“Good morning Yori.”

“Good morning, mother.”

The slender boy walked through the door of the charming kitchen, raising his right arm to block out the sunlight from his hazel eyes. The morning sun shone through the window overlooking their small family farm, revealing the tint of orange in his shaggy, light brown hair. He wore an off-white tunic and baggy brown pants, done up with a leather belt. Inquisitive eyes surveyed the view outside, adjusting to the abrupt brightness by raising a hand to block the glaring sunbeam. The glowing orb peaked over the quaint barn, glinting off of the few spots on the door hinges that were not rusted. The building leaned slightly to the right, weighed down by time and shifting wood boards. The two large doors on the front of the building sat off kilter, no longer aligning to close completely. A small field sat nestled behind the barn. It stood in contrast to itself; the untouched light brown soil on the left of the barn, the dark brown of freshly tilled soil on the right. Evidence that his father had risen as dawn to begin the day's work.

“Why don’t you grab some breakfast and go help your father. He's been at it for a while now, you could offer him a break. He mentioned yesterday he was going fix some fences after plowing was done this morning."

"Of course, I'll do that. Sorry, must have slept in."

"Don't worry, Yori, just eat and get out there to help. We have to get the fields ready for planting if we want food on our plates.”

His mother glanced at him with a smile on her face as she prepared him a bowl of food, her own hair of a similar tone held in a haphazard bun above her head. Shallow wrinkles graced her kind features. Mrs. Yoshinaga’s simple blue dress was slightly worn, and hung on her loosely. Aware of all of the work that needed to get done today, the woman placed a bowl on the table promptly, sliding it in front of a pulled-out wooden chair, and urged the boy to eat. The chair creaked as he sat down. A spindle was missing on the back of this particular one, a result of young shenanigans. Yori took his mother’s advice and swiftly ate his breakfast of porridge and bread. A slightly rusted faucet sat above their large wooden sink. After clogging the hole in the bottom of the basin with a cloth and a rounded puck of wood, his mother raised her right hand, touching a blue-tinted transparent crystal the size of a person’s thumb with her fingertips, which sat on top of the faucet. The stone softly emitted a blue light, mostly blotted out by the sunlight. Water began trickling at first, and then pouring down the pipe leading to the sink. The liquid was crystal clear. After a few seconds she removed her hand and the flow of water stopped. Grabbing a plate from the counter to her right, she rinsed it in the cool water as he wolfed down his food, and dried her hands on her stained apron. After thanking his mother for the food, Yori headed out in search of his father. Exiting the kitchen he slipped he stopped at the entryway at their front door to slip on his shoes. As he pulled on the back of the worn leather to allow his foot to slide in, a piece of the heel collar ripped off from the force. The boy cursed quietly under his breath, grasping the cold metal handle of the door in front of him. A large window took up the top half of the door, but a blue floral drape blocked his view outside. As he pulled the door open the sweet spring air greeted him, making him excited about the day ahead. It may just seem like chores to others, but to Yori it was a life he thoroughly enjoyed every day.

Taking another deep breath before carrying on he though about a phrase his father was always preaching. “Nothing beats hard work, patience, and the accomplishments that come with them.” Yori had learned in his sixteen years to embrace this ideal. The feeling of accomplishment that came with a harvest was second to none. A thought crossed his mind as his eyes wandered over to the old barn to his right.

I should go say hello to Autumn first!

Yori hopped down the run-down wooden steps of the family home’s front porch, being careful to skip the last step as it had decayed past the point of being useful. Using his left hand, he steadied himself on the chipped wooden pillar that supported the porch awning, and headed towards the dark crease of the barn doors. At one point the building was a deep red, but most of the paint had been worn away to reveal the tawny brown wood underneath. Grey-tinted wood poked through the now dull colour. The faint smell of manure wafted up to his nostrils as he breathed in the crisp air, taking yet another deep breath to welcome the day. He grasped the rusted handle and pulled aside the large door. Flakes of red paint drifted to the ground as the door creaked open. Yori walked down the middle of the barn until he came upon the fourth stall on the left. Although it was relatively dark in the barn, a child-sized opening was carved in the wood at the back of the stall, revealing the lush green of a small pasture beyond. He reached his hand down to pat the animal standing by the stall gate. A beige sheep tilted its head upwards towards the boy, anticipating his arrival.

“Good morning, girl, I’ll come by later on and give you more oats, and maybe a treat too.”

As if understanding him the sheep made a delighted sound and turned to rejoin it family in the field. This was his routine every morning. The family could not afford much but they had some sheep and chickens for clothing and eggs. His mother was quite skilled at weaving yarn, and often would sell items in the town. His next order of business was to find his father in the field. Yori stood at the edge of the field and squinted from the sunlight. He held up his hand to provide his eyes some shade and spotted his father an acre from him. The man was making slow, but thorough progress. His brow furrowed with effort, sweat already beading on his tanned, wrinkled forehead.

It seems like every year the work wears him down faster.

Yori was solemn as he thought about his father, and how much of this work would fall to him in the coming years as the man should retire. Eager to relieve some of the burden, the boy ran towards him and waved.

“Hey dad, need a hand?”

“Oh, morning Yori. Oh, no no no, I’ll be alright. Your mother sent you, did she?"

"Well, yeah... but I can take over for a while!"

"Well, your sister’s finishing up her chores, then she’ll whip me into shape. I'll get this field done before the sun hits the house.”

His father spoke without taking his eyes off of his tilling. The man wore the same thing he wore every day; torn brown overalls and a beige long-sleeve shirt underneath. A tattered brown hat was tucked into his tan leather belt.

“Haha, don’t let her bug you too long, she needs to practice her magic.”

"ah, yes yes. Her studies are important..."

“It’s not long until she’ll be heading off to the Academy in Esaron, right?”

“Yes, I know, but she’s still my little girl. It may be selfish of me, but I want to spend every second I can with her before she goes off to the big city and leaves us behind.”

Yori’s father looked grave for a moment, then quickly shook his head and continued working.

“It’s ok dad, it won’t kill her to fall a little behind. And she won’t forget us just because she’s been Blessed by the God of Fire. I’m sure she’ll be back to visit as often as possible! You, on the other hand, might just keel over if you don’t let me help you with the plowing.”

Yori did not quite believe his own words, but he smiled reassuringly to comfort his father. With a sigh the man finally stopped advancing and dropped the handles of the plow.

“Alright, you might be on to something there.”

The sturdy man finally stopped and looked up at his son, wiping moisture from his face with a worn cloth dangling from his waste. A tinge of pain flashed on the man’s face before regaining his composure. His orange hair looked like fire, illuminated by the sun behind him. He fumbled with the cloth, the stiffness in his joints becoming apparent at handling the small item. The small stained cotton fell from his hand, resting on the tilled ground beneath him. Yori immediately bent to retrieve the material for him.

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“Thank you, son. Here's an idea, how about you go grab Naoki? That boy’s the size of a bear, we’ll be done in no time with his help.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. I think he enjoys it anyways.”

“Of course he does, he gets to escape that nagging mother of his. Not a hair can be out of place with that woman.”

Yori and his father joked back and forth for a few minutes, both hoping these days could go on forever. The young man reminisced about days spent with his best friend, Naoki. They were often asking the boy if he wanted to help around the farm since he seemed to enjoy the physical work, and his natural strength made him excel.

Naoki’s house was on the other side of town, albeit it was a small town. As Yori walked the short distance it took to get to the abode, he took in the sights and sounds around him as he made the journey. The sun peaked over the wooden rooftops, bathing them in warm light. Many of the roof slats on the houses in the village were worn but still sturdy. Anyone could tell that care went into building these houses many years ago when the area was first inhabited by humans. Several people bustled about as he passed the wooden stalls that made up the morning market. Most were run by local farmers and displayed the result of their hard work. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted towards his nose as he passed a couple of bakery stalls. His eyes wandered to two ladies chatting at a stall selling small trinkets and baubles as he heard mention of his sister. The women noticed him looking at them and smiled, then averted their eyes and continued their conversation, more guarded than before.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. His little sister was getting quite a bit of unwanted attention, mostly in the form of jealousy from the other villagers. Ignoring the women, Yori glanced at the faint glow coming from the floating crystal in the middle of town square. The sky-blue stone hovered over a small flower garden. The stone was about the size of his head. It glinted in the sunlight with wisps of magic glittering around where the sun struck the stone. The blue glow from the crystal was dampened by the sun beating on it. This was a monster core; the source of the barrier surrounding, and protecting, this small village of Oseford. Yori was well-aware that no village could survive without one. It alone was credited with allowing humans to create civilizations without being destroyed by the monsters that lurked throughout the world.

After a few distractions, Yori approached his friend's house. The door was starkly sky blue in contract to the dark wood that made the outer walls of the building. He could tell it had been recently painted. Several potted flowers lined the walls on either side of the door, sitting neatly in a line on the low porch. Violets, marigolds, tulips, lilies; several colours poked out from the plain orange pots. Careful not to disturb any of them, Yori approached the door, quietly wondering whether they would make the time up having an extra person for the day. He was certain that his father had ulterior motives for sending him to visit his friend as his parents were far too kind and often put too much on themselves for the sake of letting their children relax.

I’m not a boy anymore though. I’ll have to make a life for myself eventually.

If he had received anything other than the Blessing of the Villager, he would already have finished school and would be working on his own, a life his sister had to look forward to.

Knock, Knock

A woman opened the door, towering over Yori. Her smile caused slight wrinkles around her gentle brown eyes. Her black hair was neatly pulled back in a half ponytail. The woman quickly smoothed a crease out of her white apron and simple green dress.

“Hello, Yori. Looking for little Naoki, are you?”

“Yes, Mrs. Taguchi. Not that anyone other than you calls him little anymore.”

The two of them chuckled.

“He’ll always be my little boy no matter how big he gets.”

She turned her head away from him briefly and shouted, her voice echoing up the wooden stairs.

“Naoki! Yori’s here!”

Peering passed Mrs. Taguchi, Yori saw how there were more potted flowers inside as well. A particulr bouquet of bright orange lilies caught his eye. The sat perched in a vase on a small round wooden stool at the end of the straight staircase. One of the balusters of the stair railing was a slightly different shade than the others, evidence of it being replaced relatively recently. The thud thud thud of feet descending the staircase was heard from the doorway as Naoki came running down the stairs towards them.

“Thanks mom, I’m heading out, I’ll see you later! Hey Yori!”

Naoki’s frame towered over Yori, similar to the larger boy's mother, but to more of an extreme. He was quite massive, his muscles protruding from beneath his clothes like an adult warrior’s. His messy dark brown hair and beige shirt with a hole contrasted his mother’s pristine appearance. The burly boy made Yori look like a child in comparison despite being the same age. The young men waved to Mrs. Taguchi and headed towards Yori’s family farm.

“You know, you should really learn to ask why I’m here before saying bye to your mom one of these days.”

“Pfft, it’s spring. I’m sure your dad could use a hand on the farm. Especially with your scrawny arms.”

Naoki reached over and squeezed Yori's bicep in a teasing manner.

“Plus, you know you don’t even need to ask me for help.”

“You’re lucky you added that last part, I was about to smack you upside the head with these scrawny arms.”

Yori raised his right fist and flexed, placing his left hand over his bicep. Naoki smirked at this remark and pretended to be scared. He raised his hands in front of his faced to protect himself from the imaginary onslaught, his auburn eyes glinting in amusement.

Naoki’s robust strength always astonished Yori. They had been best friends since they were small children. When Naoki was younger he was sickly and little, often relying on Yori to help him. The roles had reversed now though, causing Yori to always feel like he was taking advantage of his friend, who followed him without question. To others it was apparent how grateful Naoki was to his friend for being there for him when they were younger, but often it made Yori feel inferior.

“Hey, we should stop by the market and see if there are any baked goods for sale today! Can’t work on an empty stomach, right?”

Glancing at his friend, Yori shrugged lightly and smirked.

“Sure, if you want. Although it’s not like my mom wouldn’t feed you. You just want to be eating at all times, I think.”

They veered towards the stalls that housed the heavenly bread Yori had noticed earlier. Their gibes were interrupted by a frail voice calling to them from one of the houses adjacent to the shops in town square.

“Yori, Naoki! Could I ask a favour of you two!”

The boys turned to see one of the villagers, Mrs. Handa, standing in the doorway of her house. Smiling, she extended a wrinkled hand and waved at them. The woman’s gray hair was pinned up in a white bonnet, a dark blue dress adorned her hunched posture. She took an unsure step towards them, leaning heavily on the wooden cane in her left hand. Naoki’s face lit up with delight at her request. She always had some chores for them to do in exchange for sweets. She was a lovely old lady that everyone in the village respected, but her husband had fallen quite ill. The boys knew that she had a hard time taking care of him all by herself and did anything she asked of them. Nothing was too much of an inconvenience if it was for Mrs. Handa.

“Hello Mrs. Handa, is there something you needed help with?”

Yori inquired as they approached, jogging towards her to limit the amount she had to walk. They stopped in front of the woman as they got close, entering the shade of her longstanding house.

“Did you make any more raspberry pie, ma’am?”

“Oh Naoki, my dear boy. Always thinking with your stomach, haha. I would love to make some for when you return. I’m afraid these old bones are not treating me well this morning. I worry that I may not be able to complete the walk over to the pharmacy to pick up the medicine for my husband today. We are just about out and he can’t manage without it. Would you boys be so kind as to get it for me?”

“Yeah, of course. I know how important it is that he has his medicine.”

“Oh, thank you, you two are so kind to us. I will be sure to make you something to take home with you when you bring back the medicine.”

She handed them a coin purse, and patted Yori on the head with her left hand, following it up by patting Naoki on the upper arm.

Everyone in the village knew that Mr. Handa was not long for this world as it was. Yori was aware that without the medicine he took daily he likely would not even make it through the night. Not only was this a truth not easy to face, but the medicine had cost the Handas their life savings, adding more stress to their delicate situation. Noaki and Yori were wise enough to recognize this. Whenever they did chores for her they always brought her some food that she would make into a delicious treat and share with them. It was their way of tricking her into accepting gifts from them without feeling like a burden. Once they were out of earshot of Mrs. Handa, Naoki piped up.

“You know she can’t afford to keep buying those herbs.”

“I know, but her husband can’t live without them.”

“Well, if that useless son of hers would send her money, then she wouldn’t be in this situation. The guy’s got a blessing from the God of Light and is in the military. I’m sure he can afford lots more then his poor old mom. Maybe we should ask some of the villagers to donate even a small amount to help them out?”

“You’re not wrong, but I haven’t heard anything about him since he left for school.”

This thought made Yori think of his sister.

She’ll be leaving soon too.

“You know how it is, people with real blessings don’t really like to associate with us Villagers. Even if it’s their own parents.”

“That is a good idea, though, about the donations, but do you think that would embarrass her at all?”

“Maybe, but there might be something else we can do…”

This was all too common a story in the village of Oseford. Being a small farming town there were few jobs for people with specific skills and abilities, so when someone was born with a Blessing from a God, it meant leaving the small town to learn at an academy and getting a job utilizing their talents. This would soon be the case for Yori’s own younger sister, but he tried his best not to think about it.

The two of them started heading towards the market to purchase the herbs for Mrs. Handa when Yori suddenly stopped, a pensive look furrowing his young brow. He proposed a new plan to save the woman some money.

“I saw some of the herb Mr. Handa takes, but it’s outside the shield.”

He looked up at his friend to gauge the response to his foolish thought.

“Outside the shield? Are you crazy!? We’re just villagers, we’ll be killed. There’s a barrier for a reason, you know.”

“It’s not as if every inch of the world is covered in monsters. We’ll just be cautious and keep our eyes peeled. If we come across any danger, we’ll run back to the village. We shouldn’t have to go far; I could see them from inside the barrier.”

Yori knew it was practically suicide going outside of the barrier without a proper blessing and leveling up a few times. The shield was a type of magic generated from a monster core to create a barrier to keep monsters out. It was an invention that led humanity from the brink of destruction to the founding of it’s first country, Mothein. Naoki was right though, Mr. Handa needed those herbs but couldn’t afford it much longer, and they did grow very close to the shield.

“Ok, let’s do this, but we have to be really careful.”

“Haha, I knew your heart was bigger than your head. Follow me.”

The two scurried to the outskirts of town, keeping behind the houses to remain unseen. They jogged with caution, trying to be as quiet as possible. They knew if anyone caught them, they would be in for an earful. Hoping to avoid a confrontation with a fellow villager they looked around them often, checking their surroundings to ensure they were alone. No one was around that they could see.

Naoki and Yori peered at the shimmering, transparent wall in front of them, a part of the bubble-like barrier that wrapped around the small village of Oseford. Squinting through the barrier, Naoki pointed to a small patch of a tall, thin plant up against a tree not far from them. They would have to walk about thirty feet to get to the herb, but it was right in their sight. There were no monsters visible at the moment. It seemed as if they would actually be able to reach the herb in relative safety!

Yori looked over at his friend and lowered himself, bending his knees slightly to begin his sprint to the plant.

“Ready?”