There are many organizations that operate outside the perception of society. Some are branches of government, religious groups, or corporations. Other groups live completely in the shadows, only showing a fraction of their true roles or only showing a public mask. A fraction of a whole organization in the shadows, or the whole hidden behind a staged mask, they all have their own goals and motives, both benevolent and vile.
I woke to the sound of early morning songbirds. My fists clenched in my blanket even as I sank my face deeper into the old, cola-strained couch cushion. I had found the makeshift pillow two blocks away in a heap of trash. As the bird song grew louder and the light of the sun crept between the panels of the shack, I buried my face deeper into the cushion, cursing venomously along the way.
It was a week into the new year, and I felt like I was a restless dead, a corpse forced from my grave. After five minutes of endless chirping, I threw my head up in defeat. As I tried to untangle my blanket, I growled. “Fine, fine. I’m up, I’m up, you damned birds. I swear to the high spires that if you all don’t shut your beaks, I’m going to have you on a spit before day’s end.” I clicked off my space heater, the only reason I wasn’t a meatsicle. I strapped on my knife and quiver, slung my bow over my shoulder, and peeked through the crack between the shack’s door and its frame. The Irontusk van was gone, which meant that it was safe to leave. I slipped out of the shed as quickly as I could, inching around the fence before I sprinted across the street. I felt like a squirrel whenever I did this, but it couldn’t be helped.
At the time, my plan was to cross through town to get to my father’s old hunting grounds. I was moving to cut through the park near the center of town to cut down on the people who would see me. I hadn’t seen an ounce of kindness from anyone in those past few months. Since I landed on the streets, the best I had gotten from anyone was racial slurs. The worst from people had gotten me cracked ribs, gashes, or bruises and welts. One thing I’ve picked up on these streets is to expect nothing kind from strangers.
I moved down the street, dashing from tree to tree, bush to bush along the roadside. One thing I was thankful for was living in the suburbs. There was enough decorative foliage that I could stay out of sight of most people on the sidewalks if I stayed street side. Luckily, no driver had decided to turn me into a hood ornament yet.
I still had yet to catch an animal, but I was determined to make my first kill today. I passed into the town park, unseen and unheard by the light foot traffic. It was still winter, so few people traversed the sidewalks rather than drive anywhere in town.
As I snooped around for any sign of half-eaten food, I spotted a target. A mark for theft. I had to keep my eyes open for anyone that looked easy to take valuables from. On a bench facing west was an Elf, a man with long black hair, just relaxing and eating a sandwich. Stealthy as a ghost, I slipped up behind him. I eyed his person to find that he had a blood velvet purse of deckra just under his cloak. I slipped my fingers between the slats of the bench and quickly undid the snaps of the strap that held the purse to his belt. As soon as I slipped the strap open, I pulled the purse through the slats. I was about to make a break for it when something caught my nose.
Frankincense? My father had smelled of frankincense during the holidays. As I recognized the scent, my arms made a slight jerk in recognition, enough to cause the coins to jingle just the smallest amount. I made to turn and run when I heard “Ut, uh.”
I froze, my back turned to the bench from where the sound originated. I slowly turned around to find the owner of the purse looking down at me, his smile full of shark-like triangular teeth in a bronzed face. He was clearly a Wild Elf, his long black hair a wild mess, the sides of his scalp shaved bare. His leaf-green irises set into hazel sclera. A long scar ran from the base of his right ear down to his chin, pale against his dark skin. A battle wound. From a blade? Or maybe a claw?
I lunged for an escape, only to find that the Wild Elf had an iron grip on the collar of my grimy t-shirt. With unparalleled ease, he hoisted me off my feet and over the bench to set me down, sitting on the bench beside him.
“I’ve been waiting for you, boy.” The strange man said in an amused tone.
I looked up at him and couldn’t help but see some of my father in the man. “E-e-excuse me?” I stammered.
“You’re Iver, right? Son of Fermose? I’m an old buddy of his from back when he was part of the clan. I caught wind that he had…” The stranger paused to find the most delicate way to phrase the fact, but in the end, came out with “passed. I hadn’t seen him in a long time, and when I heard that his son was homeless, I thought I’d help.”
I eyed the Elf warily. “What’s your name, mister?”
“I’m your clan uncle, Thallos Kiem.” He said with a broad grin full of sharp teeth.
“Okay, then, Uncle Thallos.” I said skeptically, “Can you tell me what happened to my father with the rest of the clan?” This was a question that my father, Fermose, had me memorize the answer as a passphrase. My father’s old clan had him expelled after he had broken in the clan chief’s teeth over a fight about a girl.
“Your father had been exiled from the clan after getting into a fistfight with the clan chief.” Thallos almost looked pained as he said this, as if the memory held an old wound for him.
That was the correct answer. This was a world-changing shift. This man was here to help. Help me find a home. Maybe even help me find revenge for my father. But first thing came first. “Uncle… Thallos, I don’t want to be rude. And I mean it when I say thank you for coming to find me from the bottom of my heart. But what I really want to know is anything you can tell me about my mother.”
This was critical for me. I wanted to know as much about my mother as possible, and I hoped that somewhere along the way, the strange box would come into play.
“I’m sorry to say that Fermose met your mother after he had left the clan. I had only heard of Kella in passing rumor before I caught wind of what had happened to you.”
I clenched my fists in frustration at the answer. This was a setback, but it didn’t mean that I was done by any means. Trying to garner good faith with my newfound uncle, I raised his purse to him in offering. “Well, Uncle Thallos, what comes next?”
Thallos gently took the coin purse from me. He set the bag into his lap, opened the pouch, and began pulling free coins one by one, only to drop them back into the bag as he spoke. “I’ve got a question for you before I give an answer to your own question.”
“What’s that?”
“If I said that, you could join a group that was dedicated to changing the world.”
“Change how?” I asked with a glance, just as wary as my tone.
“Well, the answer to that depends on what you have the aptitude for. The Order I’m talking about has several sects for a variety of skills. This order has groups for warriors, casters, spies, inventors, and even assassins.”
I looked down into my empty hands between my knees for a long moment before looking back at this strange Wild Elf. “You mentioned warriors and assassins.”
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Thallos gave a snort of amusement as he turned to look at the sky. This drew my attention. His face became more than just that of another Wild Elf to me. I noticed the short yet pointed shape of his nose, the angles of his jaw, the cut of his cheekbones, and the set of his brow. Thallos really looked like he could have been my father’s younger brother.
“The Order of the Aegis that I’m talking about is a place to train real warriors and others bent on changing the world. The Order’s goal is to improve the world through acts ranging from slaying monsters and saving innocents as adventurers to designing world-changing technology or stopping wars either through knowledge or through killing tyrants.”
The thought of designing things that could change the world did catch my ear, but I had a mission. “Alright, Uncle, I want to learn. Where do I start?”
”That depends on where you want to start. I can see in your eyes, boy, that you want to fight. If you truly want to learn to fight, this academy will teach you to fight harder and fight smarter. If you can learn, you can really leave your mark on the world.” As Thallos said those things, my mind latched on to ‘fight harder, fight smarter’. The image of my father’s masked murderer flashed before my eyes, and my will hardened into a razor-sharp resolve.
“I want to learn, Uncle. Where do I start?” His face split into an amused grin as I jumped off the bench and began shadowboxing. “I’m ready. I need to show the world what I’m made of.”
“Wow, whoa there, my little friend. We need to get you tested first. From what I’ve heard, you’re a shoo-in for the apprentice program. But you need to keep in mind that this is eight years of non-stop training and that you may not end up in the martial sect’s courses.”
“What? I don’t get what you’re saying. I thought you said that I would change the world.” I pressed.
“And in a way, you will. But you need to remember that there are five sects. To put them simply, you could be a warrior, a caster, a spy, an engineer, or an assassin. Each of these roles is highly important and needed to help maintain the balance, but you need to be ready if you don’t get a martial sect.”
“How many years will I have before my sect is chosen?” I asked.
“You are going to be tested for a year on your talents and skills. At the end of the year, they select your sect based on how well you performed in each class. After you are indoctrinated into a sect of the Aegis, you have seven years of specialized training”
“I don’t care what it takes, Uncle. I will become a warrior or an assassin.” I pressed with an eager smirk.
“Why are you so hell-bent on murder, boy?” Thallos asked as he rested a hand on my shoulder.
“I want to catch the killer of my father and feed him his own spine.” I snarled.
Thallos just looked at me for a long moment, blinking rapidly as he came to terms with what I had just said.
“Well, aren’t you just a hateful little imp?” Thallos commented.
That quip drew a jagged glare from me. He knew what he had just implied.
“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that, boy. I was just noting on how bloodthirsty you are. But if you really want to get into a martial sect so bad, I guess I’ll need to teach you how to fight and, more importantly, how to not die.”
“Alright, where is the academy?” I asked, only barely holding back my excitement for learning how to fight. I was going to be a real warrior. As I worked on becoming a hero, I was going to kick ass and take names.
“There are several schools. But the one you’ll be going to is a week east of here, so two weeks, given the difficult terrain. We are going deep into the Titan’s Fall mountains. You will attend the school of the Grimmalk.”
I shuffled my feet as I threw a few quick jabs. “I’m ready. Let’s get going so I can prove myself.”
I watched as Thallos eyed me from top to tail with a smirk before he spoke. “How about before we get going, we get you some liveable clothes and shoes, a functioning backpack, and lastly, some damn food?”
Without preamble came a whirlwind of spending and shopping. Thallos bought me two meat pies and a kabob, all of which I downed within moments. He then dragged me into a clothing department and seamstress. I walked out with five pairs of cargo pants, which Thallos said was a must-have for Aegis, three t-shirts of varying colors, two hoodies, and five sets of underwear and socks.
The whole while, as I was being fitted and dressed like a doll, I couldn’t help but think back to my New Year’s wish. There was no way that some uncle of my father’s past would just jump out of nowhere to help me. Something had to be going on. And yet I still did not think about this topic for the next few days. This man, Thallos, had something planned. But if what he promised was true, then I’d follow till things didn’t benefit me.
Without another word, Thallos bought enough food for us to reach our destination, and we pressed on. We traveled in a Valcus all-terrain vehicle to cross the threatening wilds of the nation. When we stopped, we would make camp for the night. Living in the woods was nothing new for me, but Thallos made it a challenge every day. Every morning, he would give me an insurmountable amount of physical labor. He would set some impossible goals based on the environment, like climbing a sheer cliff face or crossing a space of woodland without making a sound. I failed every time. After my failure each day, Thallos would assault me with a willow switch, making me defend against blow after blow. When I wasn’t defending myself from the unstoppable onslaught of welts, he made me perform physical training till I broke that way. One hundred pushups, two-hundred and fifty situps, one hundred squats, a workout till body failure. When I broke down, muscles quaking, body shaking, on my knees, Thallos would offer me a salted garlic sausage and a wedge of aged cheese.
Every night I took the food, only to curl up under Sasha and do my best to forget about reality till the next sunrise. On those nights, I found Father, and I was a hero. I proved my value to the world and pushed beyond my limits. Every morning when Thallos would whip me again with a willow switch only to continue the cycle, day by day, I stood against the odds set against me, never willing to give up.
My body broke time and time again. The pain mounted day after day till the final day. That Quenchenday at the precipice of the mountains, Thallos let me sleep in. I awoke near noon, my body somehow feeling refreshed. Had he used Life Myst on me to heal my aches? My father had always worked me to be physically fit, yet even those last few days had broken my limits. Thinking back on that week of stress, I think I may have broken a few bones that Thallos healed in my sleep. During those days, Thallos had taught me the basics of martial combat, everything from dagger to spear, Hand Axe to War Axe. I showed no talent with any of the weapons but learned enough to maybe be able to defend myself.
On the last day, Thallos chased me with a handgun, hurling rubber bullets at me. I managed to run ahead of Thallos so far that I found a cliff face with a small cavern at its base. I stopped beside the entrance as I waited for Thallos. Not two minutes later, the Valcus slowly rolled up the dirt road.
The Wild Elf jumped from the driver's seat to stand beside me at the mouth of the cavern.
Thallos slipped his hands into his pants pockets, leaning back as he gave me a proud grin. “Here is where we part ways, boy. This is the start of your next tomorrow if you can pass this trial.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He told me to do the same and offer my hand forward.
I did as I was told. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and put out my hand. The scents of the mountain were sharper and more defined than anything I thought they could have been. The sensations were stronger than anything I had ever encountered. The mist from a fresh brook, damp moss climbing over old stone, pine, rich and strong as the untilled earth it grew from. I felt a cold shape fall into the palm of my outstretched hand.
I opened my eyes to find an enamel pin in the palm of my right hand, no larger than a bottle cap. The iron crafted into the image shaped an alien feline head. The creature’s fur was grey with blue-green stripes, and its too-large eyes were an acidic yellow-green that reminded me of my own eyes. The creature looked like a cat made wrong. Not only were its eyes too large, but so were its ears, massive things in a pointed-shaped ending in large tufts of fur. Its face was sleek and bony, with teeth too long. The whole strange image was topped with a crown of six silver stars.
“What is this thing?” I asked, my voice laced with equal parts disturbance and curiosity.
“That is a Grimmalk. Wild, fearsome, vicious creatures native to the magic of the dark fae.” Thallos explained.
I mounted the pin to the neck of my t-shirt. “That’s really fascinating and all, Uncle, but why give me the pin?”
“Think of it as a key. Now, make your way through the cave. I’ll find you after the trial.” He gave me a gentle nudge on the shoulder. “Now get going. You're gonna need to finish this before the sun goes down.”
I took a look at the sun to judge the time. I had about two and a half hours before the light of day faded.
Without another word, I turned to the mouth of the cave. My father’s face pressed into the forefront of my mind. I closed my eyes in an effort to stop the tears. Then, the image of the masked man standing over his bleeding body shattered its way through my memories. My jaw clenched so hard that there was an audible creak of bone and muscle. My fist clenched as hard as my jaw, nails digging into the skin of my palms. I refocused on my goal and pressed into the darkness.