"Destiny (Chapters 1-2)" by Rita Martins R. Silva

She had gotten used to her work, and although she didn’t dislike it, she wanted something else for her life. She didn’t want to spend her entire life working on the land, in the outskirts of that little village in the land of Antaria and marry some son of another farmer to have yet another family of farmers. She wanted more to herself.

Allyna used to spend much time dreaming about what was outside her village. The more distant place she had ever went to had been the neighbor village of Karion, two days journey from hers, and with her father, to sell some of their harvests. She felt an enormous need to travel around Antaria and discover new things, new people. She felt like she didn’t belong there, among her people. She would often loose herself to her dreams and thoughts which had made her friends call her the "Dreamer", which they would use both as an insult and as a tender name. Most of the times it was used to express their misunderstanding of her strange personality. Strange to their standards. Farmers could be so close minded at times and that was something which made her incredible anxious to leave her life behind and start another, somewhere. Somewhere away from all that.

Sometimes she dreamt about being a lost forgotten princess which had been somehow separated from her real parents, a couple of good rulers of some kingdom of peace. Or she dreamt about being a warrior which mission was to save Antaria from the forces of Evil under the command of Queen Kahira and the Dark Lord himself. She wondered if she could even get out of that place because there, no adventure like the ones of her dreams would ever happen. And, for the looks of things, she would be an old woman when she could finally leave the village, which meant that she couldn’t accomplish nothing more than a few harvested fields all her life. Sometimes it was so frustrating, wanting to do something that she knew she would never do. Those were her dreams, dreams she knew that would never come true. It was not her destiny. Her path in life had been chosen when she had been born the daughter of a couple of poor peasants. Nothing else was in front of her but a life of hard work harvesting the fields. But she couldn’t conform herself to it. She should but she couldn’t. Which would probably make her future life as sad as the singing in the temple of Karion that she had heard only twice in all the times she had went there. There was also a little temple in her own village but it was so small that there were only three religious women and a priestess in it. There should exist more since farmers had a tendency to ask the help of the Gods with their harvests and fields. She was one of the few persons who only went to the temple when in need to think and talk privately with the Gods about anything but her work in the land. She didn’t like doing it, much less speak about it.

Her mother’s voice called her again so she had to leave her thoughts for another time. She had to work, even if she wanted to be somewhere else, do something different. She owed that much to her parents who had taken care of her all her life, caring for her and loving her. There were many who couldn’t feel the same from their parents. So she dressed her working outfit which consisted in simple leather pants and skin shirt, with leather boots. That kind of boots weren’t the best to be used in the fields but she had never agreed in using the usual farmer’s footwear. She left her small room and met her mother in the larger room of their small house, where she was warming some goat milk.

"Allyna, why haven’t you came when I first called you? You know your father can not loose anytime with this season’s harvests. He will have to sell them in Karion the day after tomorrow." Her mother said, her voice slightly condemning. She knew her daughter didn’t like her work. She knew she wanted more than what life had provided for her.

"I am sorry, mother. I was thinking and I lost track of time. It will not happen again."

"If I believed that for just one moment, my child... It does not matter now. Take your food and go to your father. He is waiting for you as we speak. He will not be happy if you stay here any longer than you already have."

"Yes, mother." And she left, after grabbing her food for the mid-day meal. She rarely returned home at that time. She usually ate in a private place of her, she had found among some bushes, from where she could watch the forest and the fields alike. There was also a tree which provided a welcomed shadow when the warmer days came. No one else knew of that place so she had some privacy there, where she could think without being laughed at because of her ideas.

She run most of the way to the fields so she wouldn’t arrive later than she already was. Her father would not be very pleased but he had gotten used to it, with time. And she would usually work hard, even if she didn’t like the work. Thinking that the food she planted and harvested was going to keep their parents alive was enough to give her strength to do the work. And there was some kind of miracle every time she saw a vegetable or a plant growing in the place where she had planted a seed, the previous season. But it wasn’t what she wanted for all her life and her father knew that. But the harvests were more important than one person’s dream, in his opinion.

Her father wasn’t, as she had suspected, very happy but he didn’t say more than a few grumped words which was somewhat of a relief. She didn’t like to discuss with her father. She liked him too much, even if he didn’t agree with her. She could understand why. He had lost his son, his firstborn. He liked her, Allyna knew that, but her brother had been his favorite. His hope for the future, his successor. Until he had died in a fight with an army from the lands of the South who wanted to conquest their land. All young men had been called for the battle and her brother had been one of the losses. He had died a hero as he had saved a companion and friend from getting killed by protecting him with his own body. He had been hit by an arrow, dying slowly among all the dead bodies of fellow fighters and enemies.

The friend which life her brother had saved was alive and well, with his wife and three children. Allyna had understood his brother’s reason for saving his friend’s life as he had a family to take care of, children who needed him. Aaron had, indeed, died as an hero. The enemy had been repealed and they had been safe, for the time being, from an invasion. Since then no more attacks had happened, mostly because there was a new enemy threatening the lives of the inhabitants of Antaria and all the other lands. Or at least it was what Allyna had heard from the travelers who passed trough the village. The dark forces of evil were slowly returning to destroy the fragile balance between Goodness and Darkness. Even for poor peasants from a small village in the middle of Antaria, the idea of another Great Battle was overwhelmingly terrifying.

She had read some old books her parents had, others she had found in the temples, and some of them had been descriptions of the battle which had divided Antaria. Where once all people, of all races, would sing together in happiness, work together with joy, share their goods between each others, had only remained a world of suspicious beings. Such peaceful time was thought to be a myth since it had been so long ago that there was no one alive to prove it real. No one but, perhaps, the mythical elves, which were said to be immortals. Allyna had never once seen anything but humans and some animals in the woods so she didn’t believe much in mythical beings. As she didn’t believe in fairies or dragons or winged horses.

Once she had come across a traveler who had told her tales about his adventures and he had told her of a talking horse who wasn’t really a horse but a disguised God. She had listened with interest to the story but not because she believed in it, just because the man had the gift of word. He was a great storyteller. It had been with some sadness that she had seen him leave yet to another so called adventure in the land of mystical creatures. But, deep inside, she wanted to go with him, with or without such beings.

Her father was waiting for her, standing under an apple tree, watching her approaching him. She deliberately slowed her pace, demonstrating in her gesture her discontentment. Her father wisely ignored her challenge.

"Allyna, I need you to go to Ammandor’s house and bring the Shashine wine and the wellen leaves. I forgot to bring them back when I went there two days ago and I am in need of them now. I can not go there myself due to the duties I have at hand but I can find someone to replace you until you came back. Will you go?"

"I will, father. I will be back before the sunset." She answered, glad she could spend the rest of the day out of the meadow. Even if Ammandor’s house was not the best place to go, if he happen to be there, it was better than the harvest work. And she liked the man’s horses. He had three, one of them being completely black and, at first, quite intimidating. But, after some visits there, she had gotten acquainted with the horse, rightly named as Eclipse, and had befriended him. She had even ridden in him once, when Ammandor was not in the house. His wife, Dalina, had let her ride a little. She was much nicer than her husband. The horse had been hard to handle at first but with some soft words and caresses, he had finally trusted her enough not to throw her from his back. Which would have been most unpleasant.

Ammandor was not at home so Allyna stayed to talk with Dalina and their son, Toran, which was about thirteen springs, five springs younger than her. She was offered a horse ride on Eclipse that she gladly accepted.

It was almost sunset when she finally recovered track of time. She left the house and walked quickly towards the village, trying to arrive there before night. She was half way from her home when she felt that something was very wrong. Five hundred paces forward and she noticed a small trace of smoke rising in the sky. She felt her heart stopping and then she started to run to the village, her breathing becoming harder as she increased her speed. When she finally arrived to the village there were no more of its houses than burned stone and wood and ashes. There were lifeless bodies in the ground, covered with blood and deep wounds. She approached one of them that she identified as Lars Ironside, the local blacksmith, with his characteristically long red beard. She noticed the wounds had been made by metal blades which meant swords. There were some horse tracks in the ground which meant that whoever had been the authors of such carnage, had been in horseback. She searched for unknown bodies, trying not to look to those of her friends, but she found none. She walked through the village once, twice, but she could not find anyone which could be identified as one of the killers. Then she felt a cold shiver descending her spine.

"Mother! Father!" She screamed as she run to her house, even faster than she had run to reach the village. She finally reached her home, too tired to even breathe properly. But all things were forgotten as she noticed that her house and all the fields surrounding it had been burned too. Another scream, coming from the deepest of her soul, pierced the silence of the plain, and she started to cry. Then, as she approached even more the burned house, she thought she heard someone calling her name. She stopped her crying, dry tears still in her cheeks, as she tried to hear the sound she thought she had heard. It was a familiar voice. She felt slightly hopeful as she entered what once had been her home.

The first thing she noticed was the destruction inside it. It was too much to have been only caused by a fire. Someone had been there crashing things. If it had been only for pleasure or if they had been looking for something, that she could not tell. Then she heard the voice again, a weak but familiar voice. She rushed in the direction the voice was coming from and found her mother under a wooden pole. She was hurt and weak but alive. She felt an enormous joy invading herself. Her mother was alive! She tried to remove the beam from above her mother, she tried with all her strength and even some she didn’t know she possessed until she finally removed it.

"Allyna, my child, you are still alive." There was surprise and relief in her voice. "I thought... I thought they had killed you... or captured you."

"They weren’t making prisoners, mother. The village was all burnt. The people... they have all perished under the murderers’ blades."

"They didn’t find what they were... cough... looking for so... they destroyed it all."

"What were they looking for?"

Her mother didn’t answer as she was stroked by a harsh and whooping cough, her lips filling with blood.

"Mother!" Allyna’s voice was almost a scream as she noticed the deep and probably deadly wounds on her mother’s body.

"There is no hope for me now. Your father no longer lives and I will join him soon."

"No... you can not die, mother. You can not leave me." She tried to keep the blood of her wounds from dripping, wrapping and covering some of the wounds with whatever she could find in the mess the fire had left. She couldn’t loose her mother. She wasn’t ready to face the world alone.

"You have to." Her mother’s voice was barely a whisper. Allyna leaned over her mother’s mouth so she could hear her words. "You must go to the City of Allyon and there you must find the Great Temple. Your destiny will be resolved... there."

"My destiny...? I do not understand. I don’t even know where Allyon is, mother. I have never left this village with the exception of the neighbor Karion. I don’t know the way there!"

"You will find a way. It is what has to be done." Once again she was unable to speak as her last strength was rapidly leaving her body. The pause seemed to last forever. "Under the fireplace you will... ah... find some loose stones. Underneath them you will find things which will do you well in your journey."

"I will not leave you!"

"You must. Promise me, daughter of mine, you will go to the City of Allyon."

"Mother..."

"I need you to promise me." The voice had intensified somehow but it seemed to have taken the rest of her mother’s strength.

"I will. I swear by the Gods of Antaria. I swear before you I will do as you say."

Her mother smiled weakly and her hand moved with great effort to grab Allyna’s. She fell asleep with her mother’s hand in hers.

When she woke up it was still night outside. Her mother’s hand was cold and rigid. Allyna knew immediately that her mother was now in the land of eternity. She covered her with a blanket and went outside, to the fields, looking for her father. She moved in the dark with all the confidence someone who knew the terrain as the back of her hand, could have. She didn’t know if there were any enemies left behind to look out for any survivors and she wouldn’t risk being found. She had made a promise, she would accomplish it, for more difficult or impossible it may seem to her. Allyna found her father near the same tree where she had seen him for the last time. Even expecting him to be the way all the others had been, she couldn’t prepare herself for the sight of him lying there, in the cold and dark night.

She buried the two bodies instead of burning them for the same motive she hadn’t lighted a torch to go find her father. The attackers could have left sentinels behind. She then decided to sleep the best she could so she could leave her village before dawn. Forever.

She placed it also at her side and again searched the hole. This time what she felt was pain as something cut her. She retrieved her hand quickly but there was no reason for alarm as the wound was only a small cut. She lighted a torch and looked inside. What had made her the cut had been a metal blade of a dagger. There were two of them hidden there, as well as... a sword. She had never seen a sword in her house. Her brother had to buy one especially for his battle and that had been the only time she had seen one in their home. Daggers and knives were common but a sword... She grabbed the two daggers first, noticing immediately the differences between them. One was obviously made of a weaker metal as the blade was starting to rust. The handle was made of the same metal, without any carvings as some stronger daggers or knives used to have. The other dagger was shiny, its metal perfectly conserved. The handle was made of metal, and carved with a brilliant transparent blue stone. She couldn’t identify the stone. She had never seen such thing in her life. Not that there were many farmers who saw precious stones in their lives.

She looked at the dagger for a long time, wondering why, in the name of Kalinor, the God of War, her parents had kept not only the coins but the dagger also without selling them. Why? They had been in need several times before and they had to survive without food to eat. Why, if they could have sold the dagger or used the coins? She couldn’t understand and she was not ready to do it. She needed to think only of her upcoming journey.

Allyna retrieved the sword and she hold her breathing has the sight of the sword before her was even greater than that of the dagger. It was a sword made for the Gods themselves. She could not use such precious object. Her hands weren’t pure enough to even touch it. She placed the sword softly over a blanket and stood there, facing it, feeling somehow drawn to her. She noticed the hilt of the sword. It had much more precious stones than the dagger and in the middle laid an amethyst, the stone of the Gods. With her hands trembling, she slowly touched the sword. Her hand caressed it, ending its movement near the stone. She had the feeling that she had seen the amethyst sparkle suddenly but it was only her imagination. She sighed deeply as she retrieved the rest of the hidden treasures. But there were no other surprises under the fireplace, with the exception of a supply of food recommended for a journey. Dried meat, bread, cheese... The food was eatable which meant that it had been placed there recently. Did her parents knew something was due to happen? Something that had made them store those objects and aliments? She would never know as the only persons who could enlighten her were no longer in this world.

Dawn was almost upon her so she arranged the things to the journey she had to make. She had decided to go to Karion and there she would find a way to reach Allyon. She had heard stories of the Great City. Most of the places she had learnt about had been through books and stories of travelers. Only that way she had learnt about the cities of Antaria, including Allyon, the city of the Great Temple. Allyon was called the City of Dreams, as one of the storytellers had told her. Everything good and beautiful that existed in the land was found in Allyon. It was the main city of Antaria, its capital. It was also where the primary temple of the Gods was placed. And where the Great High Priestess of Antaria lived. But it was also a city where only the richest people could enter as it was surrounded by waters and the only way to reach it was by boat. And only few could afford such voyage. There were, of course, the pirate boats, as one of the travelers had said to her. They demanded work as payment instead of money and there were many people so eager to go to the City of Dreams that they would give their souls to accomplish it. Unfortunately. But would she give it too to reach the city? Was there no other way to reach it but to pay astronomical sums for a travel or pay with hard work among the pirates? She did not know and she did not want to think about it for the moment. First, she needed to reach Karion and find someone who could guide her. And quickly. The urgency she had felt since she had buried her parents had returned, stronger than ever. She wondered since when she had started to have feelings about things but, again, the only thing she needed to have on her mind was reaching the neighbor village. From there she would think what to do next. She would find what to do. She hoped.

It had been with surprise that she had noticed that the sword had lost, somehow, part of its shine, of its purity. The carvings seemed to have faded and so had the glow. And the stone seemed darker, her shine lost. It had been her imagination playing with her when she had thought the sword was an object of and for the Gods? Was this its true nature? A normal sword? Somehow she knew it was not. But, once again, her thoughts needed to be focused in the approaching village. She had to think of a way to get to Allyon. And quickly as the feeling of urgency was growing at every hour.

The village of Karion was bigger than her own. It shouldn’t be called a village anymore as it was now more a town than anything else. She had come to this town every season, since her tenth birthday but she had never really seen it. She had never been in it alone before so it was only natural that it seemed different somehow. She was not there to sell anything but, most probably, to buy someone services as guide. She entered the town among other people, who, since some few kilometers behind, had joined her in her travel. Most of them were farmers and were coming to sell their harvests as she was supposed to be doing now, if nothing had happened. But it had and she couldn’t change it.

She had befriended a daughter of another farmer during her way there. Her name was Daria and she was very nice. But, opposed to Allyna, she was satisfied with her work. Even though, it was good to have company. And now, as she entered the town, she was most pleased to have someone at her side as its activity suddenly were visible to Allyna. Not that she was scared of being alone. Not that much, anyway. She knew, that from now on, she was by herself and the only person she could count on was, again, herself.

She bided good-bye to her new found friend and went to center of the town, where the market tents were being assembled. She recognize some of the farmers she saw since she had met them before, during the market days. But she had no wish of going to them now. The first thing she did was to find a stable to guard her horse. Then she walked around the market, for the first time actually seeing it. Before she had been one of the sellers, now she was a potential buyer. It made things completely different. So, she wandered along the town, momentarily forgetting what she needed to do and the urgency with that should be done. She visited the tents, she looked to the products, not all harvests. There were tents with swords and daggers and shields and everything a warrior needed. There were tents with jewelry, others with fabrics and clothes, others with spices, with medicinal herbs and sorts. There was even a tent with magical things, or, at least, that were supposed to be magical. She didn’t believe that very much.

She then decided she needed to find a place to spend the night and any other that were necessary. She didn’t know how much time she would need to find someone to take her to, at least, the harbor town of Dhelan, from where she could try to find a ship to take her to her destination. She had never been nowhere but in this town but she didn’t need to travel to look at maps or to read about those towns and cities in the land of Antaria.

Allyna tried to find an Inn where, hopefully, she could find not only a bed but someone who could tell her where to find a guide. If there was any available. Or anyone at all. She found one Inn just outside the town’s center. It wasn’t a pigpen but it wasn’t a palace either. Yet, it was the only thing she knew she could find. She looked at the plaque with the Inn’s name: The Red Fox. She entered it, a little hesitantly. She had some knowledge of what could be done to a lonely traveler, especially to a woman, and she had no wish whatsoever to be robbed or killed. She grabbed the hilt of the sword firmly before she stepped into the tavern but she dropped it afterwards so her gesture wouldn’t be taken as hostile. She really didn’t want any trouble before reaching Allyon.

Inside the tavern was a reasonable amount of people, mostly men, sitting at tables, drinking, talking or playing games. There was a middle aged woman behind the counter. She looked nice. There was also a man there which was, probably, the woman’s husband. Allyna felt all the eyes in the tavern upon her as she entered but most of them resumed what they were doing after, clearly loosing their interest. She could still feel some people looking at her, especially the men, but she gathered all her wits and ignored them. She went to the counter were the woman, which was still very beautiful, was standing. She smiled when Allyna approached her.

"Welcome, my child. What can I do for you?" She asked.

Allyna hesitated for a moment.

"Do you have available rooms?"

"Of course. Is it only you?" The woman asked.

"Yes."

"Well, it will be six copper coins with breakfast included. I am Rhaina, if you’d care to know."

"I am Allyna. I will take the room, please."

"Of course. I’ll take you there."

"Wait. Do you have something I can eat?" Allyna asked. She had food in her bag but she wanted to spare it for the journey. And it was food for a travel. If she had some other alimentation alternatives, she would gladly take them. She had money, after all, even if she didn’t know where it had come from. Her parents had never told her about their little treasure. But it would be of good use if she used it to by food and other necessary things. However she needed to use the money wisely since she didn’t know how long would it take to reach her destination and what she would need to do once she arrived there. Her mother should have been able to tell her more.

"Yes." The woman’s voice interrupted her thoughts. "Find a table somewhere and I’ll bring you some soup, bread and cheese. I can also see if I have anything else from last night’s dinner. We don’t usually serve lunch here. Only snacks."

"That will be fine. I am not that hungry, anyway."

"Yes, my child. I will bring you something for you to eat. Just find a place to seat down in there." She pointed to the room of the tavern. Allyna looked closely, with a renewed attention, to her surroundings. There was a trio of men sitting at a table playing some kind of game. She realized it was the kallen game, a variation of a card game she had been taught three years ago, but that she had never played since. Not her favorite way of passing time. There was another trio of men sitting at another table, and all were clearly drunk or on their way to it. She could even hear one of them sing once in a while. A woman and a man, on another table, who seemed to be travelers of some kind, were talking with each other while drinking something that she couldn’t identify but which smell could reach her nostrils and she was almost across the room from them. There was also another woman, a gypsy dancer for the looks of it, standing in front of the counter, talking with the bartender. Then, to finalize her inspection, she caught the sight of a couple of men, one young, the other not so young. The old man had an aura of respectability in him that surprised her. And his white beard seemed to improve that aura. If she’d believed it, she would say he was a sorcerer of some kind. But she didn’t believe in magic like she didn’t believe in unicorns and elves and whatever. She was practical, objective. Only her eyes could prove to her if something was indeed real and even then she could doubt it.

She found a table near a corner from where she could watch all the people in the room. The three men playing kallen seemed to be farmers, the three drunk men were warriors of some kind, probably mercenary for the looks of it. She wondered why there were any in that place. They were very far away from the local action since the best work wasn’t there, so in the center of the land of Antaria. The gypsy dancer, wearing her showy clothes, was already leaving the tavern, as well as the couple of travelers, or at least, they seemed to be travelers. That left the strange old man and his younger companion to watch.

A hand in her mouth stopped her from screaming. She was roughly brought to an alley were she saw the old man she had been watching in the tavern. Her surprise must have been seen as the old man’s eyes glimmered in amusement. With a gesture he asked her to keep silence. Moments later, she couldn’t say how long, she felt the grip in her arms relaxing and she turned around to meet two shiny blue eyes which belonged to the face of the old man’s companion. He smiled to her but Allyna wasn’t happy with what had happened. She reached for her sword just to see it was not there. The young man’s smile grew wider while he revealed her sword. She hadn’t noticed it had been taken. Not that she was focused on it, anyway. She made it clear she wanted the sword back but the man just smiled and went to join the older man. She eyed them attentively, trying to figure out why had they brought her to there. And how was it they were there. When she had left the tavern they didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving too. She just stared at the two of them, waiting for an answer. The old man was observing her too, his eyes full of an undetermined glimmer.

"Can you tell me why am I here? Or is it too much of a trouble to you?" She asked, trying not to show she was scared and that she just wanted to get away from the combined stares of the two men. The old man made her uncomfortable and the younger, well, he was a man and she knew what men did to lone women. The younger man muttered something under his breath she didn’t understand but it did not seem pleasant. The old man, he just kept staring at her with a wide smile in his face but a worried glimmer in his eyes. That contradiction of feelings made her aware that there was something happening she didn’t know about.

"Please?" She tried again to make at least one of them talk. The old man waved his hand in a clear sign of ‘keep quiet’ and she did. Moments later she heard the sound of footsteps near the alley were they were. The younger man grabbed her again to hide her behind some corner of a house, next to some old cases. They stayed there in silence until the footsteps faded away. Then her arm was freed and she could move again.

"Come. Inside." The old man spoke for the first time since they had captured her or, perhaps, saved her from whoever those men in black armor were. They did not seemed to hold good intentions. There was something dark in them, something that scared her very much and she didn’t even know why. It seemed that the two men weren’t as eager as her to meet them. She wondered why... To find out she needed to trust them for the time being. That did not mean she would trust them after. The problem now was a simple one. Who were them? How could they be so sure she wouldn’t just scream or run or even attack them? After all, they were complete strangers to her. Yet, there was just something...

She had never had feelings before... what could they mean? She did not like that much. Her mother should have been hable to tell her more. She did not know what to do next. Should she go with them and trust them? Should she try to run away? Could they be the ones she was looking for to lead her to her destination? Could they take her there? Or was she just mistaking herself? Thinking that they would help her at all. She did not know them! They were strangers. Yet, the old man... he had something in him that made her want to trust him. She wondered why... Was he a sorcerer? No... She didn’t believe in those things. Magic was only a myth. Those who said they possessed it used illusions to make people believe. Only illusions. Not real. At least it was what she thought. If others believed it, who was her to shatter their beliefs just because she did not agree with them? It was not what her parents had taught to her.

"Are you coming?" A harsh voice took her from her thoughts. The younger man was looking impatiently to her, his blue eyes uneasy, looking from her through the old man to the entry to the alley. It seemed that they weren’t completely safe there.

Allyna shrugged and followed the young man, the other just behind her and they entered one of the houses. Once inside, Allyna was invited to sit down on a wooden bench near an extinguished fireplace. She stared at the two men, saying nothing. They did not speak a word either for a moment, which gave her time to examine them. The old man had a long white beard and warm gray eyes that looked too young to his wrinkled face. Although old and small he seemed to have more energy than many younger persons that she had met. The other man, now that she could look to him better, was very attractive in a rough kind of way. He had those incredible blue eyes and dark hair, yet there was a faint scar from the left eyebrow to his cheek. She wondered what kind of situation and what kind of wound might have originated that scar. His skin was brown from the sun and more than a little dirty yet he didn’t smell that bad, considering all things. Now, after observing the two men only one question remained.

"You must be wondering who we are." The old man spoke, breaking the silence.

"Yes, indeed I am."

"Well, my name is Xysoran and my companion here is Rane Blackthorne. We are wanderers and we ended up in this town. We are heading for Dhelan. We have some business there to attend. I am sorry if we frightened you but those people in black armor who entered the tavern did not have very good intentions. They were looking for a woman who fitted your description so we decided to help you get away from them." The old man stopped and Allyna could hear the younger man muttering something like ‘it was not my idea’ under his breath. Then the old man’s words made sense to her. The men in black armor were looking for her? That could not be true. Why should they? Unless... unless they were the ones who had destroyed her village and killed her parents and all the others. But why were they after her? Because she was the sole survivor of the village? She remembered her mother words. She had said that the attackers hadn’t found what they were looking for. Was their prey her? But why?

"Why? Why were they after me?" She said, not noticing she had spoke out loud. So, when the old man answered, she jumped surprised.

"Maybe because you are more important than you think? Those men are part of the personal army of Queen Kahira and the Dark Lord, child."

"They are what?!"

"They are what I said they were. Now, if you do not know why they are after you, then I cannot help you. You will have to find it out. I advise you to leave the town quietly or else they will catch you. Have a nice life."

"Hey! You are leaving? But... I thought..."

"You thought what, child?"

Allyna didn’t answer for a moment then something he had said earlier came to her mind.

"You said you were going to Dhelan, didn’t you? Can you take me there? Can I travel with you?"

The man named Rane muttered something to the old man’s ear that sounded harsh. They talked for a moment in whispers she could not hear until the younger man backed off with a furious yet resigned expression. The older man turned to her.

"You can travel with us. I am most curious to find the reason why they want you. And I, for one, have no intention of letting you fall into their hands, no matter what. Rane does not agree with me but he is willing to let you come too, as long as you don’t get us killed, he says. We would not be in any more danger than we usually are, so... Do you have your things with you, child? We can leave at nightfall."

"I..." She hesitated. They were still strangers to her and the younger man didn’t seem to like her much which did not improve anything. She needed to trust in them and he was not helping. But the old man, Xysoran, in him she felt she could trust. And as long as she stayed with him, she felt that she would be safe. "My things are here with me but I left some with my horse. Well, his not really mine..."

"We can go get your horse." Rane said, his words filled with impatience. He didn’t talk much, it seemed, at least not to her and every time he did spoke wasn’t pleasurable to the ear due to his harsh and dry voice. But Allyna suspected his normal voice was not like that yet he acted like this because he did not like her and because he disagreed with whatever had taken Xysoran to help her. She needed to gain his trust or she wouldn’t be surprised if he gave her to any of those black armored men just to get rid of her and go on with is life, whatever life he had.

It was already night when they left Karion, three shadows, plus the horses, undistinguished in the darkness. They crossed paths with several black armored men before leaving the town but, fortunately, they had not been seen by them. Rane had a natural ability to make them disappear in the night. She wondered what he did besides wandering around the land with Xysoran. They finally made it out of Karion and began their journey to the port town of Dhelan where Allyna hope to find a ship to take her to the island of Allyon.

TO BE CONTINUED...