1. The darkest night
Once upon a time, in a very distant continent called Mainland there were different kingdoms dominated by kings and queens, elves and exceptional fauns who fought for hundreds of years to maintain peace between kingdoms and cities; and that is how for 500 years peace has endured in the kingdoms of Mainland ... until a new species was seen arriving in their barbarian ships on the beaches of the imperial city of Ankrahmun.
Ankrahmun, is located south of the market city of Darashia, connected by a passage where in the day you can see the caravan of merchants and fishermen going from north to south to sell their crops and thus feed their families, all from the market rudest of kingdoms ruled by the great lord Rashid. And it was on that calendar day that the stars of Aquila and Liria were consolidated and the barbarians arrived.
Some former madmen, sons of retired sailors who lost their minds over rum and wine in the taverns, commented that there was an island of barbarians, who rode on wild dogs and hunted giant beasts with 100-tooth mouths; This unexplored land was said to be 40 days and nights' journey by boat to the east of Darashia. However, no one credited the word of a crazy drunk, until that day.
The invasion was announced and word soon spread to the allied kingdoms of Darashia, Ankrahmun, Venore, Thais, Ab’dendriel and Yalahar. How did the independent kingdoms find out? Don't even think about asking me, they follow their own rules and speak their own languages; on very few occasions they accept foreigners and those who do not like them are simply eliminated. For weeks we have been preparing, since the first boat was found on the beaches. The men forged twice as many weapons a day, the fishermen sold their crops to improve their own poor equipment, because the crown's instruction was "everyone will fight and those who remain neutral at the end of the fight will also die." Of course, this rule did not apply to the passive community and less so on these Christmas dates when we had a third of our female community on tape, waiting to procreate.
The passive societies in our kingdoms are cooks, in charge of raising the family, some are also fishermen or farmers ... that is how our parents raised us and that is how theirs raised them, however do not believe for a second that this is only a question of gender, men also have passive roles in communities. You see, when a family procreates, if it is a man, it has up to 13 years to prove through 3 tough tests that are carried out, that it is worthy of being a warrior and then recognized with the promotion of profession that it grants the King or Queen, to fulfill in the community (according to their abilities) be it Elite Knight, Elder Druid, Master Sorcerer or Royal Paladin. Women on the other hand have up to 10 years to pass our tests and be part of these roles, otherwise both men and women who do not meet this requirement, go to the passive part of society: harvest, agriculture, fishing and mercantile.
It was a night of very cold temperatures in which the news reached us: Darama had fallen on the outskirts of Darashia and this confirmed that the presence of these foreigners was not peaceful. My father woke up Trisha and me and mobilized us very quickly, he and my brother Kespian had to fight.
- Do you know what you have to do? Repeat it to me ...
- Yes father. We will take refuge, we will look for your sister Nelly in the independent city of Svargrond and she will hide us until it is all over. Why do we have to hide? - My heart was beating a thousand per hour and I did not want to leave them, but I know that I had to protect my little sister.
- There is no time now. When all this is over I will send for you. You will do what I tell you, promise me ... You two are the future of our family.
- Yes father...
We set out in the middle of the night through the imperial walls of Ankrahmun and this was the longest journey I would have ever undertaken in my entire life. Kespian gave me some
weapons, potions of life and mana for the journey, they gave me gold and food for our regeneration. Is it wrong to say that I was very scared? Fear of being just a 17-year-old girl responsible for our own survival in the middle of a war and crossing the entire continent to our frozen destination.
...
- Wake up Eloise, happy anniversary love, come and see how Aphrodite prepared the stars of the sky today for your eighth anniversary.
- Happy birthday dwarf! Get ready because I've been told that today is the day of your registration in the tests, are you excited?
- Kespian! .....
- What is my brother talking about, Mother? - The light still stunned my eyes but I jumped up after Kespian's announcement. - But ... why now? My friend Nidia will wait until she is 9 years old and she says that she will have enough time to do all the tests ...
My mother's face was filled with shame, I didn't understand if it was a shame towards herself or towards me, she began to hesitate with her words ...
- Little Eli, this is so you have more time and opportunities in case of ...
- In case you fail, Eloise ... Mother, saying things as they are will make her stronger and that is what she needs, you have spoiled her too much and the world out there is harsh. She has to get out of this bubble as soon as possible.
In an instant my body was paralyzed, I tried to swallow but my mouth was dry. What birthday is this? ... I only know that I cannot start it with tears in my eyes. It bothered me to a great extent that my mother doubted me to some degree. Entering the tests early would reveal that there is something my family sees in me, which will certainly expose me to others and they knew it but their fear of my failure was greater than the exposure of my vulnerability.
For 300 years of generations our family has been recognized for having the most imposing warriors in societies. Because of their achievements, we position ourselves in a rank that only those who are born with them have. We enter the ranks of the great commanders, we are noble by name and design without being noble by birth and that is why I can understand the pressure that falls on my shoulders, I understand it from the moment when Kespian passed his with honors 2 years ago .
- It's fine. I will do it.
- Yes, dwarf! You will see that we will bring the next honor to this house, nobody will ever mess with you again - Kespian let out a scream that punctured the back of my head, my mother hugged me excitedly while she distributed kisses to me.
- Okay, okay but don't yell ... Where's dad?
- Your father is preparing your armor, he knew you would accept it. Okay, get up since I need to go feed Trisha.
"Well... at least someone has faith in me ..."
- Look at the positive side Trish, your tests will be delayed another year, come on ... we will walk a few more hours to get closer to Tiquanda and be able to be crossing north of it tomorrow.
- Will we see Daddy again, Eli?
"I don't know" ... is what resonated in my mind, however I let little Trish's question fade into the silence of the night and she understood that it was one of those moments when she had to be brave.
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