“And from their blood, the three of men brought mankind to life. From their hair, the three of women brought womankind to life,” the story from a long ago time, told by the father of the boy of legend. His mind trying to, much like the First Six, see ways it could assemble humans of his own. The resulting product, creations which defied logic.
As the night would befall Winlakes, the city would get even more livier. Below where Amel stood in a peaceful sleep, Femel was getting the hang of manhood. “So, you’re feeding babies with that?” he pointed at a woman’s breast, who was feeding her infant. He seemed to recall the feeling of a breast, but it was just the feeling, not the face or body of whom he touched. Looking at the woman, he couldn’t figure why the baby would want her breast over some meat or ale. It’s not as if he drank ale once he was aware, but Femel drank ale for more than eight years at this point. While it would kill a kid normally, his body was able to consume alcohol and other things which would normally kill kids.
“Yes, they can’t eat anything else, you know? Did your mom not teach you this?” the word sent a shiver up his spine. The cups of ale in front of him, all empty, and some more on top of them. “Are you okay?” she asked, his face turning pale.
‘My mom, I can’t recall her face,’ the sudden realisation scared him. Amel told him of their parents, but would usually ignore his words, since it hurt his head. He never understood, but the trauma which he suffered, made him forget all about his parents. It was the only way his mind would have passed the horror he witnessed that day, and thus, impeded him from understanding other normal humans. “S-she wasn’t around. Not for long enough for me to remember,” the woman saw the pain on his face, his large hands trembling. She touched his clenched fist, it calmed.
“It’s alright, you still grew up to be a fine man, you know?” she assured him. His brother often did that to him, touching him and reassuring him that everything will be alright. But this was different, he felt something that he didn’t feel from his brother when she did it. Was this what Ermel meant? ‘Feeling’ something different from his brother.
“This is it,” he grabbed her hand, she was holding the baby in her other hand. “Be my woman!” he announced to her. He thought she must be the one, given the feeling of maternity, which he confused for love, he felt from her. She blushed strongly, took her hand back and rushed out of the inn. “Did I say something bad?” he was clueless, for the woman was obviously married.
“Let her go, come with us!” a girl around his age said, she touched his hand, but nothing inside of him changed, ‘she isn’t one,’ he thought. “The night fires are about to start, so c’mon,” another said and grabbed him by the arm. ‘Still nothing,’ he was sure then that that woman was the one. She must be the woman for him. But, the girls took him by the arms, made him follow them outside and towards the centre of the city, where the four tall towers were.
The soldiers followed the group of people that were with Femel, changed into more common clothes and blending in with the gathering people. They wanted to see what sort of man this boy was. In Winlakes, and Kinlakes as a whole, there were nightly gatherings. Due to their abundance and good fields, the people were celebrating throughout spring and summer the food they got. Night after night, they would make large fires between the four towers which stood at the centre of the city. Those towers acted as silos and contained huge amounts of grain and cereals. It was tradition for them to bring half a day’s food and throw it in there at the end of the week. People would then come, when needed, and take food from any of the four towers. This system, would have its flaws if it were for bandits and the like. However, the people of Kinlakes prided themselves in working the fields and producing foods and goods, so you would have a hard time finding anyone that wasn’t an honest worker. Besides, those few which dared steal, would make a small impact on the food supply as a whole. So the kingdom could continue to function as per usual.
That night, Keneok the Strong, the one who brought together the people of Kinlakes during the time of the calamity, was going to attend and give a speech. Femel didn’t know anything about it, and Amel was in a feverish recovery from the stress he suffered earlier today, Ermel sleeping deep as well. The soldiers knew all about it, since they travelled all across the six kingdoms recruiting soldiers for war.
Once they arrived at the middle, Femel could see people dancing around the fires, sharing meals, ale and stories. Femel was once again entranced by the beauty of this city. The girls around him, saw he was pleased with the sight so they giggled and smiled, some placing their heads on him. Feeling a deep warmth inside of him, Femel grabbed all the girls by their waist in a big hug, and placed them on his shoulders. He could fit all six of them, and they were amazed by his strength. Not even their fathers, who worked the fields, could hold more than four at a time, and he was holding six effortlessly.
“What beauty! What beauty!” he exclaimed. The girls were a bit confused, but were feeling great being on top the shoulders of the handsome young man. Once he made his way to a fire, he let them down, and they started dancing and clapping their hands. He didn’t know how to react to this, so he let his instincts follow them. He was gracious, fluid in his motions, and his feelings were palpable through the movements that seemed more trained than they were.
People started to gather around him, jumping, dancing, clapping their hands. Some brought instruments to give a rhythm, which was formed by their movements. Femel felt in sync with the world around him, the warmth permeating him, and the lingering feeling the mother of that child left inside of him, made him feel at ease. Then, a loud clap. Everyone stopped, Femel kept going a bit longer before realising what was going around him. There was silence, then the people started to knee, from the front to the back in a wave almost. Femel didn’t know what was going on, while the girls tried to sit him down, but was too late. He was two heads too tall to be ignored with ease. Keneok saw him.
A three metres tall man, short, brown hair, a rough greyish beard, thick arms with muscle and some fat, broad shoulders, a large abdomen and thick legs, were all the physical characteristics permeating his farmer-like attire. He just returned from working the fields, veins bulging on his arms. He didn’t demand people to kneel or bow before him, they were doing it out of respect, and he accepted their wishes. Afterall, he was the one who saved the falling kingdom from the brink of ruin and brought it back to life before Kinak returned. He approached Femel, a metre of height difference between the two. Femel felt truly dwarfed for the first time in since he hit puberty.
“And who are you, boy?” the deep voice resounded across the centre, he was holding his tiling tool on his shoulder, a heavy, broad piece of metal acting as the main portion. Femel looked at the man in wonder, feeling some deep connection to him. If they were related by some distant blood, he wouldn’t be able to tell or know. Amel might’ve pieces some things together, but nothing would’ve truly confirmed it. Yet, he felt this connection.
“Femel. I’m Femel,” he didn’t address Keneok as it was expected of boys to. Keneok smiled, saw the lack of manners from the boy, but didn’t mind it, he himself wasn’t grown in a nice, comfortable city. The forest and fields were all he knew, and on those, only danger could be found where the foot of man didn’t step. And where he worked his ground, no foot besides his own stepped. “And who are you?” the people around him turned their heads up, bewildered by the question.
Keneok let out a loud laugh. “You do not fear me, do you boy?” most people would, the stature alone would send shivers down someone’s spine, his presence, made those around him want to kneel. “Very well, you’re not from around here, or you been living on some mountain, HAHAH” he slapped Femel on the back. The casual strength used, made Femel tremble. His name wasn’t for show, those hands picked whole, old and young trees from their roots, tiled many kilometres of ground and have carried weights few would believe.
Femel took this as a challenge, so he slapped the man on his thick, muscular back. When he made contact, he felt as if he hit a wall of stone. This didn’t budge Keneok on the least, but would make him smile. “Oh, you like games, don’t you?” he looked him in the eyes, and saw that young flame that burned inside of him. He laughed again copiously, then said “Okay, everyone up. I was going to talk about the good work and everything you lovely people do, but,” the people started to lift up, all were smaller than Femel, and even more so than Keneok. “Since this fresh breeze of wind from who knows where wants to play games, we shall play the games!” and the people started to cheer, the boys especially.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
In just a few short minutes, tables have been gathered. Made of thick stone and large enough to hold a few cows on top, those tables were used for the games to follow. The soldiers following Femel, returned to the inn, they didn’t want to partake, those were some cruel games for someone who never participated before, they had seen it firsthand. Back at the inn, Ermel had woken up, his head dizzy and stomach upset. He found himself in the soldiers’ room, so he went to where the brothers should be into. He only saw Amel, staring out of a window.
“Do you think we should stop here, Ermel?” he was asking a person he could count on telling the truth. Ermel didn’t know what he fully meant, his head still struck by the alcohol.
“Haven’t we, like, stopped and all?” he sit on the bed, trying to shake himself awake. He noticed the bed was really messed up. “Rough sleep?”.
“You could say so,” Amel turned towards Ermel, his eyes were more human than usual. Ermel felt awake all of a sudden, something changed about Amel, and it bothered him a bit. “And I mean if we should stop all the way. Not walk any longer, not seek vengeance. I mean, just look at this place, these people,” Ermel finally understood what he meant. If they stayed here, Femel would find himself a good wife, Amel could find peace and maybe he could work a decent job instead of having to rely on stealing. But then, there were the soldiers. They knew their names and faces, a lot of people knew who the two brothers were, this place just had to get the news and it would be all the same. The only thing which could was away their past crimes, was something to overshadow their notoriety.
“We shouldn’t, it won’t last, and you know that,” but Amel didn’t, at least for that time, as his mind couldn’t make use of the system and think too much ahead. He became so reliant on it, that whenever he tried to think of something, his mind would expect a response from the system, but only silence would follow, as he couldn’t let the system open.
“I guess we can’t,” he didn’t sound sure of himself, Ermel noticed. This wasn’t good. He didn’t survive that day, long ago, just for this to fail upon Amel’s change of heart. But that wasn’t it, something else had changed, this place had changed him. They had to get away, before Amel would grow too attached. While that was one of the main worries, Femel would also find himself more and more attached to this place of prosperity and peace.
“Down! Down! Down!” people were cheering for Femel. At a table of stone, he was testing his might against another man, Keneok to another table behind him. At the same time, both of them defeated the other man at the moment of clutching their hands. “They are evenly matched!” someone yelled, keeping the scored.
“Ha hah! You hear that boy? You’re matched with me next!” and so it was. Keneok moved to his table, Femel looked behind and saw the table cracked where Keneok’s elbow had been. He felt a disparity in their strength, that he couldn’t hope to match even if he trained for a few years from this point on. However, strength wasn’t everything he had, he also had the teachings of his brother, which he was ready to use against this man of the strongest seed there was.
“Should we begin?” his determination was all over his face. Keneok placed on the other side, placed his large arm on the table and grabbed Femel’s hand, which looked like that of a baby, swallowed by the thick hand of this man. Even so, Keneok felt the strength of those muscles. Something which caught his attention, was that, despite his strength obviously pulsating from deep inside, the boy didn’t possess a light. ‘Is that possible?’ he was amazed by the strength Femel had without the light. Not only that, but he estimated he still didn’t have his full strength, his body being a bit too skinny. If he ate some more, maybe twice, no, three times his strength.
“Actually, no. Let us eat first, boy,” Femel was surprised by the response, but he was hungry as usual. He couldn’t steal anything for the past few days, since they travelled across the fields and those soldiers wouldn’t share anything with them. While they managed to pack some supplies, food didn’t last them long. Soon, the stone tables were filled with plates with different foods. People weren’t waiting, they were grabbing food as it came from the plates. Keneok did the same, and when he turned to look at Femel, he saw that the boy was bitting from a single piece of meat and some bread. When he thought to tell him that he shouldn’t restrain, he saw that his pockets were filled and so were his clothes. He wanted to laugh at the sight, for there was no need in stealing food, but then saw the boy’s eyes, watching out of instinct for his surroundings. Femel developed an almost mechanical reflex to stuff his clothes and pockets with food, eating only enough to keep him running, so to bring the rest home or to the Cove, where he would share it with the others. Keneok heard of some notorious two brothers in Amouldes, and Femel matched some of the description. Looking at the skills he had and the strength he possessed, Keneok had to wonder what the boy had to get through. Especially his older brother, who apparently wandered all alone with his little brother at his back since he was younger than all the people present there.
Keneok slapped Femel behind his head, Femel spat his food as a result. While the slap hurt him a lot, and irritated him to a degree unfelt before, he also felt a certain warmth coming from the man who just did the act. “Eat kid, your brother will have plenty to eat as well, and no one is here to ask for that food back,” Femel watched the man in wonder, then pulled some food from underneath his clothes, eating it as he watched Keneok feasting like a wild animal from all the food being brought in.
After they ate and drank a little, Keneok returned his elbow to the table. Femel followed suit and a man was ready to give the signal. There was no warning to eat, the man would choose at his own leisure when to give the signal. Femel listened for the change of breath, the movements of the air and looked Keneok in the eyes, so he wouldn’t look at the man. “Kid, I know who you are,” Femel panicked a little, then he felt the signal coming, and before the man draw a word, Femel used the full force of his body to push against the man’s arm. It almost worked, only the distance of a finger away from touching the table. While he didn’t succeed, he was in a good position. “Tough one, aren’t you?” and Keneok started to regain some of the lost distance, bringing their hands at the middle.
“How are you so strong, Keneok?” a genuine question from the curious mind of one that wasn’t blessed with the light. Keneok looked at him with pity, not being able to see the beauty of the light, or at least feel it through his body, was truly a crime in itself. Keneok softened himself for a moment, the boy before him reminding him of his lost sons. Femel wasn’t as kind as to let it go, and pushed once more, starting to staring the man’s hand.
“Duty,” the man started his response, slowly pushing back to the middle, “talent,” their hands going to the left, the table reaching Femel’s wrist, “and diligence.”. His hand almost touched the other end, the strain upon his arm, almost unbearable. “Kid, if you don’t win this, I will kill you and your brother for your crimes,” Femel felt a sudden heat enveloping him. While he was holding his breath, veins bulging from his neck and on his forehead, a flashing image of him and his brother, in the dark, story night inside the forest came before him.
“Our enemies, we shall kill. Our enemies, we shall vanquish,” his hand started to push back on Keneok’s, bringing them back to the middle faster than Keneok brought them to the the left side. “You, Keneok the Strong, you are my enemy,” Keneok saw the willpower inside this boy. The strength which he possessed, was far beyond what he imagined. ‘Ten times, I underestimated him,’ and with a crushing move, he slammed the larger hand on the side of the table. Femel sighed in relief, then, when Keneok started to raise himself, he prepared himself to either fight or run. Keneok, bowed before him.
“Kid, no, Child of Light, you have my deepest respect,” Femel was speechless. His mind told him that this might be a trick, something he uses against him to draw himself closer and kill him, but his body told him it was an honest gesture. “Mou won’t forgive you, but I do. You are not bad, that I can tell. Tell me, where are you going?”.
Femel didn’t need much to think, he was honest and responded in kind to the man’s gesture. “Towards Thranes, to fight the Foolish King and his armies. Then me and my brother, we’ll kill Umshaow for what he did to us, you and your lands,” Keneok raised his head, expecting to see the silly face of a young man joking. There was none, there was cold steel in the boy’s eyes, a sort of determination he only saw in two other people. “Once we’re done, I want to make a kingdom, and,” he bowed to the man, both at different height, both bowing. “It would be my greatest pleasure if you were the first to see me and my brother on our throne!”.
The passion of a young man, the goals which only the First Six would dare aim for. Keneok was deeply impressed by the young man. As he straightened his back, Femel did the same, and said “Once the war is over, come for me again, and I will help you get your kingdom, Child of Light,” Femel looked into the man’s eyes, saw that he meant was he said.
“Very well, but I have one condition that must be respected. Otherwise I won’t accept your offer,” Keneok watched him stunned. The boy was talking of conditions when his offer was already so generous. He couldn’t help by laugh as he scratched his head.
“You amuse me. Say, what is the condition?”. Femel smiled at him and extended his hand.
“I want you to call me your friend, no Child of Light stuff. That’s for my brother, I’m not as wise as he is,” Keneok looked at Femel’s hand, back at him and smiled gently. He grabbed it up to the elbow, and shook it slightly. The two talked for all night, mainly Femel. Keneok listened to the little man, his friend, how he talked fondly of memories that would make seasoned adults in battle look like children playing in the sand. He couldn’t help, but want to hug the little man speaking loudly at his side, other people listening in at times, chased away by some other who wanted those two to be alone.
The morning would come by after an eventful night for Femel. He returned to the inn, half drunk and half asleep. Amel was waiting for him, as he would usually do when Femel was alone outside. “You can rest brother,” that was their way of saying ‘I’m home’. Amel nodded slightly, massaged his pupils and sat in the bed. Femel followed after. Amel was straight as a plank, while Femel crawled into a ball next to him. Amel placed his hand on his back, then on his forehead. Femel was fast asleep, then Amel.