Alistar deflated, since Mr. Herst was stubborn when it came to subjects that he preferred to avoid.

Later that night, he watched the spectacular storm roll through the county from one of the larger windows on the third floor of his uncle’s manor house. This was the second storm that he had ever seen, and also the strongest. It was as if the world had come alive, and was angry at the county folk. Great tendrils of lightning clawed out at the heavy clouds, as thunderous reverberations shook the windows in their frames. Lightning had struck down upon an empty area of the county just minutes before, which made him realize that the elements didn’t care whether someone was a human or a Drunish person, a noble or a peasant. The weather was impartial to the people that had to suffer through it, something that provoked a thought that couldn’t quite manifest in his mind. Faced with the raw power of nature, he couldn’t help but think about the conversation that he’d left behind at the Hanging Hill.

If only other people didn’t see them as demons.

Aside from Mr. Herst, there were a fair number of Drunaeda in Distan. Of these, Alistar interacted with one of them here and there throughout the week. This was the horned man that he had seen on his first jaunt throughout Mayhaven with Anice, a quiet person that moved boxes and helped set up the street stalls of those that tolerated his presence. Sadly, even the sweet old lady that sold sugar sticks looked down upon him with the expression of someone that had swallowed a mouthful of bitter food. His name was Ruk, and he was usually busy at work whenever Alistar crossed through the market square. On the days that he wasn’t in a rush to get to Tramon’s, he stuck around Ruk and helped him with his work, a habit he had formed after noticing that the young man’s eyes almost always showcased the sadness that he sometimes saw in Mr. Herst’s.

The more he came to understand about Lucianism, the more wary he became of it. He saw the expressions that the other children made at the mention of the demons, whether he was at the Hanging Hill or listening to a sermon at the cathedral. Whenever he was doing the latter, it was impossible to ignore the waves of frightful, protective prayers that flooded throughout the congregation at every mention of the One Devil, Drune. With the way people reacted, he sometimes expected the being itself to suddenly appear and begin wreaking havoc on the innocent townspeople. But apparently, this behavior was normal. When questioned about this matter, Caedmon told him that people held the same attitudes in regards to their religion all throughout the Holy Lucian Empire. His uncle often told him to quell his questions on the topic, the only instances when the scholarly man would not answer unabated.

In speaking of even the most inconsequential things, Mr. Herst was taking a very big risk. It was through him that Alistar learned of those which had once been known as the strongest tribes among the Drundaeda—the fire-skin Dauls, the nature loving Verdans, and the proud and powerful Abdales—as well as their old territories and the legends that they had left behind.

All things considered, hearing things from the perspective of a Drunish person made Alistar’s mind dizzy with thought. He knew that Mr. Herst wouldn’t lie to him, but whenever their talks intersected with the history that Mrs. Dawn taught him at home and that which he read about in the many books that he’d dug up on the topic, he was often unsure what to believe. For instance, many people seemed to believe that all of the Inverted peoples survived by eating human flesh, though Mr. Herst assured him that this was entirely untrue.

As the days passed, it became clear that many of the other children that attended lessons at the Hanging Hill were distrustful of their elderly teacher. Sometimes the trio of young women that oversaw the lessons wouldn't show up, and whenever this happened hardly anybody stuck around. Twice he had been alone with Zech and Corrie atop the hill, though he had been too shy to talk to them. Once, he'd almost worked up the courage, but the latter had slunk away without a sound, and the former wore a conflicted expression that did anything but invite a conversation.

Apparently, some of the other children didn’t like that he spent so much time with the old man, which he learned when he was walking home later that day. He hadn’t made it far from the Hanging Hill when he walked by a handful of boys around his age, who were tracing out images in the dirt with long sticks.

“Hey, new kid.”

Alistar looked at the biggest of the bunch, a brown-haired boy with beefy arms and a thick neck. He wasn’t as round as Woods, but he was close.

“Hello.”

Alistar recognized the looks in their eyes, and decided to continue walking. He had grown up in a den of derisiveness, and had developed a sort of knack for spotting trouble. After giving them a casual greeting, he made to keep moving, but three of the boys suddenly blocked his path.

“Why do you spend so much time with that old freak?” asked the biggest boy. “Everyone thinks it’s weird.”

Here it was again, the deep hatred that he didn’t understand. “He’s not a freak.”

“My pap says he’s got dirty blood,” said another boy. “My mum says so too.”

“Then they’re wrong.” He shifted nervously, but regained his calm once he recalled all that he’d been through since he’d found his precious crystal. “Did you guys need something?”

“Just stay away from the old man,” said the biggest kid, whose cottony shirt was stained with sweat. “Everybody knows not to hang around those monsters.”

“Why do you go to his lessons, then?”

The boy scoffed. “I mean after of the lessons.”

Alistar squared his shoulders and raised his chin. “I’m a free person, so you can’t tell me what to do. Now, I’ve got to go. My uncle Caedmon is waiting for me.”

The boys became nervous at the mention of the count, but the largest one didn’t relent. “Wait. Why don’t you play with us for a bit?”

“I don’t want to.”

One of the boys pushed him from behind, and he fell down onto the dirt pathway. He grabbed at the ground, fingers digging into the earth. After all that he had endured during his short lifetime, Alistar had plenty of hatred in his heart. Just as it was about to bubble to the surface, he recalled all of the hours that he had spent meditating beneath the tree outside of Tramon’s home, and quickly calmed himself with a few steady breaths.

“Okay,” he said, climbing to his feet. “I’ll play with you guys.”

The boys adopted expressions of mischief, as the largest one hefted the small branch that he’d been holding throughout the conversation. Raising it, he said, “Great. Let’s play soldiers and demons.”

“Soldiers and demons?”

“We’ll be the soldiers, and you be the demon. Go!”

Before the boy could hit him, Alistar said, “Wait! I’ve got a better game.”

The boy paused, curious. “What game?”

“We draw pictures on the ground with those sticks. If any of you can draw a better picture than me, then I’ll give you two silver half-lucets.”

While such a sum amounted to half of Alistar’s monthly allowance, it was likely a large amount for the boys and their families.

“Really?” said one of the boys.

“You’re lying,” said another.

“I’m not.” He dug two coins out of his pocket. “If any of you can beat me, I’ll hand them over and I’ll stop talking to Mr. Herst.”

The boys looked around at one another before they gradually agreed.

“Here,” Alistar said, holding out his hand. “I’ll go first.” He motioned for the bigger boy to hand over his stick, which he did without much thought. This was a mistake, since the moment that Alistar grabbed hold of the stick, he smacked it into the face of its previous owner, who fell to the ground with a cry of anguish and a bloodied nose.

“Y—you hit me!”

“It’s your fault for being a fool.”

“What are you guys waiting for?” growled the boy, who made to get up but crumpled beneath a strong kick from Alistar’s booted foot.

The other boys converged on him while swinging their sticks, though he didn’t back down. His father wouldn’t have run away, and neither would his uncle Rodei. Taking up the defensive stance that he had practiced so arduously, he batted aside the first swing without difficulty, a strike that was incredibly sloppy compared to the ones that his master unloaded upon him whenever they entertained a spar. Alistar ducked out of the way of a second strike and then punched the closest boy in the face with as much strength as he could muster, which caused him to fall to the ground, limp like a ragdoll. Just as Alistar felt that he could win, something smacked him on the head and he lost control of his legs, his mind suddenly dazed as if he’d just woken from a deep and dreary sleep.