The name’s Jerry. Jerry Felious. But my friends and parents call me Jerr, because that’s the way they treat me around this parts. I don’t get mad at it or anything, though. I know they don’t mean it. Like many of you, I am an ordinary kid, who lives an ordinary life. My parents are farmers, and well, we basically live off the land. My dad’s a goat herder. He gets the milk from goats up on the Vein’s mountains, and sometimes, if he’s lucky, gets rough eluniums from the creatures there. Most of the men in my village do the same thing. They call themselves Sand Poachers. I never knew what that meant until my friend Julian told me that his dad fights creatures made out of sand in those places. I never believed him though. I mean, people made out of sand? That’s just wrong. My mom doesn’t really do much, not as an occupation that is. She stays home, and helps us with our daily stuff. Cleaning the house, washing the dishes, cooking the meals. You know, the routine stuff moms do.But we are pretty poor. Not poor like ‘we cant afford clothes and a small house’, but poor like’we cant really afford to eat the grains we plant’. Dad’s crops aren’t really what you might call ‘fertile’, not when you grow them on he hillside of a rocky Yellowstone mountain. I live in a small village called Brasilis, north of the Rune Midgrad Kingdom. If you’re not from around here, then I ought to welcome you to my world. Welcome, to the Kingdom of Ragnarok.
I’m not what you might call the most popular kid around. I’m already 10, but I’m still kinda small for kids my size. That’s why people pick on me. “hey look its Jerr…’ ‘Haha it’s the Jerr kid’. ‘Hey Jerr… mind if we… Jeer u around?’ And that sums up my life here in Brasilis. My friend Julian’s different. He’s huge. Actually, no… he’s huge in a bad way, more.. well.. let’s just leave it at chubby. He hates it when I call him fat or anything. We’re pretty tight. I mean we go to the river every evening to look at the passing fish and sometimes, if we’re lucky, we can get a glimpse of the Peco Pecos that appear to drink from the Forest across the river. Its called the Forest of Death, though. Pretty morbid name, huh? Yea I know. But legend has it, that a really scary beast lives inside of the forest. Many of us aren’t allowed to go near that place. Once, a boy name Hicks came running back into the village, saying that he saw something near the river. But by the time the villagers got to the river bank, it was already gone. He kept muttering something about a big, shiny beast. They told him there was no such thing, and the case was brushed aside. But I know its out there. The beast they call the Grand Peco.
Well, you see, the Peco Pecos are birds, large birds at that. Many of them are wild and untrained. But Pecos can be great modes of transportation. And that makes them worth a lot. But they are not easy to catch, though. Many of these birds can be aggressive, and when they do, they call more of their kind to attack any intruders. Many of the villagers would round some of them up anyway, stray ones, and sell them to the market in the city of High Brasilis down the dirt path. The High Citadel, as they call it, home to the rich and powerful in this region of land. I’ve been there before only twice in my life. Once as a boy to be baptized by the Holy Church. Its not as grand as the Grand Cathedral in the city centre, where all the rich boys go. We farmer’s boys make do with the Holy Church outside the city walls. But hey, that was as close as I got to the High city. The second time was much better.
My father had to run an errand in the town market, which was inside the city. I asked if I could tag along, and he said yes. We made it through the gates and I was mesmerized by what I saw. High towers that could touch the sky. Huge fountains that spewed wine and water. An array of stalls and shops that sold mouth watering food. The market itself was no ordinary feat. It was as tall as the towers of Glast Heim (Julian told me this, and he showed me a picture of the ruin towers once), and as wide as a hundred wheat fields back in the village. We walked inside, and it was the most exotic place I’ve ever seen. They sold items ranging from odd looking weapons, to potions, to food stocks, accessories, jewellery. There was even an old man selling funny looking hats. I remember one that looked just like a golden fox. But dad didn’t give me the time to wander around. We just dropped off the wheat to a dark skinned guy named Erl. He was a farmer too, from another village, the village of Burna. There were many villages around the city, but ours was the closest to the High Citadel.
On the way out of the market however, dad suddenly placed his hand firmly on my shoulder as we walked. I turn around and look at him. He pulled out a small sack from inside his pocket, and gave it to me. Curious, I took it from him. He smiled, as I pulled out a glittering stone from inside it. ‘An oridecon! Dad…’ I looked at him. He just laughed. ‘Its worth something around this parts. Here, take this to the merchant over there and see how much it’s worth. Then buy something for yourself. Don’t spend it all, okay? I saw the way you were looking at that hat back there. I’ll wait for you in the caravan.’
I watched him walk towards the caravan, smiling all the way. I couldn’t believe it. My very first journey to the city, and my very first purchase! I was still smiling as I walked toward the merchant my dad pointed at. The merchant’s tent was huge and grand looking. In front of the stall was a plank that read ‘B>Ores, Refined or otherwise’. There was a bell on the counter, and I rang it. A few moments later, a young man came out of the tent, and looked down at me.
‘Hey there, little fella. What can I do ya for?’ I looked at him, and then slowly reached for the Oridecon inside my jacket pocket. I placed It on the counter. The young man gave a small smirk as he identified it. ‘You’ve got yourself a nice piece of ore right here, young fella. Sturdy, strong. The weight’s good too. But…’ MY heart stopped a beat. “But what?’ The young man looked at me slowly. ‘It’s a fake.’
I was almost teary eyed. ‘Are.. are you sure? But my dad…’ The young man ignored me. ‘Your dad must have made a mistake himself. Tell you what. I’ll take this off your hands for 50 zenies. It’s a fake, so I’m doin you a favour here, pal.’ I was dumbstuck. I was supposed to get a good price for it. Dad said it could get a good price, and by that it had to over 2000z. The hat was almost 200 zenies. Now not only wont I get the hat, I had to break the news to dad. ‘Well.. ok..okay then.’ The young man pulled out a small box, and took out 5 pieces of silver. ‘Here ya…’
Just then, a sharp, high pitch noise voice came out of nowhere, and the box slammed shut. I was in awe. The young man was furious, and looked around. ‘Who the hell did that?!’ he shouted. ‘I did.’ The sound came from just behind me. I looked back, and saw the image of an old man towering above me. He was wearing a funny looking hat, and a cape. In his hand he held what looked to me like a wooden contraption, but with strings in the middle of it.
“I know that weapon… it’s a musical instrument! You’re a bard aren’t you!’ the young man fumed. He looked up at the old man, banging his fists on the counter. ‘What is the meaning of this!’ The old man placed his hands on my shoulder, the way my father did. ‘Boy, you have been cheated. That man right there is trying to scam you off your hard earned money. Take the jewel back, and give it to me. I’ll give you 60,000 zenies for it.’ I was dumbstruck. ‘6… 60,000 zenies? But he said it was a fake.’
The young man jumped over the counter and into the open. He marched up to the old man, and stared him in the face. ‘What the hell do you mean, you old fart! Are you questioning my professionalism as an identifier? My family runs the best identifier stalls in the whole city! Now get lost before I call the guards!’ The old man didn’t seem to listen at all. ‘Boy…. In your hand here is what is known as a sacred stone. This is not any ordinary Oridecon. If you will, I can show you.’ The young man was furious now. ‘Why you little…’ He reached into his jacket and pulled out a short dagger.
There was a loud scream as some passers-by watched in horror as the young man lunged at the old man. He charged forward, and raised it into the air, aiming for the old man’s chest. As he did, the old man did something I’ve never seen or thought possible. He plucked a string from his instrument, and in an instant, the young man was caught frozen, in mid air. Just as the young man was about to hit the ground, the old man plucked another string, and the young man was hit backwards, in full force, crashing into the stall behind him. The impact was loud and clattering, sending pieces of wood flying in all directions.
The old man looked at me, and smiled. ‘Now… about that stone.’ I hesitated for a moment. But I sensed a warmth in the old man’s eyes, a feeling that I’ve never had before. Shivering but still in utter bewilderment, I ran to the back of the counter, crossing over the passed out young man’s body. I found it on the counter where I handed it to him, and gave it to the old man. He raised his voice a little and turned towards the crowd already gathering to see what the commotion was all about. ‘My dear citizens, before any of you go running off to warn the guards, let me prove my innocence and this boy’s trust in me.’ He looked at me and winked. Holding the stone, he placed it near the musical instrument. With a quick and utterly unbelievable speed, he began plucking his instrument, one by one at first, and then strumming it, then in quick succession playing it as if there were 10 hands doing it at the same time. A rhythmic melody played. As he did, the stone began to shiver and crack. Little pieces of rock emerged from within the cracks, and the glistening surface on the Oridecon began to disappear. The crowd looked in awe as the ore began to emit a bluish glow, and finally, as the old man stopped playing, the Oridecon, once glistening and shiny, was now even more brilliant looking. The Edges were longer and pointed outwards, like a diamond, just longer. The base of the stone was now covered in a blackish substance, but just the bottom part of it. The old man slowly picked it up, and held it out on his palm towards me. ‘Sacred Stone. An enriched Oridecon. It has almost five times the potential as an ordinary Oridecon, plus, they cant melt under the pressure of searing heat. The perfect enchantment for weapons.’ I looked at the thing. It was even more beautiful than it was before. The old man smiled. ‘You are a very lucky boy, you know that. I’ve lived long enough to see only two of these things. And the second came from you.’ He reached for his pocket, and held out a sack. ‘Theres between 60,000 to 70,000 zenies in here. I cant really remember, my memories not at all good.’ He chuckled, then winked at me, and turned towards the crowd behind him. ‘I believe I’m telling the truth then, ladies and gentlemen?’ He walked off, leaving behind a crowd of people still dumbstruck.
At the end of the day, I knew three things as I sat beside my father on the caravan on the journey home that night. First, no one reported the incident; not even the young man who later found out that many witnesses saw the old man turning the stone blue. Secondly, I got the hat I wanted, and my father was surprised yet joyful at the sight of the 72,395 zenies in that bag, minus the 200 I used to pay for the hat. I still smile when I remember that. Third and finally, I could not take my mind of the way the old man played that instrument. And funny enough, every time I remember these events, the same song he played still echoes in my head. So I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to be a bard, the moment I come of age.
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