Shakha walked up the small hill that led to his hut.

He raised an eyebrow upon seeing three women standing around a large jar.

Their bodies covered only by two straps of cloth that covered their breasts and crotches.

Shakha walked up to them and crossed his arms without saying anything.

“Yep. You did it.” Khal remarked.

“It took a while, but yeah. You did.” Eshi said.

Laïn, the tallest of the three, then grabbed a cup from a nearby mat before dipping it into the jar.

She took a sip of the cup’s contents before doing a strange little dance.

“Magnificent!” She cried.

Khal and Eshi celebrated with her and they eventually noticed Shakha, who curiously watched them.

“Oh! You’re back. What did the Arcusus need?” Laïn asked while Shakha plopped onto the nearby dark mat.

“Meh. Someone’s been stealing from the supplies. She wants me to investigate whatever’s going on.” Shakha said.

Laïn nodded before offering him a cup.

Shakha accepted it and noticed that Laïn had a rather excited expression.

He sighed before taking a sip of the pale red liquid.

His eyes widened as a sweet burn went down his throat.

“Oh? This is good. Very good, actually.” Shakha said and again, Laïn did a strange little dance.

“I knew I was close to perfecting the brew, but I didn’t know it’d happen while I was still young,” Laïn said loudly.

“Well, you’re not that young.”

“Does ruining my fun bring you joy?” Laïn said with an unamused expression.

“Somewhat. Anyway, make sure you remember the recipe because this is the stuff of legend.” Shakha said before downing the cup.

“I already did, but umm… could you invite the Arcusus over. I really want her to try it.” Laïn said while fiddling with her long black hair.

“Fine. You drunkard.” Shakha said as he stood up.

“Actually, I’m feeling a little tense. How about I go and catch something fresh for dinner?”

Laïn jumped into Shakha’s arms before gently kissing him.

“That would be perfect,” Laïn said.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Oi, there’s no way this stuff is gonna keep tasting good if it stays out in this heat. Why don’t you ask uncle Gid to help keep it cool?” Eshi suggested as Shakha gently placed Laïn down.

“Aright. I’ll talk to him later. I wanna take a nap first.” Shakha said before walking into his hut.

He then plopped onto his bed before closing his eyes to sleep.

Well, he tried, but he kept thinking back to what happened in that dark forest.

Yna, the Golden Knight.

Katsíki, the supposed vessel of the last prince of the Rendaro.

What did any of that mean and why had the prince chosen to take the form of a goat of all things?

Why had the Ia decided to surface after so long?

Why did Calëb place all her trust in two strangers?

Shakha couldn’t wrap his head around any of it.

His eyelids eventually met and he slept.

.

..

Shakha woke up and immediately took off his fur jacket as the heat of the day turned his hut into an oven.

He stood up, lightly stretched and grabbed his club before exiting his hut.

He saw Laïn and the others conversing with some warriors, but he ignored them as he made his way towards a hill to the south.

He approached the single hut that sat atop the hill and he loudly knocked on the side of the entry flaps.

A few moments passed before a head popped out from the entry flaps.

“Hey, Gid-“

“That’s uncle Gid or Arcus to you, boy. What do you want?” Gid asked his old face a twisted scowl.

“Laïn made a batch of pretty great booze, but…” Shakha paused and looked up at the blazing hot sun.

“… she wants to gift some to the Arcusus and we’d really appreciate it if you kept everything nice and cool.” He said with a cheeky smile.

Gid lowered his eyes for a moment.

He then let out a low growl before fully exiting his hut, revealing his half-naked self.

Shakha was used to seeing him in armour and so he was taken aback by Gid’s rugged build.

“The Arcusus… do you still refer to her as that?”

“When I’m talking to her, no. But formally, yes.” Shakha said as Gid looked out into the Dark Expanse with narrowed eyes.

“What do you think about what happened in that place?” he asked.

“Mmm… did we ever have a choice or say in anything? I feel like our fates were sealed as soon as the knight showed up. It’s the same with all of them. We can’t do anything about anything. It’s all so…”

“Hopeless?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, you said you need some help. Let’s go-“

“Actually, I’ll come back for time later. I’m heading south to catch something for Laïn. She’s really excited about her latest creation. So only the freshest of meats will do.” Shakha said.

“Oh? Give me a moment.” Gid said before rushing into his hut.

A moment passed and Gid eventually returned only he was wearing his scaly armoured pants and he had in his hands a dark shortsword.

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Lead the way!” Gid said loudly.

“Don’t you have troops to oversee?” Shakha asked while walking southward with Gid

“Yeah, but those lads are pretty autonomous, ya know,” Gid said.

“I feel like you don’t really believe that.”

.

..

Shakha rubbed his temple as Gid prattled on and on about various things.

They had been walking for a few hours and the sun had begun to set, but the heat and Gid’s voice were starting to gnaw at Shakha’s mind.

He spoke on and on about his old troop and its mighty leader, but Shakha didn’t care.

All he wanted was for Gid to shut up-

“Shh!” Shakha said before crouching.

Gid traced Shakha’s gaze and saw a large beast prowling the Dark Expanse in the distance.

It was as tall as two men and had large, muscular limbs that had dagger-like claws and it had needle-like teeth.

On its head and back were thin black spikes that matched its equally dark fur. Thin wisps of black smoke could be seen rising from the spikes.

“Ah… a Lopus. Quite a deadly, but delectable find indeed.” Gid whispered.

“We could go back and get a troop to help take the beast down, but…” Gid turned to face Shakha, revealing that his eyes were glowing a pale blue.

“… I think we can handle it, no?” Gid asked with a smirk.

“Mmm... judging by the long spines on its back… it’s an adult. It’s probably hella strong and territorial. Isn’t it mating season-”

“Enough with the talking. Don’t tell me you’re scared. Whatever happened to the fighting spirit of the mighty Shakha, Crusher of Skulls?” Gid asked with narrowed eyes.

Shakha bit his teeth.

“Tsk! Stop taking out your frustrations on me. Also, try to keep up, old man.”