The morning air was cold and refreshing, and the trees around his cabin swayed gently in the wind, their leaves rustling softly, adding to the calm atmosphere. Birds flew between the branches, their songs blending into a light, playful harmony as they competed for attention.
As the rising sun warmed the surface of the lake before him, a thin veil of mist began to lift, curling over the water.
The past few days had gone by fast, and now the day of his departure had finally come. The journey ahead would be long and rough, but Kael didn't feel any need to rush through his last bits of preparation. There were still a few things to take care of before he could head out.
Knowing he'd be gone for a few months, he took his time making sure the cabin would stay in order while he was away. He checked through his supplies, tossing out any food or perishables that wouldn't last until he got back.
"That should do it."
Kael tossed out the last bit of spoiled food and clapped his hands together, brushing off the dust and crumbs. With the cabin sorted, he turned his focus to his gear.
He draped the coat over his shoulders, letting it hang loose, then fastened a small lantern and a knife to his belt.
Running a quick hand over the coat, he checked everything by feel. A small cloth pouch of coins sat in one pocket, and a box of matches in the other.
With everything in place, he grabbed his cane, holding it loosely in his right hand as he made his way to the door. He pushed it open and stepped outside, leaving the quiet stillness of the cabin behind.
The air was cool and fresh, brushing against his face as the door swung shut behind him. He paused for a moment on the threshold, eyes scanning the treetops, then started down the path without looking back.
Kael absently turned the knife over in his hand, his gaze distant as his thoughts drifted to the mission ahead.
The job he'd taken from the billboard had been vague, missing a lot of important details, but it gave him just enough to work with. The noble family behind it had clearly held something back. Whether it was out of caution or some hidden motive, he couldn't say for sure.
Still, he had enough to get started. His first stop was set: the Titanwoods. A massive forest that stretched like a river across the western continent.
He didn't know the full scope of the mission yet, but one thing was certain, once he reached the forest, he had to make contact with someone from the Eireindaile family.
Kael looked down at the knife in his hand, slowly turning it over between his fingers.
'Why set the meeting point so far from the real destination?'
The next stop after making contact was Velthoria, the neighboring city to Sole, capital of the western continent. The Titanwoods only made up about a fifth of the total journey.
'Do they want to keep things quiet? Or is there something they're not telling me?'
The details he'd been given didn't offer any real answers, and there wasn't much point in guessing. With a quiet breath, Kael let the thoughts go and turned his focus back to the road ahead.
Kael had memorized the routes around Farkath in detail. There was no official road connecting the city to Velthoria, only well-worn paths carved out by necessity, used by merchants and travelers over the years. It was one of those paths he had chosen to follow.
But familiarity didn't mean safety. The wilds were still untamed, crawling with beasts and monsters. Most of them weren't just dangerous, they were relentless, always on the hunt for their next meal.
—
The forest quickly closed in around Kael, the air heavy with the damp scent of rotting bark and far-off rain. Towering trees rose high above, their branches weaving into a thick canopy that broke the morning light into scattered golden beams.
The undergrowth was dense but familiar, and the soft crunch of fallen leaves beneath his boots was the one of few sounds that followed him through the trees.
Kael's steps came to an abrupt stop. He glanced down at his boot and snorted quietly to himself before shaking his head.
"There's always something, isn't there?"
He spotted a nearby tree and walked over, leaning his back against the trunk. With a sigh, he pulled off one of his boots and tipped it upside down.
A few unripe huckleberries tumbled out and disappeared into the thick underbrush below.
Boot back on, he pushed off the tree and continued walking.
He had taken this route before, though not often. The merchant paths were unpredictable, some overgrown from disuse, others worn deep into the ground by the constant tread of traders and travelers. He followed one of the less traveled trails, knowing it would offer both solitude and efficiency.
Kael's thoughts wandered as he walked. The mission. The missing details. The noble family behind the request.
On the surface, it looked like a standard job. Get to the Titanwoods, make contact, and go from there. But the lack of specifics wasn't accidental. Whether they meant to or not, the family was clearly holding something back.
Still, it wasn't much to worry about. Noble families had power, resources, and connections. If they wanted something done quietly, they didn't need to jump through hoops to deceive someone like him. Whatever they were hiding probably wasn't aimed at him directly.
And that was fine. Kael wasn't the type to pry into a client's secrets, unless they got in his way.
The farther he moved from the cabin, the quieter the world around him became. Birdsong faded, and the rustling leaves gave way to an eerie stillness. It didn't feel unnatural, just one of those stretches of wilderness where even animals kept their distance.
Kael adjusted his grip on his cane.
Hours passed. Eventually, the trees began to thin, revealing the remains of something old, long forgotten. Moss-covered stone poking out from the ground, the fractured remnants of a wall or foundation. Whatever it had once been, its purpose was lost to time.
Kael paused, eyes moving over the ruins.
Most of the structure was gone. The roof had collapsed long ago, and only two of the four walls remained, forming an L-shaped corner.
He glanced up at the darkening sky, quickly judging the time.
'This should work as shelter for tonight.'
There was still enough daylight left to keep moving, but time wasn't the only thing slowing him down, he also needed to hunt. He could've brought food with him, but he'd chosen not to. It would've just added extra weight, and with the daytime temperatures climbing, anything that spoils easily would've gone bad fast. Hunting along the way made more sense.
"Alright, time to hunt then."
He took one last look around, marking the location of the ruins in his mind before stepping off the path and into the dense forest.
As he moved through the undergrowth, his thoughts turned to the creatures known to inhabit these woods. Ever since he'd learned to read, he'd devoured every book he could get his hands on. Knowledge was a weapon, and he knew better than most that a sharp mind could be more dangerous than any blade.
Understanding his surroundings had become second nature by now.
A mind left dull is just another body waiting to be dragged wherever the world decides to throw it.
The thought came unbidden, steady and familiar, one of many Kael had lived by over the years.
His eyes moved constantly as he walked, taking in the forest around him.
Before long, he came across a narrow beck, its clear waters flowing over moss-covered stones. The soft noise of the current added a gentle undercurrent to the stillness of the woods.
Along the banks, clusters of small pink flowers swayed in the breeze.
Kael paused, studying them for a moment.
'There they are. Springheart Bloom.'
He plucked one gently and brought it to his nose, breathing in its faint, earthy scent before letting it fall from his fingers.
'One of the three-horned boar's favorites around here.'
The three-horned boar was territorial by nature. Even the slightest provocation could set it off, which made it just as dangerous as it was useful. If he was lucky, one might already be nearby, drawn in by the flowers.
Kael started following the beck upstream. Moss clung thick to the stones, and the brush shifted with each step. Everything here felt untouched, wild in a way that was hard to find anymore.
At least for now.
About fifteen minutes in, he heard it. Low, guttural grunts ahead. His gaze lifted, narrowing toward the sound.
"Found you."
Kael muttered under his breath, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
Up ahead, standing among the low brush, was the beast. It stood about half his height, its muscular frame covered in coarse, bristled fur. Three horns stuck out from its skull, two curving upward from its lower jaw, the third pointing straight out from its forehead like a spear.
It was busy tearing at the pink flowers with its hooves, rooting around for whatever it could eat. It hadn't noticed him yet, too focused on its meal to sense the quiet predator watching from barely thirty meters away.
Kael kept his distance and observed for a while, scanning the area to make sure it was alone. Once he was certain, he started to move.
He'd closed about half the distance before the creature finally noticed him. Its reaction was instant and aggressive. Clawed hooves scraped against the dirt, kicking up clumps of earth as it let out a rough, guttural huff.
Kael didn't move. He already knew how this would go.
The beast lowered its head, muscles coiling as it prepared to charge. No hesitation, no warning, just raw instinct.
Kael raised his left hand, calm and steady. His stance didn't shift, not even a little.
The boar launched itself forward, massive body crashing through the brush at incredible speed. But Kael didn't flinch. His expression stayed flat, almost bored, like he'd seen this a hundred times before.
When the boar was just an arm's length away, Kael's left palm began to glow with a faint yellow light.
There was no grand gesture, no warning. The glow in his palm just deepened, and in the next instant, a rod of what looked like pure light shot forward from his hand at terrifying speed. It met the charging beast head-on, striking at the exact moment it lunged.
The impact didn't stop the rod. It kept growing, driving straight through the boar's skull, slicing through bone and muscle like they weren't even there. The creature didn't have time to react. The glowing shaft punched clean through, piercing all the way down to its gut before finally tearing out the other side.
For a moment, the beast's momentum carried it forward. Its body jerked as if it might push through anyway, but then its limbs went rigid, and its hooves skidded across the dirt in a burst of loose soil.
By the time the rod reached full length, the boar was already limp, suspended on the light like meat on a spit.
Kael yanked the rod free, and the body dropped with a dull, final thud. Dead before it had even hit the ground.
He glanced down at the yellow rod, now stained deep crimson, and let out a quiet sigh.
This was his soulbound mote, once again claiming a life. He held it for a moment, watching the familiar glow pulse faintly beneath the blood. Then, with a thought, he let it go.
The rod dissolved into golden sparks, disappearing into the air without a trace.
Kael could've summoned the whole rod if he wanted to, wielding it like a proper weapon, but he'd never liked the feel of it. The reach was awkward, and the weightless form just didn't sit right in his grip.
After some trial and error, though, he'd found a better way.
Instead of calling out the entire thing, he could summon it in pieces, letting it extend straight from his palm faster than the eye could follow, like a blade sliding out from under his skin. In an instant, it could go from nothing to full length, punching clean through flesh and bone. It stayed anchored to his hand the whole time, appearing only as much as he needed before fading away in a trail of golden sparks.
He knelt beside the boar, resting an arm on his knee.
"Now for the ugly part, I guess..." he muttered.
Kael pulled out his knife and sank it into the beast, getting to work. He'd done this plenty of times before, and it showed in the steady way he moved. Most hunters would have stripped the body for everything they could sell. Hide, tusks, bones, but Kael wasn't interested in that. He only needed the meat.
Once he had enough, he wiped the blade clean, stood up, and made his way toward the ruined structure to start a fire. On the way, he picked up fallen branches and dry wood, carrying them under one arm.
By the time he reached the shelter, he had enough for a small pile. He set it down, then stepped inside the ruin and grabbed a handful of dry moss, tucking it into the center of the stacked wood. One strike of a match was all it took. The moss caught easily, and the flame flickered to life with a soft crackle.
As the fire caught and began to grow, Kael leaned back against one of the cold stone walls, his eyes fixed on the flames. He waited for them to die down naturally, letting the heat burn through the larger chunks of wood until only a steady bed of glowing embers remained.
While he waited, he pulled out his knife and turned it over in his hand, the blade catching the flickering light as he idly toyed with it.
"It's definitely made for piercing," he muttered, watching how the firelight played across the steel.
He'd paid attention to the way it handled while skinning the boar. It slid into flesh easily with no resistance at all. But when it came to skinning, the blade felt a bit off. Not useless, just not built for that kind of work.
Still, it got the job done. Close enough.
Once the fire settled into glowing embers, Kael skewered the meat and set it over the heat. Balancing the sticks took a bit of fiddling, the stone floor didn't offer much help, so he gathered a few rocks and used them to prop up the sticks, adjusting until everything stayed in place.
Finally satisfied, he reached into his inner pocket, only for his expression to darken.
"Shit." He gritted his teeth, then let out a long sigh.
With nothing else to do, he slumped back against the stone wall, arms resting over his knees, and resigned himself to waiting for the meat to cook.
After a while, Kael picked up a piece of the cooked meat and took a bite, chewing slowly. His expression turned ugly as he forced down the unseasoned meat.