Nathan browsed the wooden bulletin board at the center of Nye's town square one more time. He sighed. He didn't see any new job prospects. Most of these were old and past their deadlines anyway. This month's shipment of mail was overdue. He picked up his pack. This was a long walk for basically nothing. He'd only managed to sell a few of the small trinkets his dad carved. It was all the family had for an income. One of these days. One of these days, Nathan would be a a knight. Then he'd be able to make enough to support his family.<br/><br/>Nathan set out towards the road out of town. He was deep in thought about both his past and future. He did his best to train with a rusted, head-me-down family sword. Generations ago, his ancestor Sir Albert Cale had been respected and moderately wealthy. The knight's greedy son Matthew (Nathan's great-grandfather) has squandered it and was destitute by the time he died. Now it was all the Cales could do to survive. Their once grand estate was falling apart and the land around it was dead. They could barely eek out enough land for a small garden. Most of the house was in such bad shape that they only lived in small section of it, under braces.<br/><br/>Nathan pulled his shaggy, shoulder length auburn hair back into a tie. His honey-colored eyes were lovely but dull with poor nutrition. He was still rather skinny for a warrior. His dad said they'd all bulk up under a proper diet. His short height was also probably due to that. Normally, a young man of his age should be looking into a university but his family did not have the funds to even send them to public school. Mom did her best to teach them herself. He squinted against the setting sun. He thought he made out a figure approaching him from the other direction. Is that a girl? He smiled and waved cordially.<br/><br/>"Oh! Hey there!"