Eleven years before the events at Castle Weytenford. Diolas Empire. Village of Nia.

Through the scorched earth of war walked a line of soldiers, and as they walked they looked around and saw the horrors of war: everywhere around, all over the village were the corpses of villagers, burned huts and the burning bodies of household animals. It was impossible to step through the streets of the village without stepping on someone's corpse. There were only a couple of houses in the whole area that hadn't been burned. The soldiers were on their way to one of them.

- Jan, I don't think that's a good idea... The Mersians might still be around..." mumbled the curly-haired soldier walking in the back. His freckles reflected the flames of the surrounding fire.

- Donnie, don't be a fucking coward! What if someone else is still alive here!" said Jan walking ahead. He had a short military haircut and rough facial features, like a farmer's son. He had a black tar shield and a broadsword in his hands.

-But..."

- No BUT Donnie, either you come with me and don't mumble in my ear, or you can go fuck off back to camp!" shouted Jan angrily, licking over the fence with the woman's body hanging on it.

Donnie looked toward the camp, and then at Jean, and reluctantly, with a crushing look, followed the latter.

Slowly, they walked along the dead village. The only sound was the crackling of burning houses. Finally, they reached the largest house in the entire village and the only one left standing, and that's because it was the only one made of stone.

- It looks like the house of some nobleman or headman of this village. There could be valuables in there..." said Donnie, examining the house. In response, Jan was silent.

Jan approached the door of the house and leaned his ear against it to hear if anyone was inside. After standing there for a few seconds, he finally heard a faint sound, as if someone was crawling inside. Gesturing to Donnie for danger, Jan gently began to open the door, trying not to make a sound. The door opened easily. Jan looked inside and saw that all the furniture in the house was scattered and the walls had traces of stained blood on them. Raising his shield, he began to go deeper inside the house. As he entered the living room, he froze in a daze. Lowering his sword and straightening up, he frowned heavily as he stared ahead of him. Donnie, who was just entering the living room, bumped into him from behind and sloppily adjusted his helmet on his head asking Jan, "What are you doing? What's up?" Without awaiting an answer, Donnie looked over the man's shoulder and stammered, too.

In front of them, in the center of the tall room, were two wooden crosses, and on them, hanging dead, were two people with their heads down. It was clear from their physique: a woman and a middle-aged man. Their palms were nailed to the edges of the cross, and stakes had been driven into their knees below. Their bodies showed long, bleeding marks, clearly from lashing. The blood, across the cross, dripped onto the floor, where in a huge puddle, a one-year-old child was sitting on his butt and playing with the blood. On the floor, the child was crawling and making circular motions with his hands, creating little bloody waves, watching them ripple merrily.

- The Four Gods of Light... What happened here?" Donnie's voice echoed through the room, bringing Jan out of his daze.

- It looks like they've been tortured... but why? Why would they torture the head of a backwoods village? And why didn't they kill the child? And the ultimate question. Why the child, seeing the blood, does not even cry, but plays with it as with ordinary water?" said Jan without addressing anyone, rather just thinking out loud.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

- Maybe he's defective from birth? You know... Like the ones in the capital..." remembering something, Donnie furrowed his brow.

- Either he didn't understand or he didn't realize what blood is. By the looks of it, he's only a year old, he may not be aware of what's going on yet." replied Jan, watching as the child poked his finger into the liquid mass.

- And what are we going to do with him? Kill him?" asked Donnie, exposing two huge harelike front teeth.

Instead of answering, Jan walked over to the two dangling bodies and looked at them. Both bodies had beautiful bright blond hair and pleasing facial features. Jan shifted his gaze to the child crawling at his feet, a barely visible mop of the same blond hair visible on his head.

Their baby, then.

Donnie came over and bent down to lift the baby by the neck, holding it at arm's length. The baby started panting, but still didn't cry or scream.

- Hmm. What a weird one... He's got balls, he''d be a fine soldier," Donnie said, taking his hands off its neck and grabbing it by the armpits.

- Sure better than you, you slippery worm." Jan grinned.

- At least I'm not a goddamn eunuch like the others!" Donnie laughed back.

- So what are we going to do about the boy?" finished laughing, asked Donnie.

- "I don't know. When I enlisted in the Emperor's service, I certainly didn't think I'd be killing newborns. So I'm not going to kill it." looking at the silent child said Jan.

- Well, I'll pass, too, then. I don't see the fun in it, and it doesn't get paid. Why don't we sell it to someone? Kids are needed everywhere these days."

- They do, but they only take kids four years old and over, they don't want to babysit them themselves." Jan leaned against a stone pillar in the middle of the living room and pondered.

In thoughtfulness, he looked at the child, who, as if sensing Jan's gaze, looked back at him. Pure, clear eyes, looking into which, Jan felt something unusual. It was as if his whole gut was screaming at him to keep or spare this child. Jan sighed heavily. He put his shield behind his back and held out his hand to Donnie.

- Give him to me. I'll take it with me. It'll be useful."

- Useful? For what?" Donnie stared at him bewildered.

Jan stupidly scratched his head and smiling so that all of his 20 most beautiful teeth were visible, answered:

- Well, I don't know what there, be my servant or apprentice or... Woah! A squire!"

Donnie, as if he'd heard the world's best joke, laughed his head off, grunting intermittently. After wiping away the tears of laughter, he laughed and said:

- Squire? Aha-ha-ha-ha! Don't you forget that only noblemen have squires? Lords and aristocrats, men about to become the highest knights in the Empire! What are you compared to them? A filthy stinking shoe sole? Or the sweat-soaked underpants of an innkeeper? Ah-ha-ha! Squire! You're such a piece of ass! You should have said you wanted to be a knight!" Donnie couldn't help laughing, but when he saw Jan's serious face, he shut up.

- Or do you want to...?" Donnie cautiously took a step back from Jan, sensing a slight killing intent in the air.

- Or do I want to, do you have something against it? Donnie?" Jan's sword gleamed with an unnatural luster.

- No! Of course not! Of course not! You will be a wonderful knight! Not like those pompous morons born with a silver spoon in their mouths! By the way, what are you going to name the baby, now that you've decided to keep it. He needs some kind of name, doesn't he?" Donnie decided to change the subject before it got too hot.

Jan's face became unsightly. He began to sweat profusely, his face intensely flushed from the thought process boiling inside him. If you listened carefully you could hear the gears in his brain moving. Finally, his face softened, and he exhaled. Lowering his head, he looked again at the child in his arms.

- From this day forward, your name will be Jack! And now, you are my squire! Do you swear to be?" asked Jan, extending his forefinger to the child's face. The boy, seeing the dirty scarred finger in front of him, took it into his mouth and began to suck it.

- I guess that means yes." Smiling, Donnie pronounced.

- A squire named Jack. Well, I guess so. Sounds solid. I like it." winked Donnie to the kid.

A little more time passed while they looked around the house for jewels, but they didn't find anything. Half an hour later, through a broken window, they heard the sound of an infantry marching in formation and excitedly went to join their comrades. Meanwhile, the two lonely bodies were left hanging in a lonely stone house in the now abandoned village of Nia.