There are many things in this world that people do not understand. They range from the simplicities of mathematical equations to the complexity of politics, for an example. But most of all, people do not understand their own histories. 

Over the years, I have found that few historians record events well, bending the truth to make the story they are trying to tell more, well, neat, I suppose. But, if the stories we tell our younger generations are not truthful, how will they know their history? How will they understand what happened in the years before their births to shape the world into what it is for them?

And so, I have endeavoured to record an accurate version of my own misadventures through the years, because despite my best interests, my actions played a rather large role in events from the year 1605, the year I turned eighteen, onwards, a majority of which were not happy events, though they were necessary. 

But before I begin my story, I feel I should explain some things, for, as I have said, history has been warped and fiddled with multiple times over the last few centuries. Due to a, well, unique condition, I have, I feel I can be confident in describing the events that took place three centuries ago, events which directly affected the path of the world in the years after my eighteenth birthday. 

In the years before that of 1307, the world was full of magic, this magic came from an orb of power we humans called the Sphere of Life. This Sphere was all powerful, and it was what gave my ancestors their power. 

Now, some time around 1304, when the world was not divided as it is today, there was a war between two large countries, named Calinlue and Daldenar. Both sides were ferocious, and Calinlue was determined to protect their territory from Daldenar, but they unfortunately lacked the strength they needed to do that. 

But then, just as it seemed all was lost, five individuals appeared, as if by some form of teleportation magic, and beat back the Daldenar people, changing the course of the war with their amazing magical abilities and eventually forcing Daldenar to sign a peace treaty with Calinlue. 

Nobody knew where these five siblings had come from, but they weren't questioning it either. For the first time, they had guardians to protect the peace the world barely managed to hold together, and teachers to aid them in their use of magic. For the five were wise, they knew more about the Sphere of Life than any mortal man. And besides that, they held incredible combat skill, and so could train all of the nations how to protect themselves fairly. 

All seemed well for a time, before, in the year 1306, the eldest of the five disappeared. Many searched for him, traveling to the edges of the earth in the hopes of finding the Renewer, but he was not seen again for many long months. The remaining four were left grief stricken by his presumed death, but the youngest, Tarquin, strongly believed that their brother was still alive. 

In the summer of 1607, Tarquin's faith was proven true, but not in the way he hoped. The eldest returned, bringing with him an army of souls, pulled from their eternal rest in the Whiles of the world and bound to bodies of shadow and pain. An entire country fell before the world even knew he had returned. Then, they changed his name. Before his disappearance, he had been known as Lysias the Renewer, now, he was Lysias, Harbinger of Destruction

His siblings faced him many times as he plowed through the nations, destroying everything in his path, but not once were they able to defeat him. It was not until he finally reached his goal that they were able to put up a true fight. The second eldest, Killian, was the one who faced him alone, while his siblings tried to hold off the waves upon waves of souls that Lysias had twisted to nothing more than hate and pain. 

In the end, both of them fell, both smitten by the final blows. But, though Lysias was defeated, the consequences were still enormous. They had been too late to stop the Harbinger from reaching the chambers of the Sphere, his true target after the wanton death he had caused, and so it was that their battle took place in those very chambers. But, the excessive energies they exuded during their fight was too much for the Sphere to take. 

No one ever really knew what Lysias' reason for going after the Sphere was, nor how had he managed to pull so many souls from the Whiles, but in the end, it didn't matter. Only shortly after the final battle, the Sphere shattered. 

Nobody realised how attached to the Sphere the whole world was until that happened, because when the Sphere shattered, the world did too. That is why we now have four major countries and a whole bunch of scattered islands, everywhere, each represents a tiny shard of the Sphere. 

After the Shattering, each of the major countries took one of the big Shards left from the Sphere, my country got lucky. We got the one shard that still had magic in it. However, because it was only a Shard, its power was limited, and so it was that Kainon gained its biggest secret. 

The only survivor of the battle against Killian was the second youngest of the five, the Elemental Conrad. He tried to teach us new ways of life, after we lost the Sphere, but because of the Shard, Kainon refused. While many believed this to be a poor decision in case of sparking suspicion, nobody ever asked. 

But keeping something like magic a secret from the rest of the world is not something to be taken lightly, and shortly after the world returned to a kind of a balance, the newly elected Kainon Royalty came to a decision, and founded an order they named Wardens. These Wardens were to be the best of the best, guardians of Kainon's secret and protectors of the nation. Only those with extreme talent could join the Wardens, and then only if they swore the Oath of Silence, a vow that forbid every and any Warden of speaking to any outside of Kainon, or even leaving it for that matter. 

It was about thirty years after the Shattering that the Choosings started. It was a short while before this that the people noticed that certain individuals could create a sort of link to the Shard, a link that allowed them to tap into the, albeit, limited power of the Shard and gain incredible abilities, like those of the Magi before the Shattering. 

These abilities varied greatly, while one man would gain a combat based enhancement another might gain something completely pacifistic, such as an ability to help plant growth along. But, however much the skills might have seemed mundane, every single one of these people, who became known as the Chosen, was regarded with reverence, and more often than not they became Wardens. 

Many years have passed since the Shattering, a few less since the development of the Choosings, but since then few wars have been waged throughout the world, and Kainon has managed to keep its most valuable secret. 

But, all that changed just two decades ago, after a Kainonian handmaiden fell in love with a Vallinian prince, an event which, however unlikely it may seem, brought two prophesied people into, or should I say back into, the world. 

My name is Ekaitz Daijon, it means storm of hope. I would like to think I justify that name, but whatever the case, I'm going to tell you a story. 

2: Chapter 2 - An Offer Downturned

Ekaitz... 

The day of the Choosing started just like any other. I woke up, glared at the ceiling groggily and decided it was too early to get up. It took, roughly, the same amount of time for me to get comfortable as it did for my brain to wake up and remind me that today was special. 

It took a little longer for me to remember why, exactly, today was important, but when I did, well, let's just say my exit from bed wasn't graceful. Once I had picked myself up off the floor and detangled from the bedsheets, I found some reasonably respectable clothing to throw on and pulled the boots I had kicked off in the middle of the floor on, before I bolted from my room. 

My footsteps thundered down the stairs as I took them two at a time, still doing up the strings at the collar of my shirt, for once, in an attempt to look at least half-pie decent. At this time of the day, I knew my father and brother would already be at breakfast, so when I reached the bottom of the stairs I swing right and strode through a small hallway before emerging in the dining room. 

The room was large, with the majority of floor space taken up by a long table with twelve chairs set up each side, plus one at each head. Seated at the farthest end from me was my father, Farris Daijon. He looked up with a smile as I came in, my coat draped over my arm as I finished smoothing down my shirt. 

"Sleep well, son?"

I pulled a face at him as my brother, Amory, looked up with a start, obviously having not heard me thundering down the stairs. Amory was only two years my elder, but we could not have been more different. While his short hair was a deep brown colour to match his eyes, mine was a pale blond to go with my dark blue eyes. My hair was also quite long, and I unabashedly tied it in a plait that reached my shoulder blades, most days, at the time I only pulled it into a loose ponytail. 

I nodded good morning to him but he only stirred his spoon around the plate in front of him, obviously as nervous as I felt. Amory and I had both been too young for the last Choosing, only those older than seventeen were allowed to try and forge a link, and the Shard was only exposed every fifteen years, so this Choosing was for both of us, and we were both nervous as Whiles. 

I showed worse than him, though, because as I sat down my fingers started drumming a beat almost of their own accord. Father, still smiling from my reaction, instantly saw my movement and reached out a hand to place it over my wrist. 

"You're nervous, just relax." H advised calmly, and I snorted. "Were you relaxed for your Choosing?"

He chuckled slightly with a shake of his head. "Fair point, I concede." He said as he removed his hand and went back to leafing through the papers set next to him. "But, you'll both be fine. I have faith in you."

While I tried to take his words to heart, I was still buzzing with nerves, barely managing to force down a few spoonfuls of the porridge one of the kitchen staff brought me before I turned to aimlessly pushing it around the plate. I noticed that Amory had hardly touched his, either, and I smiled at how alike we really were, despite our differences. 

All too soon, my brother stood and announced that it was time for us to get going. I swallowed down the urge to just shrink under the table and nodded, grabbing my coat and playing with the strings on the sleeve as I folded it over my arm. 

Farris smiled at us then, standing with us and gathering up his papers. "Good luck. Though I know you won't need it. You have too much of your father in you for that."

We both snorted good-naturedly at that, making our father grin as he saluted us with his papers and turned to head back out into the hallway. Amory and I exchanged a nervous look before he nodded and we set out towards the City Hall. 

The streets were eerily quiet that early in the morning, either because none were up or because a majority of people would be flocking to the Hall, wether to participate or to support. If we were any other family, Farris would have come with us, but he had duties that overruled everything else, even his sons' Choosing. Our father was a General of the military, but more than that he was one of the King's Advisors. Believe it or not, the King came before us.

When we arrived at the Hall it was surprising to me that not too many people were actually there yet. There was a fair number, but not so many that the large entrance hall felt claustrophobic. We drifted through the crowd, looking for familiar faces. Amory waved to a pair of guys on the other side of the room who I had never seen before, but aside from that we mostly kept to ourselves. 

After about ten minutes, Amory announced that he was going to find the Warden in charge of logging the candidates, leaving me to wander around the edges of the hall and amuse myself with the many paintings that decorated the walls. 

Most were gross over-exaggerations  of historical battles, while others didn't really make sense to me, but one stood out from the rest, whether because of its simplicity or the scene it depicted I don't know. It was supposed to be a painting of the last of the five, Conrad. He stood upon a cliff top with arms outstretched to the winds, a cowl covering his face. It was said that Conrad had been a full Elemental, one who could control air, earth, fire, and water all. There has never been another. 

I was startled from my examination of the painting as Amory's hand landed on my shoulder, making me jump and doing nothing for my nervousness. "The Shard should be here in about a half hour." He informed me, eyes glancing between me and the painting. "Try to stay out of trouble. I'm going to find Kilarn and Darin."

I nodded and watched as he walked back into the throng of people milling about the hall, it made me glad that at least Amory didn't have a problem with crowds or small spaces, unlike me. 

After completing two full rounds of the hall, I settled down to wait for the Shardbearers, seating myself on the ground with my back to one of the large support beams that kept the Hall's roof above us. As I sat, I unconsciously started tapping again as my other hand fiddled with the pendant around my throat. 

It wasn't anything special to look at, just a thin piece of silver worked into the shape of a shield with a sword design down the front. But, despite its appearance, it meant a lot to me. My mother had given me that pendant, a family heirloom, the day before she died. 

Glancing across the room, I frowned as my gaze settled upon a tall, lean figure, clad in a pale blue uniform with three white knots upon his shoulder. His expression was strong, like most Wardens, and he held the typical look of a Kainonian; dark brown hair complimented by light hazel eyes. 

Upon seeing him, I felt a swell of emotions I had kept buried for over six years; anger, resentment, and grief. I forced myself to calm down as the Warden, oblivious to my glare, turned and disappeared into a side room, leaving me to glower at the door that had swung shut behind him. Before I had a chance to do anything stupid, as I was want to do, the doors at the front of the Hall swung upon and the Shard entered my presence.  

The troupe of guards assigned to protect our greatest secret was, quite frankly, amazing. Four armour clad warriors walked in front of the litter, while six walked alongside it and four more guarded the rear. Four men carried the large litter, upon which sat a large, armoured steel box which, I could see, had a large keyhole on each of its sides. 

The crowd parted for the Shardbearers to walk through, silenced by the power even I could feel radiating from the armoured box. The troupe passed through the opened passage and carried the Shard into a room I hadn't even noticed, outside which the rear guard than took up their position, spears held vertically next to them while their hands rested on the shortsword say their waists. 

Silence filled the Hall for a good ten minutes, only muted conversations being whispered around me as I stood and tucked my mother's necklace back into my shirt and looked for Amory. He had disappeared into the crowd, and my search proved to be in vain, for before I could get very far, the Warden I had seen before the arrival of the Shard stepped out of the room and addressed us all. 

"People of Kainon, it is with high hopes that you have gathered here, I am sure, and those are hopes I can respect, for they were once my own. Unfortunately, not all of you will receive the gift I was blessed with, but do not let that dampen your resolve, for even without being Chosen, every one of you is an important part of this country." He paused, as if to gauge the reaction to his little speech, before continuing. "Would those hoping to be Chosen please join me by the Shard room, so that I may prepare you for what lies ahead."

We proceeded to do just that, and I caught sight of Amory up ahead of me, towards the front of the group. Apparently, preparing us consisted of telling us to have faith in ourselves and trust the Fates. I didn't know why, but I had developed a rather snarky side for that particular Warden, maybe it was something about his attitude, but whatever it was, I hated it. 

The next half hour was spent waiting in tense agony as the number of people in the group slowly dwindled. I saw Amory walk up to the door of the Shard room and I silently wished him luck. By the time my turn came, I had managed to annoy both the people behind me with my constant tapping on my belt and my murmured assurances to calm down. They didn't work. 

Walking up to the door, I took a deep breath to steady my shot nerves and reached out a hand to push the door open. As it turned out, I didn't need to, for two seconds before my fingers could touch the wood it moved away from me and swung inwards. I frowned before stepping inside the room and gaining my first look at the Shard. It stole my breath away. 

Imagine the most beautiful gem you've ever seen, make it white and gold and give it a faint glow, then times it by about a thousand. That should tell you what the Shard was like. 

Looking at it, I felt that all the troubles in the world could go away if everyone could just see something so beautiful. It made me wonder what the Sphere in its entirety would look like. 

Looking to the left of the Shard, my eyes landed on the tall Warden I had seen twice already this morning. His expression held as much emotion as a fence post, and I felt the same feelings of anger I had had earlier bubble to the surface. 

"Come forward, Candidate."

His voice sounded something like a cheese grate being run over a really hard rock, but it also compelled me to follow his order. Either that or I was so gob-smacked by the Shard I was just doing whatever I was told. 

As I approached the Shard, I felt a strange warmth spread through my skin, as though being in its presence sucked all the cold from the area. The Warden gestured towards the Shard and I absently wondered how many times he'd done that this morning before I tentatively reached out to touch the surface of the glowing Shard with my fingertips. 

An electric shock coursed through my body, so strong it made the short hairs on my neck stand up and I yanked my hand back reflexively. But, as I discovered, it was too late. 

Voices crowded in my head, a thousand whispered conversations filling my ears and almost blinding me with pain. I dropped to my knees, cradling my head in my hands as I distantly registered someone speaking outside my personal While. 

The voices intensified, and the pain in my head went with them. And then a thousand flashing images started flowing past my eyes, all Tok fast and too blurred for me to understand what they were. All I knew was that they made me feel like my head was exploding. I distantly remember whimpering as a loud voice rang in my ears and made me flinch, but then, with a final, unified yet incomprehensible sentence, the voices left and my body hastily remembered that I needed oxygen. 

I pulled in a great gasp as my vision and hearing returned, panting with a wheeze as a weight like a dozen horses settled in my chest. My head was throbbing dully and I winced as a hand shook my shoulder insistently. I opened my eyes, absently wondering when I had ever closed them, and flinched as the face of the Warden swam into my view. 

I let out a strangled wheeze as my heart started to calm from the rapid pace it had been beating. All I could think to say as I took in the Warden's expression, a mixture  between surprise and shock, was. "That was fun."

The brunette man stared at me for a moment before he spoke. "You are Chosen." Before I had a chance to reply, his hand closed around my wrist and yanked me to my feet, making the ground sway and shudder. I let out a startled sound as he began to pull me past the Shard to a door on the other side of the room. His grip was iron tight, and I felt panic filling my chest as I struggled to pull my hand free. I had been in the hold of a Warden before, that was the day my mother died. 

"Let me go!" There must have been a fair amount of panic in my voice as I yanked my hand out of his grip, which had loosened for a fraction of a second, and held it to my chest, glaring at him heatfully. "I don't need you to drag me."

He regarded me icily for a bit before he huffed and turned, obviously expecting me to follow. Despite every inch of my body screaming at me not to, I did. 

I had never been very far into the City Hall, and soon enough I was lost in the maze of corridors and passageways, but my guide seemed to know where he was going as he led me down a long passageway which ended in two thick oak doors. When we arrived at these doors, he steered me to the side of the passage and pushed me against the wall. 

"Stay here. I shall be back in a moment." Much and all as I wanted to walk away, my feelings for Wardens unchanged by his behaviour, I knew that it was probably not a good idea, plus the fact that I actually had no idea how to get out of the place anyway. 

So I did as he said, and leaned back against the wall, massaging my temples softly. My head was aching dully, not a harsh pain but just enough to be annoying and distract me. I could feel it now, like a tug on my mind. I was Chosen. It all seemed a bit unreal, that after all these years of wondering whether I would be or wouldn't be, it was over that quickly, and I was. 

I wondered how Amory had done, if he had shared in my luck. I hoped he had, but I got this feeling that somehow, he hadn't. Before I could puzzle over it anymore, the door farthest away from me swung open and my unnamed Warden friend stuck his head back out. 

"You may enter. They are ready for you." I was about to ask who 'they' were as I stepped forwards, but my tongue froze as I entered the room and my gaze landed on two men I had hoped I would never see again. 

Standing in the middle of the room with a small fire crackling in the hearth behind him was a taller man who's brown hair was streaked with the odd strand of silver, but despite this evidence of age his pale grey eyes still held a fair wage of youth. The blue uniform he wore identified him as a Warden while the four golden knots upon his shoulder... Here I froze, staring at this man with a mixture of fear and horror. For golden knots named this man, this murderer, as the High Master of the Wardens, the commander of every single other Warden in the country. 

I swallowed roughly as my gaze flickered between him and the man behind him, a black haired man with brown eyes and a seemingly ever present smirk. Compared to the impassive expressions of his companions, it seemed out of place. I supposed I should be grateful for the fact that there were only three white knots upon his shoulders, naming him a Grand Warden, the third highest rank. 

My gaze snapped back to the taller of the two when he spoke, his voice as oily smooth as I remembered it. "Anari tells me you have an exceptionally strong link to the Shard." It was a statement, yet it was posed as a question. 

I frowned for a moment, searching his face as I found it hard to believe he had forgotten what he and the man beside him had done. "I...suppose." My voice was as wary as I was, and the High Master seemed to sense it as he clasped his hand before him. 

"What is your name, young one?" I resisted the urge to growl, just barely, at his patronising tone. I couldn't believe it, he really didn't remember me? Didn't remember what he had done to my family. 

I squared my shoulders and stood straighter, channeling all my anger and resentment into the simple two words I was about to speak. "Ekaitz Daijon."

I felt a small burst of satisfaction as I saw surprise flit over his face, just fleetingly, and he half turned to the man beside him with a stunned look. The other didn't say a word, simply staring at me like an angry Wolf Hound. 

After a few moments, the brunette seemed to collect his bearings as he spoke. "I...see."

His tone made me nervous, it was a combination of a man who was desperately trying to cover his tracks and a man who wanted something very badly. 

"Well, Ekaitz, as I said before, you have a very strong link to the Shard, and as such you will require better training than most of my Master Wardens can supply. As such, I offer you the position as my own Apprentice."

I gaped at him like a fish out of water, my mouth working to form sounds that wouldn't come as rage bubbled up inside of me. I don't know what possessed me, but with a speed I didn't even realise I had I shot forwards, slamming into the brunette and sending him stumbling as my hand left an imprint in his cheek. 

Faster than I could blink, a sword appeared in front of my chest, the black haired man holding its pommel and glaring at me darkly. I glared straight back as behind him the target of my wrath righted himself, a hand to his jaw. 

"Stand down, Killian." The look in his eyes said that that was the last thing he wanted to do, but eventually Killian gave me a final glower and dropped the sword back to his side, though his eyes remained fixed on me as my own gaze settled on him, on Athien Sander, High Master of the Wardens. 

"How dare you ask me that, you monster." I spat, my words coloured rich by the anger and grief I had suffered the past six years because of these two men. "Do you think I've forgotten what you did, six years ago? Do you think I've forgotten that you murdered my mother in cold blood?"

Halfway across the room, Anari gasped, his gaze flying to Athien in shock. "Master, is this true?"

Athien sighed as he stood behind Killian, his face showing an array of emotions I was too angry to put my finger on. "It is, and it isn't. I did not kill your mother, child."

I growled then, an animalistic sound I wasn't even aware of. "No. Your right. You just let him do it for you!" I pointed an accusing finger at Killian, who glowered at me with fire in his eyes. "I don't care what your excuse is, nothing you say will change the fact that you killed a defenceless woman. I won't join your cursed order, not now nor ever."

Athien regarded me coldly for several moments, as I stood where Killian had stopped me and trembled with the power of my untempered emotions. After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke, his tone lacking of any emotion. "So be it. Ekaitz, I name you Unchosen and forbid you to learn of the Shard." He turned his back and walked towards the dying fire in the hearth. "Get him out of my sight."

It felt like someone had just punched me in the gut, and I was too stunned to move as Killian grabbed my shoulder and roughly pulled me to the other side of the room with strength I wouldn't have thought he had. He yanked open the wooden doors and all but threw me out, slamming them shut behind me with a long echo of finality. 

I stared at those doors in horror as I tried to comprehend all that had just taken place, and what my own Fate would be in only a few weeks. 

If a Chosen was not trained in how to use their link, it would kill them. I was going to die. 

3: Chapter 3 - The Forger

Zyler...

It had been three days since the Choosing, and not a lot had changed for me. A few extra weapon orders had come into the forge, but nothing major. Mikael and I managed just fine. Looking back, I should have asked more questions about those orders, but hey, I was nineteen, homeless, and not likely to ever rise above being a Forgemaster, I wasn't complaining. 

See, I'm a half-blood, and people didn't general take to well to my kind in Kainon, they probably considered us a threat. But I had been raised there and I knew about the Choosings, the Chosen, the Wardens. I had my hands stuck on most of the pies. And because of that, I also knew that, as a half-blood, I would never be permitted to even try a connection with the Shard Kainon prized so much. They were funny that way. 

The heat from the forge stung my eyes as I worked, steam and sweat making my short black hair stick to my forehead.  The metal under my hands sung as the hammer beat into it, flattening out the ugly lump that had previously sat near the cross piece. It was nothing special to look at, just a replacement sword for the training barrack, number twenty one of the sixty they had requested to have by tomorrow. 

It was a good thing, I supposed, that I had nothing better to do. Despite the fact that I regularly told myself I liked the job, I knew I could do better if the Kainonian people weren't so biased about half-bloods. Yes, my mother had been from Raimus, but they were the most peaceful of all the nations! Well, if one didn't count Xlan that was. 

With a sigh, I focused back on the job at hand, setting aside my hammer and tucking my hand into the thick leather glove laying on the table beside me. Protected, I carefully picked up the new sword and carried it to the large water barrel set in the centre of the forge, offering my co-worker, Mikael, a nod as he looked up during a pause in his own work. Once I had twisted the blade several times inside the barrel, I carefully extracted it and held it aloft to examine it. 

Satisfied with my work, I carried the newly completed weapon to the large crate set up in the corner, placing it with the other twenty blades I had completed this morning and the evening before. On the other side of the room, Mikael was beating out a custom order from some noble lord or another, a gift to a Chosen child no doubt. 

Glancing out the window of the forge, a fixture that had long ago lost its panes, I squinted up at the skyline and nodded slightly to myself as I began to untie the straps on my leather apron. "Mikael." The hammering across the room continued unabated and I rolled my eyes. "Mikael!"

The brunette jumped, narrowly missing his fingers with the large hammer he wielded. "For the love of- what?" I couldn't help a smile as he let out a puff of air and examined his fingers worriedly. "I'm heading out. If Horace asks after me, tell him I'm off to meet a customer."

Mikael nodded and waved his hammer at me off-handedly, muttering under his breath as he returned to his work with a huff. I smiled and shook my head, dumping my apron and gloves on my work bench before I ducked around the heavy wood fixture and threw back the simple cloth door to my short half hour of freedom. 

Many of the people I passed gave me odd looks, no doubt questioning my attire. Whether it was because my natural temperature had been affected by the amount of time I spent in the forge, or just a part of me, I had never really found the cold of Kainon that much of a bother, hence my simple clothing choice of a sleeveless leather vest and loose trousers, plus the light leather gloves any good Forger should wear. 

As I traveled into the more posh part of the city, I passed a large, oakenstone manor, fronted by a large courtyard and a sparring ring. I recognised the clash of steel immediately, and though a spar would hardly be anything new for me, I found myself sidling up to the main gate of the courtyard and leaning against one of the large trees to watch. 

The two looked to be a similar age to me, one probably only eighteen, the other twenty, maybe. They moved in a flurry of activity I found hard to follow, but I could still tell what they were doing. A Forger who didn't know how to use his weapons was not a Forger who stayed in business. As I watched, something ticked as off to me. The taller of the two, a brunette, seemed a bit overzealous, his strikes and parries looked to be more fuelled by negative emotions, rather than the competitiveness one would usual see in a friendly spar. 

The younger, blond, man seemed to be acting more calmly, judging each blow and deflection with perfect precision. Watching his movements, a tiny suspicion took hold in my mind that maybe, this was one of the Chosen. But, than I realised that if it was, indeed, one of them, he would not be sparring with a man who was clearly not blessed with the abilities of the Shard. The Wardens were rumoured to be very strict about things like that. 

Of a sudden, as I watched, the blond man moved like a flash, ducking underneath his opponent's arm and kicking the blade from his hand. As the steel skittered across the arena, the brunette turned a look that, even from that distance, held fury, on the other. 

"Enough, Amory!" Their voices carried to me across the courtyard and, despite the nagging feeling that I was eavesdropping and had another place to be, I stayed, watching as this 'Amory' fellow retrieved his sword and waved it in the other's direction. 

"Do not tell me when it is enough, Ekaitz! It is well known to me that your judgement is flawed!" 

The blond shied back as the blade skimmed close to his chest, inches away from a nasty strike. His own sword flew up just in time to catch another blow and he jumped back a few feet to escape the wrath of Amory's attacks. 

"See some sense, man! How could you expect me to take that offer after what they did? Do you not remember how it effected father?" His tone was pleading, and as I, guiltily but too curious to leave, watched, the other seemed to falter slightly. 

"That's not the point! I've wanted this my entire life, but I wasn't Chosen, not like you. And then you threw away your only chance!" Ekaitz dropped his guard completely, letting the sword tip touch the ground as he bowed his head. 

"I know you don't approve, just..." He faltered, hands fisting and loosening by his side. "Just don't tell father, he doesn't need to know."

Amory made a spluttering sound and threw his sword to the ground with a clatter. I frowned, thinking how much that would affect the balance of the blade. "Of course not, it's not like you'll die or anything." 

Sarcasm practically dropped off the words, and the blond looked like he wanted to protest before Amory turned on his heel and stalked out of the arena, heading towards the side entrance of the large manor house. Ekaitz sheathed his sword and stood, looking undecided, for a  few moments before he turned towards the gateway. 

And, it turned out, me. His eyes locked on mine a second before I realised I should probably run. I moved to do just that but, faster than I had thought him capable of, he was across the courtyard with a hand on my arm. 

I jumped, only just choking down a yelp as a grip like the forge's best vice closed around my wrist. "Who are you?"

His voice was low, and despite his short stature, probably five inches less than me, his expression left me feeling more than happy to answer with the truth. "Just a Forger, admiring some good swordplay."

His expression didn't change, his eyes searching mine as I swallowed, before a frown found my forehead. I'll admit I was slow to notice, but when I looked back into the impassive gaze, I found light blue orbs staring into my own. 

"I see." 

His tone did little to make me believe him and I bit my lip as he slowly released my arm. After a moment, a strange expression came over his face, as if he had just seen someone eat a lemon, before it was followed by a thoughtful expression. "Wait, what is your name?"

I frowned, sure my confusion was evident as I tried to figure this guy out. One second he looked like he was trying to kill me with his eyes, the next he wanted my name. And than it dawned on me: this was my customer. 

"Uh, Zyler. A Daijon, I'm guessing?" He nodded, a small expression of relief crossing his face before he jerked his head back, towards the manor. "Yes. As you probably heard when you were eavesdropping," he gave me a dirty look as we started walking towards the manor, "My name's Ekaitz."

I shrugged unrepentantly at the accusation and folded my arms over my chest. It was true I had been spying on them, though not intentionally; I had only come to watch the swordsmanship, he knew and I wasn't going to lie about it. In fact, I wanted to ask what him and the other man, Amory, had been fighting about, but when I thought about his fighting skills and the speed with which he had caught me trying to run, I decided against it. 

Instead, I decided to keep it professional. "So, what's the order?"

He shrugged, fiddling with the strings on the sleeve of his leather coat. "I don't know. It's for my father, not me." 

I whistled lowly, making him send me an odd look to which I responded with a small grin. "Not every day we get an order from a King's Advisor." 

He frowned at that, and I got the feeling he was considering possible ways to kill me as he spoke, his tone changing from indifference to wariness. "How did you know that? You're only-" he cut himself off with a small noise in the back of his throat. 

"A Forger?" I supplied helpfully, smiling when he gave me a surprised look. "Relax, I'd rather you call me that than some of the other things I've been referred to as." 

Ekaitz arched an eyebrow ever so slightly, as if in question, but I kept my thoughts to myself until he did ask. "Alright, but how did you know about my father?"

I smiled, shrugging loosely as we arrive at the main doorway. "I listen, observe. I've seen some things you wouldn't believe." 

He snorted, though whether it was a snort of disbelief or disagreement I couldn't tell. "I'm sure you have." He paused for a moment before levelling me with a curious look. "So tell me, Zyler, how is it that a simple Forger is so at ease with a Noble's son?"

I gave a half shrug, swiping a strand of still damp hair off my forehead. "I don't believe our ranks should define our behaviour towards each other, nor make us feel superior or inferior to others." I said honestly, the words were a verbal version of something I had always believed in. 

Ekaitz nodded, as though to say 'fair point', but before he could speak an answer in words, he reached out and pushed open the large wooden door in front of us. I nodded my thanks as he held it open and I walked into the main entrance of the Daijon manor. 

Now, I'd been in large, noble houses before, usually ones full of grandeur and a feeling of, well, falseness. But this manor, even just the main hall, was stunning in its simplicity and the feeling of homeliness. The area was mostly empty, with a worn looking rug stretched across the floor and a couple of homely paintings set high on the wall. A small table sat against the wall, near a stairwell leading up, with a small vase of green and yellow four-bell-clovers. 

Ekaitz regarded me with a bemused expression as I turned a full circle to get a good look at the area. The walls and floor were smooth, polished oakwood, the stairs leading to the second story similar. I smiled slightly and breathed in the scent of cleanliness one did not get in the hot forges. 

"Wait here. I'll go find father." The way he said it made me smile, the tone of someone looking for an errant child. It stirred up thoughts I had ignored for a long time, thoughts of what a real family was actually like. 

And than my mind randomly reminded me of his eyes, eyes of a pale blue. Kainon people were known for many things, paranoia and arrogance not least among them, but blue eyes were unheard of in a true Kainonian born child. Frowning, I turned to watch him ascend the stairwell and disappear from sight. My mind went to the argument I had witnessed, and my own talk with the blond. 

"Who are you really, Ekaitz Daijon? Are you like me? Are you even of Kainon?"

As expected, no voice replied. 

*************************************

As it turned out, the order was for the prince. They tried to avoid it, but Farris slipped and uttered the first two syllables before Ekaitz coughed pointedly and elbowed his father none too gently in the ribs. 

I smiled as Farris let out a grunt and promptly changed 'Alistair' to 'my friend'. I simply pretended I hadn't heard and continued to scratch down the loose description he had given  me. 

"Now, make sure you tell that Horace I want his finest work this time." I paused halfway through a word, tapping the quill I had borrowed against the dirty sheet of paper I had fished out of my vest.

"Uh, Horace broke his arm, sir. He hasn't been in the forge for three weeks." Farris paused and gave me an odd look. "Oh. I see." 

The expression on his face was one I had seen many times, the look of a man summing someone up. I felt a surge of annoyance bubble up in me, and before he could speak I beat him to it. 

"Not to worry, though, sir." I said, stressing the 'sir'. "I'll give this order to his best apprentice. Done some mighty fine work, he has."

Farris seemed to consider that for a moment before he nodded. "Alright. But I need it done by the end of the week."

Add that to the thirty nine swords for the training barracks. I thought bitterly. "Of course." I said simply, proffering the quill I had used. 

Farris took the quill and I moved towards the door, bowing slightly as my gaze flickered between the Advisor and Ekaitz, standing just behind him. 

"My lords."

The older nodded his thanks and I turned, heaving open the large door and stepping back into the fresh air, but only after I had paused to see just how thick the wood really was. 

"That is a big door."

By the time I got back to the forge, I had been gone for more than an hour, meaning that as soon as I stepped into the heat of my home I was assaulted with a furious glare from Mikael as he extracted a half-forged sword from the furnace. 

"And where have you been?" His tone was aggressive, a feature I had come to associate with my co-worker, and I promptly waved the sheet of paper with Farris' instructions in his direction. 

"Getting an order from a lord." Mikael  looked like he wanted to argue, but knew that Horace had an extremely strict rule when it came to taking orders from Nobility. You took as much time as was needed to satisfy them and think about giving more of their work orders to you. 

Smiling as my fellow forger moved back to his work bench, I folded up the parchment from the Daijon's and slipped it into my vest before I retrieved my leather apron and reorganised my tools. 

"Aye, Mikael, want to know something?" His only answer was a grunt, and I smiled as I readied my bench. 

"There's no rest for the wicked."

4: Chapter 4 - The Beginning Of My End

 

Ekaitz...

"Focus, Kai!"

I growled as my blade was sent skittering across the training yard yet again, pulling my hand back to inspect it for a scrape as I sent a glare in my sparring partner's direction and stalked across the yard to retrieve my blade. 

It was all very well and good for Darik to tell me to focus, he didn't have a thousand whispering voices screaming silently in the back of his head. Sighing, I picked up my blade and inspected it for damage before turning back towards my partner, who was smiling at me smugly. 

I took a deep breath and held my sword across my chest, trying to suppress the whispers that had been haunting me for the entirety of the morning. Surprisingly, they receded slightly and I allowed a small smile to grace my lips. "Come and get me."

Darik's expression soured slightly before he readied his own blade and moved forwards towards me. The clash of our blades reverberated through my head as his sword moved in a series of quick strikes, which I moved with practiced movements to block. 

With my mind cleared slightly for the first time all day, I parried his blows before stepping forwards and thrusting my shoulder into him, my hand twisting his wrist to send his own sword to the floor. 

I returned his glare with an easy smile of my own, feeling better than I had all morning without the constant chatter in the back of my mind to create a throbbing headache. I was slightly surprised that I had actually lasted this long, it had been five days since the Choosing and I was still feeling relatively alright. 

As if in response to that very thought, when I bent down to retrieve Darik's blade, I felt a surge of warmth shoot through my arm and peter out at my fingertips. I felt a gasp leave my lips as I stared down at the ground where Te sword had been, my brain trying to process what, exactly, had just happened. Behind me, I heard Darik let out an equally startled sound. 

Where the shortsword had lain, was a pile of dust. 

Slowly, I turned my eyes back to the brunette, his own expression mirroring my own. "What..." He trailed off and I had to admit I agreed with the question. I would dearly like to know what had just happened. 

"What are you?" His voice was verging on panic, and I felt my own fear rising as I glanced between what had been his sword and him himself. "I-I don't know. I didn't-" 

He cut me off as he took a few steps back, regarding me as if I had grown a couple of extra heads. Before I could even try and explain, and really what was I going to explain anyway, even I didn't know what had happened, he turned and was gone, moving faster than I had ever seen him go before. 

I swallowed harshly and glanced back at the sword, or what was left of it. I supposed that this was it, this was the start of my demise. Sooner or later, I would be consumed by this very same thing, turned into nothing more than a pile of dust. Surprisingly, I could swallow that. What I couldn't handle was that I might do this to someone else. 

I spent the rest of the day in in misery, Amory had long since stopped talking to me and father had left early that morning, leaving me to wallow in my own fears and regret my actions on the day of the Choosing. 

I tried my best not to touch anything, but three hours after my evaporation of the sword, I had managed to destroy a plate and two mugs. I was thankful that I only seemed to be affecting smaller objects, as I had been able to shut and lock the door of my bedroom without demolishing it. 

I paced my room for what felt like hours, trying to decide what in the Whiles I was going to do or how I was going to explain things to Farris. I had just reached a conclusion when I heard it, a long, low scream.

I froze, stopping mid-stride as I tried to tell myself it had just been my imagination. That didn't work so well when a loud thump followed a few moments later and heavy footsteps began to ascend towards my room. I don't know what it was, but something told me that I should afraid and that I should start running. 

I remained frozen for a long moment, trying to calm my breathing as my heart pounded painfully in my chest, only to attempt and leap out of my throat when a rattle shook my door and a low curse drifted through the wood. 

I moved instantly, grabbing the chair from under my desk and ramming it against the door. Whoever was on the other side heard my efforts, as I heard a deep, gruff voice bellow for assistance. 

Panicking, I turned and shoved my heavy desk out of the way with strength I hadn't realised I had, flinging open the window behind it as my own thoughts mixed with the screams of the voices in my head. 

A heavy boom threatened to open my door and I pushed aside any rational thought that it was a whole two stories down from my window, swinging my legs over the sill at the same moment as my door buckled and I got a look at the people who had invaded my home. 

They were both tall, having to duck to get under the doorway, with bushy ginger hair and greedy, murderous eyes a dark shade of cobalt. They were both dressed in loose, yet practical clothing and a collection of weapons decorated their torsos. They both looked like they could kill. 

I stared at them for a moment, and they stared back before the one in front took a step towards me and growled low in his throat. He spat out a collection of words I couldn't understand and, before I could even think about the drop, I propelled myself forwards and fell into the wide expanse of space. 

*************************************

When I woke, I could see little. There was something soft and furry underneath me, I could feel it tickling the back of my neck as my hair was swept out to the side. It took a little while for my eyes to adjust to the light, and when they did I cast them around my surrounding curiously. 

There wasn't much to see, it appeared I was in a small, back room of some building. Across from me a wide bench took up the majority of the floor space, the three shelves underneath it overflowing with trinkets and half forged weapons. 

A frown formed on my forehead as I raised a hand to rub at my aching temples and found, where there should have been cloth, the bare tan skin of my arm. 

Now seriously confused, I moved to sit up, only to be rewarded with a stabbing pain in my shoulder that had me flipping back down, gasping like a fish out of water. 

The darkness of the room was broken, suddenly, as the rustle of cloth met my ears and I turned my hazy gaze towards the noise. The rough outline of a person met my eyes and I leaned back warily as it came to a stop at my feet. 

"You awake?"

It took me longer than I would have liked, but eventually I placed the rusty, grating voice and frowned as my confusion heightened. "Zyler?"

I could almost see the smile on his voice as he moved to sit on a stool I hadn't even noticed by my head. "You remembered my name, I'm surprised."

I snorted before attempting to sit up again. "What am I doing here?" After a second I frowned deeper. "And where is here?"

Zyler chuckled, though his tone was a heavy. "This is my room behind the forge. And as for what you're doing here, well..." He trailed off and I could almost feel the curiosity in his gaze as he turned his eyes on me. 

And then it all hit me. The memories of that morning, of the sword, the things I had destroyed. The fear, the panic. And those men. I felt a spike of fear race through me and sat up stiffly, ignoring the way my shoulder burned. The last thing I remembered was jumping out that window, in a vain hope of escaping from their obvious desire to kill. 

"Hey, you with me?" Zyler's voice cut through the haze of panic that had settled over me and I whipped my head around to meet his eyes, taking in the worried look reflected in his dark eyes. 

"Y-yes." I frowned at my own attempt at sounding confident, clearing my throat in a hopeless attempt to clear the lump that had lodge itself there. "How...how did I get here?"

Zyler shrugged and leaned back on his stool, folding his toned arms over his chest as I tried to regulate my breathing, the smell of heat, sweat and hot steel mixing in my nose and making me snort slightly. 

"Well, I finished that order your father gave me a couple of hours ago and decided I'd deliver it straight away, seeing how he seemed so desperate to have it. But, when I got to your manor I heard this scream and so I went in the side door, thinking something must have happened in the kitchen. When I got there..." He lowered his gaze to the floor, his eyes telling me everything I needed to know and I swallowed as the lump in my throat made it hard to breath. 

"After, after that I heard something shatter upstairs, so I went around the outside just in time to see you make your mad leap out the window." He levelled me with an odd expression and I managed a small smile. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

He snorted drily. "Sure it did. Your just lucky I was there to drag your sorry hide back here."

We settled into silence for a moment, as I marvelled the fact that this man, who I had only met once, had been willing to do this much for me. Zyler began to bounce his knee as he sat and I forced myself back to the present, force myself not to think about what had happened to the people I had called friends since I was a child. 

I drew in a deep breath before I abruptly swung my legs over the side of what I assumed was Zyler's bed and set my feet on the floor. The Forger started and reached out a hand to push me back. "Woah. What are you doing?"

I grimaced as my shoulder burned, absently wondering what I'd done to it, but batted his hand away. "I need to go back. My father and my brother don't know what's happened and," I paused, taking another breath to steady myself. "And I need to know what happened."

Zyler shook his head. "You're a fool. I saw those men that were after you. You'd have to be suicidal to go back there."

I averted my gaze, staring firmly at one of the half made weapons on te bench across the room. It didn't matter, really. I was going to die anyway, and someone needed to earn my family. I didn't speak these thoughts out loud, simply clenching my hands in my lap as I spoke. "I will need my shirt."

The Forger stared at me, and for a short moment I thought he was going to call me crazy again, but then he stood and let out a deep huff. "You're a damn fool." Was all he said as he retrieved a ball of crumpled white fabric and tossed it at me. I caught it awkwardly with my left hand and shook out my shirt before shoving my arm through it and pulling it over my head. 

Zyler regarded me like an idiot for a little while before he nodded slightly to himself, in a manner that worried me, and strode out of the back room. I watched him leave curiously before I shook my head and pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in my head and shoulder. 

Before I could get more than a few feet towards the door, the Forger reappeared, toting a steel broadsword such as I normally used under his arm. He held it out to me and, after giving him a wary look and receiving an eager nod in return, I took it, testing the weight and trying it in both hands. 

"Well balanced," I reached out a hand and ran my finger along the edge of the blade, "Sharp too."

Zyler huffed, as if I had personally offended him. "Of course. What kind of a Forger makes a blunt blade. Here." I accepted the proffered sheath and slid the weapon into its home before levelling him with a curious look that he immediately understood. 

"Well, I figure if I can't stop you from going back I might as well kit you out properly."

I arched an eyebrow but didn't respond as he turned and walked back out of the room, gesturing for me to follow. As soon as I stepped past the cloth doorway, I was hit with the heat and steam of the Forge. Only one of the three work benches looked like it had been used at all today and I frowned. Before I could ask about it, however, my attention was grabbed by Zyler, strapping a sheath to his own waist across the room.

"What are you doing?" My tone was more hostile than I had intended, but the Forger simply shrugged. "Helping. I told you I saw those guys hunting you, and they looked dangerous."

I frowned. "You can fight?" Zyler actually laughed then, a deep throaty sound. "Didn't I tell you the other day? I Forger who can't wield the weapons he creates doesn't stay in business very long."

I huffed but accepted his words, looking around the forge with a little curiosity that barely tempered my burning need to warn Farris and Amory. As Zyler walked across the forge and gestured at the cloth door out of the forge, a thought struck me and I sent him a curious glance as I walked out into the fresh air. 

"Why are you so keen to help me?" His expression was odd, a slightly sad look tempered by a little happiness. "Well, I guess because you're the first person who hasn't judged me."

I frowned. "Why would I judge you? Because you're a Forger?" I was confused by his words, I saw no reason for me to be judgemental just because of his lower rank. In my mind Forgers earned as much respect as some of the Noble houses. 

Zyler only chuckled, a dry sound. "Well, that too." He said before turning to look me full in the eye and for the first time I got a good look at his eyes, eyes a deep amethyst colour. "I'm a half-blood."

I was silent for a while, surprised and slightly shocked. I didn't even know Kainon allowed half-bloods to enter the country, let along work there. Zyler seemed content to let the silence stretch, so I didn't voice my thoughts and soon enough they turned back to my own worries. 

As we neared the manor, something in the back of my mind screamed at me that I shouldn't be here, that something was wrong, but I brushed it aside and fastened my pace slightly. 

By the time we arrived at my home, it was too late. 

The air was hot and humid, a condition never natural in Kainon, and the knot of dread in my stomach twisted painfully as we rounded the corner of the street and got the first glimpse of the Daijon manor. 

It was engulfed in flames. 

The red tongues of heat licked up the side of the house, shattering a window as I froze in my tracks and stared in horror. A small crowd had gathered at the gates and I recognised Darik at the back of the group. Panic flared in my chest as the thought that Farris or Amory might have been inside and I lurched forwards, almost breaking into a run until a hand closed on my shoulder and I was wrenched back. 

"No, Ekaitz! It won't do any good!" I spun and snarled at Zyler, trying to pry his grip from my shoulder by his hand was like a vice, his muscles arm as hard as iron against my twisting and squirming. I cursed my smaller stature as he easily pulled me back before I let out a desperate sound and threw met hand out. 

The pulse of energy was entirely unexpected, and it startled me as much as Zyler, only, it didn't send me stumbling back to land flat on my rear. I took a few halting steps away from the Forger as he stared at me in shock, cradling my hand against my chest. 

"I-I'm sorry! I just..." I shook my head desperately as a boom crash exploded from the manor and I was torn between helping Zyler to his feet and sprinting for my home. 

In the end, I didn't have to decide. 

I saw Zyler's eyes widen in surprise a second before a hand snaked around my throat and pulled me backwards, stealing the air from my lungs and causing me to fall flat on my back. My head hit the ground when I fell and stars danced in front of my eyes, my previous headache flaring angrily as I stared up into the ginger, bearded face of my earlier attacked. 

Panic seized me and I yelped before driving my foot upward into the giant's leg. He stumbled slightly and I rolled to the side, clambering back to my feet and darting around him to haul Zyler back to his feet. "Run!"

He shouted the word at the same time as my attacker let out an angered stream of words I couldn't understand, but I didn't stay to find out what they meant as we both launched into a sprint and fled. Zyler was the faster runner, both from his added height and his strength, so he was slightly ahead of me when we dodged down a narrow side alley. 

I glanced back to see if we were still being followed, just in time to see the giant, standing in the centre of the alley with a pipe to his lips. Then, I felt a sharp stinging sensation in my neck and my legs immediately felt like led, my breath rasping in my chest as my vision swam and I stumbled. 

I pressed a hand to the wall beside me, but it was fruitless and Zyler's panicked shouts rang emptily in my ears as my vision whited and for the second time that day, I fell.