Chapter 2: Brave New World

I wake up and prepare to get ready for the day ahead of me. After getting dressed, I look over to a painting of my parents and me. The same painting my mother sacrificed her life to give to me. It is one of the only things I have to remember about my family. The picture has my mother on the left, my father on the right, and me standing in front of them. Every time I gaze at this image, I try my hardest to feel determination, instead of sorrow. I still resent my father. I haven't seen him since the day he left, two years ago. Since he left, the conflicts in the south have turned into an all-out war. The neighboring kingdom of Soriah has been trying to take over the southern sector of our kingdom.

Ever since our farm burnt down, I have been staying with Igor and he has been training me in the arts of blacksmithing. He has become almost a second father to me. Blacksmithing is very tough, and I am not very good at it, but it has made me a stronger person.

I exit my room, which leads me directly into the living room.

"Good morning Jakov," Igor says cheeringly.

"Good morning to you, sir," I reply.

"I have a request for you Jakov. The business has been rough lately, and I need you to try and find another job in order to keep us living in the northern sector. Living expenses here are not cheap after all." He says in a dim voice.

"I understand," I answer firmly.

I was determined to help out Igor, as a way of repaying him. I trotted back into my room and sat on the edge of my bed. I was trying my hardest to come up with an idea of a way to make money quickly. I began to search through my old, dusty leather bag. I haven't used that bag in almost two years, there had to be something in there. While searching for loose change, I saw a faint sight of red underneath other junk in my bag. As I began to reveal the object, I remembered. It was the invitation to the adventurers guild! This was absolutely perfect. The letter was sealed with an ornate wax seal, and on the other side there was writing that spelled out "Viran". Viran was very popular as it was the only adventurers guild in the Northern sector. There were many other guilds spread out across the rest of the kingdom, but Viran was different. Viran had some legendary warriors in the past.

The guild was created after the Dark War. The Dark War was a war that the corrupt King Azghal started near the end of his rule after he tried to take over the western kingdom of Kara. I don't know much about that war because a lot of things were covered up after it was concluded. The stories I have heard about it though could only be described as hellish. I am glad Azghal's rule is over.

My leather backpack was going to be useful if I planned to join this guild, so after packing it with everything that I thought would be useful, I threw it over my shoulder. I walked over to a shelf in my room and stared at my wonderful sword.

"it's finally time to put this thing to use." I thought to myself

I would only carry my sword around for self-defense, but there wasn't a lot of self-defense needed in the northern sector. I grabbed my sword and slid it into the leather sheath. I proceeded to put my sword on my hip and head out. I opened the door and was instantly met with the beautiful, lively nature of the northern sector. I took in a deep breath of the warm summer air and started my search for the guild of Viran. I remember that guy... Micah, I think his name was. He told me the guild was near the gates to the eastern sector. Luckily Igor and I lived only a mile or two from the eastern gates. I began to walk along the well-kept cobblestone path, past many taverns, shopping stands, and ornate houses.

After about a half hour of walking, I arrived. The guild was beautiful. It looked just like a town hall and it had a fairly large yard in the back I could only slightly see. The eastern gates were only about a quarter mile from the guild. The doors to the guild were about eight feet tall and above the doors, there was a symbol. The symbol looked like the letter V on top of the letter A. Even though the symbol was quite simple, it still looked intimidating. As I began to approach the doors, I was getting anxious. I stepped up to the door, stood up tall, and puffed out my chest. I did all of this in an attempt to look mighty, but I probably just ended up looking like an idiot. I gave three strong knocks and waited. I stood there, almost trembling, not knowing what was going to happen next. I continued to wait for another minute or two until I heard noises coming directly from the other side of the door. It sounded like the door was being unlocked. I watched intently as the large doors slowly opened in front of me.

Once the doors fully opened, I was kindly greeted by a familiar face. The fiery orange hair was immediately recognizable. It was Micah.

"Jakov!? You actually showed up? It's been years!" He exclaimed in disbelief "I am so happy you came!"

"Ha ha..." I laughed awkwardly "I am in kind of a tight situation and I remember you said I could get good money if I took contracts here."

"Yes, you can indeed make high amounts of money, but not without the skill for it. We will help you train even if you have no previous combat experience." He kindly explained.

"Why would you guys even let me in, isn't this an elite guild?" I asked

"This is a very elite guild, but every year Dante encourages us to bring in five to ten new members. We then will train those members and in the future, people like them will be the ones to carry on our legacy." He replied

"Do you guys keep all of those recruits?" I questioned

"Unfortunately, no. Sometimes they leave because they aren't cut out for the life of an adventurer, or they refuse to follow the rules. But we have a rule where only one of the recruits we gather for that year is allowed to stay in the guild, this is how we keep our elite status." He answered

"How do you decide the member who stays?" I wondered

"That's the fun part. At the end of every year, we hold a sixteen-man tournament, with all the recruits. We get some of our members to fill in, but don't worry we make sure it's balanced." He exclaimed.

"That sounds daunting," I said

"Don't worry, Jakov. I have a feeling you will do great." He stated.

After our conversation was over, Micah began to lead me further into the guild. Behind the front doors, was a hallway, but after you made it out of the short hallway, it opened up to a huge main room. The ceilings of this room looked to be about twenty-five feet high, and there was an indoor balcony outlining the whole place. There was so much going on, I was overwhelmed. To my right, there was a small arena where two people were sparring with their fists. To my left, there was a long table where many of the guild members were drinking and feasting. In the middle of the room, there was a large statue. It was masterfully carved out of stone and had incredible detail. I approached the large statue and admired its features. It was a man wearing heavy armor from head to toe and he had a large greatsword propped up on his shoulder. His armor was intimidating. Even though it was just a statue, I could still sense the might of this man.

"You like the statue?" Micah exclaimed, "That's our founder, Mercer." Said Micah

"This statue is incredible," I said in amazement

"Mercer was the adoptive father of our leader, Dante." Micah stated, "Now let's get moving, there's a lot to show you."

We continued to walk through the main hall of the guild. I was afraid I was going to be judged, but everyone was minding their own business, thankfully. We continued to walk until we reached the back of the guild, where the bar was located. Micah and I took a seat. A strong-looking woman approached us from behind the bar.

"That's Camilla, she's like the mom of our guild. She mainly works at the bar, but don't underestimate her because of that. She is one of the strongest in our whole guild." Micah explained

Camilla was of average height but was much more muscular than most. She had long brown hair, which reached the top of her waist. She looked only slightly older than me. She was wearing loose, but short, overall shorts. Under the overalls, she wore a simple white shirt.

"Hey Micah, I see you brought a new boy into the guild." She said cheeringly "So what's your name?"

"I'm Jakov Gray," I stated

"Oh, you are from the Gray family? I am so sorry about what happened. We will make sure you are safe and comfortable here at the guild!" She said caringly "Oh and by the way! I'm Camilla."

"It's nice to meet you, Camilla, I really appreciate you being so caring. It means a lot to me. I replied

"Would you boys like anything to drink?" She asked

"Just two of what I usually get" Micah replied

Camilla quickly got to work making the drinks

"Micah I don't drink alcohol," I said, worried he would judge me.

Camilla placed our drinks in front of us.

"Ha ha ha! Don't worry, Micah doesn't drink alcohol either. It's orange juice." She said Jubilantly.

Micah looked at me with a smile. We then proceeded to drink our orange juice and converse for hours. It was amazing. I never really had close friends my age, so getting this chance to laugh, and enjoy my night with a friend my age was spectacular. Even though Micah and I only knew each other for a short period, he already felt like a brother to me, and I could tell he felt the same.

As night quickly came upon us, we both decided we were ready to go to sleep.

"Follow me," Micah said tiredly

I didn't question him and I began to follow him to the upper floor. Being up here was awesome. I could see the entire main room of the guild since the upper floor was an indoor balcony. The whole second floor was lined with doors, each one having a name on it. I kept on following Micah until he came to a stop in front of one of the doors.

"Here's your room, Jakov." He opened the door to a room.

"I get my own room already?" I was astonished.

"Of course you do, Jakov. Good sleep is just one ingredient of a skilled warrior." He stated.

I walked into the room. I was so grateful that everything this guild has done for me. It's only been half a day but I already feel a connection to this place. My room was quite small, but it had enough room for it to still be comfortable. The bed was in the back corner of the room, it had a chest at the foot of it, so I could store my belongings. A dresser was against the opposite wall from the bed. I had everything I needed here. I placed my bag in my wooden chest and lay on the bed.

"Goodnight, Micah," I said quietly.

"Goodnight, Jakov." He murmured, "Tomorrow after I show you around a bit more, we are going to take our first contract."