"The Stars are beautiful tonight." said a young boy lying on the grass, his blue eyes wandering across a vast rocky expanse dotted with shimmering points of light hundreds of meters above him.
"Come eat, Adlet!" called his mother from the doorway of a modest farmhouse.
Adlet stood up and went inside to join his mother and father at the table.
"Don't forget you have to go to school tomorrow. Make sure you're on time and don't spend the whole day in the forest again." his father reminded him.
"Yes, Dad." Adlet replied, lacking enthusiasm between two spoonfuls of vegetable soup.
"I know you still dream of becoming a Protector rather than taking over the farm, but you know we can't afford to hire a trainer for you."
"So please try to put a bit more effort into learning as much as you can tomorrow at school. After all, it's only one day a week." Added his father, worried that his son would once again neglect his education for the sake of wandering in the woods.
"Don't worry, I don't need a trainer. I'll become a Protector on my own." Adlet said—this time with much more determination.
He definitely had no intention of giving up on his dream, but he absolutely refused to let his parents sacrifice themselves to pay someone to help him achieve it.
Ever since he had first heard about the Protectors a few years ago, something had changed inside him.
Those tales of people who roamed the world to protect humanity from the threat of dangerous beasts had sparked in him the desire to live similar adventures.
He, who had always followed the routine dictated by his duties as a farmer's son, began to change his habits to give himself the best chance to fulfill his newfound goal.
"Trying to achieve that without help is madness! You can't imagine how dangerous those creatures are!" his mother interrupted, alarmed by her son's recklessness.
He knew it was better to change the subject to avoid worrying his family any further.
The meal gradually returned to a calmer tone, and when it was over, Adlet quickly went to bed, planning as usual to wake up at dawn.
Adlet woke easily as timid rays of light filtered through his window, illuminating his small room. He quickly got dressed and attempted to manage his unruly brown hair, as he knew he had to go to school that afternoon.
But the reason he woke so early had nothing to do with school or his parents. He simply wanted to spend as much time as possible patrolling the forest and observing the animals. He believed this was the only way for him to become a Protector someday.
Ever since he had first heard villagers talk about the Protectors several years ago, it had become his dream to become one himself. Thus, he could explore the world instead of living a life of farming or hunting, which were the major activities in the region.
His biggest problem in pursuing this goal was that no one could answer his countless questions about how one actually became a Protector.
At most, he had learned that their role was to protect people from dangerous beasts living in certain parts of the world, and that capturing one of those beasts seemed to serve as a kind of rite of passage.
Adlet stepped outside and looked upward. It had become much harder to see even a fragment of the rocky ceiling he had gazed at the night before.
The stars were no longer just small shimmering dots—they now gave off enough light to illuminate everything beneath them.
The thirteen-year-old boy then set off westward, taking a dirt path that ran alongside his family's vegetable fields.
The road stretched for about ten kilometers, and as usual, Adlet covered the distance at a steady run. It was, after all, the first part of his training routine to reach his goals.
About forty minutes later, he finally arrived at the edge of the forest and made his way toward a solitary bush near the path. He hurriedly reached inside and pulled out a bow and a fishing rod.
Adlet himself crafted both using branches, string, and various materials he had gathered here and there. He hid them there to avoid carrying them on the way home—a well-practiced routine the boy had long since adopted.
These tools gave him an excuse for his forest escapades. He often brought back enough game and fish to feed his family and even sell a portion in the village.
But for Adlet, all of this was merely another part of his training. He wasn't looking for rabbits or deer while exploring the woods—he was searching for a beast worthy of making him a Protector.
However, he knew that the only reason his parents allowed him to wander alone in this place every day was because such beasts didn't normally dwell here.
This forest, although big, was peaceful for hunters and woodcutters, with no dangerous creatures.
Adlet had roamed this place for several years and was beginning to accept that what he sought might not be found here.
He had once heard from a classmate—who had begun training under a Protector—that far to the north lay a gigantic forest filled with dangerous beasts. Adlet was already planning to go there at the first opportunity, or at least when he was old enough to leave home.
After a few hours of tracking and catching some small game, his stomach began to growl. He decided to head toward a nearby river, where he often fished for his meals during his excursions.
Upon arrival, the forest grew thinner, opening into a clearing crossed by a stream that ran alongside a towering rocky wall reaching up toward the Stars.
It was the westernmost limit of the world. Adlet often stopped here to fish when he was hungry or tired.
Each visit to this place reminded him of the sense of accomplishment he had felt the first time he discovered it—it had been the very first step of his journey to explore the world.
After catching and eating a few fish, he noticed that the light from the Stars was growing brighter—a sign that it was time to head home if he wanted to keep his promise to his parents and attend class.
He began the trip back. Though far less energetic than on his way there, he arrived early enough to drop off his catch at home, wash the dirt from his face, and remove the leaves and twigs clinging to his clothes before setting off for school.
Adlet's house was located on the outskirts of the village, like most farmers' homes. The school, on the other hand, stood at its center, near the marketplace and its few shops.
It took him about ten minutes to make the trip. A group of children his age was waiting in front of the door for the teacher to arrive, and Adlet quietly joined them.
Most of them lived within the village and had been friends since early childhood. Adlet, however, lived outside the village, spent his days in the forest, and rarely attended the school's weekly lessons. He wasn't particularly close to his classmates.
Finally, the door opened.
"Come in quickly, children." said a man in his fifties, who appeared to be the teacher.
The children entered and took their seats at the desks, continuing the conversations they had started outside.
"A little silence, please!" he said, raising his voice this time.
The classroom grew quiet, and the lesson began—basic knowledge of trade, regional products, a few notions of mathematics and writing. All of it seemed perfectly useless to Adlet, who already knew most of it anyway. Yet the class managed to catch his attention when the teacher pinned what looked like a large map on the board.
"This is a map of our world, the Kingdom of EFU." the teacher announced. "Who among you can tell me where our village is located?"
A well-dressed boy raised his hand. With the teacher's permission, he stood in front of the map and pointed to a spot on its western side.
"The village of Eos is here, sir—west of the central region that surrounds the city of Tray, our capital."
"Perfect. Could you take the opportunity to show us the other regions of EFU, Florian?"
"Of course, teacher. Here we have Tray, our capital." he said, pointing to the area in the middle of the map.
"To the east lies the Dryad Forest, to the southeast the Neraid Sea, to the southwest the Horus Desert, and finally to the north: Nest, the city where the royal family Astrea resides." Florian continued, tracing the map with his finger.
"Those are indeed the main regions of the kingdom. Can you tell us where these three great regions got their names?"
"They were named after the three noble families who have ruled those regions and protected the people from the beasts that dwell there for centuries."
"Perfect. You may return to your seat, Florian." the teacher said.
The boy obeyed, a small, satisfied smile forming at the corner of his lips.
"These areas are not the only dangerous parts of our kingdom, however. The last one is actually the closest to us—it's the Dark Woods, bordering the northwestern edge of the world, just north of our village. But don't worry, children." the teacher added with a teasing grin, "that place is so far from here and so well guarded that you have nothing to fear."
"That's where my master plans to take me in a few months—to make me a Protector." Florian whispered proudly to his friends.
Florian was the son of the wealthiest merchant in the village, and thanks to that, he had been receiving training from a Protector for several years—preparing him to become one himself. He was the only child in the village with such privilege, and he never missed an opportunity to remind everyone of it.
Adlet didn't care much for Florian's attitude, yet he couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy toward him.
That marked the end of the lesson. Adlet was the first to leave, quickening his pace toward the village gates. Hearing about the rest of the world had reignited his motivation, and there was still enough daylight left for another trip into the forest.
He made the journey faster than ever and soon found himself once again moving stealthily through his favorite hunting grounds, searching for an unknown beast.
After several hours of searching—once again without success—it was time for Adlet's usual evening fishing. He returned for the second time that day to his favorite spot in the forest: the clearing that bordered the edge of the world.
Usually, it didn't take him long to catch a fish, but that evening was different. It was as if nature itself had decided to test his newfound motivation by denying him any easy success.
He let out a long sigh, about to head home, when the line of his fishing rod suddenly tensed—a sign that something had finally bitten.
It was putting up a good fight, but Adlet was no stranger to tough opponents. It took him barely ten minutes to emerge victorious from the struggle.
He plunged his hand into the water to carefully pull out the exhausted fish, only to discover a species he had never seen before: a long, slender creature about forty centimeters in length, with white scales patterned with gold. Its most striking feature, however, was that it possessed seven long tails, like flowing ribbons.
As soon as he lifted the fish out of the water, Adlet continued to stare at it in astonishment—until, before his very eyes, the creature began to dissolve into a silvery mist that quickly faded away in his hands.
He froze, completely bewildered. Was it a dream? A hallucination? Or could such a creature truly exist? He knew he couldn't find the answer by sitting there in the grass. After a few moments to gather his thoughts, he finally headed home as planned.
He spent the entire walk replaying the event in his mind, still unable to make any sense of it. When he arrived home at nightfall, he looked up at the Stars, now back to their faint, twinkling form. He hurried inside for dinner, telling his parents about his day at school and the strange experience by the river.
His parents, however, were of little help. Thinking it was one of their son's jokes, they paid little attention to his words.
Adlet quickly finished his meal and went to bed. The day had been far more exhausting than usual, and he had no trouble falling asleep.
— Later that night —
Adlet opened his eyes. Everything around him was darkness. Suddenly, a white light began to take shape, forming something oddly familiar.
That was when he realized something was wrong—he wasn't at home, and he couldn't even feel his body. It was as if his mind were floating freely, carried by his own will.
"Not exactly the most exciting dream." he thought. Dreaming of near-complete darkness wasn't exactly thrilling for someone who longed for adventure.
The light slowly grew clearer until it became obvious what the shape was: seven ribbons of light extending from the long, slender body of the same fish that had so fascinated him earlier.
"Hello." said a voice—one that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"Who are you?" Adlet asked calmly, merely a spectator in what he believed to be a rather unremarkable dream.
"Who am I? I'm right before you, if that's what you're asking." replied the voice. Its tone was devoid of emotion, yet carried a strange sense of peace.
"You're a fish?" Adlet replied, half amused by the absurdity of his own question.
"If that's what you call me, then yes, I'm a fish." the voice answered after a brief silence.
"Why are we here?" Adlet asked automatically.
"You defeated me, so I am here. As for you—what could be more natural than one having access to their own mind?"
"So this place is my mind. Why is it so dark, then? Something wrong with my personality?" he asked, curious to see where this dream might lead.
"It simply seems that your spirit is weak." the voice said. "But now that I dwell here, I can help you change that—if you wish."
"My spirit may be weak." Adlet retorted, slightly offended, "but my will is strong enough to make up for it!"
"And what do you aim to achieve with such will?" asked the fish calmly.
"To become strong enough to be a Protector, of course!" he declared, this time with a steady tone and eyes full of determination.
"I don't quite understand what that entails." said the fish, "but from now on, we share the same fate—though I don't know whether that will truly help you become more capable."
"You say we share the same fate—what does that mean?" Adlet asked.
"You defeated me, so my fate is now yours. I am here only to assist you on whatever path you choose." replied the fish.
"And how exactly are you going to assist me from inside my mind?" the boy pressed.
"I cannot leave your mind, that's true." the fish admitted. "But I believe I can share my strength with you, now that we are one. Whether that strength will be of any use—or whether you'll be able to harness it—remains to be seen."
"You can share your strength with me?" Adlet was stunned. The words echoed the stories he had heard of Protectors drawing power from the beasts they had defeated.
Of course, if this really was a dream, it could just be his imagination replaying what he longed for most. Still, the possibility was too great to ignore.
"Yes, you've earned it."
"So… does that mean I'm a Protector now?" he asked eagerly.
"I don't know what a Protector is." the fish replied. "But you are my master, since you defeated me."
"You mentioned your strength—does that mean I'm stronger now that you're with me?" Adlet asked again, seeking confirmation.
"If you're speaking of physical strength, I doubt my presence will help much. As you saw, you already bested me at that."
"Then how will you help me?" he asked, uncertain.
"I'm not sure how to answer that." the fish said. "How could I possibly explain everything that makes me what I am? Could you, if our roles were reversed?"
"No… I suppose not." the boy admitted.
"I'm sorry I can't help you more. Perhaps I'm not the kind of companion you wished for. I've always stayed away from conflict."
"Until you attacked my hook." Adlet replied, half amused.
"That's your achievement"—and the reason for your victory.
"Our conversation is ending. You are still too weak to remain here for too long." said the fish, its glowing silhouette slowly fading into the darkness.
Adlet still had countless questions, but realizing he might only have time for one more, he blurted out the first that came to mind.
"What's your name?"
"You called me Fish. So, Fish shall be my name."
"No, 'Fish' isn't a name. If you don't have one, it's only right that I give you one." Adlet said after thinking for a moment. A simple name came to mind—one that fit the situation perfectly.
"My first friend is a fish? So be it. From now on, I'll call you Pami."
"As you wish, master."
"Ah, right." Adlet said, smiling. "Since we're friends now, no need to call me 'master.' My name is Adlet."
At those words, he felt his consciousness fade away.