The start of a journey.

Toru Youta was gazing at the money he had earnt from his days of service as he rode back to the small village where the love of his life waited.

From first glace he wasn't much to look at but that was because he had incased himself in a brown coloured cloak. Under it, he wore some light armour accompanied with two swords. He had long brown coloured hair with an old but gentle face.

He tightened the reins on his horse as he spotted four great wolves, black in appearance just sat on the ground besides a basket looking directly at him.

He felt into his cloak for one of his swords as he got closer but they still didn't move. The closer he got the more confused he was, when he got close enough, one of the timber wolves then stood up and grabbed the basket by the teeth and approached him. This was totally bizarre to the retired soldier but he still didn't drop his hand off his sword.

Sigmund watched from the heavenly domain. He had not wanted his son to be birthed the normal natural way mostly because it was boring to him at-least. So instead he had sent a vision to a forest spirit that a child would be abandoned near the forest. He entrusted the rest to the spirit.

Toru got off his horse keeping his guard up but curious at what the wolf was approaching with. All of a sudden he felt a gentle breeze and a flash of green light flashed before him, from this light a forest spirit stood. He immediately knelt on the ground and bowed his head.

What had appeared before Toru was a forest spirit for one to appear infront of a person was a great honor, since they rarely showed themselves. They were powerful entities that lived in the kingdom and generally overlooked forests. They could live for as long as the forest lived.

The female forest spirit that had appeared before Toru had flowers braided in her hair and wore a deep coloured green dress.

"No need for courtesy traveler. I only ask for your name so that I can address you properly." she spoke with a silky smooth voice.

"My name is Tora Youta." He replied as he got up quickly but still felt embarrassed to stand before such a being.

"Tora I am only here to deliver onto you a prized and delicate item" As she grabbed the basket from the wolf's jaws and handed it to him. Tora checked in the basket only to see a baby staring back at him. "A vision had told me he would be abandoned near the forest. So it was my duty to look for someone to care for him." It wasn't uncommon that forest spirits would receive visions if it concerned the place they resided at.

Tora was at a loss for words from the events that had just occurred. "What's the baby's name?" He asked but then realised at how stupid the question was. How was she meant to know what the name of the baby was, but before he could apologise she responded.

"Eli Yan." She was unsure why this name had immediately popped up in her head when she was asked of a name. "I hope you care for him. I know its quite a task but I hope I have made the right choice in you." With that she disappeared in flash of green light and all that was left were leaves. The wolves also took their leave, running off into the forest.

Tora stood on the road staring at the baby before climbing back on his horse and continuing his journey.

He arrived back at his house to find his beloved wife there. Ai Jin was a beautiful woman in her 20s with short cut hair, possessing a voice that brang harmony to Tora. She too had only just arrived back home a few days before Tora. She greeted her husband before having her attention drawn to the basket. Tora hurriedly explained what had happened as she held the baby out of the basket.

"You seem surprisingly calm about all of this." Tora spoke with genuine suprise.

"Its alot to take in... But for a forest spirit to appear and hand this matter to us would mean that this was fate. Plus u have to take into account a forest spirit chose to appear before u, they don't just do that for anyone." She spoke whilst her eyes were fixated on the baby.

"Do you think we can actually do this?" Ai? she looked back at her husband with a warm smile and replied "I think we can."

Over the years Eli became fond of his new parents. They cared and treated him as their own child.

Tora sat with a 17 year old Eli as they ate food after some practice. Compared to when he had found Eli 17 years ago he was an old man (42 to be exact, Ai was 41) who's senses for battle had dulled over the years. That didn't mean he had lost his touch. Each time Eli dueled him he always came out as the victor. (This was mostly due to Eli letting his old man win.) He gazed at the sky before speaking to Eli.

"Eli I need to tell you something of importance." He spoke barely at a whisper.

"What is it?" Eli asked whilst stuffing his face.

"Now that you are of age, it's better to tell you this now than later. Its about your origin, truth is... We aren't your real parents, we only cared for you because there was none else." There was nothing but silence between the two before Eli spoke back.

"It doesn't matter" Tora was surprised by his calm nature and his response. "To me you two will always be my father and mother." Tora found himself crying as he hugged Eli. "Am proud to have such as son."

Ai stood waiting for the two to stop embracing one another before she spoke.

"Tora wasn't there something else you were going to do?" As she smiled at both of them rolling her eyes at seeing the her husband break down in tears: she was also moved by what Eli had said, she just preferred not to break down in tears like someone...

Tora quickly wiped away his tears and moved to fetch his two swords that he had served with, in his service to the kingdom. The two swords were of high quality, they shone in the light as Tora twirled them around expertly in his hands. They both had two invaluable crystals at their hilt.

"We have practiced enough with wooden swords its time for u to have your own real swords." As he handed Eli both of the swords. Eli felt the weight in them and they were well balanced.

Eli thanked Tora and then asked "Are these swords precious to you because I have never seen you use them" Tora instinctively laughed and decided to tell him how he had come about such high quality swords. He told Eli how they were a gift from one of the high lords when he had once saved his life.

"Does that mean you were in service of a high Lord" Eli asked. Tora shook his head and told him he wasn't good enough to be in direct service to a Lord.

After the hand-off had happened Eli left his home to go buy some food from the village they lived near, he walked as he fiddled with the two scabbards that held the two swords. After he had bought some food, as he walked back he saw smoke in the direction of his home.