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The North

“The north, a snow-covered land with mountains so high they reach the heavens and ancient fortresses that guard the last frontier known to man. Beyond these are only endless forests and an even harsher winter.”

"And further from the woods?" The boy asked with expectant eyes as he curled up on his bed trying to protect himself from the cold emanating from the stone walls.

"If you already know the story by heart..." His mother was reading an old book with few but thick pages stained brown.

“But I like the way you tell it, especially the part where… Aahgg.” Before he could finish a terrible headache hits him. He is not surprised, it is not the first time it has happened to him, since he can remember he has lived with constant attacks. Regardless of the doctors who saw him, they could not find the cause or cure.

Over time it became a habit and no one in the family cared what happened to him, except for his mother and sister. He simply became another sick child with no chance of inheriting the position of head of the family or contributing anything.

He was not the only one who suffered. Her mother's reputation fell irretrievably as she gave birth to another sick offspring, her sister, who grew weaker and weaker with the passing of the years and now, at the age of eight, had difficulty standing. Rumors spread and she was now being called the 'cursed woman'.

“Calm down Ezer... calm down... close your eyes and don't think about the pain.” She caressed his head while whispering a song from a poem whose author was forgotten over the years.

“Mother... It hurts, it hurts a lot.” It wasn't just the pain, but also the torment of living with attacks all his life and not knowing when it could happen.

"Tell me what you see."

"I don't know, it's always blurry...castles so tall they seem to reach the clouds...dozens, dozens side by side...people, hundreds of them..." Occasionally, strange visions are accompanied by headaches.

“What you see may be a design of the gods, or perhaps one of your past lives.” His mother whispered slowly trying to get him to fall asleep.

“Past Lives?”

“Yes, you know, your mother once met a man who called himself a monk. I came from far away to find inspiration and he told me about his religion, a very strange one, in which people who died were reincarnated into animals or plants, and if they did good in their past, maybe they could be reincarnated into a person of new.”

"Reincarnate? Their souls were not entrusted to Mother Niva?” Ezer began to get more excited about the story, making his mother smile forcibly, who was trying to do the opposite.

“There are kingdoms with beliefs completely different from ours, kingdoms far away in the south... But that's a story for another day, now you should sleep since your pain is over.

“Fine.” A little reluctantly, Ezer closes his eyes as his mother blows out the candles and leaves the room.

"His pains are more and more frequent and my daughter Elira is getting weaker... I'm beginning to wonder if I'm not to blame, maybe I’m cursed..." Small wrinkles on her face were beginning to appear due to the constant stress. Now her beautiful face, recognized by all, began to fade and Laira, the Lord's concubine, grew bitter in her thoughts as she walked through the dark corridors lit only by the lamp she was carrying.

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Outside the castle the winds and snow lowered the temperature well below the point at which the waters froze. The two soldiers who guarded the main door crouched down trying to absorb some of the heat that a fire gave them, surrounded by stones to prevent the strong winds from extinguishing them.

“Shit, these north mountain winds are getting colder.”

"No, winter is always just as harsh. It was every year during the 43 that I lived and will continue to be.”

They had been listening to the constant and icy sound of the winds in their ears for hours, but something different caught the attention of one of them.

“…Did you hear that? It's a carriage.”

“What!? Who is crazy enough to go out at night and in this blizzard!?”

“Because of the four knights who escort them and their flags... I imagine who it could be.”

"Oh... yes... that man gives me the creeps..."

“Hurry to inform the lord.”

“Yes, I'm on it.”

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The doors opened to the main hall, which had once held great celebrations for victories in war or marriages between families. Its size was enormous, not only the hall, the castle itself is larger than those seen in the capital, only the royal palace could rival this, which was intended to be an impregnable fortress against the beasts that dwell beyond the man border. But now they are nothing more than a pile of black rocks with holes between their walls due to decades of wars without subsequent maintenance.

The main chandeliers were lit and a few sleepy-eyed maids could still be seen lighting candles in the corners. Four knights, two on each side of a person, advanced toward a throne at the end of the hall. The man being escorted had a tall height of about 1.90 meters, but a somewhat scrawny physical build, his skin, and eyes sunken in dark spots only served to create a strange, and to some, terrifying aura around him.

“Greetings my old friend. I think it was... months or a year? Since we last saw each other face to face.” The man greeted the one who was on the throne without a hint of respect, nor should he show it since he, Boron Rolennar Viscount had a position of more authority.

“11 months to be exact, old friend.” Those words came out of his mouth as if he were swallowing ashes at the same time, especially when saying the last sentence.

“It's a pity that you couldn't receive me personally at your doors.” If you are visited by someone of higher authority, it is a sign of respect to receive them personally regardless of whether it rains or snows. But being on his throne was the only thing the lord of these lands could do, Leiner Inmerlan, who 3 years ago while defending the town of the valley, a few kilometers from the castle, was injured in his back by a huge bear. They announced to everyone the bravery of their lord, but the truth was different and the people rumored it.

“It's true, it's a shame that my legs don't work like they used to, but I feel like every day I recover my strength.” Leiner frowned, touching this topic was a great taboo and dishonor always accompanied it.

“I'm sure of it. Well, I'd love to sit down and enjoy a huge, expensive meal from your family... but today, that's not the point.” The fake smiles ended and a solemn atmosphere took their place.

“There is no other way?” A few seconds passed before Leiner spoke again.

“There isn't... I need your son, Ezer.”