《The Tribes of Manah》


 Prelude To Chaos

    ¡°For eons The Tribe of Man stood coequal amongst the supreme races of ¨¢nudil. During the period of Pax Manah, the tribes of ¨¢nudil thrived and lived amongst one another in peace and solidarity.


    As centuries went on, nation states had begun to form within the various tribes. Separation began, and the period of Pax Manah ended with the massacre of ¨¢th¡¯n committed by the Tribe of Man upon the Tribe of Kun. In their insolence Man began to war with the races of ¨¢nudil, to the dismay of the supreme races.


    The ancient records fail to state how and why the Tribe of Man lost the war. What it does however state, is that during the long futile war, our arcane well of power turned corrupt, man could no longer wield the arcane powers without scarring their minds and souls permanently.


    We know not what happened to the rest of the tribes of ¨¢nudil nor the supreme races, other than that we had presumably lost war.


    Memories has turned to legends. Legends turned to myths and now those myths are nothing more than stories we tell our children in their sleep.


    We know not whether the ancient records tell the truth. Ancient civilizations did truly inhabit this world, whether they were of human origin we know not. Their remains still lie hidden beneath our feet and some above.


    As a student of history, I know firsthand the cruelty and misery men commit upon one another, I simply cannot fathom the extent of our forefather¡¯s cruelty towards the other races. If the races of ¨¢nudil ever return, I fear for the future of man.¡±


    Yaris J¡¯hamen.


    The lost records on the Tribe of Man.


    ___


    Prologue


    ¡°Where is he now?¡±


    A gruff voice sounded inside a small room hidden above the newly opened tavern outside the city of Tenebrae. Three men stood inside the small room, hiding their faces from one another by molding the darkness of the room into masks.


    They all had their bodies clouded by the darkness of the room as well. The man with the gruff voice was not tall in stature, yet he possessed of a strong upper and lower body. His shoulders were wide, large and thick arms with thighs immense twice in size to them. The men before him were both thin and did not possess any large physical attributes like his.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    As the man, who seemed to be the leader of the group received no answer to his question, his hand fell hard upon a nearby table, crushing it to numerous pieces. The two other men did not flinch, they continued their silence standing before him. They stood and waited for their orders. The leader then sighed and began to massage his temples as he started to calm himself.


    ¡°The plan is no more. If we still are unable to apprehend and execute the boy by dawn, the king will have our heads. I, for one, treasure not only my head but also my life. Time is of the essence, and it would seem we have almost none of it left.


    The northern delegation is set to arrive by midday, the boy¡¯s presence would not only foul the ceremony but would in all certainty ruin our goals for unity between the north and the south.¡±


    He sat down on the only chair in the room which could sustain itself under his immense weight.


    ¡°The plan from henceforth is changed. The boy has extraordinarily continued to evade us for weeks. He has made an utter fool of his majesty. Disgraceful.¡±


    He said with a sigh at the end. The two men continued to stand in silence, not moving the slightest.


    The leader then proceeded to take out a cigar from his pocket, he lit it with his finger and started to smoke it.


    ¡°We have received information that he is to rendezvous with the son of Morim in a few hours, according to the information the boy will sneak into the house from an open backdoor to the estate.


    Your orders are as follows: The very moment the boy sets a foot inside that house, apprehend him without being discovered. Then proceed to return him to Astor, who I presume will continue the¡­ interrogation of him.


    I repeat this, as it is vital for the success of the ceremony, all this needs to be taken care of quietly, is that understood?¡±


    The two men then for the first time responded to his orders with a nod. They saluted before turning to smoke and disappearing from his sight.


    Now alone in the room, the man continued to smoke his cigar.


    He stood and turned to look outside the window seeing the outer walls of the capital a few kilometers away.


    ¡°I have been ever faithful to the crown, I have done much for the security of this kingdom and have proven myself trustworthy time and time again. For him to ask me of this¡­ it would seem i had thought wrongly of him from the start.¡±


    He then bowed down while sitting, with one hand he held the cigar and the other his eyes as tears began flow, dropping onto the coarse wood floor.


    ¡°Timur. Our nation. Family. Friends and¡­ even I, your grandfather have chosen to abandon you for the greater good of the kingdom and its citizens. Nothing I say or do henceforth will make this any better. I hope that I and all others that have done you harm in this life shall repent to you in the other.¡±

 Omen

    "If the myths of yore are proven to contain threads of truth, how then do we prove that we truly are the descendants of Man?"


    Kritovolous


    Annals On The Heroic Men of Myths and Legend


    1. Omen


    ¡¯¡¯What should we do with the body?¡¯¡¯ Asked a thin and malnourished looking man wearing a black veil made of some rough coarse material on his face in the cover of the night. The veil only covered his thin face, unfortunately it failed in covering his uniquely rough voice. The darkness of the night covered his unusually thin body stature.


    Inside a small isolated location by the forest, close to a wide river. The thin man was dragging a body with one hand towards the water in the cover of the night, not caring that the body received more wounds by hitting various rocks and branches as he dragged it through the forest ground.


    ¡®Why don¡¯t we just toss it into the water and be done with it. I need to return quickly and clean my hands of all this blood before visiting the white orchid.¡¯¡¯


    From the opposite side of the dark appeared another man and spoke apathetically to his companion while showing a small amount of disgust at the sight of the corpse.


    This man, a bright contrast to his malnourished companion, had wide and strong muscular spread out evenly on body. He wore silk robes with red stripes adorned on them. Contrasting his companions clothing meant to disguise himself in the cover of the night. But he seemed to not care in the slightest.


    The thin man took hold of the corpse with both his hands and as he got closer the river, threw it into the freezing cold water.


    The body hit a rock before sliding down into the water and began its descent downriver. The men, not caring to stay any longer turned their eyes away from the body.


    ¡®¡¯We should have tied a heavy rock to his ankles, what if someone finds him?¡¯¡¯


    The thin man asked curiously to his companion while washing his hands of the blood.


    The muscular man moved his gaze to his companion and took a silent step towards the thin man, he looked towards the body floating once again.


    ¡®¡¯The Masters did not specify what we should have done, other than killing and tossing his body into the Bulu River of course. I do not think they care for whether anyone finds him or not. Honestly, I believe their intention was for it to be found.¡±


    The thin man nodded lazily and left together with his companion after washing his hands without even a glance to the now floating body.


    As the body floated downriver, erratically hitting stones embedded into the river and the floating remains of trees, the body¡¯s remaining silk robes got mangled and its body upper came into view as it floated downriver.


    There were numerous stab wounds on its lower torso, a missing arm and a myriad of various types of wounds on its upper torso.


    Yet despite all this the body¡¯s face remained untouched, it had no wounds or any kinds of visible blemishes on it.


    The body appeared to have belonged to a young man around the age of seventeen, a sad sight to see, but nevertheless not an irregular one.


    Half a kilometer downriver an old man was merrily singing away and drinking by himself. He stank of wine and was singing with not a care for the world, that was until he saw something out of the ordinary floating before him.


    As he slowly came to his senses he realized that it was the body of a young man.


    He looked at it and simply sighed.


    ¡®¡¯What cruelty this is¡­ To toss the corpse of a child into the river of forgotten souls, his soul will never be laid to rest.¡¯¡¯ He did not act rashly to retrieve the body, he only looked at it while taking some sips from his wine flask as the corpse passed him.


    As he was about to turn and leave, the world lit up. The starry sky darkened fully, clouds of pure red appeared high beneath the sky showered the land in a bright red light. The red rays shone a violent and fierce but concentrated glow of light into the river and hit the body of the youth.


    The old man felt his blood turn cold at the sight of the clouds and turned his body in fear and ran thinking that the world was coming to an end. He ran with all that he could muster.


    As the clouds passed over the body, they stood still and released a small tendril of smoke and pieced the chest of the corpse and stabbed its heart.


    The cloud released another tendril, it moved astonishingly fast and reached the old man who had long since begun to flee.


    The old man feeling deaths touch screamed for help, but none could hear his pleas for mercy.


    The tendril soon reached him and stabbed into his back. As it did, the old man fell and life soon faded from his eyes. The tendril turned violet and sucked whatever it could from him and passed it into the cloud.


    His body, in the matter of seconds, turned smaller and smaller until all the fluids inside disappeared. Soon all of him evaporated.


    Yet the red cloud did not disperse just yet. After absorbing out everything it could out of the old man, it released two new tendrils towards the malnourished and silk wearing pair of men.


    They had realized something was awry when the night sky turned red, in fear ¨C similar to the old man before them, ran away from the red light.


    ¡®¡¯WHAT IS THIS!¡¯¡¯ The silk wearing man screamed as the tendril stabbed both him and his companion. ¡®¡¯WHAT IS HAPPENING?! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU, STOP!¡¯¡¯


    He yelled but received nothing but the screams of his comrade beside him.


    He continued to yell for help and tried to resist but was quickly shut down by multiple tendrils and all his fluids and organs soon disappeared together with his comrade who had long since been sucked dry.


    The night sky was slowly returning and the red light disappearing. The cloud then returned its tendrils and condensed itself until an Eye began to appear in its stead. The eye had black pupils and looked around erratically. It then stopped looking around and turned its view towards the youth.


    As the flaming eye rushed to absorb all the remaining red light it then rushed downwards and with trmendous force collided on the forehead of the corpse. It merged itself into it and disappeared quickly after forcing itself inside it.


    The body then continued floating downriver.


    The corpse had once again regained some of its color. If one listened closely, they would be astonished to recognise notice a slow almost silent heartbeat on the chest of the corpse.


    The body now appeared warm to the touch and outwardly semmed to contain signs of life.


    The youth continued to follow the river down for hours until it came to a waterfall and fell into the darkness of the abyss beneath it.


    ********************************************************************************


    At night above the minor clouds lies the starry sky. A roof that extends towards nothing and everything. The night sky has fascinated the scholars of the sky for centuries. Kingdoms and even empires have felled as a result of their subjective divinations. Though, scholars of the night sky has had their influence dissipate, underestimating them has led to the downfall of many powerful men.


    In the highlands of Jutland, at the peak of mount Ohrim, lies the observatory of the Ehenris. The man in charge of the observatory of Ehenris is an old man, a man weathered hard by the erosion of time. When walking through the many cold stone corridors of the observatory, the noise made by his walking stick would warn all scholars of his presence, so they would heed his words and affirm him the utmost respect. His walking stick, made of Oak, gave a strong and reverberating sound to the hollow halls of the observatory.


    His name was Thyranis Laender. He walked slowly but firmly as he was supported by his cane towards the center of the observatory where many of the scholars had made a run towards. Something had happened, he felt the air of his surroundings tighten, the last time he felt like this was when the Mad Empress of Pan hung his teacher, Caedan in her capital.


    The chief walked towards the end of the long hallway decorated by the paintings of former chiefs illuminated by lanterns hammered firmly next to them, he made his way towards the large door made of wood and pushed them open with strength not of this world.


    The familiar large circle structure of the room with a large hole in the sky and symbols on the ground greeted him.


    The many scholars were alerted to his presence as they saw him enter the room hastily.


    The chief looked towards the center of the circle where a man lay in a foster position.


    ¡°What has occurred? What has he seen?¡±


    He asked hastily and looked around the circle where many surrounded the circle where the man lay, but none entered it to check on him.


    ¡°Answer me. Now!¡± He shouted as his cane hit the ground and a strong gust of wind came from reverberated from where it hit. The scholars closest to him fell and looked at him in fear.


    The man closest to the center came forward. ¡°Sire. Grif, the man now in the arcane circle, came to take the place of Ytra, another overseer an hour ago. As he began to use the circle, he broke the connection almost immediately. He began to yell that the star of Krostof was gone, that it had disappeared the moment his eyes passed its location.¡± The man trembled in fear as he began to recount what had happened.


    The man then held his trembling hand and started to recount once again.


    ¡°We then urged him to look once again, we told him that we needed complete confirmation before coming to you with this piece of information. He denied, and we had to force him through the oath of the conscription. Under duress he began once again and before we knew it, he began to laugh while blood trilled down his eyes. We¡­ we knew then that we had been given confirmation, it was then that we sent the owl to your champers, to awaken you my liege.¡±


    The chief, like the man before him also begun to tremble at the thought of the disappearance of the star Krostof, he feared not only it¡¯s disastrous consequences, but what it¡¯s disappearance also represented.


    ¡°Theremin, close down the observatory! Let none enter and awaken captain Isil, I fear that we soon may have need of her. Do not just stand there, come before me!¡±


    He yelled at an obese man that stood behind the crowd as he moved forward slowly with cane in hand to a table while writing a letter. As he finished it he walked towards him and provided him with the letter.


    ¡°Deliver it to her. She will know what to do when she receives it.¡±


    Theremin ran from the hall and to the living quarters of the residing knights. He passed the long stone corridors with the paintings of the former chiefs.


    He ran through the long cold corridors and muttered curses aimed at the chief under his breath.


    ¡°Damn you Thyranis Laender. Why are you making me of all people run to that witch¡¯s chamber?¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    As he neared the living quarters he was stopped by two young soldiers wearing armor made of black obsidian. They removed their helmets and pointed their swords towards Theremin. The men stationed at the observatory had never seen real combat, most of them were young soldiers that yearned for real combat. As a result, they would bare their fangs at the scholars whenever the opportunity presented itself for it.


    ¡°Fat scholar, Theremin. For what reason have you trespassed our territory? Quickly speak before we cut open your stomach and feed you to the pigs you so much love to consume!¡± The soldier to the right ordered Theremin.


    He began to shake with fear, ever since he came to the observatory he had not gotten used to the insults he received from the young soldiers. At home he was pampered by his noble parents and never, not once did any treat him so.


    ¡°I have been ordered to deliver to the captain a missive by chief Thyranis.¡±


    When he mentioned the chief by name the two soldiers shuddered for a split second. They feared the chief, which Theremin failed to notice.


    ¡°Wait here.¡± He was ordered by the same person that yelled at him prior to his report.


    As the man disappeared behind the door, Theremin waited for several minutes until he heard the a earth shaking.


    ¡°WHAT! IS THIS TRUE!?¡±


    He almost fell when he heard the roar. He waited and a few seconds later, the door opened, and a red haired young maiden appeared. She wore her long hair in a pony tail and wore black obsidian armor like the other soldiers, but hers differed by having a red sun plastered on the chest plate.


    ¡°Fat man, tell me what has occurred now!¡± she ordered him while with such ferocity that Theremin at once narrated what had happened to the young captain.


    She let go of him and once again looked at the paper she held, Theremin could see both fear and anticipating in the girl¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°So, they have returned, after eons of exile, they, have returned.¡±


    She muttered, Theremin heard her and finally began to feel fear. The adrenaline he had before wore off and finally fear had begun to take hold.


    ¡°What do we do Captain?!¡± He shook with fear as he asked the young captain.


    She turned to him and pondered for a second.


    ¡°I fear that we may not have much time left.¡±


    When Theremin heard her answer his face drained of all color.


    The young captain turned to the two soldiers standing at guard looking at both her and Theremin incredulously and confused.


    As she was about to order them she felt a large tremor and heard an explosion, she knew then that their time was up.


    ¡°Order the men to gather and stand by for my orders. I fear the enemy has attacked us before we could relay what the scholars have discovered.¡±


    The men looked at their captain and saluted her before leaving immediately.


    She turned her eyes towards Theremin who now lied on the floor weeping. She looked at him in disgust. She then disappeared from the door to the guards living quarters.


    She appeared before the long and thick doors made of oak that gave access into the heart of the observatory, she pushed the door open and instantly was attacked by the stench of burned flesh.


    Before her eyes lied the corpses of numerous scholars burned black and the chief wielding his arcane abilities and pushing back the men in black robe attacking him and the scholars he is protecting behind his back.


    He had erected a shield from his arcane abilities and held it while the enemy battered the shield with arcane abilities and swords of their own.


    The captain drew her sword and rushed towards the nearest man in black. He was completely unprepared and the captain with one clean slash cut separated his head from his body.


    As the other men in black realized that a soldier had appeared behind them, the sword wielding members rushed towards her while the arcane mages was struggling with breaking the shield of the chief.


    She counted five men in black coming towards her. She took a defensive stance and readied to receive the attack of the five men.


    She raised her ordinary sword made of iron diagonally while bending her right knee slightly.


    The five men rushed towards her in a long line and surrounded her.


    ¡°What is the cult of Taekmir doing here!?¡± She yelled her question towards the chief.


    He could not answer as he was busy focusing on strengthening the shield. A man behind him came forward and yelled towards the captain.


    ¡°They appeared some minutes after Theremin went to get you Captain Isil, we don¡¯t know where they or how they appeared here, but they came down from the ceiling and began almost immediately to kill indiscriminately. The chief raised his shield to protect us from the corrupt arcane magic that the mages directed at us.¡±


    Isil then cursed at the cult members once again. She knew of them, heard stories of men willingly selling their souls for power. Deceit, murder and corruption was a daily occurrence for these men. The danger and power they wielded cannot be overstated.


    They live among the civil populace, hiding and biding for time. They inspire and corrupt the peasants to rebel against the monarchy by whispering sweet and rebellious words into the leaders of peasant communities. They had succeeded in overthrowing the monarchy of Mali and taking control of the nation, but they will not succeed here.


    ¡®I will not let them endanger the peace and stability of dawn¡¯ swore Isil.


    Not before long the first strike landed on the captain, she deflected it, but not with enough time to attack before another strike came from her back. She turned quickly and deflected the strike once again. The men continued to strike at her while she deflected their attacks.


    She realized then that the men had a powerful force behind every strike but had no ability or training in using it wisely nor in coordinating their strikes with one another. They attacked her disorganized and unceasingly, though she continued to deflect and defend, she knew that she was being pushed into a corner, she felt her strength draining and would in all likely hood be struck down before long.


    ¡°Captain! My shield is breaking, I fear that they may soon be upon us fully.¡±


    The chief yelled towards Isil. She couldn¡¯t respond as she defended with all the power in her body could muster, she did not have the luxury to talk while fighting five strong opponents at once. She had been defending for some minutes now as she was baiting for time. Hoping for the soldiers to arrive.


    One of the three arcane wizards that struck continuously at the barrier looked towards Captain Isil while smirking.


    ¡°Daughter of Orum, none will be coming to your rescue this time. We have already sent many of our troops towards the guard¡¯s quarters to take care of them while we deal with you. You lost the moment you stepped in here!¡±


    The door then opened and countless men in black robes and swords rushed in.


    The men stopped attacking the captain and joined their comrades. Isil counted almost thirty men.


    ¡°Report soldier.¡± The man that previously told Isil of her comrade¡¯s death asked an incoming soldier.


    ¡°It is done. We lost half of our troops taking down the guard¡¯s sire, but we accomplished our objective.¡±


    Isil lost all color on her face. She looked towards Thyranis hoping that he knew a way out of this situation.


    ¡°Look not towards the duke child of Orum, you have lost. Surrender and we, the sons of Khor, will give you a swift death. That is the only mercy we can provide an offspring of Orum.¡±


    Isil turned her eyes towards the man coming towards her with open arms.


    ¡°I would rather die a dog¡¯s death than surrender to you, slave of Khorrum.¡± She hissed back at him.


    He stopped, and his smile disappeared, now replacing it was a face so cold that the people residing in the room felt the temperature drop.


    ¡°You dare utter the lord¡¯s true name before me your filthy worm.¡± He removed a sword out from the hands of the man besides him and rushed towards Isil.


    Before he could strike Isil, he felt a powerful undulation in the air. He stopped and looked towards the sphere protecting the scholars.


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?¡±


    Thyranis who had closed his eyes had let down the shield and opened his arms in an embracing manner. He drew three deep breaths and received the attacks from two arcane mages before him. They struck but he took no visible damage. He drew another deep breath and when he opened his eyes, shock filled the room.


    The scholars behind him could not see what was going on, but if they stood before him they would have been able to see his eyes changing color. From black to complete white.


    The undulations turned fiercer until all felt them on their physical bodies.


    ¡°STOP IT! ARE YOU MAD!?¡±


    The man continued to scream and then ran towards Thyranis, he feared the consequences of letting him finish what he was about to do.


    He knew that he could not get to him in time, so he yelled to the men looking at him incredulously.


    ¡°STOP HIM! DO NOT LET HIM DRAW ON THE POWER OF HJ¨¹L!¡±


    The men realized then what he was doing. He was drawing on the power of the Serpent, Hj¨¹l.


    As they began to gather their powers the wizards felt themselves disconnected from their well of power. It did not respond to their pleas.


    ¡°Aehrum khaley hada waku dilaya.¡± Thyranis said while raising his hand towards the two wizards.


    Before they could escape, they began dissipating from the feet and up.


    The soldiers of the cult felt fear emerging, they appeared and killed countless scholars and guards of the observatory proudly in the cause of their lord, but now they only wished to return home.


    The undulations grew stronger, far stronger and ever before. Thyranis felt the power of the serpent rush into him unceasingly. His body was beginning to break down, but before it did he needed to kill all the cult soldiers.


    Before anyone could react to the death of the two wizards Thryanis turned to the thirty soldiers and raised his right hand once again.


    They all slowly began to dissipate except for the man who charged towards Iris previously.


    He clouded himself with darkness prior to the dissipation of the soldiers and teleported himself far away from this place.


    Thyranis disappeared from the hall and appeared on the balcony and looked towards entrance to the castle. Numerous soldiers were about to enter. He felt his powers escaping and turned in regret towards Isil.


    ¡°Come child, I fear that we may not have long left.¡±


    Isil ran towards Thyranis and hugged him with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Why? Why did you do this, Grandfather? Please don¡¯t leave me!¡± She cried as she hugged Thyranis.


    He hugged her back and held for a few seconds. He then let her go and wiped away the tears from her eyes. He looked then towards the remaining scholars. Only five remained while fifteen died.


    ¡°Child, look at me.¡± He said to Isil as he began to walk towards the center of the observatory.


    ¡°My body is about to dissipate, I can¡¯t contain the power of the world serpent for much longer. I need for you to take these five with you and escape immediately.¡±


    With her tears continuing to pour down she looked at him and nodded before drying her eyes and running towards the scholars.


    The doors once again abruptly opened just as Isil reached the scholars. Numerous soldiers began pouring inside the chamber.


    Thyranis turned to his granddaughter and raised his right hand once again. Cracks were beginning to appear on his body that had light pouring out.


    ¡°Orot masha itak.¡±


    They disappeared in a bright light while stunning the soldiers that poured inside.


    Thyranis smirked as he saw the man that appeared before him.


    ¡°You have lost, Rwyn.¡±


    The man did not answer him, Thryanis felt his vision turn black and his life ebbing out of the cracks that widened on his body.


    The man drew his sword and stabbed Thyranis in the heart. No blood appeared but Thyranis felt the last of his power and life leaving. The man removed his sword and Thryanis fell, but before he could hit the ground his body dissipated.


    Not long away from the castle appeared Isil and the five scholars under a blinding light that seemingly appeared to come from nowhere.


    Isil recognized the location where her grandfather had teleported them, they were inside the garden of Trill. At the thought of her grandfather she felt an intense sorrow welling up in her, but she knew her duty compelled her to continue forward. Suddenly, a herd of griffins appeared with saddles on their backs. The garden were the nurturing ground and home to the griffins of the observatory.


    ¡°Hurry! Take the griffins, we need to relay what we have found to the Kingdom of Dawn, to the queen!¡±


    Isil yelled at the scholars as they ran towards the griffins.


    As they began to climb the griffins Isil looked towards the castle and once again felt intense undulations. The castle exploded in a blinding light, to her eyes it felt like the sun had appeared in the sky.


    ¡®He is gone. Grandfather has passed.¡¯ thought Isil.


    As the last scholar climbed on his griffin Isil turned to her griffin, but before she could climb she felt a presence appearing behind her. She turned and saw a man enter from the steel gate wearing thick a silver armor with the raven insignia on his chest plate.


    Isil turned to the scholars and yelled


    ¡° Leave now! Return to Dawn and inform them that the last prison of Eredmir has collapsed!¡±


    The scholars forced the griffin that had begun to shake in fear when the man appeared to fly, soon they disappeared from all eyes.


    As she watched them fly away, Iris turned to the man.


    ¡°Traitor! Today is the day that you die Knight Commander Rwyn!¡±


    He smiled and drew his sword. ¡°It matters not whether the kingdom of Dawn is aware of his majesty¡¯s reemergence, ultimately they will crumble under his feet when he awakens fully. Though I failed in killing all the scholars, I suppose it will do knowing that I am ending the line of Orum today.¡±


    Isil drew her sword and pointed it towards the former Knight Commander, Rwyn.


    ¡°Not today, Traitor. Not today.¡±

 Life

    "When darkness strikes, beware of the roaming light."


    Yhmir Tryn


    The Book of Sorrow


    2. Life


    Inside a small remote house bordering next to the river Tigris that runs through the two nations of Dawn and Nomaria, lives a young shepherd named Auris. The day began like any other, the sun rose over the horizon and light poured into the small house made of stone through the wood window.


    The sheep, chicken and cows began to wake. Auris lives alone in the house, he has been without human interaction for days at this point and revels in it. He woke when his dog began to jump on him and remove his blanket.


    Auris awoke blinded by the morning light and began to open his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the morning light. He yawned as his eyes fully opened and stretched his tired body. He then moved away from his bed into the living room where his dog now laid.


    ¡°Good morning Whright.¡± He said to the dog as he tussled her back carelessly. He stretched out his body once again and began to dress himself with the clothe made of wool that lay on the brown wood planked floor. As he wore his shirt and short pants he moved towards the stove in the middle of the room and picked up some bread that lay on a plate next to some burned wood. He took a bite of the hard bread and left the house with Wright in tow.


    The sun was beginning to rise and the animals with it. He felt the sun heating the surrounding cold from the night as his body slowly went from feeling the cold to the warmth caused by the sun. He looked at the fences next to the outhouse which lay on the back-right side of the small stone house where the sheep began to wake and could on his right hear the cries of the chickens as they woke in their cages.


    He moved groggily towards the old stone well and tossed down a bucket made of wood that hung on a coarse rope, which had an urgent need for a change, but Auris couldn¡¯t afford one for now.


    The bucket brought up the water necessary for Auris¡¯s long day of work, he then proceeded to place the water in the bucket onto the bowls made for the animals. He divided the water evenly between the chicken and sheep.


    He also took some of the water for himself, he used it to wash his face before drinking and rinsing his mouth with a small amount of it.


    He then afterwards walked towards the other fence where the sheep lay. He opened the gate to the fence and began to take then out for his daily walk. With one hand he held a large and thick stick made of wood and the other a hard piece of bread that he had difficulty with chewing.


    The sun had risen over the horizon and was some good distance up on the sky. The sun warmed the pasture bed and Auris felt the ground soften under his feet. The warmth radiated from the sun had heated up the cold and hard pasture bed. The dew though had made the ground somewhat wet.


    As Auris walked his sheep from one end of the pasture to the other he realized that one of his sheep had disappeared.


    ¡°Wright, stay with them. I think that sly Ethum has gone off again.¡±


    Wright barked and Auris took it as an affirmation to his request.


    Auris then began to walk towards the forest that lay on the outskirts of the area. The sheep Ethum had time and time again escaped captivity and gone inside the forest, as to the reason why it for searched refuge inside it, Auris knew not.


    Realizing this Auris knew that the hour Tehva was soon upon him. He began to run towards the forest entrance. The warm rays of the sun heated up his body as the cold wind cooled him down. It took him not long before he appeared besides the forest entrance.


    As Auris entered the forest he began to feel the air turn cold. The hair on his arms rose and he felt something at the back of his mind tempting him to go further inside, but his body held him from acting on such thoughts.


    Never had the forest given him this feeling before, as the thoughts began to get louder and louder he heard Ethum yell inside the forest. He looked towards his right and saw Ethum standing there on a natural elevated platform made of primarily rock looking towards a dark spot between two trees.


    The sun illuminated the entire area through the branches of the trees so Auris had almost the entirety of the forest visible to him. But the area where Ethum was shouting towards were completely black. No light went in, and none came out.


    Ethum continued to scream, increasing the tone, till it sounded like a scream that one typically would prefer to come from a man.


    Auris could swear on the true name of Tehva that the dark spot moved ever so slightly, as if in respond to Ethum¡¯s screams.


    ¡°What is that!?¡± He muttered subdued by a stabbing sense of fear. Never had he felt that way before. His innermost senses compelled him to turn his tail immediately and never return. But as his almost primordial instinct could take over, it failed to overpower his deep sense of fear that appeared at the sight of the ghastly figure. The deep undulation that he felt from it quickened not only his heart beat but also the sweat that poured of his pours.


    The ghastly figure veiled by the darkness of his surroundings turned its direction from Ethum towards Auris. Though the figure appeared to possess no facial features or anything resembling a being that should exist on the mortal plain. He felt it¡¯s gaze on him, just as he was about to dolt away as his primordial instincts instigated him to do, he felt the warm rays of the sun appear on his body, the rays of the sun had penetrated the thick and tight trees that covered the sky.


    As the sun¡¯s rays was about to hit the being veiled by the darkness it disappeared. Without any trace of its ever having been there in the first place. Auris felt a shiver emerge on his spine, he felt drained of all energy and fell on the somewhat wet forest ground.


    ¡°Ethum! Ethum! What was that!? What are you doing!?¡±


    He knew that it was futile to question a sheep, but the incredibly weird situation had removed any semblance of intelligence from him, fear ran rampant in his mind.


    Auris then ran towards Ethum and climbed up on the elevated rock platform, grabbed Ethum with both his arms, jumped down and ran outside the forest with him. How he was able to carry Ethum, he knew not, but he decided to throw the thought at the back of his mind and continue to run.


    It was not the first time Auris had encountered things unnatural around him. Since the first days of his departure from his home in Therum and moving into the small house besides the river, he had heard strange things at night and at times footsteps around his property.


    At first, he ignored the sounds, not because he doubted his ears, but because of fear. He had grown up with the stories like Malkiel the fool and knew that acknowledging, when they did him nothing wrong, would only amount to his early demise.


    Similarly, to the fool Malkiel, Auris lived alone out near the woods and river, it had only been then that he came to understand the similarities between he and the fool. They both heard sounds at night and at first both ignored them. But Malkiel in the story enraged by the continuing sounds made in the darkness of the night, departed from his house to confront these annoying men of darkness.


    His ventures outside his home ended in him being found days after by merchants. He had been hung from his ankle with a black rope on a tree outside his home, his eyes had been gouged out and numerous sticks of wood had been inserted into his ears.


    The people knew then of the folly of Malkiel and dubbed him the fool for confronting the men that wander the darkness, the K¨¦lt¨ªn.


    Though Auris had long since doubted the truth of these stories and at times even believed them to be stories made up by mothers to frighten the children to sleep, he had now come to terms with the truth of these stories and had begun to fear the night.


    Auris ran like a man possessed by the wind, he exited the forest and continued to run down the road to his dog. It took him no longer than half the time from his walking to discover the location of Ethum to his running back.


    Wright and the pack of sheep were where he had requested them to keep still. Auris still feeling the adrenalin rushing through him sat down and tried to calm himself. Ethum who had long since been placed down returned to the other sheep¡¯s and began, like always, assert his dominance over them by taking the place of those that possessed the best grounds for food.


    Wright came slowly over to Auris and felt his distress. She licked his hand and tried to calm him. She succeeded and Auris thanked Wright. He looked up on the sky and found it to be noon. He quickly gathered the herd of sheep¡¯s and with them returned to the small house by the small river.


    As Auris saw his home a few dozen meters away surprisingly also found a figure standing near the door. Still feeling the fright from before Auris walked slowly towards the house, hoping to get a clear look at who stood before his door.


    ¡°Auris! Is that you?¡± Yelled a woman as she waved towards Auris.


    It was then that he came to see that it was a black-haired woman that stood on his doorstep.


    She wore a multi-colored apron dress with patches of color sewed in on the sides. She possessed a moderate build and with a thin face, not an overly thin one that one would expect from a malnourished person, but one made from years of hard work farming.


    She wasn¡¯t an old woman, but she had begun to feel the effect of time. Her back had begun to act up and she felt easier victim to the conditions one who passed thirty winters possessed. She had in her hand a square wooden basket hung with a thick rope on her shoulders that was covered by a small white blanket.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Come here boy, I hear that you will be twenty after this spring.¡±


    Auris moved with a quicker pace towards his house as he locked the sheep and let them roam freely within the fences.


    He wished she would stop calling him boy but had failed in persuading her time and time again. The thought of a young him and Mrs. Kirke arguing over this brought a wide smile back on his lips and made him forget his previous encounter in the woods.


    ¡°From whom did you hear this Mrs. Kirke? Don¡¯t tell me the old ladies of the village have begun gossiping about me again?¡± He asked with a smile that usually wouldn¡¯t appear on his face.


    He liked Mrs. Kirke, she was unlike any other woman in the village. She did not, like others nag him time and time again to him to marry their daughters and to aid them in frivolous matters.


    Neither did she join in their gossiping of others, she is too proud to include herself with such a bunch.


    ¡°Lady Tarwin forbid, I heard it from the young blacksmith apprentice Tori. He was sharpening my kitchen knife and let it slip while we were talking.¡±


    She said smiling. Though she was beginning to age, Auris felt none of the women he knew possessed more beauty while smiling than Mrs. Kirke.


    He sighed and knew then that it would be the last time he told his friend Tori anything about himself. The boy was prone to gossiping and letting people know of things only he possessed. The boy was good with extracting minor pieces of information about someone and subtly driving them to tell something private about themselves, that was why most of the village evaded the youth.


    ¡°He is worse than those old ladies sitting in their homes gossiping all day long.¡± He said while laughing.


    ¡°So, what brings you here today Mrs. Kirke? Is it to only congratulate me in advance?¡± He asked.


    She shook her head and presented him the wooden basket.


    He took it and awed at its contents after removing the white blanket that covered it.


    There was soap, a fine napkin, some candles and a plain book with some ink and a quill.


    ¡°This is too much I can¡¯t accept this.¡± He almost immediately rejected the basket. He tried giving it back but was rejected by Mrs. Kirke.


    ¡°You can, and you will. This wasn¡¯t bought by me but by some rich noblewoman that came into town not long ago. She gave many baskets like these freely to anyone that was quick enough take them.¡±


    She said while laughing. She continued. ¡°Mine included perfume, soap and some silver nuggets that I sold to the blacksmith.¡±


    He then looked at her incredulously. ¡°Why would a noble lady provide gifts for the ordinary folk of the town and why is she visiting us?¡±


    ¡°What is wrong with visiting us?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ The village is very isolated compared to other villages. It would take you some time to get here from the nearest city and there is nothing beyond here except trees and grass. We don¡¯t possess anything out of the ordinary and frankly this place is anything but interesting.¡±


    He told Mrs. Kirke. With a serious expression.


    She just laughed and slapped him on the chest.


    ¡°I know, we had the mayor welcome her, he invited her to his ¡°humble abode¡± I believe was what he told her. She accepted, she now resides in his mansions, she told him that she had left the city due to the situation down there at the moment.¡±


    She then laughed and said.


    ¡°She told him that this was the most isolated place she could find.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    She laughed once again and then began to leave.


    ¡°My dear husband also told me inform you that if you are free this evening, to please come and dine with us this evening. He caught a large boar in the forest this morning, so it will be a sumptuous meal.¡±


    Auris then quickly turned from his door to Mrs. Kirke. Faster than he had at first meant to do.


    ¡°What? Inside the forest? Did anything happen to him in there?¡±


    She stopped and turned in confusion.


    ¡°No not that I know of, he was fine when I left him not so long ago. Why? Did anything happen to you inside the forest?¡± She asked him worriedly.


    He wished to tell her of his encounter in the forest, but then felt that it would worry her if he told her anything.


    ¡°No not at all, I simply asked because I saw a somewhat large animal from a distance this morning.¡±


    She kept staring at him and sighed.


    ¡°You know if there¡¯s anything wrongs you can come to me with anything, you know, that right? I owe you too much for me to not do so. I owe your mother everything.¡± She said while looking at Auris with a worried expression.


    At the mention of his mother Auris felt a knot tighten in his chest.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Nothing happened today, trust me.¡± He said with the largest smile he could muster to make.


    She sighed and left after ordering to come eat dinner with them.


    Auris then looked at her while she disappeared over the horizon. As he saw her disappear from his sight, he sighed and entered his home after looking at the sun.


    ¡°Wright! Come it¡¯s time for supper.¡±


    He looked down at the basket below him and sighed.


    ¡°We have a long day¡¯s work ahead of us.¡± He then entered the door with the basket over his shoulder as wright followed.


    ********************************************************************************


    ¡®¡¯Damn those kids, they need to be taught some manners! Who runs through mud all day at their age! The Madam is too kind on those stupid brats, they should just disappear and let us all live-in peace!¡¯¡¯


    A young maiden uttered under her breath while using the water in the river to clean of the mud on the afore mentioned brat¡¯s clothes. She had been going at it for hours and was not even done by the slightest.


    As she stopped to take a quick break from washing to let her aching hands and body take a second or two to regain their strength, saw the body of a youth coming towards her end of the river.


    In shock, not knowing what to do, as she had never been in such a situation before. As the body was quickly coming towards her, she jumped into the water and took hold of the child, bringing him into land.


    ¡®¡¯My gosh! What were you doing in the freezing cold water!? The sun is about to set, and you would have died if not for me saving you!¡¯¡¯ She shivered while yelling at the boy not realizing that he was unconscious.


    Not getting an answer, fear slowly crept into her, she slowly went over and probed him with various pokes to discover whether he was alive or not, while doing so her fear dissipated and she then proceeded to inspect his face and body for wounds. Seeing that he had none - except for an missing arm, for which she sighed upon seeing, relaxed.


    ¡®¡¯Liana for what reason are you yelling, stupid child? And why have you stopped cleaning the mud stains of the young master and mistresses clothe?¡¯¡¯ Said an older woman wearing black and white, like the dress Liana wears came into her view.


    When she saw the body of the one-handed youth soaking wet and Liana as well, she shrieked and yelled furiously at Liana. ¡®¡¯Liana what is this! Explain what is going on!? AND WHO IS THIS!?¡¯¡¯


    Liana not expecting her elder growing so furious, seemingly started to quiver in fear of her being reprimanded. She had heard stories told of disobedient girls being sold to sadistic and cruel men.


    She opened her mouth in haste as she saw her elder turn more hostile due to her lack of any answer, told her she had rescued the youth who was floating downstream, and that she did so only after taking a break from cleaning the clothe when she saw him before pleading for mercy and begging her not to tell her mistress.


    The elder maid sighed and relaxed as she heard Liana tell her story.


    ¡®¡¯Liana you need to be more aware at the consequences of your actions. If anyone else other than me had arrived and seen you and this youth lying near the water soaking wet, they would not have asked what was going on.¡¯¡¯ She sighed once more and found something Liana could use to dry herself with.


    The elder maid told Liana to change her soaking wet clothes as she would go down to the mansion to report what had happened and ask for help. She returned half an hour later with three guards, wearing metal armor plates and swords in sheaths by their sides.


    They took a quick glance at the youth and was astonished to see the fresh, but closed stab wounds on the chest and his missing arm.


    The lead guard took a closer look at the youth and examined his various wounds and his body for any identification, but those were taken not long before by the two men who threw him into the river.


    ¡¯The wounds look new and he must have lost his arm some weeks ago. All his wounds have healed nicely and wouldn¡¯t have done so without the use of expensive medicine. His clothe is also made of silk and other rare materials. He must be some noble, but I don¡¯t remember ever hearing of a noble child with one arm in the area. He couldn¡¯t have come down from far up the Eurytate river¡­ right? And why is he still warm from being in the water, the young girl is still shaking from the cold and even if he did come from up there, isn¡¯t the water supposed to turn freezing cold in the night since winter is so soon upon us?¡¯


    He thought slowly and decisively as he examined the youth before carrying him back to the mansion to await further instructions from his master.


    They went through a wide trail inside a forest for a good ten minutes before coming to a big mansion by the hill, a mansion that was seemingly overlooking an entire city under it with several roads coming and going from it.


    As they approached the mansion gates, they stopped, saluted and told one of the guards to call for the master as they had found a youth by the forest and wished to know what to do with him.


    The guard sent for the butler and respectfully asked for his master¡¯s presence due to a youth that was found in the forest. Sometime later the master of the mansion came outside to see what all the commotion was about.


    The master of the mansion was the mayor of the port town below, he was given his place as a mayor due to his contributions in the recent war against their neighboring kingdom.


    As the burly master approached he saw two servant girls and three of his guardsmen at the entrance, one of the guardsmen took a step forward and bowed.


    ¡®¡¯Speak then, for what reason have you called me out here. Be quick I have work to finish guardsmen.¡¯¡¯ The lord told his guardsmen sternly and apathetically.


    ¡®¡¯My lord, the servant girl Liana has found an unconscious youth by the Eurytate river, from his clothes we can deduce that he descents from a wealthy family.¡¯¡¯


    The guardsmen reported to his lord as the other two brought out the cart and presented the youth to the lord


    The mayor widened his eyes in astonishment but quickly steadied himself once again.


    ¡°He is full of wounds, why have you not taken him the medical officers in the city?¡±


    ¡°Sir! Though he may have numerous wounds on his person, he is anything but wounded. All the wounds have already been healed fully. I suspect an unnatural element, maybe magic is at play here sir.¡±


    The lord held his hand on his chin as he scanned the youth. As he saw all the closed wounds and his right arm, he sighed.


    ¡°I know not whether magic is at play here, but the child has been through much, that I can see. Place him in the guest bedroom and call upon the lead medical officer down in the city. Let him examine the youth and discover any abnormalities in him.¡±


    He returned to his study and put everything about the youth at the back of his mind. He looked to the letters on his desk that came through from governor¡¯s office.


    The content of the letter asked for him to send his daughter to meet her fianc¨¦.


    He gripped the letter and threw it into the fire by the hearth.


    His face seemed devoid of any emotion, but only he knew the raging fury and disgust he kept at bay inside.


    ¡®¡¯Over my dead body.¡¯¡¯ He squeezed out before disappearing from his study.

 A Scattered Dream

    "A woken dream is reality and chaos conjoined in harmony manifested. "


    - Kritovolous


    3. A Scattered Dream


    As Auris finished the last of his duties of feeding the animals and cleaning both his home and the small hen house, he felt the hunger rise from his stomach and remembered the invitation that Mrs. Kirke had given earlier.


    He changed from his dirty gabs to his slightly cleaner and not so worn out garbs. It had been given to him by his late mother prior to her sudden death.


    He hid the garbs and other valuables inside a chest that could only be opened with a key that hung over his neck. He hid the chest under his bed, he knew that it was an awful place to hide valuables and if any raiders decided to enterhis house, they would not only find it rather quickly, they would probably laugh at him.


    The chest looked quite worn out, it was another memento he decided to keep of his late mother. After she passed he decided that the many objects in his home would only remind him of her, he had been young when she passed, though he couldn¡¯t remember much of her now as the years had begun to wane on his treasured memories of her.


    She had been an odd woman, he thought as he opened the chest and saw the numerous objects that lay inside it. When he removed the garbs that covered the upper layer that he would wear to the dinner, he saw candles, three books, an amulet with odd numerals that his mother treasured more than anything else. She used to tell him that it belonged to his father, which he had never met and probably never would now.


    He remembered the way she used to talk of him. The love she radiated when she would mention the adventures he and she would undertake.


    As Auris held the amulet he remembered his mother telling him of how she and his father first met.


    They had been enemies at first. She told him that her father stole a valuable from her and she would hunt him down to retrieve it and revenge the dishonor he placed upon her by stealing the object.


    She never told what the object in question he was nor why would have stolen it from her, he only remembers her talking of those days with longing and sadness.


    When he saw the deep sadness those memories caused, she who had always been strong and forceful he decided to never talk of hose days with her again.


    He picked up the garbs and changed them for his other ones. As Auris finished changing clothes he went to the kitchen.


    ¡°Wright! Come, let¡¯s leave.¡±


    He left through the front door with wright in tow and walked down the road towards the village a few miles away from his home.


    As Auris walked down the two-way road, he saw in the distance a carriage coming towards him.


    The closer the carriage came to Auris¡¯ location, his view of it became clearer. The carriage was being hauled by two horses, a man sitting behind the horses directing them. It wasn¡¯t moving down the road fast, but it moved with a calm and steady rhythm.


    He moved to the side, waiting for the carriage to pass him. It then slowly came up to him and stopped. He looked at it and said, ¡°Can I help you with anything?¡±


    The driver turned to him and smiled. ¡°Yes, lad where is this?¡±


    Auris looked at him in confusion, ¡°You are currently near the town of Rehs, where are you headed stranger?¡±


    He then laughed, ¡°Young sir, could you happen to point me in the direction of the A¨¦hr¨¹m.¡±


    Auris¡¯ eyes widened, ¡°Why would you go to such an ill place? The lake of wayward souls is not a destination that is traversed through lightly good sir!¡±


    He then laughed once again, louder than previously.


    ¡°Worry not lad, I have my means.¡± He said with a wide smile on his face.


    Auris then sighed and pointed him in the direction he desired to be sent towards, as Auris turned and was about to depart the man said quietly, ¡°Wait lad, I fear I must warn you. You should probably leave town, I fear darkness may soon be upon us and this place will be the first place to feel its terror.¡± He warned him.


    Auris then remembered the figure clad in darkness, he shivered and as he was about to ask the man what he knew, he looked at where he once was and couldn¡¯t find him any longer. He had disappeared.


    Auris then lost all color on his face and looked at Wright who had been unusually quiet during his encounter with the man.


    She looked at the down at the road, where Auris had previously directed the man towards. She simply stood there and peered her eyes towards something in the receding light of the sun.


    Auris felt uneasy and began to walk towards the town.


    For some reason he felt nervous, he couldn¡¯t explain exactly why he felt so, he felt strong enough to warrant thoughts of cancelling his dinner plans with the Kirke family.


    But he knew that doing so would finally give Mr. Kirke enough reason to think that he disliked him.


    Which, he of course did, but had never actively expressed towards either he or his wife.


    Auris didn¡¯t know why he disliked the man, but the first time he laid his eyes on the man he felt strong negative emotions towards him. His mother had even told, that all men that give off such negative emotions in him, should warrant both his suspicion and should actively evade to interact with as much as possible.


    He continued and before long he entered the town.


    In the center of the town was the bell and clock of Eterna. Made of some of old remnant technology from the days when the first race of An¨²dil roamed the lands, though Auris.


    He remembered the tale his mother told him, of a time when they, the ancient races, would create various objects on the land at the urgings of the High Kings of the ?odin. She had told him of the stories of how the first race of ¨¢nudil created the first clocks from the remains of the destroyed mountain of T?ndr¨¢.


    From these stones the first race of ¨¢nudil crafted the one thousand and one clocks of ?odin, after the creation of the clocks they created the large bells of Ruil, from these bells they would call for the first race ¨¢nudil to repair old broken watches.


    His mother would sigh when she told him of this story. She then told him of how the peace ended.


    How the High Kings that broke the Truce of Ghr¨²l had decided to wage war on the children of Yhmir and of how those decisions came to affect their relationships with the other races of ¨¢nudil.


    The first race of ¨¢nudil disappeared from that day henceforth and would never appear in the there onforward long history of man.


    Whether they truly exist Auris knows not, but he knew that his mother would tell him of the stories involving the first race and the High Kings and their knight in shining armor. She believed them. But then again, she wasn¡¯t the sanest person to roam this land.


    ¡®They probably never existed in the first place.¡¯ He thought and then sighed as he looked at the bell that had lost its entire half section from the right side.


    None knows the materials its made of. That¡¯s why many raiders try to steal them from villages, not many still exist. Probably only a handful of watches and bells still lie in these lands.


    The only reason this village still has one is probably due to the large presence of Dawns military troops near the village.


    Auris then shook his head and slapped his face.


    ¡°Stop thinking about these fantasy tales, Auris.¡±


    Wright looked at him in confusion as she tilted her head at him. He smiled and walked towards the back of the village near the large hill.


    He was topped on the muddy road, by a young man clad in a black apron that wore a large amount of soot on his face.


    ¡°Auris, dear brother.¡±


    Auris looked at him in exasperation, ¡°Tori.¡±


    ¡°Where you headed towards Auris?¡± He asked with a wide grin on his face. Auris knew then that the lad had gotten the wrong idea.


    ¡°I have been invited by Mr. Kirke to dine with them this evening. He apparently caught a large boar in the forest this morning.¡±


    Tori then looked somewhat disappointed, ¡°That sounds boring.¡±


    Blunt as always thought Auris.


    ¡°So where are you headed?¡± Asked Auris.


    ¡°Home, but before that I¡¯m walking down to the lake for a quick dip.¡± He said with a mysterious smile.


    Auris sighed, ¡°You know that the guards will soon apprehend you if you continue going down this road, Tori.¡±


    Tori laughed and put his hands on both of Auris¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Brother, you wouldn¡¯t understand. I must do what my body compels me to do. Otherwise I would be nothing but a shallow husk of a man.¡±


    Auris then turned around and began to leave.


    Tori then laughed and yelled at him, ¡°Have a good evening with the Kirks, Auris.¡±


    Auris walked down the road ignoring his yammering.


    Soon he came to a house, almost three times the size of his. He saw smoke rising out of the chimney and light from the candles illuminating the interior of the house which could be seen from the windows outside it.


    Auris walked towards the door and knocked.


    He heard someone shouting and waited.


    A few moments later the door opened and Auris saw no one in front of his eyes. He then smiled and looked down. He saw a small girl that smiled at him.


    He took her in his arms and tossed her into the air.


    She laughed. ¡°Uncle Auris, have you brought candy?¡± She looked at him with eyes that radiated an innocence that didn¡¯t belong in the world.


    He smiled at her. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I have run dry, Airla.¡±


    She then crossed her arms and then looked at Auris with puffed cheeks.


    ¡°But you promised that you would bring me candy last time, you are a liar Uncle Auris.¡±


    Auris faked looking hurt and grabed his chest.


    ¡°Why must injure me like so, Airla?¡±


    She then looked startled and asked fearfully. ¡°Are you alright Uncle?¡±


    ¡°I will be. That is if you tell me what a dashing young man I am!¡±


    He yelled as he tossed her into the air once again.


    She laughed as he caught her. He then gripped something out of his pocket and placed in Airla¡¯s palm.


    ¡°I gave you a promise, and the promise has now been upheld. Are you happy now?¡± He said as he laughed.


    She then opened her hand saw a small green orb.


    ¡°Thank you uncle Auris!¡± She yelled as she planted a small kiss on his cheek.


    His smile widened further, and he placed her on the ground. He then heard yell coming the kitchen.


    ¡°Auris what are you doing just standing there, come inside!¡± He heard Mrs. Kirke yelling towards him. Airla then gripped his hand and forced him inside.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come for you later Wright, go and have fun inside the town with the other dogs.¡± He told Wright and then she quickly departed away from the house, before snarling at it. She too felt something from Mr. Kirke.


    He took him further inside the house towards the dinner table where her father sat.


    He smiled at Auris. ¡°Good evening Auris, you came at just the right moment. And I see that you brought a gift to the little rebel.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Auris greeted him back and Airla let go of his hand and went to her father showing her what he given her. Her father praised his girl and told her that she had to wait to eat it, at least till the end of the dinner. She sulked and sat down while her father placed the candy inside the kitchen.


    Auris sat down at the table and waited for the dinner.


    It quickly appeared together with Mr. and Mrs. Kirke, she had cooked a fine dinner. The chicken had been roasted and sliced into several pieces. She placed it on the table together with some salad from they harvested from the fields several days ago, some mashed potatoes and water.


    ¡°Eat up. There Is more than enough for everyone¡± She said as she removed her apron and sat down next to her husband at the small round dinner table. Auris sat next Mr. Kirke and Auriel while Mrs. Kirke was seated opposite to him. The table was made of wood and so was the chairs. They were old and used but had the warmth and love that came with household objects in this area.


    As they began to eat the food Auris felt the eyes of Mr. Kirke on him, but the moment he looked at him, his eyes were not on him, they were instead on his food.


    For some reason Auris hadn¡¯t felt the usual nervousness and tenseness he usually expected when he near the man and for some reason this only made him far more nervous and tense than any prior encounter with the man.


    They ate their food in silence, Mrs. Kirke could feel that something was awry. Usually they would talk while eating, but this time none choose to talk.


    Mr. Kirke broke the silence. ¡°So Auris, have you heard the news that comings out from the capital?¡±


    Auris looked at Mr. Kirke in confusion. ¡®What is he talking about¡¯ he thought.


    ¡°No, what news?¡± He asked back, while slowly eating his food.


    Mr. Kirke did not leave his eyes from his food while talking.


    ¡°The crown prince of Nomaria is marrying the only offspring of the timurian king.¡±


    Auris then looked at Mr. Kirke in shock.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s happening.¡± He sighed.


    ¡°Their union will put much pressure on Dawn and her Majesty the Queen.¡±


    Auris said nothing and simply nodded.


    ¡°Okay let¡¯s stop talking about politics now, okay?¡± Said Mrs. Kirke as she clapped her hands together to get our attention.


    I nodded at her and I resumed to eat my food.


    We continued to small talk, not about politics but about village and our new mystery guest. Nothing much had been seen of here since she appeared in town. She went towards the mansion some mill near Auris. He was quite surprised at that, the mansion had been abandoned for ages, he had never seen anyone enter it before.


    Soon the conversation switched from the noble lady to the heavy taxes that had been placed on the village. Mr. Kirke talked furiously at how he found them preposterous. They took almost one third of the entire villages grains every quarter. As he continued to grow in anger in his proclamations of how tyrant the current administration had become, Mrs. Kirke quelled his anger magnificently by providing him with food and sweetened words.


    Though Auris had found the man to be avoided he still respected him. He took good care of his family and was an excellent member of the community. He never turned anyone away that needed his help. He was a good man.


    Auris had battled quite intensely in his earlier days in the village to force himself to like the guy, despite his mother¡¯s urgings. But he failed time and time again. And he simple just began to avoid him. And Mr. Kirke wasn¡¯t one to force anyone to like him, he respected anyone no matter what they though of him.


    That just made Auris feel bad about himself.


    As the dinner concluded Auris thanked the family for their invitation and as he was about to leave, Mr. Kirke offered to take Auris home, but he declined his offer with a smile.


    The sun had gone down, so Auris quickly called for Wright that promptly came and left for his home.


    ********************************************************************************


    A young man awoke in a large room, he opened his small and weary eyes only to be greeted by the blinding light of the sun pouring inside the room from the windows, he closed his eyes and opened them slowly, getting them adjusted to the sunlight. For the first couple of seconds he saw nothing, but as his sight slowly returned, the sight of what appeared left him dazzled.


    The ceiling had a mural depicting a battle between three dozen men and women clad in silver and gold armors on their horses preparing to clash against an entire army of winged beings that illuminated the world.


    The winged being¡¯s swords, shields but wore no full body armor, except for on their chests and head. They wore white sleeveless tunics, that for the men were long enough to reach the knees, while the women had theirs end just below their ankles.


    The winged beings came downward from the sky, flying towards the men and woman clad in silver on the ground.


    The people on the ground were led by a woman that wore a scepter, had a white wolf next to her and golden armor with a long, red and thick cape. The battle seemed to take place on a sand colored desolate plain.


    For some odd reason he felt a tingly sensation at the back of his mind when viewing the mural, but he chose to ignore it.


    The young man shifted his attention from the ceiling and onto the room. He noticed the vastness of the room and was flabbergasted for a few seconds as he tried to recollect himself, he began to question where he was, as a result he moved his body to stand, as his feet touched the ground he was attacked by an utterly excruciating pain that reverberated throughout his body, he felt weak, nauseous and dizzy as he tried to raise himself up.


    It felt to him like he was being shred to pieces and smashed with a hammer in quick successions.


    The pain he felt made him unable to scream in pain, he clutched his head as the headache made him unable to think and breathe and then blood began to pour out slowly from his nose before he passed out.


    He had felt himself turn broken and then not, he felt old memories surfacing and disappearing before he could grasp them.


    The darkness took him away from the pain and guarded him from the torrent of excruciating pain pouring into his mind.


    As time passed, night came and went multiple times.


    He awoke with a start and felt out of breath, for no apparent reason. He clutched his head and tried to remember anything, but nothing came to him. He knew his name, but nothing else.


    ¡®Timur¡¯, a weird name he thought to himself.


    He then turned like a frightened animal to look at his surroundings once again, they had not changed prior to his collapse. Fear took over, he couldn¡¯t remember how he got here or where he was.


    His mind starting conspiring against him, without meaning to he started to consider that he may have been drugged and kidnapped. But then why would he have been placed in here and not in an dungeon? Nothing makes sense here.


    Once again, his head began to hurt, and he held it firmer and with more force than before.


    As the pain disappeared he began to hit his head and urged it to remember anything significant about himself, but he failed magnificently.


    He then ran towards the open window and threw up. His stomach was empty so all that came out was some small amount of water.


    The boy trying to understand what was going on sat down to think and organize himself.


    He took a deep breath and went towards the mirror at the back of the room.


    He looked down at his hand and body. Thinking ¡®How am I still alive?¡¯


    He looked at the numerous wounds on his body and his missing arm. It had ben cut of cleanly just above the elbow area.


    ¡®Have I been tortured? Is that why I have lost all my memories?¡¯ He began to think and felt fear creep on him once again. But then he wondered why his face had been left as it were? His strong chin, his olive skin, small forehead and firm bushy hair and thin cheeks seemed to be in pristine condition. He compared his face to the rest of his body and sighed.


    He felt bad looking at himself in the mirror for so long and then turned to the room.


    He began to scan it and realized that much of the furniture was made of oak, there was silverware by the table some feet from the table and next to the window. As he continued to scan the room he came to discover that many of the materials, the curtains, sheets and men clothes in the closet that was made of silk. How ostentatious he thought while sneering inwardly.


    As he continued his observations the door flung open, a maid entered and froze at the sight of the young man who was up and about. Both parties stunned for a few seconds looked at one another not uttering a single sound nor word to each other. As the young man came to find the atmosphere awkward, he opened his mouth and asked the maid.


    ¡°Excuse me, but is it possible for you to tell me of where this place is?¡±


    His voice rough and dry as he had not taken in any water for days. The maid still in shock dropped what she was holding and ran out the door as quickly as she had arrived. The young man angered at the way she ignored his question walked towards the door and out into a long hall filled with various doors.


    He looked both ways but couldn¡¯t find any trace of the maid.


    He went back inside the room and turned to the mirror. He gasped in surprise and realized that he wore only a piece of cloth protecting his crotch, and he started once again to touch his scars. He was both fascinated and sad that his body looked like this.


    He then began feeling embarrassed that he was touching his body alone inside the room the boy found some of his clothes, but saw that the outer layer was missing, he only had a shirt and pants. He wore them and found a jacket inside the cabinet.


    ¡®I wonder what material this is made of. The jacket is soft yet it appears rough before one¡¯s eye, I wonder what it is?¡¯


    As he once again entered the hall, he decided to walk towards the window and he then saw a large garden filled with a large amount of various plants and wildlife. He saw a door by the right side of the hall and walked towards it. He opened the door and went outside into the large garden. The cool summer breeze hit him and warmed up his body, the sun in the middle of the sky sent rays of warmth towards his body and he accepted it with all his heart.


    While basking in the wonders of nature the young man heard splashing and remembered his need for water. He quickly went towards a small pond that was inhabited by fishes of various colors, he contemplated at first whether to drink of this specific pond, he felt his thirst strengthen at the sight of the water and decided to just drink from it.


    As he collected the water on both of his palms he sipped the water from them and did so multiple times until he had quenched his thirst. He then heard a rustling from the entrance to the forest in front of him.


    He looked towards the area and saw five people, similar to him in age, appearing from the forest laughing and bantering with one another. The boy leading the group, with blond hair and fierce eyes was leading them towards the pond where he now stood.


    To his right was a youth with black hair and slanted eyes, thin eyebrows and skinny body stature.


    He walked with a smile on his face while his compatriots were laughing. His face never changed away from that smile, it somehow nerved Timur greatly.


    To his left was a young girl, also similar in age to Timur. She wore a light blue dress, with various hair ornaments on her thick and lush hair that she let go freely. She had a firm face with an olive colored skin tone. She was short and while laughing would hide her smile from others by placing her hand on her mouth.


    Behind the group was a young man, slightly younger than Timur and the rest of the group.


    He was similarly to the girl quite short. He wore a sword on the left side of his hip holstered in a silver scabbard adorned with numerous jewels. Timur sniggered at it. The boy still looked as if he had baby fat on his cheeks, his eyes looked strong, similar to a hawk, and had proudness and arrogance that he seemingly oozed out of his pores.


    It seemed to Timur like the young man trying to enter the conversation of the three persons group but was shut down by the girl constantly who appeared to be his sister.


    And behind even he, was a girl with short black hair and brown skin, clad in a silver armor with a red sun on her chest plate. She had thin lips, and a strong face. She was slightly taller than the other girl.


    ¡®I should ask them where I am.¡¯


    As they saw him walking slowly towards them, the youths stopped dead in their tracks and looked at him in confusion. He then stopped as well. As he was about to ask the group where this place was the girl in the dress looked at him in dismay.


    ¡°What are you doing here servant? I thought I told Mr. Hans to not let any servant into the gardens today. Why are you here?¡±


    She asked while raising her voice towards him.


    As he looked towards the girl, he looked down at his clothe and realized that he truly did appear to be clad similar to a servant.


    As he was then about to tell her of is name the youth in the back pushed forward and began to walk towards him. His eyes told Timur of the derision that he was looking at him with.


    ¡°Sister, I do not think that this slave is a servant, look at his jacket, it is undoubtedly something that belongs to our household, his right chest bears the crest of a bear. Our family crest, which isn¡¯t what we give the servants to wear. He must have stolen it before coming here. I should execute him right where he stands.¡±


    Timur then stood stunned as he looked at this group in front of him.


    ¡°Wait a minute! How did you come to that conclusion!?¡±


    ¡®Sure, I borrowed the jacket, but how does that merit my execution!?¡¯


    Before he could protest once again the cold youth charged towards him with sword in hand, Timur who prepared to receive his blade changed his stance.


    The youth in the middle frowned at the stance Timur took and was about to stop his friend as he began to feel that something was wrong but was a second too late.


    As the cold youth charged forth began to swing his sword in a downwards motion towards his chest.


    As the blade was about to hit Timur, he shifted his body to the right slightly and narrowly evaded the blade that now impaled the ground.


    The young man looked at Timur in shock and jumped backwards as he, Timur, tried to grab him with his only hand. As he failed Timur removed the sword from the ground and looked towards the youth with a cold glint in his eyes.


    ¡°You will regret that.¡± He said with a dark look on his face.


    From the youth charging at Timur and him reacting, not more than two breaths had passed.


    The young man now being alert and believing more firmly that Timur is a skilled thief, that he likely appeared before them to kill them here in the garden, away from the prying eyes of his father and the other guards inside the mansion. He then took hold his short sword from the small scabbard next to his empty one and began to prepare to charge at him once again.


    ¡°Stop this at once Benjamin, what are you doing!?¡± The lord yelled towards him.


    The lord that previously took Timur into his mansion appeared to be running towards them from the entrance of the garden. He brought a butler and a small group of guards with him.


    He looked at the situation before him with a frown and before anyone could speak he knew what had happened when he lied his eyes on the clothes that Timur wore.


    ¡°I was just apprehending this man Father, what have I done wrong? I suspect that he is an assassin sent to take life of our prince. He moves too well to be a common thief.¡±


    The rest of the party also looked at the lord that appeared in confusion, though they did not explicably say it they agreed somewhat with Benjamin.


    ¡®I hate these nobles.¡¯ Timur could almost feel himself spitting at the ground in disgust but knew that it wasn¡¯t an optimal time to do so.


    ¡°Where does he look like an assassin you fool!?¡±


    The count slapped his son hard. Benjamin fell to the ground, he placed his hand on his red cheek and looked at his father with a stunned expression, his father then began to walk towards the group behind him, turning his back on him.


    Presented with this sight, the anger began to boil up inside him, fueled by the pain given to him by his father for a stranger.


    Before the rest of the party could react, the lord walked towards the youth that stood at the front and said with a formal bow.


    ¡°Nephew, I believe the palace has sent someone to get you, they are currently awaiting you at my front door. If you would please follow me.¡± The lord them walked away with his hands on his back


    The Prince shivered and nodded towards the two behind him before quickly leaving. The girl with the sword and the other youth followed him out. They were soon followed by the young girl in blue, she looked at Timur with the same derision that her brother had given him before entering the mansion with the rest.


    ¡°Bring the young man to my study later and bring him some warm food and new clothes and tell the doctor that it was a false alarm.¡± He said as he looked at the butler and then at Timur with a frown on his face. He wished to stay and question the youth but knew that he had to see the prince safely to his carriage and deliver him outside his territory safely.


    Timur looked at what was unfolding before him and could only doubt whether he stumbled upon a play or whether he entered it all had been a figment of his imaginations, or maybe it was dream.


    He pinched his neck and felt the pain from his action. He wasn¡¯t dreaming nor was it all a figment of his imagination.


    The incredulousness of it all tired him extensively. The shock and surprises he time and time again came to see as he awoke not long ago, had caused him to grow weary.


    The butler nodded and took Timur who just stood there in confusion, the butler took him and let him inside the mansion and showed him back to his room where he received food and drinks.


    All the while Benjamin stood outside, fuming with anger, all alone.