Chapter 1: Disaster Strikes

Sweat beaded down Jasper’s brow, threatening to blind him at a crucial moment. The smell of burnt hair and body odor pervaded the small, windowless room. His body ached, and mana exhaustion clouded his thoughts. They sought to distract him, ruining his hard work.

One by one, he blocked out the thoughts that threatened to break his concentration. When they were all silenced, Jasper steadied himself and struck.

Clang!

A clean hit. He lifted the blade and looked it over for any blemishes. He found none.

Still, he wouldn’t allow himself to celebrate. He’d gotten this far before only to be disappointed by the final result. Jasper stayed focused, his eyes only on the blade and the furnace. He fed the last of his mana into the blade and carefully positioned it in the forge. He nodded to Candel, his father’s fire elemental.

The fiery red cat was a staple of their small smithy, and he did his job well despite his tendency to nap between firings. Candel breathed in, then expelled a blistering flame into the forge. When it was properly heated, Jasper pulled the blade and set it down to cool. They repeated that twice more before Jasper began to clean up for the night.

He placed his newest blade in the forge to cool overnight, cleaned his work area, and hung up his tools and apron. Candel followed him, looking up expectantly. Jasper sighed, then pulled out a bag of low-grade fire coal.

“Fine, you can have one. But don’t blame me if mom calls you fat.” He tossed a piece into the air, and Candel jumped, snatching it out of the air. Purring, it retreated to the fire, already crunching on the treat.

“Have a good night, buddy. See you tomorrow!”

Jasper took one last look around the smithy, admiring the space his father had built. It was small, barely big enough for the two of them to work at the same time. The room was centered around two large anvils, with a beautiful mana forge at the far end of the space. Tools lined the stone walls, and a pair of hooks hung by the entrance for their aprons and gloves.

He smiled. It had taken years of practice, but his father had finally let him create his own blade. Tomorrow, he would refine it and learn the results of his hard work. If his father approved, he’d finally be allowed to sell his work in the storefront. All his hard work would be worth it.

Suddenly, Candel bolted upright and began clawing at the door. Jasper opened it for him, only to see his father’s hulking form barge through the front door, his older brother in his arms. “Jasper! Get over here and help your mother. I’m taking Roy upstairs. He’s badly injured.” Jasper hurried to help his mother climb up the steps to their home, even as her familiar flew down the steps to greet her. The poor water spirit fluttered around her mother, eventually make a nest in her hair.

When he saw Roy on the couch, he stopped, shocked. His brother’s body was covered in bandages, his clothes were torn and burnt, and his signature golden hair was singed a dark brown. Worse, his brother’s familiar was missing. The two of them never went anywhere without each other, which could only mean one thing. Roy’s familiar was gone. And with it, so was his magic.

While he wanted to stay and help, his mother sent Jasper and his sister to their rooms. Curious, Jasper pressed his ear to the door. His familiar, Sally, plopped off his bed and came over in search of scratches. The rocky lizard had led to his discovery more times than he cared to admit, and he’d finally learned his lesson. He gestured for her to keep quiet, picking her up so that the sway of her stone-covered tail wouldn’t give him away.

While faint, he could just make out his parents’ conversation. “How could they let this happen? How could Roy not notice? If there’s one thing I taught him, it was always check your tools,” his father growled.

“He didn’t know. One of the apprentices took over when I brought him lunch. It’s the only reason—” she paused. “It’s the only reason he wasn’t closer. They said they needed his familiar even without him. We thought…”

“You couldn’t have known, then. Those fools got what they deserved for such stupidity. Still, his treatment was expensive. The pills alone cost a year worth of sales. We don’t have that kind of money. With your injuries, neither of you will be working for a while, and that loan…” His father drifted off, presumably deep in thought. A year’s expenses? How bad had Roy been hurt?

A chime rang through the home, a signal that someone had entered the shop. Jasper listened as his father’s heavy footsteps shook the staircase. He must be in a hurry. He’s never that loud.

He spoke to someone, the conversation too faint for Jasper to accurately make out. He cracked open the bedroom door, using the distraction of his returning father to mask the creak. What he saw sent a shiver down his spine.

His father was joined by two men. The first was an armed guard, his gilded armor sparkling in the evening light. Waves of mana flooded off the man, easily putting him at least a full tier above his dad. However, it was the other man that terrified Jasper. He was tall, well-built, with slick black hair and a clean-shaven face. He wore a suit of fine silk, the emblem of the Peregrin family emblazoned on his chest pocket.

His mana was tightly controlled, coiled around his body like a serpent ready to strike. There was no doubt that this was Aster Peregrin, Roy’s boss. There were rumors about him, none of them good. And he was here, in their home.

The man ignored Roy, instead addressing their father. “Mr. Armstrong, thank you so very much for inviting me up. I’m afraid we have a rather severe matter to discuss.”

The guard pulled out an elaborately decorated chair and a cup of steaming tea—from a personal storage space, no doubt—and gestured for Lord Peregrin to sit.

“I’m glad to hear that young Roy survived the incident the other day. Now, I prefer to speak plainly, and the simple truth is that your son’s mistake has cost the company a great deal of money. Let me see…altogether, we’re looking at about 30,000 gold pieces.”

His mother gasped, and Lord Peregrin motioned for her to wait while he explained. “There was quite a lot of damage, I’m afraid, and it has come to our attention that Roy was neglecting his duties at the time of the incident, ultimately killing two junior workers and badly damaging the facility. We have the pill furnace that was destroyed, nearby furnaces damaged in the explosion, countless lost resources, damage to the building, and injury to several other employees.”

His father cut in, the cold anger clear in his voice. “We were told you were insured. That any damages were covered! What happened to those funds?”

“Ah, I see the confusion. Yes, all our locations are insured. However, Roy’s protections were made null and void the moment he neglected his duty. Why, you’re lucky he’s not being charged with arson and murder. Of course, we understand it may take a while to collect the sum. We can give you thirty days.”

“Thirty days?” his mom asked. “That’s impossible! Please, there must be another way.”

Lord Peregrin stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought. “Hmm, let me think. In that case, you have only two options, really. First, we charge Roy for his crimes. Now, that will not replace the harm he has caused, but it would stop him from wreaking more havoc. Alternatively, you give me your other son. Casper, or something like that? I have need of a lad his age.”

Jasper bolted from his room. “I’ll do it! Whatever you need, I’ll do it. Just leave my family alone.”

The man looked Jasper over appraisingly. “Yes, you should do finely. Very well. You have two minutes for goodbyes. You need not worry over clothing or any such silly things. All shall be provided—and explained—to you later.”

With that, the Lord arose, his tea finished and the chair stowed back in the guard’s storage. He made a point of pulling out an expensive golden pocket watch, tapped it twice, then swiftly exited. When both men were gone, Jasper’s mother rushed over to him and hugged him.

“You foolish boy, what were you thinking? You should have let us handle it. Now it’s too late. Quickly, grab your familiar and hug your sister goodbye. Men like that should never be kept waiting.”

Jasper did as he was asked, stopping by Hannah’s room for a quick hug. He didn’t tell her what was happening, only that he had to go somewhere and he’d be back eventually. He grabbed his notebook, his cultivation guide, and a bag of treats for Sally.

He tucked all three inside the pocket of his jacket, then returned to the living room and gave his mother a long hug. As he descended the steps, he looked back one last time. Roy lay sleeping on the couch. His mother held Hannah, tears in her eyes, while his little sister looked confused.

Jasper looked to the man who had raised him last. The one who had trained him. Taught him right from wrong. How to cultivate mana and swing a hammer. The man he’d idolized for years.

He met his father’s eyes, hoping to see any hint of emotion, but what he saw nearly broke him then and there. His father had never looked more disappointed.