Standing inside a smoky campsite in the ancient forest of Wyre, a young man with shoulder-length black hair and piercing blue eyes, made ready a meal for the men of the village. It had been a long week already, with most of the village out clearing the small section of forest.

With their Lord raising taxes due to another one of their King’s wars, they needed more crops; without this bit of new farmland, the chances of starvation over next winter would be significantly increased. Thankfully, the village had been permitted to extend their fields.

Now with most of the trees removed, the arduous process of removing the stumps was taking place. Admittedly, the young man named Aislin, unlike the other boys his age was rather small in stature. So he wasn’t upset to be assigned to find himself assisting the women, it’s not like he would be any use in the woods. However, what saddened him was no matter how hard he worked, the villagers gave him little respect.

“Aislin, get your head out of the clouds and come stir this pot.” Ina, the young man’s grandmother, shook her head.

With the boy’s name meaning ‘Dreams’ in the old tongue, the Wise Woman thought that he was well named, unfortunately, in this part of the Kingdom, most considered Aislin a girl’s name. But, even without the name, with his beautiful hair and striking blue eyes, she had to admit that her charge had much more in common with the girls in the village than the boys.

“Sorry, Gran, just daydreaming.”

“As usual.” She commented with little heat.

Smiling, he turned back to the campfire, before checking to make sure that the coals were evenly spread before stirring the contents in the pot. The barley stew, mixed with mushrooms and leeks, would keep everyone happy for the long day ahead.

“That poor excuse for a boy should not be here.”

Aislin ignored the words coming from the tall, middle-aged woman as he warily watched her approach. Such vitriolic comments flew from her mouth on a regular basis. For the most part, the women and young girls who worked around the camp gave Aislin little grief. However, Seara, the wife of the village Headman tended to look at Ina’s charge as some sort of anathema and a stain upon the village.

Brushing off her dress, Ina stood up and confronted the woman with a glare. “And where should my grandson be, Seara?”

The two women had stared at one another for a second before Seara gave an unfriendly smile. “You know what they do with pretty boys in the Capitol, Ina?”

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell us anyway,” Clar, the miller's wife, rolled her eyes in disgust as she dropped off a small armful of wood.

Looking at the boy for a moment, she realized it wasn’t necessarily that he looked like one of her nieces that made them all uncomfortable. Everyone in the village admitted it was this strange air about him that made them uneasy.

“Whatever, Ina, that boy has no business being near my daughter. Remind him that she has been properly betrothed to Master Oran.”  Giving Aislin one last disdainful look, the wife of the village Headsman wandered off to start berating another group of women.

Ina sighed, the young girl, said to be the prettiest in the village, caught the eye of the decade older Seneschal while her father visited the Keep on one of the festival days. Everyone agreed that marriage to such a powerful man would benefit the village greatly. However, her grandson had very few friends, and the two had always been together.

Unfortunately, being able to be with his childhood friends was coming to a close. During the last rebirth Festival, when spring renewed itself in the land, the mothers of eligible girls looked to find their daughter's proper husbands. With many of these marriages set up well before the children were born, all of the girls her grandson had grown up with now had their hair tied with yellow ribbons signifying a betrothal.

 “Aislin, is this true? Have you been with Rowena again?”

The young boy shrugged, not really caring that their relationship was no longer proper. “She’s isn’t very happy right now, Gran.”

Aislin knew this all came from when she came into his grandmother’s cottage, claiming that her life was over. Although nothing improper occurred, the recently betrothed girl spent the entire day alone with him as he tried to calm his childhood friend down.

“You still like her, don’t you?”

Aislin gave a sad smile. Her grandmother missed nothing. “Doesn’t matter; she is to marry Master Oran. Plus, my life isn’t going to be terribly long anyway.”

“Aislin, don’t say that.”  Ina looked shocked.

The young man shrugged. “I have no skills; no one in the village is willing to make me an apprentice. When the King calls up the levies, the elders will make sure I am one of the men picked.”

Ina closed her eyes; the boy might not have typical so-called ‘male skills’ useful to the village, but there was no mistaking his intelligence. Born a girl, Aislin would have already been chosen to be her apprentice years ago instead of Macha, a young girl whose family was close to hers.

“If that happens, we will request a meeting with a King’s Healer.”  Ina insisted.

Although it was impossible, such gifts were only bestowed upon females; her grandson had a healing touch. Even his herb knowledge surpassed hers. No, even if he worked in the healer tents as an apothecary, she would make sure he did not find himself thrust into a line of battle with all of the other untrained boys.

Suddenly, a cry from the forest caught everyone’s attention.

“Grab my bag.”  Without another word, his grandmother hurried towards where the men were working.

Quickly following with healer bag in hand, Aislin ran to his grandmother’s side to thankfully discover there were no injuries; however, what he found was something wondrous.

From what he could see, the men were all standing in front of what appeared to be a small black obelisk. The farrier had somehow chipped off a small piece at the top.

“I didn’t do it on purpose; I didn’t even see the blasted thing.”  Jaralth was telling everyone around him.  “I swear it was just a stump before I struck. It's sorcery, I tell you.”

Suddenly the men began to talk all at once, when Tadhg, the village Hatcher, cried out. “I told you before; we should have cleared a plot in the western woods. We don’t belong here. It’s her lands that we’re defiling.”

“Don’t be a dolt. King Myles conquered these lands after she and her generals were defeated.”  Rian one of the village elders tried to calm everyone down.

The object in front of them, although unusual, was not uncommon. Like many black stones scattered about the countryside, it was all that remained of the once-powerful Sorceress Kingdom. According to the stories, all of these lands had been for a time been the property of Liadan, the legendary enchantress. Why everyone was making such a fuss over the black monolith, Aislin didn’t know.

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Looking about, the village Elder motioned Wise Woman to step forward. ‘What do you think, Ina?”

The men stepped back, allowing her to approach. Covered with intricate golden Runes, standing roughly four spans tall, the black stone had been crafted from some unknown stone. As Ina examined the monolith, she knew that whatever they were looking at gave off a small amount of hidden eldritch power. Not having a clue about its nature, she turned to her grandson.

“Aislin, what do you think?”

Ignoring the frowns and a couple of unflattering comments, the raven-haired boy kneeled in front of the obelisk. Immediately he understood the crafting skills needed to create such work lay beyond even those who built the Keep that dominated the lands surrounding the village. Knowing better than to touch it, he drew closer, studying the Runes. Like others he had seen, they were in the familiar language of the ancients who once ruled over all of the lands.

Pointing to a particular line of runes, he commented. “I have seen this before; remember the standing stones off the Kings Road near Buttlebridge.”  Aislin had accompanied his grandmother a year ago to a meeting of Wise Women. Unable to attend the meeting, he spent most of the time wandering around the scattered black stones that made the Mijar Circle.

“I remember.”  Ina smiled; the boy had a good eye for things.

Unlike the rest of the village, the boy could even read, taught to him by his mother before she passed away from the Wasting sickness. His father, or at least that what she told everyone, had been a Sergeant in the King’s army, bringing home a wife, the daughter of a merchant after a decade of service.

Keir, the largest man in the village and also its blacksmith, looked upon the stone with trepidation. “Let’s leave well enough alone for now. We need to inform the castle.”

Most of the excitement upon finding the stone had worn off among the older people by the end of the week. Several members of the Keep had already come by to assess the situation, found nothing dangerous, and left the village. To the younger children, the stone was an object of mystery. With its discovery, several old stories began to circulate once more about the Black Sorceress.

Long ago, mother’s used to force their daughters into obedience, stating that if they weren’t good the Sorceress would come for them. Among some of the older villagers, they remembered several old songs.

Even an odd game or two resurfaced, with one child, claiming to be the Black Sorceress would run through the village trying to capture other girls. Aislin wasn’t amused when, on numerous occasions, he was caught since he looked like a girl.

Aislin mood darkened when Master Oran arrived several days later for his investigation of the black stone, which consisted of him taking one look before spending the rest of the day with his intended.

While working in front of his grandmother’s cottage drying out herbs, Aislin watched Rowena, and the Seneschal walked around the village together. As the morning progressed, the two seemed to be enjoying each other’s company even more, with an unexpected kiss on her hand as the older man finally departed.

Confused, Aislin knew his feelings for his friend bordered on the romantic. Worse, once Rowena went to live in the Keep, he would most likely never be allowed to be with her again. With that thought, dying under the King’s Colors didn’t seem to bother him anymore.

Macha, returning to the cottage, looked at Ina’s grandson with concern. Although forced out of his bed to sleep by the stove upon her arrival last summer, he never complained. She was also amazed at his knowledge of herbs and medicines, and that he didn’t mind passing that knowledge to her. Happily, the two spent last Fall together, walking through the woods while he taught her forest craft.

Finally, over the long Winter, she started to admit to herself that she had real feelings for him. Although Aislin was rather strange, his beautiful looks and piercing blue eyes left her breathless. Those eyes haunted her dreams, leaving her, most mornings now, covered in sweat. Lately, she even found herself just watching him, admiring the effort he put forth when working in the garden or the cottage.

“Aislin.”

Twisting off a handful of herbs, the young man looked up with a forced smile. “Did my grandmother send you back to check on me?”

“Well, no, she wanted to know if you needed help.”  The young apprentice bit her lip; apparently the Wise Woman, like the rest of the village, had been watching Rowena and the Seneschal half the morning. Only Aislin’s grandmother knew what that stroll was doing to her grandson.

“I see.”  The young man’s eyes twinkled, not believing a word the apprentice just said. “Well, thanks.”  Moving to the side, he patted the ground next to him and passed her a basket of herbs.

“You’ve been friends with the Headman’s daughter for a long time.”

The raven-haired man gave a small laugh. “Since I was little, one day when she was young she became rather ill. None of her other friends’ mothers would allow them to visit her. My mom, on the other hand, had some healing skills of her own, helped Rowena through the illness, and didn’t mind if I tagged along.”

“Wasn’t your mother afraid you would get sick too?”

Aislin looked down, turning away slightly so as not to watch his childhood friend talk excitedly with her mother across the village commons.

“Not really, she understood that Rowena caught a fairly common illness from the north after a group of peddlers came through the village. Half the town ended up ill, but it wasn’t all that serious. So, unlike the other children, I played with her every day until she got better. She always remembered that.”

Before Macha could say anything, Rowena appeared in front of the pair, all excited. “Aislin, did you get a chance to see Master Oran? I was afraid at first, but he seems nice.”

The young man nodded. “That’s good; you looked as if you had a nice time walking around the village with him.”

“I did…about the other day…”

Aislin waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it, already forgotten. I’m glad you had fun. Anyway, I’d better go back into the house with these herbs; No need for you to get into trouble for talking to me.”  Without another word, he grabbed the baskets and headed back into his grandmother’s cottage.

“I thought he would be more excited,”  Rowena sounded confused and a little hurt.

Macha stared at the ground. An uncomfortable few seconds had passed between the two girls before she spoke. “Why would he be excited?”

“It’s a good marriage. It will benefit the village. I mean, it could be worse.”

“Like marrying him.”  The apprentice whispered.

“What did you say?”

Macha looked up at the older girl, “I’m sure that Aislin is just sad that he will be losing a friend.”

“What don’t be silly, I’ll always be his friend.”

“How?”

“What do you mean?”

“You will be the wife of the Seneschal up at the Keep. With a much higher status, he won’t even be able to talk to you.”

Rowena grimaced that made sense. “I see. Well, I know he is having a hard time with no one wanting him as an apprentice. I’ll get him a job at the Keep.”

“As a servant?”

“Why not? At least we will see one another.”

“Even if he wanted to be a servant or whatever job you managed to find for him, you would still be a married woman, and a friendship with another man would be improper.”

“But”

Macha rose from the ground looking the village’s headman’s daughter directly in the eye. “Don’t be upset, you’re right, the marriage is a good thing for the village.”

” Thanks, I believe so too, and I’m positive Aislin will find someone, I’m sure of it.”

“Who? Most of the town hates him.”  The apprentice could not understand why. He was the most caring person she had ever known. Just because he couldn’t work in the fields, or cut down a tree didn’t make him any less of a man.

“They don't,”  Rowena looked away.

“And when you leave, who is going to protect him? Do you know why he is usually left alone? It’s because the village knows that you two are childhood friends. Only your father’s position has kept him safe.”

“Not true, he is the grandson of the Wise Woman of our village; no one would do anything to him.”

“And when she is gone, who then?”

“I’ll protect him.”

“How; you will be at the Keep.”

“I don’t know, I’m sorry.”

Macha sighed. “There is nothing to be sorry about. Don’t worry; I’ll take good care of him. I’m an apprentice to a Wise Women, we do not marry, but there is no reason why that I cannot be by his side.”

“You?”

“Yes, me. All you can do now is hurt him. Trust me; I’ll make sure he’s happy.”

Rowena looked at the Wise Woman’s cottage with tears in her eyes. “I have to be going. I still have some chores around the house.”  Before leaving, she asked one more thing. “Did my mother get angry because I spoke to Aislin?”

“Yes, because as I told you before, it’s no longer proper with you being betrothed.”

The young woman nodded then ran off, the tears streaming down her face. Macha watched as she crossed the Village Commons before turning away to find Aislin. “It is for the best.”

Dinner ended up being a little quieter than usual, both Ina and Macha leaving Aislin alone to his thoughts. As the apprentice stood up to start clearing the table, she said. “There is a strange rumor going around the village that the Keep is thinking about removing the obelisk.”

“Foolish, if it were true, such things are better left alone.”

Aislin shook his head, agreeing at the stupidity. “Who did you hear it from?”

“Renny, who heard it from her brother.”

“That’s right; her brother works up at the castle, doesn’t he? Gran, why would they do such a thing?”

“I rarely understand what the nobility is thinking, Aislin. However, it might be as simple as that Lord Kelvin dislikes the thought of a boundary marker on his land. I hope that it’s only a rumor Macha, that black stone still has power. I believe removing it will cause great difficulty for our entire village.”

Little did the three of them understand at the time how prophetic Ina’s words were.