On a cloudy day, the sun begins to set on the outskirts of a prosperous kingdom known as Lisbea, there is located a little unassuming town by the name of Downwood. A small inhabited place with roughly more than 100 citizens that live in peace. Thanks to its good placement in an extensive valley without many hills, the town maintains its economy by exporting all sorts of plants as well as being a fairly known place where people can go if they need to have some relaxation for a while.
The scent of blooming flowers covers the village, spring recently arrived and all sorts of plants are coming back to life, providing delightful smells for most of its inhabitants and allergies for a few others.
The streets of Downwood aren't very crowded in comparison to the big cities, but for the standards of such a small town, there are quite a lot of people walking around. There mostly are kids who play on the still muddy roads left behind by the morning's rain. Some people in armor walk around, salutating everyone they come across with, these are the few members of the guard of the town, they don't do much but there is no waste on being cautious about any possible disputes as small as the chances are.
As always, the mood is high amongst the citizens, their lives are simple but they are all happy with it. The harvest of this year looks very promising, and yet some farmers pray for even better ones. After all, some ambition is fine from time to time, right?
Not too far away from the town, at the edge of the only forest in kilometers, there can be found two young men, citizens of Downwood. The first one is a blonde, black eyes, in shape, 19 years old, 1.75 meters tall boy, dressed in common clothes for a civilian, his name is Lyle Heiwane.
Lyle stands before a tree, it is covered with slashes all over its crust. The blonde is sweaty and panting. In his hands he holds a sword that has clearly seen better days.
"Come on, cut that tree already" Spoke up Ascalon, Lyle's best friend, who sits nearby while eating carrot sticks from a bag.
Ascalon is one year older than Lyle, he has black hair and his eyes as well are black. Standing he is slightly taller than Lyle, his muscles are more defined than Lyle's and are also more noticeable as the clothes he wears are older and raggier than his friend's.
"It's not that easy!" Lyle said as he took a deep breath of air.
"Then use the Dark Boost" Ascalon suggested as he ate another carrot stick.
"You know I can't maintain it, every time as soon as I activate it I just collapse" Lyle said, looking down.
"If you tried using it more then that wouldn't happen. The trick to dominate any technique is to repeat it over and over again" Ascalon declared.
"Easy for you to say, you never had the same problem" Lyle said.
"Well that's true, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. Come on, just try" Ascalon said as he put another carrot stick in his mouth.
Lyle heaves a sigh. "Alright"
Lyle holds his sword firmly, he concentrates, takes a deep breath. A small wave of air moves the leaves and grass nearby very lightly as a dark aura surrounds Lyle, his skin darkens and soon the dark aura extends to his sword. He takes a battle stance and prepares to swing at the tree, however before he can do that, the darkness dispels and he falls to his knees, letting his sword fall to the ground as he begins to cough a lot.
Ascalon stands up and approaches his friend, giving him some pats on the back.
"This time you got to lift your sword, good job" Ascalon said, with an oddly sincere voice.
"Thanks" Lyle says with a raspy voice.
"So, what if I show you how it's done?" Ascalon said as he walked back a few steps to grab his ax that he had laying on the ground, unlike Lyle's weapon, his seemed to be in good condition.
Ascalon holds the one hand axe and walks towards a tree right next to the one Lyle had been using to practice. He lifts the weapon and holds it in the air as a dark aura surrounds him, similar to Lyle he unleashes a wave of energy that moves the grass and leaves nearby, but his wave is visibly more powerful
With a single swing of his axe, Ascalon cuts the tree in half. He then turns to look at Lyle with a smug grin.
"What's about that? You've done it many times, try with my pitiful sword" Lyle said, handling his sword to Ascalon.
Ascalon grabs the sword and maintains his smug face, he walks towards another tree and slashes it in half with the sword without even activating the dark boost. Once again he walks towards Lyle with his smug smirk.
"Pretty easy, isn't it?" Ascalon says with pretension.
"Show off" Lyle responds as he recovers his air.
A sudden metallic sound takes both friends off guard. It was Lyle's sword, it had broken into pieces. Ascalon lifts what's still attached to the handle and looks at it.
"God dammit, my bad man. Buy another one and I'll give you the money" Ascalon says as he just lets the sword fall, making it shatter even more.
"Pay me? Do you even have money to buy tomorrow's food?" Lyle asks sarcastically. "You don't have to pay me anything, we are best friends. Besides, that thing was old anyways"
"Well, I guess I'll eat tomorrow" Ascalon said, reaching into his bag to get another carrot stick but noticing he's run out of them. "I think we should head back. It's getting late anyways"
Lyle agreed with his friend's suggestion. They both began making their way back to their village, the sky started to color orange as they walked. Clouds had dispelled a bit, allowing both friends to look at the moon.
"Very soon, we will be out of here" Ascalon declared.
"Huh? Oh right, yes, we… we will…" Lyle said, looking down.
"It will be fantastic! Just you and me bud. Two warriors roaming around the world in search of adventures!" Ascalon exclaimed with bright eyes.
"Of course… it's gonna be… it's gonna be great" Lyle said with clear doubt in his words, Ascalon seemed oblivious of it.
Once at the village, the pair separated their ways, each of them walking towards their respective homes. Lyle always wondered where Ascalon went, as far as he knew he didn't have a place to go, he had offered him refuge under his roof many times in the past but he always denied the offer. It was weird, but Ascalon seemed fine, so Lyle didn't worry much about it.
After a few minutes of walking, Lyle makes it to his house, a two floor house, visibly bigger than the others around but the difference wasn't that big of a deal.
"Mom, I'm home!" Lyle said as he entered the house, closing the door behind him.
Instead of his mother's voice, he receives an answer from a feminine and young voice. "You're here, brother" A short and chubby blonde girl with similar characteristics to Lyle approaches him while cleaning her hands with a piece of rag.
"Hey Wanda" Lyle said as he stroked his sister's hair, she quickly moved his hand away from her head.
"I've told you to not do that" Wanda said with a relaxed yet annoyed voice while fixing her hair.
Lyle lets out a chuckle. "Where's mom?"
"She went to the hall to pay dad a visit. You know how it is" Wanda responded as she continued to fix her hair.
"I see, I assume dinner isn't ready then. What if we make something?" Lyle said as he walked towards the kitchen.
"Too late, I already took care of that" Wanda said, following Lyle.
The siblings entered the kitchen, there was a big steaming pot, inside it had a good amount of broth. The entire room was filled with the delicious smell of vegetables and cooked chicken.
"I'm honestly surprised you didn't smell it when you entered" Wanda said as she finished fixing her hair.
Lyle smelled a bit and noticed that his nose felt a bit stuffy. "Huh, must be the spring allergies"
"By the way, didn't you go out with your sword this morning?" Wanda asked as she noticed the absence of the weapon.
"Ah, it broke" Lyle responded.
"Eeh, not surprised. That thing looked rusty" Wanda said.
Lyle turned to look at his sister and noticed light red stains on her hair. "Did you hit your head?" He asked with worry in his voice.
"Mmh?" The girl grabbed her hair and pulled it to be able to see the stain. Making Lyle realize that her hands seemed bloody as well.
"Oh gods, what happened?" Lyle asked, his preoccupation grew.
"Don't worry, it ain't mine. It's from the chicken I used for the broth" Wanda responded calmly.
"I don't think that amount of blood is normal" Lyle said, concerned.
"I tried something. I thought that the chicken's blood may give it an extra touch" Wanda said as she went for another rag to finish cleaning her hands and hair. "Wanna taste?"
"That's creepy… but, I suppose it won't kill me to give it a shot" Lyle responded.
While his sister cleaned herself, Lyle walked towards the pot and took a spoon that was laying on a nearby table. He submerged the spoon in the broth, he then pulled it out, taking both soup and some small pieces of vegetable, next he blew it a bit before taking the spoon into his mouth. Lyle swallows the broth, his eyes shine, he looks at the pot, surprised by the flavor.
"Oh, for Eternal, this tastes delicious" Lyle declared in shock.
"I know, seems like I was right about the blood" A clean Wanda said with a proud smile.
"I.. highly doubt that had something to do, but I think what matters is that is very good" Lyle said, a bit worried about his sister's eccentricities. "If you opened a restaurant you would put the other ones out of business"
Lyle chuckled at the idea but Wanda seemed a bit disgusted by it. "Eugh, no thanks. That would make me… deal with people"
"Sooner or later you'll have to. You can't just stay here the rest of your life, you'll have to face the world outside" Lyle said with concern.
"I do not. I know mom has told me that I should find a husband at the very least because she and dad won't be here forever, yadda, yadda. But that ain't necessary, I'll have you" Wanda declared. "By the way, have you told Ascalon that you don't wanna become an adventurer?"
Lyle shrugged awkwardly.
"So, you haven't. You really need to stop delaying that" Wanda said.
"I know, but… it's not that easy. This is always something he's dreamed of since we were kids and leaving him on his own for it makes me feel… bad" Lyle said, looking down.
"Well your time for that is running out, you both are adults and he will surely want to go at any moment"
"You're right, tomorrow, for sure, I'll tell him" Lyle said with determination.
"That's the attitude! So, wanna eat dinner now or you wanna wait for mom?" Wanda asked.
"I'll wait, for the moment, I'll just drink a cup of tea" Lyle said, relaxed.
"Oh ok. I actually made some earlier, serve yourself. The kettle is over that table" Wanda said with a smile.
Lyle reached out for the kettle, it felt heavy for the water inside. He poured some of it in a cup and also added in a spoon of honey while Wanda covered the pot to preserve its temperature.
The siblings went to the living room to wait for the return of their mother. They sat next to each other on the old leather couch, sinking a bit into it. Lyle took a sip of his tea while his sister grabbed an unfinished needlework on the table in front of the couch.
Lyle watches as his sister struggles to finish the needlework, he continues to watch for a while before leaving his cup of tea on the table and taking the needlework into his hands.
"Here, let me show you"
Wanda watches impressed as her brother manages to finish the needlework with relative ease. Once it's done Lyle hands it to his sister, asking what it is for.
"For this" She answers as she puts it on the table and puts Lyle's cup of tea on top of it.
"Oh, so it's a cup holder" Lyle said.
"That's right! I've been practicing knitting for a while, but I'm nowhere near as good as you are" Wanda said.
"I'm pretty sure that with practice you'll be better than me" Lyle declared with a smile.
"Ha! There is no way that happens, you're natural at it!" Wanda exclaimed with a smile.
"I appreciate that you think that" Lyle says, his smile getting smaller. "If I'm honest with you, what I wish is to have my own tailor shop"
"You totally can do it!" Wanda said, trying to cheer him up.
"Yes, but only once I've told Ascalon that I will not become an adventurer with him. I've wasted too much time… giving him false hope…" Lyle said with sadness.
Wanda comforts her brother, giving him a pat on the back. The silence after their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the house opening. The siblings went to check in who it was and were surprised by seeing both of their parents being home.
"Hello there, weren't expecting me, were ya?" The father, a man of black hair and prominent chin, said.
"Daddy, you're home earlier!" Wanda exclaimed, enthusiastic.
"I finished my work at the town hall thanks to your mother" The man said, giving his wife a lovely look.
"Well, it's been so long since we've had a proper family dinner, besides it wasn't a big deal" The mother, a woman with long hair and very similar to both of her kids, said, giving her husband a lovely look.
"It's great to have you here, father" Lyle said.
"By the way, Wanda did the dinner all by herself! Isn't that right sweetheart?" The mother said with a big smile.
"I did, indeed" Wanda responded with pride.
"Then it surely must be delicious. Come on, I'm starving" The father said.
That evening, the Heiwane family shared a very nice dinner together, laughing and savoring the delicious broth.
Later that night, Lyle goes to his room upstairs and turns on a candle before the sun disappears completely on the horizon. His room is an utter mess, he never spends too much time there so he rarely bothers to organize it, but that would soon change, and because of that Lyle took the time to clean up and bring some order to his bedroom
About half an hour later, Lyle had finished the job, his room wasn't particularly big so it didn't take that long. He stood before the desk in his room, where he had stacked many attires made by himself. They were all dresses, he didn't know why but he always made dresses, although he himself barely could consider those things as dresses.
The seams were imperfect, uneven, disgraceful. Things that no one would like to wear, even if they had no other option. He sat on the chair, looking at his work. He took one of them and expanded it to give it a good glance, at the sleeves of different width and length, the skirt was longer on one side, a true mess.
Every time he made a dress, he wasn't even sure why. When he works, he doesn't really think about what he's about to do, or for whom he's gonna do it, he just does it. All of his dresses are pretty much the same, even the dragon he always puts on them, the only decent thing on his abominations. Probably the only stuff Lyle likes more than tailoring are dragons, that could be the reason he never misses on that part.
Ascalon's words resonated within Lyle's mind. "The key to success is to never stop trying" Something he had heard him say more times than he can count with his hands, attempting to cheer him up during his training as a swordsman but that he applied for his true passion.
Grabbing a piece of blue cloth, Lyle started to work in a new dress, he put all of his focus into this one, hours passed by without him noticing. Once the dress was done, he finally snapped back into reality, regaining consciousness of the stuff going around him. Lyle looked through the window and saw the complete darkness of the night, the candle he had lit already burned down a quarter.
Lyle extended the dress he had just made on the desk, fully inspecting his work and it was decent. The dress was plain and simple, a full body blue dress with a dragon drawn from the top right shoulder all the way into the right side of the hem of the dress. It didn't look unwearable, the design was a bit ugly but that didn't really matter. He had finally done something that could be worn!
He wanted to scream, he wanted to celebrate, but it was late night and he was really, really tired. Tomorrow would be the day where he would finally reveal to Ascalon that he didn't want to become an adventurer with him, so it would be better to go to sleep at once so he could be well rested for tomorrow. He turned off the candle and dropped on top of his bed, falling asleep immediately.
The next morning, a beam of sunlight went through the window of Lyle's bedroom. He had fallen asleep with his face into the mattress so the sun didn't wake him up until he felt his neck getting burned.
Lyle woke up in a jump, falling into the floor right next to his bed, hitting his head with the wood, which hurt less than he would've expected. After a few seconds he stood up and stretched a bit before walking downstairs to meet with his sister and mother at the kitchen.
After the usual morning greeting, Lyle sat at the table with his sister to begin eating a bowl of oatmeal while his sister finished hers.
"So, any plans for today?" Lyle asked as he ate his oatmeal.
"I do!" Wanda said as she put a chicken with the neck broken on the table. "I'm gonna give some good use to this bad boy!"
Lyle stared in silence for a brief moment.
"Why do you have that here?" He asked with genuine concern.
"It woke me up" Wanda answered way too casually.
"Well, at least you went outside, that's something" Lyle said, unsure on how to feel about his sister.
"Wanda I told you to not put that thing over the dining table" Their mother said with unnerving casualness.
"A-Anyways, I think I'll get going, it's getting a bit late, don't you think?" Lyle said as she stood up and made his way out of the house as fast as he could.
"Gods, what is wrong with the women in my family?" He thought as he walked through the village.
The atmosphere felt light and cheery as it was usual for a spring morning, the roads looked darker, there were some small ponds here and there, an indicator of a small rain during night. Lyle walked for a while without a clear direction, he wanted to talk to Ascalon but he just didn't think he could if he came across with him. It was one of those things easier said than done.
As he walked through the streets of Downwood he heard his name being called out, he turned to look at the person calling him, a voice that was all too familiar for him at this point, the blacksmith, a man about his height, bald, tanned skin, somewhat fat and with a big black mustache on his face. He approached the man, wondering what he could want, maybe ask for him to give something to his father again.
"Heiwane, good to see you this morning. I have something for ya"
"Oh, what is it?" Lyle seemed confused.
The blacksmith looked around the place for a brief moment before picking up what he was looking for, it was a brand new sword that he lent to Lyle, who despite his confusion, took it to not be rude.
"Recently forged, Ascalon came by yesterday and told me that yer sword broke and asked for a new one for ya. He called it a 'belated birthday gift'" The blacksmith spoke with a big smile on his face.
"Why you…" Lyle thought to himself before speaking out loud with a fake smile, a technique he learned from his father. "Well, thanks, I'll make sure to thank him when I see him"
Lyle stepped out of it quickly as he held the sword in his hands. He carried for a few seconds before realizing he still had the sword sheath on his waist from yesterday, so he sheathed the sword. How perfectly it fitted made him feel bad.
The blonde stopped walking and brought his hands to his face. He felt so bad, he really didn't want to become an adventurer but neither did he want to crush his best friend's dreams of going out on adventures together. He needed something to clear up his mind. Lyle's thoughts immediately drifted to the bakery, it should've opened by now, so he set his route towards it, nothing to clear his mind like a sweet recently made bun.
He walked through the streets of Downwood, trying to distract his mind with whatever he could think of as he made his way to the local bakery. A few minutes later he found himself at the place, it was oddly empty for these hours of the day, Lyle thought that it was strange but he didn't complain, he just bought a bun and left the place, he didn't bother to pay attention to anything going on inside the bakery aside from the unavoidable and delicious smell of the fresh bread.
Lyle continued his walk, this time towards the town square. Right now he just wanted a nice place to sit and eat his bun in peace. There were some people there but it wasn't something that bothered him.
He took a seat at a bench under a tree and began eating his bun. He took his time to enjoy it, as much as necessary to delay the inevitable, confronting Ascalon. He attempted to eat the bun as slow as he could, but it barely lasted two minutes before he had eaten it all.
Lyle leaned back on the bench, facing upwards towards the half-cloudy sky across the foliage of the tree. The thoughts invading his mind distracted him from the sound of footsteps approaching him until he was snapped out of them by someone putting their gloved hand over Lyle's face.
"Who am I?" A dizzy female voice asked.
"Lizzie, don't do that" Lyle answered with a pretty calm voice as the woman retreated her hand from his face.
Lizzie let out a giggle as she took a seat next to Lyle, dressed in a light looking gray armor that made a sound with each movement she made. Her unkempt and long brown hair went down her face and torso as she pulled out a canteen from her belt and took a sip of it. A smile decorated the girl's tired looking face.
Lyle turned to look at his friend, her eyes as black and baggy as usual, he was always amused by how emaciated she could look in comparison to him despite her being just a few years older.
"Another night of no sleep?" Lyle asked, in his voice could be denoted that he was used to seeing her like this, as well as a hint of worry.
"Nah, I slept relatively early yesterday, but I fell asleep in a very uncomfy position so it wasn't very good" She responded, taking another sip out of her canteen.
"Don't you think it's a bit early to be drinking?"
"The sun is already up, so I say, nah" Lizzie took another sip of her canteen. "Waccha doin here?"
"Just… thinking"
"How's ya family doin?"
"As always"
Lizzie took another sip. "Your sister is still mad at me?"
Lyle couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, yes she is. She has a drawing of you in her room, stabbed in the wall with a knife"
"Your sister is one crazy bitch" Lizzie grunted and let out a burp.
"You puked on her bed"
Lizzie seemed offended. "That doesn't make what I said any less true"
Lyle giggled as Lizzie took another sip out of her canteen. "And, how are you doing? Working hard or barely working?"
"You know the drill, nothing ever happens in this town, so… I wouldn't say I barely do anything" She takes another sip. "Being a guard rocks"
"And how's your father?"
"He's doing well, and has gotten an obsession with making scarecrows. Better than his obsession of digging holes and then refill them"
"Seems like he's getting better after, well… you know"
"Yes, mom's passing affected him, it's good to see that he's gotten something to entertain himself with and can make some money out of it" She takes another sip. "Besides, he's an old man, he was really in need of making something with his days"
"Well, I'm glad everything is going alright" Lyle said as he straightened himself on the bench.
"And what about you? What's troubling your mind?"
"What makes you think that?"
Lizzie lifted an eyebrow at his response. "Dude, I'm not stupid, I saw you all thoughtful when walking here. Tell me what's wrong"
Lyle seemed a bit taken back by her statement, but after a few seconds and taking a deep breath of air he decided to tell her the truth. He explained all of his conflict regarding Ascalon and how he does not possess the desire to become an adventurer alongside him.
After hearing his issue, Lizzie took a deep breath and a long sip from her canteen before speaking up.
"Look, dude, I understand, you have… a problem, that… you'll… hurt his feelings and that. But… but… eh… friendship, is a… a two way route, you know? Like, back and forth, you have to make each other happy, not just focus on one of you" Lizzie holds back a burp before speaking again. "And I know that Ascalon can be sort of an.. idiot, creep, with the… social awareness of a rat with syphilis and also has a level of insensitivity that can be a bit… worrying and I personally don't like him, but… but…"
Lizzie kept herself silent for a brief moment, worrying Lyle.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I was just trying to think of what I was gonna say. Now, the point is that he's an idiot, but an idiot that really appreciates you. He wants to go on adventures with you, because he likes being around you, but if he's a good friend he'd prefer that you are happy rather than you making him happy and I… do think he's a good friend, for you, that is. So, just talk to him and I'm pretty sure he'll understand"
Lyle was left thoughtful at his friend's words, he took a few moments to think of what she had said as she took another sip of the liquid in her canteen.
"I've made a decision" Lyle said, standing up and with determination in his voice. "I'm going straight to tell Ascalon how I feel"
"Good luck" Lizzie wished him as Lyle began walking away.
The blonde walked through the dirty roads of Downwood, looking for Ascalon. He was going to tell him the truth and settle this entire situation once and for all.
However, things weren't going to go his way. As Lyle walked, irradiating sheer determination, a sudden breeze made him stop, it had not been the wind, but that was the only thing he managed to notice before feeling a hand hitting him on the back of his neck.
Lyle felt his vision and hearing blurring, he heard what seemed to be the yelling of people, they sounded scared. He tried looking back to see who had hit him, but before that happened, he fell to his knees and into the ground, completely knocked out.