Once upon a time in Mythoria, there was a great and just hero whose purpose in life was to defeat the seven Demon Kings who ruled over hell and were attempting to take control of the human world. But this story is not about him. In fact, it has nothing to do with him. Instead, this story is about Eldrin Simpora, a young man who would be considered average by any means. He was raised in a small town on the outskirts of Virdantia, a port city known for its delicious seafood. His parents were farmers who raised a specific species of cow native to the Kingdom Of Umbris. This story begins on Eldrin’s 16th Birthday.
“Happy Birthday Kiddo!!” my dad’s booming voice rang in my ears as I shot awake, somewhat dazed and confused. “What time is it…?” I asked, rubbing my eyes and yawning. “It's time for you to wake up!!” he said still shouting. My dad was never really a quiet man whether that be in volume or presence. The room was always filled with noise when he was around. That’s not to say he was angry man, he was just… pronounced. I mean, he was about 6’8 and had a hulking figure built from his many years of farming. I didn’t exactly take after him in that sense. Not that I was a small guy by any means, but I definitely wasn’t THAT big.
After my dad left the room I slowly hobbled my way out of bed and put on some random clothes I found on the floor. Don’t worry, I made sure to smell them first. I trudged over to the bathroom down the hall and stared into the mirror. I had very pronounced bags under my green eyes and my hair was jutting out like a porcupine. I brushed my teeth and took a long deep breath before making my way towards the main living space. As I entered I saw my mom in the kitchen cooking what seemed to be pancakes and eggs. My mom was entirely different from my father. She was a quiet woman who mostly kept to herself but she was very loving and kind. The biggest difference between the two of them was the size, while my dad was a behemoth of a man my mom was a relatively small woman, probably about 5’1 and quite petite. She was beautiful though, with striking green eyes and long almond-brown hair. Very similar to mine but much inexplicably much nicer. Those were the only physical features I shared with her though.
“Hey, buddy! Happy Birthday!” she said in an excited but quiet tone “Did your dad wake you up?” I respond in a quiet monotone voice “That he did.” “Are you excited for your birthday today?” she asked knowing full well that I wasn’t. You see, my entire family would be coming over later in the day, including all of my cousins who I did not enjoy spending time with. “Yeah… totally…” I responded. “Don’t Worry About Your Cousins Boy!!! Just Let Me Know And I’ll Give Them A Good Talkin To!!” my dad screamed from the dining room where he was eagerly awaiting the food. It wasn’t that bad with my cousins they were just a little annoying honestly. After I went and sat down at the table next to my father he strongly patted me on the back. “You Know Son, I’m Proud Of The Man You’ve Become!!” he said while tearing up. “Haha, Thanks Dad” I responded. He was always like this, extremely emotional. I’m sure it came from love though.
My mom placed all of the plates on the table quietly, kissing me on the cheek and smiling at me. Me and my father scarfed down the food as fast as humanly possible. I don’t know what it was but my Mom’s cooking always tasted better than anything else. After we all finished eating my mother said “We have a little present that we want to give you before you head off to Warton Academy.” She pulled a small box from underneath the table that was wrapped in leftover wrapping paper from Christmas and passed it over to me. “Oh jeez, I don’t know what to say. Thank you guys!” I pulled the note from the top of the box and it said “I know you don’t like to use a weapon, but I think these will suit you - Dad” I ripped open the wrapping paper around the box and opened it up to see a pair of brass knuckles with a flowing silver pattern strewn across them with and engraving that said Love, Mom and Dad. “These Are Awesome!!” I shouted.
I should explain. You see, this world is filled with all sorts of phenomena, whether that be other races like Dwarves, Elves, Fae, etc., or Magical creatures that roam the dark forests. Anything you can think of, we probably have it. So humans over the years developed systems to combat these other forces of the world. One of which is martial arts. Using an internal power called “ki” or “aura.” There are also other forces like magic and holy/demonic but those aren’t exactly important right now. I chose to become a practitioner of martial arts around 3 years ago and I’ve been training at a local dojo. Back to the story though.
After all that had happened, I helped my father with some of the farming duties and decided to head to the dojo for a quick training session before the rest of my family came over. As I walked down the street I waved at all the neighbors who were tending to their crops and animals and it finally dawned on me This is the last time I’m gonna be here for a while. This was my last day before I started my journey towards the capital city of Umbris, Thumulous. It was something I had been looking forward to for a very long time but now that the time had finally come, I had begun to feel the reality of the situation. I won’t be able to see my family for a pretty long time. I was sad but at the same time happy. The prospects of the future excited me while the past slowly escaped me.
I arrived at the semi-run-down dojo faster than expected. Or maybe it seemed faster because I was so lost in thought. I slid open the door and saw a few familiar faces, one of whom was my teacher Mr. Asakito. He was a small, frail-looking, old man with long white hair and a long Fu Manchu. He was kneeling on the ground with his eyes closed and his hands forming a circle around his stomach. In front of him was a cup of steaming green tea with a small stem poking up from within. I tried to enter as quietly as possible so as not to disturb his meditation but as soon as I did he said without moving a muscle “Welcome back student Eldrin.” I stopped in my tracks and said “Greetings Teacher.”
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I made my way to the mat in front of him and assumed a similar position. For martial arts users, meditation is essential because it is the root of our power. We use meditation to build the ki inside of ourselves and harmonize with the environment around us. There are different levels of ki users and they are differentiated by the colour and shape of their core. Everyone has a core because it is what maintains your life but generally only ki users have anything above a black core(the levels are black, brown, orange, red, yellow, light green, grey, white, and finally clear). I'm currently on the brink of the orange stage which is generally considered average for my age.
After maybe 10 minutes of meditation a few other students entered the dojo. The students who entered were my juniors Mudem, Maxim, and Marom. The 13-year-old triplets who study staff arts under Mr. Asakito. “ELDRIN!!! Happy Birthday!!” they all shouted in unison, completely ruining the mood. Mr. Asakito’s brow furrowed and he knocked them all in the head with his cane “You rowdy little whippersnappers!!”
After things had cooled down we started to train. We didn’t do anything all that intense just some practice sparring between me and the the triplets. They weren’t all that far behind me in talent, all three of them were somewhere around the low to mid-brown stage so it was still good practice for me to spar with them. At the end of our sparring matches, Mr. Asakito approached me and said “As a birthday and going away present, why don’t we have a little spar ourselves, hmm? I’ll go easy on you hehe.” This scared the ever-loving shit out of me. I don’t think I could explain how strong the Teacher is, I would say his core level but I have no idea what it is, he refuses to tell anyone and when he says he’ll go easy on you it means the exact opposite of what he’s saying. “Alright…” I responded incredibly meekly.
I equipped the brass knuckles I had been given as a gift early that day and got into a fighting stance in front of Mr. Asakito. He remained hunched over his cane, seemingly allowing me to make the first move. Taking this opportunity I through a right jab at full force aiming directly at his chin. But it missed… I don’t know how it missed but it did. It didn’t look like he moved at all but my punch didn’t hit. I threw another right jab followed by a left jab followed by a right hook but nothing even came close to touching him. It wasn’t that he wasn’t moving… I just couldn’t see it. I stepped back panting heavily.
I didn’t come into this fight expecting to win but I thought that maybe I could at least get a hit in. Still trying to catch my breath I blinked and the next thing I knew my teacher was nowhere to be found. Stunned, my eyes started dashing around the room trying to find any trace of him when I felt a hand lightly touch me on the shoulder. I through a spinning back fist towards him as fast as possible. He didn’t dodge this one but instead blocked my hand. “By three methods we may learn wisdom,” he said before hitting me in the stomach hard enough to launch me into the air. “First by reflection, which is the noblest” he hits me with an uppercut with his off-hand while I’m still in the air and all the air leaves my lungs. “Second, by imitation, which is the easiest” he jumps into the air and axe kicks my spine sending me rocketing towards the hard bamboo floor. He points his cane at my neck and finally says “Third, by experience, Which is the bitterest.”
As I sat there on the ground contemplating the enormous beating I had just taken, I realized how far I had left to climb.
After the harsh beating, I said farewell to my teacher, and the triplets went back home. By this time I was tired, beaten, sweaty, and it was already dark out. But as soon as I heard the sound of laughter and the smell of my mom’s cooking wafting from the house everything felt alright. All the tension in my body was released as I strolled inside. As soon as I opened the door I heard my father shout “There’s My Boy!!” and all of my younger cousins swarmed me. With all the shouting I couldn’t hear much but I made out a few “Happy birthdays.” so I thanked everyone and the night went on. It was pretty chill overall, thankfully the cousins mostly left me alone throughout the night. I got a few presents that were thoughtful but not much to write home about honestly. Though there was one that I'd say was pretty cool. It was an enchanted bracelet made of bronze that supposedly let my parents know if I was in any danger. Of course, it worked both ways so if they were in any danger it would let me know as well.
Other than that the night went off generally without a hitch. After everyone had left and I said goodnight to my parents layed down on the bed in my room lit by candlelight and thought. I thought about the future, whether or not what it held in store for me was good or bad and I thought about the past. About whether or not I would be able to return to this place safely. This world is not an easy one, I knew that but I hoped nonetheless that everything would go well, however foolish that may be.
The next morning I again awoke to my father’s shouting “Wake Up My Boy!!” and again I was dazed. But this time when I looked at my fathers expression it was not what I expected. He looked as if he had been crying but he had as bright a smile as ever. My mother was in the same spot as the day before, cooking eggs and sausage today when I had the startling realization! This is the last time in a long time I’ll be eating my Mom’s cooking. I was stunned. What was I gonna do. How will I survive. “Mom you gotta come with me, I don’t know what I’ll do without your cooking!” I said desperately. She laughed it off of course saying something about how her adventuring days were behind her.
My father was oddly quiet during breakfast. Dishearteningly so, but I didn’t put much thought into it and I kept eating. I had packed all my bags the day prior so I was ready to leave as soon as we were done eating breakfast. I gave my Mom a big hug and told her I’d miss her very much. When I hugged my dad he hugged me so tightly I almost couldn’t breath. My Mom rubbed his back and he loosened his grip. He grabbed me by the shoulders, stared into my eyes and said “become a man worthy of the Simpora name son.” I could hear sadness and pride in his voice as he spoke to me. He was definitely a complicated man but he was a great father.
With that I left to begin my journey.