Ascalon was always a city of gleaming sights, Rurik knew that, and even though he knew that, he was still amazed at the sight compared to the small village he came from. His newly polished ring mail armour was shining brightly as he stepped into the great city of Ascalon. He knew that the city needed him, and that was the reason that he had left the family tradition of farming to join the armies of Ascalon. His family had scraped all of their saved money from farming to pay for his armour, and his sword. Although he came from a small town, he had always been a strong boy, and he always knew that he should become a warrior in the armies. He had always worked hard in the fields, working on his physical strength. He remembered his dad had always asked him every week to show him how strong he was. He remembered smiling proud whenever his dad smiled and approved of him. Rurik had always been fond of his dad. He was jarred out of his memories when someone pushing a cart almost ran into him. He jumped out of the way just as the cart was about to hit him. He shook his head and reminded himself to be more careful in the future. He found himself a quiet corner of Ascalon, and sat down, he was so overwhelmed with feelings; homesickness, awe, fear. He would have liked it if he could have just passed out right there. He looked around once again, and saw many warriors like him, but much stronger, and with much better armour than his pathetic ring mail suit. He no longer felt the best; instead he was the lowest of the low, well maybe not including the merchants, and townsfolk. Well, he thought to himself, I better pull myself together. I can't just sit here. He looked around for Warmaster Tidus, which was the man that a person just outside the city told him to visit. He noticed a merchant selling some items near a cart, and decided that he would buy something for his trip. "Excuse me, but do you have any shields?" Rurik asked.

"Let's see here… yes I do, I have a starter shield here. It may not be one of the really good ones that I see people carrying, but I think it'll do you well, Mr." The man selling items told him.

Rurik looked the man up and down, and figured that the man was telling the truth, not just being a salesman. Rurik always had a knack for being able to tell when people were telling the truth. "How much for it?" Rurik asked.

"Well, lets see, these are the kind you find all over the place, and it's not very good, so I'll give it to you for free." The man said with a nice smile.

"Really? Thank you!" Rurik answered. He had always stayed awake in bed thinking about the proud soldiers with their shining shields, offering them a large amount of protection. He took the shield and continued his journey to find Tidus.