CHAPTER TWO

Kogan Keep, Koga

9th Month, 1st Day, 24th Year, The Quiet Age

Who had actually saved me that day was the very same idiots I went out to see in the first place. My brothers and the other kids had fortunately spotted the Grogg a few minutes into playing their games and had immediately ran back to the city to warn the guardsman on duty. I apparently just missed them, as they had ran into the same group of kids that I had spoken to just before I left the city.

After receiving a report from the gate; my father moved like a roaring fire had been lit underneath him. Ilan first announced that he would be setting out after the monster himself, which caused all the officials present to fly into an instant panic. Refusing to let him leave alone for obvious reasons, Pellan called for a small group of elite soldiers and trackers to accompany Ilan into the forest. The assembled team then set out to find the Grogg as fast as they possibly could. Despite their expertise, the team had trouble finding the monster initially. That was until, the sound of falling trees had them searching in my general vicinity. There was no way for the soldiers to know that some kid had mistakenly wondered right into the monster’s path, and they weren’t prepared for an impromptu rescue mission. When one of the scouts spotted the Grogg chasing me and reported it, the leader of his squad hesitated to send in the rest of his soldiers. The leader was worried that if the Grogg figured out that it was surrounded, the monster would kill the boy before they could do anything to stop it. When my father had arrived, he agreed that the soldier had made the right decision. That changed when he saw who the Grogg happened to be chasing. Recognizing me right away, Ilan leapt into action with no concern for his own health. Fortunately for my father, the Grogg was still in a state of shock from my surprise attack and hadn’t noticed his hasty approach. Using the opportunity afforded to him, Ilan managed to slay the Grogg from behind just in the nick of time while the dog and I had been distracting the monster.

In short; I was very lucky to be alive, and my father definitely let me know how he felt about it. I had received quite the beating from the Grogg, and I had a shattered left arm plus two broken ribs on the same side to show for it. Still, the way my father yelled and berated me to no end for disobeying him and being so utterly careless was much worse than any wound or injury the Grogg could have ever inflicted.

As punishment for going to the forest, I had all of my privileges stripped away from me and was grounded until my arm managed to heal. Olan and Ulan; who thought they had gotten away scot free without getting caught, were surprised to find out that they had also been included in the report my father had gotten. Just like that, the two of them were grounded for 3 months as well. It served them right for always ditching me. Just as I began to think that he would never let me live this down until the end of my time, Ilan abruptly dismissed me from his sight and left me alone to ponder my irresponsible actions.

It was odd for father to be so easy going, but I didn’t dare inquire into why his behavior seemed so drastically different. Seriously, who would actively volunteer for another round of mental abuse? I’ve heard of poking the bear before, but asking him to explain himself would be more akin to poking a greater dragon. I needed to let it go. If I didn’t, there was a good chance my punishment would continue on with harsher rules. I did want to be UN-grounded at some point in my life, thank you very much. Anyways, I abruptly made my way up the stairs to the second floor of the keep before he had the time to change his mind. After I had received some medicinal herbs from our healer, I promptly retreated to my room and went to bed. I spent the next few months recovering from my injuries and taking care of my new pet. The dog was constantly with me and followed me everywhere I went, so I decided a fitting name for him would be Shadow.

At first, most of the servants had been scared when they heard that the dog was a hell hound, but Shadow had a very peaceful nature to him and would do almost anything for food. When you saw the way he acted, it was hard for anyone to imagine that he was a monster capable of killing and the people around the Keep began to warm to him over time. Ribvan had even helped me put together a crate for Shadow in my bedroom the week I had brought him home, but the dog never used it once. For whatever reason, Shadow seemed to prefer to sleep in my bed with me. Every night I would go to bed with him resting peacefully in his crate and wake up each morning with him using me chest as a pillow. I had tried to get him to use the crate initially but eventually gave up. Besides, it’s not like I was getting any positive results.

Those first few weeks of my recovery were physically grueling. During the day, it was more classes with Ribvan and Helene before taking a trip to the healer to scarf down another melody of disgusting medicinal herbs. I would spend my free time reading in the library or trying to listen in on my Father’s conversations, picking up whatever bits of useful information I could get my hands on. Our family would then have a quiet dinner before father took my siblings for combat training in the courtyard. Occasionally I would go to watch their training sessions, but most of the time I was sent off for additional physical therapy with the medical staff. At night; I would come back to my room and try my best to train shadow if the exhaustion from the day’s events didn’t wipe me out. The problem was, I was so tired by that point that it looked more like the dog was training me to any of the onlookers who happened to be passing by. It took some time, but the wear and tear of most of my injuries had largely disappeared just as the conclusion of the fall harvest season slowly came to an end.

On the other hand, my father over the last few months had finally started to seem more like his old self. He held strategy meetings with his vassals constantly and quadrupled the scouting patrols of the nearby regions. He wasn’t as happy as he used to be with my mother, but it seemed like the fire was back in his eyes for the first time since she passed. He also was even more vigilant and calculating than he had been previously somehow, which is something I never would have thought to be possible.

The after-dinner training sessions had evolved recently to include my father personally instructing my two brothers in physical combat while I observed from the sidelines. His lessons mostly involved him teaching them by example while I watched on in my bandages from a nearby porch. For whatever reason, father seemed to shout at the two of them during these sessions much more frequently than he normally did. I was curious as to why, so when Sir Ribvan also came along to watch one night I decided to use the opportunity to ask him about it and see what he thought. After I finished posing my question, Sir Ribvan gave me a small smile before putting his arm around my shoulder.

“How else would we be able to hear what he’s saying from here? I know it can seem like he favors your brother’s, but what Ilan does isn’t just for the benefit of the two boys training with him.”

I was flabbergasted by his comment and tried to hide my shock from Ribvan. When he saw the suppressed expression on my face he chuckled to himself but didn’t say anything more. I decided that if Ilan was going to go to such an effort for my sake, the least I could do is memorize his lessons. The kind of caring personality that Sir Ribvan eluded to was an odd display for a person who’s widely known for his cold demeanor and unwelcoming personality. I mean, this was a man who smiled so infrequently I could easily count the ones I had seen in my life on one hand. It was weird to see our world change so drastically for us over such a short period of time. Looking back on it, I probably should have realized right then that something horrible was coming. We have an expression that’s quite common in the Northeast, “The calm comes before the storm”. I didn’t know it then, but this storm had become a maelstrom before anyone realized that it was on the horizon.

∞

About four months after my encounter with the Grogg, it was finally the day to remove my bandages and resume normal duties. I was extremely excited, and couldn’t wait for my lessons to end for the day so I could head to the healer. After a lesson about the southern nations that I mostly tuned out, we concluded for the day and I broke out into a run on my way to the hospital.

Upon arriving, I made my way to the reception desk and said hello to the nurse I recognized. Normally she just politely waved back before resuming her duties but today she called me over for some reason.

“Hey Aelan, can you come here for a second?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“The priest had to run out for a bit to the keep so he asked me to administer your medication. Have a seat.” She said as she pointed to the chair that sat across from the administration desk.

“Oh really? Is everything okay?” I asked.

“I have no idea unfortunately. The priest has been called to the keep for an urgent meeting by your father. I have been told to remove your bandages and finish your treatment for him. As the son of a lord I’m sure you understand. Anyways, just step into the observation room for me and take your shirt off. I’ll be in to help you momentarily, okay?”

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This wasn’t the first time the healer couldn’t make one of our appointments, so I walked into the next room and did exactly as the nurse instructed. A few minutes later, the nurse came into the room and she began helping me remove my bandages from my injured extremities. I tried to probe her to see if she knew what the meeting at the Keep was about, but she just smiled and shook her head to indicate that she didn’t. After we were all finished, I thanked her for her service and promptly headed back home as fast as I could.

I ran through the keep and made my way to one of my favourite spots to eavesdrop on my father’s meetings, which was a third floor balcony that you had to pull yourself up to from the exterior of the second floor. I managed to get up to the second floor quickly, taking the stairs two at a time out of excitement and slid out the landing of one of the windows. From here, I carefully jumped to the slanted roof next to the window to begin the climb up to the balcony as quiet as possible.

I was essentially walking on the roof above the meeting, so if I was too careless with my steps everyone below me would hear what I was trying to do. After scaling the roof as quiet as an alley cat, I managed to get to the open window on the balcony and peeked through to see what was happening. Inside the meeting hall was in pure pandemonium.

Everyone was shouting over each other, and it was difficult to make sense of what anyone was saying. I could see my father growing visibly upset with the callous display being put on in front of him. He could only take so much of this, and finally stood up to address the crowd. As he did, the hall went quiet. “Why do any of you think shouting will solve our dilemma? I will have quiet in the hall, and I will not ask again.” The noise level in the room dropped immediately. That was the kind of respect and fear Ilan commanded from his vassals. Knowing the consequences, none of them dared to speak out until Ilan resumed.

“Now Minister Pellan, please repeat what you just said.” Minister Pellan Asteri was one of my father’s favorite vassals. A brilliant young man from the kingdom of Kaladin, Pellan had an intellect and wisdom that vastly surpassed his age. His physical characteristics were the same as most of the average typical Adballan males. His dark-almond complexion and thick black hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, a distinguishing style for most of the different desert tribes of the south. As a young man, Pellan had ventured across most of the western continent and had vast knowledge in several different fields from his travels. My father had immediately judged the man to be useful and initially brought him in to be a minor administrator. Before long, the young man had risen through the ranks to become Ilan’s hand.

Pellan had some of his extended family join him after his appointment, and several of them possessed skills that Koga desperately needed. By the 19th year of the quiet age there was now three Asteri in positions of power within the county of Koga. Pellan had a certain confidence about him that most people considered infectious, and could be counted on to accomplish whatever task my father gave him. The fact that he worshiped a different religion than the rest of the citizens had rubbed some of the minister’s particularly in the wrong way, but even the rest of the higher-ups couldn’t deny that the man possessed a talent that they did not.

“Very well, my lord. As many of you all know, along the Violet River there is a small fishing village named Kerrigan. It seems about a week ago, the village of Kerrigan was completely destroyed.”

There was mass shouting again and it took my father a few seconds to calm everyone back down.

“Hmm, Kerrigan has a population of about 2,000 correct? That’s a big village to be targeted by bandits or one of the marauding species from the mountain tribes.” A portly dwarf chimed in from the back.

Pellan nodded along before continuing, “That’s because the village was not attacked by bandits or marauders, Sir Ferris. There were absolutely no signs of pillaging or looting anywhere.”

“That’s disturbing.” The dwarf muttered while rubbing his beard, lost in thought.

“Also, normally with a bandit attack the perpetrators just take whatever’s valuable and leave their victim’s bodies behind to rot. Based off of our investigations into the surrounding area, it would seem that the entire populace of the town has seemed to have vanished without a trace. Not only that, but all of the village’s goods and valuables still remain.”

“How strange.” Ilan added.

“Indeed, my lord. Now it’s possible that a small, capable force would be able to infiltrate the village and cover their tracks, but the size of a group capable of completely staying hidden like that would be able to take out Kerrigan. An army though, well, that’s a different story.”

“So you would need an army huh? Was it one of our neighbours then?”

“Hold for a moment, Sir Ferris. I said it would take an army, but I didn’t say we found one. The scouts didn’t find any fire pits or signs of large-scale camping that you would associate with a force big enough to cause this sort of damage. The bigger the group, the harder it is too hide their presence after all. Admittedly, even I can’t discover a logical explanation for why or how this attack happened. I believe something nefarious is probably in the works, but I find the lack of any legitimate proof to be extremely disturbing. We currently can do nothing but speculate about the nature of this threat.”

“Then speculate we shall. What were the attackers after and who are they?” Ilan said from his throne. There was an intense silence as the different people around the room thought about the question. Finally Sir Ribvan cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “May I speak, my lord?”

“Proceed.”

“Thank you. Well my lord, I believe the answer to that question isn’t as complicated as you all think.”

“Enough of the theatrics, explain.”

“As you all know; I have very little battle experience or strategic knowledge to base an opinion on, but it’s perhaps because of this that I can offer a unique perspective that you all seem to be overlooking here.”

“Are you saying the scouts missed something Ribvan?”

“No, that’s not exactly what I’m saying. I believe the answer is hidden between the lines of the information gathered in this very report. In truth, all that we need to do to figure out their intentions and interpret their actions is re-assess the clues that we do have. I can’t say that I’m for certain obviously, but there’s one immediate take away that continuously popped into my head while you were talking.”

“Meaning?”

“I believe our enemy is after the only thing that is seemingly missing from Kerrigan. Well, for now, anyway.”

My father’s eyes opened widely in surprise before he slammed his fist against his arm rest in an uncharacteristic fit of rage. Unable to contain his exploding emotions any longer; Ilan stood up and began pacing around the chamber. “You mean they wanted the people? B-but why?”

“I can’t answer that my lord, I can only make an assumption based of the information we have gathered. As to who the attackers were, I’m completely stumped by that part of the equation, but their lack of leaving any evidence would require intense strategizing on their part. This could be the work of a powerful enemy nation, like Kaladin or Rein.”

“Or something more sinister than that.” The dwarf darkly added while shaking his head. “Who can say for sure? It’s possible something has made its way out of the Greater Dark again…”

“You can’t mean like the incident ten years ago! If those monsters the Slither have actually returned, we would have far more citizens unaccounted for, wouldn’t we?”

“Aye, Ribvan’s right. We beat those fuckers so badly I doubt they’ll crawl out of their holes for at least ‘nother century, Ferris.”

“Did I ever say the Slither? For all we know, this could be something far worse than even them! None of us know what’s really down there, not even us dwarves. I don’t want to meet anything that can exist where the light can’t.”

“Ridiculous.” Sir Montague muttered under his breath.

“What d’ya say, horseman?”

“Please. That sounds just like the regular dwarven superstitions your kind is always spouting. I’ve honestly never met another species so bloody afraid of everything in my life.”

“When you’ve lived as long as we have sonny, you’ll realize there’s plenty of horrors hidden in this world to be afraid of.”

“Allow me to interject here.” Pellan quickly cut in where Ferris had stopped before Sir Montague could make his own retort. “It’s true that we had no information to go on, but a rumor began to spread through town about a survivor from Kerrigan suddenly appearing on a boat just outside of this very keep. I sent the guards out to look for this person, and after searching for a few days, they eventually brought me this boy.” Pellan than pointed to a peasant teenager who was waiting nervously in the back of the room behind him.

“A patrolman found the boy in the gutters behind the entertainment district. He was in quite the sorry state. The report the soldier filed stated that the boy was babbling incoherent nonsense and shouting at random people passing by, not to mention the small fact that he reeked of bodily fluids and stale alcohol. He decided to have the boy placed under arrest. The boy was processed but deemed to need a mental assessment, so he was put into the asylum my lord had built last year. After reports of the boys arrest made its way into my hands and I saw the mentions of Kerrigan village, I decided to see if he knew anything. After having him sobered up and examined; I determined that the boy was of sound mind, just utterly terrified of whatever it was that happened to him. The boy is now at a point where he’s healed enough to speak. Iskul here only recently just told me what he saw, and even I am having trouble trying to process his account. Now I cannot confirm that what the boy says is true.” He paused for a second to let the gravitas of his words sink in before continuing, “But, I will say that his recollection of events fits the narrative that we have and I personally haven’t found a reason to not believe his account of events. Gentlemen, this story you are about to hear must be kept a secret to limit the panic that it could potentially cause to the citizens of the county, and perhaps, even the entire empire.”

The vassals around the room gulped nervously at Pellan’s words as he exchanged places in the middle of the chamber with the teenager named Iskul with a small nod. The boy bowed first to my father and gave the proper greetings to the various other people of importance before finally stepping forward. Even from up here, I could see that the person who had introduced himself as Iskul was utterly broken. His eyes had sunken deep into his skull and his demeanor was more akin to a cowering animal than a person. Clearly, whatever had happened to him must have been quite disturbing. It was obvious that Iskul hadn’t been eating, drinking or sleeping properly just by looking at him.

“Thank you for having me, my lord.” Iskul said while bowing to my father, showing as much respect and grace as an untrained serf could in that moment, but I knew my father never cared for proper etiquette anyway.

“No, thank you for coming and bringing any information to us. We really could use anything to go on at the moment. I’m sorry if this comes off as lacking politeness, but we do not have time to waste here. Please, tell us what happened to Kerrigan,” Ilan replied.

“My lord I know this doesn’t sound believable, but Kerrigan wasn’t attacked by bandits.” Iskul paused for a second to gather his emotions before continuing, “It was attacked by monsters.”

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