Max woke up startled by a gentle shaking of his shoulder. His father, Randolph, stood over him with a finger to his lips, letting him know to come quietly and then left the room. Max's quaint room consisted of a straw bed, a small chest, and a lamp off to the corner. He sat up from his bed, looked intently at the lamp, and raised his finger slightly. The lamp began to faintly glow and soon filled the small room with light. It frustrated him that he still had to use his hands to command the fire to start. Fire isn't his affinity, but certainly, at seventeen he should be able to light a lamp without having to put his entire focus into the task. Ellias was able to start two lamps at once without looking at either, but then again he is the son of a Baronet.

After getting dressed, Max looked at the lamp and lowered his finger, extinguishing it. He entered the common room which was illuminated by the red coals of the fire on the opposite side. He crossed quietly to the door, pausing briefly to grab his bow and quiver that hung next to it, then left. Slowly closing the door behind him, he turned to see his father rolling the ache of a cold sleep out of his right shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Randolph asked him.

"Nothing. Just the lamp again." Max replied, looking down at the dirt embarrassed. A smile tugged on Randolph's lips and he shook his head and turned. Max followed as Randolph led them to Lake Nez on the east side of the village. He could almost make out the sprawling city, Rhegent, across the lake in the moonlight. Growing up in Massa is not easy. The cold air coming off the mountains to the north makes the weather very unpredictable, often leaving snow covering the tops of the trees in the Massan Woods. This morning was no different and Max wished again he was better with fire so he could keep himself warmer on the brisk day. After filling up the skin with water, the two headed back across the village toward the trail leading north.

Outside the village, they walked in silence for a bit before Randolph began, "It's not that bad you know. Not being good with fire." He looked at Max who didn't know how to respond. "Plus you have such a talent with wood. You'll have no issues joining the Silva Knights this Spring. Hell, I think you could even reach Provectus rank on entry."

Hearing this immediately left Max with a wide grin. "You really think I could be a Provectus like you someday?"

"Don't dream so small. You could reach Dominus with your ability," Randolph told him proudly. "I haven't seen such skill at your age without going to the Order of the Dragon, and take that from this old man who served at Whitfang for Marquess Rhegent. I saw dozens of new Knights pass through after gaining knighthood, and I haven't seen a better shot than yours. So don't keep knocking yourself down, you have a lot of talent and the rest will come."

Max nodded and walked with a little more confidence, gripping his bow with pride. His father was a Silva Knight Provectus, two ranks below mastery. An expert with the bow, once hitting a rabbit's eye from 150 meters, or so the story goes. After retiring from Marquess Rhegent's army, he became a carpenter. Making finely crafted furniture, with his affinity to wood. Every so often when their food stores would run low, he would take Max with him on a hunt. This was such an occasion.

The winding trail led north to the entrance to the forest. His father handed him the skin and they both took a long drink of the crisp lake water. Randolph reached out to the trees like old friends and they shook as if in reply. Randolph looked up at the sky. "Yon, son of the almighty Yezzu, I ask you to watch over and protect me and mine on this hunt."

"And lead us to a twelve point buck," Max chimed in.

"And lead us to a twelve point buck," Randolph agreed with a chuckle.

After the quick prayer, they headed into the woods. They looked at each other and a heartbeat later they each blended into the woods. A woodcrafter can use the trees to make them almost invisible to an untrained idea. Max kept an eye on his dad to his right and stepped with practiced feet through the forest, barely making a sound. The branches and bushes shifted slightly, masking Max's movements.

Max had grown up in these forests, and would often play hide and seek with Ellias and Mina. As a woodcrafter, Max always had the advantage. Ellias has an affinity to water but is quickly learning much about wood after spending time in the woods. His hiding spots are getting better. Mina was terrible at hiding. She had no skill at woodcraft; however, she often ended up winning since both boys would end up letting her.

Max was snapped out of his memories by his father's raised hand, signaling him to stop. "Some tracks are leading right, and they look fresh," Randolph revealed pointing. "I want you to lead."

Max nodded, suddenly feeling his heartbeat quicken. He led them for five minutes, creeping slowly along the tracks. The brush in front of him parted silently with an absent thought to the wood. It opened to a small clearing, allowing the light snow to drift down through and dust the ground. A small creek flowed across it, making a calming sound as it ran across stones. On the far side, Max saw the deer leaning low, drinking the mountain water. They faced its back so they would need to move left or right to get a clear shot. Max signaled back to his father that they should move quietly to the right since it had fewer bushes to make noise and led to a good opening for a shot where the creek continued.

His heartbeat raced while his feet did the opposite. Slowly stepping over a rock, he pulled an arrow from a quiver and knocked it to the bow. His breath misted as it left, and his hands were stiff from the cold. At the clearing, he raised the bow lining up his shot. The deer was not even ten meters away. It would be an easy kill. The deer had twelve points. Yon was listening and Max smiled at the thought. He released and in an instant, the hunt was over.

Randolph clapped Max on the back. "Nice shot boy! Right to the heart." Touching the deer's antlers, he looked at the sky in awe. His father struggled for a moment to lift the deer. Gaining strength from the ground through earthcraft, he managed to place it over his shoulders. "This will certainly last us a while," he mused. "We will have to go to the city to sell the hide to a tanner to pay the taxes. Whatever coin is left is yours."

"You mean it? That would be almost two silver after we pay for the deer."

"It's your kill so it only seems fair. Plus you'll need a bit of coin once you're on your own in the army."

While Randolph led the way back, Max was thinking of all the things he could use that money for. He's saved for a while, and after the deer, he'd have close to five silver. Maybe when they went to the city he'd have enough for his own sword. His dad still had his sword from when he was in the army. Max would sneak away with it at times and fantasize about a life of beasts to slay.

A flicker of light to his right brought Max back to reality. Curious, he made his way over to see what it was. Two men sat on opposite sides of a small fire. A pot sat over the fire being stirred gently by the larger of the two. He had long black hair and olive skin like someone from the Kantillion Kingdom. He wore a black cloak, with a long sword at his hip. Strange for him to be all the way in the northwest of the Dremshen Kingdom near the border to the Wildlands. His companion, with short sandy hair wearing the same clothes, looked like he was from Dremshen.

"I'm starving," the sandy-haired man declared. "Is the stew ready?"

"Not quite, just a few minutes," the larger replied. After a minute he continued, "So you think I should take Dremshen? I was kind of favoring Ex'ol. It looked quite a bit easier."

"I'd feel more comfortable if it wasn't you as well. I would rather do it myself, but to start a war, we need you to be seen."

"True, just seems like such a pain. The Dremshen family mainly have an affinity to Earth, like me." He took the spoon out of the pot and had a taste. "It's close now."

"Are you really worried you won't be able to do it?" The sandy-haired man laid back on the ground looking at the sky. "That just seems a bit ridiculous to me that you wouldn't be able to kill them."

"Of course not. I just said it would be a pain." He tasted once more and asked, "Where is Uliane, the food is ready."

"I'm right here," a voice answered behind Max's right shoulder as a hand rested on his left, leading him into the light of the fire. "Looks like we have company with us." The sandy-haired man sat up looking at the two entering the light.

The larger asked, "What did our guest hear?" Standing up, he placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. A bracelet of stone on his other hand erupted into life, which began dancing around in his palm in the shape of five stone balls.

"Killing kings and queens, starting wars. Well the whole thing, I'd imagine. Do you have friends here, boy?" Uliane asked him.

Max looked at her. Her black hair falling in curls to a little past her shoulders, making a sharp contrast to her pale skin. An Ex'olian. Her light blue eyes were cold like a frozen lake as they glared at him, waiting for his answer. He stuttered as he began and managed to let out, "M- My dad," just loud enough to be heard over the crackle of the fire and bubbling of the stew.

"I can feel him, about twenty meters to the right and coming this way. I'm sure he senses the burning wood," the sandy-haired man stated. "He's a woodcrafter, right boy?"

"Yes," was all Max was able to reply.

The larger man raised his left hand with the spinning stones and pointed to where the sandy-haired man mentioned. The stones melted together forming a small spike, hovering in his hand. There was a small shimmer in the bushes, barely noticeable to even the best of woodcrafters. That instant the spike launched into the bushes, a grunt followed as Randolph stumbled forward into the light. He looked at Max and blood poured from the spike in his chest. The spike flew back out toward the man and began to reform the bracelet it originally was, leaving a hole in Randolph's chest. He fell to the ground dead, his lifeless eyes facing the sky.

Max tried to scream out, but he found he lost the ability to make any noise. He struggled to take a breath. His face started to become red, the breeze around him becoming still. He looked up to Uliane with panic on his face. "Sorry boy, but I can't let you tell someone what you heard, and if you scream now we would maybe have to kill more people. We don't want that, do we? I hope you understand." She spoke with sympathy in her voice that made Max almost believe she meant it. Looking at her eyes, he saw them dancing with joy as he struggled. A dagger made entirely out of fire went into Max's chest, as the sandy-haired man killed him.

"Why did you do that Boron?" Uliane asked with a sudden rage to her voice. "I had it under control."

"I'm hungry," he answered blandly as he grabbed the spoon and filled a bowl of soup. He sat down on the ground again and took a bite. "Not your best stew, Goran."

"I got a little distracted," Goran replied. He laughed as he too sat down and began to eat. Uliane left Max on the ground, joining the two at the fire for their meal.