Inside a small, cluttered hut on the outskirts of the High Human Kingdom, James hunched over his workbench, lost in the intricate process of tinkering with his latest invention. It was a simple idea on paper: a self-propelling wheeled gadget designed to help him collect herbs from the woods more efficiently. But each turn of a screw, each click of a gear, felt like an endless puzzle with every solution leading to another problem.
"Come on… just fit," James muttered to himself as he tried to align a stubborn cog into place. His hands were nimble, each finger stained with a faint sheen of oil and magic residue from hours spent in the workshop. He pressed harder, biting his lip in concentration, only for the gadget to sputter and whirr with a cough, the small wheels jittering before halting in a disappointing huff of smoke.
Frustration prickled at him, but so did a familiar sense of excitement. The air in the hut was thick with the scent of metal, oil, and faint traces of magical energy, the latter sparking occasionally from the enchanted tools scattered across his workspace. A soft hum echoed, mingling with the gentle clinks and whirrs of dormant gadgets around him. In the small room, trinkets of all kinds lay abandoned—gears, vials of shimmering liquid, glowing crystals, and scrolls filled with hastily sketched blueprints. To the outside eye, it might have looked like a mess, but to James, each piece held the promise of something marvelous waiting to be discovered.
"Maybe I could use a higher-grade core," he mused aloud, running a hand through his messy hair, which only served to smear more grease on his forehead. Lost in thought, he didn’t notice the soft footsteps that approached from the doorway.
"Well, maybe if you stopped using trash cores, you’d get somewhere with it."
James jumped, nearly dropping his tool. He turned to see his mentor, a man he only knew as "A," standing in the doorway, hands casually stuffed into the pockets of a well-worn coat. There was an air of relaxed humor about him, his posture lazy yet sharp, with eyes that gleamed with a mischievous light under his scruffy, unkempt hair.
"Master!" James exclaimed, scowling slightly at the interruption. "You could knock, you know?"
A grinned. "And ruin the thrill of seeing you nearly topple over in surprise? I don’t think so." He took a few steps in, peering over James’s shoulder at the device on the workbench. "You know, this would work better with a stronger core," he added, plucking up the gadget and inspecting it with a practiced eye. "Maybe one that doesn’t run on fumes."
James huffed, crossing his arms defensively. "Well, not everyone has access to top-tier cores, Master."
A smirked, tossing the gadget back onto the workbench with a nonchalant shrug. "Fair point. But maybe it’s time you did something about that, hmm?"
James frowned. There was always a hint of something deeper behind his master’s words, and he never quite knew if A was being serious or just messing with him. "Are you saying I should go hunt down a core beast on my own?"
A barked out a laugh. "Not quite. But you might be getting out of here sooner than you think." He leaned against a nearby stack of enchanted tomes, the bindings crackling faintly under the weight. "In fact, I just came here to tell you something important."
"Oh? What could possibly be more important than my life’s work?" James raised an eyebrow, only half-joking.
"Well, for one, the king wants to see you," A said, dropping the words with a nonchalance that belied their weight. "And you’ve been chosen for a mission heading to the Scorching Badlands."
The silence that followed was almost comical. James stared at him, blinking, the words taking a few seconds to sink in. "The… king?" His voice cracked, betraying a mix of awe and anxiety. "The king wants to… what?" He laughed nervously, half-expecting his master to burst out with a punchline.
A simply nodded, his expression unreadable. "You heard me right, kid. The king himself requested you. Seems you’ve caught someone’s attention."
James stumbled over his words, trying to wrap his head around it. "But… I’ve never been anywhere outside the woods here. I’m just… I mean… why would the king want me?"
A chuckled, waving his hand as if brushing off James’s concerns. "Oh, I might have mentioned your name. Just a little nudge." His eyes twinkled with a mischievous glint.
James’s heart pounded in his chest as he tried to process the reality of what he was hearing. His mind raced through the implications—the prospect of meeting the king, leaving the hut, embarking on an actual mission. It all felt surreal.
"Wait," he stammered, his mind catching up to another realization. "You… you told the king about me?"
A nodded, that smug grin ever-present. "Why not? I thought it was high time you spread your wings a bit. Sitting in this hut all day isn’t doing your talent any justice, you know?"
James opened his mouth to retort but closed it again, dumbstruck. His master had always been a bit of a mystery, but this was another level. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He didn’t even know how to begin comprehending it.
Finally, he asked, "But why? Why now?"
A’s grin softened, and for the first time, there was a glimmer of something more serious in his gaze. "Because things are shifting, James. Big things are happening in the kingdom, and beyond. There’s a ripple spreading across the land… and it’s calling for people like you."
James was at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to make sense of the cryptic message. "What do you mean? What’s going on?"
A shrugged, clearly unwilling to go into detail. "Let’s just say there are forces moving that even I don’t fully understand. But for now, all you need to know is that the king has called for you, and I’ve recommended you for this mission."
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James stared at his master, searching his face for any sign of jest. But A’s expression remained uncharacteristically sincere, and that made James more nervous than anything. "What… what exactly is this mission?"
A only shook his head. "All in due time. The king himself will brief you on the details." He paused, a playful smirk returning to his face. "Oh, and by the way… you might want to prepare yourself for a few more surprises."
James raised an eyebrow, suspicion rising in his chest. "What kind of surprises?"
A chuckled, ruffling James’s hair like he was a child. "Let’s just say… the world is bigger and stranger than you think, kid. And the people in it… well, they’re not always what they seem."
James swatted his master’s hand away, his frustration tempered by a thrill of excitement. The mere thought of leaving this isolated hut, stepping beyond the familiar woods, and possibly encountering the unknown had his heart racing. He couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of anticipation.
But there was one question he couldn’t shake. "If you’re sending me on this mission… who are you, really?" James asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
A’s smirk softened, his usual teasing demeanor replaced by something almost wistful, an emotion James hadn’t seen before. "Oh, didn’t I tell you?" he asked, his tone deceptively casual, as though he were merely mentioning the weather. "I’m the Avatar of the High Humans."
James’s heart nearly stopped. His jaw dropped, and he could only stare, wide-eyed, as the words sank in. It was hard to reconcile this man—the eccentric, sometimes lazy, yet brilliant artificer—with the legends. The High Human Avatar was more than a hero; he was practically a myth, a figure painted in stories, his legacy woven into the fabric of their culture as a guardian, warrior, and sage with knowledge transcending mortal understanding.
"You… you’re the Avatar?" James’s voice was barely a whisper, laden with shock, reverence, and a sudden, dawning realization. Every moment spent training, every offhand comment A had made about "doing things right" or "thinking bigger"—it all started to make sense.
A chuckled, the warm glint in his eye tinted with a hint of arrogance. "Get used to surprises, kid," he said, his voice tinged with humor, though his expression had a seriousness that wasn’t there before. He turned, raising a hand in a casual wave as he began walking away, leaving James reeling in the wake of revelation. "We’re leaving for the capital tomorrow. Get some rest... you’re going to need it."
With that, he disappeared into the night, leaving James standing in the dimly lit workshop, his mind spinning. Everything he’d thought he’d known about his master, about himself, had shifted in an instant. His life, once limited to the four walls of the hut and the quiet woods beyond, now felt wide open—teeming with possibility, danger, and wonder.
For the first time in his life, James felt that his journey was only just beginning.