“Dwarves out!” cried commander Myth Dranor. His regiment of two hundred dwarves clipped their axes to their belts and slung on their packs. Their quest was to free Myth’s father, Rendrath Dranor. They were to reach the outer defensive tower and take it, setting up strategic attacks from there. They had two thousand dwarves coming in from the east, to reinforce Myth’s regiment once they had reached the tower. Myth had fought his way down through the dungeon and had lost nearly half of his regiment. Myth let out a long sigh as the dark, foreboding tower came into view. Myth called upon his most trusted officers, and ordered them to flank the tower. Soon the squads were in place. His dwarves put together stepladders, and threw them up the wall.

There were very few wall-guards, but the few that were there were stealthily taken down. Myth stormed through the castle, and came upon a pair of huge double doors. Slowly, he creaked the right door open, and peered inside. There was the biggest orc on the face of the earth, axe drawn, staring at Myth…

Mark dove quickly under his master's sword, the blade passing over his head.

"Good move Mar-" His sentence was interrupted as Mark drove his blunted sword into Kelly (his master)'s gut. Mark laughed, then checked to see if his master was all right.
 
"You are a fine young apprentice Mark, But  someday soon you'll learn different skills. Besides sword fighting. You are excelling at it, but it is not you're place." Kelly said, in his deep, almost sad voice.

 "What do you mean master?" asked Mark.

"You shall see."

Mark awoke the next morning and found a note beside his bed. It read:

Dear Mark.

I have been called out to do a  service for our king. I am confident in your ability to watch the cabin, and keep all of the animals fed. after all of your chores are finished, ALL of them, you may read the blue book on my study table.

Take care,
Kelly
 

Mark wondered why his master had been called away, but he went out to feed the chickens anyway. The chickens were soon fed, and the pigs shortly after. Soon he arrived at the small stable in the back  yard. The two horses, Spot and Blaze whinnied eagerly at his arrival. Quickly he scooped up some oats and fed the two.

"Don't tell master that I fed you oats instead of hay, ok?" Spot and Blaze were silent. Mark went in the house, quickly combed his sandy blonde hair, washed his tanned face and washed the dishes. Soon the chores were all finished. He sat in the leather chair behind his master's study table. He read the title: "Basic Magic for basic mages." Mark's eyes widened. 'Magic!' so that was the new skill.

Mark read for most of the night. In the morning, he tried his first spell. He went outside, took a chicken, and threw it into the stable. The chicken flew in, spooking the two horses. Mark ran into the stable, and waved his hands around in circles. He muttered a word under his breath, and the horses calmed immediately. Mark clapped his hands and ran back into the house. The book lay open on the study table, and a note lay inside. It read:

Dear Mark,

You're doing fine, but now skip to page 144. Learn that spell, and the next two. You'll need to use them soon.

Yours truly,
Kelly.

Mark carefully flipped to page 144. There was a picture of a man throwing a small fireball at a wolf. A fireball! Mark was soon outside, throwing small fireballs at a stump. He quickly read the next two spells; a hard stream of water, and a small bolt of lightning.

Exhausted, Mark collapsed in his bed. He was woken by a howl outside, and the sound of horses neighing. Mark replayed the spells in his mind and ran out the door. There stood an enormous bear.