On the outskirts of Fire Hill Village, two young boys could be seen sparring with wooden swords. The two almost seemed to be dancing together, weaving their swords through the air - only the sound of the swords clashing betrayed the intensity of their spar.
This was a rather common sight at Fire Hill Village, as the two boys sparred every day. At times, some passing villagers or travelers would stop in their daily routines and watch, intrigued by the capabilities of the two young boys.
However, they would always leave before long, sighing to themselves. They knew that although the boys were skilled, they were but peasants, ants caught at the bottom of the social pyramid.
The most they would be able to hope for would be to become soldiers in the King’s army. As for obtaining pills or techniques to train in the way of the Song… it would be in their best interest to discard those dreams for reality.
The truth was, for the boys, fortune had already shone on them for them to even have wooden swords to train with - most of their kind were only able to play around with wooden sticks they found on the ground.
After ten or so minutes of sparring, the two boys abruptly stopped. One boy’s sword was in the middle of a swing, while the sword of the older oy was at the former’s neck.
Clearly, the older boy had won.
“Jia Yuan, you’re improving far too quickly! You can almost beat me!”
Jia Yuan replied in an innocent voice, “Big bro, it’s only because you spend so long every day teaching me and pushing me to improve. Or, perhaps, you’re just getting worse.”
“Ah, shut it. As for teaching you, it’s all I can do… the only chance we have to move up in this world is to become soldiers. Even without pills or techniques, with enough practice, we can move to the first level of Absorption. I think at that point, our dad would be more than willing to allow the army to conscript us - he’d get some money out of it, after all…
“Hell, if we’re lucky, perhaps the Army would even provide us with a Song to train with.”
“Dou Di is right! One day, we will leave this world behind!”
…
Jia Yuan was eight years old, while Dou Di was ten. Despite calling each other brothers, the two were not in fact blood brothers, nor was their father their biological father.
No, their “father” had simply wanted a source of stability in his later years, and two sons would be able to provide him with a source of income - if they were able to find work, that is.
When the two had been adopted two years ago, they had quickly become allies of a sort - they helped each other with chores, and the like. After a few months, they began sparring against each other.
As the days passed into weeks, then months, the bond between the two grew, until it was not any less than that of blood brothers.
That night, the two brothers continued to practice far into the night. Despite that, they made sure not to overexert themselves, as they knew that their father would have work for them to do the next morning.
As Dou Di had guessed, the only reason their father let them practice in the night was so that they could be conscripted by the army.
A soldier’s salary far exceeded the income of a typical peasant. As one of the four nations on the Continent of the Five Elements, the Fire Kingdom desperately required a constant influx and number of soldiers to defend their cities against bandits, the occasional rebellion.
Even more were needed to intimidate the other three Kingdoms so that it wouldn’t be invaded. Or, in times when the Fire Kingdom was feeling confident, it needed numerous troops to mount offensives of their own. After all, every nation that has ever existed has wished to be able to expand its borders, and the Fire Kingdom was no exception.
To fulfill their militaristic needs, each year the Army would send low ranking officers throughout the kingdom in search for young martial talent, or really, just anyone who was willing to become a soldier.
After all, although the pay was high compared to other jobs, it was a thankless and dangerous career. As such, usually only the poorest caste would be willing to become soldiers. But for these risk-bearers, the rewards were oftentimes worth it for them.
For example, by working small task-based jobs, Jia Yuan and Dou Di could perhaps earn thirty small fire shards a month as common workers, which would barely sustain their expenses. A common soldier, though, netted at least sixty small fire shards a month. Earning so much would allow for Jia Yuan and Dou Di to build up their savings.
Although, it was more likely that their adoptive father would confiscate their salaries for himself, as this was precisely why their father allowed them to practice every evening.
But if they could grow strong enough, the day could come where they could earn a hundred, or even hundreds of small fire shards each month.
Twelve years of age was the age requirement for the Kingdom’s army. Furthermore, the recruit had to be reasonably fit, capable of wielding a weapon to an acceptable degree of proficiency, and be willing to serve in the army for at least ten years.
The extremely talented, however, who had reached the Absorption level by the age of twelve, could bypass the life of a simple infantry soldier, and become a knight or even a member of the Burning Legion, the special forces of the Fire Kingdom.
For those who reached this level, the Kingdom would be willing to pay at least a thousand small fire shards a month. Just this showed how highly the Kingdom valued these talents.
So, such was the dream of the two brothers, Jia Yuan and Dou Di, to become one of these highly respected Burning Legion soldiers.
As the sun set on the horizon, they returned to the small shack on the edge of Fire Hill Village they called home. Entering, they noticed that their father had already gone to sleep, but had left two bowls of congee on the table in the middle of the room, one of the few pieces of furniture in the shack.
For foster children, Jia Yuan and Dou Di were both rather fortunate - at the least, their father treated the two of them well enough. At the very least, he was willing to provide them with basic necessities, such as clothes and food.
Even if the food was only ever congee or vegetable congee.
The two brothers quickly ate and slept on the floor, on opposing sides of the table. For the next two years, they would continue to train in this manner until two years later, when Dou Di would be recruited by the Army.
