Seikatsu

Chapter 1: The Fleeing Robin

I stepped off my wooden steps leading to the hard, rough dirt that awaited. My foot reached the rich soil, and I began walking towards the orchard, in front of me. As I walked, I slowly left behind my wooden house, that sheltered my large, precious family.

My name is Atlas of the Tairiku Family, or just Atlas Tairiku. I have one older sister, Kushi. And two younger brothers, Saiko and Yasei. Yari, my mother, is married to my father, Reino.

We live in an open, expanding field in Lakelidge Town. We, surprisingly, had one of the biggest and most prosperous farms in our town, which had a population of about 100 or so. However to put it shortly, even with our efficiency and prosperity, we are practically the poorest town in all of the Ak' Empire. And if not to laugh even more, we are the closest official settlement, that isn't an army camp, to the Were-People Territory AND The Cursed Land.

Living in this town, soldier and army crossings are frequent and expected. Our gracious, leader Ak' The Second began the Kurismian War with the Were-People, or the Kurismian Empire, three days before I was born. Sixteen years later, the war still rages on. The war would've ended a lot sooner if it wasn't for the strong presence of the Were-People's magic. Us, humans, had no magic to fight with. Only the swords and shields that were carried in our hands. We easily had the advantage of numbers, but the Were-People also have the ability to change into animals, making them all the more evil. Or, that's what I had been told in Youth School.

I dropped out of Youth School at the age of thirteen, to pursue farming. It was the only thing someone without royalty could do. Or, that's what I was told. I didn't accept that though. I want to make my way up in the world. Do something. Mean something to Lord Ak' the Second.

I reached the orchard and took a left down a separating dirt path. The massive trees were blocking the glistening morning sun, but a few rays of golden sunlight managed to break through the overhanging leaves. Dew had formed on the tall, long grass along the dirt path and the sounds of various birds filled my ears. My dark, black hair was resting plainly on my head. I wore my short cloth shirt and pants, and my normal everyday shoes. My green eyes caught every distraction along the way.

A long wooden fence with moss growing on the corners followed me along the path. Inside the expansive fence were long fields of raspberry bushes, growing in the Spring sun. Summer was approaching fast, and with it, the drafting ceremony.

Every Summer a large group of royal guards and army officials march all throughout Iveen. They stop at every town along the way. There they set a stand and get a list of all boys of appropriate age. Then, they pray to the shrine of Miana, one of our gods, and ask her who she wants sent into war for Lord Ak' the Second. After about twenty minutes, they come back with the list that they say Miana gave them. I don't exactly want to go to the war, but it beats farming and if I go, then that practically means that I was called by Miana. My sixteenth birthday was three days ago, making me of age to be drafted into the Kurismian War. Luckily, my father turned the age of 50 just a few months ago, meaning he cannot be drafted anymore. Thank the gods he was never drafted when he was of age.

My thoughts were interrupted. In the field next to me I spotted my mother. She was hunched over, searching through the fields of ripe raspberries. Or at least, that's what it looked like from here. I smiled and walked over to the wooden fence. I swung my leg over the fence and then lifted my body up and over the fence. I landed on the ground, next to a large raspberry bush. I rushed over to my mother.

"Mother!" I yelled kindly at her. Her head drew up from the searching she was doing. She noticed me and smiled.

"Atlas," She said in a kind, loving voice. "I thought you were going into Lakelidge Square to pick up the meat." Lakelidge Square was the, practical, marketplace of Lakelidge Town. All the shops set up there early in the morning and closed early in the evening. It was the spot where you could get the gossip of the town and what's going on outside the town. Our family went there weekly to get news of the war and any other events. It was my favorite place.