"Aki!"
The voice calls again. "Aki!"
"Father! You're back!"
The boy sprints across the courtyard and crashes into his father's arms.
Mateo Álvaro is a tall, heavily-built man with brown skin, wild black hair, and brown eyes that crinkle when he smiles. He's stripped off his chest plate and upper armor, leaving just the pieces below his waist and the padded underarmor covering his torso.
He laughs and scoops up his eight-year-old son. Aki has his father's brown eyes and the same grin.
"Father, how was it?" Aki's practically vibrating with excitement.
"Wonderful. We saw these tall creatures up north— Yetis, on an island past the barrier ice shelf." Mateo sets him down but keeps a hand on his shoulder. "Massive things. Twice my height."
"Mr. Mateo!" The mansion's caretaker appears in the doorway. "Madam Akili has returned."
Mateo glances down at his son and grins. "You want to surprise your mother?"
"Yes!" Aki's already running toward the garden.
Mrs. Akili steps down from her carriage near the flower beds. She's a tall woman, a dark-skinned half-elf with grey eyes and an air of calm authority. Her white-and-gold gown flows as she moves, and the ring bearing the Kokoro family crest catches the sunlight. Knights stand guard around the compound's perimeter, but she ignores them and heads straight for her roses.
"Surprise!" Mateo and Aki leap out from behind the bushes. Akili stumbles back a step, hand to her chest.
"Don't scare me like that." She laughs and swats Mateo's shoulder.
"Welcome back, dear." They kiss. Aki makes a face. "Eww. Get a room!"
"Come here!" His mother pulls him into the embrace, and the three of them stand there in the garden, wrapped together.
"Now you're back. We're complete," Akili murmurs.
"One big happy family," Mateo adds.
He pulls back and reaches into his belt pouch. "Oh, and I have something for you, Aki."
He produces a newly crafted ring bearing the Álvaro family crest and slides it onto his son's finger.
"Thanks, Dad." Aki hugs him again, grinning ear to ear.
Everything blurs…
"Wake up!"
"Wake up, Aki!"
"What?" Aki bolts upright. He's nineteen now, taller, leaner, and his voice is deeper. His mother stands at the window, pulling back the curtains. Sunlight floods the room. "What are you doing? You're late for your lectures. And your training. Young man, where were you last night?"
"I went to see Custos, Mum. I'm sorry." He rubs the sleep from his face.
"There's no problem with that, son." She sounds relieved. "Custos is a good boy. He had good parents. He won't get you into trouble."
"I'm nineteen," Aki mutters. "Trouble comes with age."
"I don't understand you anymore, Aki." His mother crosses her arms. "You're good at training, but you don't want to be a knight. You're good at your studies too, but you're not interested in continental politics or business."
Aki's head drops. "I'm sorry, Mum. It's just... I miss him."
Her expression softens. She touches his shoulder. "I know. I miss him too." She pauses. "Now get dressed. Your teacher has been waiting for forty minutes."
"Okay, Mum."
He slips into the bathroom and splashes cold water on his face. Minutes later, he's dressed and walking through the corridor. He stops at a portrait of his father—Mateo in full armor, smiling that same smile.
Aki touches the ring on his finger. "It's about time, Dad."
He walks through the center of the garden, adjusting his black coat as he goes. The sun warms his brown skin. He pulls out a small vial of hair potion and works it through his thick, spiky black hair. It smells like dandelions.
His height—taller than most humans but shorter than full elves—draws a few glances from the staff.
"Mr. Buggies!" He waves as he approaches his tutor. Mr. Buggies is a gnome, pale-skinned with neatly combed brown hair and spectacles perched on his nose. He's holding a rolled-up map under one arm. "Are you ready for today's geography lesson, Mr. Aki?"
"Yes, sir."
Two hours crawl by. When the lesson finally ends, Aki practically bolts from the room. He exchanges quick pleasantries with the mansion workers—they all know he's brilliant and completely uninterested in using that brilliance for anything academic.
He finds Sir Timothy near the west hall. The knight is leaning against the wall, arms crossed.
"Sir Timothy!" Aki calls out.
"What do you want?"
"Would you mind sparring with me?"
Sir Timothy sighs. "Ugh. Yes. Fine."
"Yes!" Aki disappears and returns moments later with his staff—a long black weapon inscribed with sigils and runes. A medium-sized gemstone sits in the top, gleaming faintly.
Sir Timothy eyes it. "That thing again? A sword would be much better."
"Nah. I really like this one."
Aki spins the staff with practiced ease and rushes forward. Their weapons clash, sending sparks across the stone floor. Sir Timothy swings his sword toward Aki's head. Aki sidesteps, the blade whistling past his ear, and drives a kick into the knight's chest.
Sir Timothy flies backward and hits the wall with a thud. He coughs, sliding down to the floor.
Aki runs over. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry."
"It's alright." Sir Timothy waves him off, wheezing. "I'm a knight. I should be prepared for anything." He grins. "You know, with physical strength like yours, you'd be exceptional in a Knight Guild."
"Too military." Aki grins back and helps him to his feet. "Don't tell my mum I'm out. Thanks, man."
He's already running before Sir Timothy can respond.
"Wait—!" But Aki's gone. Sir Timothy lifts his hand from his chest plate. There's a dent in the metal. He shakes his head, grinning. "That kid."
The Capital Market buzzes with activity. Vendors shout prices, children weave through the crowds, and the smell of roasted meat and spices hangs in the air.
A young man walks along the road—red-haired, skinny, light-skinned. His name is Custos, and he's dressed simply: plain blue shirt, grey trousers, sandals.
Aki drops from a rooftop behind him.
"Boo!"
Custos jumps. "What the—? Don't scare me like that, man."
"Ah yes, Custos, my brother. What adventures might we have today?"
Custos rolls his eyes. The difference in their clothing is stark—Aki in his tailored black coat, Custos in his worn shirt—but they move like they've known each other their whole lives.
"Maybe we could meet that girl... What's her name again? Viola?" Aki smirks wickedly.
"She's just a friend." Custos tries to hide his smile.
"Oh, my sweet Viola, oh, how you have stolen my heart!" Aki clutches his chest dramatically. People turn to stare.
"Shut up!" Custos's face goes red.
"Hey, guys. What's going on?"
Viola appears beside them— brown-skinned, pink hair, black eyes. She's wearing a long-sleeve shirt, jacket, jean shorts, and goggles perched on her head.
"Nothing!" Custos says quickly.
Viola raises an eyebrow. "Okay…"
She turns to Aki and performs an exaggerated bow. "How are you today, council boy?"
"Stop that!" Aki tries to push her upright. She's laughing. Custos joins in.
"Yeah, yeah. It's not like I want to do it." Aki finds a barrel and sits down. "My mum is making that choice for me. I know it's for the good of the family and myself, but you know me, Custos. I can't sit in meetings reading documents all day. I can't. I want to be free. Like my father."
His friends remain quiet.
"So, what's going on here, younglings? Something I should be interested in?" A female elf steps out from the crowd, dagger in hand. She's flanked by a shaggy-looking human with a sword and an elven male archer with crooked teeth who's smiling like a lunatic.
"We're just looking for our way home. We're lost," she says, having her crew slowly approach the teens
"Run!" Aki shouts.
He tackles the female elf, sending her crashing through a nearby window. Viola and Custos sprint in the opposite direction.
"Sorry!" Aki yells to the residents inside, then bolts as the other two give chase. He dodges an arrow that whistles past his head, then another. The female elf recovers and joins the pursuit.
Aki leads them away from the crowded market, toward the corner of a building. They surround him.
"It's over, brat!" The human unsheathes his sword and ignites it with flames.
Aki's eyes flick between them. He kicks up dust, disrupting the archer's aim, and punches him in the jaw. The archer drops. In the confusion, Aki rushes the female elf—but the swordsman is already behind him. The man raises his flaming blade.
Bang!
The sound echoes through the alley. All three fighters freeze.
A gunslinger stands at the mouth of the alley, smoke curling from the barrel of his revolver.
The swordsman looks down. His blade has been shot clean in half.