Nadaria was a small village located at the northernmost part of Dabarath Royal Kingdom, close to the Devonian kingdom, Adlai, and rested on the back of Nadaru Mountain. It snowed fifteen months a year and was generally peaceful, if rather boring.
Aidan’s mother, Dyani Farrell-Kascia, was currently locking herself in their small house by the river. It was time for Aidan to leave, yet his mother had refused to acknowledge him or his attempts to say goodbye. Dyani’s older brother, Darren, tried to placate her to no avail. It seemed that she had resolved to ignore both Aidan and Darren, much to Aidan’s disappointment.
“I hate when she gets like this”, Darren told Aidan grimly. He rubbed his face with his hand and let out a reproachful grunt as he turned back to Aidan. “And honestly, I can’t blame her. She’d lost so much to the war. We all did.”
“And that’s exactly the reason why I wanted to join the army, Uncle. I want to make a difference”, Aidan returned. “I— I just want to follow on dad’s footsteps. And mom’s too, before she gave up fighting.”
The door before them was silent, but Aidan knew that his mother was listening behind it. Her presence burned like brand, her anger palpable in the air, and Aidan knew he had said the wrong thing. His mother used to fight in the war too, before it took many things away from her — her parents, her birth village, her husband.
And now her son too.
Uncomfortable silence weighed upon them, and Aidan rubbed his red hair in frustration. His mother was stubborn, he knew this. Aidan was stubborn too, but he knew that he had lost this battle of stubbornness before it even began.
“Anyway, I should be going now before it gets dark”, Aidan eventually said.
“I can’t stop you, boy. You are already an adult, with your whole future ahead of you”, Darren returned with a heavy sigh. He clasped Aidan’s shoulder and seemed like he had a lot to say. Aidan waited, but his uncle simply let out another sigh. “Just… take care, okay? And be mindful. Everything is in an uncertain state, after all.”
“I know”, Aidan told his uncle, a small smile on his lips. He hugged his uncle tight, pouring every single unsaid words through it, before eventually letting him go. It felt like losing an important part of himself when he let go. “Goodbye, Uncle. Take care of Mom for me?”
“You don’t have to ask, my boy”, Darren said.
With that, Aidan took his horse and left Nadaria.
—
Klingel was located at the base of Nadaru Mountain, a crossroad town that connected several villages that scattered throughout Nadaru Mountain and the valleys below. It housed a military base that helped securing the borders and protected the northern part of Dabarath Royal Kingdom. It wasn’t a big town, per se, but it was an important one.
The hike down the mountain was surprisingly easy. A well-traversed road connected Nadaria to Klingel. Even as the tundra shrubs around him grew into taller trees of a boreal forest, the cobbled path was still visible on the snowy ground. Before he knew it, Aidan had entered deep into the forest.
Aidan had never traveled this far from Nadaria before. The scenery around him was unfamiliar, yet it promised something that Aidan couldn’t quite put his fingers on it. A realization, perhaps, that his life would be forever changed. It had already changed, with him leaving Nadaria, and he could feel excitement about the future ahead of him bubbling in his chest.
Though the day was long, it eventually came into an end. The sun was slowly slipping into the treeline, so Aidan decided to rest at the side of the road. Laduna River flowed freely down from Nadaru Mountain, bringing freshwater from the melted glacier. After tying his horse to a tree, he took off his boots and carefully stepped into the chilly stream.
That was when he heard it — a voice gently floated in the air. A song, he realized.
Oh deep in the forest
Travelers came to rest
And as the sky turned dark
And the fire let a spark
And the night birds scream
Travelers sleep and dream
Aidan should have known that following a mysterious voice in the forest was probably not the best idea. Spirits resided where people were absent, and from his mother’s stories, he knew that he should leave them alone. They only brought troubles, she told him.
However, there was something in the voice that compelled him to come searching for it. Perhaps it was a spirit, after all, but Aidan steeled his resolve and trudged down the stream. It didn’t take him long to find the owner of the voice.
That doesn’t look like a spirit, was Aidan’s first thought.
He was a young Mannain, with hair as dark as the night sky — a hair color that Aidan had never seen before. He wore deep red vest over his black clothes, with a red sash tied around his waist. He sat between a boulder and a campfire. When he looked up, there was something in his silvery gaze that made heat creeping up Aidan’s face.
“Oh, hello”, the dark haired Mannain greeted, his voice soft. Yet, Aidan could detect wariness in that friendly voice. “I wasn’t expecting to see another traveler. Unless you’re a bandit — then I will tell you not to bother as I have nothing much for you to rob.”
“I mean you no harm”, Aidan told the stranger, raising his hands in a surrendering gesture. “I just— I heard a beautiful singing voice, and I thought I’d take a look.”
“Oh”, the stranger said, a small smile slowly curled on his lips. “My name is Erik. Come sit with me by the fire. It’s already cold without standing in the river.”
Only then Aidan realized that, indeed, he had been standing in the river. He probably looked ridiculous.
“Well… the cold didn’t bother me, actually”, Aidan said as he plodded to the riverbank. It was cold, but it was still tolerable, he found.
“Oh?”
“I always feel warm. That’s kinda like… my thing”, Aidan rambled, before forcing himself to stop. “Actually, I was camping nearby. Do you mind if I bring my stuff here? I mean, you already put on fire and all, and—”
“No, not at all”, Erik returned with a small shake of his head. “Please join me. It’s probably safer if we camp together.”
“Yeah, you’re right”, Aidan said. “Alright, I’ll be right back! Oh— and my name is Aidan. It’s nice meeting you!”
With that, he left Erik’s camp and went back upstream.
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