The Side Character's Apprentice

A BEAUTIFUL MORNING

It was another beautiful day in the town that is Airen. The early morning sun gazed upon the streets just enough for everyone to be able to tell the difference between day and night. Even though it was way past daybreak, it looked barely past dawn. The atmosphere was serene and ... like hell it was! First off, this is not how thoughts run through my mind. Secondly, even if it was so, I certainly wouldn't be describing Airen town. Beautiful? Serene? None of those words have been used to describe this town in the last decade, much less together. The sun was up alright, but the smoke from whatever caused a fire had blocked off its rays.

The rancor that resonated from not too far away from where I was, indicated a fight. A big one if it could pull such a crowd despite the fire. Unfortunately, I would have to walk past them. It was too early for me to soil my calm mind with battle cries. But fate would spare me no such privilege. If I wanted to get to the base, I needed to pass the market. Well, it was a market in the evenings and a fight clubhouse by day. No, people didn't just come out to fight every day, but when you put that many Airen town men together, a fight was bound to spark. It was even worse in the heat of day. In the early mornings such as this, the negative energy that the Airen town men tend to thrive on, and the women as well is yet to build up. Early morning fights were rare. That was why I liked to move through the town in the morning. Sadly, I wasn't so lucky that day.

I had one thing in mind that morning - mind my own business! I would have to pass through the crowd though. And that was where the problem was. I was wearing my uniform. I could hear the fight intensify as I got closer. I was this close to escaping all the ruckus until a man yelled, "The corps are coming!" And yes, he was referring to me. The excited crowd began to scatter for fear of being caught by a member of the Grand Corps. We were sort of the military in the area. In a way, it made me feel special. Until I saw the people's fear slowly turn into disappointment when they realized it was me. For some, disgust even.

"Oh, it's just Jayden," I heard one of them moan. Followed by a disappointed echo of 'oh' as they got on with what the morning market presented them with - a good fight.

I walked past them, hoping to get away from them as quickly as possible. I was still new within the corps, but I was the only one they ever treated that way. After all, I was only but a side character's apprentice. And if you ever wondered what could be worse than being a side character then you're at the right place!

'My day was off to a brilliant start', was possibly the only thing in the universe that was a lie. All those who believe that there is gold at the end of the rainbow, rejoice, for something even more untrue exists. I knew all too well that Master Krul would be cross regarding my disappearance the previous night. We were supposed to have intensive training that night and so, as usual, I ran into the mountains. Airen town was surrounded by highlands on the far east and no one was more familiar with the area than I was. Why? Well, first, there was no better hiding place than the mountains. Rumors of dangerous creatures lurking in the mountains made people stay clear of it completely. And yes, of course, I created those rumors.

Second, I might be almost as untalented to be a Corp as a fish on land, but I was most confident in my greatest ability - the ability to run away. No one, not even the great Master Lui, the greatest of the five sages could catch me if I intended to run away. And so, whenever I ran away like that, Master Krul never searched for me. And no, Master Krul wasn't my teacher. Master Imin was. He, Master Krul, Master Lui, and two others were known as the legendary four and a half sages. And the half was Master Imin. He did absolutely nothing. Even I have no idea why he was even part of the group. Much less a sage. That being said, I am his only student. That's because I am the only one useless enough to choose him to be a master and he is the only one useless enough to choose me as a student. A match made in heaven, don't you think?

Surprisingly, Master Krul said nothing when I returned to the base. He merely said, "Master Imin seeks your attention." Before continuing the training session with his students. The Corp base served as both a training ground and a base of operation for the corps. We consisted of about thirty soldiers and each of them - other than Master Imin and myself was a force to reckon with.

I went straight into Master Imin's quarters. To my surprise, he was wide awake. A strange occurrence it was. Maybe I was wrong. Perhaps my day might actually be off to a good start.

"Jayden, Lui's prized student will be joining us today. I want you to show him around until he accustoms himself to this place," was all he said.

Why me!!! Was this some sort of punishment for all my escapades? And what would Master Lui's prized student want here? Master Lui didn't reside within Airen. He was a hero alright, but he took the path of a nomad. Along his journey, he has only ever had three students and there was one that seemed almost certain to continue in his footsteps. You might even call him the main character of this story. His name was Eric Ten.