Beginnings I
[Arvid Sawyer]
The son of a carpenter.
That's who Arvid was, in a nutshell… and that was the long version too.
There were few, very few things in Wintergreen that could merit a longer explanation than a single sentence. It was, after all, a small village tucked in a small valley in between small mountains. Emphasis on small… all three instances of the word.
Arvid wasn't complaining, of course… at least not much. He lived a good life, if a dull, simple one. There was always food on the table. His parents took care of him, taught him and loved him. He had friends, if few considering the low number of citizens that Wintergreen sported and how little free time he had. His family wasn't rich by any means, but they had always been able to afford basic things and he didn't really want much anyway.
He was content, one could even say. He went through his life like all the other kids in Wintergreen. Passing the time as best they could with what little there was around and learning the family trade so that there'd be yet another generation to live in the village. He helped his father build things and he was fine with it. He even liked it… a little.
The problem was that he wanted more. Arvid wanted more than just building buckets, chairs and shacks. It was dull, it was simple and it was boring. Surely there was more to it than just building the bare basics, practicality before anything else. Once, he'd tried to put a little more flair to things. A fancy curve here, a little carving there, some more smoothing all around and…
And nobody had cared.
Arvid felt like he was going mad. Why did everyone had to be so… so plain? There had to be more to life than that, right? There had to be more to everything than just going through the motions and nothing else. There had to, otherwise…
There had to be more. Arvid couldn't stomach the idea that there was nothing else to life. He wanted more. He wanted to build magnificent sculptures instead of plain buckets. He wanted to build entire beautiful pieces of furniture instead of chairs that might as well be a tree stump. He wanted to build mansions instead of shacks.
Alas, it was not to be.
There was no place for such "unnecessary" things in Wintergreen.
So, Arvid saved his money. Every single Jewel he was given by his parents or that he earned lending a hand here and there. It was a good thing that Miko always seemed to have something for him to make for her family's inn, at least. So, he gathered every scrap of money he could get his hands on and put it all in a safe place for future usage.
The plan for it was simple. As soon as he became an adult, he'd go out into the world, far away from Wintergreen. He needed to see other places. He needed to see towns and cities. He needed to see more shapes, more structures, more beauty. Out there, he'd finally get away from plain, boring, simple things.
So what if his father didn't want him to leave? Arvid refused to live his whole life in Wintergreen, feeling it stifle him to death. According to his father, the Sawyer family had lived in that village since the surname even came to be, but Arvid couldn't care less about that if he tried. Wintergreen was becoming more and more suffocating through the years and he was going to get away from it as soon as he possibly could.
That was the plan until the day one particular merchant dropped by.
The man showed Arvid's father a book, going into detail about all the great things he could do with such knowledge. There was magic taught in the book. There were wonders in it, just waiting for someone with the talent for magic to learn them and put them to use, bringing them to the world for everyone to see.
His father had rejected it, of course. What use did he have for such a thing? Something that would require so much time, resources and money. Besides, the only one that could learn that was Arvid. Why get that, when everyone was perfectly fine as they were, living a life they were content with? That was it, as far as Arvid's father was concerned.
That was far from it for Arvid himself.
No, he wouldn't let it go like that. No, sir.
He took all his savings and chased after the merchant. It wasn't enough. His money wasn't enough. However, he could make the rest with work, that was the deal they struck. Maybe he could have gotten the book if he'd been in his right mind and bartered like he should have but… But he had to get that book. It couldn't slip through his fingers like that!
So, he worked tirelessly through an entire week. He fixed the merchant's cart's many problems. He even gave a few touches here and there, made the whole thing look better. He put his everything in that gods damned vehicle.
And it had all been worth it.
He had it in his hands, finally. Something to make amazing things, beautiful things, complex and interesting things. Magic crafting, the art of making objects that would hold magic of all kinds. He just needed to learn and put it into practice. That was all.
'Wand Crafting,' he read. So what if he wasn't the most studious person in Wintergreen? For the sake of having magic and something interesting in his life, Arvid was ready to make sacrifices. Reading was far from the worst thing he'd do for such a thing.
Regardless of it all though, Arvid would become the best scholar in Earthland if it meant he could put that magic to use. If it meant he could finally make something that would take him away from the dull life he was going through day by day, he'd do damn near anything. So, he read slowly at the start and picked up pace as the days passed. He hunted for other books, texts that would help him understand better, put what he read into perspective, give better ideas.
The days passed, then so did the weeks, and then… he was ready.
He picked up some tools, a piece of Larch wood that had been left over from one of his father's projects and some iron nails. He had an idea and a plan and Arvid was determined to go through with it. He carved the wood, said to offer protection against evil spirits and enchantments… He rather doubted that, but that wasn't what was important. What mattered was meaning, conceptual instead of literal. Legends, ideas, perceptions, situational circumstances… Those could mean just as much as the actual properties of something.
So he took that wood and started hammering in the nails. Iron nails. Iron that was said to have protective connotations, and that would very easily have a literal meaning too, when turned to actual armor. He couldn't do much in the shape of fanciness, but he was in too much of a rush to really care, despite his love for some flare.
He didn't have the tools, the time or the materials for something actually fancy, but maybe soon…
As it was, he did everything the book said. Used the traces of magic it had taught him to notice and cast the right bits of it at the right times during the crafting process. He went through all the motions, all the steps. The result was a crude wand, if it could be called that… But it was there, it was something he'd made.
He brought it up and he waved it.
And then a flat surface appeared in the air in front of it, like an ethereal round shield floating there… 'It works,' Arvid thought breathlessly. 'I made a magic object!'
And then the wand exploded in his hand.
His fingers and palm felt numb as he sat there on the workshop's floor. There was a ringing in his ears and as the seconds passed, he felt the splinters from the wand embedded under his skin now. His hand hurt and his brain felt sluggish…
And yet, he started grinning.
Soon, as he stared at his hand and then at the spot where the magic had been a moment before, Arvid felt a chuckle escape his lips. Stunned, he moved to stand back up, his lips pulling to the sides in a wider smile. A moment later, in the silence of the workshop, he started laughing.
"Magic," he said in between breaths and laughs. "I can do magic," he whispered, half afraid his father would hear but still unable to keep his mouth shut. This was amazing, incredible, wonderful and many other adjectives that he couldn't think of at that moment. "I can do fucking magic," he muttered to himself.
Unable to stop himself, Arvid started laughing again and this time he didn't stop for a long while. This was the best day of his life and if he had anything to say about things, it was only the beginning. Fuck his family ancestry and fuck Wintergreen. He was a mage, he could do astounding things and he refused to be confined to a fucking village in the middle of nowhere.
No.
He'd go out there to the world, even if it was filled with dangerous creatures and plants and dark mages.
Arvid would take those any day over a boring life.
Without a single thought.
[}-o-{]
[Saulus Lambent]
"-And remember to get the bread, Saulus! Don't you dare go wasting the money again!"
"Jeez, I get it, Mom. It was only one time. Stop screaming at me already," Saulus said with a sigh as he closed the front door of his house. He really wished she would leave him alone sometimes.
Granted, he loved his mom, but she could be a bit too overbearing sometimes. He guessed she had to be, given that she was the lone mother of three kids. Not that he wasn't grateful for all she had done for him, but the constant nagging got old years ago.
It had gotten progressively worse after both his brothers left to get jobs and start their own families. He would understand if she was experiencing some pain from some of her babies leaving the nest or whatever other thing mothers normally felt. Maybe she wanted to take care of the last child that stayed with her.
But, no. It was exactly the opposite, in fact.
Did you talk with the Sawyers for some work?
When are you going to get a girlfriend?
This house is too small for a family, you know? Have you thought of looking outside of the village?
When are you gonna give me some grandkids? You are eighteen!
Why would she even want more grandchildren? Olmert already gave her three and Felix was already getting to it if his wife's slight bump was any indication last time they came for a visit.
"Now, what can I use this for?" Saulus asked himself as he patted the pouch filled with Jewel notes tied to his leather belt. He had gotten far enough from his home to know that his mom couldn't catch him again by peeking through the window like last time. "I guess, I could see if there is something at the plaza," he muttered.
Wintergreen was really small but some small-time merchants came from time to time to sell their wares. Most of the time it was just some tools or materials for people as simple as them to live by. But every now and then they would bring something interesting.
"Perhaps I could buy something to eat at Miko's place while at it?" he said as he made his way towards the plaza and the small inn the merchants tended to use when they visited. It was nothing special but the food was good and quite cheap.
He would buy the bread later… maybe. If he had enough left.
A shiver went down his spine at the thought of the imminent nagging. He seriously didn't feel like going to the bakery again though. He knew his mom had been trying to hook him up with the baker's daughter for a while now, and he wasn't in the mood to deal with that song and dance yet.
Don't get him wrong, it wasn't like he hadn't tried to get a girlfriend already. What eighteen-year-old didn't? But it wasn't like there was much to pick from around here. Saulus guessed that Miko was pretty enough and in his age range.
However, literally everyone in the village knew about her not-so-hidden crush on Arvid.
Except for the man himself, of course. Saulus found it hilarious, honestly. The guy had his head so high up the clouds that he didn't even notice. And regardless, it would be against the bro code to try anyway. Even if he wasn't sure Arvid even cared about that stuff.
Especially since he got that weird book a month ago. At least the man hung out with him after work before. Now he read that thing all day long as if he was possessed. He had half a mind to call for some guild to check out if that book wasn't cursed and mind-controlling him or something.
"Whatever," Saulus said to himself as he stepped into the small plaza. "I can have fun on my own anyway. Who cares?" he continued as he looked at the wares and small mob of people that consisted of familiar faces of Wintergreen.
From a first glance, nothing particularly called to him. Just more boring work tools and trinkets being traded back and forth. Merchants tended to buy the town's wood cheaply and then ship them into the cities where they would sell it at inflated prices.
It wasn't like people from Wintergreen weren't aware of it. It was just that they didn't have the means to transport everything down the mountain and all the way to the train station two hours away from there. It was simply too much work and not worth the effort. So they just made an agreement with merchants where everyone benefits.
As Saulus thought of the economic status of his village, he spotted some neat new magazines. It was this month's issue too. It wasn't that he particularly cared about them, but the stories tended to be cool. Like a comic book, he guessed.
Quickly taking some Jewels to pay for them he made his way into the inn. It was just across the square, the biggest building there, really. Couldn't miss it even if you tried. A sign with drawings of a mug and a bed hung over the double-door entrance.
"Here again, Saul? Aren't you supposed to be working or something?" he heard someone say as soon as he entered the establishment. A bunch of tables spread out across the room with a wooden counter at the end of it.
He spared a look at the girl who talked to him from the other side of said counter. Short auburn-hair framed a slightly tanned face with some cute freckles. She would be considered pretty in a girl next door kind of way.
Well, she would be cute if she weren't currently directing a frown at Saulus. Her hands were placed at the side of her frilly dress-uniform thingy, not unlike how his mother would stand when about to scold him. What was with the women around him taking the same pose? Did they attend the same nagging course or something?
"Hey, Miko. I am great, thanks for asking," was his retort. "Also I'm not, because mom asked me to come buy bread."
The girl raised an eyebrow and looked up and down at him as he sat at one of the stools facing the counter. He peeked towards the small kitchen through the semi-open wall.
'No one's here. Her parents must have left her in charge today,' he idly thought to himself.
"And where is the bread then?" she asked after finishing her inspection.
"I haven't bought it yet. Decided that I deserved a treat and a break for now. Speaking off, can you make me something for takeaway?" he responded, sprawling his body over the empty counter. It was a very uncomfortable stool, but he already sat down and the chairs were too far away.
She groaned, facepalmed and then dragged her hand down her face in exasperation. She still moved towards the small kitchen to prepare something for him though. Money was money, after all.
"Seriously, Saul. You can't keep being like this. You can't just keep being so- so… you. We are eighteen already, you know? Practically adults. You can't just keep doing nothing and wasting your days away," the girl said over the sound of grilling meat and vegetables being chopped.
Saulus, for his part, just rolled his eyes. He was already tired of the conversation and it had barely started. It seemed that he escaped his home to avoid his mom nagging him, and landed into another nagging anyway. Maybe that was his destiny, to be nagged by women forever.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I am trying, okay? Honest," Saulus lied through his teeth.
The judging grunt coming from the girl told him she didn't believe a single word.
"It's just that nothing here calls me at all, you know? Everything is so dull," he continued. Her judging stare washed off him like water to a duck's feathers. Years of practice made it easy. They had known each other for years now, he was practically immune by now.
"Well… if you don't want to do anything at Wintergreen. What about going to a guild or something? I mean, you know…?" Miko said as she stopped cooking for a moment to signal what she meant with hand movements and 'woosh' sounds.
Saulus for his part just lazily raised one of his hands as he rested his head on the counter. With a flick of his hand, a small plum of gray speckles manifested and swirled lazily over his hand.
Ashes.
The particles obeyed his command, changing directions slightly as he looked at them with little interest.
"Yeah, I get what you mean. But I don't think it is for me, you know?" Saulus said. As he let go of the minuscule tug and drain he could feel somewhere in his body. Somehow the ashes disappeared as they fell. Dematerializing before reaching the ground.
"What do you mean it is not for you? Do you know how many people would pay to have magic of their own?! It is literally every child's dream!" she exclaimed suddenly. Somehow, he felt he had just touched a nerve there.
"Yeah, I get that. But… you know? You see these people in magazines, the S-Class, or whatever. You see them do cool stuff like summon fire, or break mountains with punches, or freeze monsters. That is the good stuff," he said as he showed some images and articles from the magazine he just bought.
Miko spared a second to look at the pictures before going back to cooking. It smelled amazing and his mouth was salivating a little already. One could say whatever they wanted about the nagging girl, but she sure knew how to prepare her food.
"Instead of those, all I got is the ability to make some ashes. I mean, where is the cool part of that? Pretty lame magic if you ask me. Is not even that strong," he said with a drawl at the word ashes. "So what is the point if I know I am not going to cut it? All I will do is embarrass myself and waste my time. It is just better this way."
For the first time since the conversation started Miko's ever-present trademark frown disappeared and was replaced by a look of slight pity.
"So… That's it? You aren't even going to try?"
Saulus let out a snort.
"Try what? Already told you, didn't I? I got weak magic so I will be just wasting my time. What is the point in doing something if you know you are going to fail?"
The girl just let out a sigh as she started moving the food to a small wooden box. Somehow, that irked him the slightest bit. But he let it go in the end. It was stupid.
"Just- Just take care of yourself, you hear me? Don't let go of an opportunity just because it is hard. You won't get anywhere if you are not willing to put in the work to get there first. You were born with the chance to do miracles, it would be a shame to waste it away."
Okay, he was really getting a bit miffed here. What was with people telling him to work harder and all? He was trying, okay? They just didn't get how hard it was.
"Right. Will keep it in mind," Saulus said, a bit more curtly than he intended. It was time to take the conversation to something else, he decided. "So, about payment-"
"Don't you even dare, mister. You still owe me from last time, and if you think I will let it go to your tab again you are mistaken."
'Crap.' He had been banking on that. 'Well, time for plan B, then.'
"I will bring Arvid for lunch next time he has a free day and will get an excuse to leave you two alone," he said with finality.
Both of them looked at each other's eyes for a long moment. Neither of them budged at all.
"Guys!" the voice of the man they had just been talking about called from the entrance.
Miko let go of the box and whispered to him quickly.
"You owe me, Lambent. You better make good on your promise. I know where you live." As soon as those words left her mouth she turned towards Arvid with a smile so sweet, it might have rotten his teeth out of his mouth. "Hi, Arvid. How are you today? Y-you look good. Have you been working out more?" she said with a small blush on her face and placing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
He felt like he wanted to puke.
"I don't know about working out but I certainly feel great right now, Miko!" Arvid replied, voice loud and the widest grin on his face that Saulus had ever seen on him. He looked… annoyingly good, even with his hair all over the place and dirt on his face as if something had blown up on him. What had he even been building to end up like that? "Can I get something to eat?… Whatever Saulus's having if it's easier on you," the man added as he approached them, running his fingers through his hair. "I feel like celebrating and nothing's better than your food."
Poor Miko could only blush harder. Why does he feel like the third wheel here? He was here first!
"Hey, man. The hell happened to you? You look like shi-," Saulus drawled before letting out a small yell as he felt someone smack him hard in the back of his head. Turning back, he saw Miko with that same sweet smile, though there was something dangerous in her eyes.
Right, better to keep his mouth shut.
"I might have gotten too enthusiastic with something. It was great though!" Arvid exclaimed, looking happier than Saulus had ever seen him. And that was saying something, considering the carpenter usually had a smile for everyone to see, even if he'd privately complain about being bored to death often. "And you are just the person I was looking for. I need your help with something later," he added, his grin widening to concerning degrees.
That was going from happy to… manic, Saulus would say.
"Oookay?..." he said, while inwardly sighing. His plans to hide in the forest to read the magazine without his mom finding it burned down to… well, to ashes, he guessed.
"Foods' ready," Miko told them then, presenting the plates in front of them. 'Why does his look so much better than mine?' Saulus thought, looking at his meal and then at Arvid's perfectly prepared and decorated dish, impeccable presentation and all. It was practically sparkling.
"Wow that was fast," Arvid said, clearly not noticing the not-so-slight difference with their meals.
"Well, I guess I can eat here too," he said with a shrug. Shitty presentation as it was, it was still yummy food. And his mom hadn't cooked anything for him today for some reason. Oh, right. She didn't have any bread. Oops.
"Hm! This tastes better than it looks," Arvid exclaimed. "Gods, I could kiss you, Miko," the man added, still looking deliriously happy.
The poor girl looked like she was going to pass out, but that sounded like her problem. Certainly not Saulus'. So, pushing the two of them aside, he focused on his free meal for the moment. If she thought that he would keep his promise after a shitty job like this one, then she had another thing coming.
Saulus proceeded to make kissing faces from behind Arvid. Miko responded by alternating between trying to pinch him while the latter wasn't paying attention and keeping a conversation with her crush. He knew there would be hell to pay later, but this little shadow war was entertaining enough at the moment.
What kind of friend would he be if he didn't embarrass her at any given chance?
Saulus took a bite of his food with a satisfied petty smile before stopping and scrunching his face in consternation.
'Crap. It's still really good.'
[} Chapter End {]
Adrian: We have very poor impulse control, evidently. Expect many other stories besides this one too. We have like 10 established plot bunnies that we are working on… they might multiply too.
Arc: Yeah… 10 are the official number of active ones. If we were to count the not official one and semi-dead ideas…It is no wonder we had to make a whole Discord server to manage them all. Ahem. Anyways, this time we bring to you a Fairy Tail story!
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