An A-Dam was walking through the forest when he came across a few houses made of planks and pieces of fallen wood. He can see children with long ears playing between the trees and structures as he continues to walk. The man walks into one of the houses and sees a Chatzi woman cooking in a firewood oven.

‘I picked up some fish and fruits on the way here; today was good.’ He grinned as he placed the fish on the makeshift counter next to her.

‘The kids were hungry; if it had not been for the people next door, we would have gone all day without eating.’ The woman's eyes were filled with tears.

‘I’m going next door to thank them with some fish.’ He took two of the six fish and left the house.

The kids were still playing, and before he got close to the house next to his, a middle-aged Chatzi got out of it and smiled at him.

‘Hello there, neighbor; how was your day?’ The middle-aged Chatzi patted the head of one of the children playing.

‘Yes, this is for yesterday; without you, we would have gone hungry.’ He bowed to him.

‘You are new here; we need to look out for one another.’ The old chatzi smiled.

‘We are just tired of running; we were thinking of going to the Chatzi duchy, but who will protect us out in the open?’ The man hands the fish over to the elderly Chatzi.

The old Chatzi noticed a caped figure emerging from the woods behind the A-Dam he was speaking with.

‘Children, enter the houses; we have an intruder.’ He yelled, pointing to the hooded figure.

‘What?’ The A-Dam quickly turned around.

More people emerged from the homes, and the man in the hood raised his hands. He quickly removed his hood and introduced himself. Being a young Chatzi with only a wooden stick by his side, the crowd felt immediately at ease.

‘I’m a soldier serving under the duchess Ariadne Melech, and my name is Ethan Aaron.’ He bowed to the crowd.

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‘What are you doing here?’ A voice could be heard from the crowed.

‘Yeah.. The princess is now a duchess, so our hope for a better kingdom is gone; I bet she lost the right of succession.’ A female Shafran in the front spoke.

‘The duchess wishes to build something new from the ground up, and she seeks your assistance; changing this kingdom is a lost cause, so she wishes to establish her own independent kingdom starting from the duchy.’ Ethan said it with confidence.

‘How is she supposed to keep us safe? Will the archduke assist her? Although it is difficult to survive here due to our isolation, as long as we stay out of the way of the nobles, this is a secure location.’ The middle-aged Chatzi came forward.

‘And what is your name?’ Ethan enquired.

‘My name is Eli Blau, and I sort of serve as the leader of this community.’ He answered.

‘If you accept the duchess as your leader, she will grant you the ability to use magical devices like this one.’ Ethan displays his rifle to the crowd.

‘Are you trying to deceive us, boy? That is just a stik.’ Eli laughed.

Ethan took the rifle in his hands, turned around, aimed for the nearest tree, and pulled the trigger. The noise startled everyone and caused them to take a step back.

‘I can use magic, even though I’m not a mage; the duchess gives her subjects that kind of power. With these and much stronger weapons, we are eliminating orcs and goblins in the duchy; our villages and town don’t require fire to provide light at night.’ Ethan shows the crowd a small cylinder that he has taken out of his pocket.

A light flashed from the soldier's device, further startling the crowd. Eli used his hand to protect his eyes, along with the others Ethan pointed his device at.

‘See, light, this is only the beginning; Edmund, an exiled Velvent prince, is teaching the young who are capable how to create things like this; I tried and could not do it; it is hard; my loyalty to the duchess could only push me so far; that is why I’m a soldier now.’ Ethan gives the gadget to a woman who is close to him.

She tries to look inside, but the light blinds her. She hands the light to a child, who begins to shine it on everyone else; smiles could be seen spreading throughout the crowd. Ethan approaches the child and shows how to turn on and off the light, but the child cannot do it.

‘In order to use these devices, you must believe the duchess is your ruler and that she is the only path forward. That's the deal.’ Ethan toggled the light on and off.

‘Is she some kind of goddess? This sounds like a power only a god can bestow; it's like a blessing.’ Eli turned to face Ethan.

‘She never claimed to be anything other than a duchess, but from what I understand, she wants to protect the people on her land.’ Ethan gave the device to Eli.

Eli took the device from Ethan and turned on the light, pointing to the treetops and the sky. In his eyes, the young Chatzi showed she was the only way; he now has faith in her.

‘There is no doubt that this is a blessing, a promised land where we can all live in safety and prosperity... Who's going with me?’ Eli looked into everyone's eyes.

Some raised their arms, while others got to their knees and closed their eyes. Ethan was taken aback by what was going on. Under the soldier's hood, another voice could be heard.

‘Ethan, what is the situation?’ The voice asked.

Ethan picked up the radio and positioned it nearer to his mouth.

‘They are coming with us; but I think we have a problem.’ Ethan responded while facing away from the crowd.

‘What? Did you kill one of them?’ The voice became aggressive.

‘Somehow, the duchess has become a goddess.’ Ethan rubbed his head and turned back to the crowd.