In truth, being the head of the family was a sensation that Tyrius had never gotten used to feeling. A year and a half ago, when a plague ran through their village, Tyrius’ father and mother died during the illness. Their healer, Miss Lera, was only able to mitigate the effects of the plague. In the end, it was up to each individual to fight the sickness and survive.

Tyrius being sixteen at the time, inherited the family business--a smithy in their local village, and took charge of his younger sister, who was not yet of age. However, she was soon going to be sixteen--the age when children became adults. He would have to start worrying about finding her a suitor, something Tyrius was not looking forward to doing. It was something Tyrius always knew would come--though he never imagined until recently he’d be the one to make the decision.

Tyrius and his sister Leanna were peasants, and in the end, all peasants are tied to the land they lived on and the livelihood they were raised with. It was the same for their neighbors and other townsfolk. For generations, the same families toiled away on the same lands, planting crops, chopping wood, guarding villages, molding tools out of iron and steel. As such, that connection to the ground and their history was their livelihood. It wasn’t so easy to pick everything up and move on.

Of course, Tyrius was also of the age to marry--and he had been for some time, but there was no one that he felt was a good match for himself. Most of the village’s marriageable women were daughters of farmers--and their lives were ill-suited for that of a blacksmith. He knew that he would need to make a decision one day--but he was still young and still dreamed of the kind of love that the old tales and songs spoke of, rather than marrying to carrying on one’s lineage. For now, Tyrius was happy to live with his sister--her day of birth was still a few months away, so that issue was something future Tyrius could deal with.

After mulling over his thoughts for a little while, Tyrius pushed himself out of bed, a small sigh escaping his lips as he did so. He was still groggy from sleeping--and his muscles always felt sore from the previous day of beating steel to form it into metal creations. Of course, he knew it was time to wake up--he could see the light leaking in through the cracks in the ceiling as well as the scent of sizzling meat coming from the kitchen--where his sister was likely making breakfast.

With a small grunt, Tyrius stretched and walked over a small basin of water on the side of the room. There he saw his reflection staring back up at him. Tyrius had curly dark brown hair--unless he was in sunlight, it was hard to tell that his hair wasn’t jet black.

Furthermore, Tyrius had dark blue eyes, his facial features had only just lost their boyishness of youth, and a more mature visage had just begun to set in, though his facial features were not perfect. There were small burn marks and scars from stray sparks while working in the forge.

Tyrius’ body, while being of about average height, was not particularly large or bulky--but years working the forge had given him a reasonable amount of physical bulk for his size--Tyrius was by no means weak. Still, his strength mainly stemmed from repeatedly swinging a harmer down and lifting iron blocks and other such materials all day long while working.

As Tyrius stepped out of his bedroom, it was easy to smell the scent of meat cooking through the air. The fact that they could afford to have meat at most of their meals was something that Tyrius was quite thankful for--being the only blacksmith in a village allowed for a higher standard of living most of the time.

Over on the opposite side of the room, Leanna was standing over the wood stove, a gentle heat rising from the metal stove as she worked on cooking the morning meal. Leanna herself was slim--and she had a moderate height, albeit a little shorter than Tyrius was. Her hair, unlike Tyrius,’ was a raven black color.

Her features were smooth, and unlike Tyrius, there were no scars or burn marks. Furthermore, her eyes were an orangish-yellow hue that Tyrius sometimes swore seemed to glow at night.

“So what’s for breakfast today?” Tyrius asked, his voice taking a soft, kind tone as he spoke to his sister.

A moment later, Leanna tilted her head to the side, her orangish-yellow eyes narrowing onto him before she said. “Ah, good morning Tyrius. I thought some sausage, bread, and eggs would be good today...you’re heading off to Dufast to make a delivery, right?”

Tyrius bobbed his head for a moment before walking close and peering over her shoulder to glance down at the food sizzling in the pan. “Yes, the local lord put in an order for a new set of swords for his nights. He split the order between the blacksmiths in Dufast and himself. While it is a bit of a trip, the money was too good to pass up.” Tyrius said with a small sigh.

Dufast was about a three days journey away from their small village of Idlesworth. Usually, Tyrius would’ve declined--he didn’t like to leave his home, but he knew it wasn’t wise to deny the local lord, and the amount offered was more than Tyrius would make in an extended period in the village.

“I suppose while I’m there, I’ll pick up some more iron, so I don’t need to get the local caravan to pick it up for me. That’ll probably save some gold, so the trip isn’t all bad.” Tyrius said with a small sigh, his shoulder’s rolling in a slight shrug as he slipped off and took a seat. “I’ll be gone for a little more than a week. If anything happens, just go to Lady Lera or the Lodars.”

The conversation died there as Leanna lifted moved to set the breakfast on the table, giving a healthy portion of sausage, eggs, and bread to Tyrius, before taking a matching amount, the rest of what she cooked, and sitting across from him.

“Tyrius--there is no reason for me to stay here alone--I'm not a child anymore. Let me come along.”

A small sigh escaped Tyrius’ lips as she spoke--he wasn’t surprised. His sister was always the adventurous sort, like himself. It was easy to recall all the times Leanna followed him off as he went exploring in the woods nearby.

“Well, I guess there is no harm in it. The road is fairly safe, and I haven’t heard of any problems from the traders that come on through on their way to and from Dufast. It’ll be good for you to see the world out of Idlesworth. I don’t know how many more times we'll head out on a mini-adventure like we used to.”

After Tyrius spoke, there was a moment of silence--they both know what he was referring to. It was going to be time soon for Leanna to start making her way in life. However, the silence didn’t last that long.

“Mmmm, I don’t know if you’ll manage to survive with me. I mean, when I go, knowing you, you’ll just eat stale bread all day.” Leanna’s voice was soft and teasing as she spoke, and once she finished speaking, she began to eat, and Tyrius followed suit afterward. “Leanna, why don’t you go pack what you’ll be taking with us. Since you’re coming along, I’ll pick up some more rations and other supplies. I already have a small sack in my room ready for myself with my clothes, a waterskin, a tinderbox, father’s sword that he left me, and other such items.” Tyrius stated as he headed out the door, though before he left, he grabbed a small bag, which jingled with the sounds of coins grinding against one another.

Tyrius traveled across the village, following the earthen paths that led through the village’s cluster of small buildings before arriving at the Irvon’s home--Irvon was a butcher and smoker that lived in the town. Since meat would only last so long, most families took their catches to Irvon, and he would butcher the beasts and smoke the meat, taking a portion of the food for himself in exchange for their services. In a small village like this, the only people who traded in coins were travelers. For the most part, the residents traded goods and services instead of coin.

Tyrius, who was a blacksmith, offered his services to the local townsfolk. He made sure to fix, repair, and smith the tools the farmer needed to keep their farms running. He did the same for the blacksmith, and anyone else who needed it in exchange for the supplies Tyrius and his family needed to survive. It was a reasonable exchange, and there was never a shortage of work to be done. Someone was always in need of something to be repaired or something to be smithed. Typically, when he didn’t have an outside order, Tyrius spent most of his time creating nails, as those were almost always in demand.

As Tyrius pushed through the doors to the butchery, he came face to face with Irvon. Irvon was a bulkier fellow, about half a foot taller than Tyrius and far more well rounded around the belly

“Ah, Tyrius, here to pick up your traveling goods?” Irvon asked as he reached below the countertop pulling out a small wrapped sack, which contained various dried meats.

“My sister convinced me to bring her along, so I’ll need another set if it’s not too much trouble.”

Irvon let out a small chuckle as he turned off to the side. “Not a problem. I still think I’m getting off ahead with that new set of knives you agreed to make for me,” he stated, waving his hand in a carefree manner as he turned to the side.

It took another few minutes before Irvon had another small wrapped sack and set it alongside the others. “There, that should be enough to get you to Dufast and back again with a little bit to spare.”

“Thank you, Irvon. When I get back, I’ll get started on those knives for you.”

With that, Tyrius left the butcher. Typically he’d have headed home--but since his sister was coming, he decided there was another stop he needed to take--and the reason he took the coin pouch.

Tyrius walked across the village, heading towards a somewhat larger builder--and one of the few buildings made out of stone. It was the local church that housed stations of worship to the major gods.

While the church was not magnificent, it was still nice and homely. As Tyrius entered, his gaze traveled across the various altars dedicated to each of the major gods. Each of the gods had its domain and their varying levels of strength. Though, they only responded and gave aid to their most devout of worshipers.

Xireus, the god of time. Silses, the god of souls. Etuna, the goddess of fire and rebirth. Idris, the god of water, storms, and healing. Vudea, the goddess of each, nature, and crops. And then there was Cezara, the goddess of war and conflict.

Despite Cezara’s notion as an evil god, most temples to the gods still had a place of worship--which was likely a good thing since she was known to be one of the more active divine beings, more willing to share her power with her followers.

In their local village, however, Vudea and Idris were the most well regarded. With Vudea’s blessing, their farmlands were able to maintain consistent harvests, and through Idris, they were able to maintain their health, and a steady storm brought water to the farmlands.

Idris was why Tyrius had come to the church--however, he didn’t pray to the goddess instead of meeting with Lady Lera, the caretaker of the church and devout follower of Idris.

Lady Lera had the power of healing--and she could imbue unique stones with healing properties so that when they broke, they healed the wounds of whoever they were broken over. They were expensive, but if Leanna was coming, Tyrius wanted to make doubly sure he could keep his sister safe if anything happened on the road.

Tyrius spotted the woman off to the side, kneeling before one of the altars. She wore a blue and white set of robes--even her hair was a dark blue color. It was a side effect of being a conduit for Idris’ power.

Of course, Tyrius did not interrupt her prayers--and instead waited for the moment to finish, which only took a few more minutes. Once Lera finished, she stood up, and turned to the side, and glanced at Tyrius, a warm smile across her lips. “What do I owe this pleasure, Tyrius.” she cooed out softly.

Lera was an older woman in her late forties. It was easy to see the light creases still forming on her brow--but unless someone had known she was old as she was, it would be hard to tell. She looked like she was in her late twenties, in fact, apart from the occasional crease in her skin. It was also a blessing of Idris.

“Lady Lera--I’m heading off to Dufast soon, and I was wondering if you could enchant some crystals to take along with me. The roads are supposed to be safe, but I want to make sure I’m prepared if anything does happen with my sister coming along.

The bluenette simply stood there and listened to Tyrius’ words before nodding. “Of course, Tyrius. I imagine you have the proper offering to Idris?”

In response, Tyrius nodded before taking out his small bag and taking out a single gold coin before approaching the altar for Idris. The gold coin was a large part of Tyrius’ and Leanna’s wealth at the time, but it was well worth the price for the protection of the gods. Especially since, when Tyrius finished the order and delivered the weapons to the local lord, he’d be paid five gold coins. Kneeling before it, Tyrius set the coin in a small basin on the side--it was akin to that of a collection tin but is filled to the brim with water to represent Idris’ nature.

While the coin would go to the church itself, it was customary to offer the coin to the gods--and then, in turn, the gods gifted the coin to the church. There were cases, at least supposedly, where if a church had grown corrupt, the gods might take the coin offered as punishment, but that had never happened here.

After giving a small prayer for his--and his sister’s health, Tyrius turned towards Lady Lera, who smiled, and in her hand, held three little crystal orbs. “May Idris’ flow be with you and your sister Tyrius.”

After taking the crystal orbs, Tyrius offered a small bow. “May you bask in Idris’ stream many more years, Lady Lera.”

With that, Tyrius left the church, slipping the three small crystals into a small pouch on the side of his body before heading off back home.

By noon everything was ready. The cart that Tyrius was using to transport the weapons he had crafted for the local lord was waiting, a pair of draft horses at its helm. The cart was covered with a tarp to keep the weapons from the elements, and there was a small section where Tyrius had stored his traveling pack and everything that went along with it. Tyrius and Leanna climbed onto the wagon with everything set, Tyrius taking the reins and Leanna taking the seat next to him, her amber already starting to survey their surroundings despite them still being inside Idlesworth.

Once they were both settled, Tyrius snapped the reins, signaling for the mules to start walking and pulling the carriage. As they made their way out, Tyrius and Leanna waved to their neighbors--at least the ones who were out and about as they left their small village, taking the path northwest towards Dufast.

A small wall of logs surrounded the village of Idlesworth, dug into the ground, and propped upwards. While it wasn’t all that sturdy against actual attackers, it did do its job at keeping out local wildlife--for the most part, at least. However, there were still more than a few dwellings outside of the city--farmers whose home was built on their land, hunters who preferred a canopy of trees above their head, etc. As the pair of siblings reached the village’s exit, the two waved towards Estin and Leonin, two of the village’s guards who were on watch on their makeshift entrance.

Estin was an older fellow in his thirties that was a mercenary who settled down in their small village--and was paid a small salary to keep an eye out and protect the villagers from danger. He has a shorter, stocky fellow with a decent build.

Leonin was a younger fellow, only a few years older than Tyrius, and he had always lived within the village. His father was also one of the guards that the village employed--and he was trained to one day join their small guard group alongside his father. He was one of the many members of the town who was a prospective suitor for Leanna.

“Afternoon Tyrius, are you off to make your delivery to Dufast?” Estin asked, his attention drawn upwards and away from Leonin, with who he was having a conversation.

“That I am--it’ll be a long journey, but the skies seem rather clear, and from what I’ve heard, the roads have been peaceful. So I’m expecting an uneventful journey.” Tyrius stated, giving a small nod to the pair.

“And is your sister coming along then?” Leonin asked, his eyes darting towards Leanna as she gazed off into the distance.

“She is. Since there isn’t anything to do at the house and the roads have been quiet enough, I agreed to let her come. The gods know we won’t be able to make many more of these outings.”

“Mmm, that’s right--have you decided on a suit--” before Leonin could finish his question, Estin slipped him upside the head.

“Leo, that’s none of our business--we’ll certainly hear about when they reach a decision,” Estin grumbled out before giving a somewhat sharp look at his guard buddy. Estin turned his attention back towards Tyrius--who, along with Leanna who were chuckling to themselves. “I apologize for his behavior. I do hope you have a nice trip, Dufast.

“Heh, it’s no problem. We both know how nosy Leonin is. Both of you have a nice day yourself.” Tyrius called out before once again snapping the reins, signaling for the mules to start walking once again.

Tyrius and Leanna lived within the Nimastar Empire--the large country on the continent. However, it was not a unified country. When Nimastar formed, a coalition of kingdoms banded together to fight against a magic-focused empire known as the Exalted Empire that existed to the south. After the war, the Exalted Empire collapsed. The Nimastar Empire was officially formed and became more of an elective monarchy where the powerful nobles of the land would vote on a new emperor when the current one passed away. Due to the system, the Emperor did not have large amounts of authority, and most of the lords were left to their own devices, doing as they pleased as long as they did not upset the balance of the empire as a whole.

In regards to the empire, Tyrius and Leanna lived to the southwestern edge of the empire, somewhat close to the wildlands’ borders--the wildlands being land that the Exalted once ruled. It was common knowledge that the land once ruled by the Exalted held some kind of curse, making it difficult to survive and prosper there. So despite how much time had passed, there were no known civilized countries that resided there--only savages who believed that the harshness of the land made them stronger.

Due to being on the Empire’s edges and the disunity within it, the roads weren’t necessarily the safest. Since rather than the crown taking care of bandits and criminals who preyed on merchants, the duties were left up to the local nobility. Thankfully, the local lord of where Tyrius and Leanna lived did his best to keep the roads cleaned--but that didn’t mean the pair could be idle. Both kept an eye on their surroundings, Leanna more so than Tyrius since she wasn’t the one driving.

As the pair traveled, their cart being pulled by the team of mules that were strapped to the cart, Tyrius glanced towards his sister speaking.

“So, Leanna, what made you want to come along to Dufast? You never seemed to have that much interest in traveling to the big city.”

After a moment, Leanna’s orangish-yellow eyes slipped to the side, narrowing onto Tyrius.

“Well, that’s because most of the time you go, you’re not going to the city itself--rather pick up a supply of ore. On this trip, we have to go deliver the goods to the lord--and then we’re a little free on what we can and can’t do.” Leanna stated, her lips curling into a small grin.

“And I was wondering if there was how my brother acted in front of the local lord--I mean, you never were good with authority.”

Of course, at Leanna’s jest, Tyrius’ cheeks tinted red as he glanced off and away. “Look, I may have been a little rebellious in my youth, but our parents didn’t mind all that much. However, they did get upset when I brought you with me. You always seemed to get injured whenever we went off on a little adventure.”

“Well, that’s because my big brother couldn’t protect me~!”

“Well...it’s hard to protect you when you decide to climb a tree or jump into a bramble bush after a rabbit you saw. Do you know how many times we have to visit Miss Lera because of you?.”

“Oh, come now, it’s not like I was the only one who got injured. While I may have gotten hurt more, anytime you got hurt, it was always worse. Remember that time you broke your ankle?”

“Well, yah. I broke your fall when the tree branch broke--of course, I made sure to leave that little detail out when we got home...”

With that, both of them let out a little chuckle before focusing their attention forward--silence ensuring as they both recalled their parents.

“You know, I still miss them, Tyrius. It makes me wonder how they would’ve dealt with my coming of age.” Leanna said, a small sigh escaping her lips.

“I know--I miss them too. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that you have a happy life--even if it means taking care of you for the rest of your life or until a match you’re happy with comes along.”