Terra, Frontier Village in the Kingdom of Stilyra, Late-Spring 14 AR

Jon awoke to a pounding on the door, he didn’t get up and just watched it. It soon started to rattle as someone repeatedly started shaking the door. There was only one idiot he could think of that would realize the door was latched but keep on. He looked at the sky through the shutters, it was clearly still early morning.

“Aethred, knock it off! Go home!” Jon yelled out, hearing a snort from the other side of the room he knew Andrew had startled awake from his yelling, “Sorry, it’s just Aethred. Get some sleep.”

“Hey wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!” Aethred started yelling while knocking continuously now. The door to his mother's bedroom opened up and a shirtless Kaden walked out, the man wasn’t very big but he moved trees for a living, he was built. He just stared at Jon and Andrew in their beds in the common room. That’s right they slept in the common room, after all a growing girl needed her space and privacy… Ugh.

“Yeah, don’t get up you two,” Kaden said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“I was hoping he’d just go away,” Jon admitted, “Hear that Aethred! It’s the festival, go back to bed!” His yelling just earned a dirty look from Kaden and a chuckle from Andrew before the former walked to the door, it flung open as soon as it was unlatched and Aethred charged into the house, ducking under Kaden’s arm.

“Good morning Aethred,” Kaden found the true target of his ire. He was a bit hungover from the previous night of the annual summer solstice festival, it lasted a week and people were like every year forbidden to work and encouraged to celebrate.

“Oh good morning Mister Kaden, and Misses Hild looking lovely as- yup!” He greeted the matriarch of the family, who was now standing at her bedroom doorway fully dressed but even worse than her husband. Aethred wisely cut himself off. Jon started getting out of bed, there must be something that had Aethred so excited. Andrew was sitting up as well.

“What’s going on?” Jon asked pulling his tunic on, watching as Aethred gave Andrew a few light taps to the cheek, trying to wake him up faster. Before turning toward the second bedroom.

“Hold on, I need everybody!” Aethred said and in true hyperactive asshole fashion, he just waltzed right in. A quick scream sounded and he retreated back to the common room. “Ok, I can wait a minute, your sister’s naked.”

Kaden walked over and slapped him on the back of the head. He grunted but that was about it. Aethred was still a short prick but he was a tougher short prick.

“Hey Kaden, maybe we should start using one of ma’s spoons. That’s not working anymore,” Jon said with a grin. It was true, their always deserving punching bag had grown a pretty decent tolerance to pain. Not just from them, as he got older he upgraded to annoying the crap out of other kids and adults alike.

“He keeps walking in on your sister? I have a broken ax handle out back that might work,” Kaden said as he went to get dressed.

“Well it’s not like he’s trying to see anything, he sneaks off with that farm girl on a regular basis, the black-haired one with the goats,” Andrew said, while Aethred willed him to shut up via glare.

“Calm down Aethred, you’re a growing boy and soon to be a man. Half the village knows about you two,” Hild said as she started cooking some bacon rashers and eggs, “that being said, her father is on the half that doesn’t know. You put a baby in her so young, he’ll feed you to his pigs.” She said emphasizing her point by holding up a chunk of bacon.

“Yeah, when is your birthday?” Erin asked as she walked out of her room, still angry.

“How don’t you know? It’s the twenty-fourth day o-”

“Yup, still don’t care. Smells good ma,” She kissed her mother on the cheek before walking to set the table, kicking Aethred in the shin as she walked by, “So what’s the big news?”

“Well here’s the thing! Me and Mardry were hanging out after you le-” Another kick to the shin stopped him, no words necessary, “There’s a Fate-Seer in town.”

“So? Did you forget we’re heathens and all that? You might think it’s awesome, learn your first steps of fate and have to do it. To us it’s more, learn our first steps and either do it or wipe your ass with it,” Jon said.

“Language! Sorry Aethred, not spending a silver or three on some fortune teller,” Hild said putting the first servings on the table as Kaden came back out fully dressed. Surely to Madam Eva’s severe disappointment, the heathens had converted the faithful followers of the Temple to their barbaric ways, well with Kaden. No one was really sure with Andrew, they’d seen him praying to both. It was rather funny considering it made him a heretic in the eyes of the Temple by just following his own path, a good trait for a follower of the Northern Pantheon.

“But she’s offering her services for free, there’s already a line forming,” Aethred countered.

“Pfft, a Fate-Seer that doesn’t charge a coin isn’t a Fate-Seer, it’s con artist,” Kaden said before getting a dish ready for Hild.

“Poor bastards gonna die, can you imagine that witch in the manor if she finds out someone gifted by the gods is just pretending, she’ll chop his head off,” Jon laughed getting dirty looks from Erin and his mother.

Jon knew before they did and he was pretty sure by now, they both knew that he knew. All it took was asking Leofrith why someone couldn’t learn from a spell sheet. The Magistrate's family was the only one in town that could even afford one normally. His occasional meetup with the noble through the years paid dividends.

The next time they met up, Leo told Jon what he'd learned. Apparently, anyone could learn magic except people who were predisposed to a certain kind of magic like witches, shamans, and druids. Shamans were tribal in nature and focused on ritual spells because they dealt with their tribes and clans, there wasn’t a single one in the established kingdoms as far as Leo knew.

Druids could be found but they were extremely rare and focused on plant and animal magics. They were often employed by royalty or powerful nobles to maintain their lands. It was possible that Erin was one of them but the chances were slim.

Witches on the other hand were the wild card. They were more common than both, always women, and were stuck with one type of magic, a form of wild magic. Upon adulthood, their magic would start to manifest and they would have to learn to control it. If they succeeded they’d be more powerful than a mage that used the same type of magic without even trying, so a firecraft witch would beat any pyromage.

That’s where the problem lay, in Stilyra witches were sent into exile or executed depending on their craft and who caught them. Leofrith said there were stories in the Temple scripture talking of a plaguecraft witch that was extremely powerful that had tried to wipe out entire kingdoms. The witch was put down but their kind were labeled as sacrilegious ever since.

Because of that, Jon would never betray his sister's secret, but it was fun to pick on her. He hoped she’d have a useful but easy to hide magic, like a witch with healing magic or flight magic. Well, flight would be hard to hide but fun, his visions of flying machines gave him some information but it was severely lacking. Ultimately he was a little jealous, she could do great things while he’d be stuck being a fletcher, toymaker, and amateur inventor in hiding.

PHWWWWWHHT! The whistle snapped Jon out of his thoughts.

“Welcome back!” Erin laughed.

“I said if you want to you can go to the Fate-Seer,” Hild said, still staring at Jon.

“But should we though? I mean, miss Eva might lump us in with them if they’re a con artist,” Jon replied but half the table laughed.

“Hey, shit for brains! I just said the first person in line was Miss Eva escorting Miss Jaesmin,” Aethred said, stealing a piece of bacon from Jon, who had just realized half his food was eaten without even taking a bite, “Sorry, language I know. Another vision?”

“Ah, no,” Jon said a little dejected. His visions had become increasingly more rare as he ran into fewer and fewer things that hadn’t already triggered them. It could have been seen as a good thing but it had already changed the village in many ways… The half-completed stone wall and two windmills along the north fields were among them.

He did have a bit of pride in knowing it came from him. Even if they had to stage them as chance discoveries and he only received credit for a few minor things. It did mean his family was more than financially secure.

“I’ll see how long the line is. If it’s free, every kid in the village is going to be there,” Jon finally answer before he was accused of hiding another revolutionary vision.

The family and one bacon-eating parasite finished their meal and discussed what they were doing that day. Jon was at the unlucky age between being too old to play in the various games and contests while too young to drink or enter into any of the adult contests. The closest he came was when a hunter used one of his bows in the archery contest. The only good part came with the fact that most of the prizes for children were his toys, earning him some coin. That and his still, which others had failed to replicate so far, provided a few new beverages that were quickly growing in popularity. Earning him a lot of coin and his mother regularly smelling his breath to make sure he hadn’t been partaking in his own product.

After cleaning up and a kiss on the cheek from his mom for each of them, including Aethred to his dismay, they set out. People were wandering the village, talking, and laughing. They just wandered freely, nowhere planned.

“Knew your mom liked-ug- me,” Aethred grinned. Jon looked down at him but couldn’t help but give half a chuckle.

“You say that every time,” Erin said

“Funny, you say that to him every time he says the bit about ma,” Andrew helpfully pointed out, “It’s like the bit about Jon calling you his little sister.”

“She is my little sis,” Jon said, falling into the trap.

“Nope, I’m older,”

“But you’re shorter, he said little, not younger,” Aethred jumped in saying Jon’s line himself, “That used to be funnier you know.”

“Like ma liking you?” Jon asked.

“She’s making fun of you three, even I know that. It’s still a joke. Erin’s tall for a lass but Jon’s a fucking walking tree up there, your routine needs work,” Aethred vented a little, giggles could be heard from both Jon’s friends and a few others along the road. Jon wanted to argue but he was 14 years old and already one of the tallest in the village, his mother told him it’s his northern blood and his father and both grandfathers were quite tall.

“You sure your ma didn’t sleep with a giant all those years ago?” Aethred quipped.

“Not sure, yours must have had a night of fun with a halfling,” Erin said pushing Aethred, who couldn’t hide the fact he was the shortest of the bunch now despite being 2 years older.

“Hey now, that’s just mean, he’s not half halfling. He’s got some fairy blood in him too… below the waist,” Andrew snorted at Jon’s retort.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m short, but at least your right about one thing,” Aethred said.

“Do I wanna know?” Erin looked at him, his grin already told her she didn’t but he was going to say it anyways.

“The fairy blood didn’t change the size but I can make some magic with it,” Aethred smirked and gave Erin a wink. Erin didn’t even shoot back. She probably thought the same that Jon did, Aethred won that round. They just laughed and continued. It wasn't long until they reached the new square and saw a large tent set up for the Fate-Seer but there wasn’t much of a line.

“Wouldn’t waste your time,” a nearby peddler selling junk and one pear for 1 silver called out to them.

“Why not, is it not free or are they a fake?” Andrew asked, looking at the tent. Jon didn’t see anyone asking for money outside.

“Nope, it’s free and the guards checked, certified by the temple and everythin’, problem is…” the peddler stopped and gave them a meaningful look, nothing’s free in this world, not even information. Jon dug through his pockets and tossed the man a copper, “She’s been spouting straight horse shit all day, every kid that’s gone in there came out with some strange fate. Go spend the solstice at your grandmother's hamlet, buy the next item you see and give it to the first person you see in Bedford, leave today. Listen to what they say and come home... that’s four days there and back! Another was told to leave at noon on the day of the solstice, buy a loaf of bread in the next town over, so Everton. At least three different kids got told to go sit in that hunter's cave under the oak in North Grove and spend the night listening to the wind. Another couple was told to anchor a fishing boat in the middle of the lake, sleep there the night of the solstice, don’t come to shore till the sun rises… Lost her mind she has.”

“Isn’t that the point? The first step in fate is obscure?” Erin asked.

“Fuck if I know but how’s someone supposed to start their destiny by walking two days to buy a loaf of bread?” The peddler snorted.

“Yeah, sounds like bullshit to me,” Aethred said, “come on, let's see what our bullshit is!”

It did sound like a decent way to waste some time, a good laugh at least. They went and got in line, each kid in front of them took five minutes at most to get their fate read out to them, so at least it would be quick.

Jon got in line last and each couldn’t help but smirk as disappointed kids came out and told their parents their destiny started with sleeping in a tree in the North Grove or go spend the night at the crossroads inn on the road to Everton and listen to the topic on everyone’s lips. The last kid that came out before Erin was told to lie beneath the floorboards of a house and pretend to be a mouse every night for a week.

Erin walked in and came out a few minutes later looking around and walked off. Jon wasn’t sure what she was doing but didn’t care, maybe her’s wasn’t a load of crap. Andrew went on in next.

All Jon could do was wait, they’d agreed to wait until they all had their fates before telling each other. Erin spotted a girl that’d come out earlier and ran up to her. Jon just shrugged and waited his turn. Andrew came out and went to stand with Erin, a few minutes later Aethred followed suit with a grin on his face. Now it was Jon’s turn.

As he walked through the tent flaps he was taken aback by the plainness of it all, he’d expected religious icons and symbols, lavish decorations, a wise old woman in priestess robes sitting on an expensive chair with a place for him to kneel before her. In reality, two rickety chairs were facing each other, a couple of old trunks that looked to contain clothes and travel items, and a woman in a travel warn dress. The only mystical part about it was the wooden mask stylized like a woman’s face, trimmed with gold.

“Sit,” the woman bluntly said. Jon did as he was told and looked around. She sighed and reached out to grab his hand. As she held it the gold etching on the mask glowed and she gasped dramatically, placing a hand to her chest. Jon had to try hard not to laugh at the theatrics.

“Listen carefully and do as I say and no other. Upon the fields to the south sits a stone of old, foundation of a tower tall, long since fell in a time of cold. sit upon or near and fate will find you on the shortest night. Allow neither you nor others to flee or fight. Stand your ground and await the bite.”

The mask stopped glowing and the woman quickly took out a piece of parchment and scribbled down the short poem before handing it to Jon.

“Ah that’s it?” Jon asked, feeling a bit unnerved by the creepiness.

“Yes, go find a tower that fell during winter and sit by its ruins. Stay there during the night of the solstice and whatever you do, do not run and don’t fight. I can’t be sure what will happen but if you are not there or if you fail to follow. But I know your fate will be sealed. Your gods themselves cant change this fate. Your only path starts with what I’ve said, from there you can do whatever you wish, as your northern gods would want.” She said and waved him out, “Send in the next child.”

Jon felt a chill down his spine as he stood up. She knew he didn’t follow the Temple? He hoped the talk of sealed fate was from a southern perspective, not a northern one. He walked out and the kid behind him went in without waiting. He saw his friends standing by a large group of kids ranging from 6 to 15 and a handful of adults discussing.

“So what’d you get?” Jon asked looking at Erin.

“Go stay at the crossroads inn and listen to what everyone’s talking about, same as her,” Erin said, jerking a thumb towards the girl standing next to her. Jon recognized her, she was a year older than him, Cara or something, “but mines slightly different. Once I get home I’m supposed to take the road less traveled and light the way.” She shrugged.

“Old hideout,” Andrew said, seeming a little disappointed.

“Go sit in our old hideout? fuck yes!” Aethred yelled out, earning him some dark looks from the nearby parents, “same here!”

“I’m supposed to spend the solstice sitting on a rock in the middle of the south fields,” Jon said. He kept the actual poem to himself and gave them the gist of it.

“Okay, now I don’t feel as bad. Thought it’d be cool to travel but it’s better than sitting alone in the middle of a field,” Andrew chuckled.

“Yeah no shit, Jon’s luck he’ll be sitting out there and it’ll start fucking rain-” Aethred got yanked away by one of the parents to get chewed out for his language around the little ones.

“So you going to go? Well, if ma lets you,” Jon asked. He knew Andrew and Aethred were going to go. They knew where it was and the hatch to get in there was locked at all times. Jon also knew the hunters would be forced to let them in if it was something to do with the Temple. Jon hoped they forgot to lock it, see how the old hideout had changed after the hunters took it over might be fun.

“Yup, and she’ll let me,” She jammed her thumb towards the other girl, “her older sister is going to bring us to the inn. By the way….”

“Nope, nope. Not borrowing you any coin,” Jon knew where it was going.

“Oh come on, her sister already offered to pay for me but that wouldn’t be right and you know it,” Erin had gotten in close to beg, “please?”

Jon just stared at her a moment, he thought she had her own coin saved up but he knew it was not much compared to him. He had more coin than even his mother. He’d sold a lot of goods to traveling merchants through the years, the type to pay coin for crossbows and fishing reels.

“One and only ONE silver, that should get you whatever you want,” Jon said, “And when you get back, give me the change and earn your own coin.”

“Can’t, I have to light the way, whatever that means,” Erin laughed and Jon could only grin and shake his head. The day went on and word spread through the village. Despite all reason, more people started to show up.

The line grew once people realized the fates were probably wrong but a system was being worked out in case they were right. On top of that most of the adults seemed to like the idea of the biggest night of the festival with nearly every kid in the village gone. Some even thought it was the children’s fate to give the adults a night of revelry or that the gods simply had a sense of humor.

It didn't take long for the collective efforts to result in convoy after wagon after convoy being set up with young adults and older children being told to escort the younger ones, with the youngest being escorted by grandparents or village elders. Much to some parent’s despair the oldest person sent to the hideout was Aethred and he was one of only two that actually knew where it was! Naturally, they put Andrew in charge.

Jon asked around but no matter who he asked he couldn’t find a single other person joining him in the field. He eventually gave up rather than chasing down every kid in the village to ask. He at least knew there weren’t any little kids thanks to the lack of parents looking for the oldest kid told to sit on a rock.

The village was excited, it was one of the busiest solstice festivals anyone had ever known but it wasn’t working. Aethred went to the hideout with a hunter to clear out their stuff for the solstice and to stock it with bedrolls and snacks for his camping trip, no less than 10 kids were told to sleep on boats in the middle of the lake and more kept being added. The group was busy planning out who was sitting in which boat and boasting about who was going to catch the biggest fish that night. Jon lent out his own fishing gear to the growing group.

Erin had met up with a group of five others who were headed to the Crossroads Inn and already had their sleeping arrangements. It was only around 10 miles away, so a guard borrowed a horse and took off with collected coin to reserve rooms to ensure everyone had a place to sleep. Wagons pulled by donkeys were being loaded to head to various villages and hamlets carting the kids on their road trip, the ones further away at least. Even the poor girl that had been told to go to the nearest town to buy a fucking loaf of bread found a few people to travel with. Each with their own pointless item to buy.

After looking at the various groups forming the general consensus turned to their fates being tied with others that had similar fates. A start of a friendship, a business partnership, of love. Most kids intermingled a little but had their own clique, now the cliques were scattered. People that knew of each other but never spent time together were talking in excited little circles. Even the half dozen younger kids that were told to pretend to be mice under the floorboards had grouped together and were not so patiently waiting for their older siblings to clear the tiny crawlspace chosen of spiders and bugs.

Jon walked the south fields to find his rock, thinking he’d find others doing the same. He found the foundation of the old tower between the fields and the edge of the forest, same as it always was. He didn’t know if it had fallen in winter or not as it was older than the village and he was the only one scouting the area. He shrugged and made his way back into Terra. It was the only ruin in the area as far as he knew.

He just decided to go home early for dinner. He didn’t believe in fate like the southerners, he grew up with the northern pantheon and way of thinking, but it sounded fun. He hoped he’d find someone else to camp out with before the solstice. He made it home and walked in, his mother was sitting at the table with the baker's wife.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t know you were with a patient,” Jon turned to leave.

“No, no, it’s alright, Misses Beth is fine,” Hild said, “She brought over some tea.”

“Just a little treat, your mother is quite gifted with healing burns,” Mrs. Beth threw in, “So dear, did you go see the Fate-Seer, the village is in an uproar talking about it. Going on a trip with friends? Camping in that cave? Night fishing? Hah, I know you’re too big to join the little one's mouse house! Have you heard of that Hild?”

Jon’s mother shook her head and got a good laugh at the description of a bunch of little kids being told to sleep under a house. They commented on how genius the Fate-Seer was... If only they’d been able to convince their children to pretend to be as quiet as a mouse, or Aethred… he had his reputation and Jon's mother still hadn’t forgotten that morning by her expression.

“So Jon, what’d you get? Erin told me hers but wouldn’t tell me yours,” Hild said, pouring Jon a cup of tea and patting the chair next to her. He dropped down in the seat and took a sip. He had to admit, it wasn’t bad, there was a taste of mint.

“I’m supposed to camp out by the old tower ruins in the south fields,” Jon said flatly, “Not sure if anyone else is though.”

“You don’t need to-” Hild started.

“Oh hogwash,” Mrs. Beth interrupted, Hild’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not talking southern versus northern! I just happened to see a young Mister Leofrith and one of the men at arms walking around the tower just this morning.”

“But he’s already an adult, he didn’t get his fate read,” Jon said, confused on why Leo would be out there.

“He is... but there’s a certain pretty lass that was first in line with the Fate-Seer this morning…” Mrs. Beth smirked with a wink, “It’s not like the lady of the manor would ever stop either of you from sitting out there together. It’d defy the gods to deny it.”

Jon thought about it, she was right. He’d seen Jaesmin around the village, at festivals and in passing but he hadn’t been able to speak with her as often at all. A greeting and an exchange of awkward smiles were it. He wanted to spend time with Jaesmin. Just not for the reasons Mrs. Beth seemed to be implying. Just see how she was, be able to say more than a few short sentences.

“But…” Jon started but stopped when his mother touched his hand.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, No offense Beth… but southerners blindly follow their fate and don’t ask questions. Even Madam Eva would tolerate a heathen boy spending time with her little priestess if it was ordained by her gods,” Hild said with a knowing smile, “besides, she’ll probably just encourage little Jaesmin to convert you.”

Mrs. Beth snorted with laughter after that and nodded. Jon couldn’t help but get an eerie sense that reminded him of Aethred, Mrs. Beth apparently had a dirty mind.

The day of the solstice finally arrived, the town was in an uproar. Many children had already left to take their first steps on the road of fate, to their destiny. Jon just walked around, occasionally helping set up banners and tables in the new square. He couldn’t help but think about the coming night.

Again, not in the way Mrs. Beth implied or the unsubtle hints of romance others who found out spoke of. He was more worried that she had gotten the same message as him. As in the part about not letting anyone else fight or flee, it actually implied others would be there. He originally hoped it would be a group of kids his age but now he thought about sitting next to the old tower with a handful of guards, the lady of the manor, and both heavily armed and armored men at arms staring him down the entire night.

He continued to wander and eventually saw off Aethred and Andrew by mid-afternoon. It wouldn’t take them till nightfall to get there but they had to lead the other kids out there and Jon was pretty certain Aethred was trying to find some way to duplicate the key. Even if he had to carve it out of wood. Jon told him to press the key into clay and keep it undisturbed, Jon would see if he could make one with that.

Erin and her group left shortly after, piled onto a wagon. She waved as she left, he waved back. It wasn’t a bad thing that she was having a little adventure, just seemed easier than what he realized he had to deal with. As he walked into town he passed a group of boys and girls, some as young as six some near adults walking together headed for the small lake outside of town. A few were carrying Jon’s fishing gear and buckets of worms and frogs ready to use as bait.

The sights got strange for a bit after that, a woman sitting halfway in the foundation of a house, her ass sticking in the air. As he walked by he could hear little voices squeaking while the woman laughed. He’d found the mouse house again!

His stroll through town continued and in the square, kegs of ale and casks of wine were being pulled out while multiple pigs were getting put onto spits. It dawned on him he hadn’t packed anything for the night. He debated internally for a moment but decided he still had a few hours left and nothing better to do so he turned around.

When he got home he found a bag already packed for him with a new pair of clothes, a brush, two buckets of clean water, and some honey lavender soap.

Taking the hint, he started getting ready. A trip to the outhouse, cold bath, change of clothes later and he was ready to go. He spent a little too much time in the outhouse, he was nervous and the idea of having to go in the woods normally wouldn’t bother him but he felt it was a good idea to make sure he was on empty. The entire process took an hour and a half.

When he came back from dumping his dirty water he found his mother and step-father sitting at the table. Kaden slid a plate over and padded the seat in between them. Jon wasn’t sure what was going on, most of the other adults were already starting the celebration.

He ran his mind over some options and decided he wasn’t in trouble because he hadn’t done anything wrong, they wouldn’t be giving big family news with Erin and Andrew gone… His mind got stuck on two options, how to act with the very real possibility of Jaesmin’s guards out there or the talk. As in, the one Piers had with Aethred multiple times already. The one that seemed to backfire by making it so Aethred actually KNEW what he was talking about for once rather than just repeating things he heard older kids saying.

The one, according to Aethred, ended with ‘if you fuck up, you marry her. You don’t, I let her father take a gelding sheers to ya.’

Jon nervously sat down, confused but started eating, glancing back and forth. He’d eaten with just them before but they were both acting strangely, their postures tense, not saying a word.

“We should talk about tonight,” Kaden finally said after finishing his meal, “There’s some rules you should know.”

“I already know, Aethred already told me! His da has told him over and over,” Jon said in the hopes that would be all it took.

“Okay, well let's hear them then. Piers would know some parts better than me I suppose,” Kaden said and leaned back.

Jon started to repeat every phrase he’d heard from Aethred about the talk. From the number one rule, ‘You put a kid in her, you marry her’ to the gelding threat. His face went beat red and his ears felt hot, both Hild and Kaden looked at him in shock.

By the time he started stumbling over the details of the act itself. His mother was holding her hand over her mouth, shaking. Tears streamed down her face. Kaden was biting his lip so hard he looked like he was going to draw blood, the corners of his mouth raised in a grin that made his cheeks bulge. Jon got all the way to the point of ‘releasing the seed’ before he noticed and stopped.

Hild and Kaden both doubled over, unable to hold it in anymore. Jon just watched them laugh, trying to catch their breath while telling him to stay seated. Finally, after a minute or two, Kaden regained his composure.

“Not… Not what I meant,” He said, still trying to contain his laughter a bit. He sat taking a few deep breaths, laughing again as Hild tried to stifle her giggle. “I was going to go over some things about camping so close to the forest… pfft.”

“It’s okay sweetheart, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Being outside the walls, that close to the forest is dangerous. We just wanted to make sure you’re informed and safe,” Hild said, the pitch of her voice changing as she forced her way through giggles to get it out, “it’s good to know you’ve already heard that but you’ve got years before you have to worry about it. At least one good thing came from Aethred’s antics, took care of that talk for us.”

Jon just pinched the bridge of his nose and did his breathing stress reliever for a moment.

“Fucking gelding sheers!” Kaden laughed out, leading to more giggling from Hild. He took a few more breaths, “two more parts of that and we’re done with it, I promise. There’s no gelding sheers issue for you… pfft… I need to talk to Piers… Second part is if you need to talk to someone, we’ll talk. No laughing if you do, you just caught us off guard. We’re both worried about you and Erin, Andrew should be okay in the safe house. You’ll be outside the wall and Erin is spending the night away for the first time.”

“Thank you,” Hild said, wiping tears from her eyes, “We needed that…. Last thing, no advice on that from Aethred, got it? Good, now let's talk about the forest…”

Nearly an hour later Jon gave his mother a hug and kiss and headed out the door.

“Love you, see you in the morning!” Hild said.

“Be safe Jon, remember what we told you!”

“I will, love you!” Jon said, feeling less anxious about a night surrounded by armed guards and maybe a madwoman that would feed him to a shadowcat if she got the chance.

Nothing could be worse than accidentally talking about his penis while his mother and step-father laughed so hard they cried. He thought about two things, getting home early in the morning and getting them BOTH to promise never to tell anyone about that, especially anyone that might tell his friends. The only problem is Kaden seemed dead set on discussing gelding sheers with Aethred’s dad, so that’s where the second thing came to play. If Aethred found out, Jon was going to punch him preemptively and again any time he brought it up after that.

Despite the awkwardness, the rest of the conversation wasn't bad. It actually gave him the chance to calm down. The warning about the forest was all things he’d already known. It’d been dry so no fires, blow the horn if wolves or something show up, and don’t run because prey runs, they’ll give chase...

Jon was so focused on his cringe-worthy mistake that he soon found himself at the tower, alone. The sun hadn’t set yet so he pulled out the parchment.

Upon the fields to the south sits a stone of old.

foundation of a tower tall, long since fell in a time of cold.

sit upon or near and fate will find you on the shortest night.

Allow neither you nor others to flee or fight.

Stand your ground and await the bite.

Well, he was here in time for the shortest night. He felt apprehensive about the last line, was something going to attack him? He hadn’t revealed the whole reading to anyone and definitely didn’t mention the bit about sealing his fate or the gods being unable to protect him. He wouldn’t worry his mother over the ravings of a lunatic.

After a few moments of contemplation and he decided to get his stuff ready while he could. The moon was going to be ¾ full and the sky was clear but again, nothing better to do. It only took 10 minutes to get his tent and bedroll set up, he started going over his other supplies.

He had a hatchet and dagger, an adult-sized crossbow with 10 bolts, a blanket which he laid out to put the smaller items on. A hunter's emergency horn, two full water skins, some pears, dried meat, cheese, fresh bread, a small jar of soft butter, two strawberry tarts wrapped in linen, a bottle of wine with two glass cups, and an item wrapped up in linen with a blue ribbon. The apparent gift wasn’t for him as it had a note on it that said ‘for her’.

“You having a picnic?” a familiar voice sounded behind him. Jon turned and almost cried out in joy when he saw Leofrith and Jaesmin walking up to him alone. He tucked away the present in his pocket. Leo was carrying a ruck over his back, a gambeson over his tunic, and a sword at his waist. Jon’s eyes drifted toward Jaesmin though, she was wearing a long, beige tunic with a light blue tabard-like vest over it, tight leggings, and calf-high boots. Her strawberry blonde hair was braided and tied in the back to keep it out of her face. “Ahem, Jon…”

“Umm... Sorry,” Jon scrambled to his feet and bowed, “pleasure to see you both tonight. I apologize for my rudeness.”

Leofrith just patted Jon on the shoulder as he stood back up.

“It’s the clothes right?” Leo laughed. Jaesmin just looked over her shoulder at the village and when she seemed certain no one was watching stepped forward and hugged Jon.

“Thank you for the presents,” She said softly and backed away, Jon immediately thought of the present in his pocket but realized she was talking about the things Leo had bought and smuggled for her.

“Ummm… You’re welcome,” Jon blushed and quickly moved to help Leofrith set up their tent, “You’re welcome to help yourself, my mother had a pack all ready for me before I got home from sending Erin off. She packed a bit much.”

Jaesmin muttered a thank you and sat down on the blanket. Leo pulled out an oil lamp and carefully lit it with some tinder before stomping the embers out. He’d obviously been told much the same thing. They settled in for the night.

“So Leo, I know why Jaesmin’s here, fate and all that. Why are you?” Jon asked taking a seat just off the blanket, he didn’t mind.

“That’s because of me," Jaesmin said and pulled out a slip of parchment to pass it to Jon,” He realized it was another poem and passed his to them before reading.

Upon the fields to the south sits a stone of old.

foundation of a tower tall, long since fell in a time of cold.

sit upon or near and fate will find you on the shortest night.

Allow neither you nor others to flee or fight.

Stand your ground and await the bite.

Accompanied to the other with one you trust

Not two or three, only one is a must

“I see, so you picked Leo,” Jon stated the obvious, wondering why he couldn’t have picked someone to join him, he’d probably have asked Andrew.

“So Jon, have a question for you,” Leo said, a glint in his eye told Jon he was up to something, “Why’s half the village walking around talking about gelding sheers?”

“No idea,” Jon lied trying to keep the straightest face possible. Judging by Leofrith’s grin and Jaesmin’s side glance, they both knew something.

“Huh, I’ll have to ask tomorrow, strange topic. Anyways wine or liquor?” Leo asked while pulling out a bottle and a third cup to add to Jon’s two. Jon just gestured to the bottle of distilled spirit, Leo poured two half cups of that and after taking a sniff of the raspberry wine topped them off before pouring a full glass of wine for Jaesmin. “so, what are we toasting, hmmm? Following fate, subverting it, old times?”

“Hehe, how bout to spending the night sitting by a rock because a crazy old lady told me to?” Jaesmin said, which led to Jon staring, “Even mother thought she was drunk or had been eating some bad mushrooms. But just in case she wasn't…” She gestured to herself as if to say ‘here I am’.

“Fair enough, to sitting by a rock because of a crazy old lady,” Leo raised his glass with the other two following suit. Jon coughed as the drink burned its way down but kept from spitting it out. They quietly sipped their drinks and snacked as the last light of day slowly dwindled.

“Well, this is it!” Leo said with a clap of his hands that reminded Jon of Magistrate Ellis, “Now what? You’re the fateful tonight.”

“Hurry up and wait,” Jon offered, he had no idea either, “I’m a heathen, remember most of us never get their fate read. I just thought it’d be funny after hearing some of the others.”

“Then why’d you even bother coming out here?” Jaesmin asked with just one corner of her mouth upturned.

“To see us of course, and probably to frustrate mother,” Leo said pouring another round.

“No offense, but I’m pretty sure my existence already does that,” Jon laughed halfheartedly, unsure how the joke would go.

“Eh, you’re my favorite heathen though, so there’s that. Pretty sure father might say the same but I’m not sure. Heathen or not, your mother being a mage healer is a pretty big thing in the village. Makes it close and she probably replaced you after that… stringed instrument with the flat bow,” Leo tipped back another while motioning Jon to drink, the second round was quite a bit stronger than the first.

“That thing sounded like a dying cat!” Jaesmin laughed, “but you’re still my favorite heathen.” Jon had to look away a moment but thanked her a second later. She seemed to be past faking disdain, guess she really did trust Leo.

The night went on and on, around midnight they were buzzed and chatting away. Jon learned that Jaesmin had in fact been sent to camp out in a priestess dress but Leo had hidden away a change of clothes in one of the guard's homes. As they talked Leo said there wasn’t any worry about dangerous animals or bandits after his father ordered the village guard to scour the woods for any signs of something dangerous and the final revelation was, Jaesmin had a very beautiful singing voice and thought the same of Jon. Leo couldn’t sing to save his life and after a moment of it Jon offered to get his fiddle but both quickly put a stop to the idea. He had been getting better but had been banned by his mother from playing within earshot of the village.

“Too bad the others aren’t here,” Leo said, “You know the last time we were all together just us… other than the damn cats... that was a fun night. I mean you killed that thing with a kid-sized crossbow and a sharpened stick!”

“Kid-sized? Leo, there wasn’t anything other than that crossbow,” Jaes giggled, “But I agree! If Aethred were here, we’d have gotten to the bottom of the gelding sheers mystery already.”

She looked right at Jon at that last part, he still hadn’t admitted to it and never planned on it but he was certain they’d already heard the gist of the story at least.

“Can you keep a secret?” Leo asked taking his first sip of water for the night.

“Should you be telling me secrets?” Jon asked. He was drunk for the first time but still knew nobles had secrets that could be dangerous for commoners to know.

“Ye...Yes, I trust you,” He looked at Jaesmin who nodded, “Two years from now, before Jaes turns 16, we’re leaving… Gone. Wanna come with?”

“Wait, what? Why?” Jon already knew half the answer but asked anyway. Jaesmin? He could understand wanting to get out of Terra but Leo was set to inherit the entire village and everything within sight. If Terra kept growing, he might eventually be Baron Leofrith Barling.

“You know hers but for me, my fate didn’t describe someone ruling a village, it described a knight... Wait, you know that...” Leo said caught up with his head. He gave a shake and continued, “I’m not going to find that here in Terra… I blame you with your heathen subertin-subVERting fate stuff.”

“Where will you go?” Jon asked, “I won’t tell anyone, promise.” He meant it too if nothing else but to keep Jaesmin from her mother. They were barely friends but he still thought of that day. He also didn't want to face Madam Eva.

“Dunno, Ederath maybe. Temple can’t reach us there, maybe I could squire for one of them,” Leo said again pouring another round.

“Ederath, would be nice,” Jaesmin leaned back and sighed but then started to giggle, it took her a second to continue, “We’d be the heathens for once!”

“Shhh, Shhh. Listen,” Leo suddenly said. Both Jon and Jaes leaned forward with anticipation, waiting for the joke or next part of his plan. After a second they heard it.

Bwaaaaaa-

Jon’s eyes went wide as he looked toward the village. Leo reached for his gambeson but Jaes grabbed it.

“No, no! Don’t run! don’t fight!” She whispered, her words clearer than just a minute ago. The quickest way to sober up was fear, “If they blew the horn they saw it coming and the gates are locked. If you run back, whoever it is will see you, or the guard will think your attacking and put an arrow in you!”

Jon scrambled to the oil lamp and put out the light. Leo luckily saw reason and shakily took a knee. A faint sound traveled through the air, they could hear the people of the village screaming.

“That must be the people that drank too much, right? Panicking because they have no clue what’s going on, the guard was ordered to stay sober… Right?” Jon asked. No answer came, his two companions stared at the distant stone walls. The village, hidden somewhere behind.

'Okay, what comes next. We’re at the rock, it’s the shortest night, we’re not running or fighting…' Jon started going over the fate. I was pretty fucking clear the old hag had known something!

”Await the bite,” He said aloud, finishing the poem. He whisper yelled, "Fuck, fate sealing!"

“What?” Jaes only now decided to answer.

“I dunno but the crazy woman, she told me if I don’t follow the fate my fate is sealed,” Jon was shaking now.

“So? So what does that that have to do anything?” Jaes asked, finally looking at him and seeing Jon as he felt the color drain from his face.

“She knew I was a heathen and said it didn’t matter. To us, the only way to seal our fate is to kill us. She... she said even the gods, MY gods, couldn’t protect me if I didn’t listen. Something even the gods can’t beat…” Jon felt like throwing up, it might have been the alcohol or the terrible premonition that reminded him of one of his mother's stories, “stand your ground and await the bite.”

Even Leo was staring wide-eyed at Jon now.

“So what do we do?” He asked, the screams grew louder, figures could be seen running from the village heading west along the road, larger figures jumping on them and dragging them to the ground.

“We have to sit here and if we run or fight, we die,” Jon said barely able to move.

“Please, please, please. Oesis, Edur, Itos and Uthos, Ienar I call on you. The gods of the north! The fucking light! One of you please!” Jon glanced over at Jaesmin, she was on her knees facing the forest tears streaming across her eyes, “One of you do something, please….”

Jon, who’d been kneeling next to Leofrith turned and faced the forest. Standing there, barely visible in the moon's light, were three tall beings just within the trees. If he hadn’t followed Jaesmin’s gaze he’d have never seen them. The three started walking slowly out of the trees and Jon grabbed Leo’s arm.

“Don’t run, don’t fight…” Jon said as Leo turned toward the advancing monsters, “stand your ground.”

“Await the bite,” Jaesmin finished, still on her knees crying uncontrollably.

As the beings slowly walked toward them their size became more apparent and their features were visible in the partially full moonlight. All three were tall muscular beings that stood well over 7 feet tall. Their naked bodies covered in matted fur, the smell of iron and rotten flesh wafted towards the trio. Long muscular arms ending in hands with sharp claws, glinting with dew or Jon hoped it was dew.

One dropped down on all fours, it’ bushy tail and canine feature… no lupine, displayed clearly as they reached only two dozen paces away. The tallest one started making an intermittent guttural growl. It sounded like a twisted version of laughter. It barked and all three lunged.

Even if he decided to run, it was too late. Jon barely started standing before the largest one slammed him into the ground. Screaming came from his side, girls and boys. In a moment the beast picked him up and its entire maw opened over his head before bearing down on his right shoulder. Jon’s own scream joined his friends as sharp teeth dug into him. He tried to squirm to get free but any time he did sharp claws dug into his flesh.

It seemed like an eternity but it only lasted 15 seconds at most before the beast dropped him on the ground. Jon laid on his back looking up at a thing of nightmares, blood dripped from its exposed teeth as it looked down at him. He shivered as it stepped forward on digit grade legs and moved toward the stone wall under construction and the village beyond, completely ignoring them and heading towards their home! The other two joined the first and bounded away.

Jon rolled over and saw Leofrith and Jaesmin in similar states. Leo’s right shoulder was also shredded and Jaesmin was holding her stomach, organs clearly visible from the wound. She was somehow still awake. Jon tried to get over to her, thinking of getting all of them to his mother.

He didn’t make it as a burning sensation spread from his shoulder radiating down his arm and across his chest. It made its way to his other arm and started moving down his thighs. As it did he couldn’t hold himself up any longer. He collapsed face-first into the ground as Jaesmin, then Leofrith started screaming, even louder than before.

The burning made it to his toes and then finally spread up his neck. It felt like the worst sunburn he’d ever had both on his skin and inside him. The burning sensation continued up, making his eyes sting, his scalp burned, and finally reached the last point that didn’t feel pain on the very top of his head. At that moment his body erupted, it felt like he was on fire and he begged it to stop, screamed out loud for it to stop. It only got worse as he convulsed and felt his body twist, his joints bent in directions they were never supposed to. His bones shattered and reformed over and over. Jon felt the pain slowly slip away as he fell unconscious.

Darkness enveloped him as the howling started.