There are many things Asterion thought would may occur as a result of him accepting the role of an assistant.

He would fetch various documents and people. Clean dirty laundry and fold it. Organize events or meetings as an extension of his boss. Perhaps, he would even get the opportunity to become his own boss to a team of underlings, should the work prove too tenuous for him to do alone.

Well… more likely he would be an underling, instead.

But that was okay. He would still be in a position he was better in than before. Working as an assistant was no hard task, albeit a varied profession, it was not a deadly one.

Unless…

Asterion stood, stunned at the sight before him. He would have run if he comprehended the sentence that Bellarus had said. But he couldn’t. He was just too surprised. The man who opened the door stood a head taller than him, was gruff, bearded, and had a permanent scowl on his face.

He also carried a sword with a wind rose compass on hits hilt.

It was Brandon. The man, after locking the door immediately lunged at Asterion, swinging a leather gloved fist directly at his face.

He backstepped to avoid the blow, attempting to duck at the same time, but he backed right into Bellarus, who acted as a backstop for his own lunge.

‘What th—‘

Watching the fist come toward his face was surprisingly inevitable… Asterion found himself almost at peace. Almost.

The world went black.

…

Throughout his unconsciousness, Asterion dreamed beautiful scenes of things he forgot immediately after… he would have liked to stay, if he had a choice. Time was a non existent concept in his dream, meaning he wouldn’t have to experience its violating flow if he didn’t want to… so he didn’t.

He heard conversations between people he couldn’t recall, their unrecognized voices protruding into his dreams as an echo of his consciousness. Invasive, demanding. He didn’t know when they happened, nor their order… for order was dependent on the concept of when, and when was not a real thing anymore…

It was all really annoying, though.

‘Gosh! These people can’t let a person be?’

Walking a grassy hill, a radiant sun rose above the hill, planting mirrored rays of its warmth on the massive field, wind billowing its grass in a constant gust. Peaking above its crest, Asterion’s vision was suddenly filled with a vast body of water, unlike he had ever seen before.

It was a shimmering blue… he had never seen something so… beautiful. From the each side of his vision, from the edge if the hill to the horizon, was nothing but water.

It was unbelievable. Not only because of its stunning beauty… but because it really was unbelievable. Water was a scarcity in Hope, and this much water would be enough to make it not one… forever.

“I didn’t mean to knock him out! I mean really? Look at him. Your punch could have killed him!”

Another voice cut through a moment later, this one more scratchy and a bit more echoing, leaving a displeasing stain on his pleasant sight.

“I’ll take him to the others.”

…

“Hey. Wake.” A voice cut through a fading dream, only to be replaced by another, more alluring one.

“Maybe he is dead?” Another voice said, seemingly from the sky.

That sent the dreamy Asterion into a curious streak.

‘Is this what death is like…?’ He thought, staring at the vague clouds beneath his feet, the sky above was replaced by a city, seemingly mirrored upside-down, ‘it’s… nice… I think?’

“No, i can see him breathing. Watch this.” The first voice said.

‘You know… this isn’t too bad. If this is death, it’s rather peaceful. I’m alright wi—‘

A pain radiated from his stomach, spreading through his gut and into his lungs, taking the air out of them.

Asterion’s eyes shot open, coughing out the last of his breath, and proceeding to gasp for air.

“Argh…” He yelled, leaning to his side.

He tried to clutch his stomach, but something was binding his hands together behind his back. The best he could do was bring his feet to his chest in a fetal position to defend himself from another blow in his hazy state.

The switch from the total darkness of unconsciousness to the light of day—or at least the overhead light—led Asterion’s vision to be blinded momentarily, as well.

If that wasn’t bad enough, a pounding pain began in his face as he suddenly woke, from his nose and down to his upper teeth. A numbing chilling effect fought for control to minimize the pain, but failed to alleviate the flow of blood down into his mouth and floor.

It tasted terrible.

“Gah… this sucks.” He groaned between gasps.

“A little harsh, don’t ya think? The poor boy was already knocked out once. You had to do his stomach in while he’s down?” The second voice resounded once more.

“It woke him up, didn’t it?” The first voice said defensively.

A hand was placed on his shoulder.

“Sorry bud. I didn’t know he was going to do that.”

A laugh resounded from the other side of him. “I did.” A third voice spoke.

Only when his vision resumed—now much less blurry, and shallow breaths allowed him to breath did Asterion unfold from the fetal position.

Some noise resounded from the other side of the room, and he was lifted to his feet by two people. He wasn’t quite ready to stand, leaving him to stumble a little, but eventually gained his footing, standing in the center of three people. One was tall and skinny, one was an athletic build, albiet a bit shorter, and one was rather bulky. The three people looked at him with amusement.

After a moment, the man that stood taller than himself spoke, raising both hands in the air.

“All good? Great! Welcome friend, to the Pathfinders! While your induction was a bit harsher than the rest of ours, your no less family! My name is Aaron. The one who kicked you is Peter, and the big guy who knew Peter would kick you is Daren.”

Asterion stood tensed, still a bit stunned from the unceremonious awakening, with fresh blood still dripping around his face overlapping the dried residue of older blood, looking around the cramped space.

The ceiling was a few feet above them, made of a single slab of rough porous stone. The walls were bare and made of a more elaborate design of the same stone. On one end of the room stood a single door, carved out of wood.

Noticing Asterion’s gaze remaining on the door, the short guy—Peter, spoke.

“I wouldn’t try to leave yet, we’ve been instructed to stay and wait for more people before we go. If they catch you leaving, it’s considered an abandonment of your duties.”

He shifted his gaze to Peter, turning irate.

“Duties? To who? The damned person who just kidnapped me? Are you crazy?”

Peter gave a tight lip smile.

“Well… I don’t know why they brought you in bound and bleeding, but we all agreed to this… and they did say no back-sies.”

“I didn’t agree to join the damned Pathfinders!” Asterion shot back.

Then, every person in the room gave him a weird look. Silence took over, leaving the room tense.

Aaron filled the gap.

“Uh… sorry bud, I don’t know your name, but maybe you just don’t remember agreeing? They hit you pretty hard, after all. We definitely all agreed to join the Pathfinders, each for our own reasons. The prospects aren’t bad... they don’t just kidnap people,” he laughed, looking at Peter, “I mean help me out here, he’s clearly delusional.”

“I can hit him again if you want. Maybe it will knock some sense into him.” Peter replied smirking, earning a dirty look from Aaron.

Daren laughed, “No need, he seems like he knows where he is, at lea—”

“Stop!” Asterion yelled, cutting Daren off, “I didn’t join the Pathfinders. I know I didn’t, and I’m not crazy! You’re crazy. And stupid if you think joining those extremists is a good idea.”

That earned a chorus of laughter from the three.

“…Extremists!”

“…didn’t join…”

“Baha… good idea!”

Then, Peter regained his composure and looked at Asterion.

“Look. Nobody here thought it was a good idea to join at first. When my recruiter came up to me and told me he was a Pathfinder, at first I thought I was about to die… but then he convinced me it could be a better path for my own future. We all know from what we’ve heard about them, but believe me, I’ve been with them for about two days now, and they’re far from extremists.”

‘Two days? This dudes been a hostage with the Pathfinders for two days, and he’s already advocating for them? These guys really are extremists!’

Daren jumped in, “Who recruited you? That would explain a lot. I hear Bearded Brandon’s a little rough on new recruits ‘to toughen them up.’” He said, mimicking air quotes with his fingers near the end.

“Is that the name of the bastard that punched me? Really!” Asterion shot back angrily, attempting to infuse as much sarcasm as possible.

“Yeah. The guy with the beard who brought you in here is Brandon. He’s rough around the edges, sure, but he would die for you now that your family. He’s what I aspire to be.” Peter said, not getting the sarcasm.

“He’s not an inspiration! He’s a douchbag who runs out on meals. I catered for that bastard yesterday and was starved for it. Then, I got tricked by some blonde guy,” Asterion started getting animated, and limping toward the door, “who said his name was Bellarus— but I’m sure that’s fake! Before getting punched and kidnapped by ‘Brandon.’” Asterion seethed.

He stopped short of the door, turning around to try and open the door with his hands still behind his back. After a few moments of struggle, he huffed and looked at the three men, who were silently staring at him with wide eyes.

“… did you just say a blonde guy with blue eyes, and his name was Bellarus?” Daren said, mouth agape.

“Uh… I didn’t say anything about his eyes?”

“That’s irrelevant! You really got recruited by Bellarus? That’s incredible! What was he like?” Aaron said, now equally awestruck as Daren.

“Is he as impressive as we heard? Who am I kidding… he must be, he’s Starlit!” Peter joined, excited.

Asterion stared back, looking at each of them with a stupefied expression.

“He’s what now?”

“Starlit.” All three spoke in unison.

“What? No way, the only Starlit of the Pathfinders were the original two… that was centuries ago.”

“Actually,” Aaron corrected, “according to my recruiter, the Pathfinders numbers have only grown since they moved out of the city about two centuries ago. And rarely… some awaken Starlight… and become Starlit… so… no.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Asterion was in disbelief.

He had never seen a starlit in person before, much less talked to one. They were just too important and mysterious to see one walking on the street casually. They were needed for various tasks that mundane people like himself were just not able to do, acting as a buffer from the more mystical aspects of this deadly realm humanity now calls home. They were also incredibly rare, numbering less than a hundred in a city of nearly a hundred thousand, so each one was at least a named celebrity in Hope.

He had never heard of a starlit named ‘Bellarus.’

But while it was exciting to have potentially seen and talked to a starlit, even an unknown one, Asterion was still skeptical. He was more sure it was just another lie.

That was for one reason.

The government which controlled Hope also held a tight fist on that same hundred starlit. They were too uniquely dangerous to be allowed to do whatever they wanted, to go wherever they wanted… and Asterion imagined they would never allow an outside force—much less radicals like the Pathfinders— to have potentially deadly soldiers in their midst.

If one was known… they wouldn’t be allowed to exist outside of the government for long, being inducted into the governments own forces…

Through force if nessesary.

‘… but he did read my mind…’ he thought, begrudgingly.

Asterion did not know what starlit usually looked like. He had never seen one in person. They were often described simply as a stronger and deadlier version of a regular human, wielding inhuman abilities. He imagined they would have some kind of defining feature, such as a radiating light surrounding their silhouette, like he read in a book once… and Bellarus did not have a shining silhouette.

He didn’t really exemplify strength and deadliness, either. The man hadn’t even carried a weapon from what Asterion recalled. He was sure the dude had a knife hidden somewhere, but it was difficult to hide a sword underneath clothing, since even if he had one, he would see its outline. He didn’t radiate deadliness.

The only defining feature of the dude was he was above average looking and had a neat party trick.

Asterion’s face fell flat.

“Yeah. Not a starlit. And whatever lies they told you to get you to join, you were stupid to believe. I’m going before they kill us all.”

With that jab, Asterion fumbled with the door a bit more, attempting to open it again, when it clicked and opened slightly, leading him to drag the door open behind him and turn around to leave, still looking at the three who had dumbfounded looks on their face.

…Until he bumped into a leathery chest, knocking him back a step. Standing in the doorway… was Bellarus.

“Hello. Sorry for the punch, Brandon got ahead of himself. Ready for your orientation?” He raised his hand.

Asterion backed up another step, flinching.

Bellarus laughed, before waving his hand for everyone to follow.

There was a lot on Asterion’s mind. It was reasonable, after all, for a person who was just coerced to follow someone into a building far from the more populated areas and then be tied up, to be. He had already thought that he was in danger. He understood that clearly. If today was his last day, he would not die without trying to at least hurt Bellarus, the person who brought this upon him, or whatever his true name was…

“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you, so please don’t do that. And yes, my name really is Bellarus.”

‘Gah! The bastard is still reading my mind! Think of something else… think of something else…”

Bellarus frowned at him, then turned and walked away, leaving the door open.

The three behind him walked past to follow Bellarus speechlessly, like they had just seen a celebrity.

‘Morons! He’s taking us to our deaths!’

Alas, looking around, there was no where for him to go besides out with them. Still severely bruised from the pain of the last couple days, and this most recent one, Asterion limped with his hands still bound behind him. His nose had stopped bleeding for the most part, leaving him looking like he had just eaten a bowl of tomato paste without the use of his hands.

Walking out, he found himself back in the room he first entered. In the center of the room sat a dozen people he hadn’t seen before, along with another four empty chairs. The layout was a bit more organized, but otherwise it was exactly the same. Aaron, Peter, and Daren quickly took a seat, Asterion following a few steps behind, much slower.

Looking toward the entrance, was the same door, along with a familiar face standing next to it.

‘Brandon, huh? That’s your name, bastard…’

He imagined he would at least attempt to harm one of the bastards who caused him to starve before they killed him, as well. The establishment dasher was one of three that served as a catalyst of his current situation, after all.

Shifting focus back to the rest of the room, Asterion’s anger only grew as Bellarus moved to the front in a classroom-like fashion, clearly indicating he was going to give the orientation himself.

There were people on his left and behind him, since he sat at the edge of the first row. The people already sat made no noise as they entered, but looked at him specifically with a silent question. That question… only made Asterion more upset as he tried to keep his thoughts covered from being spied on.

That question being: ‘What the hell happened to that guy?’

A quick glance around at the other people made it evident he was the only victim here.

‘What the hell? Why am I the only one who’s bleeding!’ He thought begrudgingly.

It would have made it a little better if he wasn’t the only person who got tricked and forced to be present at orientation. He may have tried to run, sure, but he was never the fastest runner when he needed to be. Moreover, the door was closed! He couldn’t have run even if he tried. The whole situation left him in a less than talkative state about the matter. He knew if he started, it would likely end up with him on the end of Brandon’s sword.

It was also evident that the other people in the room were just as confused as he was as to why he was in such rough shape, considering nobody else had their hands tied behind their backs nor looked very injured.

‘Gosh… all these people want to join the Pathfinders willingly? They have plenty! Why the hell am I being forced to?’

He looked at Bellarus with narrow eyes trying to set him on fire with his fiery stare, who only glanced in his direction for a moment before turning back to the rest of the room.

‘That’s right bastard, read that!’

Then, he began.

“Hello, guys and gals. My name is Lord Bellarus. I am in charge today. Captain Brandon, the bearded fellow in the back is my second in command. If you have any issues, you’re to go to him before coming to me.”

He paused for a moment, looking at each and every person.

“We are family now. That means that we may have to make choices that are hard for ourselves, but better for the family. Always choose the family. Joining the Pathfinders is not something to take lightly. If you wish to leave, say so now before you make an oath to your duties, because breaking an oath not only dishonors yourself, but will result in your execution.”

The room was silent, people looking around for anyone who would refuse to join. It was hard to notice everybody glancing his way, waiting for his refusal.

Asterion was silent too, though. He knew better than to speak now and tell everyone in the room he wasn’t one of them. That would likely lead his own demise… especially since they kidnapped him. If they’re willing to do that, what else would they be willing to do?

Honor was a fickle thing, however. It was so hard to maintain, and so easy to diminish. Asterion had, on many occasions suffered to maintain his. Whether it was stealing from someone easy to steal from to feed himself, or simply returning what was lost in front of him when it would benefit himself more to keep it instead…

He had as much honor as he could have as an orphan. It was difficult, and he wasn’t perfect, but he tried to stay on the brighter side of it. It just felt right. So… even he had limits on who he would steal from, and what he would return if he happened across certain items.

But what about making a false oath to a cause he didn’t believe in?

If he continued, he would have to make an oath to their cause… and part of himself knew that was wrong.

An internal battle was fighting inside Asterion’s head. One side fought for his own survival, wanting him to just swear the false oath and abandon them… and the other wanting him to refuse the oath and take what inevitability comes after. He would at least die with dignity.

He wasn’t quite sure it crossed his code of ethics. He would be lying to save himself, like he has done many times, true, but then where was the line…

“We will swear the oaths in a few moments. For now I will give you a description of what our task will be over the next few months. It’s a bit different from what would happen normally with new recruits since there’s so many this time around. There’s reason for that.”

‘… what if I try and run right now… before the oath part?’ Asterion thought.

He turned to throw a glance at at Brandon, who stood at the door with a flat expression, one hand strewn across his chest, hugging his chest plate, and one resting on the hilt of his sword.

‘Maybe not…’ he turned back to the front.

Bellarus continued, his tone turning more serious.

“We are in the entrance phase to a massive operation at the moment. Obviously, you are now pathfinders, and as such your first responsibility will be participating in its completion. As a pathfinder, the walls that have kept you safe your whole life are nothing but a barrier now to your greater self. The first step will be stepping away from them and braving the world outside, as our ancestors have long ago.”

He paused again, this time because a murmur resounded from those seated.

‘Massive operation? Outside the walls?’

Asterion’s body tensed.

Once the sound of chatter died, Bellarus continued.

“I cannot tell you everything right now. Trust me that the journey we endure together will be long and harsh. So long, in fact, that we must leave as soon as possible. Tonight.”