It took him another two years to be trained to peak fitness and perfect his spell, but he was excepted into the elite faction of the hunters, the green lush, weirdly fitting as they constantly wandered through lush forests, which were, well, green, but with twenty-four years he remembered something from his past which he quite wanted to, for some weird reason, recover, perhaps because he was so inclined to see it because he hoped to see his thoughts from before his sister's death, now about seven years ago.
He had taken a break from his job, sir Kelnra, who had turned out to be his captain, vouching for his magic prowess, giving him a few weeks to really recollect himself around this time, every year, at his sister's death, knowing how hard it had hit him back then, though he had told him that everyone got time off around such events, the hunters didn't exactly want elite fighters to suddenly fight back and try to kill their superiors after all.
At that thoughts, standing in an old attic and searching through countless boxes, just like back when he had been a little kid, cleaning it together with his sister so they might use it for their own volition, even allowed by their parents who didn't really want to constantly go up there, and his dad which had a bad allergy against dust which had been up there in masses, Rondel really had to laugh aloud, spreading the dust everywhere and sneezing shortly after, feeling the effect just like his dad back then, though he luckily didn't have the allergy.
What was he doing up there?
That was an easy question to answer, he was searching for the very letter he had written to himself back then, for his ceremony, for that very day he had become an adult in the eyes of Herimun, the god of the hunt, though he was still sceptical about religion, even more so after his sister had been taken from him, though he had to admit that the thought she was watching over him from the skies and the stars was soothing.
It was just, back then, he had written without the future, eleven years agon now, he had written about his girlfriend, Julia, as his childhood friend, though really, they had always been fairly close, brought together even more by the death of his sister, a good friend of hers having been Julia, though Julia had always been a bit older than Rondel, twenty-five years old right now.
And even more so, he had written about his siste-
There it was!
Not even realizing the weird way his thoughts had just been broken off, he grabbed the letter, still sealed, his longing for perfection and small hoarding problem from back then having saved this small jewel and given him the chance to read it anew, now no more knowing what he had written back then, aside from that one thought he had had about why people saw superpowers as better than magic, that was still a part of him, it was a weird thing after all, and it was one of the things that had really motivated him and given him the force to continue on after Amelia's death, aside from the pain caused by that very event, of course.
He had written about worries when it came to money, wanting to save up a few hundred talars in the next few years, something that hadn't ended up working out, his sister's death had thrown a real wedge in his life, and he had never really finished digesting it if he was honest, which he had to be, as he was slowly feeling tears drop down from his eyes, intent on falling onto the accursed paper, their source, had he not the presence of mind to put it not a higher position so the warriors of pain couldn't reach it.
Oh, yes, it was painful, but he couldn't stop, everything that had been written had been written so badly, it was bad writing, no doubt, but he had no problem deciphering it, that was thanks to his comrades writing hastily in the field.
After fighting monsters one didn't exactly have the presence of mind to really keep their report tidy, and he was one of those unlucky guys that had to read those horribly written scribbles from time to time, often just imagining how it must've gone and bettering that which was written there, because, well, nobody would ever really read it again after it was done, unless the person who wrote it died soon after.
Then he read how he was worried about his cat from back then, understandably as it had constantly been vomiting, something that made Rondel smile, shortly forgetting his worries and pain over his sister, remembering something he had said just a few minutes ago.
Yes, he looked to his right, seeing a curled-up ball of fur, black with white spots around the neck and greenish eyes that looked at him in a confused daze as he pet it with his now rough hands, his entire look having become more like the recruiter from back then, gift of the job.
The beast was twenty years old now, and it was fit like a newborn.
Back then it had been eight years old.
The beast could never die, that was for certain, and his parents had often joked about it, staying downstairs right now, his mom cooking dinner, though he had offered to help, something she had denied.
Lastly, aside from the small joke, he had complained about how annoying his little sister, eleven at the time, was.
Once more he laughed aloud.
Truly, what had he even expected?
Had he expected a written letter of love towards his sister, a recollection of his dearest memories?
No, perhaps he really did, but this was the truth after all, he had found her annoying, as every sibling did, and this was really refreshing as he thought about how she had never really done her work and seemingly lazed around.
God, he had hated it back then, but now he would give anything to be able to complain about her laziness one more time, or even just hear her call him an idi#t for expecting some real work off her, like cleaning her room.
But at least that had been refreshing.
Years later Rondel would try finding the letter again, but he didn't succeed, it having been lost to the countless documents and papers stored up there, though he did find an alchemy test from back when he was eight.