Gunner's Fairytale

Holster's Callister

Firearms have been invented in the last decade of the Hulbrik calendar. In Citrine, the most populated kingdom in the continent of Alterasia, they have since been prominently used. They became the replacement for bows. For most, they were quicker, more efficient, and more reliable in battle; furthermore, even the most untrained fighter would be able to properly use them. For these reasons, archery became exotic to elven countries, where bows are still their preferred weapons. Needless to say, it was their culture. Citrine, a human kingdom, just as its peers, strayed from the practice of bows; the smaller guns became their more popular choice. They start to call those who use them 'gunners'.

Gunsmiths, equal to weaponsmiths or swordsmiths, were masters of their own tools. They were previous engineers who studied clockworks, architecture, and technology. They also perform magic to some extent, but more commonly, in magic tools. Since the invention of guns, they earned their titles as 'gunsmiths'. They spread into the world and are now either working for armies or for their local streets. Kerevine Holster was one of these people. In the street of Peony, he works as the local gunsmith, spending all of his time in his shop, entertaining customers and himself. The variety of the firearms he was selling won't pass five, but together with those he designed himself, there would be more than two dozen.

Innovative minds create their own; they produce different versions of things they work with. These creations will be sold at a much higher price, or if much appreciated,  they are treasured. Kerevine, as a retired soldier, has a fascination for the creation of a weapon that will perform in war more than any other. He dreams of creating the deadliest and most efficient in the existence of mankind, of course, in the form he was most skilled with. As told, he has a variety of firearms he privately stores in his shop. They were of greater quality than what he usually sells, but they are what he calls 'failed attempts'.

Most varieties of firearms are considered lower than swords and magic. These two can be easily combined, while the other could be very difficult. The steel blade of a sword can be enhanced by a higher mage as its own; the sheath and the grip are two different things. Albeit, they can also be at the same cost. Guns, however, work much differently. The gun itself is not the thing that kills, but its bullet. Bullets could be individually enhanced, but at the same cost as a blade of a sword or any other. To the mages, such a thing was absurd. They can drain their powers at the minimum of two steel swords; how it will work for two bullets that both could miss? As such, mages usually avoid the service of enhancing bullets. 

In war, soldiers additionally wear armor. These armors could be enhanced by magic or not. However, once an armor has been enhanced, only another enhanced weapon could penetrate it. While guns will perform well for enemies that wear casual armor or nothing at all, they would not equal those who wear better. This is the gap Kerevine wishes to pass. 

Kerevine was just another person who was uneducated with magic. Like all beings in the world, he was blessed with a talent for magic, but he has never cultivated it like those named mages. Every person could learn it, but it would take years for them to do so. They need to be dedicated and passionate; most of all, rich. Magic institutions demand an enormous amount of money to be accepted into - and much to Kerevine's concern, that is not something he had or has. For this reason, he determined himself to create a weapon that won't rely on magic; a weapon that won't cost wealth. His last design was a gun like never before. It has the potential to surpass all issues told. 

It was a twelve-inch pistol with a cylinder that holds seven loads. Six, being the maximum number of bullets to be shot within one reload in all gunsmithing. He created the first seven. Its grip was procured from a wild mountain bear found in the eastern regions - with designs from one of the finest craftsmen. The steel that covers the majority of its body was from a melted sword that was enhanced by magic. One could tell its higher quality by the way it shone in the sun. However, while its appearance varied from many other, there is one thing on it that stands most; it was its trigger. Gleaming in yellow light, it was a mystic jewel that was unequal to many orbs. From where it was, was something that was unknown to Kerevine; for it was sold to him by a wanderer. 

As with his previous creations, he gave the weapon its name; he called it "Callister". He believes that it will carry their name in history. He truly does. Even so, it took him too long to create it. Now, he was too old to dance with it. A weapon without a master won't rise to the pages of history, to the lore and legends that will be told. Yes, he would be named as its inventor, but he won't be its holder. His name won't be the one to be written in the tomb of its accomplishments. It was a disheartening fact, but there was nothing that can be done. Callister would be stored in a chest, just like his other treasured creations. Just as the Excalibur sword told in heroic stories, it must wait for a worthy holder. 

End Prologue...