Chapter 1 - Sands

The bird dove as the pebble whizzed by its head, diving to gain enough speed to evade the onslaught of rocks from the two boys below. The younger boy growled in disappointment, barely missing his target, his prize. The pebble wasn't enough to hurt a hawk of that size, but he would have gained the approval of his older brother for hitting such a difficult target. "So close, I was so close!" The boy got down on his hands and knees, scouring the sand for more pebbles. The ocean water crashed onto the sand close to the boy, but not close enough to get him wet.

His older brother smiled softly, teasing him with the act. "So close?" he said, "Like how dad was so close to not burning that tallay for dinner last night?"

He stopped raking the sand with his small fingers and looked up at his brother. "That's not fair!" he stammered, "Dad is a lousy cook, and you know it, Jaek!" He continued searching for pebbles, aggravated with his brother.

Jaek grabbed his stomach, feigning a hearty laugh. "I'd like to see his reaction when you say that to his face, Kahz!" Kahzu found a pebble and placed it in the sling that his brother made him earlier that day.

"I'll tell 'im with a big hawk in my hands, sayin' not to burn this one too." He began to circle the sling, gaining more speed as the hawk flew farther and farther away. With a huff, he zealously launched the rock at the large bird, losing sight of it in the distance.

"By Shanra, I think you got it!" Kahzu dropped the sling from his hand, stifling a tear.

"It's not funny, Jaek. You could have gotten it."

"True," Jaek began, "but I'm also way older than you, and have been practicing much longer." He walked over to Kahzu and patted his head, rubbing his hair between his calloused fingers. "There will soon be a day where we will be equal in this, but you have to practice just like I did." As he said this, another hawk made its way toward them, in the same direction as the previous hawk.

"You needed practice because you were bad." Kahzu bent down to pick up a rock, placed it in his sling and began to twirl it. The hawk flew in a straight line above their head, and Kahzu loosed the rock right above himself as hard as he could, grunting when he released it. It flew true, but at the very last second the hawk veered to the side, the rock lazily reaching its peak and making its way back to the ground a few feet from them, puffing up a tiny cloud of sand as it landed.

"Looks like I'm not the only one that was bad," Jaek laughed. "Come on, let's get back home and make sure dad doesn't overcook dinner tonight."

Kahzu frowned, eyeing the hawk with contempt. He watched it fly for another few seconds before turning and kicking the rock that so mockingly laid in the sand. Walking in front of his brother, he made his way back to town, crossing over the sand and into the grass. Jaek knew Kahzu well enough to leave him alone when he was upset like this. To a boy Kahzu's age, it was very near the end of the world for missing not one, but two hawks while out playing. Although Jaek never saw Kahzu come nearly so close to hitting a bird before, that was the last thing Kahzu wanted to hear. He let his little brother walk back in silence, his eyes glued to his feet.

Kahzu turned around and began walking backward, looking up at Jaek. He grinned and said, "I did get sorta close, didn't I?"

Jaek smiled. "Yes, yes you did."

They walked the rest of the way without talking, Kahzu humming a song that their mother would often sing to them. Jaek would occasionally hum with him during the chorus, but for the most part enjoyed the music for what it was - the happiness and carelessness of a young child. Eventually they made their way into town, the dirt path switching to cobblestones as they passed into the eastern gates by Merchant Gillen's store. They stopped inside, grabbed a loaf of bread, a bottle of sheep's milk, some sausages, and an ounce of Tran'kin medicine, enough to last their family another week or so. Jaek flipped Gillen a few coins, then the boys made their way out the front door.

Jaek reached in the bag and grabbed a pill for Kahzu, handing it to him with the bottle of milk after twisting off the cap. Kahzu took a swig of the fresh milk, washing down the pill and wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He handed the bottle back, and Jaek twisted the cap back on and placed it into his sack next to the sausages. They passed house after house, each one as lackluster as the one before. Jaek and Kahzu lived in the simpler part of Cammonar where the nobility rarely found themselves. It wasn't a dangerous part of the city by any means, just an area where people were more content to not flaunt their riches, assuming they had any, of course.

Most of the houses had children playing one sport or another outside, and Jaek would wave to each one, smiling, listening to Kahzu's humming. When they neared their own house, Kahzu took off running, his arms flailing as he tried his hardest to keep from falling down to the stone. When he reached the door, he put his hand on the front and turned to Jaek. "I beat you!" he yelled.

"You're too fast for me!" Jaek yelled back, squinting afterward as the yelling made his head throb. He reached back into his pack and pulled out a Tran'kin pill, popping it into his mouth and drinking it down with some more milk. Immediately, his headache began to recede.

The boys walked into the house, the scents of a hearth-fire and roasting vegetables permeating the room. "Is that you, Jaek?" said a feminine voice from the room over.

"Yes mother, it's us." Kahzu ran into the kitchen, Jaek following with the bag of meats in his grip.

Their mother turned from the fire and kneeled down, embracing the running child in her arms. "Did my little hunter catch us anything?"

"No," Kahzu started, leaning back in his mother's hug. "I was really close though!"

"I'm sure you were, honey." She released him, stood up and smiled at Jaek. "Go ahead and throw the sausages in with the vegetables. Your father should be home soon." Jaek kissed her on the cheek as he walked by, dropping the sausages into a boiling pot over the fire.

"I bought more Tran'kin if you needed one, mother."

"Just one would be good for now. Could you cut one in half for your brother?" Jaek nodded, grabbing the pills from his bag and handing his mother one. She swallowed it without the aid of water. He moved over to a table, grabbed a knife and cut a pill in half, then handed it to Kahzu with a glass of water. He scowled and dropped the pill onto his tongue, squinting his eyes in displeasure at the bitterness.

Just then, the door swung open and their father walked in, covered in soot. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, a smear of skin showing underneath the rest of his darkened face. "Dad!" Kahzu yelled, nearly throwing the glass of water in his excitement. His father shut the door and picked Kahzu up, pulling him in close.

"Don't get more soot on him!" their mother yelled, "I'm still getting the stains out from last week!"

"I won't get his clothes dirty," he retorted, rubbing his cheeks on Kahzu's face, transferring the soot onto the boy. Their mother sighed as she turned back to the boiling pot, stirring the vegetables and the sausage. He put Kahzu back down, then walked over to the bag of Tran'kin in the kitchen. "How was the big hunting day?" he said as he threw the pills in his mouth.

"Better than last week," Jaek said. "He came very close to hitting a hawk."

"A hawk, eh?" he said, swallowing a gulp of water from a glass.

"Yeah, it was huge!" Kahzu exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air and flapping, running around in circles and into the next room, screeching like one of the birds. Their father laughed, nearly spitting out the sip of water. Jaek grinned and looked back at his dad.

"He's getting quite good, you know."

Their father looked at him and nodded. "I know." He looked down at his grime covered hands. "I'll make time to go hunting with him soon. Synn is getting worse, though. Nearly got RIley killed at the kiln."

"I wish you'd stop working for that sorry man, Shahm" Jaek's mother turned from the food and hugged him, Shahm returning the embrace.

"I know, Kyra, I know. Until another smithy opens in Cammonar, I've nowhere to go."

Kyra backed up and looked him in the eyes. "You can start your own smithy, the one you've been wanting. You have one strong son to aid you, and another that will soon be a young man. Why wait for someone else to do it?"

"I'd love nothing more, but I pity the man that willingly decides to be in competition with Synn. He may be an alcoholic, but he has power in this city, and he isn't scared to show it." He looked over at Jaek, a look of defeat on his face. "The man is drinking his way into an early grave, I just need to wait."

"We've been waiting for years," Jaek said. "We can handle him, father. You're a better smith than he, anyway."

"As true as that may be, I value my family, and my life, more than my future shop." Kyra kissed him on the cheek, then returned to the fire. Kahzu came back running into the room, his arms still flapping wildly.

"I thought we had a hawk in the house!" Shahm exclaimed. "I was about to come find you to help us take it down!" Kahzu stood up straight, crossing his arms in front of his body and putting on his most formidable grin.

"How about you help me take down this food, instead," Kyra said, scooping out sausages and broth into wooden bowls. "Much easier to hunt than hawks."

They all sat down and ate their dinner, Kahzu describing in detail his day of hunting with Jaek chiming in for some clarifications. They never discussed their father's work at the dinner table since it often lead to a similar ending  as before, and they didn't want Kahzu to be burdened with life's realities. He was still young, and as such had no need for such discussions. Kahzu's mind was more focused on hunting, on games with other children, and fighting tournaments in far away lands. His parents, as well as Jaek, wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

As Kahzu began to fall asleep at the table, Shahm picked up his youngest son and carried him to his bedroom, laying him down on the bed. "Father?" he said tiredly, one eye remaining open.

"Yes, Kahz?"

"Did Xiil ever go hunting with his father? Before he won his first tournament?"

"I'm sure he did. We'll go sometime soon, I promise." Kahzu smiled and began to sleep. Shahm moved Kahzu's hair out of his eyes and kissed his forehead, leaving a small, black ring of soot. He stood up and made his way out of the bedroom, knowing it was a promise that he would keep.