Ayden awoke in a cosy room lit only by the light of the grey morning sky.

A sweet scent filled the air and he found himself subconsciously moving towards it.

He crawled out of a rather small bed and stumbled out of the bedroom.

“Good morning,” Ayden said with a yawn as he sat on an old, but well made wooden chair.

His mother, a tall woman and muscular, nodded in greeting as she cooked away.

Numerous scars marked her skin, but they did little to tarnish its radiance.

Her calloused hands and faint wrinkles gave her a hardened aura that possibly came from many an adventure. Although the apron she wore slightly diminished that effect.

She handed Ayden a bowl of porridge before taking the seat in front of him. Ayden raised his spoon to eat the piping hot meal, but one glance was all he needed from his mother to put the spoon down and patiently await the porridges cooling.

Ayden fiddled with his fingers as he heard the whistling wind just beyond the house's walls.

Winter was still quite some time away, but the signs that it would be a harsh one were pretty clear.

Birds had begun loudly migrating by and Ayden could already see himself spending the next few months huddled under a thick layer of blankets.

He snuck a glance at his mother and she lightly nodded prompting the boy to eat.

It wasn’t long before he finished, so he stood up and hurriedly washed his bowl with frigid water from a nearby bucket. He then quickly dried his hands and sat back on his chair.

He looked into his mother’s piercing grey eyes and quickly found himself smiling making her smile as well.

She stood, prompting Ayden to stand as well and the two made their way outside to find the land around their house was engulfed by a thick fog.

They walked westward and it wasn’t long before the air was filled with the sound of running water.

They eventually arrived at a small pier and moored near it was a small boat.

The two boarded it after Ayden's mother untied the moorings and the boat floated downriver while Ayden and his mother sat in silence.

They eventually arrived at a much wider part of the river and a spacious dock could be seen to the east.

Several small ships and an assortment of boats were anchored nearby. Most of them belonged to the local fishermen while a handful were the property of the few merchants who traded thus far north of the capital.

Ayden and his mother moored their boat before hopping onto the pier.

They made their way east, coming across fishermen and merchants alike.

Beyond the pier was a small number of buildings that varied in size and function.

Ayden and his mother made their way towards one of the last buildings to the right.

“Mmm, it’s the dubhghaill.” A woman said.

“I wonder when she’ll realize that she looks far too strange taking care of that boy on her own.” Another said.

“I’m sure many an heirless noble would love him.”

“True, he’s too beautiful and dainty to be up here in marshes.”

“Bah! Enough of that, I heard several guards were reported missing yesterday."

Such things were said by those who happened to see Ayden and his mother as they walked by.

The two eventually reached a certain shop from which the smell of smoked meats came.

Ayden and his mother entered the shop to find a small old man.

Well, he was small compared to Ayden's giantess of a mother.

“Ah, good morning, Ayden and Ayanna.” The old man greeted with a warm smile.

"Good morning, uncle Charles." Ayden greeted.

Ayanna greeted the man with a smile before resting her hand on the dark wooden counter.

“The usual?” Charles wheezed.

Ayanna nodded before the old man walked into the door behind him.

Ayden looked around and saw various cuts of meat hanging all over the shop. He took several deep breaths as he savored the smoky aroma of the shop.

The old man eventually returned with a cut of meat that looked was about the size of four fists.

Ayanna handed Charles a Slán, which was a silver coin. Proudly embellishing its front face was the face of an old king and on its back were three torches.

Well, the torches weren’t identical.

The leftmost torch had a well-detailed flame, while the one in the centre had a slightly smaller flame. The last one had no flame at all, much to Ayden's confusion.

Ayanna nodded in thanks before leading Ayden as they exited the store.

They made their way back to the dock as the morning sun slowly dispersed the fog.

Two men, armed with spears and with swords at their waists, approached Ayanna.

The first man was tall, had dark hair and bright green eyes. His skin was extremely dirty and his clothes weren’t better off.

The second man didn’t look any better either.

“Oi, dubhghaill! We’ll be needing yer help today again. Seems like a prisoner escaped the buttery hands of our colleagues in town. Be here tomorrow mornin'… if ya don’t mind.” The first said.

Ayanna sighed as she crossed her arms with an unamused expression on her face.

“Oh- and yes, you will be duly compensated for your hard work." The second said.

Ayanna walked past the two, with Ayden in tow.

Ayden snuck a glance at the second man and was met with a twisted smile.

“When will ya let the brat join us during our trips?” The second asked.

Ayanna and Ayden ignored the man as they continued.

“Tsk!”

They eventually returned to the pier and there they hopped onto their boat before heading back upstream.

Ayden’s eyes wandered as the sound of running water tickled his inner ear.

The rustling of leaves and the blowing of the wind had a calming effect on the boy.

Ayanna rowed persistently as they made their way north.

They could have walked to the docks and back if they wanted, but the land around their home was surrounded by damp marshes and deep bogs that could easily ensnare a careless wonderer.

They docked by a certain little pier and they made their way back home.

Ayanna placed the cut of meat in a jar before placing her hands on her hips.

With comically narrowed eyes, Ayden tried sneaking out of the house, but Ayanna grabbed his collar, stopping the lad in his tracks.

Ayden turned to find his mother staring at him with a questioning look.

“I found a cave up north yesterday, I wanna see what’s inside it. Don’t worry, I’ll be back before dark.” Ayden said with an awkward smile.

Ayanna sighed before raising her right hand and walking into the bedroom

Ayden waited patiently before Ayanna return with two well-made daggers.

Ayden sighed.

“Trust me, I’ll be fine on my own-"

He silenced himself as he watched his mother’s eyes slowly narrow to a slit.

His shoulders dropped before he accepted one of the two identical daggers.

Ayanna bowed in a comical manner prompting Ayden to lead the way.

He walked out of the house and Ayanna locked the door. After using the boat to quickly cross the river, they began their trip north. With careful steps and a fair pace, the two eventually found themselves in the middle of a rather dark forest.

The morning fog hadn’t fully dissipated, this gave the forest a rather ominous air, but Ayden fearlessly walked ever deeper into the woods.

He then grabbed a rock and threw it to the south prompting Ayanna to look in wonder.

She then heard the sounds of rapid steps as Ayden ran away.

Ayanna smiled to herself before lowering her stance.

She took even and deep breaths and the muscles in her rather well-toned legs flexed.

In the next moment, Ayanna dashed into the forest. Her eyes wide and her ears perked up.

She searched for Ayden as she weaved through the trees and it wasn’t long before she caught up to the boy who thought he had cleverly hidden behind a cluster of trees that was off the path.

Ayanna slowed down to a crawl before grabbing the unsuspecting Ayden.

“Haha!” Ayden laughed in pure delight as his mother lifted him high in the air.

She then held him close before letting him go.

“Darn it, caught me again. I wonder if the day will ever come when I’m able to sneak past you.” Ayden said as he continued walking toward where he remembered the cave was.

Ayanna followed him for about ten minutes before they found the cave he’d mentioned.

Ayanna saw nothing particularly special about it but she withheld her judgement for after she saw the cave's interior.

Ayden walked deeper into the cave with Ayanna in tow.

At first, the cave looked just like any other, but then Ayanna noticed several stone structures here and there.

She wasn’t particularly learned, but she deduced that they were standing on the site of an ancient ruin.

Large stone pillars, etched with various markings littered the inner cave, although they weren’t in as good a condition as they used to be.

Ayanna then stumbled on something rather morbid.

She saw what looked like the remains of a man who had been trapped under one of the many colossal pillars.

She knelt to get a closer look at the man and saw that he wore a set of rather modern clothing.

A worn woollen Jersey and a pair of well-made pants adorned his corpse and by his side was a leather bag.

Ayanna grabbed the bag before looking inside it.

She found a bunch of old papers and a book, but she couldn’t read so they weren’t of much use to her.

This, however, did not mean that she saw absolutely no value in them.

Ayanna closed the bag and placed the leather strap on her shoulder before following Ayden deeper into the cave.

The two looked around for a couple of minutes, but nothing they found interested them much as they really didn’t know what to make of the ruins.

To Ayanna, it seemed as though the cave was once the site of an ancient tribe and the person the corpse belonged to wanted to find out more about the ancient peoples who once lived there, but due to what seemed like bizarre circumstances, the man died at the hands of gravity.

Ayanna sighed as she tried piecing everything together.

“Mom, you’re bleeding!” Ayden gasped as he pointed at Ayanna’s chest.

Ayanna looked down to see that blood was indeed oozing out from her beige shirt.

She quickly lifted it to find six gill-like structures above her ribs.

Three on each side.

Ayanna’s eyes widened.

She couldn’t feel any pain and so she tried poking at one of the gills to find that it was shallow.

The flesh within the sleeve of skin did feel a little abrasive, but other than that, Ayanna couldn’t find any reason for concern.

She waved her hands in an attempt to calm the panicked Ayden.

She then nodded toward the cave's entrance and gestured that they leave.

The two emerged from the cave and Ayanna noticed that Ayden kept shooting concerned glances at her as they walked.

They eventually returned to their home as the sun slowly set.

Deep shadows crept over the land as the last remnants of light slowly died away.

Ayanna quickly sat by one of the chairs in the kitchen area, placed her dagger on the table and removed her shirt, revealing her scarred but smooth skin which had a youthful glow.

Ayden looked at the newly formed gills on his mother’s chest and the two wondered what their existence might mean.

“Mom… are you a fish person?” Ayden asked but Ayanna shook her head.

Ayden paced around the room as Ayanna wiped away the blood from her gills.

She then walked into the bedroom, grabbed another shirt and slipped into it.

She tapped Ayden's shoulder before handing him the leather bag she’d found.

“Oh yes, I forgot to ask why you were carrying that old thing around. Do you want us to hold onto it?” Ayden asked and Ayanna nodded before she started a fire within the nearby iron stove.

Ayden walked into the bedroom and placed the leather bag near the bed’s foot.

He stretched his little arms as the darkness of the night filled the room.

He could have lit a candle, but he didn’t really want to see anything and so he plopped onto the bed, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

.

..

Ayden was gently awoken by his mother, signalling that dinner was ready.

He followed her into the kitchen and there they enjoyed some delicious beef stew that fought away the encroaching winter cold.

They eventually finished their meal and headed into the bedroom where Ayden returned to sleep as Ayanna wrapped her large arms around him.

.

..

Ayden awoke to find that his mother had woken up before him.

He crawled out of bed to find that she was boiling water in a large iron pot.

A chill ran up Ayden’s spine as he quickly realized what was coming.

He sneakily tried returning to bed, but Ayanna grabbed him by his collar and pointed at the northern wall of the house.

“But it's cold!” Ayden whined, but Ayanna widened her sharp grey eyes silencing the boy in an instant.

Ayden lowered his head in defeat before begrudgingly walking into the bedroom and grabbing two towels.

He then grabbed a separate bucket of water before walking down to the river where he quickly filled it.

He let out a sigh before detouring around the house to where an extra room was.

It had no door and within it was a smooth tub-like structure at its bottom.

Ayden clumsily threw all of his bucket's contents into the tub, only for countless splashes of water to land all over him.

He sighed before returning to the river where he refiled the bucket before dumping more water into the tub.

He did this a couple of times before Ayanna walked by with the iron pot in hand.

Ayanna poured the pot's contents into the one of the bucket's Ayden had filled, which somewhat raised the water's temperature, but Ayden knew that it was now only lukewarm.

He took his clothes off, exposing his little body to the environment and Ayanna did the same before joining Ayden in the tub where she pulled at the boy's shoulders.

“Hey, I can bathe myself now, ya know?” Ayden cried, but Ayanna ignored him as she ran water through his rose red hair using her hands.

She vigorously washed the back of his body before forcibly turning the boy around to find that he had teary eyes.

Ayanna sighed before handing Ayden his towel and in the next moment, all of Ayden’s supposed sadness disappeared as he scrubbed his arms.

Ayanna smiled before she too started bathing.

Ayden looked at Ayanna’s gills for a moment before reaching out to touch them.

He poked at one of them and got a strange reaction from Ayanna.

Her body convulsed strangely and out of curiosity, Ayden poked at the other gills, causing even more convulsions.

Ayden looked up to see if his mother was ok only to see her silently holding in her laughter.

“Oh…” Ayden sounded.

“Sorry,” He said with a lowered head.

Ayanna reassured him by shaking her head.

Ayden nodded before hopping out of the tub and drying himself.

He then slipped into his clothes before heading inside.

It wasn’t long before a fully dressed Ayanna entered the house.

She and Ayden then tidied up a little before locking the door and heading down toward the little dock where their boat awaited.

Ayanna made sure to hand Ayden his dagger as they walked.

They boarded the boat and let themselves flow down the river.

Ayanna then effortlessly docked the boat before she and Ayden got onto the pier.

However, an eerie silence filled the air.

Yes, the boats were there and the sounds of an occasional bird could be heard, but other than that there was nothing but silence.

Ayanna cautiously led Ayden eastward as she looked for anything that resembled another person.

Every building seemed empty and some doors hung wildly open.

Ayden and Ayanna eventually arrived at the local meat shop and they entered it to find that the counter was unmanned.

Well, that is until the sounds of footsteps filled the room.

The two watched as Charles stumbled toward the counter. His eyes closed and his face twisted as though he was in pain.

His old grey hair and beard was dripping with blood and so were his hands and mouth.

Ayden and Ayanna took careful steps backwards as Charles raised his meat cleaver.

“Born without the shackles of ignorance, I felt his touch! Oh, and I heard his voice as it peeled away at my idiocy! Yet here I am! Unwhole and unaware! I must see him! I must hear him, lest I rot away on this vomitous plane!” Charles screamed as he opened his eyes, revealing that they had multiple pupils swirling within.

“Ayanna… be a dear and lend me your eyes.”