When Vreil woke up, his eyes were moist. The nightmare had come again. The image of his family was still fresh in his mind.

The boy tried to shake off the grief that was clinging to him like his wet clothes, but it was futile. He wanted to lay there forever, with his eyes shutting off the world, but his stomach was growling and hunger was painful. With significant mental effort, Vreil finally opened his eyes and took a look at the place he had slept in.

Last night it had been too dark and he was too tired to pay attention to his surroundings, but now he could see that it was a small cave that had sheltered him from the rain. A pinky-sized worm was slowly climbing his leg, which he swatted away.

He was cold, very cold, and starving, but he managed to drink some water from a little pond in the ground, gathered there by the rain that had stopped not too long ago. Now, he should have enough energy to make it to the town he was heading to, the town of Daybreak, which wasn’t more than three or four kilometers away. These past four days he had gotten used to hiding from the animals of the forest, so that wouldn’t be much of a problem. Probably.

Every moment was precious, so Vreil stepped out of the cave and started following the path to the town. As he was walking, he looked up and saw that a rainbow had formed. For a moment, the boy forgot of everything that had happened. He was back home with his parents, watching the rainbow and talking about what they would do if they found the gold that is hidden at its end.

He smiled for the first time since he had entered the forest. He then tripped on a root that was slightly above the ground, falling flat on his face as that warm image disappeared, dragging him back to reality. Those days would never come back. Nothing could bring his parents back from the dead.

And so the boy kept walking.

Suddenly, the noise of heavy steps and loud voices echoed through the forest. Vreil quickly ran out of the path and hid into a bush, waiting to see who would show up. Shortly afterward, a group of four soldiers appeared. Their insignia meant that they were part of the Red House, the House least known for its kindness and most for its strength and its cruelty. Who knows what they would do to him if they caught him, a boy looking like he was lost and wandering alone in the woods. Especially if they saw his eyes; in that case, the best he could hope for was a quick death or, even worse, enlistment.

Anyone but them, he thought.

The one in charge, a tall man with broad shoulders and a look that seemed determined to chop down any tree that dared be in his way, was looking straight ahead, not bothering with stopping his soldiers from arguing about which one of them was the strongest.

When they came closer, Vreil saw that the commander was not only bald, but he had absolutely no facial hair whatsoever, probably the result of some punishment he had received from his House. The other three were all men of average height, each looking and sounding more stupid than the last. It was easy to tell they had just been recruited by the man with no eyebrows, who was loudly cursing his fate for being stuck with them out in the middle of nowhere. He would much rather be with his superiors in the town of Bellamy than having to run around some small villages in the mountains, trying to recruit one or two idiots who would probably die in the first fight they got into, or even before that.

Vreil waited for about twenty minutes after the soldiers had disappeared from sight to come out of his hiding place. He couldn’t help but pity those soldiers who were excited about going to the Red House, not knowing that only seven out of ten new recruits survived the training, and only three of those seven survived their first battle with bandits or pirates, leaving only one person out of ten alive at the end of their first year.

The ones who did survive though were extremely capable soldiers, willing to sacrifice even their lives for the Red House. After all, everyone knew about the battle of the Bellamy mountains, when just fifteen Red House elites took out a large band of bandits, or the protection of Abib, when ten Red House members managed to hold off the crews of two pirate ships for half an hour until the Blue House reinforcements arrived.

The Red House was basing its strength on the quality of its members, not their quantity. Too bad that quality didn't include morality as well.

🧙‍♂️🧙‍♂️🧙‍♂️

When Vreil reached the top of the small hill he’d been climbing for the past ten minutes, he saw that the town was now less than a kilometer away. From the height he was at, he could see most of it, including the mayor’s house, which stood above everything else if one includes the roof's observatory as part of the building.

He had only been to this town once before, when his father had been sent here by the village’s traders to negotiate tax reduction with the mayor. The negotiations failed, but Vreil himself saw a lot of new things on this trip.

But was it always so big?!

Being used to the fifty-seven small houses of his village, he was astonished by the view of thousands of them in one place. Thousands! If every person in his village put their fingers out together, they still wouldn’t have enough to count all these houses. Probably.

For a while, all he did was observe the town and the people that ran through its streets. They looked like ants from up here, each walking in a seemingly random direction, and yet all having a destination in mind and work to do. A group was beginning to form near the central square. The soldiers he had encountered before had already arrived, and the bald man was trying to recruit more manpower for the House. He probably wouldn’t be able to find more than a couple though. The town of Daybreak was traditionally sending its youth to the Green House, the one responsible for protecting the mountains and forests of the country.

Mustering his courage, Vreil headed for the town's entrance, trying to think of ways to get past the guards.

His stomach growled again and reminded him of his hunger as he was heading for the city. The guards at the gate were now the only thing standing between him and his destination. If they caught him trying to sneak in they would throw him in prison or execute him on the spot, depending on the mood and his ability to bribe them. Of course, the latter was wholly irrelevant, unless they accepted bribes in worms or torn clothes.

Unfortunately, things had gotten very strict the past few years. He couldn’t just walk in and announce the slaughtering of his village or he would be confined for a time, until they could confirm his identity. It could be days and, honestly, he couldn’t care less about letting them know. What were they going to do, bring his parents back?

Vreil smiled bitterly.

No, he didn’t feel like telling anyone. He didn’t trust anyone. He could do it by himself. He was alone now.

The boy crouched behind a tree about fifty meters from the gate, from where he could see the gate but the guards couldn’t see him. Only a passing rabbit noticed his presence and quickly ran away.

There were only two guards at the gate, which was about four meters wide, and no people looking to enter. The one standing at the right side of the gate was a short man with a big mustache, clearly bored as he leaned on his spear, and his stomach was probably preventing him from seeing his feet. The one on the left was a skinny man with long arms who was trying to seem like he was on guard, but was probably as bored as his partner. They both looked like they would be easy to fool, so he wouldn’t need to circle around to the other gate of the town. He didn’t have the energy to do that anyway. Now, all Vreil had to do was wait for one of them to leave his post. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Hey, Seb”, said the skinny guard, “I have to use the bathroom. Hold my post for a bit”.

“Take your time, Ned. I’ll give you a shout if the King comes.” Both men laughed in self-deprecation, the taller of the two retreating somewhere behind the walls.

The short guard, Seb, sighed and got ready for the endless hordes of boredom that were coming his way. Then, he saw a boy holding a hand over his left eye and running his way. He placed a hand above his own eyes to see the boy better, without that annoying sun blinding him.

The boy seemed about sixteen years old, close to recruitment age. His clothes looked well-made but were horribly dirty, and the boy himself looked like he really needed a bath. He wasn’t what one would call muscular, but he didn’t look that weak either, sporting a vaguely athletic physique. Unkempt black hair covered his head and his height was a tad above average for his age. His nose was a little crooked, however, something you usually only find in royal bloodlines. Seb instinctively corrected his pose. This wasn’t your usual commoner’s kid, even though the boy looked like he’d been through hell.

“Mr. Seb, Mr. Seb” yelled the kid. “Let me pass, I have to see the doctor right away!”

Now that he was closer, Seb could see that the boy’s face was contorted in a brave attempt to hide his pain. He also noticed an unpleasant smell originating from him. Then he saw that the color of the boy’s eyes was blue.

“Hold it, young man. There are some formalities we need to abide by. What’s your name?”

“There's no time! My father was teaching me how to chop wood when his axe fell on his foot and broke it. I tried to run here as fast as I could but I fell three times and injured my eye on a tree branch. Please, you must let me pass and get the doctor right away!” the boy replied frantically, the words flowing out of his mouth quick enough to be barely discernible.

Seb thought about it. The boy had the face and clothes of a noble, and he showed manners, since he called him "Mr. Seb". He also called him by his name, so he must be a local. If this really was an emergency, he wouldn’t want to leave a noble waiting in the woods with a broken foot while he delays his son with some meaningless formalities. In fact, this could be his chance to earn the favor of someone important, someone who could get him out of this boring post. He smiled under his mustache. How lucky he was that Ned had gone to pee at this exact moment!

“Yes, of course. Hurry inside and get the doctor as fast as you can. I will go tend to your father, the other guard will be here to cover my post in a minute. Where is your father, child?”

“He is about five hundred meters that way”, yelled the boy, pointing towards the woods, as he was running through the gate. “Thank you, Mr. Seb!”

For being an idiot.

Vreil ran until he got past the first few buildings, then turned a corner and stopped to catch his breath. That guard was even easier to fool than he thought. If after all the merchant training by his father, he couldn’t fool someone like that, then he wouldn’t deserve to live thanks to the sacrifice of his parents.

He shook his head.

Now, he was inside the walls and had to sort out his priorities. First, he had to find some food, then some water, and a place to sleep. After that, he could steal to survive. He had practiced a lot with the other kids at the village, so he could probably keep that up for a while. But then what? He hadn’t really given it much thought. He always had survival in mind until now, and his dreams of becoming a merchant and traveling around with his father were long gone.

Oh well, he thought. I’m still hungry.

The prices in Daybreak were higher than those in Aldmark, his village, so the money that the boy had on him was barely enough to buy a loaf of bread from the market. He kept his left eye closed while walking among other people, so that his blue stare prevented them from asking questions. After he got his bread, Vreil sat against the wall of an alley to eat it quietly. Now that he was alone, he could safely open his other eye as well. No one would see his brown left eye.

After the boy got his stomach to stay quiet, he felt like some heavy weight had been on him for days and was now lifted. He could think clearly again, so he started planning ahead. He had almost no money on him and unless he wanted to spend the night in some alley, he would have to get some. He also had to find more food and water.

Perhaps informing the guards of Aldmark’s slaughter was a good idea, after all. Memories were trying to worm their way into his thoughts but he forcefully kept them away.

“Pickpocketing it is, then”.

Vreil decided that was all he needed to think for now and went to the market, his eyes half-closed so nobody would notice their color, in search of an easy victim to test his skills on. It took him less than ten seconds to spot an old man with a big pocket, walking alone through the crowd.

He looked distracted, thinking about something of no interest whatsoever to the one carefully closing in on him from behind, the boy being careful to make it look as if he wasn’t interested in that old man at all. It wasn’t like anyone was looking at him, but sometimes people have a sixth sense about such things.

The boy approached the old man and pretended to trip and fall on him before quickly regaining his balance. Meanwhile, he’d swiftly put his hand in the old man’s pocket and dragged out what was inside, before altering his course to get away from him as fast as possible.

But something was off. Everyone was staring at him and he could see a strange light coming from his hands, or rather from what was between his hands. Panicking, he tried to take a better look at his spoils of thievery but, when he turned his eyes at what seemed like a bag with something very shiny inside it, that something was engulfed by a light as bright as the sun, devouring the bag and dragging the boy directly into unconsciousness.

When he came to, Vreil thought fast enough to avoid instinctively opening his eyes. He remembered what had happened, concluding that he was in a dire situation. He was lying on a soft bed, which meant that he wasn’t in a prison but rather in somebody’s house. And the chances were greatly against that somebody being his friend. His hands were not tied though, and neither were his legs.

“I know you are awake, little friend”, came a deep voice, filled with wisdom and kindness. “There is nothing to be afraid of. You can open your eyes”.

The boy opened his eyes, already convinced that whoever was in that room with him meant him no harm, or he would at the very least be tied up. He wasn’t surprised to see that the one who had spoken to him was the old man he had tried to rob.

He was pretty tall, leaning over the bed as he inspected Vreil. His eyes seemed intense yet kind, and he looked a lot older than he appeared at the market. His nose was long, but he must have been a handsome man in his youth. A thick mustache traveled from one cheek to the other, its edges slightly curly, and his beard was so long he could probably wrap it around his neck. All of his shoulder-long hair was pure white.

The old man’s face didn’t have as many wrinkles as one would expect though, and his hands implied that he hadn’t done almost any manual labor in his entire life. The clothes he was wearing were strange now that the boy could see them up close, looking like they were made up of innumerable tiny strings tied together by someone with inhumane patience and precision.

For a while, the two stood there and looked at each other, each impressed by the other one. The old man seemed fascinated by the boy’s eyes, the left being brown and the right being blue.

Vreil, on the other hand, was equally impressed. It was his first time seeing a wizard up-close.

“I am called Ashter. It is nice to meet you, young Arknas. What is your name?”

What did he call him? The boy briefly tried to remember whether Arknas was a curse word, but came up empty. And what did he ask for? His name? He hadn’t thought about that in what seemed like ages, so it took him a second to recall it.

“Vreil. My name is Vreil Light”.