Thousands of years ago…

Kieran yawned and stretched as the first rays of the sun peeked through the window of his small room. He rose from the bed and walked to the window. His almond-shaped eyes blinked twice as he gazed out at the sunlight flashing through the trees of the forest. His right hand rose reflexively to shade his face from the glare of the morning sun. The young elf inhaled deeply, as if to sample the air of the new day, before turning to the washbasin on the table next to the window. He quickly washed and excitedly hurried to the kitchen for the morning meal.

“The sun is already up,” his mother chided jokingly. “You have already lost the first race of the day.”

“Good morning, Mother,” smiled Kieran. “I guess I did stay up too late last night, but I want very much to score highly on the test today. I still have several hours before I must be there.”

“You worry too much,” his mother smiled as she placed a bowl of oatmeal on the table. “Your talents are strong, and you study hard. You will do fine.”

“I know,” nodded Kieran as he sat down and drew the bowl to him. “Doing fine is not the question, though. I seek to score the highest ever recorded on the mage test. I think I can do it.”