THE WOLFBOUND

Chapter 3: SkyHaven

After Claude finished his meal, he headed to his room. The space was a modest 12 by 12 ft, with a clear double-hung window to the right of his room and another directly above his bed, so he could bathe in the sun and moonlight on the weekends.

Since his room wasn't very spacious, all he had was his twin-size bed, a rack of practice swords, and — among the wooden weapons — one with true killing power: his short sword, which sat to his left.

A bookshelf stood next to the window to his right.

He looked at the foot of his bed where his backpack was and began putting his books inside in preparation for his 5-mile walk to the C.S. Academy. "Old World History... uh... check.

Team Formations and Strategy... check." Claude continued loading his bag with his books and homework.

Once his backpack was fully loaded, he put on his shabby, leather-reinforced chest piece, gauntlets, and shin guards. He then grabbed his short sword off the rack and began his journey to the academy.

The smell of wood, grass, and a familiar iron-like scent hit his nose once he left the comforts of the cabin. He felt he should be wary, since that last smell concerned him a little.

As he walked out onto the trail in the grass and out from the cabin's shadow, he saw Frosty to his left with a dead, mangled buck lying in front of him.

Claude was horrified at the state the buck was in.

He could tell it had gone down fighting, judging by the deep gashes and bite marks on its face and hindquarters and its broken antler, but the worst part by far was the throat, which had a huge chunk missing — clearly what had resulted in its death.

Despite the disgust that would naturally come from such a sight, Claude felt incredibly happy for the Pit-Wolf.

"Great job, Frosty, that's your first buck!!"

"WOOOWOOOOOU," Frosty replied with an excited howl, thick red blood dripping from his snout, his tail wagging a mile a minute.

Once Claude finished celebrating with Frosty, he started down the path that led directly from his house, through the forest, and into the city of SkyHaven.

----

SkyHaven, a beautiful, clear-skied city within the Angelos District, boasted a very low crime rate, a high number of influential noble families, and a great academy for molding young warriors into Heroes of the Tangents.

Claude entered the city of SkyHaven, taking in the familiar clear-skied city with its different colored brick and stone buildings and slanted rooftops billowing out smoke.

It didn't look like the prestigious city it was made out to be, until you saw the great cathedral-like building that was the Combat/Strategy Academy of the Angelos District.

Claude started down the stone path, going deeper into the city, passing merchants selling anything they could and flamboyant street performers who earned their keep depending on how merciful — or charitable — the people walking by felt.

After about 5 minutes of walking through SkyHaven at a brisk pace, the general look of the public changed.

Claude passed groups of men and women in various types of armor, brandishing well-crafted weapons that shimmered beautifully under the morning sun.

Claude was in the Hero area of SkyHaven. As he continued his walk, he noticed Heroes heading to bars, weapon-smiths, and guild halls — it seemed everyone had a purpose and a desired destination in the Hero area of SkyHaven.

Once Claude bought his new armor, he headed to his desired destination... Bergrin's Blades.

Bergrin's Blades was a weapon-smith shop owned by a well-built and legendary blacksmith named Bergrin. Despite the name, the blades were not, in Claude's opinion, the shop's best-made weapons.

As he entered, he saw the shop's showcase of beautifully crafted, high-class weapons mounted on the walls: Rune-Written Blades, Elemental Quarterstaffs, and other Tangent Crystal-infused weaponry.

A single weapon on this rack cost more than everything Claude owned.

He continued to survey the weapons until he started to notice the shop's true gems... the spears.

With their impressive range and versatility, Claude felt drawn to them, and seeing them reminded him of his simple, single-purpose short sword, which dulled more and more by the day.

Claude continued to browse the shop until his eyes landed on the owner.

He watched Bergrin socialize with the other customers as though it were as easy as breathing, his booming laugh and natural charisma making his shop feel like a staple of the city.

Claude continued to watch the owner as he chatted up a beautiful, curly-red-haired Archer.

After a while, Claude's eyes wandered to the display case behind the counter where Bergrin stood, and he noticed something.

"Ah... a new weapon." Claude inched his way over to the display case and got a better look at the weapon, soon realizing it was a spear.