Ictar had explained to me how becoming a paladin in training would work. A paladin was someone who had chosen to be a god’s vassal, to do their bidding in this world. I was not old enough to make a permanent pact yet. But paladins in training could make a temporary pact with the goddess of learning, Seshat.

I had prayed to Seshat and asked her for temporary powers. I expected to meet her, like I had Anubis or Osiris. Apparently it’s rare for a god to actually speak to you unless they really want you. I guess it was sort of how college recruiters approached the best players. But a light filled up inside of me and it was like I was… refreshed is the best way I could put it. I felt more power coursing through my seven year old veins. I could jump a little higher. Swing my wooden sword a little harder. The monkey explained to me that I was given a gift of starter powers, not nearly as powerful as the ones he possessed. Spells like “True Strike,” Which helped strengthen a single swing of your weapon.

One thing that intrigued me was that he would teach me sword skills against a human opponent.

“But, Master Ictar,” I asked, “If we’re all working for the gods, why would we be fighting each other?”

“Because gods have their own wills. Each one of them. We cannot question their wills but there will be times when two paladins of sibling gods are on opposite sides of the battle. Now go lift those buckets of water and don’t let them drop or there’s a cane-bonking in it for you!!”

“Master,” I asked while beads of sweat formed on my face, “Can there be a paladin that is contracted by a devil?”

“Those which you speak of are called Bannerets. They are the opposite of Paladins. They take their orders from dark masters. And are often granted more power than a paladin in exchange for your soul.

“More power? I might have to consider a demon then.”

I got bonked in the head.

“Do you know what your mother would say if she found out I turned you into a banneret? She’d have my head!”

The training continued for a few months. I was starting to grow muscle. I would show up to my house after a morning of intensive training and collapse for a nap, where Hestiana would bring me some treat. I would thank her, and if I had the strength I would walk to the library. If I didn’t have the strength, Hestiana would teach me more Elvish. By that point, I had gotten fluent in it. The house was so lousy with Elvish speakers that my dad even started picking some up. I decided it might have been time to learn a new language.

“Babians don’t have languages, young chimp. We howl when we’re hungry. Howl when we’re angry. Howl when…”

“What does a hungry howl sound like?: I asked.

Ictar looked at me and howled a certain way. I tried to imitate it. He showed me again and we repeated it until I had successfully howled like a hungry monkey man. I learned the rudimentary howls in about two weeks and occasionally when we were doing team exercises, he would howl and jabber instead of speak. Go there. Through here. Over. Under. Food. Etcetera Etcetera. I quickly became sufficient in Babian.

I had three languages down pat. I had stalled on learning Sylvan. Hestiana taught me all she knew and my mother would be too exhausted after her shift as a seamstress to help me.

Hestiana and I were sitting at the dinner table with my parents. We were all enjoying a lentil stew Hesti had made. My dad was cracking some story about how he found two young boys trying to sneak into the Bronze Ring covered in a robe, complete with a drawn on mustache. They were pretending to be a single adult. At the tail end of the story, we were all laughing, my mother gripped her mouth and ran to the commode. My dad looked at us and said, “Was my story really that bad?” And we all burst out laughing.

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My mother was sick the rest of the evening. My dad finished his meal to go comfort her. They talked for a while, eventually leaning into fighting. Hestiana took me outside and we played a game I made up. Chess. I had made up chess and passed it off as my own. Hestiana thought i was a genius when I showed her how to play. All these hayseeds were going through the bronze age and they hadn’t invented any board game worth playing yet. There was one called Commander but I was no good at it. They were still a few millennia from ‘Settlers of Catan.’ We had a few candles out in the patio while we played. My father and mother fought for a while before it quieted down. Hestiana went inside to make her herbal tea. In the morning, my mother was bedridden. Hestiana sent word to Ictar that I would not be joining practice.

Then she turned to me and said, “Little Master. I trust you to take the utmost care of your mother now that you’re studying to be a brave paladin?” I stood at attention and saluted. “I have a very special mission for you. I need you to go find me these herbs, bookmarked in this botanical notebook. They’re found in the delta that runs outside of Skorwind. I trust that you’ll come back with a handful big bushel of each?”

“Of course, Hestiana. Anything

“Avoid the tall grass. Avoid the deep jungle. If you see any creature you escape at once. Look out for strange logs and do not approach if there are hippos. If you stay near the delta pouring out of the city you’ll be fine. Hfabu know to stay away from there.”

“What’s a hfabu?”

“It’s a creature with a snake’s body and the legs of a cheetah. Twice as deadly as both combined. There really shouldn’t be any close to the walls. Promise me you won’t go too far downriver.”

I stuck out my pinky and she shook it. I said “pinky swear” and, although she had never heard of a pinky swear before, instantly knew it meant my word was good. She offered me a gracious smile and sent me on my way with my wooden sword and shield.

I walked outside of the safety of the Copper Ring for a few miles until encountering the river that appeared in my book. THe first herb was ‘River Mint’ and it grew in fair abundance. I plucked a few bushels and placed them in my pouch. ‘Eel Weed’ was next. Long thick strips that grew out of crevices in the rock. I had to go upstream before I found some. It grew long and viny out of little crevices in the rock, like an eel poking out. I steadied myself on a rock in the water. I grabbed it and yanked but it stuck on. I changed my footing and pulled again. I came out too quickly when I finally plucked it but I fell, cutting my arm on the rock.

I examined my cut. It was right across my palm. I submerged my hand in the river and watched the river carry my red blood away. The swirls made their way down to a lonely crocodile who turned my direction. I jolted up when I saw its two beady eyes sticking out of the water and got a move on.

The last herb I needed was something called Hellcattail. Cattails grew all along the river but that wasn’t what I was looking for. Hellcattail had a very specific flowy pattern and was bright orange, like it was a plant on fire. I roamed further down the river, examining both sides of the banks. Maybe Hestiana could have made do with the herbs I’d already gotten. But I thought about my mom, sick in bed. I could handle myself. I was a grown man. Not at this moment, but I had been at one point. I looked at my wooden sword in my cut hand. Any sort of pressure caused my hand to flare. I holstered my sword on my side and my shield on my back. I looked downriver. It would have to do. I decided I was going to go looking for the hellcattail.

After about an hour of traveling upwards, I noticed the logs that weren’t logs. Crocodiles lined the river more frequently. My heart picked up the pace.

No big deal, I thought, Just be smart. Besides, you have your sword if need be. I stood along the river banks. Crocodiles were striking predators. So long as they knew you knew where they were, they wouldn’t mess with you. I walked along the field of reeds and cattails, looking for the medicine that would make my mother better. I spent the majority of the day looking for that thing. The sun was starting to go down. I knew that I couldn’t keep going much farther downriver because that would just make my travels back take all the more longer. And while the animals stayed away form the humans at at daytime… they were much more bold at night. I was already starting to see crocodiles pop up more. The constant onslaught of animal noises from a world that hadn’t yet killed most of its wildlife made the area feel that much more terrifying. I would rarely see an animal but I could tell that they were all around me. Waiting. Hungry. I decided I would turn around. but as i did, I saw the patch of cattails on the other side of the river. And one in the middle that was flared and orange. Just past the rushing icy waters lined with crocodiles and hippopotami, was the hellcattail.

Was this how I’d die?