Jiran considered pulling the hood of his father’s cloak over his head but decided against it. In such a small village the sight would just attract extra attention. In an attempt to appear as normal as possible, he slowly and steadily walked across the street into an alley between two larger homes.

Once inside the relative cover of shadows and buildings, he stole a glance in the direction of all the noise.

The sight of three priests from the Church of the Voice, followed by a throng of villagers, including his mother, caused Jiran’s eyes to widen in shock.

Did they come to finish me off? Did she bring help to make sure dad wouldn't stop her?

Betrayal burned inside Jiran as his thoughts turned dark.

Do I stick around and see what they do, or should I just get out of here to be safe?

It’s not worth the risk.

After having made his choice, Jiran retreated as calmly as he could down the alley and into the next street.

He held his side pretending to have an injury, as an excuse to keep his face turned down. Whenever he was forced to walk near someone he turned to look away, not wanting anyone to get a clear look at him.

Luckily at this time of day, there were relatively few people walking the streets, as most would be busy with the myriad tasks of daily village life.

Jiran only made it a few blocks before hands on his shoulder and a rough shove sent him tumbling to the ground.

“What’s wrong worm, can’t stand up?” Came the nasally high-pitched voice of a child, followed by braying laughter.

Are you serious? How much bad luck can I have in a single day?

He looked up to find the pack of hunter-apprentices standing over him.

Figures, what other idiots would attack someone who looks hurt in the middle of the street? Guess this is what I get for walking around staring at my feet.

Preparing to run and likely be caught and beaten, Jiran slowly stood up to a crouch, ready to dash in any direction.

He had not expected the looks of shock that crossed their faces. The laughter died on their lips as they got a good look at Jiran’s scarred face.

One of the boys uttered the words “Den-less” which shattered the momentary peace. Looks of shock were replaced by disgust and fear, one of the boys even took a step back, as if Jiran were contagious and would rob him of his precious mana.

The lead boy who had pushed him down and made the comment that only a child would find insulting, was the first to fully recover.

“No wonder your parents returned the meat you stole from Skandor, a Den-less worm like you is only good for beast bait.”

The other boys found confidence in his words and quickly recovered from their shock. Faces that once held disgust and pity turned to scorn and anger. Mumbled ascent backed up the leader's words as they pressed in closer to Jiran to block off his escape.

“Ooh Garus you’re so courageous and strong, look at you bravely attacking an injured Den-less that can barely stand. You brought so many of your friends to back you up too, really I just can’t imagine how someone could be more impressive than you.” A familiar voice echoed from across the street.

A wiry girl walked up behind the apprentices. A year their senior and a head taller, Niya came into view with her hands on her hips and her head held high. She looked down her nose at the other children, a look of disgust on her hawkish features.

With a long blond ponytail that hung down her chest, and the bright green eyes typical of his family, she stood out among the children, just as her father did among the adults.

The apprentices as one, like a flock of geese sensing a predator, turned toward the new arrival.

With a look of pure outrage, Garus responded

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Stay out of this Niya, just because Skandor got back what was stolen doesn’t mean we should let this worm crawl away before he learns his lesson.”

Clearly, the boy found courage using Skandor’s name, he stood more confident with every word. He nodded to himself, finding his own argument to be without flaw.

“I wonder how the Elders would respond if they knew Skandor sent a bunch of kids to beat up a Den-less. Last I heard it was against imperial law for sworn hunters to attack imperial citizens. It’s a good thing we don’t have a magistrate or Skandor might find himself beheaded before the Fathers sleep tonight.”

The look of pure terror that washed over their faces was so priceless Jiran wished he had a camera. He did an admirable job holding in his laughter, despite Niya's giggle at her own words.

Trying to think of a response to recover his position, then clearly giving up, Garus stumbled over his words “Hey that’s not what— never mind, we’re leaving!”

He turned on his heel, facing back the way they came and together the boys retreated. Garus turned a hateful glare on Jiran before they rounded a corner and were out of sight.

Jiran let out a deep sigh and then turned to resume walking down the street. Niya moved to walk beside him while glaring at him openly in frustration.

“Since when do you sigh like one of the adults, Jiran? You sound just like dad. Where have you been the last three days, do you have any idea how worried dad’s been? He even went over to see you last night but uncle Soren wouldn’t let him in to see you. Why aren’t you going to the shop to help dad, why aren’t you saying anything? Where are you going anyway?”

Has she always been this annoying?

Yes, she’s definitely always been this annoying. Guess I didn’t realize it because she was older and just her talking to me made me happy. Especially after she tiered up last season.

Jiran let out another sigh and gave Niya a steady glare with raised eyebrows, trying to convey, are you done yet, with just a look.

It may have been the new scars covering his face but Niya actually blushed and mumbled a “sorry” and then waited patiently for him to respond to her barrage of questions.

“I have no idea where I’m going, I was just looking for a quiet place away from home to sit down and think when those idiots found me” Niya mouthed the unfamiliar word, idiots, Jiran had spoken.

Not wanting to interrupt now that he was finally talking, she held back her question.

“Uncle Micah has really been worried about me? Did he say anything else last night?”

“No, just that he wanted you back at work because he didn’t have time to run all your errands and his. He said something about being upset with your father about not knowing if you would even come back to work. What did that mean? Why wouldn’t you come back to work, Jiran? It’s not like you need mana to carry packages or deliver messages. Your face isn’t that bad, just a bit scary.” After her second barrage of questions she cringed, knowing he would probably find her words rude.

To her relief, Jiran didn’t show any further signs of annoyance as he came to a stop, clearly in deep thought.

So uncle doesn’t know what happened, why didn’t they just tell him? Or maybe they did and he just didn’t want to worry Niya. No, I don’t think that's it. Micah has always been firm on his stance against the Church of the Voice. I can clearly remember several times him questioning why dad would put up with mother's antics.

Uncle is probably my best bet right now, hopefully, he’s willing to shelter me until I can figure out how to fix my mana issue. I can’t think of any better options, living on the streets and trying to hunt would be a challenge. I haven't managed to buy any arrows yet, and I have no clue how to actually use this bow.

With his mind made up, Jiran turned to look fully at Niya then said “Let’s go” and promptly turned towards Uncle Micah’s shop and started walking.

Jiran wasted no time now that a path forward had been decided, his quick and confident steps had the taller girl scrambling to keep up.

After the previous blunder, Jiran no longer let down his guard while walking the streets, due to his new vigilance he noticed every time Niya stole a quick glance his way. Her furrowed brows made it obvious there was something bothering her.

“Out with it Niya, what’s on your mind?” Once again the girl mouthed the strange turn of phrase, ‘on your mind,’ with a look of confusion.

“You’re acting weird,” she mumbled while kicking at a pebble with a down-turned face.

“What happened to you? Where did you get all those scars? Does it have something to do with what those ‘idiots’ were saying? Are you really Den-less?” Her words came out in a tumble, except for the uncertainly pronounced ‘idiot.’ After stumbling over the unfamiliar term, she glanced at him to see if he would give any indication she used it correctly.

Jiran nodded at her and responded “Yeah, something went wrong when I was Tiering up. In the middle of my body rebuilding itself, all my mana just got sucked out of me. It’s hard to explain, I know where it went, but I don’t know why, and I can’t access it at all.”

Trying not to get depressed, Jiran pushed his thoughts in a more positive direction.

“Thanks for helping me with Garus back there. They probably would have beaten me pretty badly. Without my mana, I’m really weak right now.” The honest and straightforward apology left Niya blushing in embarrassment.

Don’t tell me she’s weak to praise too? Could her personality be any more obvious? Jiran thought to himself while chuckling.

Niya puffed out her cheeks in a pout at his silent laughter. Stomping along behind him they walked the last few blocks in silence.