Ruler Of Iron And Flesh

Inian was viewing the world around him. He was in a grove of trees lying down on a soft patch of grass. Above him looking down at him, was a massive stark white buck. It had gentle eyes, and without moving its lips, it said, "awaken young king."

Inian's eyes shot open as he quickly woke up. He sat upon his sleeping rack on the ship of the Wing Demons. "Hey man," Marc said, "you can't be sleeping anymore. We are now apart of the mercenary crew of the Wing Demons. Being a mercenary is where we make money for our family and accrue glory for ourselves! So get up!" Marc kicked Inian out of his rack. Inian went tumbling back and shot Marc an annoyed look.

Marc just gave a half-smile. He was fully dressed and had equipped his holsters for the guns he has been yet to receive. Inian stood up and began getting dressed in the small cabin. He was feeling groggy, as he hasn't been used to waking up early, unlike Marc, who woke up at six a.m. every morning. He put on his clothes and holster and walked out onto the deck with Marc.

The deck was quite b.a.r.e, except for the cannons on the side and the control console near the front. There was a thin roof that spanned over the entire deck. It allowed for some protection from the sun while they were flying high in the sky. Large jets were at the back of the ship that allowed it to move quickly in any direction. It was a very cost-effective ship that perfectly fit the small crew of the Wing Demons.

The whole crew was already up before Marc and Inian walked out. The large man with the scar's name was Beast. It wasn't because that is what his parents named him, but because he had been left mute at a certain point in his life. Captain Oliver thought he looked beast-like and decided to call him Beast. Nobody argued against him, and even Beast seemed fond of that name. Beast was currently cleaning the cannons to make sure they were always battle-ready.

The skinny pilot's name was Blyke. He was at the ship's control console and was currently flying them across a vast bog over the monster lands. He had been friends with Oliver and Una since they were young, and he has always followed Oliver wherever he went. That even meant he would follow him as a mercenary.

Una was next to Oliver, looking at a map that was laid out on a table. Her tan face and hardened features were scrunched up as she was focusing on every detail of the map. Oliver was smiling and pointing at a specific point. Una looked up as she noticed Inian and Marc. Oliver followed her eyes and smiled at the newcomers.

"Good morning, gents! Una and I were looking at some of the details for our next mission. We've been hired to deal with hunting and gathering low-tier monster cores to help power the armies of the Kotus Empire to the North-East. They are currently at war with the Trostan Kingdom to the West of here. Luckily we don't need to take on a job such as privateering because honestly, I don't like fighting against other humans."

Oliver looked down at the two newcomers and noticed their empty holsters. "Oh, wait! Let me get you your weapons first." He gestured for Inian and Marc to follow, so they trailed behind this charismatic fellow. Oliver led the two guys inside towards the supply cabin and opened up a c.h.e.s.t. In that c.h.e.s.t were a rifle and a heavy pistol. "Now I only have these weapons currently, as we are a bit short on funds, but worry not. After this job, we will have enough to buy enough guns to fill this whole ship. Marc's eyes widened as he saw the pistol, and he reached for it with a bit of longing in his eyes. He took it and holstered it right away. Inian took the rifle and eyed it up. It seemed to be in pretty good shape with no dings or dents in it. It was long and had the letters F.R. marked on the side for the model of the rifle.

He slung the rifle over his shoulder and walked back out on the deck with the captain. Neither Inian nor Marc was worried about handling weapons, as Marc's dad had taught them how to accurately shoot and handle a gun back when he was around. Their experience is also a little part of why Marc wanted to join a mercenary group in the first place.

Inian decided to look over the edge as they were flying over the bog. He could see packs of massive wolves and huge beasts walking below them. When they go into the Kotus Empire, they aim to defeat these beasts in the safer territory and send the monster cores they get from them to the Empire, to help them supply their armies.

Different Nations prefer to hire mercenaries rather than use their soldiers. They didn't want to sacrifice anyone from their nation if they could help it.

Inian felt a pat on his shoulder and looked back to see Marc nodding in the direction of the captain. Often Inian and Marc spoke without any verbal communication, and they could do so very well with the amount of time that they had spent together. They both began walking towards Oliver when Una stepped out in front of them.

"You two keep walking around like you are veterans on this ship. It's pissing me off! Newcomers don't get that luxury of walking around casually. Do you know what you two get?"

Inian began sweating from the intensity that Una exuded. Marc snickered, "do we get a back rub from the one and only Una as a warm welcome?"

Una smiled an evil smile, "close. The crew has been saving our laundry and dirty dishes for this exact moment. We have two weeks worth of dirty dishes and nasty laundry that need to be hand-washed. We have a water bucket in the supply cabin for this very reason. After this, you will clean the cannons, clean everyone's weapons, and clean everyone's cabin spotless. Once all of that is complete, then we begin your true initiation into the crew of the Wing Demons."

Inian breathed out a sigh of relief. He always did the cleaning to help out Marc's mother back home, so this was nothing for him. However, Marc was sweating, as there was nothing he despised more in the world than cleaning. Inian saw Marc struggle internally a bit and chuckled to himself. He joined this mercenary crew because Marc did, but he may end up faring a little better.