A new day dawned in the Barren Hills of Deepshadow.
Icy winds blew as the black terrain of some of the region’s peaks was now covered in a thin white layer of snow.
Winter days in the region were harsh. Strong icy winds would drive anyone in the area to take cover in houses or vehicles and avoid going outdoors.
The snow didn’t reach the point of covering the ground in the lower areas, but the region’s landscape was dotted with white peaks, and temperatures dropped to negative levels during the day. The nights were even worse, requiring reliance on nearby fires for warmth.
This was the case from north to south, and east to west of the great Barren Hills of Deepshadow.
One method of alleviating the suffering in this area was to stay near large bodies of water, where temperatures varied less between night and day.
Just near the South West Lake, a small group was camped that morning, gradually waking up as the bright rays of day pierced through some of the gray clouds in the sky.
The group’s only horse lay on a blanket while a campfire finished burning after a long, frosty night. In front of the fire was a well-closed carriage and a temporary tent, where an apparently middle-aged man sat with his arms extended forward, warming his hands over the dwindling fire.
The carriage door opened, revealing an old woman with messy white hair. She was so thin that her facial bones were prominent, and her deep-set eyes made her look older than she was, while her lips were pale and parched.
“I hope you didn’t lie last night, Arnald. We need food and a safe place urgently,” said the woman in a bitter tone.
Arnald, shivering with cold as he warmed his hands, said nothing to his wife’s mother. Marian was naturally desperate for them to reach their destination.
Just as Marian prepared for the group’s departure, Nibb, a beautiful brunette woman no more than 30, but as thin as her mother, left the carriage alongside a 6-year-old boy. Her expression was more optimistic. She trusted her husband, who had pulled her out of countless problems in Eldoria over the past years.
As she gave her son hot water to warm his belly, she saw her brother, Sayer, leave the hut, passing Arnald and smiling at the hungry boy.
“Johan, we’ll have a feast soon, haha. Your father’s relatives will certainly welcome us in style!” said the 21-year-old, Marian’s only male child, Nibb’s younger brother, and Johan’s uncle.
The boy laughed, imagining what it would be like if that really happened. But his father interrupted their fun. “Expect nothing more than a place to rest. Where I come from has always been humble. If we can get some food and some direction, we’ll be in luck,” Arnald said, catching the attention of the women preparing the carriage for departure.
“I probably have no more family there. Twenty-six years have passed since I left. That’s more than enough time for the old folks to have died off.”
“Don’t think so. Let’s hope your family in the Eternal Village is still okay,” Nibb tried to remain optimistic.
But Arnald didn’t have high hopes. After leaving the village for Eldoria in search of something better, all he had found was a strenuous life, where he suffered day after day to survive. He had almost died in over 20 situations over the years and had finally reached a critical point in his journey. Either he ran away, or he would die in Eldoria!
‘I hope that old man is no longer in charge of the village…’ He fell silent, remembering who had advised him to try something new away from the village. ‘At the time, I thought you helped me by freeing me after I made that mistake… But now I see that your punishment was much heavier than it would have been if I had stayed in the village.’
He remembered how Hewet had forgiven him for stealing gold from the village and then given him the chance to leave for Eldoria, which had already been his goal when he attempted to steal the village’s gold.
“Anyway, let’s get back on the road. By the end of the day, we’ll be in the Eternal Village!”
The group climbed into the carriage and set off towards the village a few hours away.
At the start of this last leg of their long journey, Sayer narrowed his eyes as he looked east, where a bright star was gradually rising in the sky.
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‘Eternal Village, huh? I hope Jack and his goons don’t come after me at the end of the world… Sely can’t be worth that much, right?’
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In a town to the northeast of Eldoria, one of the closest to the border with the Barren Hills of Deepshadow, a small human domain survived in this area, which was already affected by the toxic mana.
To the north of the city of 5,000 inhabitants, black terrain stretched as far as the eye could see. But to the south of the area, green fields and forests were still visible close to it.
Here, people went about their daily lives, with the simplest of inhabitants working in ordinary maintenance jobs, whether in the city or on the plantations to the south. Middle-class citizens, such as guards, merchants, and important subordinates, enjoyed better lives, serving the city’s nobles and mages directly.
Almost every human city left in Valorian after the Third Magic War had its mages. But there weren’t many of them. Most of the mages, especially the strongest ones, had died during the war or in the first years of peace that followed.
With Littlewood, the number of mages could be counted on the fingers of one hand. And even the strongest of them was a mere Acolyte.
These local mages, however, served the same person, the noble sovereign over the lands of Littlewood, Count Riverash.
The Riverash Family was ancient, with over 500 years of history. But since the war, their history had not been favorable. With the fall of its key members, the family reached its lowest point, with the first non-mage, a mere mortal, in the position of Count.
Javis Riverash, 37, was the last of the remaining Riverash lineage to assume his family’s noble position and keep Littlewood on its feet.
Doing this without any magical power of his own was not easy. Javis had to bow his head to certain issues and make deals that weren’t necessarily in the best interest of his people. With the little power he had now, standing against local groups of mere mortals would be dangerous.
Today he was in his government office, facing his two advisors and a messenger.
“Sir Jack, representing Yeoman Ferry, is outside the city waiting to speak to you, Your Grace,” said the newly arrived messenger in the Count’s office. “He…” The man hesitated to deliver the full content of the message, but royal laws prevented the assassination of messengers. “H-He said he’ll block the entrances to the city and poison our animals if he doesn’t get his wish.”
Count Javis Riverash trembled to keep from breaking his desk in half, outraged at the audacity of Jack and his cronies.
“Those petty thugs!” he said through gritted teeth, while the old mage next to him, the strongest Acolyte in the city, remained calm.
The other person next to Javis, a man with black hair and blue eyes, said, “How are we going to solve this? Lady Sely came to our town weeks ago, but it’s our fault she disappeared after that.”
“Yeoman Ferry won’t care about that. He and his minions have the power to force us if he wants to. He won’t rest until he gets his daughter back,” said the white-haired old man with a calm countenance on his wrinkled face.
“Do we know anything about that girl?” Javis asked his two advisors.
“Only that she was in the Flea and Guarin Tavern before leaving town a few days ago with someone. But we have no way of knowing where she went,” said the black-haired man.
“Find out who that person was. Direct these bastards to them and stop bothering us with this,” the Count ordered as he stood up. “For now, I’ll buy us some time to sort it out.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
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In the middle of the forest near Littlewood, an old, well-dressed man was hunting on his horse, accompanied by a group of armed men.
His gaze was cold and sharp as a blade. While holding a bow and arrow, he aimed at the creature he intended to eat tonight, channeling into his movement not only his desire for meat but also the hatred and worry he had been feeling for the last few weeks.
After he fired his weapon, the large-horned creature, with a body similar to that of a horse, fell with a long arrow embedded in its head.
Yeoman Ferry approached the animal he had killed, followed by his guards, who soon turned their eyes in the direction from which they heard something approaching them.
A few moments later, a man on horseback appeared, and the group lowered their guards.
“Jack and his group are acting in Littlewood,” said the newcomer. “Now they must finally solve Sely’s disappearance.”
The man holding a metallic green bow looked at the newcomer and said, “Good. If the bloody Jack doesn’t sort this out, he’ll pay for letting my daughter act like one of his men. Make that clear to that idiot!”
“Certainly, boss.”
“If he cannot bring my daughter back alive and well, I’ll give his body to the beasts of the Bosberg Wilds to feast on!”
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As night approached the Eternal Village, the tall bamboo gates of the village’s walled area were closed.
The first torches were lit by the guards on duty in the village’s two watchtowers, while the villagers prepared for the onset of night, by slowing down their activities outside their homes.
After a few weeks since Jonn advanced in level, the walled area of the village had been completed. His house was finished and the central area of the thousand square meter space paved.
Now all 41 residents of the village lived there. After the next harvest, Jonn was planning to plant some crops in the inner area of the walled area, which he had prepared specifically for this purpose.
The next harvest was approaching, and the passage of Acelin’s group along the Royal Road to the north was just over a month away.
The food situation for the villagers remained similar to weeks ago.
Mimosa and Annabelle had been contributing significantly, but their growth was slower than Jonn’s.
The two animals had just over 40 units of mana in their bodies at the moment, not enough to change their nutritious food production. But with the next harvest approaching, Jonn hoped to speed up their progress and introduce the village’s first beasts.
He arrived home after another long day’s work and got under his shower, relaxing after working in one of the village mines.
Just as he finished drying off and lay down to sleep, the sound of a trumpet blared from one of the village watchtowers, making Jonn widen his eyes and stand up suddenly.
“Enemies?” he wondered, echoing the same question that almost all his fellow villagers were thinking at that very moment!