First Steps
The sun seemed to rise every so slowly that fateful morning, giving a purplish, pink hue on the entire city. There, near a merchant’s home, stood a young man in his early twenties, dressed in magnificent breastplate made of mithril and inscribed with magical runes to grant extra protection. He had fine cut, dark brown hair with tied strands running down in front of his ears and heavy bangs. The most noticeable thing about him, however, was his shining light brown, almost yellow eyes. With his hands rested on the hilts of his two sabers strapped to his belt, he waited at the door of the home until it finally swung open. Out lunged a young woman with long, brown hair tied back in a pony tail and emerald green eyes. She immediately latched onto the young adventurer’s chest and wouldn’t let go.
“Oh, Thalys! Please, don’t go without me!” She pleaded, looking up into his eyes with her striking green orbs.
“You know that you must stay here and finish your martial training, Karis. You’re the one who said that in the first place.” Thalys, the adventurer, responded, wrapping the woman in a big hug.
“I know…but what if something bad happens to you? I could never live with myself if that were to happen!” Karis said, tears filling her eyes.
“Karis…I’d love to have you come along, but you mustn’t throw away everything you’ve worked so hard on now for such a silly cause. I promise you, as soon as I get a good glimpse of the world out there, I’ll return to you here. Then, we can get married.” With that, Thalys swiped his left arm out wide to encompass the outer walls of the kingdom and the awaiting world beyond.
“Yes, I know. We’ve gone over it plenty of times already.” Karis said somberly, stepping back and glancing in the direction her fiancé had indicated. “Maeltryst won’t be the same without you here.”
“I’ll make quite haste to reach the Wall of Liteo and back. No more than a few months, I assure you.” Thalys said, referring to the natural mountain barrier that separated all the region of Liteo from the rest of Koayne. Only a few brave adventurers have ever tried getting through those mountains, none of which ever returned. If they made it or not, no one would ever know.
“Yes yes, we’ve already discussed that too.” Karis said, a smile suddenly forming on her face. “I’ll not pester you anymore…but as soon as we get married, I want to celebrate by going on an adventure with you!” She poked his nose as she spoke the words.
With a laugh, Thalys swatted away her finger playfully and said, “Well of course! I expected just that.”
Karis sighed, turning to Thalys and kissing him gently on the lips, which she had to stand on her tip toes to do, for he was much taller than her. “You better get going. The morning won’t stay forever.”
Thalys nodded his head and turned to walk away. He spun about suddenly, kissing his fiancée one final time. “Good luck with your training, Karis Devyn. I expect you to be an even match to me when I return!” He said with a laugh.
“Don’t complain when you come back to see me ten times stronger than you, Thalys Ol’Calien!” Karis shouted back to him as he began to walk backwards to the northern exit. She watched him all the way until she could see him no longer. With a sigh, she turned back to her house and walked inside.
**********
Far north of Maeltryst, in the city of Rullenfay, home to the Holy Order Cathedral of Kaith, another adventurer was setting off. Kara Kitsurui, a paladin of the deity Kaith and the “Guardian of Light”, reached the home of her trusted friend, Faux, a gasping crowd behind her. With a sheepish wave, she tried to shoo the crowd away, but failed horribly. As she continued to usher the gathering crowd, she didn’t notice the door behind her open, and a peculiar looking man step out into the street, only to trip over himself in surprise and dive back into his house. Kara turned around suddenly and stopped the door before the man could close it.
“Come now, Faux, you did say you wanted to come with me, didn’t you?” Kara asked, peering into the room.
“Well…yes…but must that mass of people follow us?” A calm but cryptic voice replied from within. “There certainly are a lot.”
Kara gave an embarrassed laugh and looked back to the crowd. “I’m sorry, they followed me here from the cathedral. I’ve tried to get them to go away, but they are intent on seeing our leave.”
With a sigh, Faux opened the door and slipped out into the open. He was a tall fellow, standing around 5’11”. He had long, white hair that was cut to one side and bald on the other. A soft green glow seemed to emanate from under his bangs that covered the left side of his face. He was wearing a heavy brown cloak that further covered his face, along with brown leather armor covering much of his torso, long, dark red pants, and tall black boots. Strapped to his belt near his back was his magical kama and short sword. He seemed quite the unlikely hero compared to the “Guardian of Light” standing beside him with her shiny, long, golden locks that flowed down her shoulders freely, piercing crystalline blue eyes, and marvelous white breastplate armor with a armored skirt and high greaves. Strapped to her back was her bow and a spear, while her quiver of arrows rested on her hip belt. Beside her stood her warhorse, Schiroi Tsugi, with its striking black mane that looked quite off on its white cover and armor. Kara’s pack and a shield rested on the sturdy back of Schiroi.