Torden is a 6-year-old kid, or that is what he found himself as, he did not think much of it. He found himself playing with his toys upon an expensive carpet on the ground, a horse and a knight made of silver were both held in his hands, it held a spear in it hands
On his side the prince of the Kazar, he two was 6-year-old. He was playing with his knight and horse, made entirely of gold, it had a sword
They were moving them alongside each other as if fighting, one hit after another
"I win! my knight is now A Sigel one" said the Kazar's prince
"What do you mean you won?!" replied
"Well, my knight is better, look how shiny he is" said the prince of the Kazar
"Who cares how shiny your knight is, Gold is much softer than silver anyways so my knight is more deserving of the victory" replied Torden
"Strength isn't everything, he is made of gold, wish means he is much higher in status compared to yours" replied Prince Rafam
"Hello kids" said a Sigel knight of the sword, they seemed both happy and suppressed by his sudden appearance
"Barmen!" said Torden
"What are you doing?" Asked the Sigel knight
"Tell Rafam how my knight being much sturdier means he shall win this battle" said Torden
"Stop the lies, my knight of gold can afford a dozen of yours, so that means he can become the Sigel one much easier" replied the Prince Rafam
The Sigel knight Barmen not wanting to hurt the feelings of any of them chose a third choice
"Well for me what makes a knight one of Sigel status is the commander who leads them and not their skills alone"
The prince Rafam happy said "Haha I am the prince, wish makes me good enough for him to be able to rise to such status"
Barmen looked at Torden expecting him to reply just to see him checking his toy for any scratches
"Are you not going to say anything, Torden? After all you are the heir for the Waster house," said Lord of the Waster house, Lord Kailer, alongside him stood the king of the Kazar, King Gerdon
"I don't care about that, blood doesn't make you a great leader, anyone can be borne anywhere," said Lord Torden
It felt like thunder, those were as innocent as they were they hid heavy weight, they were words no lord could speak of even in secret
King Gerdon laughed it off, while lord Kailer looked upset
"You can't say such things, Torden" Lord Kailer said
"Why?" asked Torden, such an innocent question
"Just leave him be" said king Gerdon "They are just kids after all"
"This isn't something that should be left like that" replied Lord Kailer, Torden didn't seem to be concerned with their conversation, his eyes were focused on the prince, Rafam
Rafam had the biggest shock there, it is as if he had been pierced by a very harsh truth he was messing for the majority of his lifespan
His eyes were staring widely, Torden felt uncomfortable, Knock, knock, he heard a sound the door, it was loud, it felt as if someone was breaking in
Knock, knock!!!
He woke up from his dream, going downstairs in a rush he said "Coming can you be patient!!"
He opened it to find his father there, escorted by some guards and a knight of the Sigel who held the shield, he let him inside while saying
"It is the middle of the knight, where were you the whole day" said Torden
"Outside" replied Lord Kailer as he sat down and spoke
"Where are the other chairs" looking around him
Coming down stairs it was Fraymon, rubbing his eyes trying to wake himself up
"Who is it? oh, dad, were you out drinking –" a chair was thrown at him, it was Torden who did it, like last time of course
Fraymon managed to catch it without breaking it "What the heck man, if you break this one, we will be sitting on the ground for the rest of the month" Fraymon said
Torden looked straight at him, Fraymon finally woke up and said "Oh, welcome back, father" as he went down
Torden stood, backing the wall, Fraymon straddling the other chair, both of them stared their father
"Spit it out already," said Kailer the father of the Waster house
"We want to ask your opinion on something, but I want you to be very calm and do not be rush with any decision that might—" said Torden, Fraymon spoke up saying
"Torden thinks Mother's death might have some ties with the royal family", Torden was left open mouthed
"Look, before you say anything, I am backing my statements with very solid theories that—" said Torden, he was cut again but this time by his father who said
"I thought about it already, and I do think the same"
"What?" said Fraymon
"Yes" replied Kailer "The Great reader of the Varish is already in the second day of his integration by the king, although I don't trust for all my pleads for personal interrogations were refused, all we can do is wait"
"So, you do agree that we are imprisoned in a cage, even though we are the ones who were wronged" said Fraymon
"Isn't that the obvious thing?" replied his father
"Now lets just go to the important stuff" said Torden, both of them looked up at him "How do we deal with our situation"
There was a silence, a very cold one, their father took a deep breath before saying
"Nothing"
They looked at him in confusion
He stared back with the same tired eyes he entered with and spoke saying
"What? Do you expect some magical solution? All of our knights and guards are on street duty, and I am still confused between wish force to side with and wish force is against us"
He continued saying "The Varish has always been an enemy to our side of the continent, our fights with the Hallow stones go deep into our blood, the Kazar family can't be trusted anymore"
"All that we can do, is wait for the time being" he stared down, not raising his eyes up to face his own children anymore
"I will be going to sleep now, do the same as well, children" as he walked up stairs
They looked at him with terrified eyes, their childhood idol lost all spark in his eyes
"What should we do now?" said Torden
"I don't know! You are the brain here not me" replied Fraymon
Torden sighed and said "I think… I think father is right, for the moment we need to take a step back"
"Are you accepting defeat? Now of all times??!" replied Fraymon
"There is nothing else to do, and without enough sleep we shall only be useless weights" replied Torden
Fraymon bit down on his words without saying a word
"Let's go up" said Torden as the both of them went upstairs, step after another they climbed for the second floor out of Three, the hall way had no widows, for the house was attached to another one removing all sings of light
The moment they passed the bathroom both of them were held by the mouth, 2 hands caught each of them dragging them inside
As the fought not able to make a sound they found it to be their father alongside the Sigel knight of their house, Barmen
"Hmm??" said Fraymon, his mouth still closed
"Before I release you, just know if you talk loudly, I will knock you out, nod once if you understand," whispered their father their father
They nodded, confused full of questions. Both the father and the Siegl knight released them at once, no sounds were made
"Now you may ask any questions before I explain what just happened, but any sound louder than a mouse's and Ser Barmen will put you to sleep," said their father
Fraymon decided to speak first, he asked "where was Barmen all this time, I heard he was left back home, as a sign of protection to the house"
Their father replied saying "One Sigel knight won't make a difference in protection of a full house if a war is to break out,"
"Was he was sent here in secret before us?" asked Torden
"Yes, although he had to stay hidden until our location was decided, and to add something, this isn't a popular strategy so do not worry Torden" replied their father, Kailer
"So, all those words about defeat and being on the losing side was just a cover up? But why cover up against us?" said Fraymon
The father looked at Torden who as deep in thoughts, "Do you have an answer for that yourself?"he spoke
"I think we are being spied on, all the time" said Torden
"But why speak now? Isn't it still dangerous?" said Fraymon
"Down stairs are full of ears," said their father
Their Knight added, "The second floor, especially the bathroom, is backed from all sides, it is in the middle of the house, I checked for any ears already"
"Well, I got to say, father, you are one good actor" said Fraymon
", The higher you go, the better you become at lying," said their father
"Well? What is the plan??" asked Torden
Both kids and the Sigel knight stared at their Kailer, filled with determination he said
"We are in the lion's den, wither it is the Varish, the Kazar, or another side, someone is in charge and his intentions are no good. We need to fight our way out, even if it means sacrificing some of the supporting small houses on the way"
"What about grandmother? Does she know?" said Fraymon
"Of course, you idiot" said Torden
"And how do you know that?" said Fraymon
Their father stopped the conversation saying
"You grandmother knows how to take care of herself best; her disappearance alone means that she askes of me to take care of you,"
"So… what do we do if we are to successfully escape?" said Fraymon
Their father looked at them with sharp eyes, full of vengeance and anger "We shall wage war"
In the underground cells of the Kazar castle of the king, the great reader of the Varish Brone was tied to a chair, deep in sleep. He lost all of his fingernails, alongside some of his hair and beard
A cold-water bucket struck his face waking him up gasping for air, as he opened his eyes, he found it to be the prince of the Kazar standing before him
"I told you already…" he said with an exhausted voice "I don't know… anything…"
The prince lowered his head down to the reader's level staring him in the eyes, a beast checking his prey, he sighed as he stood up
"You know, finger nails, hair, both can go back to the same condition, as long as u don't cut deep enough," he said checking a knife he held in hand, staring at his own reflection before his blue eyes shifted focus towards Brone once more "body parts wont, I shall leave the important ones for you"
"I swear… I swear I don't know anything… it all happened too fast," said Brone
Rafam the prince took a moment to reply, just to say "Oh, I forgot to say, I heard, even skin can grow back"
King Gerdon sitting outside heard the screams, it was obvious from the sound of the dropping blood what was happening,
The cell door opened as Faram stepped outside, cleaning his hands and his knife from the blood over them
"I guess he did not speak" said King Gerdon staring at the left overs of the ball that created the first smoke, strings and leather all it was
"He chose silence once more, a tough man I would say," said Prince Rafam
"Or you did not do enough" said King Gerdon staring up at his son
"You may go see for yourself" said Rafam
The king stood up and walked inside, he saw the state of the reader, Brone, mush of his hair was pulled out with force, messing all of his fingernails and a chunk of his leg's skin
"He did do you bad," said King Gerdon
The tears have long since been dried off his eyes, broken gasps every now a then followed his breaths, staring at the ground
A puddle made of his own tears, sweat, blood, and something else as a cherry on top
The king pulled out the left overs of the ball, he leaned forward avoiding to step over whatever covered the ground
"Look here" the king said pulling whatever remained of the Reader's hair to get his face upwards, he showed him the remains of the ball
"If you tell us how this made all that smoke you shall be free, you don't need to say anything else," said King Gerdon
The reader's eyes became wide as he saw it, his mouth shivered with unspoken words, breathes came in and out as he tried to speak up
"A… A…," said Brone
The king's curiosity grew larger; he got closer and closer excited eyes, ones of a child
"A…. Brone vomited out, but lucky Gerdon managed to move out the way, the guards pulled the chair backwards causing it to fall in that haste as vomit followed after it
The king look at the scene in disgust as Brone continued to vomit more and more
"Your highness" said a guard rushing to the king checking if he was touched by it
He stared down for a moment, cold, angry, he spoke
"Make sure he is ready for tomorrow" before leaving
In the dark knight upon the green lands far outside the Kazar capital, the masked man riding his horse under the moonlight, his pocket shined with red heat
He reached inside of it, A wooden eye, ear, and tongue, carved with precision, held together by a single silver nail piercing them from top to bottom, binding them together as a statue of wideness
They let out heat, one of a fire, he stared at it for a moment, looked back, and put them in his pocket again as he continued his march towards the dark