"Ivis! Wake up honey, you're going to be late!"

What was his mother talking about? It was six in the morning, late for what?

"Honey, the caravan leaves in 15 minutes!" 

Right, the caravan... SHIT THE CARAVAN.

Today was supposed to be his first day as a guard on a local caravan guild. He was used to sleeping in and not needing to do anything, but his mother threatened to kick him out if he didn't do anything with his life. 

Throwing on some fresh clothes, he ran downstairs and found his father and his mother sitting at the dining table. He was 16, fresh out of school, and ready to weave baskets for the rest of his life... not. Of course, he didn't want to do that, so he refused.

His mother was furious, but his father understood that he wasn't ready to spend the rest of his life in a small little town on the edge of nowhere. 

Eventually after hours of arguing with his mother, his father gave him an idea. Traveling the world with some caravans, he could experience life without being watched by his parents constantly.

"But what if he gets hurt? Or gets hungry?" His mother argued.

"Honey, he can't stay here. Look at him, no girl in their right mind would marry him. Let him adventure out, and get a couple of scars. That's what made you fall for me."

"Oh you, but you were a guard for the mayor. He will be outside the walls, afraid of bandits and magics, I won't let him-"

"Honey, he is going to go no matter what, it's better to support him and stand beside him than to abandon him." His mother had huffed and puffed all day, trying to have his father change his mind, but he was right, he was going whether they allowed him to or not. 

Finally, the day had arrived, and he was leaving with the caravan. He had gotten an axe from the blacksmith as a going-away present, his father had said it was free but he doubted him. Either way, he was thankful.

"Good bye mom, bye dad." He hugged his parents, ready to change his life.

"Goodbye son, and don't you die on us now, your mother will blame me forever."

"Haha, see you in a couple of months. I'll send you guys letters whenever I get to a town updating you guys."

They said their goodbyes, his mother cried not wanting to let him go, but his dad held her close. With that, he slung his axe on his back and walked out into the world. 

Their town wasn't the smallest, but it was still called the small city. They didn't really have a name for it, it was a pretty new town.

The emperor who ruled this land, Borus, had just succeeded the throne from his father, or so Iris had heard. It was hard to get newer information from so far away. They didn't have the magic to communicate with the outside yet.

Magic was interesting, to Ivis it didn't feel like anything. His parents on the other hand had access to some basic magic usage.

His mother was a stone mage, she helped build the city. His father used a spear and used his fire magic to manipulate the spearhead. He was lethal in a fight among mortals.

His father had somewhat trained him in the way of the spear, but he preferred to use an axe instead. It was easier to chop than to stab. 

He wasn't alone in being able to not feel magic, or rather the mana that fueled magic. People usually unlock their magic through events in their life. His father has said that when he was fighting the strongest person he'd ever fought, on the verge of life or death, he felt something. Something burning inside the back of his mind. 

His father used to be a soldier of the empire, hacking and stabbing through the enemy. Through the trial of fire, he had gained the ability to manipulate it. He didn't know how his mother had gained her magic. 

The first stop on his list was the general store. He had packed some extra clothes and such in his backpack but he didn't have any winter or water-resistant clothing. But he had to get there fast, he barely had ten minutes before he had to get onto that caravan.

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"Mornin' Mike, got any winter coats or gloves I can buy."

"Good morning to you too speedy, yeah I got some things. You in a hurry or something?"

"I know my dad told you about this, I'm leaving for the caravan today and I have eight minutes! Anything is good, the warmer the better."

"Alright, if you say so."

The merchant laid multiple coats out, taking his time as he enjoyed watching the boy stress out about these things. There were a couple fur coats, some gloves that looked good, and a face mask that would keep his nose warm in the snow. 

"Thanks, Mike," The boy threw down a couple of pieces of copper that would cover the cost and a bit of a tip. Not realizing that he spent extra money, the shopkeeper didn't mind the tip at all. 

"Salutations young one,"

Ivis only had five minutes, he ran through the yard of the mayor's house and into the gate of the traveling merchant's caravan. In front of him he could see the caravan leader, as well as his father for some reason.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. I just ran to the store to pick up some warmer clothing. What do you need me to do?" The boy rambled on and on until the caravan leader held out his hand, signaling him to stop.

"You're an hour early, I like the commitment kid, but no one is even awake yet."

Ivis paused. He looked around and could see that the caravan was loaded up, but no one else was here yet. He looked around and realized that none of the other shops were open for business either.

"But... I... you... what?"

His father and the caravan merchant burst out laughing. It was clear that he had been pranked, on his first day even. 

"Ah jeez, that was a good one. You raised a smart one Markus."

"Smarter than you, at least, Pallius. You've been pranked, boy. We figured since it's the last time we'll see you for a while, we'd make it memorable."

Ivis finally put the pieces together, well they said it out loud. He got pranked.

"Damn it, Dad, so I could have been sleeping for a whole other hour before I had to do all of this?"

"Yes... but also no. Something you should get used to now, your day starts before the crack of dawn and it ends when you reach your next destination. No more sleeping in, especially as a guard."

In his usual fashion, his father said what he wanted to say and left, patting him on the shoulder and telling him good luck. 

Now he was stuck with a man who was giving him his paycheck, this was never not nerve-wracking. 

"So, have you got yourself a map and some coins?"

"No sir, I have some coin but I didn't have time to pick up a map, well, I didn't think I had time to go get one. Do you have a spare I could use?" Gods, he was already using a 'customer service voice'. This was going to be exhausting.

"Hmm, well you probably won't need one. Just manage without one, for now, it will be easier for you to just use one of ours. You will be provided food but if you want more than the basic necessities then you need to buy it. You will ride on a horse while we travel, have you rode a horse before?"

"No, I've never even seen a horse. Do you want me to try and learn how to ride?"

The older man nodded and brought him over to the stables. Inside were a variety of creatures, ranging from horses to giant crabs. The mystical creatures were in charge of pulling the carts and carrying everyone.

He was assigned a regular horse that had barely been touched by mana, it was an interesting change compared to walking around. 

"I'll give you a choice, pick the horse you want. There are three other new guards joining us today so you each get a new horse." 

There were three horses a fully black one, a brown and white horse, and a horse that looked pale compared to the others. They were each just as strong looking as the other but the pale horse looked ghost-like almost. 

"Hmm, I'll take ghoul over there."

"Haha, ghoul? You mean the pale horse sitting over there? Sure, I'll make sure you get him. Better yet, take him out for a spin. Make sure he likes you before we go. Don't want you getting left behind on account that your horse won't let you ride on her back."

Ivis walked over to the three horses, walking slowly but naturally. He didn't want to spook them.

He walked straight to the paler horse, they already put saddles on them so he didn't have to worry about that. 

The horse snorted at him, warning him not to get much closer. He held out his hand and slowed down, almost to a standstill.

Now they were staring at each other. The horse ready to run and the boy ready to fail. Neither could have expected what happened next. 

Ivis stepped one last step forward and slipped in a spot of mud... or horse poop... hopefully mud. He hit his head on the ground hard and fell down, luckily in the dirt. 

"Uugh, damn it."

The horses neighed at him, not running like he had expected them to. Were they mocking him?

"Damn horses,"

He started walking towards the pale horse, this time looking where he stepped. Once he was about five feet away from the horse, he reached out slowly... and slipped.

"Hey kid, I'll give you a hint. They may only have a small amount of mana touching their spirits, but that doesn't mean that they're normal horses. Your best bet is to let them come to you."

Right, these weren't normal horses. His best bet was as the man said. 

"Hey, what's your name again?"

He had decided to try distracting the horses with talk. 

"Pallius Chambers. Traveling merchant and gun enthusiast. Your father and I were old comrades as soldiers in the empire,"

"You should tell me some stories sometime. I don't remember my father mentioning anyone by name, just 'comrades'."

Finally, he was six feet away from the horses. He just stopped and waited, staring at the pale horse. It stared at him for a second and then took a step forward. 

Eventually, it was just a foot away from him. He could reach out and touch it if he wanted to, but he didn't want to ruin all of the effort he had gone through. 

It pushed its head against his palm, finally, he had reached over and pet it.

"Hey there Ghoul, oh my, your fur is so cold. Like ice almost."

He pulled himself onto Ghoul and tried to get used to riding a horse, they had a long road ahead of themselves.