Forest of Songs

Jien woke early the next morning as per his usual routine since the start of training with Mark. He sat up easily and stretched with a casual yawn before getting out of bed. He quickly went to clean himself and dressed, though this time not in his usual linen outfit meant for training. He wore a semi formal outfit, a decent button-down shirt, a pair of dress pants, a simple vest and pair of black leather shoes. After dressing he walked to the side of the desk in his room where two sheathed rapiers sat. One was his dulled training rapier, while the other was a gift, he received from his father for his eighth birthday. It was a simple steel rapier, sharpened to fine edge with simple inscriptions running down the length of its blade. The inscriptions were a simple spell to reinforce the steel of the blade. While this may bot allow the blade to survive many direct blows, if used correctly it could potentially be used to take a few or to pierce through a fully armored location. All it would take to activate would be sending mana to the inscription itself and to continue that supply of mana until the use of the activated spell was complete.

Jien understood by his father's words the prior night that though this was in some ways a training exercise, that it was not one that he could take as lightly as to carry a dull blade. The location they were going was not only known as the possible location of this new bandit crew. It was the location of powerful fauna and potentially some magic flora. Sections of the forest were considered danger zones even to trained professionals and the outer edge of the forest bordered the Eternal Battlefield.

It was more than likely that this team of bandits were deserters from the human army, though there was some potential for the makeup of the group to include some of the other races. Just because everyone was rounded up and sent to the military academy at the age of fifteen did not mean that some did not try to escape from the harsh reality of that training and the eventual battlefield they would be thrust into. Then there were those that would join the military after, only to find themselves running from it after they suffered from the never-ending battle between the various races on and surrounding the Oslus continent. The other races often would not accept anyone from the other races, but humans were different, not only did they find beauty in other races like the elves, but they were also more than willing to trade in secrets of the other races to attempt to gain the upper hand in the war once and for all.

Jien made his way to the dining room this morning as opposed to the kitchen. He would eat a short breakfast with his father there while Jack, the head of the guards would gather the platoon they were taking into the Forest of Songs. There were many folk tales about how the forest was named this way but the one that held some level of truth was that one would hear a chanting song that rang through the forest at all times. No one had ever found the cause of the sound itself, but there would always be a hint of the song in the air regardless of where you were in the forest. This was just some of the basic knowledge that Jien had read in the manor's library about the areas surrounding Afrem City. This would be his first time experiencing the place and he was interested to see if this information held true.

As Jien sat in his seat across from his father, they silently ate their breakfast before Lord Losler made the first comment. He looked Jien in the eye before speaking calmly but in a serious tone. "This is indeed training to help you understand how to lead troops and how to strategize. However, this is by no means a safe type of training. I will be with you the entire time, but regardless of this you must always keep your guard up." Jien nodded with a somewhat solemn expression. This was not going to be walk in the park. This was not sitting on a couch while discussing business plans, this would be Jien's first experience with live combat.

After they finished their short breakfast Jien and Lord Losler made their way to the front of the manor where a pair of horses were waiting for them. Next to the horses were a total of twenty guards in light leather armor bearing the Losler family crest on their breastplate. Each one stood at attention in four rows of five, their backs as straight as rods and their expressions stern. They carried with them a variety of weapons, from bows and quivers to axes and swords. There were even a few that did not wield any weapons at all. These few carried staffs or had wands of a variety of materials on their belts. They wore simple robes over their armor to identify them as pure mages. They were the few who chose not to wield a weapon and in turn focus purely on the arcane arts. This in itself was not unusual in the world but it was not necessarily common for them to become guards when they could spend their time as researchers in a variety of arcane practices.

Earl looked over the guards with a stoic expression on his face. He looked at each of these twenty guards as if to burn their faces into his memory. After a few silent moments doing so he spoke up to the group. "I thank you for accepting this mission. We will make short work of these bandits, secure their stolen cargo and return to our fair city." With that said he stepped towards the waiting horses before giving voice to a final comment. "My son and I will be in your care during this mission. I hope you will take good care of us." To this the twenty guards saluted with their fists over their hearts and responded "Yes, my lord" before moving to surround the horses as they started their way toward the main gate.

Once the platoon had left the main gate, they found twenty horses lined up and waiting. The guards did not waste any time in mounting their steeds and then formed ranks around the carriage to ensure that it would always be under their protection during the travel. The forest itself was only half a day's travel by horseback but that did not mean that they would risk something happening to the lords that took such good care of them and their city.

Those wielding melee weapons were ahead of the horses bearing Jien and Earl, to protect from eventual attacks, the few who had bows and arrows remained behind the pair, protected by a small group bearing melee weapons. Finally, the pure mages remained within the protective formation, near the center of the formation itself. Their job was two-fold, to cast protective magic for the father son pair if they were to be attacked and to cast ranged magic to support the archers behind them.

Despite keeping a tight formation and never dropping their guard they ran into no issues in their path to the Forest of Songs, arriving shortly after midday with the sun high above them.