FSE

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According to my father, it has been twelve cycles since the Equines came from beyond the sea of stars.

Nobody knows why they came to our world, though with how feverishly they focused on expanding their massive farms for the aqua fungus and shimmer weed, it was assumed the crops were why they made our world their home.

For hundreds of cycles, we've only used the dried mushrooms to keep moisture from our grain storages, and the shimmer weed to make clothing to protect from sun or rain.

At least we could understand the cultivation of the trap willow. The sap makes a fantastic glue that remains sticky even when dry, and we've been using it for fletching and waterproofing our canoes for longer than anyone remembers.

But the farming operations had grown so massive, that in just ten cycles so much of our land had been turned into farms.

I was just a pup when they arrived on our world, but growing up, I remembered hearing tales of the Equines and their cities. Traders would pass through our village, sharing information of the wider world while they sold and bartered their wares.

The Equines were led by four emperors as they called themselves, all of which were brothers under the same name. One held the throne of the largest city in the Sea of Grass plains. All of the emperors prioritized it as their capital, where large caravans gathered to ship their goods to the sea of stars.

The second oldest brother maintained his throne far to the north, at the base of the Startouch mountain range. This city specialized in the manufacturing of metal based goods, and it was also the greatest exporter of Trap Willow Sap.

The third emperor resided to the south west of the Grass plains. Their city was the smallest, though still large, as they were still terraforming the endless Everfog marshes. Their shimmer weed farms were so productive that it is said every day a caravan of thirty wagons was needed to transport it all to the capital.

The fourth made his home amongst the great Silverpine forests far to the east, where the trees stretched so high to the sky it was impossible to breathe from lack of air when climbing. The lack of sun due to the weave of the silvery branches provided perfect shade for the aqua fungus to prosper.

Their cities were bright and magnificent, with large structures that could encompass my entire village within. Trade happened on a massive scale, with large auctions for the rich held on the daily. Goods were so valuable that even the lowliest items couldn't be bought with chickens or grain.

It was so out of scale for a wolf like me, that I couldn't even imagine what the cities would look like. My village was so small that nobody had ever bothered to even name it. We survived mostly on hunting the local wildlife, though we got enough traders that we could barter our lumber and copper ore for rice and vegetables.

I even got myself a nice sized patch of potatoes growing just outside of my smithy.

I call it a smithy, but it's essentially just a thick iron plate nailed onto a wooden crate, and a pile of charcoal on top of some bricks that I use to fix tools and make things like nails and arrowheads. It's a simple, but honest life.

But like most wolves that found themselves in the village, I wasn't going to spend my life here.

I glanced off to the side, while wiping the sweat from my brow. My traveling pack was sitting against the wall, bedroll bound tightly to the outside, and all my worldly possessions stored inside. Including my life savings.

I didn't have much of course. I generally traded repairs, and made tools for more ore from the mine. But I've been able to sell a number of arrows, copper ingots, and any necessary repairs to the traveling merchants for coin over the cycles.

I had managed to accumulate a small handful of silver, which should be enough to get me a ride all the way to the Startouch Mountains, where I could truly step onto the path of mastering my craft.

After all, there was nowhere in the world that had such a diverse selection of metals to work, thanks to the hundreds of mines being worked very day.

"Hey Arvid, can you take a look at Sasha before you go? Please?" A deep, but concerned voice spoke out from the doorway behind me, and I couldn't help but smile. I turned to greet the friendly figure blocking the light from my doorway.

"Jorgin, of course I can. How's she doing down there?" I asked, using my tongs to grab and place the axe-head I was working on back into the flames.

I flashed the big black-furred wolf a friendly grin. He could barely fit through my doorway with his dense and muscular frame, bestowed upon him from his daily grind in our small copper mine.

He flashed me a goofy smile of his own as he held out a brightly polished copper pickaxe. It had been my best work. I managed to get the copper as pure as I could with my homemade smelter, and managed to make it in a single pour.

It might not sound impressive, but Jorgin was a big guy, and he needed a big pickaxe. I haven't had to use the massive crucible for anything since.

I even gave the wooden handle a copper core which was a learning experience I'll tell you.

"She's workin' really hard, I'm really proud of her." He replied with a goofy grin. I reached over and gave him a pat on the arm.

"Only because you treat her like a proper lady."

I gently took the pickaxe from him, and noticed the slight bend in the point and small scratches covering almost the whole head, but other than that, there were no issues.

"Ahh, she has been working hard, but she just has a slight bend and a few dings. Give me an hour and I'll have her right as rain."

"Oh, thank you, you're the best Arvy!" He cheered, his tail swinging rapidly behind him before he began to reach behind him for the bag of ores he always carried on his back.

I held up a hand to stall him. "No problem big guy, but you don't need to pay me. It's my gift for being my best buddy all these cycles."

His smile faltered and his eyes began to tear up before he swept me into a surprisingly gentle hug. "I'm gonna miss you Arvy. Please don't go?" His voice quivered and he let out a loud snivel.

I reached around and rubbed his back with my free hand, making sure to not poke him with Sasha.

"I'm going to miss you too. I do have another gift to remember me by, and it should help you keep Sasha safe. Just look over to my bench there buddy." I spoke softly, giving him a few affectionate pats.

A big snort before letting me go, he rubbed the tears from his eyes and then looked over as ordered. Watching his eyes widen and his tail rapidly swing behind him really warmed my heart.

Another pickaxe lay on my workbench, which he picked up slowly and carefully. It was slightly smaller than Sasha, though it more than made up for it with durability.

Nearly a cycles worth of iron powder and scraps from the traders went into that pickaxe. I say that, because my first few attempts at making steel failed spectacularly. But eventually I managed to get it hardened as much as possible with my limited resources, and a steel pick was ready for mining.

"He's really pretty." Came the reverent mumble from the wolf as he picked up the pick as if it were the most precious thing in the world. He lifted it up to his face and lovingly rubbed his cheek against it, only slightly scuffing the near-mirror finish I managed to put onto it.

"I'm gonna name him Timmy! Thank you Arvy!" He sobbed, his smile bright and his eyes streaming.

I couldn't help but grin at the big guy. "Timmy is a great name. He's made of steel, as good as I could make him, so he should be able to work the mine while you keep Sasha safe."

Nothing more was said as he wrapped his arms around me in a firm hug once more, the big guy quivering from happiness and excitement to test out his new toy.

"Just don't be gone for too long, Sasha should be ready in about an hour." I said, gently ushering him out the door.

"Thank you Arvy. I'm gonna show Timmy to Grammy! Maybe she'll make extra soup for you tonight 'afore you go with mister Magnus!" He cheered with the brightest smile in the world as he suddenly broke into a sprint in the direction of his grandmothers home.

"That sounds great Jorgy." I muttered under my breath with a sad smile on my face.

I turned and pumped the bellows a few times to get the coals going once more, then set to removing the pins in the handle from the precious pickaxe. It only took a moment before the head was lain atop the coals next to the axe head.

I worked until just after the sun set, wiping a cloth gently in circular motions around the pickaxe one final time before laying Sasha next to the completed axe on my workbench.

A folded piece of paper was carefully placed on top of Sashas handle, addressing Jorgy's grandmother, as the big guy never could grasp the whole reading thing.

It was thanking her for looking after me for all these years since my father passed, and for keeping an eye on my best friend.

I couldn't keep from having a few tears fall down my cheeks as I wrote it.

I doused the coals, letting the shack fill with steam that erupted out the door in a smoke scented cloud.

As much as I wanted to pack my hammer with my belongings, I knew I should leave it for the next person who wanted to pick up the trade.

As the last sliver of sun dipped below the hills, I stepped outside with my large travelers pack slung over my shoulder, and made my way north to the road that led out of the village and into the wider world.

I had already said my goodbyes to everyone in the village, though I knew if I ran into Jorgin one more time, I might not have been able to leave.

Just like everyone else who ever left the village, I received a small party the night before, and today everyone would remain in their homes to allow me to leave in peace.

As I passed by gran's place, I could hear the bawling of the big guy through the open window, and the soft consolations of the old lady who looked after him.

I continued past with a heavy heart, until finally I rounded the path and the lights of freshly lit, and still in the process of being lit lanterns, entered my vision.

"Aah Arvid my boy, glad you could join us. We still have a little preparation to do before we can set off, but you can set your bag in the back. Just put it next to the large box under the canvas. Don't look under the tarp though or you'll be walking all the way to the Startouch. It's a surprise gift for the Jade Emperor."

Magnus the traveling trader waved me over with a bright smile. He was getting a little bit road weary, with grey fur starting to grow around his muzzle, though his eyes always sparkled with the mischief of making a deal.

I stepped over and shook the awaiting hand, with my eyes glancing over to the two guardsmen who always accompanied him. Both had serious expressions on their faces, likely worried about setting out so late.

"Magnus, thanks again for taking me along. And thanks for the warning. It's none of my business anyways but I hope he likes whatever you got him. I can't imagine an Emperor is easy to please." I replied sincerely as I climbed under the canvas cover of the wagon, noticing the large crate in question.

Magnus's muffled voice came through the covering of the wagon as I worked on settling my belongings.

"Well, a bit of an exaggeration, the gift is actually for one of his concubines. It's for the Lilac consort, who, to be honest, could really use it. Now, no more sneaking secrets from me my friend!" He laughed a belly laugh before climbing up onto the passenger seat next to one of his guards.

I placed my bag right beside the crate in the space that seemed left open for me. I had to wedge my bag in right between the crate and another much smaller crate full of the copper arrow and spear heads I made over the past month, which helped cover a lot of the traveling costs.

The other exposed sections of canvas were nailed to the wagon itself, likely so any wind wouldn't blow it off.

I couldn't help my curiosity as to what could be so important, but I did my best to shove it out of my mind as I unrolled my bedroll and set it onto the floor. I adjusted it against the short wall of the cart before settling myself onto it and leaning against a post.

The remaining guard hung lanterns from the hooks on the outsides of the cart. They then climbed in to settle next to me, as the dark green scaled gracken (A six legged lizard as large as a buffalo and commonly used as beasts of burden) pulled on the reins.

Magnus passed a wine skin to the guard who then handed it over to me. We all shared a cheers, before taking a deep drink, signaling the start of my journey.