Intermission Carter

I was but a boy when I was discovered in the wreckage of my uncle’s ship. I had known fishing all my life and nothing else. Had I known what would happen, perhaps I would not have joined my uncle on his trade expedition. I was adventurous and wanted to try something new. So when my uncle came to me and offered me a place on his ship of course I jumped at the chance. If not for the monsters in the sea we would have made it to our destination.

When I came to I had already been found by my mentor. He was a jolly man and quite liked by those around him. He used to try to call me his son but I was adamant that he never do so again and true to his character he would jokingly say it from time to time afterward. I was about seven when he found me, but due to being a sailor all my life up to that point, I was ready to learn combat soon after he found me. He didn't know anything about sailing or fishing so rather than attempt to find where I was from, he thought it would be wise to teach me how to survive where I was. He first taught me everything I would need to know about the Collection. Then he taught me basic fighting styles. It took me many years of training under him for him to fill I was ready to actually join him on jobs, and when that day came he let me join the Collection as a Hand.

At age thirteen he let me start taking jobs on my own. I started out with odd jobs to get used to the process at the branch in our city. But once I got used to that, I moved on to tackling monster jobs. I had grown quite proficient at using the different techniques my mentor had taught me, but I was always told how reckless I was. I didn't learn just how right they were until I almost lost my life to a twisted hand. My mentor acted like it was no big deal, but I nearly lost my life after all. When I mentioned that he told me that I had better get used to that because to be a Hand one had to be ready for death.

I lost my mentor soon after and had to fend for myself. Thanks to all his teachings was able to survive on my own and make my way to the five empires. There I learned what it was like to fight men. In many of the cities crime was at its highest during my lifetime. I had learned not to rely on anyone by this point and became distrusting of others due to my many encounters with criminals in the city. Some chose to pick a fight because I was smaller, while others thought they could kidnap me and sell me. All were wrong, and all learned the hard way. I quickly grew tired of the constant struggles there and decided to move West to the city state regions. There was much work at the branches in the various cities, and although crime was high here as well it wasn't as organized so I got by without as many encounters.

It wasn't until I met Byrant and Mel that I began to trust again. Byrant Was a simple city guard at the time. Most people didn't know but he wasn't human. He was triclops, but he used glamour magic to hide it. His wife Mel was a harpy that he had saved from bandits. When they had met me they didn't know quite how to interact with me. I was a customer and their inn and they saw me a lot, but no matter how they approached me I tried to keep my distance. That all changed when Bryant had saved a child.

He had brought the boy to the inn so that he could consult with his wife on where he could take him. He had lost both his parents in an attack from bandits, and he had no family nearby. Unfortunately the city didn't have an orphanage to take him to either. I approached the couple as they debated their options and offer to take the boy to the nearest city with an orphanage. They were so shocked that I said more than a few words to them that for a moment they were two speechless to respond. Byrant was thrilled that I would I would offer to help and accepted.

As I was escorting the boy to his new home, I was reminded of my mentor. It was pleasing to be helping someone like this. I had wondered if this was what it felt like for my mentor.

The boy asked me many questions about the area, suggesting he wasn't from here. I answered him to the best of my ability but since I was new as well I couldn't answer much. It didn't take long to arrive at the orphanage, and the boy wasn't used to camping so it was perfect timing. I dropped him off and returned to Belle Reve. The next time I saw Mel, I tried to be more pleasant with her. It was because of them that I got closer to understanding my mentor, so I felt it was only right to show them courtesy.

It took me many years to have another such encounter as I was hunting a pack of twisted hands. There were a group of six people out in the woods who looked like they were from a distant land. As I spent time helping them understand the world around them, I felt the deepest connection with my mentor than I ever had before. It was the feeling of making sure people were going to be okay. Unlike my mentor though I didn't see any of them as my children. But one particular one felt like a little brother. His name was Taiyo.