Elysium, a single landmass in a sea of clouds. However, it wasn't always this way. My parents told me that Elysium was once split up into multiple titans roaming the Cloud Sea. They always told me stories of how a team of heroes saved the earth from an entity of pure destruction. I always that it was a myth as a kid but as I grew older, I started to understand that it all could have been true. But before I go into all that I should introduce myself. My name is Nick, your run-of-the-mill 17-year-old boy from Leftheria.
I live with my mom and my older sister-
"Nick! Quit monologuing remember that your first mission at the merc guild is today. You wouldn't want to be late would you?" My sister, Raye, called to me from downstairs. I put on my merc uniform and headed down the stairs. "Jeez took you long enough, I thought I would have to go ahead of myself," she exclaimed.
"Sorry, I tend to get lost in thought sometimes. Anyway, do you have to follow me on my first mission, I mean you're one of the best mercenaries they have at the Leftheria branch. Shouldn't you have more important missions to go on?" I questioned her until a rather strong force on the back of my head, next thing I knew I was on the ground with double vision. "Oww..."
"Haha! If you're gonna be a mercenary you should have seen that coming!" A floating blade hovered past my view as I got up from my surprise attack. "Besides you're our little brother, there's no way we would miss out on your first mission. Also, maybe we'll find some strong monsters along the way that I can fight."
"Zenobia, you know there won't be any strong monsters since I'm a rookie. Speaking of the mission we should get going before the commander yells at me for being late." I begin to walk out the door with my sisters in tow to the Leftheria branch of the mercenary guild. When we got there it was already bustling with tons of mercenaries and residents of the town due to the market being so close to the guild. I followed some of the other mercenaries to the commander's office since I didn't remember where it was located.
"Ah, you must be the recruit! Raye has told me much about you. My name is Commander Escron, the leader of the Leftherian mercenary branch. I'm sure you've already met my blade Newt." I felt a shiver down my spine at the mention of her name. Her training was insanely tough for rookies. At least I built a little muscle when the training period was done.
"Yep commander, I'm telling you he has potential!" Raye exclaims in her usual cheery attitude. "Although he has no blade, and used to laze around the house before mom made him join the mercs with me." I shot her a look of slight embarrassment. It's only been five minutes and my sister is already messing with my reputation.
"Haha, it's okay Nick, many rookies don't have a blade when they first join. When Raye first joined, she barely had the skills to beat a mere Buloofo, but with due time and with her blade Zenobia, they were able to become one of my best mercenaries. I'm sure you'll do just fine."
"Yep! They even gave me the nickname: Sky Striker! Pretty cool right? Anyway enough about me, what about my little bro commander, his first mission is today!" Raye says to the commander. Although she is probably one of the strongest fighters in Leftheria, she never brags too much about it. I even heard from some of the mercenaries higher up that she even acted as an escort for royalty once.
"Ah yes I almost forgot!" He turned around to grab a paper off his desk. He takes a final look at it before giving it to me. "Since Raye is going with you I'll give you a slightly tougher one than I usually give to the rookies. As you know if you succeed in the mission, you will be paid with the listed reward. This is usually gold but it can also be other things at times. This one is 20,000 gold."
My eyes widen at the amount of gold mentioned. For a teenager in Leftheria, twenty thousand gold was considered a lot. "Commander are you sure I'm ready for this task? I don't even have a weapon." I wanted to ask him to make sure he was giving me the right mission.
"Well, of course, I wouldn't give you the mission otherwise. As for the weapon..." He opens a drawer in his desk and pulls out a bag and hands it to me. "Consider it a welcome gift and an advancement for your mission. Use it to get yourself geared up. Raye will take lead during this mission since you're still a rookie. As for you Raye, let Nick have some fun too. It is his first mission after all.
"Of course, I'll try not to outshine my little brother on this mission. Mercenary's honor." She put a fist up to her heart with much expression. I noticed that the commander was showing a face of doubt before we left his office. I opened the bag and saw about a ton of gold in it. I turned the bag around to see that it read 5,000. For five thousand it was relatively light. I guess Newt's training paid off. Raye went off on her own to find Zenobia, who disappeared before we went to see the commander. She told me to meet near the entrance of the village. Well, I guess that gives me time to gear up before leaving.
*Timeskip brought by Nick buying a sword*
I begin to head from the stores near the village entrance ready to show my sister what I bought, a sword and an ether shield. It was relatively light to carry so it was a plus, however, I spent most of the money in the process. Now I only have around 500 gold left. Oh well, it's better than having no money at all. I began to look for Raye when I heard a loud noise from the mercenary training grounds. I ran over to see the commotion only to see Zenobia fighting Newt. Although this happened every week, it was always a spectacular thing to see. It's gotten to the point where people made bets religiously to see who would win. As far back as I could remember, they were always about even in terms of strength, but they definitely improved since then. Having blades must be fun. I can't wait until I get my first one. In the mercenary guild, it seems people with blades were automatically selected for missions that paid out more money, although they were more dangerous. Anyway, I don't really have time for this. I walked over to where Zenobia and Newt were fighting. "Zenobia, it's time to go on my mission, remember?"
"Huh? Oh, Nick! Yeah sure give me a second-!" Newt caught her off guard and knocked her off her feet. "Hey, no fair Newt! Can't you see I was talking to my brother?"
"Heh sorry Zenobia, but you know I couldn't give that chance up! How about next time we fight without any distractions?" Newt extended her arm (her actual arm) for a handshake. Zenobia gladly shook it in acceptance. "By the way, you're the rookie that I trained about a week ago, aren't you? I loved your determination throughout the period! You'll be great one day."
"Thanks, ma'am. However, I don't think I'll be doing much without a blade like my sister or the commander does." I say honestly. I then immediately felt a large hand land on my shoulder. "Oof...so....heavy."
"Whoops sorry! Force of habit! Nick, I know you think having a blade is the beginning and end of all success. Although having a blade is great, a blade can only be great if the driver is great as well. All I'm saying is to believe in yourself and you'll do fine, and who knows? You might just find a blade soon." Newt's words sparked a fire in me. I felt inspired to do my best on this mission. Wait.... I didn't even read the mission paper!
"Thank you, ma'am, I'll do my best! Now let's go, Zenobia! I want to say bye to mom before we leave." I walk off with Zenobia in tow.
"I told you to stop calling me ma'am! You're Zenobia's little brother! Call me Newt!" I told her I was sorry for forgetting and went off to the market. I saw my mom at her bakery. Although I could have worked at the bakery, my mom insisted I become a mercenary like Raye. I took the offer since I'm not very good at baking.
"Oh, Nick! Look at you in your little uniform" Mom squeezed me super tight. I stopped breathing for a second, but she soon let go. "Well, I guess you're off on your mission. You remind me so much of your father. I wish he was here to see you become such a fine boy." I saw her tear up a bit so I assured her that he would be proud of me. "Zenobia please make sure he comes back in one piece, but also make sure he doesn't have it too easy."
"Mom...I'm sure it won't be too bad." I say slightly embarrassed. Zenobia pats my head and promises Mom I'll make it back in one piece at least. I don't know if it was just me but her words scared me a bit. I gave her one last hug before heading to the entrance (for real this time). We met up with Raye who was talking to some of the mercenaries that usually went on missions with her. They both had blades of their own as well, although I never knew their names. All I know is that one looked like a kid and was an electric blade, while the other had an axe that seemed to be made out of gemstones. Raye saw me and excused herself from her team.
"Hey Nick, are you ready to go?" She asked me in an excited tone.
"Yea by the way I never knew your team so I was wondering what type of blades they are."
"Oh well, the short one is Electra. She is basically a small ball of pure electricity, but it can get out of hand sometimes since she is still learning to control her powers. The other one is Agate. She is probably one of the most enthusiastic people when it comes to geology. However, her fear of bugs does make missions hard at times." Although they have their setbacks, they still were pretty strong blades. Raye's team is among some of the strongest teams in the Leftherian branch.
"You guys are really lucky to have those relationships of blade and driver," I say in my usual pessimistic tone. I could feel that Raye was giving me her usual "concerned sister look". I've always hated that look because she always looks after me and I was never strong enough to protect her. However, this was because she was already so strong. By the time I was even 13, Raye had already been in the leagues of some of the mercenary captains at the age of 18. Thanks to the help of Zenobia, her skills skyrocketed. However, I was never jealous, I was amazed. I wanted to be just like her.
"Nick, you know you amaze me every day. To be honest, I didn't think you would be a mercenary in the first place. You definitely proved me wrong, although you could work on your physical abilities." Raye said with the largest smirk on her face. Although she always does this, it still annoys me.
"Raye, no normal person can sprint a whole mile like you can. Although you can thank Zenobia for that, her speed seemed to have rubbed off on you physically, it was honestly spectacular." I replied to her statement in a rather calm tone, which was weird for me since I usually got more emotional when she teases me. I guess I must be really down in the dumps. I then felt someone embrace me. I looked up to see it was Zenobia.
"Don't worry little bro! Once we run into some strong monsters, you can prove that you don't need a blade!". Thanks, Zenobia, but I'm trying not to die today! We continued to walk towards Godsford Isle, which is what was listed on the mission sheet. I took another look at the paper to make sure we were in the right place.
"Yep, this is Godsford Isle. What's the mission, Nick?" Raye asked me.
"Let's see... we are supposed to beat up some hostile Tirkins that were spotted in the area. There is a warning that there could be many of them."
"That's no problem for me, that just means that there are more enemies to fight! Speaking of enemies, I think I see them over there!" Zenobia exclaimed as we looked in the direction she was pointing. The was indeed a few dozen Tirkins making what seemed to be a sort of base.
"Well, it looks like it's time for action then," Raye said with enthusiasm. "Let's go!"
Author's Note: Wow my first chapter! I procrastinated on this for almost a year so hopefully, I will work on the rest. Tell me your first impressions of the story so far in the comments!