Once Lan felt like he understood how to use the Tome, he found his father at his home workshop and watched him work.

Something that he did every day, but today was a little different. Lan and his father had been working on a pair of bracers. Well, His father was making them. All Lan did was sit and watch, but that was all he had to do at this point. This day was different because his father had finished the pair of black steel bracers with gold trim and a large sapphire set over the hand guard in each.

‘Have you found a buyer for them yet?’ Lan asked, getting a smile from his father. It was a question he had heard every day since they started it. A question that Lan felt safe asking as this item was unique because, unlike the long waiting list of things his father had been commissioned to make, this was a display of skill. After every milestone, crafters would make an item showing the fullest of their skill. This was for his father's thirty-fifth Level. Which was incredible for a man in his thirties, not in one of the combat classes.

‘Not yet.’ Lan's father chuckled, knowing what Lan had been building up to.

‘Well… if you don’t sell them, it would be a waste to just leave them there. So…’

‘You can’t have them.’ he laughed softly as he patted Lan on the head. ‘For a start, they won’t fit you for some time yet.’ He said as he linked his thumb and finger around Lan’s wrist. Which showed about an inch of space. ‘Plus, crafters don’t need things like this.’ He said, looking at the manifestation of his skill with a mix of pride and sadness. ‘We make these for the people who risk their lives to protect us, hoping they will return home safely. That is the real reason why we do what we do.’

Lan nodded, finding it hard to think of anything to say in return.

‘But I’ll tell you what, when you are old enough, I’ll make you something just for you.’ his father smiled, and Lan found himself mirroring it.

It was then they heard a knock on the shop door. Not even ten minutes later, Lan sat at the table with his mother and Father on one side and Obern Dell on the other.

He was dressed in an expensive-looking high-collared red coat lined in gold and a dark green shirt. Lan frowned as their eyes met, the man’s expression unreadable for a moment before he smiled, deepening the cracks in his dried ocean bed of a face. At least doing so helped Lan relax as the man closed his eyes, meaning he didn’t have to look at the dull grey colour in which sat the eyes of a viper.

‘Hmm, from the looks of it, I am interrupting preparations for a celebration.’ Dell looked at the cake cooling in the kitchen.

‘Oh,’ Lan’s mother placed her hands on his shoulders. ‘Our Lan has just gained his Tome.’

‘Really, so he is old enough to gain levels then?’ Dell asked, seeming to weigh the information without reaction.

‘No, Lan doesn’t turn twelve for another five months,’ Lan’s father explained.

‘Is that so…?’ Dell said, surprise forming on his face. ‘Well, you seem to have a promising young man on your hands. He added, seemingly happier to speak.

‘He is,’ His father said with no little amount of pride in his voice. ‘But what is it that we can do for you?’

‘Straight to the point, I could expect no less from a craftsman of your renown, so I will not waste your time.’ Dell paused. ‘You see, I have been a merchant since I was a boy. I am ashamed to say that it has taken most of my life, to the detriment of my family, to get this far. Even still, my dear wife was able to give me a daughter before the Lords of Light saw it fit not to bless us again. It has been the source of countless sleepless nights for what I would do not only about my daughter but also my business and Class Item. The life of a merchant is not one that I wish for my Eliza, nor does she have the heart for it. I can’t trust any other merchants with my business and Eliza, and I have found not one worthy of either to apprentice. Until now.’

Without needing any more information to know where Dell was going, Lan’s father sat straighter but was polite enough to let the man finish.

‘When my Little Eliza came home yesterday and wouldn’t stop talking about your boy.’ All three adults looked at Lan.

Eliza… it took a moment before he remembered that was the name of the girl he had met the day before. A pretty girl with long red hair had shown up in the village Square where he and his friends gathered. Looking longingly at them, Lan had asked if she wanted to join them, which seemed to have left a great impression on her, as she had gone home and wouldn't stop talking about him.

'Seeing how happy your son had made my little Eliza. I knew that the answer to my greatest problem could be answered. Not only would my Eliza be happy, but I could train a competent successor,' Dell had said with every last drop of merchant's sincerity he could manage. To the great credit of Lan’s mother and father, they were not moved by this act.

‘I am sorry to hear about your dilemma. But Lan is already set to inherit our Class item, and even if that wasn’t the case, I think it’s a little too early to discuss marriage with someone we are just meeting,’ much as his voice didn’t change, Lan’s father's disapproval of Dell’s approach was evident in his levelled stare.

‘Indeed it is.’ Dell nodded. ‘So you can understand how much promise I can see in your boy and the feelings of my Eliza. But as parents, is it not our job to provide the best lives for all our children,’ he looked to Silas, who was hiding behind their mother.

Ever the merchant, Dell had placed his finger on a problem hanging over their family since Silas was born. Lan’s family had only one Class item. By right, it was his to inherit.

That wasn’t the problem. The problem was what to do with Silas.

Ordinarily, children who weren’t the firstborn would try to find apprenticeships with others who either didn’t have children or were looking for a partner for their own children. This would be fine if Silas had not been so timid.

Three years of observation before someone would take you as an apprentice wasn’t unheard of. In fact, some would say that he was already too old to be considered, and not many would hope that he would grow confident in time.

‘If you don’t mind me saying, I don’t think this as hard a decision to make, merging a merchant and crafter families seems advantageous along with securing the future of all our children. To this end, I am willing to invest in your shop and in a substantial dowry.’

‘In any case, I think we are going to need some time to think about this.’ Lan’s mother said, which seemed to catch Dell by surprise as he stuttered.

‘But I thought… you are right.’ He smiled. ‘This also allows you to meet the rest of my family.’

Even Lan had to look at Dell a little strangely. Did he really think that this was all that had to be said? That he would walk in and leave with a new son-in-law over a twenty-minute chat? No matter who you were, this wasn’t a decision anyone made on a whim. Even Lan knew that.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

A family Class Item was a family’s history and legacy, so much so that being the oldest in some families wasn’t enough to ensure one would inherit it. Not only had a lot of time and effort been spent preparing Lan to inherit, but he had also taken to the art like a fish in water.

No matter how great an opportunity, Dell was asking for a lot from them, a lot for them to entrust to a newcomer they had just met. The only reason they had not turned him down right away was the sole fact that Dell was risking just as much. Which told a story of more profound desperation that the man was hiding.

Maybe that was why they were willing to think about it. In a sense, Dell was offering Lan his family’s future. It was a sacrifice that no one could make lightly, as family-class items were sacred. In many ways, it was an oath to the Lords of Light. So even after Lan and Silas had gone to bed, his mother and father spoke long into the night.

The next day, Lan found himself around the table again, only this time, they were joined by someone new.

Eliza's hair was in a loose ponytail, and she wore a green dress matching her eyes.

As his Father and Dell talked, all Lan could focus on was Eliza and her odd behaviour. She would look at him every few moments before turning red and looking away when he looked back.

Once, as they looked at each other, her already large round eyes grew wide, making them shine like emeralds. That time, Lan was the first to look away as the sight made his chest feel odd, which, a moment later, he felt was a mistake because, once again, she went back to looking around, flustered each time their eyes met.

After a while, Lan started to wonder if she even wanted to get married. As a matter of fact, did he? His only example of marriage was his mother and father… well there was also Mr and Mis Faros, but they were more of an example of what not to be like in a marriage.

They had been in love since his mother and father were a few years older than Lan. His mother had said that she had known the moment she saw him and just had to make him realise that he felt the same, whereas Lan’s father had told him in secret that he had already fought five other boys for the chance to be the first to talk to her. Fighting five boys wasn’t a problem for Lan, but would he do so for Her, the girl he had only met twice? Maybe if they were picking on her, but then he would do that for anyone in that case.

More than that, there was another thing on his mind: his little brother, although he would also be trained as a crafter. If he said yes, he could make sure his little brother was safe, and that was something.

A few weeks later, and after countless hours of negotiating, it had all but been decided that Lan would marry or at least be betrothed to Eliza. It was agreed that he would take a look around Dell’s workshops and where he may be living from then on.

As Dell, Eliza and Lan walked. Dell kept asking him questions. Some were meant to get to know him better, and others were what to him were relatively too simple questions, So much so that soon enough, he started to think the Dell didn’t really have much of a high opinion of him, even if he was trying to hide it.

‘How about this now, if you have to reach a neighbouring city and have till the end of this month to do it, but you are five days away. Do you think you have enough time if you left right now, my lad?’ as Dell spoke, Lan looked back to Eliza, who was walking behind him. It took a moment, but he realised that she was looking at his hand. ‘Boy?’

‘Huh?’ Lan looked back to Dell. ‘did you say this month?’ he asked, getting a nod from the merchant, ‘Then yes.’ he answered, going back to looking at Eliza again and wondering what she was doing.

‘Hmm, well, you couldn’t get them all right. If you still have five days to go today. you would still be half a day late.’ He smiled as if Lan had finally proven himself the dullard he thought he was.

‘But.’ Lan frowned. ‘There are still six days left.’ he said back, which seemed to lower Dell’s opinion of him even more,

‘No, counting today, there are only five days. But you need five full days of travel to reach the city and will arrive on the first day of next month. It is important to get as much information as possible in this line of work.’

‘No, you would get there on Soulsday.’ Soulsdays was named after the constellation Soul, which came once every five years and was counted as a day of the month it appeared in. The only reason he knew about it was that on Soulsdays, Crafters found their creations coming out better. When Lan explained this to Dell. He burst into laughter.

‘Well done, my boy. I had completely forgotten about Soulsday. It looks like I am going to be able to argue the late fees after all.’ He laughed again and patted him on the head. ‘Come, I will show you around the storehouses.’

As they started walking, Lan looked back to Eliza again and stuck his hand out. Guessing that was what she wanted, he guessed he was right as her face lit up, and she took his hand. At this, Dell smiled, although it never reached his eyes.

For some time, they walked around the warehouse yard. It was a place in the village that he had not been allowed near because all the horses and carriages weaving around each other.

Even still, it was something to see, especially the large buildings that looked nothing like any other in the village up close. Some of them had large doors that opened up one whole wall so Lan could see some of the things inside. One had a crate full of odd animal pelts that were covered in horns. Another was just filled from floor to ceiling with wheels of cheese, just cheese… when they had seen all the storehouses had to show, they headed to Dell’s and Eliza’s home.

That the house did not fit the village would be an understatement. Four towers formed the foundation of the three-story building. Like the storehouses, it wasn’t allowed to be in the village proper, so it stood in a large open field overlooking the warehouses. Almost as if even at home, he had to have an eye on his property. At the time, Lan had never seen a building like it and couldn’t stop looking at it.

To his child’s mind, it looked almost like a castle. The inside was no less as grand. Rich dark wood accented with gold leaf made up the floor and frame on the interior. From the front door, you could see the staircase to two upper floors, from the top of which stood a woman. Dressed in a white silk dress, with platinum blond hair and with the same eyes as Eliza.

Guessing the beautiful woman was Eliza’s mother despite looking much younger than Dell, Lan smiled. With the right attributes, there was nothing that would stop someone from looking much younger than they were. With a glance that barely seemed to acknowledge him, she walked away.

‘Never you mind her.’ Dell rested his hand on Lan's shoulder. ‘She is just not a morning person.’ He laughed, and Lan said nothing about it already being mid-day. ‘So what do you think about our home? You know it may be your home too soon.’

‘Oh, it’s amazing.’ Lan said as he recovered and smiled. After all, he was standing in the man’s home, so he needed to make a good impression.

‘Oh... and do you think I have been able to get all this by standing around and gawking at everything like an addle-brained fool,’ confused, Lan looked up. In a moment, Dell’s tone had changed. Lan felt his stomach squeeze as he saw the look of utter contempt on his face.

Never before had anyone, let alone an adult, looked at Lan like that. Lan felt the colour drain from his face as he fought for words. ‘Oh, have you started to understand the position that you are in and that your family is in?’

‘W-what?’ Lan said more so, needing to act defiant rather than really having something to say.

‘Your mother and Father are willing to throw away a great opportunity because they are worried about you. They are worried that you can’t do what needs to be done because you are a stupid child. Why? Because you are holding on to the idea of being your father's successor even though it would be best if you left it to your brother. Tell me, why should I even allow a foolish and selfish child like you to marry my Eliza. Do you know what happens if you don’t marry Eliza?’ he moved to loom over Lan, the light in the room seeming to fade with every step. ‘You will be a burden on your family, and you will destroy the life of your own brother. Thinking about it, I don’t even think I want you to marry my child.’

‘No!’ Lan found himself saying as the tightness in his stomach crawled into his chest to the point it felt empty. ‘I’ll do whatever I have to do!’ Lan said like a cornered animal who could do nothing but watch the wolf close in. his mind racing to understand what was happening.

‘Good. When you get home, you will tell your family that you want to accept my offer and start living here as soon as possible.’

As he nodded, Lan saw the light at the end of the tunnel. He wouldn’t be the one to hurt Silas. He could be a good big brother and a good son. With that, Dell smiled and patted him on the back.

‘Good lad.’ He said, walking away without saying another word, leaving Lan to just stand there. Lan just stood there for what felt like an eternity, trying to understand what he had done. Was he really hurting his family… how could he fix it… could he fix it. If he made other mistakes, would Dell throw him out? And why did it feel like a part of him had been cut out?

As Lan's mind spiralled, the house walls grew taller every second. He felt sick and tired. He felt like crying and screaming all at once. When it was all too much for him to handle, Lan felt hands wrap around his own.

‘Are you alright?’ A small voice said to his left. Lan saw Eliza like a ray of light with a worried look on her face.

‘I’m fine.’ Lan said, smiling, finding it easy when he looked at her as they just stood in the strange castle.