Standing just on the edge of a tall hedge, a child with curly blond hair and the body of a tank was strapping leather armor to his person. It was the highest grade of armor he could get without arousing suspicion from the merchant. Being only nine years old, the only parts that fit were the arm pads and leg pads, but that was more protection than he should need. Carrying a longsword in a scabbard on his back and a gladius in a sheath attached to his belt, the young boy looked dressed for war.

  "PAXTON," came a loud voice calling out from the other side of the hedge. The blond boy closed his eyes, leveled his breathing, and remained as still as possible. As he waited, the boy listened for the sounds of the person moving around.

  "Sup, Paxton," came a shout as another blonde with straight hair pushed the branches of the hedge aside. "Woah, you're armed pretty seriously! What sort of prey are you hunting today?"

  "The kind that I don't want near my dearest Goddard," Paxton answered gruffly, standing up with a mental slap on the wrist.

  "Oh come on," Goddard moaned as he leaped ten feet over the hedge, landing perfectly on the other side, "don't be so salty because I beat you."

  Paxton gritted his teeth, but held his rage inside. He had been sparring with Goddard frequently, but Goddard's magic was pushing Paxton into using some of his more lethal tricks. Paxton knew a hundred sure-fire ways to kill a man, but he wouldn't use them against Goddard without training his brother on defending them. Now that Goddard was winning some of the fights, he was starting to get cocky about it.

  "I'm serious, Goddard," Paxton grabbed his skinnier, younger brother by the shoulders with a steel grip. "I'm just doing some reconaissance, I need the information before I even THINK about fighting this thing. If all goes well, I might not have to fight it."

  "Then why do you need the sword?"

  "Worst case scenario," Paxton answered.

  He eyed at his brother and almost decided against going. Goddard's looks were much like his own, only more lithe with less muscle and bone filled out. Even though they were both muscular to the core, Paxton had been focusing on matching his strength with his endurance while Goddard went more for endurance. The way his adult features were just starting to show gave Paxton imaginary faces of future Goddards.

  "Listen, this isn't as dangerous as I'm making it look," Paxton tried to cool it down. "I'm just better with hiding and watching then you are. And don't argue with me, you walk like a troll and you know it."

  Among the many things Goddard and Paxton did, sneak attacks were something that Goddard sucked horribly at. He had started trying them when he realized that he was starting to get as strong as Paxton. Even when he did everything right, Paxton could always realize that he was there and overpower him with a counter.

  "Fine," Goddard rolled his eyes, "but be prepared when you get home. I'm going to make you eat those words."

  "It'll be a good appetizer for when I eat you for dessert," Paxton joked with a smirk. Goddard once again leaped over the hedge, and Paxton listened to make sure that he was gone.

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  Once he was in the clear, Paxton started a cool jog through the forest towards a distant spire. Dragoon Mountain, it was called, for old tales about when a man claimed that he had almost been killed by a dragon. The steep, rising slopes were treacherous, but people who have climbed to its summit say the trip was wholly worth the sight.

  But Paxton's goal was not the summit of the mountain, but rather, the rear of it.

  Due to the nature of the desert beyond the mountain, few people wander further than the forested area. However, while scoping the mountain for the source of the tingling sensation, Paxton happened to go around the mountain to the desert side. What he found was a massive hollowed out area halfway up with an enormous vaulted ceiling.

  Something was there, but Paxton was equipped for a camping trip, not a fight. Today was the day when he would discover what lied in the mountain, the thing that had plagued his curiousity for the better part of three years.

  Now, he finally couldn't wait any longer, he was going to find out what that feeling was.

  He was running through the forest at olympic speeds, leaping over obstacles and keeping in perfect step. He kept his field of vision open to track movement and his path. As the world is filled with magic, it's a given that humans aren't the only ones to use it. Animals from squirrels to lions can use magic of varying degrees. Some people are able to utilize the power of animals, such as tamers and spiritualists; meaning the combined power of the entire forest would be enough to level a city. Just the individual animals are dangerous enough to warrant some military action from time to time.

  Paxton took a stride over an embankment, leaping into a creek where he disappeared underneath an overhanging root system. Staying perfectly still, Paxton leveled out his breathing and silenced his entire form. Feeling for his magic, he held on tight to it so that it wouldn't go anywhere. It was a trick he had thought of when chasing magical creatures, whom would often react to his magic as though they could pinpoint him through it.

  After a few moments, Paxton heard the sound of footsteps above him. He didn't move, not until he heard a splashing noise in front of him. With a sudden tackle, Paxton landed a hard shoulder blow onto someone that had been following him. Following it up with a hand around the throat, Paxton had to stop when he noticed the staight blonde hair.

  "Goddard!" Paxton shouted with extreme disapproval. "What the hell, you were supposed to stay at home!!"

  Getting off of his brother, Paxton stood to the side so he could watch Goddard's reaction. Goddard got up, watching his brother carefully to make sure there weren't any more suprises.

  "I wanted to know what sort of monster would make my big brother quake in his boots," Goddard joked lightly.

  "This isn't a joke, Goddard," Paxton argued seriously. "What are you doing here?"

  "I thought I'd back you up," Goddard explained, brandishing a sword and shield combo. "You know, 'worst-case-scenario'."

  "Well, we've already come this far, so we need to keep going. If we want to get home by midnight, we need to make sure that nothing blocks our path."

  "Great, so what are we fighting?" Goddard asked excitedly.

  "I don't know," Paxton said, but he turned to face his brother.

  Grabbing Goddard by the head, Paxton said in a dead tone, "There's one rule: If I say, 'Run', you run. I don't care if we're fighting off a water lilly, you WILL leave when I say things are getting too dangerous. Do.I.Make.My.Self.Clear?"

  This uncharacteristic seriousness took Goddard by suprise. In the past life, Paxton always did serious things with a laugh and a smile, as though they barely mattered. Even when facing the Demon Knights, he would openly crack jokes and call out puns.

  "Okay," Goddard promised, unsure whether it was his fault that this version of Paxton had changed this much.

  "Good," Paxton said, "then let's get going. We've already wasted more time than we should."

  Paxton once again started the journey out towards the mountain, his mind abuzz with ways that this could go wrong.

  What had started as an exciting journey of the soul just became babysitting.