The child was born during a storm that did not belong to the season.
Avalon had known storms all its life, rolling thunder, rain that lashed the cliffs,but this one came wrong. The sky turned red before dawn. The wind howled from the sea, carrying salt and screams alike. Waves climbed the cliffs as if trying to reclaim the land, and somewhere deep beneath the earth, stone groaned.
Midwives whispered prayers they had not spoken for a long time,
The child did not cry.
He lay still in his mother's arms, eyes open, watching everywhere,like he has been there before . Outside, the storm broke in violent crack of thunder that split the sky,and then,suddenly, everything stopped.
No wind.
No rain.
No sound but breath and people murmuring.
The midwives stared at one another, nervously . One dropped to her knees. Another crossed herself with trembling fingers and the other ran out.
Seal the windows, another one whispered. Don't let it see him.
Too late.
The boy's eyes reflected the world too clearly,steel gray, deep, unmoving. For a single heartbeat, the stone walls of the birthing chamber hummed, as if responding to something . Then the child blinked, and the sensation vanished like a dream.
His mother,Maureen , did not notice.
She was exhausted, pale, barely , alive only by stubborn will. When she looked at her son, all she saw was a miracle,and she felt his love circling around her heart,the feeling of comfort and protection . She pressed him to her chest and wept, unaware that the storm had bent itself around his first breath.
They named him Darven.
She closed her eyes, and tears rolled down,as she remembered the night,his father died,
he had looked pale,almost lifeless,not as the broad shouldered lively person, who's laughter rings louder than a bell. She could almost feel the roughness of his hands when he cupped her face, carefully despite his strength.
He is a blacksmith, but not only that. He had been a maker of things meant to last. Horseshoes,swords,Knives balanced so perfectly they felt like an extension of the hand. He used to say that metal remembered kindness,that if you worked it with patience instead of force, it would bend without breaking. She would laugh out loud , and told him he was treating an iron like a human. He only smiled and kissed her forehead.
She was five weeks pregnant, and yet she had not told him About the pregnancy . She had planned to surprise him that night,when they were,sharing bread and quiet dreams. She had imagined his face with a bit of confusion,wonder, then that laughter.
But instead of seeing him return from the forge, boots heavy on the threshold and soot on his face, she was met with words that shattered her world,had been caught in a fire accident in his blacksmith shop, and the forge that he had always given life to had taken his instead.
Suddenly the sound of the door,open.
And the priests arrived, like they always do,
Every unusual birth drew them from their towers and temples, robes heavy with symbols talisman for protection and fear. They examined the child in silence, running silver instruments wrapped in talisman over his skin, whispering fragments of old prophecies under their breath.
No mark, one murmured.
No flame, said another.
No storm sign.
Then he is nothing, the eldest priest declared, relief thick in his voice. Just another mortal child.
Maureen hug Draven tighter.
They left before dusk, convinced the storm had been coincidence.
As Draven turned six, strange things began to happen. At first, they were whispers in empty rooms, objects moving when no one was near,but soon they became scary. he spoke to the animals of as if they were old friends, understanding their voices in a way that made Maureen scared. Every night she Could hear him speaks to birds outside his window, and every time her heart cover in fear.
And she couldn't pretend longer . The kingdom had eyes everywhere, and secret like this can't be kept, with eyes of the priest watching every child. On the night of full moon,she gathered her belongings and fled the kingdom,With draven in her arms, in fear she left the castle behind, traveling in the dark , with no fear of the night, After traveling for a day and night,
She saw a small village called Glen. Hidden among the hills and forests, she hoped to settle down there,and protect him,from the world, himself, and from whatever destiny seemed to be waking inside him.