[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1049139125908930620/1049148461968265227/4.png]

The villagers of Brij always enjoyed a spectacle, and for good reason. Drama was usually limited to gossip about this year’s crop yield, or at the very worst, someone’s husband looking the wrong way at someone else’s wife. That could be called a rare event.

Something like the arrival of mounted soldiers? Now that was gossip material for years to come. Vir was sure many Brijers were looking forward to whatever was about to happen, despite their anxious expressions. Maiya was one of them.

“Ugh! Can’t hear a thing,” Maiya said. “We need to get closer.”

Vir let Maiya lead him through the crowd that had gathered at the village’s main plaza. She always took charge whenever she was worried. He didn’t mind. In fact, he was glad to have such a reliable friend. Whenever she was around, he always got fewer looks from the villagers. And no one could push their way through a crowd like Maiya could.

As they got closer to the soldiers, Vir began hearing bits and pieces of the conversation.

“I assure you, ser, we’ve nothing to hide!” A familiar-sounding voice said.

“That’s dad he’s speaking to!” Maiya whispered.

“Then you’ve nothing to fear, head priest,” the soldier said from atop his armored Ash’va. Shining plate armor adorned the beast—the kind Vir had only heard of and never seen.

The soldier himself was no less adorned, clad head to toe in pristine steel with a cape dyed in the Hiranyan emerald-and-gold. His glistening breastplate looked like it spent more time getting polished than actually being used. On his back was a recurve shortbow—decorated in gold, of course—but what caught Vir’s eye was the glimmering talwar at the soldier’s hip.

His curved sword boasted too much gold for Vir’s liking, but the blade itself was mesmerizing, with a gorgeous two-tone pattern embedded in the steel. Vir stared at the blade for a long moment before he realized what it was. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Impossible! He thought, his heartbeat quickening. Seric steel!?

It was the metal present in all the godly myths. The steel that was said to cut through regular steel like paper. He didn’t know if those rumors were true, but he had heard that those blades could cost as much as a house…

Vir appraised the other soldiers, but to his disappointment, none of them had any seric weapons. On the spot, he decided he would own one someday. He didn’t know what he’d do with it, and who knew how he’d afford it, but none of that mattered; he wanted one anyway.

“This is a routine inspection, nothing more,” the soldier said through his full plate helm, his voice muffled and boomy.

Apramor frowned. “This is the first time we’ve had soldiers inspect our village—”

“Knights, priest. Knights, not soldiers. And I am the knighted captain of this detachment, Tejas Vastav. You would do well to remember that name.”

So they’re not just soldiers… they’re knights? Vir thought, panicking. That explained their opulent gear.

“My apologies, Knight Captain Vastav,” Apramor said with a bowed head. “Surely honorable knights such as yourselves wouldn’t waste your time with such a small village like ours?”

“Tisn’t your place to question how we spend our time, priest,” the knight said. “Our orders come straight from the newly appointed royal priest. He is somewhat particular about these matters, you see. Your superior wishes to show our citizens that we are here, ready to serve and to protect. The winds are changing, Apramor. We need to maintain vigilance during these dark times.”

The Knight Captain’s vague explanation did nothing to lessen the knot tightening in Vir’s stomach.

The Captain turned and addressed the crowd. “Hear me, villagers of Brij. We, the third detachment of the Royal Hiranyan Knight Corps, have ridden hard from Daha. As citizens of our glorious kingdom, I expect your full cooperation during our inspections! Know that there is nothing to fear! We are protectors of the people. Our duty is to ensure your safety. However, our mission here may take some days. We require lodging. I hope we may impose upon you?” He said, giving Apramor a sidelong glance.

“Of course, Knight Captain! The villagers of Brij would be happy to host you,” Apramor replied.

“We are most appreciative,” Captain Vastav said, with a small bow of his head. Vir wasn’t expecting to see such politeness from someone like him. “My knights will introduce themselves to each of you in turn. Until then, please disperse. All of you!”

“Let’s go,” Vir said, dragging Maiya away from the knights with his left hand before anyone could see him. It’d be bad if the knights got a glimpse of him. His right hand clutched his hood, desperately trying to hide as much of his face as possible.

Fate wasn’t so kind.

The two walked along the dirt road for less than a minute before a multitude of barks, yips, and howls pierced the air. Four bandies rounded a corner, whipped by their owners into a frenzy.

With all the villagers cloistered at the central square, there was no one to stop the bullies.

“Guess I shouldn’t have pissed them off,” Maiya said, shirking back.

“That’s right, Maiya! Be scared,” Akros’ son, Camas, taunted. “You really thought we were just gonna let… let that… what are you doing!?”

Vir bolted the instant he saw the bandies, making them chase after him instead of Maiya. He jumped upon a crate, leaped through the air, and grabbed a pole. But he’d learned from his mistake in the alley that morning. This time, he forced enough power into his legs, leveraging his momentum to throw himself onto the flat roof of a single-story house.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Yes! Not only had he found safety, he’d figured out a way to overcome his earlier failure, and that felt good.

The bandies all rushed to the base of the wall he stood atop of, snarling at him. But thanks to Vir’s advantageous position, the beasts were all bark and no bite. Vir calmly lobbed one pebble after another at their vulnerable muzzles, though hitting moving targets was a more difficult proposition than hitting stones as he’d always done. He timed his shots, predicting where the bandies might end up, but he missed more often than he connected. Luckily, he had plenty of pebbles. He kept attacking, honing his aim with every throw, growing slightly better as the encounter dragged on.

Vir was sure of it now; something was different from before. He missed a lot, but his aim had somehow improved. As if he intuitively understood where he ought to throw his pebbles for maximum damage. No, that wasn’t quite correct. He aimed as normal. But then, those voices in his head whispered, nudging him to alter his target ever so slightly. The words were nonsense, but they seemed to carry information within them.

The bandies finally routed, tails between their legs.

Camas hurled insults the entire time, blaming him for the famine, calling him Harvest Scorned, Red Eyes, and all sorts of other things, but little did he know that he’d just contributed to Vir growing his throwing skills. He almost couldn’t keep the smile off of his face; that was some good practice.

“Come up with something original next time,” Vir taunted. “I’ve grown bored of your old ones. Haven’t you?”

Losing no time, he jumped down and rejoined Maiya. Though Camas didn’t pursue, they ran the rest of the way regardless. Bandies scared easily, but would eventually return.

Several times, Vir felt like he was about to black out from the exertion, but he pushed through, arriving heaving and panting at his home on the outskirts.

“Secret entrance,” Maiya whispered. “In case they’re watching.”

She wriggled through their secret entrance, and Vir followed right behind her. The moment he emerged through the hole into their room, he fell onto all fours, panting.

“Maiya,” he said between breaths, “I think they’re here for me.”

“Huh? You may be a bit special, but I don’t think the king would send out his knights just to find a boy in some backwater village.”

“You heard him talk about how there’s a new religious advisor, didn’t you? And you know what the religious texts say about Ashborn. And there’s never been an inspection like this before! Your dad even said so.”

“That’s true, but—”

“I don’t know why everyone’s so scared of Ashborn, but I am different. They make that abundantly clear,” Vir said, touching the eight-spoked geometric tattoo on his chest.

Maiya fell silent. “I… it’s not like I don’t understand, but I still think you’re overreacting. Let’s just lie low for now. Why don’t you stay inside your house until all of this blows over? I can bring you whatever you need, alrig—!?”

A series of loud, hard knocks startled them.

“Open up in there! This is a knightly inspection. Nothing to fear. Open the door!”

“Hide! I’ll answer the door,” Maiya whispered.

“No!” He whispered back. “Won’t it be suspicious if they find the daughter of the head priest alone in my house?”

“Oh… right. T-Then what should we do?”

“Just pretend we’re not here!”

“Oi! Anybody home? I said open up. I must warn you that the penalty for impeding a knightly investigation is dire!”

The rapping stopped. Then came the sound of footsteps.

“Who are you? Name yourself!” the knight commanded.

“Just a nobody, ser knight.”

Vir cracked the curtain to find old man Akros outside.

“Just wanted to say that this be Rudvik’s place. He’s off in the woods with his son today, ser.”

Why him? Vir thought frantically. Why did it have to be Akros?

A pause.

“Is that so?” the knight said in a quieter, more respectful tone. “Thank you, citizen. By the way, you wouldn’t have heard about an Ashborn living in this village, would you?”

Vir went pale.

“I, er. I wouldn’t know anything about that, ser.”

“Are you sure?”

“Q-quite. If I can help your highness in any way, please do let me know.”

Vir’s ears had to have failed him. Did Akros just stick up for me!? Why would he do that?

The soldier grumbled. “Not your highness. Just a ser. And no. We need nothing further from you. Run along now.”

Vir exchanged a tense glance with Maiya. Then there were more footsteps outside.

“Well, what do you think?” One soldier asked. Their voices hushed, making it hard to hear.

Vir desperately tried to still his raging heart. He could’ve sworn it was so loud that the knights could hear every beat.

“Yet another Brijer denying the Ashborn’s presence,” one knight said.

“Well, our spy already confirmed the Ashborn’s presence here, didn’t he? What use is it asking the locals? Red eyed, pale skinned. Lumberjack’s son. Couldn’t possibly be anyone else.”

“Well, true, but tisn’t bad to lend an ear to the locals now and then. They tend to know the ins and outs.”

“Maybe. But isn’t all this very unusual? Who would protect an Ashborn?”

Vir concurred. This was out of character for Akros. Or maybe the irate man wasn’t as bad as Vir had thought? He found that somewhat hard to believe…

The other knight chuckled. “Well, you and I wouldn’t understand it, but these villagers have a level of cohesion that is sometimes difficult to understand. I’ve heard they’ll even harbor criminals if they’re one of their own.”

The sound of someone spitting. “Backwater bumpkins… Can’t fathom how we got assigned to this miserable post. Oy! You two, come replace us. Guard the back door too, just in case.”

Sounds of boots shuffling. Two more guards had taken their place at Vir’s home, and now they had guards at both doors.

The soldiers finally walked away, their voices dying out. But the pair that guarded his home remained. One in front, another at the back. These knights weren’t taking any chances.

“Well, it’ll all be over soon… One villager to talk… justification… locals on our side… delicate situations.”

“... doesn’t take long.”

“Shouldn’t… just villagers… all.”

Vir finally let out the breath he’d been holding. He realized he’d been shivering. When did it get so cold?

“I don’t believe this,” Maiya whispered. “You were right!? How? I mean, why? Why’d they come after you? You’re harmless. Ashborn are harmless!”

“They clearly don’t think so!”

“What should we do?”

Vir sat down and sank into thought, the ancient floorboards creaking under his weight.

The answer was obvious. “I’ll leave the village. I can’t risk father and everyone else getting caught up in this.”

“That’s noble of you and all, but won’t that raise even more suspicion? If you just up and disappeared, everyone will blame Rudvik, won’t they?”

She had a point.

“I can’t believe Akros didn’t snitch on you, but I feel like it’s only a matter of time before someone does.”

“I dunno what he was thinking. He’s the most religious person in town, and everyone knows he hates my guts,” Vir said. “And then there’s Apramor.”

“Dad would never betray you. Never!” Maiya said, raising her voice, before putting her hands over her mouth. The two went silent, but luckily, the guards hadn’t heard.

“I like your dad too, but if the knights threaten you or your mum, what do you think he’d do?”

“He’d, I—Argh!” his friend whispered, grabbing her long, flaming hair. “What should we do? Think. Think! Maiya! Think!”

“Well, calm down,” Vir whispered back, surprising himself. He felt like he was the one who needed to calm down, but seeing Maiya panic somehow made him less nervous.

He took a deep breath. “Let’s… Let’s just wait for my father to get back from the woods, okay?”

“Mmm yeah. Good idea. Yeah. I’m… uh. I’ll go find dad. He’ll know what to do. Stay here until I get back.”

“Right. Let’s leave this to the adults. Let’s not do anything rash, okay?”

Maiya nodded vigorously, as if she was trying to convince herself. “Right,” she said, peeking outside. “Okay. They’re not looking anywhere near the tunnel’s exit.”

She walked over and gave him a deep hug. “I’m sorry you have to deal with this. I just… I wish…”

Smiling awkwardly, he broke her embrace. “T-Thanks.”

Maiya squeezed his shoulder, then crawled into the hole and slipped out.

All I have to do now… is wait, I guess.

Vir had lost count of the number of times he’d been alone in the house… but today? Today, the prospect of spending several hours by himself chilled him to his very bones.

“C’mon father. Hurry…”