The merchant convoy left Southall at dawn, heading toward Castlecrest—the busiest trade hub in the region. Their wagons carried weapons, farming tools, mining gear, and anything that could be sold for profit.
"We camp here for the night," the escort captain said after scanning the area. "Good ground. Defensible."
They had reached a clearing nestled between a mountain slope, a dense forest, and a narrow river. The captain knew the place—safe enough, or so he believed.
Tents went up quickly. Some gathered firewood, others formed a loose circle, eating bread and dried meat. A cold wind rolled down from the mountain, restless… like something searching for prey.
The merchants prepared for the night.
"There's something wrong with this place," one guard muttered, listening to the wind. "Feels like a ghost."
"Or a demon," another said.
"No demons have been seen in these lands," the captain replied, though his eyes lingered on the surrounding rocks.
Then—
A shadow stepped out of the forest.
A man in a worn cloak, his hood pulled low.
"Who goes there?" a guard called out, tightening his grip on his weapon.
The stranger stopped just beyond the firelight, his gaze fixed on the group.
"Just a traveler," he said calmly. "Looking for shelter."
The captain studied him, suspicion clear in his eyes.
"We don't have food to spare," one merchant said. "But you can sit by the fire."
The stranger nodded and joined them.
The merchants resumed their chatter, loud and careless.
The stranger said nothing. He simply watched the fire as it slowly burned lower.
One by one, they lay down to sleep.
"Stay alert," the captain warned. "This place isn't right."
"Yes, captain," the guards replied.
Silence fell.
Then—
A sharp whistle cut through the night. Short. Then long.
It came from the stranger.
From the darkness, masked figures emerged—armed, coordinated, already in position.
Bandits.
"Surrender, and you live," one of them said.
The guards froze for a fraction of a second—too long.
The first volley of arrows flew.
One struck a guard clean through the throat. He collapsed without a sound.
The captain drew his short sword and charged, roaring. Arrows answered him. One tore into his shoulder, dropping him to his knees.
The rest was quick.
Some guards died. The others were forced down, bound at the wrists.
The merchants, seeing no chance, surrendered.
By firelight, the bandits gathered what they wanted with practiced efficiency.
The escort leader was dragged aside and tied tighter than the rest.
"Make way," a woman's voice cut through the noise.
The camp fell silent.
She stepped forward—Syberta.
Short hair. Leather armor. A bow slung across her back. Two knives at her hips. Her presence alone was enough to command obedience.
She stopped in front of the bound captain.
"So you're the man who boasts he'll kill me?" she asked, almost amused.
He opened his mouth—
Too late.
Her blade moved once.
He never finished his sentence.
Syberta turned, walking through the camp, when a faint noise reached her ears—from inside one of the tents.
She stilled.
Then moved.
Quick. Precise.
She circled behind the tent, sliced through the felt, and slipped inside.
Moments later, she emerged… holding a small child.
She looked down at him.
"From now on," she said, "you are mine."
Her eyes lifted toward the sky.
The moon's color was wrong.
"…Your name will be Kaer," she continued. "In the old tongue, it means *Summoner*."
---
The bandits left the merchants alive.
They loaded the goods into wagons and disappeared into the wild with perfect coordination.
For four days, they traveled deep into the Hodgewild Forest—a place most avoided. Those who entered rarely returned.
Their settlement was hidden, protected by the forest itself. Only a trained eye could spot the armed figures concealed among trees and shadows.
It was more than a camp.
It was a system.
Stolen goods passed through it, then moved across the country to secret auctions, where the powerful and the wealthy paid well for things they were never meant to own.
Paths within the settlement were narrow, concealed—accessible only through tunnels, caves, and hidden routes.
They rarely contacted the outside world.
Only when it meant profit.
Or blood.
---
Kaer grew up there.
Syberta assigned two warriors to train him. Every day, he practiced archery and dual blades until his hands bled and his muscles gave out.
He wasn't alone.
A girl trained beside him—Aspera.
Blonde. Fierce. Alive in a way the forest wasn't.
They spent more time together with each passing year.
Eventually, they made a promise.
Never to part.
"When I grow up," Aspera told him one night, "we'll run away."
Kaer nodded.
"I'll take you somewhere better," he said. "We'll live there. Just us."
Sometimes they hunted wolves. Deer. Even wild horses.
Sometimes, for a moment—
it felt like a life.
---
Spring came.
Kaer and Aspera slipped beyond the usual borders of the forest, scouting farther than they ever had before.
Aspera spoke of a home she imagined—deep in an oak forest, filled with wildflowers.
She loved flowers.
They spent the night outside.
The next morning, they headed back.
That's when they saw it.
Smoke.
Thick. Rising above their settlement.
Kaer's chest tightened.
They ran.
Too late.
A horde of monsters had already descended.
Screams. Blood. Chaos.
Everything burned.
Aspera vanished in the confusion.
Kaer ran toward his home—
"Kaer!"
Syberta.
She grabbed him and dragged him aside, toward a hidden spot.
She pulled open a concealed hatch.
"Inside. Now."
He didn't hesitate.
The space below was cramped, carved into the earth.
Before closing it, she grabbed his hand and slid a ring onto his finger.
When she twisted it—
Kaer faded.
His body blending with the air itself.
"The Ring of Shadows," she said. "My most valuable possession. It has saved me more times than I can count."
Her eyes locked onto his.
"Now it's yours."
A pause.
"Stay hidden. At least two days."
Then—
darkness.
---
When Kaer emerged… time had passed.
The world above was silent.
He found Syberta.
Dead.
Six monsters lay around her.
Proof she hadn't gone quietly.
Kaer took her bow.
Her knives.
There was no sign of Aspera.
---
The forest felt different now.
Wrong.
Kaer moved carefully, every step controlled. He knew these paths—but something beneath them had changed.
He hid, waiting.
Then he saw them.
Three monsters.
Tall. Scaled skin glinting. Long claws carving into the earth. Teeth like daggers.
They moved with purpose.
With intelligence.
Kaer didn't rush.
He waited.
Breath steady.
When they entered range—
He moved.
The bow rose. The string tightened.
Release.
The first arrow pierced the heart of the leading creature. It dropped instantly.
Another arrow—drawn, released.
The second struck clean through an eye. Silent kill.
The third monster roared and lunged.
Too fast.
Kaer shifted—barely avoiding the strike.
Pain flared as claws grazed him.
He turned, stepped behind it—
And drove both knives deep into its back.
The creature collapsed.
Silence.
Then—
weakness.
His legs gave out.
The wounds were worse than he thought.
His belt held only empty vials.
No healing left.
He dragged himself to a fallen tree and leaned against it. His breathing grew heavy. His vision blurred.
Darkness crept in.
And this time—
it didn't feel like sleep.
---
I was climbing when I realized… I shouldn't be alive.
The wind howled around me, tearing at my cloak.
Step by step, I reached the top.
What waited there—
was not my world.
A barren land. Cracked earth stretching endlessly. A dead tree stood alone, waiting for rain that would never come.
Ruins lay scattered in the distance.
And a woman—
watching me.
"How… did I get here?" I asked, my voice barely holding.
She answered calmly.
"Broken. Wounded."
A pause.
"This world needs a new protector, Kaer."