Mage Joan

On a winter morning, the howling wind swept across the snowy wilderness. A white-furred hunting dog raced forward, pulling a sled at breakneck speed. Seated on the sled was a small, thin boy; the wind whipped back his hood, revealing a delicate face weighed down with worry.

For a country boy who had just turned thirteen and passed the entrance examination to Layton Academy—officially becoming a "mage’s apprentice"—Joan Vida ought to have felt proud. Yet the examiner's parting words lingered in his mind, casting a shadow over his mood.

Joan Vida was born in a small southern settlement called Derlin in Alfheim. Orphaned from his earliest memories, he was raised by his grandfather, who taught him to read and write, opening a window onto the vibrant world beyond their little town through the pages of books. In this world called Vales, supernatural forces such as "magic" were anything but rare. Humans had learned from the elves the art of tapping into the "Weave" and wielding magic. Yet beyond the borders of civilization, wild beasts and lurking monsters roamed the wilderness and the underworld; these creatures, unlike humans, needed neither arcane study nor incantations or gestures to unleash powerful spells—their innate magical blood sufficed.

Because the world outside the city walls was so perilous, only mercenaries and professional adventurers dared enter the wilds alone; ordinary folk would never dream of such a thing. Joan’s solitary journey across the snowy landscape, a hundred miles from home, was not, however, driv