen forced himself to finish everything — he'd need the energy for the three-day journey to the capital.
When the bowls were empty, his father finally spoke.
"The caravan leaves at dawn. Merchant Liu arranged your passage with a trusted trader. Three gold for safe transport to the capital." Chen Bo pulled out a small pouch — three gold coins, saved carefully. "Payment."
"I have money—"
"This is from us. Our final contribution." His father's voice was firm. "You've worked hard, saved well. But this journey is on us. Accept it."
Wei Chen took the pouch, throat tight. Three gold was a significant sum for his family. More than they could comfortably afford. But arguing would dishonor the gift.
"Thank you."
His mother stood abruptly, disappearing into her room. She returned with a cloak — dark gray, well-made, with subtle stitching along the edges.
"I finished it last night," she said, voice carefully controlled. "It's water-resistant. The hood has extra fabric for cold weather. The pockets are reinforced for carrying supplies."
It wasn't enchanted like the recovery cloak — his parents couldn't afford that — but it was beautifully crafted. Practical. Made with love that showed in every stitch.
Wei Chen put it on. It fit perfectly, tailored to his frame with room to grow.
"It's perfect," he said. "Thank you."
His mother pulled him into a hug, holding tight. "Be safe. Be smart. Come home."
"I will."
His father joined the embrace, rare display of emotion. They stood like that for a long moment — family, together, before everything changed.
The caravan gathered at the town's north gate. Six wagons loaded with trade goods, a dozen merchants and travelers, four hired guards. Wei Chen recognized the lead merchant — an associate of Liu's, middle-aged and competent-looking.
Merchant Liu stood near the front wagon, talking with the caravan leader. He spotted Wei Chen approaching and waved him over.
"Wei Chen. Right on time." Liu gestured to the lead merchant. "This is Zhang Wei, caravan master. He'll ensure you reach the capital safely."
Zhang nodded to Wei Chen. "Merchant Liu speaks highly of you. You'll ride in the supply wagon — third from the front. Stay quiet, don't cause trouble, and we'll get along fine."
"Understood."
Liu pulled Wei Chen aside, away from the bustle. "The contract for the loan is in your bag — I placed it there yesterday while you were training. Read it carefully when you have time. Terms are exactly as we discussed."
"Twenty-two gold repayment plus three jobs."
"Correct. I'll contact you through the Sanctuary when I need those favors. Nothing that violates sect rules, nothing unnecessarily dangerous. But useful work that requires a skilled Darkness mage." Liu's expression softened slightly. "Also, I've arranged monthly supply deliveries to the Sanctuary. Small luxuries, personal items, letters from home. Consider it a business expense — keeping my investment healthy."
Wei Chen felt unexpected warmth. Liu was a merchant, calculating and self-interested. But he also cared in his own way.
"Thank you. For everything. The work, the teaching, the loan."
"Don't thank me. Prove I made a good investment by surviving and succeeding." Liu extended his hand. "Three years, Wei Chen. Survive the Sanctuary, graduate with skills, and we'll build something profitable together."
They shook firmly.
"I'll survive."
"I know you will. You're too stubborn to do otherwise." Liu smiled. "Now go. The caravan leaves shortly."
Wei Chen found his assigned wagon — third from front, loaded with fabric and ceramic goods. A space had been cleared among the cargo where he could sit comfortably.
Two other passengers shared the wagon. An elderly woman traveling to visit her daughter. A young merchant apprentice heading to the capital for training. Both nodded politely but didn't engage in conversation.
Wei Chen settled into his space, bag on his lap. The fabric and ceramics provided cushioning. Not comfortable, but functional.
Lian Xiu appeared at the wagon's side, slightly out of breath. "You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye, were you?"
"I said goodbye yesterday."
"That was goodbye in general. This is goodbye for real." She climbed up, sitting beside him despite the caravan master's annoyed look. "So. This is it."
"This is it."
"Three years minimum before you're back. Assuming you survive, pass, graduate, and don't get assassinated doing Merchant Liu's shady jobs."
"That's the plan."
Lian Xiu was quiet for a moment. Then she punched his shoulder — not hard, but firmly. "That's for leaving. And this—" She pulled out a small wrapped package. "—is for coming back eventually."
Wei Chen unwrapped it. Inside was a simple leather cord with a small carved wooden charm — a bird in flight.
"My mother carved it," Lian Xiu said. "From wood from our old house. She said travelers need reminders of home. Something to keep you grounded when everything else is foreign and scary."
Wei Chen tied the cord around his wrist. The charm was lightweight, barely noticeable. But meaningful.
"Thank you."
"Don't lose it. Or the knife. Or yourself." Lian Xiu's sharp eyes studied him. "You're going to change at that place. Everyone who goes to the Sanctuary changes — they have to, or they don't survive. Just don't change so much that you forget who you were."
"I won't."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
The caravan master shouted orders. Drivers climbed onto wagons. Guards mounted horses. The departure was imminent.
Lian Xiu hugged Wei Chen quickly, fiercely. "Come back, idiot. I'm not done collecting favors from you."
She jumped down from the wagon and disappeared into the small crowd of well-wishers. Wei Chen watched her go, feeling the weight of another goodbye settle onto the pile.
Elder Shen appeared at the wagon's side, staff in hand. "Wei Chen."
"Elder."
"I will not give you a speech about responsibility or duty. You understand those concepts well enough." Elder Shen's gaze was steady. "Instead, I will give you one piece of advice: at Shadow Sanctuary, you will meet mages more talented than you. Richer than you. Better connected. Do not let this discourage you."
"Why would it discourage me?"
"Because talent, wealth, and connections are advantages you cannot easily match. But they are not the only advantages that matter." Elder Shen tapped his staff once. "You have something they often lack — hunger. The drive to succeed not because success is expected, but because failure is unthinkable. That hunger is more valuable than talent when circumstances become difficult."
"Thank you, Elder. For everything. The training. The recommendation. The belief that I could do this."
"Do not thank me yet. Thank me when you graduate." Elder Shen's expression softened almost imperceptibly. "Survive, Wei Chen. Master Zhao is harsh but fair. If you prove your worth, he will invest in your development. If you disappoint him, he will expel you without hesitation. Show him the dedication you've shown me."
"I will."
The caravan master shouted final orders. The wagons lurched into motion.
Elder Shen stepped back, watching as the caravan began its slow roll toward the north road.
Wei Chen's parents stood at the edge of the crowd. His mother waved, tears streaming openly now. His father stood solid beside her, one hand on her shoulder, the other raised in farewell.
Wei Chen waved back, watching them shrink as the wagon rolled away. Watching the town shrink. Everything familiar becoming smaller, more distant.
The town where he'd been born. Where he'd discovered magic. Where he'd been feared and isolated and driven to become more than anyone expected.
All of it disappearing behind him as the caravan moved north.
Instructor Feng stood apart from the crowd, at the very edge of town. He didn't wave. Didn't call out. Just gave Wei Chen a single sharp nod.
Acknowledgment. Respect. The sendoff of one fighter to another.
Wei Chen nodded back.
Then the town was gone, hidden by the curve of the road and the density of trees. Just the road ahead, stretching north toward the capital and everything that waited there.
The first day of travel was uneventful.
The caravan moved at a steady pace — not fast, but consistent. The road was well-maintained this close to populated areas. Guards rotated positions, watching for bandits that rarely appeared on this route.
Wei Chen sat in his wagon space, watching the landscape pass. Farmland. Small villages. Forests that grew denser as they moved away from town.
The elderly woman in the wagon struck up conversation during the midday rest stop.
"First time traveling to the capital?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Exciting and terrifying, I imagine. The capital is overwhelming at first. So many people. So much noise. So much happening all at once." She smiled kindly. "Are you going for education?"
"Yes. I'm joining a sect."
"Which one, if you don't mind my asking?"
Wei Chen hesitated. Shadow Sanctuary's reputation was complicated. But lying felt wrong.
"Shadow Sanctuary. I'm a Darkness mage."
The woman's expression shifted slightly — not fear exactly, but wariness. The young merchant apprentice edged away subtly.
"I see. Well. That's... specialized." The woman's tone became careful, polite but distant. "I'm sure you'll do well."
The conversation died. For the rest of the journey, both passengers avoided Wei Chen, staying on the opposite side of the wagon.
Wei Chen was used to this. Had been used to it for three years. But it still stung slightly. The automatic assumption that Darkness magic meant danger. That different meant threatening.
Good, Wei Chen thought. Better they fear me than dismiss me.
That evening, the caravan stopped at a waystation — a fortified inn that served travelers on this route. The guards set watch. The merchants and passengers filed into the common room for food and rest.
Wei Chen ate alone at a corner table. The other travelers gave him space. Even the innkeeper looked nervous serving him.
After dinner, Wei Chen went to his assigned room — small, sparse, shared with three other travelers who'd arranged to sleep elsewhere once they realized who their roommate was.
Fine. Wei Chen preferred solitude anyway.
He practiced shadow manipulation until exhaustion forced him to stop. Ate bread and dried meat from his supplies. Fell asleep with the knife from Lian Xiu under his pillow and the wooden charm on his wrist.
The second day brought rain.
Heavy, persistent rain that turned the road to mud and slowed the caravan significantly. The wagons struggled through deepening muck. Guards looked miserable, clothes soaked despite oiled cloaks.
Wei Chen sat in his wagon, protected by the canvas covering. The new cloak from his mother proved its worth — water-resistant fabric keeping him dry while others suffered.
The young merchant apprentice who'd been avoiding Wei Chen finally spoke, voice reluctant.
"You're dry."
"My mother made the cloak. Good craftsmanship."
"Could you... share space? Just a bit? The rain is getting through the canvas on my side."
Wei Chen shifted, making room. The apprentice moved closer — still wary, but desperation overcoming fear.
"Thank you."
They didn't speak further, but the small gesture felt significant. Fear balanced against need. Wariness overcome by practical consideration.
Maybe that's what being a Darkness mage meant. Not being loved or celebrated. But being useful enough that people worked with you despite their fear.
The rain continued through the night. The caravan stopped early, camping under canvas shelters rather than pushing through dangerous conditions.
Wei Chen helped the guards set up shelters, using shadow manipulation to secure tent lines in the dark. The guards nodded thanks, still nervous around him but appreciating the practical help.
Small steps. Small acceptances. Not friendship. But functional cooperation.
Better than nothing.
The third day, the capital appeared on the horizon.
Wei Chen saw it from the wagon as they crested a hill — a massive sprawl of buildings stretching farther than his hometown ten times over. Walls surrounded the inner city, tall and imposing. Towers rose above the walls. Smoke from thousands of cooking fires hazed the air.
Eighty thousand people lived there. More people than Wei Chen had seen in his entire life combined.
The scale was overwhelming. Intimidating. Exciting.
The caravan moved through the outer districts first. Crowded streets. Markets that made his hometown's look tiny. Guilds. Workshops. Inns. Warehouses. People everywhere — merchants, guards, mages, craftsmen, beggars, nobles.
The diversity was shocking. Wei Chen saw his first elf — tall, elegant, moving with inhuman grace. His first dwarf — short, broad, working metal at a street forge. His first dragonborn — scaled skin, slitted eyes, fire magic crackling casually around their hands.
Everything was bigger. Louder. More intense.
The caravan reached the merchants' district and began unloading. Zhang Wei approached Wei Chen's wagon.
"This is your stop. Shadow Sanctuary is in the outer district, eastern edge. Anyone can direct you — though most won't want to." He handed Wei Chen a small map. "Good luck, kid. You'll need it."
Wei Chen climbed down from the wagon, bag over his shoulder. The capital's noise crashed over him — a wall of sound that never stopped.
He stood there for a moment, letting it sink in.
This was the capital. This was where everything began.
Shadow Sanctuary waited. The entrance exam waited. The future waited.
Wei Chen adjusted his bag, checked that the knife was secure at his belt, and started walking east.
Toward his future. Toward power. Toward everything he'd worked three years to achieve.
The town was behind him. Childhood was behind him. Safety was behind him.
Only the path forward remained.
And Wei Chen intended to walk it without looking back.