The Sword Saints

5. The Shoemaker

(Shu)

"Your fellow man is the fruit of the world and should be treated with dignity, kindness, and respect. To the lowest cobbler to the greatest of kings, all should be treated as equals before the Virtues."

The Book of Sympathy: Ch. 2: verse 1-2.

Cobblers weren't heroes; they weren't adventurers. They lived mundane lives in a mundane profession. They didn't garner any second glances or hushed gossips. But for Shu Salson, he didn't want that life, not any longer.

And all it took to spur him forward was an unfortunate, if fortuitous fire.

On an intensely stormy night, a lit candle had sat inside of his cobblery. He'd forgotten to blow it out. After a tremendously powerful clap of thunder that shook every building in town, the candle fell to the floor and set the store ablaze. The flames consumed the building quickly. Shu's home was connected by a breezeway to the store, but Virtues be praised, he and his fellow townsfolk were able to put it out before it reached his home. He'd thanked Sympathy for the mercy bestowed upon him. No one had been hurt and he hadn't lost everything. It was a blessing.

Now, two months later, as he packed things away and readied himself for a long journey, he knew how much a blessing it truly was. It was a boon on many levels, for he could finally leave his home and pursue his dreams. Finally – at last. Of course, another reason to leave was for the financial hit he would take for the loss of the store, but that didn't feel too important anymore.

He mindlessly folded some clothes and packed away some flint and steel.

Truth be told, he'd wanted to move on for years. When he was little, he was told stories about the Sword Saints, the legendary heroes that could end wars single handedly with their magical swords. For as long as he could remember, he wanted to adventure like them and be like them. It was his dream. When he was only seven years of age, he started to learn the basics of swordplay from some of the town guards. At the same time, he learned how to read from Tila, an old woman who owned a bookstore in town.

For a decade, he was taught how to fight and read – both of which he did with vigor. He read about the Sword Saints. It was an obsession. He'd wanted to be one, so he had to start somewhere. Though he knew that actually becoming a Saint was nothing more than a fever dream, he still yearned for a life of adventure. He'd become a bounty hunter or mercenary and would try to help people. He had always been driven by the Virtues, and Justice was chief among them in his mind.

Even still, he couldn't just abandon his home. Over the last half decade, though he still trained, he knew that life wasn't so easy. He took up an apprenticeship with the town cobbler Gepius and learned the craft. When the old man sadly passed two years ago, Shu became the town shoemaker and was able to make some money for himself and for his mother. He was teased often for his name and title, but he didn't let it bother him.

Life slowed down after that. He made a decent and comfortable living. He supported his mother, who could no longer work. He couldn't just leave the woman that had raised him all alone. His dream would have to be postponed. He had no desire to be a shoemaker for the rest of his life, but he was only a decade and seven and he had some time.

Then, the fire happened, and he was given his chance.

That had been two months ago, and it was at last time to depart. It was a normal day, a day that most wouldn't have noticed as significant in any way. The sky was a cloudless blue and the trees all around Sorenton rustled in the light breeze. Indeed, most went about their days in complete normalcy. For Shu Salson, however, it was time for him to leave his simple life and escape for better things. It was time to finally leave his monotonous life as a cobbler behind and seek his fortune in the capital.