Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings

The misty mountains were wreathed in mist, from the rocky peaks which scraped the very fabric of the sky right down to the thickly wooded plains which lay at the base of the mountains.

Technically the misty mountains weren't a real mountain range, just a collection of very rocky hills which towered over the plains of the rest of the land. However anyone who had travelled to the misty 'mountains' would say that they were unlike any other hills in Terra Lucis. The tops of the hills were bare exposed rock which was wreathed in cloud like a mountains peak but completely devoid of snow. Below the jagged rocky peaks were dense forests which covered the hills completely.

These hills are one of the few places in Terra Lucis which appeared to be completely free from human habitation, but in actuality there was one small settlement nestles into the forest and set high in the hills.

As the sun rose in the east light was thrown across Terra Lucis signalling the beginning of another day. The little village of Hockley Heath in the Misty mountains however was still in complete darkness as the jagged peaks blocked the light until two hours after when the rest of Terra Lucis would awake.

The peaks blocked light In the village until two hours after dawn when the sun could be seen over the peaks, but even then little light would be able to filter through the mist which always hung about the hills. Due to the lack of light and constant mist in the hills, the village of Hockley Heath was unable to maintain any kind of beneficial crop. This combined with the harsh weather on the hills and the thick dense forest meant that it was extremely difficult to make a living in Hockley Heath.

The men of Hockley Heath boasted that few people were strong enough to live in such unforgiving conditions all year round. Though many people thought the villagers were crazy for staying in the hills no-one could deny that these people were perhaps the sturdiest in the land, as such they had a reputation for being a tough and tight knit community which cared little for past actions or ones birth right but instead judged a man by his work and determination, values that were vital for living in such circumstances.

Thanks to this attitude the village of Hockley Heath became a haven for those who wanted to hide from the rest of the world. But contrary to popular knowledge this did not make Hockley Heath a hive of crime and debauchery, in fact the men and women of Hockley Heath were a very just people who were willing to ignore all past crimes and give anybody a second chance at life but if someone were to step out of line they quickly found Hockley Heath to be a very inhospitable place to be.

Without a Temple or local constabulary or detachment of soldiers Hockley Heath was run by the village elder Naiko. Retired from the famous ranger corps in the kingdom of Three Lakes Naiko was a very experienced huntsman and it was his expertise and teaching which allowed the hunters in Hockley Heath to make a living in this remote town. Known for his gruff but affectionate nature Naiko was a simple man who had few cares in life. The master huntsman could often be found teaching the boys of the village how to hunt, settling the few quarrels in the village or playing with his beloved daughter Katelyn.

While Naiko was the man that most in the village considered to be a father figure, Lena Solitz the owner of the only pub in Hockley was considered to be the mother hen of the village. After losing her husband and sons to war Lena had moved to Hockley Heath to escape her woes and had taken over the local pub just so that she might have something to do but instead found herself mothering all the children and quite a few of the adults in the village. While Naiko was the authority on all quarrels in the village it was Lena who the villagers went to for advice. From parenting problems to lovers tiffs Lena was considered the most experienced in all of Hockley.

The unofficial assistant to Naiko and Lena was Domitan De Savros, a man with a Mediterranean complexion and salt and pepper hair Domitan was the village smith and a kindly character. A caring man who appeared to have no temper to speak of was greatly liked by all the villagers even though he was one of the younger additions to the village. He had arrived a dozen years earlier with a baby boy in his arms after travelling with the caravan which made two trips to Hockley a year.

The villagers were initially curious about the lone man and child but any who got to know him could see his utter devotion to the boy and both man and child quickly wormed their way into the hearts of the villagers. Finding the village smith to be an elderly man who wished to spend more time with his grandchildren Domitan offered his services to the smith in return for lodgings, claiming to have been a smith in his old land. Wary of the young man who was averse to talking about the past of himself and his child the smith reluctantly allowed him a trial period if only for the sake of the young boy who could have been no older than a year and a half old.

The elderly smith was surprised and delighted to discover that the young man was every bit the master of smithing that he was and it quickly became apparent that his abilities surpassed those of the elderly smith. And so Domitan became the village smith and his son Leonard became the latest chick for Lena to mother over. When asked about his skill and his past Domitan always became evasive and refused to answer but the villagers shrugged it off and accepted the father and child at face value. Until the day he died five years after Domitan arrived at the village the elderly smith maintained that Domitan was much more than he appeared and suspected that he was much more talented with the forge than he let on but like the rest of the villagers he left Domitan to his own devices.

Over the years Domitan firmly established himself in the small community and quickly became invaluable to the village as he was one of the only people in the village who could create high quality weapons. Though Naiko was able to create and maintain weapons as it was part of his training as a ranger he freely admitted that any weapon he forged was just about adequate for hunting and would not stand up very long to strain while Domitan's weapons were of a superior quality which one would expect a noble Lord or Knight to wield. This fuelled suspicions that he was more than he appeared to be but most were grateful for the quality weapons and left it at that.