Two months earlier in the kingdom of Alsenia, I was one of the few peasant students of the Grand Magic Academy. I wasn’t the smartest or the most talented but I had more than enough latent skill and power that it attracted the attention of some of the nobles near my village. One of them decided that they would fund my education on the condition that once I graduated I would use my talents to help make their territory prosper. I agreed and thus, I was sent to the academy.

For three years I was a perfect student that did the best I could in class. Though I wasn’t the best, I still received a lot of negative attention from the noble children who were ranked lower than me in terms of grades. Even those with higher grades saw me as a threat due to my station of birth. Still, I ignored them and strived to fulfill my end of the agreement with the noble in my territory.

One of the noble children was fascinated with me. Not because of my station but because of my skill and ability to learn. Eventually, they asked me to have me tutor them but I later learned it was a facade. Just an act to use me as a scapegoat if they ever got into trouble and I fell right into it.

“Nero of the Seren territory, you have been charged with the crime of attempting necromancy as well as breaking the taboo of using a human sacrifice for magic studies under the law of human magic ethics. How do you plead?” a court official asked as I stood chained to a post and surrounded by anti-magic runes.

Surrounding me were those from my class as well as their parents. Some of which had seats in the court. The one who set me up whose name I don’t even want to remember was sitting next to his father who sat in the fourth highest seat in the court. Others among them were the nobles from around my village as well as my family. Guards stood around the pedestal I was on both to protect me and to impale me if I attempted anything.

“Not guilty.” I stated.

“Do you have anyone to represent you?” the court official asked.

“... No.” I answered as I lowered my head.

“Then you shall represent yourself. Are there any problems with this?” the court official asked.

“No...” I answered sheepishly.

“Then we shall begin. You were found within the basement of the Grand Magic Academy near a ritual spot where a servant of a noble house was found stabbed in the chest ritualistically. Within the ritual spot was also a living corpse of another servant who was breathing and begging to be killed. Is any of this information incorrect?” the court official asked.

“No.” I answered knowing that that was the truth.

“Then why do you plead not guilty?” the court official asked.

“I was framed. I had gone down there because I was asked to by another classmate in order to help them practice for their familiar summoning exam. I arrived down there only a few moments before the teacher who saw me and placed me in a binding spell after seeing the scene.” I stated.

“Which of your classmates was it?” the official asked.

“Him.” I said as I pointed up at the noble's son. The son’s father stood up enraged.

“How dare you accuse my son of such heresy! He was with me and my wife during the time in which the ritual was said to have taken place. Not only that but it was my servant that was found stabbed in the chest. She was sent to the school to retrieve a set of books my son had forgotten. Just ask any of my staff and they’ll tell you the same thing.” the nobleman yelled.

“Do you have any evidence of this?” the official asked me as he shook his head.

“Some of my other classmates heard him ask me. One of them could back up my claim.” I said desperately.

“If any of his classmates heard what he said was asked of him please speak now?” the official said as he gazed out at the group of children. Some of them looked at each other but none of them said anything. They were afraid of what might happen if they said something or perhaps they just wanted to see me suffer. Either way, I was doomed and I was starting to realize it.

“You have to believe me! I didn’t do it!” I yelled.

“Silence!” the head official stated loudly. “I have heard enough. Since Nero is still a minor he is not bound to the full extent of the law so the death penalty is null. Though he shall be branded a traitor of the state and be banished from Alsenia as well as any country that we have an alliance with.”

I stood in shock at what I heard. Without any form of true justice, I was being banished. This couldn’t be right, not one bit. How can they do this when I haven’t done anything wrong. I was just minding my own business and trying to do my best so why am I the one who is being punished? It’s because of politics. No one wants to blame the people in charge out of fear so they put it on the little guy.

“Hold him and bring the branding iron.” the court official said.

“No, please. I beg of you. I’m telling the truth!” I yelled as tears streamed from my eyes and the guards around me grabbed my left arm. Holding me to the post with all of their strength the guards didn’t even seem phased as a man holding a bucket filled with hot coals and a long iron rod walked towards me. I screamed for them to let me go but to no avail.

The man pulled the iron rod from the bucket revealing that the end of it was bright orange. As the guards held my arm out and kept me still, the man grabbed my hand with his free hand and placed the glowing end of the iron on the back of my hand. I screamed in pain as he did and many of those who were watching turned away either from disgust or because they were ashamed that they didn’t stop it.

After a few moments, he removed the hot iron and stuck it back in the bucket. Tears were streaming down my face from the pain and all I felt was rage. Towards the nobles, towards my classmates, and towards the system. Though it didn’t matter. Nothing I could do would help me nor was I strong enough to fight them. The guards that held me unlatched my bindings from the post and attached it to a weighted cart that they rolled out of the courtroom with me hobbling behind it.

“I expected great things from you, Nero. I never expected you to try something like this. It’s a real shame that you went so far as to kill someone. Such a betrayal is most unfortunate. If I ever see your face again then I shall have you hanged in front of your family home.” the old noblemen that sent me to the Grand Magic Academy in the first place said to me as I was being led out. His name was Elred and I don’t know why but I couldn’t respond. Truly, I did want to help him. He was a nice man and wasn’t like the other nobles because he actually cared for the peasants. However, I still couldn’t say anything to him. Nothing I could say would change anything. Plus, I knew he was just saying this to me in order to keep the people under his authority safe. Whether he thought I was innocent or not didn’t matter.

Elred was an older man in his late seventies with a kind smile that was currently held in a frown. He wore nicer clothes but they were stained with dirt from where he used to help in the fields. In his hand was a cane to help him stay standing but his old wrinkly hands could barely hold the ornament on top of it. The hair on his head was long and white but it only grew on the sides and back of his head as the top was completely bald. He almost looked like he could have been a martial arts teacher at one point but with how shakey his body was as it was only in looks.

The guards led me out of the courthouse and into a drawn wagon covered in rusty nails and being driven by a muscly man with an executioner's mask over his head. Two others were already inside the cart. Both of which were prisoners being sent to the same place I was. The wasteland.

The wasteland wasn’t a very good place to be as it was just swampy wasteland for as far as the eyes could see. At one point it was the edge of the Imperial capital where their advanced waterways sat, but due to years of war and a lack of care, it became a disgusting swamp. Very few people could live there for long as something that was already living there would usually kill them or they would be swallowed up by the swamp itself. Truly, it was a nightmare.

Loading me into the cart I was shipped off with the others to the wasteland. Neither of them spoke to me as one was praying to every God they could think of to save them from death in the swamps while the other one was missing his tongue. For several hours we rode in the cart, unable to rest because it would rattle and shake every time we thought we could be comfortable. Eventually, though we arrived at the edge of the Alsenia border where the wasteland was.

Once the coach stopped we looked out through cracks in the side of the cart to see that a fence had been constructed at the border. Guards wielding crossbows stood along the fence in sets of two next to oil fires. The fence itself was covered in spears that if you were to charge it at night you wouldn’t be able to see them. To add to it there was thin wire above the fence to prevent people from jumping it. If anyone tried they would smack into the wire and plummet into a spear.

Two guards walked up behind the wagon and opened up the door. We were each pulled out and a guard with a nicer uniform than the rest walked up to us. He wasn’t very tall but he was covered in scars and looked scary as could be. On his right breast was a medal of valor and on his left, it read Sergeant. His hair was cut short to fit properly in his helmet and he was armed with the longest sword I had ever seen strapped to his hip.

“In accordance with the law of humanitarian treatment of traitors and war captives you are to be released outside of the borders of Alsenia with one weapon and a sack of rations capable of lasting a month. Since only one of you has a weapon the others will be given iron shortswords.” the Sergeant said.

One of the guards walked over and handed the two other men each a sack and a sheathed shortsword. Another guard walked over to me and handed me my staff and a sack of rations. I was surprised that they got it for me but I was even more surprised to see that there was a note on it. It read: “you are a good kid and I know you would never do anything like that to another person. I was able to convince the coachmen to bring this for you as I couldn’t defend you in court. I am very sorry and I do hope you can forgive me for my incompetence. ~ Elred”

“Now, leave and never return! May the gods watch over your souls.” the sergeant said. All three of us put the sack over our shoulders and began walking towards the gate. Once we were outside of it the guards shut the gate and we all began walking into the swamp. The moist and muck-covered earth below us covered our boots to where some of us had to walk awkwardly to avoid sinking too fast. After a few minutes, we realized that the swamp was getting deeper.

“Hey kid, you’re a mage aren’t you?” the one man who still had his tongue asked.

“Yes.” I replied.

“Freeze the water so we can walk over it.” he said.

“I can’t. The ice will not be thick enough for us to walk on. Freezing requires that I touch it and the thicker I freeze it the more submerged my hand would have to be. Make a wrong move and I’ll end up freezing my hand off.” I explained.

“Damn it.” he said angrily as he kicked a bush. When he did a large reptile creature with six legs and covered in warty bumps jumped at him from out of the bush. He screamed as it bit him in the shoulder and dragged him into the water. As he was dragged into the water he dropped his ration bag which landed next to me. The other prisoner and I watched in horror as the creature rolled around and ripped his limbs from his body.

Without even thinking I held out my staff. And snapped my fingers. A small flame came from my fingers only to disappear and reappear on the head of the staff. The flame began getting bigger and bigger before shrinking into a marble-sized ball of pure white light. Shooting the marble at the creature and with a large flash, the entire area of water within a ten-foot radius was vaporized. The water around it turned into steam in an instant only to be flooded by the water surrounding the explosion with a crash.

Both the mute man and I turned to each other and he started shaking his head as if he wanted to turn back and take his chances with the guards. I gave him a similar look but we knew that if we did then we would be killed on the spot.

“If we go back then we will die. All we can do is pray we survive this.” I said. The man nodded hesitantly and the two of us began looking for a solid path. As we did I picked up the now dead prisoner's ration bag and the two of us went on. After about an hour of walking through the swamp, it was getting dark. The moonlight shone between the thick treeline causing a speckled form of illumination in the swamp floor. Small critters roamed the swamp around us and we tried to avoid any of the large creatures as much as possible.

“Let me know if you see a place for us to rest for the night.” I said, but when I turned around he wasn’t there. Only his ration bag was and much of the contents were spilled out. Looking around I didn’t see him at all so I picked up his pack and sword. The strap that was over his shoulders when he wore it was stuck in the ground. Pulling on it It felt like it was stuck on something. Then I realized what had happened. He had been sucked down into the swamp without me noticing.

Grabbing with all my might I pulled on the satchel. It began rising out of the ground as I pulled until I saw the tips of his fingers. Grabbing them I tried to pull him up until I saw his head. Though he wasn’t breathing. He was completely dead. Both of the people sent out here with me were dead and if I didn’t die soon it would be a miracle.