The sun shone bright on a day like any other. It was a summer day, the first day school was out and kids and teenagers everywhere rejoiced. Matthew, however, had too many things on his mind to frolic like he was six years old. Despite his best efforts, anxiety had crept its way into his sleep, twisting whatever his dream could have been in to a nightmare where Luke had ran away. Another nightmare was him finding his friends had left him behind to fight a horde of countless beast made of shadow, an impossible task that he awoke as the monsters had attempted to somehow crush him with their body mass. How a shadow had mass Matt could only chalk up to being a dumb dream, yet it was thoughts like these that filled his mind. Matthew needed many things: sleep, a serene setting to calm his mind, reassurance from someone reassuring.

“CRASH!” The sound of what Matt assumed was a dense projectile hitting his front yard had awoken him from his stupor. Upon inspecting the object he discovered it was in fact the leading Dragoon and his long time friend Brian Dare. This was not what Matt needed.

“Yo Matt, you’re not going to believe it!” Matt watched as the blonde teenager pulled his head from the ground, wondering if he could pull up weeds or buried treasure while he was at it. “Brian, please tell me you’re here to tell me something stupid this time.” As Brian stood up straight, as if to impress Matt despite his head only meeting Matt’s chest, his expression told of unfortunate news. “Wow, when I want to tell you something cool, you say you want to hear something urgent. Now that I want to tell you something urgent, you wanna hear something cool but not urgent! Make up your mind man!

Matt was becoming increasingly impatient with his obnoxious friend. “Well anyways, I was told to find you straight away. As for why, the others said it was an urgent message from the queen. She said she wanted to deliver it to us personally.” Matt tensed up at the idea, as if the queen was punishing him for some misdeed he had forgotten about. Brian motioned his friend along, the two making their way to the castle entrance.

Matthew was glad to see Jessica, Eric, and Adriana were also getting the news, yet the grim possibility of being sent on a mission seemed guaranteed.

“Hey Matt, did Brian tell you?” He nodded his head at Jessica’s question, “All he told me was that it was urgent. Do you know what we’re actually doing?” The mage gave a sigh in response, joined by Eric Telah the team cleric and Adriana Yvet their scout. “The queen is sending on a big mission, one that will inspire the rest of the kingdom. Or at least that’s what she said.”

“It’s expected to take two years” the short cleric added. Matts eyes widened. “Yes, two years. When you get home, make a list, pack your stuff, check the list, pack the things you forgot, check the list again, pack even more stuff, check your bag, leave out some stuff, and then rip the list up and put a few things back in.” There was a moment of silence, a few stares thrown at the yellow cloak. “What? It’s how I always prepare.”

“Thanks Eric, we’ll be sure not to do that.” The rogue had pushed Eric aside, knowing the last thing Matt needed was anxiety. “If you have anything you want to tell your brother before the trip, do so tonight. We’re heading out tomorrow, and we won’t be coming back to the kingdom until we’re done.” Matt shook his head, his worst nightmare coming to fruition. “Thanks Adriana.”

Upon entering the throne room, the group kneeled before the queen: a slender woman in a white dress, long white hair, with a regal voice to match her fair complexion. “You five are the kingdom’s pride, the brightest and biggest of our future. It is for this reason that I have selected you to inspire many by going on a long, if trivial, task. Not only will you showcase your talent to those below you, you will aid and inspire other countries, spreading our kingdom’s name and rekindling relationships that have gone a fowl. You five will escort a group of archaeologists, hailing from the city of Temperas, from monsters that halt their progress. Once they have acquired what they seek, guide them safely from their excavation site to their city. You will leave on the morrow. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes my queen,” Matthew spoke up. This quest sounded too simple. To inspire many by merely doing his job? It sounded as if there would be more to the task. Besides that, what if he failed? How many people would he let down? No, he had to succeed, he had to inspire, he had to-

“Matt, buddy.” Matthew had snapped out of a trance like state, regaining his peripheral vision and realizing his friend was waving his arm in front of his face. Looking around, he noticed the others were already leaving. As he rushed to keep up, Brian following right behind, his face was burning red as he pieced together what had taken place.

As the group parted ways and Matthew arrived home, he explained the queen’s mission statement, being careful to leave out the embarrassing incident. Their reactions were as he imagined: his mother and father were happy for him and told him to stay sharp and safe. Luke, on the other hand, was despondent. During Dinner, Matthew noticed his parents had an unusually cheerful demeanor, something he felt was both surreal and oddly scary. He tried to forget the dinner, not being able to accept this change his parent, but also how depressed Luke had become.

Matt knocked on his brother’s room, hoping he could even attempt to reassure Luke one last time. As the door cracked open, he could see Luke holding a book; he was happy Luke hopefully had a hobby. “Hey, little brother, you know…” Matt paused. He didn’t know what to say or how to say it. “You’re not going to be gone for two whole years, right?” Matthew’s heart sank at this. “Brother look-” Matthew tried again to gain some ground, but his brother merely closed his door, rejecting any comfort Matthew could offer. Matt knocked, praying to get through, but he garnered no response.

Matthew had returned to the hall after some time passed, trying again, but to no avail. After packing his stuff, making sure not to use the Eric method of packing, he tried one last attempt; still, no answer. Matthew began to walk away in defeat, but a creaking door had stopped his, as his brother ushered him in.

The two sat on Luke’s bed, side by side. Awkward silence flooded the room, Matthew figuring out how best to comfort his little brother. “Matthew, I’m gonna miss you.”

“Luke, I know you will, and I’m going to miss you too. You know I’ll be back as soon as I’m done, and I’ll be right by your side the day I’m back!” Matthew knew he wouldn’t always be there for his brother, but he tried his best in spite of that fact. Those days where Luke had to fend for himself were the ones Matthew feared most. “You don’t need mana to be a great person Luke. You have Elizabeth, she cares for you and nobody will ever mess with her.” Looking down at his brother, Matthew could see his speech was having little effect.

“Matt, I know everyone is scared of the princess, but she’s not always around. People also make fun of me for needing her. They call me a wimp.” Matt shook his brother’s hair before pulling him close. “Luke, don’t worry about what any of them say; even if you never get strong, you will always have the princess, and that’s bigger than what any of them will ever have. Besides, if she has to, she can kick their butts, and being beaten by a girl scares them a lot more than you think.”

“Heh, I guess so,” Luke giggled as he imagined his bullies being kicked around by the small princess. “Get some rest Luke, you’ll need it when I’m gone.” With that, Matt left Luke to his book.

“You’ve become quite the big brother, Matthew.” The boy practically jumped out of his skin hearing what he swore was a stranger’s voice; he turned to see his mother, standing in the hall. “It’s good that you’re learning, you’ll have kids yourself one day, and you’ll be glad you had a brother to show you how stubborn they can be. If all goes well, Luke and the princess will too.” He watched his mother leave, perturbed by the last thing she said. As he sat on his bed, Matthew let previous event filter out of his mind as nodded off.

The morning felt like any other for Matt as he got dressed, ate breakfast, and had made sure everything was packed. Besides spare cloths, his trusty sword and shield, and his antique yet resplendent map, Matt had made sure to bring his wallet, in it enough coins for food and laundry. As Matt confronted Luke in the hall, there were no words exchanged, merely a long hug before the two left the house together, but Luke splintered off towards the castle.

Matthew headed to the city entrance, practically a journey in itself. He saw all his friends had packed too, though he wondered how prepared Eric was with his patented ‘method’. They were not alone, however, as Matt took notice of three adults, two males and one female in tan jackets and cargo shorts. While they had looked uniform, the woman’s jacket was decorated with a pendant.

“So you’re the leader of the archeologist group?” Matthew’s question was met with a huff, an agitated look from the woman, and a rude remark. “Perhaps if you weren’t so late, I wouldn’t have to reiterate my monologue for the twelfth time today!” The teen stumbled back both apologetic and startled by the woman’s hostility. “And you don’t even start by asking my name? I see this place doesn’t raise any gentlemen!” Matt glanced over to his friends who were just as confused as him.

“Heh, just kidding,” The woman laughed to herself. “My name is Anita Wellsprout, and yes, I am head of the archeologist team, or as you call it, the leader. Don’t worry, I waited until everyone was here to explain our mission.” Matthew was blinked a few times, still trying to assess what happened and trying to understand the twisted ‘humor’ this woman had.

“Ahem, on to business. We will be heading up north. Along the lines of the mountain range until we reach the city of legend. As you may or may not know, the city does in fact exist. We still know little about the city, but a scout has informed us of various artifacts within the ruins; we figure they’ll be key to discovering the city’s history.”

“So why do you need us” Brian chimed in, “we’re not treasure hunters, and Jessy is so clumsy she could make a pot fall over by looking at it.” Jessica slapped Brian over the head, knowing he was referring to the time she knocked over a vase in an otherwise empty room. Her job was to make sure the vase didn’t fall.

“The city is home to many different species of monsters that have built their nests there. We are no fighters, and in fact our scout barely survived just surveilling the outskirts of the city. If we could just take what we wanted, we would have done so by now. What’s more, we fear those monsters would attack us hordes if we sent tons of fighters out to brute force the situation. That’s why only five of you will be better than requesting your whole army.”

“We’re not really assassins,” Adriana stepped in, “but we have about four brains among us, and Brian, so we should be able to come up with a plan.” The others chuckled, Brian merely taking the insult knowing Adriana could use anything he said against him.

With introductions out of the way, the group headed out north. As the Matthew and friends passed the gate, they took in the environment stretching before them. Vast lands covered in trees, plains. The group headed out by wagon, Jessica and Eric admiring the horses as they pulled the vehicle, while Matthew, Brian, and Adriana watched the kingdom come in to view, then disappear behind the trees.

“Take care, Luke.”