“For the reckoning that is to come, all are tested. Thou shall be the shadow of which valiant souls shine and guide thee through harsh trials. Till oblivion comes, do not turn astray but to continue down the path thou chosen to walk. Lastly, thou must not see eye to eye with, but against the world.”

He shut the book after translating a line from it and defiantly looked up.

What he saw was the sky filled with fluttering embers. Each speck glowed as bright as the full moon hanged in the center of the clear sky and as small as snowflakes.

However, when he went to touch them, the embers passed through his form.

His eyes were trained onto one flake floating downwards. The scene before him presented a scene of a burning forest surrounding him. Fire as white as snow.

And there, a boy was trapped under a burning log. The child pleaded for help with desperate gestures. Perhaps he wanted to scream for help, but with a dry throat, no voice would come out.

“I don’t know if this is fate or whatnot.” He kneeled in front of the child who was barely breathing. “But, you’re the only one who I can trust with this.”

He poked the boy’s arm and planted a stigma.

“Remember this day for when you find yourself unable to act. It is then I will return what I borrowed.”

 

---

 

Flames, flames, dancing and hiding who was to blame, for the witching child has finally been named. Commence the hunt, flush out that runt. Trial by fire or hang from wire. Smitten by holy light or bitten by Demon’s blight. We won’t be satisfied until we the cursed child’s head rolled, and demons culled!

He questioned the choice of song the children sang. It was passed down for generations to teach children to not show sympathy against monsters, but he couldn’t shake the feeling the verse was altered through generations into something this dark.

He envied the free time they had. While children played by the lake, he was stuck doing chores.

Sweep the area, wipe down the tombstone, water the ground, offer his prayers. These were straight forward tasks, but he preferred to be laying in his bed right now.

As leaves piled up, sunlight peeked behind the far hills. The darkened sky from above brightened to a light colorful shade as the sun rose.

Dawn arrived.

The lake before him reflected the dim lights of the unborn morning. As the wave rippled, their sparkles danced up and down. A cold morning breeze ran down his spine, forcing a sneeze in response with snot dribbling from his nose. Nonetheless, the boy gratefully observed the horizon covering the mystery of the world beyond the forest.

-What a pain. I want to get out of this village but there’s a stupid barrier preventing me. If I go near the edge, the Elder will kill me.-

“Kihet? Why are you here? Can you hear me? I said hey!” A girl leaned her face a few inches from the boy’s head. “If you don’t respond, I’ll kick you in the groan.”

Kihet lethargically shifted his distracted face towards the girl. “Oh… it’s just Sorah. S-Sorah!?”

It took him seconds to identify the person approached him. The girl’s sudden appearance broke his trance and sent him tumbling into the pile of leaves. He hit the back of his head at the bottom of a tree just beside the bucket of water.

“Are you alright?”

Kihet combed back his scruffy hair and scratched the corner of his grey beady eyes. “You appeared out of thin air. Are you a ghost?”

“G-ghosts don’t exist!”

“What are you getting so worked up for?” He turned his attention to the girl with her shining red hair fluttering in the wind and angry purple eyes locked on him. Kihet stared back at her and sighed.

 “So? Why the disappointed face? Did I do something to annoy you?” She brushed her short hair, arms crossed with an imposing pose glaring at him. From her expression, she wasn’t entirely angry at him. In fact, there was a small sign of relief on her face as she examined the ‘all most cleaned’ gravestone.

“Maybe.”

“Do you want me to hit you?”

“You will anyways.”

“So, why are you here?”

“I’m cleaning. Are you blind?”

His innocent answer backfired on him. Though Kihet diligently worked hard at the task at hand, he saw Sorah furrowing her brows.

Sorah took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself. Her left hand curled into a fist threw it. She quickly stopped it at his forehead and flicked a finger at him.

“Ouch! What was that for!?”

“You were supposed to do the cleaning next week. Today is Gemini, fortieth of autumn.”

“Fortieth? Oh, isn’t today your turn then? I’ll leave the rest to you.” Kihet immediately dropped the rake.

Before he stepped onto the rocky slope, Sorah’s hand seized his shoulder. Her arms trembled as she gave him the stink eye. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Home.” He answered with a brimming smile.

“Y-you… Why are you always like this!?”

A jolt of pain coursed through his body. He curled up on the ground holding his shin. His eyes caught a glimpse of Sorah’s footwear. They were steel toed boots.

Sorah knelt beside him and shot him a frown. “Don’t leave the job unfinished. You’re always like this I swear…”

“Isn’t it your turn today?!”

“Yup. Since you insisted on starting today’s cleaning duty you might as well help me finish it.” Her eyes sparkled with an innocent gaze hiding her demonic facade. They gave Kihet an impression ‘If you don’t help, expect trouble’.

To not incur her wrath, Kihet decided it was his best interest to abide her request.

The two neatly wiped down the gravestone for the old heroes who once saved the world from evil creatures. What those creatures were and what the Heroes fought for were unknown. All they knew was the world once plunged into darkness and saved by the eight heroes with their names engraved on the gravestone.

“Finally, we’re done!” Kihet cheered. “I’ll grab the bags.”

“Don’t worry about those. I got them.” Sorah aimed her palm at the rake and the bag of leaves.

Suddenly, objects to be carried magically floated. Looking closely, Kihet spotted two ethereal tendrils sprout from her shoulders, slithering through the air and carried the bags. The magic Sorah used were [Ribbons]. They were translucent strand of strings acting as extensions for one. Their primary use were to carry items no heavier than the user per strand, and they’re useful for reaching into tight gaps.

They weren’t often implemented in combat as they could easily be dispelled by hitting the object it held. They aren’t strong enough to swing weapons around or receive attacks, but they could throw objects given [Ribbons] are able to build enough momentum.

[Ribbons] were magic exclusive to their kind, the Enuis. Their kind resembled humans depicted from tales of the long forgotten war, but pure white feathers grew around their ears and they have tails like a lion’s.

Curious, Kihet aimed his hand at a branch, but he was given no reaction. He quickly hid any evidence of his attempt before Sorah noticed to make fun of him and followed her down the hill.

The two hiked back down the hill with the sunrise covering everything in a bright yellow glow. The clouds slowly wave through the gentle breeze and the morning mist fades revealing the breath taking view of the village. The stream of water and dew from the grass sparkle across the land. It was the perfect morning scenery Kihet imagined.

-Man, I just can’t get enough of this view.

He stretched his arms in the air and took a few deep breaths of the morning air.

“C’mon, get moving already. Weren’t you going to show me something today?” Sorah flashed a smile.

“Oh right. I thought I did forget something. So that’s why I woke up early. It’s in my hideout.”

“You’re not you planning to do something to me there, are you?” Her flirty words made Kihet faintly blush. “Just kidding, you’re not Vol and I feel more comfortable if it was you.”

“So, you want me to do something to you?”

“N-no! I-I-I only meant I trust you enough to be alone with you!”

“Huh... In other words, you were trying to tease me.” Although Kihet only meant to tease her back, he did ogle at her body. Especially around the thigh area. He prayed for the wind.

They did not answer his prayers.

Sorah was a head shorter than Kihet. She wasn’t too skinny nor fat. Medium premium, right? Her face was somewhat chubby, but Kihet thought it was cute. However, every time he teased her of it, he received a kick.

“Actually, I’ll have to take a rain check for that. I promised to spend the afternoon day with Hannah. It’s that time.” She said.

“It’s that day of the year isn’t it? That’s fine. It’s not like my things will grow legs and walk away. At least, not anytime soon.”

“Great! Thanks Kihet! Let’s hurry up a bit.” Sorah smiled eagerly and hopped down the path nimbly.

Kihet followed her but did not have the same control in his legs as her. He slipped and rolled to the bottom of the hill. Luckily, they were near the bottom.

“I know you’re not as coordinated on your feet as I am, but you don’t have to copy something you can’t do.” Her winged like ears waved up and down happily with a smug on her face.

“Instead of laughing at me, you could pull me up, you know?”

“Sorry, take my hand.” Sorah offered.

Kihet hesitated to grab her hand. Something at the back of his mind held him back until Sorah made small movements. She pulled his arm over her shoulders. When a gust of wind brushed over the two, Kihet caught a whiff of the sweet aroma from Sorah’s hair. He slowly turned his face to Sorah then couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

Sorah’s eyes quickly gave a glance then darted elsewhere. Kihet noticed an unusual behaviour and tapped her on the shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“N-nothing, I noticed you’re a lot taller.”

“Really? Maybe you shrunk-.”

“Ha!” She interrupted with a punch to Kihet’s stomach.

 His legs gave out temporarily. His weight nearly pulled them down on their knees. “You’re so harsh... I can’t tease you, but you can…”

“That reminds me. I planning to bake some treats with Hannah today. I think she would enjoy them more than you.”

When Kihet heard the two words ‘baked sweets’, he immediately put his hands together and kowtowed. “I’m sorry for being so insensitive! Please share some with me!”

Deep inside, he thought this was the only way to repent and earn those sugar delights.

“You really like sweets, don’t you?” Sorah giggled. “You did help me. I suppose you’re obligated to have some.”

“Really?!”

“I’ll think about it really hard and pray Hannah won’t eat them all.”

“Geh!”

-I thought she forgave me, but I was too naïve!-

Not much later, they were out of the forest and found themselves standing in front of the Village gate.

Two watchmen rose to attention when they saw the two walking down the main road. They were disgusted by his presence and handled their spears at the ready when Kihet walked up to the gate.

“Why is she always hanging around that sinner? Wasn’t he the one who killed her parents?”

“Shush it. She’ll hear you.”

Ignoring them, Kihet rummaged through his bag and brought out shackles to cuff himself. After the guards gave the chains a rattle to determine it was shut tight, they opened the gate and let them through.

Kihet felt a firm tug on his tail and turned around.

“Sorry…”

“For what? If you’re talking about the taboo I broke, it’s my fault.”

“Aren’t those heavy?”

“I think of them as weights.” He shrugged, waving his shackled arms. “You should get going, I need to buy some things. I’m a scrap collector, a junk rat after all.”

“Kihet, I mean it. Thanks.” A small bittersweet smile formed on Sorah’s face as she dashed off.

“Yeah, say hi to your sister and don’t forget about those tarts you promised me.”

“I never promised you anything!”

Watching her run off with a smile eased his mind, but he quickly missed her when he was suddenly left alone. When He looked around, the villagers quickly turned and walked in the other direction. They gossiped as they avoided him, going as far to take shelter in buildings when Kihet walked past them like he was the plague.

In this village, the law was absolute. If someone sinned, they must be punished. No matter how light a sin was, the guilty must atone for their actions. That was what the Enuis strictly follow to be granted the honor being the Creator’s favored ones.

And his sin was being responsible for setting the forest in silver flames.

As there were no other villages, it was deemed too cruel to exile a child at the time. Instead, Kihet was prohibited to visit the village unless he wore his shackles.

He built a base hidden in the forest where only a couple of trusted people knew of his residence. He often made rounds to the village’s scrap collector and purchase materials on projects inspired from books he read.

Kihet mulled over the thought to order from blacksmiths, haggling with them was a hassle. His reputation wasn’t the best. The scrap collector on the other hand didn’t care as long as he made profits.

“Achoo!”

His thoughts changed as he wondered if he had enough firewood to last the rest of fall and through winter. He may have to spend the rest of his day preparing them.

While strolling through the plaza, memories of when he was prosecuted flashed before him. He remembered stepping into the silver lined coffin standing at the stage. The coffin was said to punish evil doers by the will of the Creator and did not find him guilty.

Instead, his ‘truth’ was enraged by the villagers.

And like every other time he walked past it, an ominous feeling was luring him in. His mind and body agreed to quickly flee the area and find the Scrap Collector.

He rummaged through the scrap collector’s goods. The results were decent. One of the few parts he waited for two years finally showed itself in these piles of trashes. A perfectly kept guard from a broken sword. He was overjoyed to be able to replace it on his sword.

“Kihet, I knew I’d find you here.”

Behind him, another one of his friends walked into the shop holding his majestic aura. No one could act as self important as he could because he was the Elder’s grandson, the successor to be the village’s leader, the chief.

His golden hair shined as if polished and wore a scholar’s robe made of enchanted fabric of a magic sheep’s wool. His most important trait would be his ‘glasses’, an artifact that partially cured his blindness so long he wore them would have people whisper his name, Elius. An invisible force plucked the part away from Kihet’s hand.

“Seriously, you don’t have to force yourself to this place. I could’ve ordered the materials you needed.” Elius sighed.

“You know I can’t do that. If people knew you’re always helping me, that might damage your reputation.”

“Like I care.” He snorted, dropping the part Kihet examined back into the basket. “I don’t get why Gramps passed judgement on you even though the Creator explicitly declared you are innocent.”

“Knowing the Elder, he did it to protect me. Anyway, you were looking for me?”

“Yeah, we got a job. He wanted the eight of us to slay some Oriks because lately a pack of them moved too close to the village.”

“I could use some of their pelts.” Kihet opened his purse after purchasing the good. “And maybe some extra coin, but Sorah can’t make it today. She’s going to visit her parent’s grave with her sister.”

“Neither could Vol, Draigh and Lemi. It’ll be you, Megith, Malth and me thinning their numbers. We’ll scout ahead and do what we can.” Knowing Elius, he already prepared. “I’ve passed word to the twins. You should get going and gear up.”