Chapter 1 - A Normal Life

As the growing orange line of light from the rising sun breaks into his room, and plays over his pale face, Kahari awakens and sits up from his simple straw bed. Stretching and yawning, he gets up and opens the window of his room, noting his younger sisters have already risen. The gentle rolling hills, and soft colors of autumn greets the young smith's apprentice as he rubs his shoulders. He slips on a simple tunic and pants, before a pair of leather boots that had seen their fair share of hardship. Leaving the bedroom he shared with his younger sisters, he is greeted by them as they finish breakfast, he can already hear the bellows of the forge going. Their father must be warming the forge up already, they had gotten a large order for new plows to be filled by spring. Kahari avoided getting in the way of the twins, Tanaya and Aiyoko, instead setting the table for the four of them before heading outside to fetch their father. The forge would need time to heat up before they could begin work, so it was safe to bring him inside for breakfast.

"Dad! Food is almost done, come inside."

The tall, grey haired man manning the forge turned away from watching the growing heat. Taking off his thick leather gloves, he sat them down on the old anvil they used.

"I'll be there in a minute, I need you to run your sisters down to the market, and drop off the order that the Adventurer's Association gave us last month. Got it done early, so they'll be paying the rush order fees as well. Go ahead and get started without me."

The old man, Ranori, waved Kahari away as he moved over to start rummaging through his ore pile, looking for the ones he'd need for the first batch. The old man had a keen eye, some said he was better at identifying quality ore than the miners a few hours down the road. Kahari rolled his eyes and went back into the house. Inside his sisters were setting food out for the family, both had pitch black hair, and pale skin. They were younger than him by only a year, and were due to start working in shops deeper into the town come spring. Kahari himself was nineteen, and while he had the same pale skin as his sisters, his hair was brilliant and pure white. According to their father he got it from their mother, but he couldn't really remember her. An Ogre raid when he was two had taken her life, her simple grave was under the branches of the cherry tree she had planted when the house had finished.

All three of them had deep, nearly emerald green eyes, a far cry from the hazel of their father. Kahari sat down and smiled at the smell of the beef stew with a thin slice of bread sitting next to it. It was simple, they didn't have much money to spare for better foods, but both his sisters had a talent for cooking, and even this simple meal was tasty to the unrefined tongue of Kahari.

"Dad says to eat without him, then I need to run you two to the market and drop off that horseshoe order to the Association. We'll get the rest of the payment then, so we'll stop there first so you two can get everything we need."

Tanaya was the more vocal of the two, though Aiyoko wasn't overly quiet, more just thoughtful compared to her rambunctious sister. She was the one that responded as Aiyoko took a bite of her food immediately on hearing what their dad had said.

"Pickings should be good, heard the harvest was better than normal this year, probably because of that Druid who passed through a few months back. Maybe we'll even be able to afford the outfits for the winter festival."

Aiyoko chimed in at this.

"I heard one of the merchant guilds is looking at opening a branch here because the mine struck low grade mithril last month. Looks like our little town will be growing soon enough."

Kahari blinked at this news, this was the first he'd heard of it. Even low grade mithril was worth many times more than the iron and copper the mine currently exported. Such a thing was enough to spark rapid growth, the area would likely see an influx of resident Adventurers because of it.

"Well if it's true, I suppose me and dad are going to be busy soon enough, he's the best smith in the area so Adventurers are likely to come to him with commissions. Like that one fairy boy that had him make a spear with the Silverwood and Great Ram Horn. Dad was proud of that one, said that despite the low quality of the materials he'd made a mid tier spear."

"Good for money, but it means we might be seeing E and even D class monsters depending on who shows up and how many."

"You worry too much; we'll be fine. The Association already has a branch here. I think they of all people would be able to keep the town safe."

Kahari shrugged, waving his hand lazily as if to dismiss the argument

"We just have to worry about the Ogre Tribes breaking through the pass again, but that hasn't happened for seventeen years."

Monsters spawned and bred in the wild, sometimes appearing in desolate or abandoned areas too. This town was relatively safe, no monster ranked higher than F nearby, though some F1s roamed the mountain not far from the mine, requiring permanent guards.

What monsters spawned in a region was partially down to the strength and number of non-monster races living in the area, though there was some unpredictable variation. This area was the safest in the Kingdom of Altesia, which was a small kingdom along the coast of Nisteria.

Tanaya jabbed Kahari in the ribs as she spoke, he knew she was right. Most settlements tended to be safe, even during wars they were rarely razed as the rewards for having adventurer wars in the arena instead of army battles in the field made such large clashes rare. Kahari knew of only one going on right now, between the Ogre Tribes and the Theocracy of Oroborus, which was stretching into a multi decade crusade to try and eliminate the monster nation, and free up the land for 'civilized' settlement. Everyone knew Ogres could be just as good and evil as humans, but Oroborus didn't care, they were monsters so they must die. Kahari was even friendly with the elderly ogre that led the town's watch, whose authority was second only to the mayor. Was a good woman, but weary of fighting, and had settled here with her grandkids.

The rest of the morning passed quickly, with Kahari finishing his food first so he could load their cart up with the horseshoes. While he was doing that, his sisters cleaned up from the meal, and got changed into their day clothes. With both being apprentice seamstresses, clothing was one thing the family did not want for, though Kahari tended to stick to simple colors, even he had a few bright pieces for special events. With both his sisters joining him, they sat off to head into town. With the cart it was a ten minute walk to the Association, and Kahari did it without complaint.

The building for the Association was a squat stone thing, standing out among the wooden and bamboo buildings. It wasn't very big compared to what one might see in the cities, but it's interior was well lit, with comfortable if plain furniture for waiting adventurers, and several basement levels that stored paperwork and other such things. Two Gold rank Knights stood guard at the gate that seperated the public area from the Association area. A red haired elf manned the counter, and with both his sister's help, Kahari lugged the bags of horseshoes up to the counter.

"Kahari? This the order?"

"Yes ma'am, one hundred sets of enchantable horseshoes, and two hundred sets of plain horseshoes."

A large orc stood up from behind the elf and took the first of the bags, grabbing a few random horseshoes and inspecting them. He nodded and took the rest of the bags, the burden seemingly nothing to the large man. The elf smiled, and reached below the counter, pulling out the contract and stamping it as completed before sliding out a tray with a small bag containing forty one hundred Crowns that was the rest of the payment, twenty-five per enchantable set and eight per plain set. Kahari still didn't know how she always had the exact payment and contract ready regardless of who came to the counter, but it was one of those pleasant mysteries, and one he wanted to know the secret to.

Kahari opened the bag to check it's contents. These bags were never short, but he liked to be sure. Sure enough, there was a pile of around two hundred fifteen silver coins. Each coin was just a little smaller than the tip of his finger. The Association preferred paying out in silver rather than large piles of copper, or the all to tempting Electrum. At least, the branch here. If Kahari wanted, he could request payout in copper, but these days silver was what most people carried. He didn't know if they were actually silver, he just knew it wasn't pure if it was as it was relatively hard and sturdy metal.

"Have a good day Sir, Next!"

She was busy of course, so Kahari and his sisters didn't have time to chat, though they bumped into each other at the tavern on occasion. Smiling, Kahari put the money bags on his belt, and left through the exit only door. Aiyoko took the lead from here, talking with her sister as Kahari watched the faces of the town pass him by. The town of Seras supported around four thousand people, and it's main source of income was the mine, though the crops and ranches helped. They had to import most of their lumber as the nearest forest was too dangerous for normal workers.

"Wonder what they need so many horseshoes for. Most years, that's what you guys make the entire year."

Ayoko wondered aloud as they made their way through the simple streets of their small, but cozy town.

"Not entirely sure, no news from the capital about a new war or anything. Heard a rumor at the inn that the Association is planning another expedition to those islands to the west, might need the horseshoes for scouts."

Kahari shook his head at Tanaya's response.

"Nah, they wouldn't need that many for an exploration, they've already got a port set up out there for their airships. Maybe there's something going on over in the Ogre Tribes, and we're just the closest stable exporter."

"Maybe, either way it's business for us. Before we left for Autumn, there was a big order of Orb Weaver gambesons. Pretty standard sizes, one of the cheaper magical materials. Might just be stockpiling some basic gear for another recruitment drive."

Kahari shrugged. Whatever it was, it didn't seem like it was anything local. More money for the town, for his family, and some more merchant traffic was good for everyone. Ixul could use it, even by the quiet standards of Ixul it was relatively mundane and quiet. The only real threat was the Ogres, and they were so busy with their own squabbles and Ouroborusthat after Marge and her grandkids had moved in, no one bothered them. Marge was the head of the town watch, and old Ogress with a stern but fair disposition.

Despite her fearsome appearance, she was a favorite of the kids, and would often be found watching them play, or telling them old stories. Stories of Altesia, the Ogre Tribes, even the old empire of Ecria that Altesia had once been a colony of. Kahari gave Marge a wave as they passed her at the edge of town. She had a sour look on her face, but she spared a moment to give the siblings a wave.

"You three stay out of trouble, I'm busy enough without dealing with you three!"

"Oh come now, Tanaya is the only one of us that you've ever had to seriously wrangle."

"Hey!"

"Hehehe, you're right. Tanaya, stay out of trouble tonight. I'm busy!"

"That's not fair!"

Kahari laughed as the three left Ixul. The forge was on the outskirts, built next to a small stream they used for water, cleaning, and to help with the forge when they could. It was crisp, clear, and cold water that came down from the mountains. Rumor said there was a Naiad village at the stream source, but no one in Ixul had been out that way to confirm it.

Ixul itself was mostly humans, but a few other Continental and Fae races lived here, a few Beastkin lived in a village a few hours west, but no Celestial or Infernal races had ever resided here, only passing through. No one in living memory had even seen a draconic race, and Ogres were considered a monstrous race, so the town watch captain was a controversial pick, though she had maintained order without problem despite general misgivings. Especially given Ogres had killed a few hundred only seventeen years ago.

The rest of the day passed smoothly, with the sisters joining Kahari and Ranori in the forge. They weren't expected to do any of the hard work, but as Autumn was close to turning to Winter, they'd need to go back to them soon. Mostly they fetched water, and kept an eye out for anyone swinging by, and kept the family company. As the sun started to set, the while Kahari was drenched in sweat, lungs heaving, and limbs heavy, his sisters were still in pretty good condition.

Sometimes he resented it, but most of the time he knew they couldn't tire themselves out at the forge so close to going back to their Winter apprenticeships. It was a good workout, but Ranori never seemed bothered by the work. On the contrary, Kahari had seen him work days on end without a break before he even started showing fatigue. The siblings walked back towards the town, heading to the tavern for a drink and food, quietly laughing among themselves. They were close, they had to be since mom died. They took care of Ranori, who had seemed to have lost his luster when their mother passed, but he rarely showed it to those besides the family.

"I think I might go to the city in the winter, see some of the fights in the coliseum, and visit Aunt Nui, you two wanna come?"

"Yes! Yes yes yes! Now that we're eighteen we can finally go without dad."

"It can't be a long trip, first week of Winter is the last week we've got before we have to focus on our apprenticeships."

"I know, but...Aunt Nui seems lonely y'know? We don't get to see her very often, and dad doesn't like leaving the forge for more than a day if he can help it."

"Yeah yeah, we can probably hitch a ride with Sok, or some merchants when they come through. Most of them will be coming down from Ixul to pick up what we have left, and heading to Sholn anyway. Doubt any of them would mind a few tagalongs if we gave them a hand."

Tanaya was excited and trying to find any angle to go, she always enjoyed the city, and Autumn was a general lull for everyone in the town, it was the only time they could visit. Aiyoko nodded, smiling at her sister's enthusiasm. They didn't get to see Nui very often, as she worked as an Enchanter for the Association in the city, and kept her mouth shut about her and her brother's past.

The trio pushed their way into the tavern. It was busier than normal today, at least for this time of year. In one corner was a group of people in midnight purple robes quietly talking amongst each other. Kahari caught the eye of one of them as they sat down at their own table. From beneath her hood glowed almost malicious amber eyes. Kahari shivered, they got all kinds of strange folk through here with the Association building, but he never got used to the creepy ones. With a plate of food and a drink, some milk given none of them were allowed to drink by Altesian custom yet, the siblings settled in for dinner even as the tavern's musician began playing on his violin.