***

Chapter 1:

Khalm Before The Storm

***

A dead forest; frigid temperatures; the ground as white as his locks. There was something about this time of year that fascinated the thirteen-year-old. While many were obliged to stay inside, huddled before burning logs, the silver-haired young man welcomed the cold, crisp air into his lungs.

Today was a good day for a fight.

He caught a glimpse of a shadow in the corner of his eye. A small figure darting behind a fallen tree; it had to be him. That little weasel moved fast in half a foot of snow. He wouldn't have it any other way. He stepped carefully in his old footsteps and backtracked to a previous position. And not a moment too soon.

“Gotcha!” he heard his opponent boast.

The young man sprung from behind a tree, arms loaded with snowballs.“Guess again!” he shouted, unloading an arsenal on his opponent. His opponent was the size of a fully grown house cat with short copper fur and long floppy ears. It could run on either two legs or four. Dodging snowballs required all four paws. But sometimes even that wasn’t enough. Five direct hits and the little critter was flat on its stomach.

“That's four fights to your zero, Quinn,” the young man bragged with a toothy grin. “You have to buy lunch for the next four days.”

The furry four-legged critter plucked its head out of the snow. “I'll be using your money! I lost everything I had playing cards with Laul last night.”

“You always lose at cards, and you always lose playing snowball.” Or maybe it was letting him win all the time. No one could be that bad at snow duels. “When are you going to teach me how to play cards, Quinn?”

“When I beat you at snow duels,” Quinn said, shaking wet snow from his fur.

“Aiden?” called an approaching voice. “Oh, Aiden! There you are, Aiden!”

The silver-haired boy spun around. A short, apple-shaped man tore through the snow as if the last strands of hair on his head were aflame.

Uh oh!

“Oh, hi mister Laul. Quinn and I were just -”

Not stopping to catch his breath Laul grabbed Aiden by the arm and hurried him along. “Goofing off when you've deliveries to make!”

“Easy there! He's not a doll, y'know!” Quinn protested, running to catch up.

“Quiet, Quinn! I have customers waiting,” Laul grimaced. “If we were in a bigger city I’d be out of business and you’d be out of a job!”

“Yes, sir. I'm sorry. I just lost track of time.” Aiden snatched his arm from Laul’s grasp and ran towards his delivery mount. His mount, a small maroon-colored horse with black mane, grazed what little green grass it could find. Attached to it was a wagon load of goods.

Aiden grabbed the animal’s reins and scrambled onto its saddle. “Are you coming Quinn?”

“Wait for me!” Quinn exclaimed while running up to the wagon.

Laul folded his arms. “Do you have the list I gave you?”

Aiden dug his hands into his pants pockets. “I have it, mister Laul.” Then his coat pockets. “I have it. I have it.” Then his inner coat pocket. “I...used to have it...”

“Aiden...!” Laul moaned. “You'd forget your head if it weren’t screwed on!”

Quinn popped up out of an open bag of supplies holding a piece of paper. “I’ve got it.”

Laul sighed and rubbed his forehead. “All right. All right. Get out of here and make those deliveries. People are waiting.”

“Right away! Let’s go, Hassan!” Aiden said, signaling for the delivery mount to move.

“Just a moment, Aiden.”

What now?

Laul fits a cap on Aiden’s silver hair. The cap reads ‘Laul Delivers’. “Don’t leave without this. Representation is very important!”

Aiden adjusts the cap to uncover his eyebrows. “Thanks, mister Laul.”

Hassan sprints off as if it’s racing another delivery mount. Quinn crawls out of the wagon as it bounces along the gravel road. He makes his way to Aiden and climbs onto his shoulder.

“Let me see the delivery list,” Aiden requested.

“Oh yeah,” Quinn said as he passed the paper to Aiden.

Aiden glanced at the paper then flipped it over. “This is blank, Quinn.”

“I know.”

“Where’s the list?”

“Beats me. I just used that to shut mister grouch up.”

“Quinn! I don’t know who gets what delivered today.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“That’s not good enough.” Aiden slowed the delivery mount as it cut a corner. “I’ll try to remember it. Mister Laul is going to be so furious with me if I screw up another delivery!”

****

The early morning snow slowly melted under the setting sun. Some mounds of the frozen precipitation found sanctuary in the long shadows of stone cottages or between the few narrow alleys found in the village. Aiden led Hassan through the street, resisting the urge to salvage some snowballs. The streets were less lively as the day winded down and the chill returned to the air. The cold air had only just begun its descent on the village. Soon the ground would be too hard to plow. The farmland to the south was already frostbitten.

Laul’s General Store the sign read, wet snow dripping from its corners. Laul’s store was the only building in town that wasn’t made out of dull brown bricks. It stood out that way. And it was also the only building in the village without smoke rising from its chimney.

“I guess I’m making the fire again,” Eiden sighed.

“I’ll grab some kindling from the back,” Quinn said, darting ahead.

Mister Laul should have been back at the store by now.

Aiden unhitched the wagon from Hassan and led the delivery mount into its stable. He grabbed as many logs as he could from a pile near the stable and entered the store. The stable led to the rear of the store where inventory was stacked nearly to the ceiling. Aiden weaved his way through packages of grains, flour, and spices. A few lanterns illuminated the area as best they could with the amount of oil left in them.

Quinn scooped up one lantern and walked over to the fireplace in the adjacent room. Part kitchen, part living room, it was the only part of the store where he didn’t have to deal with customers. With the onset of winter, the business had slowed. There weren’t as many people browsing for new dresses or linen. This time of year the only thing moving were a few bags of flour, sugar, and rice on a good day.

“No fire. No dinner,” Quinn said, brushing ash out of the fireplace. “I'm seriously starting to believe Laul’s losing it. All he cares about is money.”

“I don’t think so Quinn. He’s probably just busy right now.”

“Doing what? It’s freezing outside.”

“I’ll see if I can find something to eat.” Aiden picked up the lantern. A basket of apples, captured by the light, sat on the table. An empty boiler was on the woodstove. A half-filled bag of spuds laid slumped over on the floor. Aiden placed the lantern on the table and reached for an apple.

“Have you seen the flint?” Quinn asked, searching around the fireplace.

“I left it over there.”

“Where’s there?”

“Over by the..” Aiden paused. A note on the table caught his attention. Laul’s handwriting was unmistakable.

Aiden, when you’re done with the deliveries bring the wagon to the west entrance. A load of new supplies are coming in today from Nabiil. I’ll wait for you there.

“Mister Laul is expecting the wagon at the west side of the village, Quinn.”

“Huh? Right now?”

“He left a note for us. “

“But we just got back...” Quinn moaned.

“There’s no need for us both to go,” Aiden said, heading for the back door. “You can stay here if you want to.”

“Hang on. I’m coming with you! You’d get lost without me!”

****

Aiden hurried Hassan through the cold. Street lanterns illuminated the way. The road wasn’t long to the west exit. There were fewer homes on that side of the village and even fewer street lights. As the mount rounded a dimly lit corner, Aiden noticed a thick shadow in the road. The silhouette rose to its knees as Hassan approached. Aiden pulled hard on its rains. “Is that a person?!” he exclaimed.

The mount swerved abruptly causing it to lose its footing. Hassan stumbled to the ground and the wagon rolled down the street. Aiden crawled from beneath the mount. “Hassan? Are you okay?” The mount shook off the accident and rose its feet.

“Good boy,” Hassan said, relieved. He started for the wagon which had come to a rest upside down. “Quinn? Quinn?! Are you there?!”

Quinn climbed over the wagon. “What the fudge, Aiden? What happened?”

“There was someone in the road. Didn’t you see him?” Aiden looked back. The street was devoid of life. “He’s gone now?”

Aiden turned back to the spot where he saw the silhouetted figure. An ache grew in his right leg but he kept moving toward a spot on the ground. Ignoring the growing pain in his leg, Aiden bent over for a closer look. He dragged his hand through a dark liquid. “Quinn..I think this is blood.”

“Blood?” Quinn said.

“Oh no! I didn’t turn Hassan in time! I must have hit him Quinn!”

“Calm down, Aiden.”

“Look,” Aiden pointed across the street. “I think there’s more that way. Come on! We have to do something!”

“Aiden hold on a second..!” Quinn objected, but the young man was already on the move. The trail of blood ended quickly. Aiden approached a figure in the darkness of an ally with its back against a wall.

“Mister!” Aiden ran up to the wounded person. “Are you okay?”

A fur hood fell off the person’s head, exposing her long twisted hair. Her face was scarred and bloody. “Ma’am? Oh no! I’m sorry I hit you. I didn’t see you in time.”

“...take..it..” the woman said with a weak voice. She didn’t raise her head or open her eyes. Her arm fell lifelessly to the ground. Something in her palm captured his attention. It was small, oval, and glowed with a yellow hue. An image of two swords crossed at the blades was engraved in the center of the object.

“What..?” The object reflected in his crescent-shaped irises. Aiden tore his gaze away from the object and shifted it back to the woman. Her breath no longer filled the cold air. “Please, hang on! I’ll..I’ll find some help. I’ll...!”

A sudden yank on his coat collar interrupted Aiden’s thoughts. “You will mind your own business!” said an unfamiliar voice as he fell backward into the snow.

“What’s going on? Who are you?!” Aiden asked, gazing at the top hat-wearing man. A long, fur-collared coat hid much of the man’s identity. The man grabbed the woman’s right hand and turned up her palm. “What’ve you done with it?” he growled.

Aiden held his words and breath. He watched the man in a top hat as he rose to his feet. The man’s height was intimidating; his skin nearly as light as the snow. His light-colored hair fell straight to his neck. An Ahrman?

He turned to Aiden. “You must have it now.”

“I..I..don’t know what you mean...” Aiden said. Running away was the first thing that came to mind, but he couldn’t convince his body to listen. He crawled backward as the man in the top hat approached him.

“Run Aiden!” Quinn yelled, pouncing the man with an armload of snowballs. Aiden scurried to his feet and ran. Quinn drops his remaining snowballs and follows Aiden. He catches Aiden quickly and climbs up to his shoulder.

“That was an Ahrman, Quinn! From Ahrmana!” Aiden had little exposure to them. One or two Ahrman peddlers would drift into Khalm every now and again. The small village was too out of the way for most. Both two-legged and four-legged fiends also made the long journey dangerous for travelers. Khalm's seclusion from the rest of the world was one of the things its residents liked most. Whenever hostilities would flare-up between the major nations, Khalm was usually too far off the radar for anyone to care.

Aiden looked over his shoulder. Those eyes. He couldn't shake how intense they were. He could still feel them, watching his every move. There was nothing moving behind them as far as he could tell. The village of Khalm was just that; calm. It was surrounded by cows and crops nine months a year. There were no soldiers, no ruler, no army, and definitely no Rebirths. It was one of a handful of villages that were neutral to the conflict between the world’s two most powerful kingdoms.

“We're getting out of this place, Aiden,” Quinn insisted.

“You think he's still after us?”

“I would be. He's dangerous. He probably attacked that person you saw in the road.”

“But, why?”

“I'll explain it to you once we're far away from here.”

Aiden stopped running. “Wait, why are we going to let that guy run us out of town? We should find mister Laul or a nightguard. He’ll know what to do.”

“No, no, no, Aiden!” Quinn pounded his little fists on Aiden’s head. “I need to keep you away from him, from all of them!”

A winged creature swooped down from the shadows without warning and plucked Quinn from Aiden’s head. It bore the head of a fox, wings of a hawk, and tail of a serpent. Quinn struggled to break free from its claws as it ascended. “Put me down you stupid bird! I'm not giving it to you!”

Quinn glanced down at the rooftops and squirmed. They had to be twenty feet in the air, but the flying creature didn't stop climbing. Only an arrow, piercing through its small body, stopped the creature's flight.

“Quinn!” Aiden yelled, keeping his friend insight as he fell. Both creatures landed in a snow mound. “Quinn! Quinn, are you okay?” Aiden dropped to his knees and parted the snow. But as he uncovered his furry friend something grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

“Brr..! I’m starting to hate the snow!” Quinn said, shaking flakes from his fur. He swiveled his gaze over the tranquil homes. “Aiden? Aiden, where are you?”

Every fur on his body stands on end as rested his sights on an airy outline of a person. He gasped as he’s plucked from the snow by his ears.