Hunter Sky

Chapter 1 - A New Path

His vision began to dim, and everything around him began to spin into a warp as he jumped up from his bed, sweat curling from his face, and his heart pounding into oblivion.

"Hey Zack, bad dream again?" a boy sitting on a small bed next to his turned to him. Zack looked around the room before turning his gaze to the boy, realizing all the other rows of beds were empty and everyone else was gone.

"Ugh . . . yeah," he replied in a droopy voice.

Zack yawned lazily as he snuggled back into his sheets, but suddenly his bed was flipped over with him on it, and he fell to the ground. He looked up to see an angry middle-aged man looking down at him furiously.

"Wake up you piece of garbage! Every day you oversleep! You have school! Hurry up and get out of here! And when you get back I want you to go clean Sir Richard's stables! And one more thing! . . . Don't dare let me hear about you getting into any trouble again boy! Or else this time I will let them cut off those little hands of yours!" the man yelled in Zack's ear sending drops of saliva into his face.

Zack picked himself up and flipped his bed back on its right side, paying no mind to the old man who berated him mercilessly, nor the shower of spit coming from his mouth. Eventually, the old man left holding his chest, and the boy beside Zack's bed turned to him.

"Don't pay that old geezer any mind, you know he treats all of us like that."

"Hmph! I'm going to get out of this stupid place soon enough," he replied.

"But how are you going to do that? No one's going to adopt you, plus you don't have any money."

"I'm turning thirteen today, so I can finally join the Altean Knighthood Academy."

The boy grew a sad countenance, sporting disappointed mug, "Wow . . . I'm going to miss you. Don't forget us, okay."

"Tch! I'll never forget you and the others. Take care old friend, I better get going."

Zack prepared himself and got ready, then took one last look at the rusty old orphanage before he left on his way to Eastbourne Academy. One of only four scholar schools in the Kingdom of Altea.

As Zack strolled through the town, he stopped walking abruptly to give way to several high-spirited children running around the streets, screaming as they chased each other. He resumed walking, looking on as the farmers and serfs rowed their wagons and carts passed him, and at the sides of the street, where various worn-down buildings stood, he saw carts of fresh fruits stacked on top of each other, attracting mostly women to stop at the vendors standing over them.

Suddenly, his ears were assaulted by the loud banging of metal, and as he walked by, he realized he had just passed a blacksmith shop.

He bent the corner of the shop, where he saw several rowdy-looking men standing by the entrance of a brothel across from him, armed with clubs and glasses of ale. One of the men who seemed to be the alpha nodded his head at him and Zack nodded back then went his way. Whilst Zack acknowledged that he wasn't a saint, he knew full well it was wise to avoid the company of such men, even though they seemed to respect him for some reason.

While on his way to school his stomach started to growl, and it was at that very moment, a small group of guards were carrying a carriage full of baskets and trays of food across from him. He walked across the town to get to the guards, pushing through the hectic crowd of passers-by.