Hassin son of Muradin, son of Zareth stood in the Temple of Beginnings, alone. Unlike most others in attendance, he did not have a partner here with him because his loving wife Fatima had passed away after their son was taken by the goddess to the nursery of souls. Today was the first time he would get to meet his son. The fact that Fatima was not here with him left a hollowness in his heart. Then a seen like many of those unfolding around him occurred in front of Hassin. A ball of light emerged high in the air slowing drifting down to the floor before him fading to reveal a young boy of five years old.
The boy opened his eyes seeing this world for the first time. Before him stood a tall man, dressed in loose flowing pants and a robe fastened about his waist with a sash, his father. The boy knew this but he was not sure how he had no memories but was filled with a sense of peace and ease. His father spoke but the words did not reach the boy’s ears. His father’s face was wet with tears as he knelt down and embraced his son. The boy looked around, he was in a temple, the Temple of Beginnings. He knew this but, once again, he was unsure how. He cast his eyes about more, there were many parents, usually couples, also greeting their newly born children. They, like himself, were five years old. The boy wondered if his face held the same expression that the others had. Serene like a statue, almost unmoving, numb. Then the sounds came, slowly at first, rising to a cacophony of noise that was entirely incoherent. Then, like a stray spark igniting tinder, the boy understood. “Father…?” The boy spoke, half statement, half question. Hassin whooped, grabbing the boy beneath his arms and thrusting him up into the air. His stomach dropped at thew sudden motion, the forces of the world pulling down on him, but then he smiled and he laughed. “Yes, I am your father and you my son are Zander, Son of Hassin.” In his father’s embrace Zander was taken from the temple into the world for the first time, taken to the place that he would call home.
Sometime later Zander looked upon his father as he fastened on his armour. A leather cuirass and leather helmet fastened over his robes and ghutra, a scimitar sheathed at his hip. “Listen Zander,” he began to speak, “you are destined, as I was and my father before me and his father before him, going back twelve generations, to be a guardian to the royal family. It is our honor and our sacred duty.”
Zander listened as he was lectured. The previous day had been a happy one. Time spent together stories of love, of life, of his mother. Today was different, today was business.
“Each of us is assigned to a single member of the family. We grow together, understand each other and ultimately we protect them at the cost of our lives.” His father continued to speak, but Zander was distracted by the object that appeared before his eyes. He knew it to be a notification. The silver translucent window shimming gently for only his eyes to see.
New Quest: The Path of Honor
Type: Class Quest
Difficulty: Easy (adjusted from Very Hard)
Rewards: Achieve rare class, 2000 XP
Objective: Become recognized as a member of the royal guards of Shayla
Success: Complete the following tasks
- Complete your first year of training
- Best you opponent in your arming ceremony
- Be accepted by your royal charge
Failure: Fail to meet any of the above objectives by your 15th birthday.
Hassin stopped his monologue noticing the glazed look in his son’s eyes. “Zander!” he spoke more loudly, not shouting but commanding attention none the less. Zander jumped, startled back to reality. An enormous grin spread across Hassin’s face causing his beard to lift away from his robes. “You have received your first quest then?” Hassin began to question, not waiting for a reply. “This is very good, my son. Your first lesson then Zander, you must change your notification settings to ‘very important only’. Becoming distracted while on duty can lead to the death of yourself or your charge. Either of these is the highest shame.” Hassin finished.
“Yes father!” Zander replied. Hassin was satisfied as he looked upon the face of his son seeing his eyes glazed but darting from point to point indicating that he was changing his settings. “I have done it Father.” Zander said looking up a moment later. “Very good, my son.” Hassin replied. “Now let us go, the daystar will soon rise, and we must complete our morning training before then.”
Zander was ushered along by his father. Zander had managed to catch glimpses of the palace the day before, their house lay within the courts and gardens that surrounded it after all. Now they walked right towards it. Towers of white marble marked each corner of the massive structure. Enormous pillars supported the stone roof that hung high overhead. The roof itself crowned by a huge dome gilded with gold leaf. The walls of the entire structure were open to allow through the breeze and the palace, sat upon the hill, was the second highest structure in capital, second only to the temple ziggurat. Hassin pulled Zander to the right before entering the palace. A few minutes of walking lead to an open area covered in coarse sand. The area was marked out with a white ring made of pavers.
“Today son, we will begin with unarmed combat.” Hassin started. “It is the fundamental of all combat and the solid foundation you can rely on in any circumstance.” The next hour was spent with Hassin showing various foot forms and stances, getting Zander to repeat them until they were acceptable despite the awkward form that his child’s body displayed. Once Zander had a grasp on these stances the next hour was spent practicing very basic punches, blocks and throws. At the end of their training Zander noticed a flashing icon in the corner of his view. Focusing on it opened a window displaying the notifications that had been silenced while he’d been busy.
New Skill: Unarmed Combat
Type: Martial
Level: Novice
Effect: You can recognize stances and forms used by combatants for unarmed combat. You will learn other skills related to melee combat at an increased rate.
Criteria to advance: Become proficient at using this skill in low level sparring.
Having reviewed all the notification Zander dismissed it and turned back towards his father.
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“This is just the beginning, my son”, Hassin explained, “You are like unformed clay. In the beginning you are easy to shape, during this time you will learn many new skills and abilities. Overtime, the clay stiffens and developing yourself becomes more difficult.”
Zander nodded in acknowledgement of his father’s word, if not the intent than the understanding that they were significant. “Now introductions are in order before we begin studies.” Hassin told Zander as he began to walk away, beckoning his son to follow.
They made their way into the palace passing many guards. These guards gave the pair a cursory glance but ultimately did not challenge them nor slow their advance. Before long they entered and enormous room with a large, heavy stone carved chair at the far end. Zander knew that this should be the audience chamber where the king would make judgments, announcements and hear petitions. Zander let his thoughts linger for a moment on how he knew this, but he was soon led to some chamber just off this room. This new chamber was large but ultimately pack full of shelves housing both books and scrolls. A number of large cushions were set in many areas around the room and near the far wall, which had a large entrance to a balcony beyond, was a large desk made from some exotic wood. Sitting at the desk was and older man with a long smooth beard and adorned with colorful silks. Strapped across him from shoulder to hip was a sash adorned with gilded embroidery. As Zander and his father approached the man looked up from the papers, he was review. Seeing Hassin a large smile stretched from one end of his wrinkled face to the other.
“Hassin, my friend, I missed you.” The old man said as he turned his gaze down towards Zander. “A son?” He enquired. Hassin gave him a nod of confirmation and the man continued. “Then it is truly a joyous occasion, my congratulations Hassin.” As the man began to stand Hassin dropped down to knee his eyes cast low. On seeing this Zander clumsily tried to imitate his father almost losing his balance and falling over in the process. “Thank you” the man said solemnly. “You may rise.” At this prompt Hassin and Zander both stood. “What is his name Hassin?” The man quizzed.
“It is Zander, your eminence”, Hassin answered, “That is what Fatima decided on if it was to be a boy.”
“And if it were to be a girl?” The man questioned; his curiosity obviously piqued.
“Dahlia” Hassin stated.
“After the flower?” The man mused.
“They were Fatima’s favorite, your eminence.” Hassin returned.
“Very good then,” the man said turning his gaze towards Zander who had been quietly following the exchange. “Zander, I am Rhamat, and I am king of Shayla, the country you now belong to. You were born into this place which means that you are one of my citizens. As such it is my role to ensure your safety, prosperity and access to civil services. Has your father explained your family’s role in this nation?”
“I am to be a guardian to the royal family,” Zander answered, recalling the conversation with his father earlier that morning. “…your eminence”, Zander awkwardly managed to squeeze in at the end.
“Very good, I can see you are already off to an excellent start. Now shall we go for a walk? There is someone you should meet, and she’s been waiting for two years for your arrival.” King Rhamat said beginning to walk towards the doors. Hassin followed behind the king and Zander followed his father. As they moved through the palace Zander noticed something about his father’s bearing. He walked behind and to the right of the king, just within arm’s reach. He held his head level, his chest square and his right hand rested on his sword hilt. Zander realized that his unarmed combat skill had activated letting him recognize that his father was ready to protect the king at a moment’s notice. Zander took this as a learning experience and attempted to imitate his father as he walked. As he did so a couple of notifications flashed at the corner of his vision.
New Skill: Perception
Type: Passive
Level: Novice
Effect: You are more likely to notice small details in your environment.
Criteria for advancement: Observe your surrounding enough that you notice details that others are intentionally trying to hide.
“Here we are.” The king’s words and halt slightly startled Zander, reminding him that he must be more careful about when and where he chooses to access notifications. The group stood before a doorway adorned with silks that flowed and acted as a curtain across the threshold. “Zander”, the king said looking down at him, “I would like if you could introduce yourself. Can you do that?” Zander looked up at the king, understanding his request and nodding in affirmation. King Rhamat showed a grin before looking forward and parting the curtains. The room beyond had a modest size and colorful carpets spread across the floor almost reaching each wall. The far wall had the now familiar opening to a veranda beyond and more silk curtains hung to either side of that entrance. In corner there appeared to be a small but well-appointed bed covered in cushions and linens. In the opposite corner a low desk adorned with an inkpot and quill as well as various scrolls and parchments. In the center of the room sat a girl, a couple of years Zander’s senior, clothed in colorful silks. Around her, scattered across the room, were a number of toys, both wooden and stuffed.
“Vesti”, the king began, “You have a visitor.” As the king spoke Hassin nudged his son forward.
“Umm”, Zander stammered. He looked at the young girl before him. He skin was several shades lighter than his own appearing as a warm ivory color. Her hair was the color of sand and was drawn back tidily to keep the hair from her eyes. Those eyes in question were a deep blue, like the bay Zander had seen nested at the western edge of the city. Her gaze felt both penetrating and swallowing at the same time. “My name is Zander.” Zander managed to get out after a moment’s pause.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Zander.” The girl said, without missing a beat, performing a curtsey as she spoke. “I am Vesti, Crown Princess of Shayla.” The princess then turned her gaze to her father, Zander feeling her eyes leave him as she did so. “Is Zander to be my sworn guard?” Vesti enquired.
“Yes Vesti, as anticipated he will be dedicating his life to you and, in time, there will be few in this world who could claim to know you better.” The king answered as he shifted his gaze around the room. “Now I believe you are both due to conduct your individual studies after lunch which leaves a couple of turnings of the hourglass. Why don’t we leave you two to play and get acquainted?”
“Yes, Father.” Vesti said smoothly and with an elegance the seemed to belie her true age. King Rhamat smiled and turned to leave, Hassin following close behind him. Before he let Hassin turned back to Zander and gave him a small nod as if to say, “do your best!” before following after the king. And then they were alone. A pregnant pause seemed to hang heavy in the air.
Zander was the first to break the silence. “What’s that?”, he said pointing to a wooden figure a few feet away from him. Once again Zander could physically feel Vesti’s gaze leave him to follow where his finger pointed.
“A toy warrior.” Vesti answered. “Would you like to play?” Zander stared at the figure for a few moments longer before nodding. And then, in the way that only young children seem able the two bonded fast with lunch arriving before they’d realized.
And so, the cycle continued on; the days tracking through the seasons one after the other. In the early morning Zander would conduct martial training with his father, then play with Vesti until lunch, after lunch he would go through book studies with one of the tutors in the palace. One day in seven Zander would not go to the palace but instead would wander around the capital with his father. This routine quickly became both familiar and comforting to Zander. He truly enjoyed these simple days. The day rapidly approached when his training would be put to the test, his arming ceremony. On the eve of the event Zander lay awake in his bed, too excited to fall asleep. He decided to use this time to look over his status sheet.
Character Status
Name: Zander
Title: Son of Hassin
Race: Human
Class: None
Level: 0
Luck: 0
Attribute
Score
Modifier
Strength
9
-1
Dexterity
10
0
Constitution
8
-1
Intelligence
11
0
Wisdom
12
+1
Charisma
8
-1