Fox Family Armory

I stared at the window of the old shop one last time. Rent had gotten too high, and the city was shutting us down. I was going to miss this place. I feel ashamed that I let this business that has been in my family for generations die out. I guess people just don't need magical armor anymore.

My great-great-grandfather, Alexander Fox, started this business after he snuck into a dragon's lair and found a suit of armor and an enchantment book. My great-great-grandfather noticed how many people had died because of the dragons and how weak their armor was, and he wondered if magic could solve that problem.

He was learning to become a wizard, but he was not very good at the magical spells that he had tried before. He decided to try to enchant the suit of armor with fire resistance. He realized that he had a strong magical affinity to enchanting. He went into the lair of a dragon and fought it using the armor he had enchanted. There he gained many new armors, weapons, and riches, and he decided to sell the enchanted armor to the people. He sold his armor to people from everywhere and eventually met his wife had a daughter named Zerai who worked in the shop with him.

When Alexander Fox got old, his daughter carried on the business. She was a master summoner, and she could summon knights with magical armor. Her husband Raymond Black was a monster tamer, and he could get the creatures to peacefully remove their armor. Zerai would sell that armor to explorers and dragon hunters while the husband sold his newly tamed creatures as pets and hunting companions. They were such a good team, that some people would pay extra to see them summon and tame a creature of their request to keep as a pet. Her armor quality was some of the best the world had ever seen.

They eventually had two sons that took over the business. One son, the famously named Zaviar the Explorer, searched for new items to sell and dungeons to quest. The other son, Geran, was a master blacksmith who could make armor out of dragon scales, monster hides, or any material he could get. Zaviar found new items and treasures to give to his brother Geran, who in turn made those items into magnificent armor and weapons. They both lived happy lives and they settled down and had their own families.

Unfortunately, the dragons and monsters were hunted to extinction because of our magic armor. People ended up buying the armor less for their tactical use and more as a fashion statement. My mother, the daughter of Geran the master blacksmith, was an illusion master. She made her armor make the wearer look prettier or more handsome with her illusion magic. It was a good business, and her illusions were undiscernable from reality. She eventually got married to a man named Holden Focks.

Then people started stealing our family's enchanted gear idea. They started making pendants and swords that offered the effects of our armor and weapons, and people started buying them because they weighed and costed less. My mother handed over the shop to me, her only son, right before this happened.

I have limited magical abilities without magic boosters, so I used some of the older products that my ancestors had made and sold them to people who wanted them and saved my magic for specialized orders. I also started to make enchanted weapons and figurines. I had also learned how to make my own armor from my grandpa when I was little. It was fun and honest work.

Unfortunately, people just stopped caring about having magical items since the competition, which rushed their spells, made defective items that stopped working after a while, magic armor was seen as cheap and as fake. They now were merely a collector's item or used for a cosplay idea. 

With the lack of customers, I was running behind on bills. I was warned if I could not drum up enough business, my shop would be replaced by something else. The city gave me the eviction notice 4 weeks ago that said I had until the end of the month to be moved out if I did not have the money. I could not find any new sponsors or get enough fundraising, so I had to shut it down. Yesterday and today were spent moving out all of my products. I felt sad that this family tradition was being broken by me. I had learned a lot about metal and armor during my time working and playing at the shop. My kids would never have that chance. My great-great grandfather’s lives work, The Fox Family Armory was shutting down and it was all my fault.

I turned away from the window just as two people wearing suits and sunglasses showed up. ¨Excuse me. Could you keep the shop open for a bit longer? I think I know some people who would like to buy your products, and perhaps even your talents¨. said one of them.

¨Oh, well I moved out my armor to my truck, but I could show it to you. Were you wanting a particular armor¨? I asked them

¨Yes actually. All of them. You see, we work for the government, and we always need new advancements to fight against the newest threats, and your armor seems like the way to go. You will be compensated generously. After all, we need your talents and tools to help save the world¨.

I smiled. I could not believe it. I tried to keep my cool. ¨Well gentlemen, my shop also happens to need your money to survive. I will have my shop restocked tomorrow and I will start selling and making them for you then¨. We shook hands and signed some papers, and we had a deal. I gave them the armor from my truck and told them that I would be back tomorrow with more armor. The government agents paid and walked away satisfied.

I stared through the old shop's window one more time, as I would for many years to come until I had a kid who would carry on the tradition, and so would their children and their children´s children until the end of our family line. The Fox Family Armory never died, and it never can be killed, it simply was changed to keep up with the times. I now realize that humanity would always need armor for something, and you could bet that my family would be the one supplying it.