CHAPTER 1-HEARTBURN
Ahhh. Ahhh, it hurts!
X clenched his chest and cried internally in agony. He was somewhat used to it by now, despite the pain. Especially after the encounter with the demon yesterday. And the wound on his body.
The red light dimmed and brightened alternatively, almost as fast as the beating of his burning heart. The pain caused by the heartburn was worse than anything X had ever felt before. Not that he had many experiences in his short life. He did not have memories of anything that happened more than four years ago, after all.
Once the pain dimmed, X braced for the impact once again, counting in his mind. When it returned, it would hurt much more, especially if he was careless and not ready for it. X remembered the last time, even if he didn’t want to.
One, Two, Three…
But surprisingly, there was no second coming of agony. The heartburn was not over yet, X was sure of that since the brightness was still alternating, but the pain had not returned for a while now. Slowly, the scene changed, and X sighed mentally. Maybe this was one of the special “only one attack” days.
At least now it won’t hurt. Physically.
Countless scenes moved through his head, most of them too fast for him to see, much less understand. The ones that he did recognize were all too familiar. He really hated all these visions.
The brown coin depicting a familiar man holding a weird crown over another’s head. The old man with a long goatee covered in blood, which pooled down to form rivers and lakes.
And finally, the war. Multiple images of the war. The worst of the visions, that brutal war where countless creatures fell forever, the one even his grandfather didn’t know about.
At last. It’s over now.
Usually, after the war, the heartburn would return, X would cry in agony, and then the pain would go away. And people would stare at him weirdly.
Luckily I am in my bedroom. Wait, I am in my bedroom, right?
X was tempted to open his eyes, but he knew that he should not. The pain would only worsen if he intentionally or unintentionally broke the visions, or anything else related to the heartburns. Although there was no pain currently, X still braced for the impact, silently praying to the Lord of Light for blessings.
The surroundings brightened, but did not dim. Instead, the brightness grew, the golden light shining like the midday sun. X gasped in shock, his eyes shaking in joy. This holy shade of golden was something everyone in the Kingdom knew about.
Did the Lord actually answer my prayers?
Even though his eyes were closed in reality, X saw a man in front of him. He had messy blond hair that covered his eyes, a thin, lean but muscular body like that of a seasoned warrior, and bright golden eyes. A common grey tunic covered his body, but it did not prevent his muscles from being seen in all its glory.
His shaved, chiseled face looked like an artist’s depiction of a brave knight, which X did not agree with after seeing Uncle Rem. A pale golden light shone from behind him, much brighter than its surroundings, with an even holier shade, allowing X to differentiate them.
Wait, did He actually descend to help me? There’s no way I am that important, right?
‘Find me. Soon. Times are changing, old foes are returning. It’s not the time for you to be stuck here, X.’
The person spoke in a low, extremely familiar voice, which X could not place. Instantly, the whole scene ended. His vision went blank, and the brightness did not change with his heartbeats. For a brief moment, everything was serene and peaceful.
Praise the Almighty Sun! He saved me from the damned heartbu-
‘Ahhhhhh’
X couldn’t even finish the thought. The pain came back, worse than ever before, his heart almost bursting inside his chest. It felt like his blood had been replaced with molten steel, flowing through his arteries and veins like the pipes in the blacksmith’s forge. Not that X had ever seen one, of course, only heard about them from his grandfather.
I said that too soon. Was I not… praying ..Ahh…enough?
After what seemed like an eternal nightmare, the pain subsided. X heaved a heavy sigh, made his mind to go to the temple that day, and unclenched the hand over his chest. It was only then that he realized that there was a great amount of external pressure applied on that spot. With a weak smile, he coughed.
‘Enough, grandpa. I need my heart to live, okay.’
The pressure quickly went away. X opened his eyes and got a nice view of the mess he called home. A small, wooden hut, with random things thrown in random directions. There was a cluster of items here, and another cluster there. Books lying on the floor, a large axe on the small dining table, and utensils on the chairs.
Huh, why does everything look big. Did I get smaller?
‘Wait, why am I on the floor?’
A rough voice replied, making X painfully turn his neck up and look at the speaker. That was basic courtesy, or so his grandpa had said, but he did not want to follow it after all that had happened. Even if this happened once every two weeks or so.
‘You fell down, obviously. More painful this time, eh?’
The old, muscular, giant of a man spoke before lifting X up with one hand and placing him down on the small bed like a kid playing with a toy. He then rolled up the mat he slept on, and sat down on the floor.
Seriously though, why do you like floors so much, grandpa?
The man was Frederick, X’s adopted grandpa and a retired Stage 3 knight of the Kingdom of Europa, which was pretty much the only proper nation in the world. Once, he was a great warrior, one of the strongest of his generation, who proved his might in countless battles.
Currently, he was a humble woodcutter. One of the few in the village who dared to enter the Forbidden Forest without protection, although usually he was the one protecting the knights of Terlem, their quaint little village.
‘Yes, it hurts a lot.’
X responded in a low voice, before rubbing his neck to check if the cloth was still there. This way, he could remind his forgetful grandfather to examine the injury he got from the demon yesterday without voicing it out.
Just as planned, Frederick got up and bent to take a look. Removing the cloth, a piece of X’s old tunic that the old man ripped apart yesterday, he gently moved his fingers over the kid’s bare neck while continuing the conversation.
‘So, what did you see this time. The coin?’
X nodded, then stifled a scream. Stupid neck. Stupid demon. After calming down, he replied.
‘And the blood guy. And the war. Like usual.’
Frederick smiled at him, as if the visions he had regularly weren’t nightmares that most people wouldn’t dare to experience even once. Then again, the retired knight had personally participated in a war, so if anyone in Terlem had a right to laugh at the bloodshed, it was him.
‘Anything new?’
X exhaled and replied.
‘The vision took some time to end, so I prayed to the Lord to end…’
‘That was smart.’
Frederick interrupted.
‘And surprisingly, the surroundings brightened, and a man appeared and spoke some gibberish.’
‘So, like you then.’
Frederick interrupted him once more, this time just to tease him. However, it did give X something to think about.
That guy did look like me. Just change my age from 14 to like, 25, and we might have looked similar.
‘I think it was the Lord Himself.’
‘Sacrilege.’
Frederick snorted as he spoke, and then burst out laughing. He laughed and laughed, wheezing and coughing, until even X felt awkward. But that was just how his grandpa was, weird. And his mood swings were even weirder. After a while, when the old man had finally calmed down a bit, X spoke.
‘I plan to pray today. At the temple.’
Frederick’s smile bloomed as he spoke in a higher pitch than usual.
‘So, is my grandson finally leaving the house. That’s great.’
‘I go out every day.’
‘No, you don’t.’
‘Okay, but I went out yesterday.’
‘And got attacked by a demon.’
That’s true. Maybe I should go out in the evening with grandpa. It’s too late for morning prayers anyway, the sunrise was hours ago. Maybe. We need windows.
Frederick brought X out of his thought-induced stupor.
‘There’s good news. Edward is back.’
‘The merchant?’
Frederick nodded. X had been patiently waiting for him to return. Once a year or so, Edward would come to Terlem, which was a tiny village on the edge of which X and his grandfather resided, mostly to sell goods that would be rejected in Rossenberg, the Capital City.
Edward was well educated, a rarity in these parts of the country, where the only thing people learned was Common, the new court language introduced by the current King.
And even that was taught by the temple priests once a week or so. Children were taught by their parents if they wished to, and even that would not amount to much if the adult had not left the village.
Not only was he smart, but he was also experienced. X was sure that Edward could help him in deciphering the mysteries of the coin. X was even ready to pay a couple of copper Bits if it meant that his past would be revealed. Maybe even an Ingot.
Only if the information was worth it. No, maybe even not then. An Ingot is worth a lot.
X sat up on the bed, and with his grandfather’s help, got up and changed his clothes. The wound had dried, but the pain was still there. Reduced, but it still hurt. Even if it was nothing in front of the heartburns. With a sigh, he donned the traveler’s robe over his tunic, waded through the mess, and sat at the table for breakfast.
A single familiar knock echoed through the small hut, and X sighed once more. Frederick pushed the utensils out of the way and opened the door, revealing three people.
A tall man with long dark messy hair, a ragged, unkept beard and a wild smile. A young woman with a sword in her hand, looking out into the forest nearby. And a small boy, around X’s age, if his age was estimated to be he was eleven when Frederick found him, with a similar hairstyle to his father.
Do you always have to come while we are eating?
‘Hello Uncle Rem. Hi, Sven.’
X greeted the newcomers, not revealing the irritation within him. Rem had donned a tattered robe, and shiny silver armor within it. Slowly moving the robe away to display it.
It was almost like he wanted to show off, but did not have all the parts of the armor, so he covered up the rest with his robe. No, X was sure that that was exactly what he was doing.
‘What are you here for. Another hunt.’
Frederick asked calmly, a bit sternly even. Rem nodded, then shifted a little to the right to show the other three men standing behind him, all of them donning leather armor. The lady went back and took her place beside them.
The knights of Terlem. X smiled and got off the table, even though he was starving and wasn’t really feeling happy. Luckily, there was a loaf of bread here. He came closer to the door, standing beside his giant grandfather, and looked at Sven, still smiling.
‘Need me?’
Frederick spoke, and Rem nodded once more. X seriously could not understand why he was so stiff on duty, when usually he was a pretty chill guy. X didn’t bother thinking about that though. But he had an agenda to complete, which required him to speak in front of all these people. Something X preferred to avoid.
Well, lets go with a whisper for now.
He nudged Frederick on his arm, and the old man bent down and placed his ear near X’s lip. They both knew that X wasn’t really a conversation-lover, and even though they were pretty close to Rem and his family, the knight was a whole different person while working.
‘Can…Can I come along?’
X asked cautiously, and Frederick stared at him sternly. His close-cropped, military style hairstyle, the exhaustion in his eyes, the wrinkled skin on his face and the bulging muscles on his arms all clashed with each other, making him seem like a character in one of those drawing X liked to make two years ago.
Frederick shook his head, placing his right hand on his white hair, and walked back into the house, easily crossing the mess and picking up his axe, before he walked out of the house silently.
Grandpa and his mood shifts.
The knights followed Rem, their commander, and Frederick, their role model, into the Forbidden Forest, leaving X and Sven behind. X sighed in defeat. At least he got a person to accompany him to the village temple and maybe even the marketplace. A familiar, rough voice spoke out with a laugh, startling X.
‘Kids, go to the temple if you wish to. Then get back to your studies, or you will become homeless, like a certain old man here was fifty years ago.’
Not another mood shift.
-DATE- APRIL 13, 470-AK (After Establishment of the Kingdom-shortened as After Kingdom)
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