The Deadmages by J.C.G. & C.E.M.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

 Hello. This book was written by two people. It is also on Tapas by the same name. The writer is PheonixDragon... something something something. My friend (Other Writer) claims that this book will get more reads on Tapas. Heh. Anyway, here you go. Also, this story will constantly be updated, as we edit these chapters on a different page almost daily.

"Garret, time to wake up. It's your big day!"

I yawned as my mother came into my room, sliding open the curtains to let the sun shine through the large window. She carried a basket of wet clothes on her hip. She must have realized that I wasn't awake yet on her way to hang the laundry out to dry. I slowly eased out of bed, not wanting to wake up yet, but knowing I must. I smelled the delicious scent of genoise. I pulled on my shirt, ran down the stairs, past my little sisters, and into the kitchen. My nose had not deceived me. I had arrived just in time for our cook, Maddie, to pull the pan out of the oven. She greeted me quickly, then began setting the table for breakfast. I helped her along, eager to devour the moist cake. This one was flavored with freshly picked apples and cinnamon from our family's garden. It was the perfect season for them, in the days before autumn, but after summer. I tried to sneak a small piece from the edge of the pan, but Maddie slapped my hand with a dishrag.

"No eating until the whole family is at the table, Garrett," She smiled and shook her finger at me. I went back into the living room, grabbing Lucy and Lacy by the shoulders, pulling them into the kitchen, and seating them forcefully. I wasn't trying to hurt them, only get them there faster.

"Hungry this morning, young master, are we?" Maddie chuckled a bit. I grinned sheepishly. I was nervous, but I managed to have an appetite the size of an elephant. When the meal was finally cool, Maddie served it to my sisters and I. We were lucky to have such a rich breakfast. Many others were far less fortunate than us, barely getting enough food to survive. I snuck an extra piece of cake into my pocket to give to someone later, then turned back to my own meal. I felt sad that this would be the last time that I ate with my sisters for a while. Guild apprentices lived in the dormitories at the hall. I glanced at my sisters for a second longer before beginning to eat. Just as I had finished scarfing down my delicious food, my father walked into the room.

"Da!" my sisters squealed. They leapt out of their chairs and tackled him, clambering onto his legs. His booming laughter filled the room.

"Can I please eat now girls? I've got important business to attend to today. It's Awakening Day, you know!" Father was an important leader of the Fire Fox guild. He taught the new trainees fresh from Awakening Day each month.

They slid off of him and he sat on his chair at the head of the table. He turned to me with a twinkle in his eyes.

"It's an important day for you, too, isn't it son?" I nodded. Today was the day that I would discover which guild I belonged to, where I would spend the rest of my life training and eventually working when I became of age. From behind his back, my father revealed a small object wrapped in butcher paper. He handed it to me and I ripped quickly through the wrappings, revealing a pin in the shape of a fox. He leaned over, taking the pin from my grasp and attaching it to the lapel of my jacket for me.

"There. Now you can remember where you came from, even if you don't follow the family legacy." He looked at me proudly. I knew that he still hoped for me to be like him, a strong Fox.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was Karina, my best friend since the age of six.

"Come on, we need to go now! The ceremony starts in half an hour. If we hurry, we won't be late!" We started off down the street. Karina's house was right next to mine. We lived on the nicest street in the city. My house was a beautiful two story villa. Her's was a similar design, but with light blue terracotta walls instead of red brick. She chattered on about random people from our old class and how much she would miss them as we traveled down the street to the Guild Hall. She had always been a socialite. I didn't mind. Karina was the only person in the school that didn't care about my family. She liked me for me. If this meant that I had to listen to things I didn't care about, then that was fine by me. Our high class standing allowed us to attend school. We were lucky in that way. The street we turned a corner onto was covered in children and adults less fortunate than us. Their faces dirty and clothes tattered, they reached out to passerby in hopes of a tossed scrap of food or coin. I saw a particularly pitiful child, only about five years of age, with clothes so ripped you could see his nearly translucent skin underneath. My heart ached at the sight, and I pulled out my pocketbook. Karina saw my movements and tried to hold me back, saying that once I reached out to him, The rest would follow me home like nasty dogs. I didn't care. At least this way, the poor would be better off, even if I would be worse. I shoved a coin at the child, and a few more towards the people around him. They gazed at me in shock, amazed that one of 'my kind' would stop to help them. The amount of emotion on their faces flipped a switch. I took my wallet and flipped it upside down, letting all of my savings fall onto the cobbled ground. Karina yelled at me for being so kind to them. I looked at her in disbelief, and took the piece of genoise out of my jacket. It was handed gently to a sickly elderly woman on a bench nearby.I left Karina behind, ignoring her shouts at my back. After this, if we made it into the same guild, she would come to me to apologize for her selfishness. She always did. Karina didn't see the point of helping them, believing the lie we were taught in school. The teachers told us to not help the less fortunate because they had to learn to get jobs and fend for themselves. They claimed our money made them even worse off than before. I was one of the few people that went against this. My goal was to create a hospitality center for the needy. After a few more minutes of walking past carts filled with goods and shops, I caught sight of the Guild Hall. It was in the center of the city, surrounded by some of the best houses and most wealthy merchant shops. The poor lived on the outskirts of Litalia. The founders of the city carefully planned out the straight streets stretching out like wagon wheel spokes from the heart of the capital of the city-state, Tesa. Tesa was a small country, but far wealthier than its neighbors. The mild climate here was perfect for farming all sorts of exotic plants and spices for trade. Our buildings were far more artistic than others, but the best-looking by far was the Guild Hall. It was a large, tan brick building seven stories high. The building was separated into five areas, each capped with a large copper dome. The domes had small spaces for skylights to shine through. In front of the hall were decorative statues and fountains.