1 A Boy's Journey

Aedic Slowly Rode along the Thin dirt path alongside his companions. His eyes were on the warm blue sky that was randomly dotted by a shapeless white cloud. The mountain tops of Giloran were small triangles on the horizon far away from the miles of green fields that rested on both sides of the path. Closer to them but still far away were rooftops, stone towers, and chimneys that puffed grey smoke clouds into the clean air.

"There." Rohan said in his usual strained voice, "The Town of Spic. That is where our first mission will be," his hair gleamed in the bright sunlight. It was once a beautiful snow-white but over time had now become a light grey.

"What is this mission exactly?" Maliha asked. She was new just like Aedic. She understood what it felt like to be a new apprentice to the Tears, but she would never admit it. Her face was just as stern as her posture. She set up high on her stead with her hands gripped tightly around the reins of her horse.

Rohan didn't answer.

"He doesn't know," Valarie smiled trodding up on her horse from behind, "He never knows. That's the wonder of Sir Rohan of Nilos." Valarie was as pale as the moon itself, but she was gorgeous. She had a thin frame for the most part but rather thick thighs and large breasts for her size. She had long snow-white hair just like Rohans was at one point, but in the sunlight it appeared to be more of a silver color than anything else. She was second in command to Rohan who was the Tears leader.

Rohan grunted and kicked the left side of his horse making her slowly walk forward, "When in the village Apprentice you stay with me. You are my shadow and my tail. You do not leave my side, is that understood?"

"Yes master Rohan," Aedic kicked the side of his horse as well following the movements of the others causing them all to move forward as a group. Aedic hadn't known Rohan for that long, but he never called him by his name. Always Apprentice.

As they continued to ride along the dirt path Aedic's mind traveled back to how quickly this journey had started. The Tears were a group of mercenaries on the hunt for only two things: evil and work. It just so happened to be that evil was their work. At least that was how Rohan had explained it to Aedic.

Rohan had taken Aedic as his apprentice just two days ago. Why he had chosen Aedic no one knew, but Rohan. He simply showed up at his uncle's cottage one afternoon and chose him. Not that Aedic had much of a choice; it was either join the Tears or join the king's army, and no one wanted to join the king's army. When being a mercenary is safer that's saying something.

It hadn't even been that long and he already missed his uncle's cottage. The smell of the wood that he used to hunt in and even the feel of his hard lumby bed.

"-is that understood?" Rohan's voice interrupted his nostalgic thoughts.

"I'm sorry Master Rohan I couldnt hear you." Aedic apologized with the bow of his head.

"You weren't listening." Rohan grunted in displeasure, "If you don't listen you will never become a Tear. Not because I gave up on you but because you'll be dead!"

As he spoke Valarie mimicked him with large hand motions and did so flawlessly as if she new every word. Out of everyone Valarie was the funniest.

"It will not happen again. I just miss my family." Aedic looked back off into the fields of grass.

"Don't," Rohan said simply.

-

The rest of their journey was silent. Aedic no longer focused on his past life, but instead on his future. Being a Tear meant something. It meant being great and honorable, but it also meant being disliked and feared by most. No one trusted a mercenary. No one trusted a Tear. That is until they want a monster killed.

"Here," Rohan halted his horse as he approached the main gate of the town, "We will meet back in the woods at two sunblinks before night."

"Yes'sir," the group said in unison.

"Nakita, be as silent as possible. Don't interact with the locals just listen." Rohan looked back past Aedic.

"Always," said a hissing voice. Nikita wasn't anywhere near human. In Fact he was a Gatta, a race of evolved cats that reflect the human figure but none of its features. Black hair covered his body from head to toe, small pointed ears stood up from his head, and his eyes were a sharp green that pierced into Aedic when he looked into them.

He was light on his toes though. When he was given his order he immediately hopped from his horse, sent the creature into the woods with a smack on the rear, and did a strategic jump over the wall.

"Valarie take the east side of the town with Maliha. Dalhima take the West. Aedic and I will take the town square and north."

Dalhima who was the last member of The Tears and probably the most silent gave a quick nod. He was what Aedic's uncle called a tongueless man. He had slick, black, short hair with small silver rings in both of his ears, and a large black fur cloak to cover him. But what had to be the most noticeable feature about him was the large and faded red cross that was tattooed on his face. It stretched from his hairline to his chin, and from both of his sideburns.

"Aye aye captain." Valarie saluted sarcastically.

"Yes'sir." Maliha accepted her order.

"And you already know your orders." Rohan glanced at Aedic before kicking the side of his horse and proceeding forward through the Gates of Spic.

-

The market square was full of bland people. This far from Aedic's home town he thought he would begin to see more of the magical creatures of the world like Nikita, but instead the square was full of some of the most bland mortals Aedic had seen.

At first Aedic focused on the products of the market, but soon his eyes went to something more beautiful than the fruit. Maliha was passing through the town square. Her dark red hair gleamed in the sunlight reminding Aedic of blood, her smooth white skin was perfect, even the freckles that ran across her face looked as if they were strategically placed to make art.

"Do you remember what it is we do?" Rohan turned his head slightly giving Aedic a fraction of his attention.

"To kill monsters," Aedic took his eyes away from Maliha and placed them onto a nearby market square that contained some of the most peculiar ideas Aedic had ever seen, "for a price of course."

"And do you know how we do that?"

"No," Aedic said, ashamed of his lack of knowledge.

"With equipment such as these," he picked up a handful of small white rocks from a nearby market stand, "Something as simple as salt burns their skin. It doesn't last for long, but it does distract them." He placed the salt back onto the stand and walked over to another section. He then picked up a silvery-gray metal, "And iron when shredded into flakes bleeds them of their strength." He placed the piece of iron back down on the table and looked at Aedic with hard eyes, "Why aren't you taking notes?"

"I have a good memory Master Rohan." Aedic assured him, "How are we going to find work? Do we just ask around?"

"No." Rohan gazed around at the small market, "Look around. What do you see?"

Aedic gave him a quick nod and slowly scanned the towns square. It was quite a quaint town compared to what Aedic expected. Over the short walls that surrounded the town Aedic could still see the Giloran mountain tops. Most of the houses and shops were made of a bright red brick or dark brown wood. Most of the people seemed to know one another in the town. They passed one another with smiles on their faces and most with baskets full of goods on their backs.

"Stop." Rohan said looking into Aedics eyes. It was an odd feeling to be looked at by Rohan; an unexplainable feeling, "When you think of a monster, the stories that you use to hear about them, what is it that you feel."

"Fear." Aedic thought back to the stories his uncle used to tell him when he was young. They always had a hero in them, but what of their was no hero. That is what Aedic thought of, "Hopeless, sad."

"So look for that." Rohan implored.

Aedic did as instructed and looked for the person who he described. He looked at many happy faces before he finally found what he was looking for.

It was a woman, her skin was flushed of color and her eye's void of emotion. She set on the step of an old house in the corner of the northern part of the town. She didn't look as if she wanted to be there, but as if she was too tired to move on.

"There!" Aedic pointed toward the woman, "Her. she is who you are looking for."

Rohan grunted with a nod, reached in his pocket, and pulled out a wrinkled piece of parchment along with a bag of coin, "Here. This is what we need. When you are done go to the woods and meet up with the others." he began to walk off towards the woman.

"Seriously! Shopping? !" Aedic shouted after Rohan, but his master continued to walk as if not to hear him.