"Wake up, William! You're going to be late." a masculine voice shouted from the staircase. William dressed in his tunic. A hand me down from the older children of the past that once stayed in the orphanage. He grabbed his pants and belt and put them on as he walked downstairs, where he could see many of the younger children running around already in the morning as the older man in the kitchen did best not to bump into any of them while he prepared breakfast.

"Nice to finally see you among the living again. You also got up before noon. I'm proud." The man chuckled. That joke hit a little too close to home for William after his dream the night before.

"Real funny Charlie, Your vocation should have been a comedian or clown. I'm sure the angels in Castle Pinnacle would love to have you there for your skills in comedy." William retorted.

Charlie brought over the food he was making towards the table. Charlie's face was as rugged as they come. His eyes shown the signs of someone who had lived a hard life, while the grey scattered in his hair betrayed his age.

"Real funny William, If my vocation had been that, there would be no one to take care of all you kids." Charlie smiled as he spoke. "Speaking of Vocations, William. You should probably go see the Omnituens sooner rather than later. I didn't give you a hard time before cause I know how you feel about it, but if you don't go before you turn seventeen, there's going to problems."

William frowned. He knew this would come up because Charlie brings it up every day and the same argument always plays out.

"I just don't see why I have to dedicate my life to something that I can't even choose. If you ask me, it's complete bullshit." William replied.

"Listen, Will, It's the law. There's nothing we can do about it." Charlie said softly.

Suddenly a small voice came from across the room.

"Don't get your vocation, big brother! I want you to stay with us forever!" The small voice came from a young girl hiding behind a doorway.

Hannah. The youngest of the children in the orphanage, as her parents had died in a fire when she was a baby.

"Hannah, just because he has to get his Vocation doesn't necessarily mean he will be leaving us." Said Charlie.

"Okay, papa!" She gleamed as she walked over and tugged on William's tunic before giving him puppy dog eyes. "Big brother, you are going to take me to pick flowers tomorrow, right? For Mommy and Daddy." She looked up hopefully at him, waiting for an answer.

That's right, this weekend is the anniversary of her parent's death.

"Yeah, I guess I could you fit you into my schedule, little princess" William patted her head.

Satisfied with his answer, Hannah left to go back into the other room to play with the other children but not before grabbing a sizable portion of bacon off the table.

"That little rascal! I never taught her to be such a glutton. That's on you!" Charlie laughed.

"Whattya mean that's on me" William garbled his words as he tried to swallow down his own mouthful of bacon.

They both shared a laugh as Charlie went back to sipping on his coffee, and then he spoke up again.

"Oh, by the way, Sam came by looking for you this morning. Said he had something to show you" He continued drinking his coffee.

William felt a chill go down his spine at the mention of Sam as he remembered the events in his dream. He instinctively felt his midriff again to double-check he was still in one piece.

"Thank's for letting me know, old man! I'm gonna get going and see if I can find him" William grabbed his satchel off one of the hangers and made his way out the door.

Lilac Village was lively even for the morning hours. People were milling about as they went from stall to stall, trading their goods and haggling with one another. Children played in the streets, much to the cart drivers' frustration, who attempted to not run them over. Like many other villages in the Omnas Kingdom, all except for one, the buildings within it looked quite plain. A mighty cathedral that belonged to the Omnituens overlooked the village from the highest part of the land as decreed by their scripture.

"She who lives high above all else in creation guides our very lives from the moment we are born until we enter her holy city. She brought her heavenly army to us and drove out monsters and demons that tormented us for years. Let us give her our praise!"

People clapped as the sermon was being delivered in the town square. The man standing on a box in front of them wore the robes of the Omnituens and was holding one of their holy law books, which was given to every family in the Omnas empire. William recalled the key commandments out loud as he walked.

"Thou shall revere no other gods or goddesses beside Omnia." He smiled towards the priest as he continued, who returned one back. "Thou shall practice no other magic than the holy arts bestowed upon humans by Omnia" He picked up his pace. "No human shall ever consort with monster or demon."

As long as I remember the key ones, none of the Omnituens will bother me.

William shuddered at the thought of getting on their bad side. Despite saying that their god was loving and merciful, the Omnituens themselves were ruthless in keeping order. William recalled the stories of when people had disobeyed their law. Families being torn apart, and children being brought into their strongholds for special rehabilitation. He had even heard a rumor that one of the other towns had recently burned on a stake someone they suspected of practicing druidism.

Come on, Sam. Where did you go?