Kilverstead was known for its annual harvests of the special pale moon wheat. The town is one of only a handful capable of growing the crop which is coveted across the entirety of the Testial Empire. The harvest season usually leads to a boon in the economy of the small sleepy town that otherwise would go unnoticed. People from all over the empire would travel to Mighthand to secure some of the grain for themselves during the Pale Moon Festival.

This year was especially exciting for Silvia who was Kilverstead's registered merchant for trade in Tintagel. She would be in charge of the sale of the pale moon wheat during the auctions held by the Merchant Guild during the festival. It would be her first time as the registered merchant for the town, taking over the role after her mother passed away suddenly the year prior. Although she had been trained to take over as Kilverstead's registered merchant since she was a little girl, the responsibility came faster than she ever imagined.

Silvia was twenty years old with a slim but sturdy frame. Her long platinum blonde hair was tied back in a braided bun. Her eyes were silver which was common for people from Kilverstead and her sun-kissed skin teetered between tan and bronze. She was wearing a large sun hat with a long summer dress with the colorful earth tones common in the town.

She was on her way to a town meeting and was walking across the main bridge from the shopping plaza. The day was hot so she did not want to be outside longer than necessary. As she was approaching the bridge she saw two foreigners standing near the stone railing. It wasn’t uncommon to see foreigners this time of year as people from all over came to try and purchase pale moon wheat before the festival. Only a select few people like Cena at the Dog Head Inn were allowed to secure purchases before auction.

Normally Silvia would not pay much attention to visitors unless she was manning one of the sale stalls but this couple seemed unusual. The man looked like a knight in full plate armor but she couldn’t get a look at his face from her angle. Although he looked human, he had white skin which is not something Silvia had ever seen before. She heard riklud people were light skinned, maybe he was one of those. The woman lowered her hood as the two talked and she looked to be some kind of elf. Silvia had also never seen an elf before but knew that they sometimes traveled to Dunefal.

“Oh wow, she is gorgeous! I wonder if she is elven royalty or something.” Silvia said to herself as she walked.

She finally got a good look at the armored man and nearly stopped in her tracks as her heart skips a beat. Suddenly the woman almost tackled the man which startled everyone passing by including Silvia. They embraced with a passionate kiss which left Silvia feeling embarrassed for having watched them for so long. She gets one final glimpse at the man who looks like a prince from a fairytale.

“They are definitely going to have cute babies.” Silvia mutters to herself. “Wait, can humans and elves have children? Hmm.” She shrugged.

Silvia continued her walk to the town hall which was one of the largest buildings in the small community second only to the temple. The village elders would be holding a meeting to discuss the harvest and plan the festival. The duke's representatives from Tintagel would be arriving soon to discuss yearly production for census data and taxes. It had been a good year for the town with yields expected to be very high.

Silvia turned the corner which led to both the town hall which was now only a short jaunt and the temple which she could see atop a small hill. The town hall was an old building that had been renovated a few times in its life and was soon in need of redevelopment again. The temple was the only brick building in the town and had the grand, albeit old visage of a fairly large cathedral; many people traveled from neighboring villages for worship there. Silvia hadn’t stepped foot inside since the deaths of her parents.

“Silvia, hey!” A young man's voice yelled out.

Silvia turned and saw the origin of the voice running towards her. The young man’s name was Albert and he was a few years younger than Silvia and they had known eachother since they were kids. He also had silver eyes and platinum blonde hair though his was styled slick back. He was in a tan well tailored outfit with blue accents that broke up the color nicely. His skin was very light tan which is what passes for fair skinned for the thrurlud people. He had delicate features that made him look more beautiful than handsome. If not for the well kept goatee he would probably be mistaken for a girl.

Albert’s family owned the largest brewer of pale ale as well as several other famous alcohols which have gained acclaim throughout the empire. He lived with his family in Tintagel and would usually only come to Kilverstead with his family to secure wheat before the auctions. Recently he had been traveling more frequently to the small town finding any excuse to make the journey. His most recent justification was getting a job with Cena as his assistant and personal appraiser.

“Albert? What are you doing here?” Silvia asked as Albert approached. “I thought your family already secured their share of the harvest this year.”

“Y-yes well… um… that’s true.” Albert stuttered out. “I-I got a job with Cena as his personal appraiser.”

“You got a job?” Silvia asked as she shook her head in disbelief. “Aren’t you an heir to a massive and famous brewery?”

“Well, yeah but that is boring work that keeps me cooped up all day.” Albert responded. “At least at the Dog Head Inn I can interact with people that aren’t so up tight. Well everyone except Mrs. Halsver she is worse than a smokeless one shamering around.”

“Is she the lady that was married like ten times and every one of her husbands left her?” Silvia asks as she puts one finger to her mouth and taps her lips in contemplation. “I remember seeing her one year at the auction. She was loud and mean.”

“That’s her and it's only gotten worse. She is on husband eleven now and he is not going to last much longer. He is in the Dog Head nearly everyday drinking and talking about skipping town to get away from her.”

“I don’t get why so many men marry her. I mean she is beautiful but definitely crazy.” Silvia said then she looked Albert up and down. “I guess you better watch out then Albert. She will run out of men her age soon then she will start going after younger men.”

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

“Uhgg… no don’t say that!” Albert exclaimed with a shutter.

“Hmm… If I were you I think I would enjoy not having to travel so much.” Silvia stated with a shift in the subject. “This town's magi-carriage is not comfortable. Wait, doesn't Cena still use pracked drawn carriages?”

“Yes and they are quite smelly animals.” Albert responded with a twisted look on his face.

“Honestly, I am surprised you made the journey.” Silvia said with genuine surprise. “I didn’t think a rich kid like you could stomach the heat. I have seen your family's magi-carriages. I don’t know how anyone can go from that… to pracked-drawn. Is it true that they can make the journey from here to Tintagel in just a few hours.”

“Yes it’s true! I can show you one day they can go about as fast as a pracked at full gallop for hours without needing to recharge the crystals. But as you can see I made it just fine without them.” Albert said.

“Yep you proved me wrong.” Silvia stated as she took off her hat. “It's hot out here today so you need this more than me.” She placed the froppy hat on his head in a playful manner that also covered his eyes. “I would hate for you to get a sunburn with beautiful skin like that.”

“Hey, wait!” Albert said as he lifted the hat up.

“Nope, I have a meeting to get to. You're free to come along.” Silvia said, having already started walking towards the town hall. “It will be nice to have someone there that isn’t an old geezer.”

Albert chased after Silvia who had a few steps ahead. They arrived at the meeting just in time for it to commence. The head of the village was a counsel of six elders which made up the six main bloodlines of Kilverstead. Stewart was Silvia’s great grandfather and the two were the only remaining direct members of the Siervoe bloodline. Once he passed she would become the head of her family and assume the role of elder in his place. The other elders were the heads of the five other families.

The meeting with the elders was long and monotonous as they discussed prices, shares of proceeds and the suspected yield that year. As the town’s merchant Silvia’s job would be to transport the crop to Tintagel and host the auctions at the merchant guild. She would also be responsible for registering the crops and paying the appropriate fees and taxes. In addition to those responsibilities she would act as the town buyer for supplies requested by the head family and deliver them along with the money from the sales. From there the Elders would then divide proceeds to their families.

“Are you sure we should trust this important task with miss Silvia,” Grechid said, her voice having a long country draw. “It was my understandin’ that she has not performed the duties of the town merchant before.”

“We are not going to have this conversation again, Grechid.” Stewart said with a tired voice. “My family has always been the town merchant. We know more about how things work than anyone here in the village. My granddaughter is no exception. Lucy trained her well and she knows how to read and do advanced level arithmetic.”

“The loss of Miss Lucy was unexpected and we are all grieving, but that does not mean we have to put our faith in someone so inexperienced just yet.” Grechid rebutted. “My grandson Gael has traded goods in Tintagel for the family and I think he should be considered.”

“Your grandson, Gael? Really, you are proposing him?” Zachary the youngest Elder said. “Wasn’t he the one caught spending some of the money gambling.”

“That was a rumor at most and you know it!” Grechid hissed back. “He is a good boy and I am certain we will be able to get twice as much during the auction with him.”

“Well why don’t we leave the decision to Silvia?” Paisley said while rubbing her achy knees

All eyes in the room turned to Silvia and she felt the pressure of Grechid’s knife-like gaze rest on her. Grechid has never like her family and was always vying for more power in the town. Shortly after Lucy died, Grechid successfully had her grandson take over as the town merchant while Silvia and Stewart mourned. Gael was a nightmare for the village to work with. He embezzled money, stole items, and used profits to fuel his rising gambling addiction. The town was still reeling from the few months he was in control; most of the farmers had to resort to making wooden tools instead of taking the damaged ones to the blacksmith out of fear Gael would just gamble the money away.

Albert saw Silvia flinch with uncertainty as a smile played across Grechid’s wrinkled face. He had remained silent throughout the meeting since ultimately he was an outsider only there because of Silvia. However, seeing Grechid’s smug condescension ticked a nerve. He quickly stood up which caused his chair to fall over with a loud thud right as Grechid was getting ready to continue. The room fell silent as the eyes that were once bearing down on Silvia turned to Albert. Grechid’s smirk vanished into a scowl.

“Is this even a choice?” Albert stated with an assertive voice which seemed almost odd coming from his beautiful face. “I don’t even live here and I know how terrible Gael was for the town. Silvia isn’t just some small town merchant, she is better than most merchants in Tintagel.”

“The most important thing you said is that you don’t live here boy!” Grechid said venom practically seeped from her mouth. “This is a matter that concerns people from our town!”

Silvia stood up suddenly and without saying a word picked up Alberts chair. Everyone was silent as the young woman looked at Albert with a nod and he took his seat. She took a deep breath as she grabbed Alberts shoulder.

“Thanks Albert,” She whispered to him before turning back to Grechid. Silvia’s eyes were now just as sharp as the glare the elder was giving her. “Don’t talk to him that way. I am not planning on letting Gael or anyone for that matter take over. So back off.”

The tension in the room was settled by Zachary who played mediator. None of the other Elders had any intention of allowing Gael to take over as village merchant. The meeting concluded shortly after the debacle was sorted out. Silvia and Albert practically ran out of the town hall ready to be done with meetings for a life time. They walked along the brick road back towards the shopping square. It was already midday and Albert knew that Cena was probably searching for him.

As they approached the square they noticed that it seemed like things were just getting hotter. It was noon so they wanted to write it off as just abnormal weather but the temperature just kept rising. It got to the point that they could not bear to be in the direct sunlight. People moved out of the streets and the farmers out in the fields found shade under trees or in their sheds. Silvia and Albert squeezed into Peyton’s pottery shop which was full to near capacity from people trying to get out of the sun.

In the distance a single black canine figure emerged from the woods. The beast was larger than a horse with fur that was black to the point that it seemed more like an absence in space than a color. The creature had three pairs of eyes all glowing red. The heat that radiated around the town came from this creature's presence. The intense calefaction did not radiate from the creature itself, instead an aura that surrounded it raised the temperature evenly in a wide radius.

The beast quickly scanned the town for fresh prey and spotted the men out in the field. The beast needed no further provocation to attack other than hunger. It lashed out on its powerful legs moving with incredible speed. It did not go unnoticed as the farmers dispersed as best they could. It wasn’t long before one was caught and ripped to shreds by its powerful jaws.

The farmers out in the field quickly turned to attempt to make it back into the town. Those in the various shed’s and cellars quickly closed the doors and barricaded themselves as best as possible. Screams echoed across the town as the creature went from hunting for food to killing for sport. Those unlucky enough to be caught outside were hunted down and quickly killed before the beast went in search of more prey.