Chapter 16

Claire and her maid soon arrived at the village head’s home. After being shown in, they were guided to the dining room, where Sir Elrik was facing Roan with a serious expression. As she entered, both men greeted her politely, and she was directed to her seat.

“I’m afraid I’ve heard some troubling news your Highness…” Sir Elrik started once she had settled. “From what I’ve been told the knights did indeed come to this village around two weeks ago. The Village Head Roan, has made such a horrible accusation, that I am still hoping it is all a terrible joke.”

Claire frowned, looking over at Roan, who wilted under her gaze, then Doron, who just looked back at her seriously. The burn marks she had seen still fresh in her mind.

“From what they have said, when the knights of the 3rd Order first approached they became violent. Attacking members of the village untill they were forced to defend themselves. The Knights were then killed during the fighting.” Elrik said, sounding unconvinced.

“Yes!” Roan added, “We were all quite shocked at their behavior, we thought that a group of bandits might have somehow gotten their hands on some Kingdom equipment and did our best to defend ourselves. We had no intention of going against the Kingdom or its knights, but merely wanted to keep our lives.”

“Such a heavy accusation raises many questions.” Sir Elrik responded. “Beyond the fact that I hope you have proof of this misconduct. Why would the knights attack you in the first place? And it was a full patrol of at least 20 Knights, along with a very, talented… individual. Are you really telling me that your village manage to take are of them all without a single one getting away?”

Claire noticed Sir Elrik posture change as he questioned Roan. His body had leaned forward with each question, his eyes looked almost eager. She stayed quiet though, interested in the answers herself.

Her older brother’s knights were mostly thugs and rejects from the other Knight Orders and the Military. She had no doubt that they could and would commit any crime but were not that stupid. Risking word getting out and being executed just to raid some small village, out in the middle of nowhere, didn’t make sense.

Roan visibly shrunk under the questions and Doron knew it wouldn’t be long before he outed Tirr. Doron looked over the Princess as she sat, drinking her tea as she listened. He decided it might be worth the gamble, maybe if he could introduce Tirr directly to her they would have a better chance at reaching something amicably.

As Roan started to stutter, Doron spoke up for the first time since the meeting started. “They were looking for something. They had heard rumors of our Villages God and thought it might relate to something they called a Shard. When we didn’t know what they were talking about, the Knights grew violent.”

“They were looking for a Shard?” Claire heard herself blurt out. Her head spinning as she tried to absorb the info.

“That’s what they were questioning us about.” Doron continued, “the village has always worshipped a small shrine to a god out in the forest and received the protection of his Guardian. Its why we can live so close to the Deep Forest without problems. They must have heard about it and thought it had something to do with the Shard.”

“Is that who defeated the Knights?” Sir Elrik asked. “Shards have recently become an important resource for any nation. It’s certainly possible that greed may have gone to their heads. Your god or guardian most likely relies on the power of a Shard in some way. Shards might be the source of many tales or stories, such as the Water Spirit of Lutel. If your village has a Shard, you will have to turn it over to the Kingdom.”

“I’m not sure of the connection, but it’s not the same as what the knight had. The god and guardian helped defend us after the knights had already attacked.”

“So, are they people? The god and Guardian?” Claire asked curiously.

“The Guardian is a large Beast.” Doron replied, “Our god is named Tirr and is… or appears human. I can bring you to meet with him if you want.”

“I think it is important that we do.” Sir Elrik answered standing up immediately. “It is important to verify whether or not your god might be a Shard user. If so, I will have to bring this news back quickly before a decision can be made on what to do.”

Doron stood up with him and Roan and Claire followed. “Our god… is not interested in the kingdom.” Doron tried to start diplomatically.

“Even so this village still belongs to the Rasor Kingdom and all within it are its subjects.” Elrik said righteously. Claire looked bemused, wondering if Elrik was excited over what kind of standing he could receive for discovering a new shard. Doron just flinched, hoping that Elrik would not be so direct with Tirr.

Doron led them out from Roan’s house and towards the temple. The small procession consisted of Claire and her maids, Elrik and his two guards, and Roan who followed along silently. Along the way Claire mentioned what she had seen withing the Village center. She was excited, as this was a chance to reach a friendly hand out to this new Shard user, and maybe recruit them for Claus.

As they walked, Claire started to get a bad feeling, as the path seemed somewhat familiar. When they reached the small hill leading to the temple, her stomach sank. What if that brat told the shard user about me? She thought, furious with herself for getting drawn into a child’s argument.

She did her best to smile and appear friendly as they reached the door of the temple. Doron went in by himself first, saying he would ask the god to come out. They could hear muffled arguing, but it quickly died down.

Soon the door opened again and Claire, hoping to get the jump on Elrik, eagerly stepped forward and started to introduce herself, but stopped when the same, young dark-haired boy, she had argued with just an hour before appeared with Doron behind him.

She watched in shock as he raised a finger, a mocking smile on his face, and pointed at her tauntingly, “The weakling!”