My name's Daniel. Just Daniel. The likes of us are not given surnames, as we are not royalty nor are we nobles. I am twelve years old and I cannot say I have anything that makes me unique. I have black hair, olive black eyes and a slender build, just like my father. I live in a remote town just outside the city of Saara. I often spend my days reading my books, playing with myself and training with the sword. I do not often leave my house, in fact, I have never left the town I lived in. That is.. Until today.

For the first time in two years, I am being forced to go outside. My mother, Marie, gave me two ducats and sent me to the city to shop at the market. This market is held annually, farmers, merchants and the like come from all over the country to try to sell their products. And since the city of Saara was so large, they often had a lot of success. Over time, this became a tradition for the city. At least, that is what I have heard. Personally, it is my first time going to the city of Saara.

Like I said, my mother gave me two ducats worth of money, told me to buy our needs from the market and placed me in front of the door. How unfortunate of me..

Of course, I am exaggerating. Two ducats is a lot of money - it is considered the most valuable currency in the Empire. I have no idea how my mother got her hands on two of them. With a single Empire Ducat, you can spend an entire month in an expensive hotel without trouble. Of course, I was not thinking of giving both of my ducats to the same merchant. When I arrived at the city, I was going to convert both my ducats into Empire Shills. One ducat is equal to fifty shills, as such I was likely going to end up with a hundred shills. If I spent twenty of those on shopping, I could spend one of them for a night at a decent inn.

Of course, I did not leave home with only money. I had a small dagger to protect myself, a notebook and pencil to calculate prices plus some food and additional clothing for the journey. I had heard bandits weren't uncommon either, so you can never be too safe.

As I passed through green fields, under the shining sun and blooming flowers, I began to realise how much I had been missing while I was cooped up in my home. Although I had been walking for roughly only an hour I felt I had more than enough energy to keep walking the entire day. I did not have an issue with stamina, as I had been training my sword skills daily with my father, Zach. I had heard my father was a brilliant swordsman in his youth - however I have no clue how far that extends.

I did not have any magical abilities. In this world, magical ability defined if you were going to be successful or not. My father could use magic, just like my mother, however such genes were not passed onto me. Magical ability was genetic - if your parents had them, it was likely you would too. However, fate had abandoned me and I had not developed the organ that was necessary to use magic. It was the entire reason I spent so much time training with the sword in the first place.

After roughly four hours of traveling, the city of Saara finally appeared on the horizon. Tall brick buildings and paved stone roads were a beautiful sight to a country boy like myself. Smoke coming out of factories polluted the air slightly, however it was nothing I could not manage. As I was entering the city, the soldiers stationed at the gate questioned me on my identity and the reason I was entering. Of course, I had nothing to hide. I told them everything about why I was here and where I came from, excluding the two ducats just to be safe. They let me through without searching my bag, which was a relief.

As I entered the city, I found it much more surprising than I had initially though. I had read how a city would normally be in books, and I had seen paintings and even a few photographs, but seeing it was a completely different experience. The tall buildings, the men with tophats in fashionable clothing, women in long dresses really gave this place a very rich appearance.

After traveling around the city for a bit, I finally made it to the market at around the time I assumed was around five o'clock. The market was very large, I could walk for hours without ever reaching the end of it. I took out my shopping list that I had prepared beforehand. I had written it on my notebook, so I started turning the pages of my makeshift notebook. My notebook was made from two pieces of leather with a few stacks of paper between them, with only a string keeping the entire thing together. It was shabby, but it worked.

I converted my ducats to shills in around half an hour, just as I had planned beforehand. Not every merchant was inclined to easily give me one hundred shills for both my ducats, as such I had to go around converting both my ducats in fifties. After I had my hundred shills, I began shopping.

After roughly four hours of shopping, I had everything I needed in my bag. I felt pleased with myself, although I was pretty annoyed it had taken so long. It was now around 9 o'clock, as such, I decided to find myself an inn for the night. I found one in around fifteen minutes.

I opened the doors of the inn and passed through an area which looked like a restaurant and finally reached the reception area. There was a man standing at the counter. He looked tough, with a large scar on his face, bulging muscles and a bald head. I approached the man, albeit reluctantly.

"Good evening, sir. Can I rent a room for a single night?"

The man raised his eyebrow and looked at me, as if he was examining if I was able to even pay. The man gave his answer.

"One shill. No discounts."

I took a shill out of my bag and tossed it to him. The man mumbled something and took a key from a drawer, which he proceeded to fling towards me. I was barely able to grab it mid-air. The man spoke again.

"Room 48. You're way too late for dinner but breakfast is at 8."

I bowed my head respectfully and went upstairs.