"Dear, Lucid, have you done packing yet?" A middle-age woman with maid clothes waited patiently in front of an oak door. She held a cape she made with a smile on her face, waiting for the person to come out of the room.

In this castle, which stood on top of a small land, people lived peacefully under the King's protection. The maids could chat with each other freely, and there's no bad rumours about the King or the Queen, or anyone here. They lived here with no urge to go out anywhere else, as the world outside seemed dangerous and brutal.

Murders. Robbery. Rape.

No one needs to experience that in this small land. But, of course. A young man is always curious about the world he'd never saw before. He would took any risk to get at least half of the way before. But right now, he's dead set on his destination. Lucid Naite, a mage who lived in the castle for twenty-six years now, read about the Pixie's temple who have a very, mysterious treasure. No one could set a foot there, and thus, no one could describe what kind of treasure that is. Well, valuable or not, if Lucid could see it with his own eyes, that would be enough.

With his fingers, he easily tied up his hair into a loose ponytail, letting the fiery red strands fell onto his clothed back as he let go of his grasp. His deep green colored eyes stared at his reflection at the mirror, and he sighed. This bright hair color always gave him a difficulty to blend in with the crowds. His red hair, came from the herbs he regularly consumed since he was a child. The herbs helped him to be immune to any mind-breaking spell or any poison that could led him to an instant death. He couldn't say that he's completely immune to some poison, since he never know what's out there. Oh, well, he could always learn while he's on his way.

Fixing his clothes for a bit, he finally prepared to go out. He took his spell book and placed it inside the leather bag, and then he went out. "Yes, I'm done. Thank you for waiting, Lucy." He smiled at the woman who waited for him outside. Lucy gestured to the cape, and he bend his body down for a bit so the elder woman could reach his height, to wrap the cape around his body. She doesn't really need to do that but, she saw Lucid as her son, and she really wants to spoil him before he go for God knows how long.

"Be safe on your journey, son." She ruffled Lucid's bangs gently, and the mage replied with a smile. He, then, stood straight and walked to the gate by the fountain. This gate was a one way teleportation device. From a castle, to a city at the next land. It would take few days to reach it by foot, so Lucid doesn't really want to take that much time to start with.

Then, he took out a transparent gem from his pocket. It shone for a few seconds, and then vaporized along with his body.

This marked the very beginning of his journey, to an unknown world.

High above the buildings of the wicked slums, in a tower that was originally constructed as a watchtower for the King's gaurds, but had since been abandoned, a young criminal examined a small bottle. There was no door to the tower, windows too far up to be seen through. In the criminal's hands rested a long, thin vile with a tiny jewel on top. He screwed open the small lid, but instead of doing anything with it, the masked young man set it on a creaking wooden table, earning a delicate clinking sound. His tall grey boots made soft, unnoticeable noises as he walked across the uneven stone flooring casually.

William lifted a shimmering silver knife from the sill of a tall window and cautiously ran his finger around the inside of the handle, where there was a hole that led to the base of the blade.

Taking a few steps towards the table, still examining the light blade and balancing it on his slender fingertips. William lifted the vile off the table and slid it into the small hole in the hilt of the dagger, nodding his head and tossing the knife back and forth between his hands. If he wasn't wearing a mask, his wicked smile would be obvious.

The night fell over the slums, which in any other place would mean the falling of the daytime activity. Of course, if the slums were any other place, that would be true. But it wasn't. It was the hub of criminal activity in the kingdom, where everyone was always looking over their shoulder. The people there ranged from petty crooks to well known killers like the masked man, who was now loading up his figure with weapons of every kind.

Small pellets, that would explode into dark colored smoke and little, flickering flames wherever they landed on the ground.

A light, wood-and-steel revolver that the young, masked man had stolen from a member of the king's navy without his notice. The finest that was available at the time, quick and functional.

And of course, several poison-tipped needles, a small file of refill poison, and the beautiful knife that he had just come into possession of, that silver beauty, with the vile of poison inside. William knew it was bound to become one of his favorites.

He threw himself out the largest window, metal blades sliding out of his boots and out of the wraps around his wrists that he promptly jabbed into the wall and climbed down silently into the hustle of the town. People silenced as he walked by, sacred of what he could do to them. No one that had seen his face had ever lived.

William had caught wind that one of the King's mages would be coming through the slums on his way to chase after some fairytale, so he figured that they would have some valuables on them. He slid down an alley that looked out on the main road through the slums, the obvious path to chooses for a Mage, the safest and the least likely place to get mugged. His dark eyes peered out the alley, nearly all the was visible of his frame.

Lucid appeared in a very, quiet areas of the town. The slums. That was people back in the castle would call it, and he really needs to be on his guard in this place. He hid a dagger in his waist belt, and he got some explosive that could only be triggered by a spell, under his gloves. He noticed that a red hair would gave off his presence, so he immediately covered it with his cape hood. That's a good thing that his clothes all in a dark color.

He walked in a slow pace, examining this dark side of the town carefully and taking notes on every corner of the area. Well, it's his first time, so he don't want to miss everything. He could come here over and over again when he finished his journey, but, would he be alive by then? Who knows.

He have this, fellow mage that came back home, losing some parts of his body, and that's a result from his journey. He learned that a journey alone for a mage is very difficult. They didn't master an advanced combat with weapons, and casting spells took some quite of time. He would get wounded before they got time to protect themselves. Well, that can't be helped.

His age is not that old for mages, more like, 26 years old is a teen age for mages. They could live for hundred years because of the herbs their consumed, and if the don't get killed. Lucid sighed as he walked through the alley, and held his spell book tight in his hand under the cape. He hasn't memorized any healing spells just yet, because he was too focused to learn about destructive spells. But he suddenly felt a presence behind him, and he opened his palm to carefuly cast a spell. Please don't be a mere passerby.