A skinny kid was lying in bed, woken by the soft scuffing of feet against the stairs. It was bright out, so it's safe to say the boy was oversleeping.

"Leon get your ass up this instant, or you will have to deal with your father," his mother yelled as she burst through the door.

Leon groaned "mother, it's my birthday today; why do I have to do chores on my birthday?"

His mother glared at him, sharply saying," we don't have the luxury to slack around here; it's hard enough to feed the family; what makes you think we can afford to lose daylight?"

With that said, she turned around and headed toward the door; standing in the doorway, she looked back" well, don't make me come back in here, young man. But happy 12th birthday; it is a special day; you never turn 12 again."

Then she turned back towards the staircase and went downstairs, presumably to start making breakfast. Leon groaned and hopped out of bed, looking across the room to his dresser.

Leon walked over and put on his leather vest with a brown wool cloak over top of it and some dark green pants; it was chosen to help him blend in with the forest's foliage.

He looked about his bland room that had no decorations beside the dresser and a desk with a mirror just to the right of his dresser. He walked over to the mirror to gauge himself. He saw a short and limber body; his physique was more focused on speed and balance than being a hulking body of meat.

But that doesn't matter much when you consider that he is a child and can't do much harm.

With his once-over done, he headed downstairs, taking in his humble family home. They were not too well off, with Leon's father being a hunter and his mother taking care of the house.

The kitchen was clean and tidy, with a table in the middle of the room and cabinets lining the wall with a fireplace in the corner to cook.

"What's there to grab so I can go help father? I'm late as it is, and I don't want to take a fist to the head on my birthday," Leon asked his mother.

Leon's mother was in the process of making toast and taking the jerky out of the cupboards. She went and handed it to Leon, wishing him a good day.

Leon ran out of the house, taking in his surroundings; his family lived in the humble hamlet of Woods Edge, which was on the border of the empyrean Kingdom near the great forest. About 12 families were residing in Woods Edge.

The houses were all facing toward the well and town square, where people traded and sold their wares. It was a tight-knit community; you couldn't look somewhere without knowing them personally.

Leon started into a jog towards the woods on the, ironically, edge of the village. He was looking for a little shack hidden beneath the canopy of the trees where his father Garnt's tools were, like his bow, traps, and daggers; they were all stored there, along with where the skinning of the animals took place.

As he arrived, he yelled," father, I'm sorry I was late. I was helping mom out with making breakfast, I swear."

His father Garnt had a doubting face on, obviously not believing what was coming from Leon's mouth.

Garnt was stringing his bow and had three traps in front of him, all freshly oiled and ready to sink their iron teeth into their prey.

"I don't think your mother is that clumsy to need any help, especially from you. Last time you were tasked with any cooking, we didn't eat that night."

Leon looked away to the side shamefaced and shrugged his shoulders "well, I'm here now father, what did you need me here for?"

As Garnt finished stringing his bow and flung it across his back, "we need to set the traps up before this bear causes any more problems towards the village."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Leon's eyes widened, and he took a few steps back hesitantly "a bear? I am pretty sure of myself when it comes to hunting, but a bear? I can't do anything to a bear. I'm just a kid. Heck if I was a mage I could do something". He stated cautiously.

"well, that's too damn bad that you think these traps are heavy; you'll be carrying a few either way. This damn bear has already ripped Tim's arm to shreds, and he will never be able to lift his hammer arm again for the forge. Damn shame too; he was Wood Edge's only smithy. Where can I buy new blades when mine chips on bones again?"

Leon looked blankly at Garnt, being six foot tall even with the same style of clothes as Leon, just his being differently colored. There was a difference as the bow was slung on his back but on his broad chest, there were five throwing knives, all in their sheath, carried by a leather sash diagonally across his chest. He was overall conveying an intimidating presence.

"Well, try to be gentle with the next deer you see, then?" Leon half mumbled

Garnt half-heartedly kicked Leon on his behind, making him stumble towards the traps neatly laid out.

"carry two of them. I'll grab the rest, be quick with it, I've got to get my quiver, and then we are setting out."

"This can't wait until I become a world-famous archmage, can it?" Leon quipped and started to load the traps, one on each shoulder, with his arms through the middle making sure the teeth were facing away from his body.

Garnt walked back towards Leon with a quiver on his back and bow in his hand, bending over and grabbing the last trap in his other.

"Well kid, we don't have the money to send you to learn about all that magic mumbo jumbo or do we know if your talented or not"

Hearing this, Leon looked down at the ground, trying not to show the sadness within his heart.

"They don't help the common people at all; a third of them are from the commons any way those bastards," Garnt spat out.

"Well, come on kid, it's time to trap this rabied-up bear or die trying," Garnt threw over his shoulder, walking away towards the deep forest.

Leon took longer than usual paces, trying to catch up to the much older and taller man's strides, thinking about the rabies comment.

"Rabies? Oh, what did I get myself into."

As Leon followed his father deeper into the dark forest, his body was unconsciously doing all the work as he was mentally thinking about his future. Oh, how Leon wished he could one day grow up and be a war mage. He didn't have any malicious tendencies or a fancy for death and destruction, it was just a great way to make money for his family. All he wants is for his family to be happy and the best way is to drown them in as much money as he can get his hands on.

There are many, many types of mages in the empyrean kingdom, and they follow the basic elemental structures with earth, wind, fire, water, lightning, time, and gravity. It has always been a story that the first king founded the empyrean kingdom with mastery in all subjects building his empire from his own magic.

While Leon was thinking about this far-off fantasy, he ran into a cold, hard object. Bending over, holding his nose, "why did you stop, old man? My nose is now bleeding from your stupid quiver," Leon cried

A giant hand took hold of Leon's neck pushing him down into a crouch right next to Garnt who was kneeling inspecting the damp grass. "there are tracks, which means I need that head of yours screwed on tight so focus up" with that being said Garnt handed Leon a handkerchief and told him to plug his nose.

"And by the way, I'm not old. I can still kick your ass, so show some respect."

Leon just kept his head looking forward holding a handkerchief to his nose. It was his birthday after all no need to get hurt any more than he needed to. As his father was not the most patient parent, you could ask for. Always having a heavy hand when it comes to punishments claiming that "it adds character to a young man."

"Stay behind me we are going to track it back to its den and lay traps outside of it. Do what I say and stay quiet or you won't live to 13" Garnt ordered.

Leon following deeper in the deep woods, was hyper-focused on his surroundings, taking in all that he could but being rewarded with tall trees at least 4 feet wide all 30 feet plus high. The woods were dark and light shafts rarely peeked through this deep in the woods. He was sure to keep his footing in the damp grass from this morning's dew. The sounds of the surrounding wildlife slowly started to disappear as he went deeper and Leon would swear it was getting colder and more imposing as time went on.

As time went on, they soon reached a slight downward slope hidden behind some bushes but were easily seen by any mediocre hunter as half the bushes were bent back from a massive weight that consistently passed by.

Just past the bush was a hole in the ground that looked like it was dug out by some giant creature but Leon was sure of what his guess would be that created it.

"Alright, we're here get your traps out one at a time and listen closely to where I need them to go" Garnt whispered. Garnt slowly crept forward in a crouch. Reaching the bush and going past to the mouth of the slope. He waved Leon forward to his side.

"We are going to set up all three traps to cover the whole width of the slope so it has to step in the traps. Just be careful with the noise it's still sleeping down there."

Both of them got to work laying out traps which didn't take too long as there were only three the most challenging part was being quiet with the considerable metal gear that holds the trap open.

"Ok, we can't get any more prepared than this so I need you to go hide behind the trees a little ways back. I can't risk you getting injured, or your mother will kill me," Garnt told Leon strictly.

"What? I'm here to help you. How can I sit back as you fight a deranged rabied-up bear."

Garnt tried to suppress a snort and showed a condescending smile "what rabies are you talking about, kid? Just sit back and let your father handle this, and we can celebrate your birthday later tonight."

Leon walked back a few paces to the nearest tree peeking his head out, watching his father walk past the traps they set up, and grabbed an arrow out of his quiver and notched it, aiming at the sleeping bear just 40 feet away from Garnt. Leon was nervous for his father as he watched him let loose his arrow, which slammed right into the bear's side, piercing its ribcage and nicking its lungs.

The bear woke up alarmed, standing 5 feet tall on all four legs with viciously sharp fangs showing in its rage-filled roar after being shot. It scanned its den looking at the only entrance and noticing Garnt's figure towering up on the slope. It let loose one more warning and charged.