#1- Life on the Road:

  "What do I think? It's boring as hell!"

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  'I hate it.'

  The crouched boy peered over a wooden board and kissed his teeth in irritation, proceeding to nock an arrow onto the dark crimson coloured bow he was holding. Pulling it back with as much strength as he could muster, he then let the arrow fly, the sharp metal tip glistening in the moonlight until it pierced it's target.

  The large four legged beast with grey fur fell to the ground, it's snarls and growls coming to an end as it collapsed, dead on the edge of the forest entrance.

  Once it was down, the boy looked around seeing multiple other beasts that looked extremely similar to the grey furred monstrosity he had just killed. Around four of them had been killed already from his archery, a few had deep fatal slashes, and some were currently engaged in battle with a few people wielding swords or other weaponry.

  'I hate this so much. But that should be enough...'

  He wiped the sweat from his brow, his dark brown hair falling softly onto his forehead again once he moved his hand away. Wiping the sweat onto his dark grey workpants with a scowl on his face, Kael then turned to look at the camp set up behind him.

  Surrounding the camp was a multitude of wagons and carts. One was open and crowded, acting as a sort of makeshift kitchen for those who were eating food around the fire. The others acted as workstations or sleeping areas for those apart of this caravan. However, most of the sleeping areas were situated on the ground around the firepit in the form of sleeping bags, or in a few tents stationed close to the wagons.

  Kael hooked his bow onto his back and hopped down from where he was posted on the makeshift barracks, landing with a soft thud. His muddied black boots shifted slightly before he began to move away from the barracks and towards the firepit.

  'Why does he insist on making me work alongside the mercs here anyway?'

  As Kael walked amongst the small amounts of grouped up people in the campsite, the sounds of conversation echoed amongst them, all talking about this and that to make light of the situation they were in. However, whilst analysing them, Kael slowly came to realise what that man had been talking about regarding the rankings here.

  'They're all in their own little cliques...'

  Those who were weak and unfit to fight were provided with the least amount of provisions by the leaders of the caravan, whilst those who battled against the creatures of the night to protect those who were incapable of protecting themselves received more hefty amounts.

  As a result, the weak hung around the weak, while the strong accompanied the strong.

  Being one of those protectors who killed monsters, but not exactly a combatant, Kael was provided with a fair amount of slop for the night as he retreated back to his designated cart.

  In his case though, he didn't hang out with anyone in particular. Besides the grown man who was currently snoring in the cart Kael had just clambered into, he never spoke to anyone else unless it was absolutely necessary.

  Slurping on the greyish concoction in the wooden bowl in his hands, Kael sighed before turning towards the man on the floor beside him.

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  His face was hidden by a black rancher hat, and his body was covered, the black coat hiding him acting as a sort of blanket to protect him from the cold.

  Kael pulled an irritate face before ramming the tip of his boot into the man's arm.

  "Get up old man."

  The man hidden under his coat and hat quickly sat up with a snort. He had short raven black hair, and he appeared to be rather dishevelled with an unshaven beard. His eyes were narrow and sharp with experience, but were currently also extremely empty, his drowsiness slowly fading on his grown face.

  Turning to face Kael who had just kicked him awake, the man smiled gently, a hint of mischief hidden behind his brown pupils.

  "Say, is that a way to wake up your precious mentor?"

  "Can it Eddie."

  "AND MY FIRST NAME TOO, HOW REBELLIOUS!"

  Eddie picked up his leather bag nearby and stood, storming off in annoyance towards the end of the cart. He hopped off, making the cart wobble a bit and went to freshen himself up alone before getting his own serving of slop.

  Kael grinned to himself, his mood significantly improving after teasing his mentor Eddie a little bit.

  He had begun journeying alongside the older miscreant of a merchant around three years ago when his father, Jonah, abandoned him after his mother, Judith's tragic death. She succumbed to an accumulation of mental stress and extreme exposure to Channelers due to her job as a nurse, and the fact that she was married to a powerful Channeler on top of that.

  Kael's father Jonah was the powerful Channeler in question, and he spent most of his time working as a Knight for the Royal family of this Continent, Heartha. He spent a lot of his time away from home, tending to his duties as a Knight and rarely returning home to his own family. Following the reveal that Kael had no connection or affinity for the Aether Vein, he returned home even more rarely than before. Kael remembered how his dear mother would reassure him that his dad wasn't actually angry with him, and that he was probably just extremely busy with his work.

  Once Kael's mother had passed, and he was left with no one to care for him, he turned to his father for assistance. Kael remembered his father's crushing gaze and words from that day more vividly than he had remembered anything else in his life.

  "No one must ever know I have a curse for a son."

  Kael tightened his grip on his wooden bowl, glowering with hatred into the darkness of the vast grassy land around the camp. Even after his father abandoned him, Kael turned to those in his village for help, but was turned away at every corner due to his infamy as the "Cursed Child".

  Eventually, while travelling aimlessly in the dark, Kael was taken in by Eddie who couldn't care less about his lack of ability, only caring about having a merchant apprentice. He saved him from malnourishment, clothed him, and gave him a second chance at a life of his own.

  "I'll make you the next big thing kid! Just imagine! Your own business! Isn't that fun?"

  Kael smiled to himself, his rage subsiding as he felt the cart rock a little from a shift of weight. Eddie came back looking much more awake than before:

  "So? How'd hunting go kid?"

  "Killed around four with four of the arrows you made for me. One shot for each of them, just like you assumed. Who sold you the material for these strong ass arrows anyway?"

  Eddie laughed proudly, bringing a fist to his chest:

  "I have my method's kiddo! Before I go get my late dinner, let me tell you one other important thing about business. You have to be able to--"

  BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRN!!

  Both Eddie and Kael quickly turned their heads towards the sound of the war horn blaring through the entire camp. Kael saw a lot of the combatant's in the camp beginning to arm themselves in a frenzy, and the civilians of the caravan beginning to bundle together at the command of those in charge.

  The duo looked at each other with anxiety before hopping off of their cart as well, Eddie throwing on his large black long coat.

  They were suddenly approached by a fighter who they recognised. He was rather well built, and had a long sword sheathed on his back, but he also had kind charming eyes. He then began to give them an explanation of why the warning horn had been used.

  "We need all hands on deck to protect the camp, even you little part timers are gonna need to chip in. A massive horde of Skeletal Arachnids were spotted by one of our scouts. Hundreds of them are approaching from the North, and very fast."

  Kael almost felt his heart fall into his stomach.

  'A horde of monsters!? Shit...'