Chronicles of Gaius Decimus
Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings
As the sun rose, its warm light glittered across the gentle waves off the coast of Mehtani Keys. From
his small fishing boat, Pyro Matic gazed pleasantly towards the horizon, welcoming the coming
daylight. His catch so far had not been especially large, but then again that wasn't the reason
that he went in the first place. After a life filled with war and hardships, he felt blessed to be
able to enjoy the simple pleasures of a sunrise. As he pulled in one of his lines to check the bait,
he caught a glimpse of a dark shape floating on the surface of the water in the distance. Dismissing
it as a piece of driftwood, he went back to putting another lure on the hook. As the object floated
nearer, however, he realized it was a basket and that something was moving in it. When he heard a
baby's cries, he tossed the lines aside and dove into the water to retrieve the basket. He
towed the container back to the boat, and pulled the blankets aside. Inside the basket was a boy no
more than a month old, and he was clearly not happy about being exposed to the now bright sunlight.
"Shhh... it's alright, little one," Pyro whispered, "Everything is alright
now."
Inside the basket with the child was a single shred of parchment, with two words hurriedly scrawled
in Kournan: "Gaius Decimus."
"Well, little Gaius, what in the name of Lyssa are we to do with you? I certainly can't
leave you for the Skale, and it looks as if your birth parents didn't want you very much... It
looks as if I have a new son today," Pyro said, smiling. "Let's get you home, shall
we?"
"Now parry, good. Parry, parry, and LUNGE! Good! I think you're getting the hang of
it!" Lord Di Seis shouted.
Gaius Decimus, now 16, grinned up at his brother. "Getting the hang of it? Soon you'll be
looking up at me from the flat of your back!"
Di Seis laughed heartily. "Well, lack of confidence is certainly not a problem with you, little
brother! Alright, I think that's enough for today. We'll find out if you can back up your
talk tomorrow. You may be a decent swordsman yet."
"Bah, give me a scythe over a sword any day!"
As they walked up the hill towards their home, carrying the wooden swords they always trained with,
Gaius could not help but smile. The 16 years that he had spent with his adopted family had been
better than he could have asked for. That is not to say that there were no troubles; his father had
been stricken with a mysterious illness that had rendered him almost unable to walk. Luckily, he did
not have to be able to walk to train Gaius in the arts of elemental magic. In the short amount of
time that they had trained, Gaius was already able to ignite the practice dummies they used aflame,
and to call down a small meteor from the sky to crush it. Even with this knowledge, he still favored
melee combat above all. He had become so adept as using a scythe that it was as if the weapon was an
extension of his own body.
Pyro had always felt that his children should have a broad range of expertise in combat, which is why
he encouraged Gaius's siblings to train him in their fields of choice. While Lord Di Seis
trained him in the art of the sword, his sister Hot Nish taught him how to use the longbow
effectively. Their daily morning hunts had helped put food on the table for the entire family for
years now.
In four years time, Pyro Matic's health had steadily declined. He had regained some of his
ability to walk, but he was prone to coughing fits now and was losing weight at an alarming rate.
Gaius had continued his training with his brother and sister, but more time was being devoted to
caring for their father.
One morning, there was a knock on the door as they were sitting down to breakfast. Di Seis went to
answer the door, and there stood a Sunspear soldier, clad in their signature armor.
"I am here to inform you that Warmarshal Varesh of Kourna has been deemed a significant threat
by the Istani government, and that I am here to recruit -" the soldier glanced at the parchment
in his hand, "- Pyro Matic."
Di Seis looked furiously at his siblings, then back at the soldier. "My father is in no shape to
be going to war! I'm sorry, but there's no way he can help."
"I'm sorry, but I must take all available able-bodied soldiers with me," the soldier
responded. "Someone will have to come in his place."
Gaius stood up immediately. "I will go in his place." Di Seis opened his mouth to protest,
but Gaius interrupted him. "Listen, Father needs you and Nish to guard the house, should the war
spill onto Istani soil. This is something I have to do."
Before another word could be said, Gaius rushed into his room, collected whatever clothes he could
find, grabbed his scythe, and hurried back to the front door. His sister hugged him, saying
"keep a sharp ear to the wind, you'll be able to hear them coming before they even see
you." His brother shook his hand, then pulled him into a bone-crushing embrace. "Keep your
wits about you, and try not to get killed out there, little man."
Finally, he knelt beside his father, and looked into a face he barely recognized. As tears welled up
in his eyes, Pyro hugged his son as tightly as he could manage. "Son, my greatest joy in this
life has been watching you, your brother, and your sister grow into the adults you are today.
Remember everything we have taught you, and you will bring glory to this house and to Istan."
Gaius smiled at his father, speechless, and hurried to join the Sunspear soldier before he broke down
in tears. As he marched along the dirt road towards the Sunspear Great Hall, he turned to look at the
family he was leaving behind, longing that he would see them again at his journey's end.
