Journey to Nordia: Introduction

Word Count: 978

”If you change your mind, I'll be in the inn” said Slagor to skeptical Denara. She however didn't believe him a word. She thought that he was some kind of scam. She have never seen soldier nor wizard. Not in her village. Yet Slagor knew, something she didn't.

Next morning screaming woke her up. She looked through the window and saw men in shining armor holding a boy on his shoulder. His mother was standing right next to the crying boy, while another soldier held her. Denara, 29 years old widow knew, what was going on.

Slagor wasn't scam, he was right.

Most of the warriors have been killed in a war already. Now the boys were asked to start training and men to fight in the war. Even in outlying villages like the one, Denara was living in.

Most of them died, now they need more.... My son is not going to.

“Tankor!” she shouted, not loudly enough to be heard from outside. “Tankor!?” he didn't respond. She went straight to his bed. There he was sleeping.
“Tankor!!” she poked him several times “Wake up! Now!”
“I am sleeping, for god's sake.” he put his head under the blanket.
“Listen to me, now!”she started to hit him “If you don't get up, soldiers will take you with them.”
Loud knocking on the door was heard. Now, Tankor sit up.
“What?” he asked while they knocked at the door again.
“Open!” manly voice was shouting.
“Listen to me, you've got few seconds, or you are dead on the battlefield.”
“Oh, gods” he started to cry. “No, no, no.”
“If you don't open we break doors!” soldier shouted.
“Go to the cesspool and hide there.” she said to Tankor.
“I can't... I can't” he was disgusted by the thought.
“Go! If I can't make it, wait till soldiers are away and meet Slagor in the inn?” she was speaking fast.
“What?” Tankor didn't understand at all.
Huge break was heard. Guards broke into the house.
“Fast! Let's go through the window.” she insisted as soldiers was getting closer. Denara and Tankor could hear them clamping and their armor jingling.

Soldiers searched the whole house, but found no one there. They looked everywhere. Every wardrobe, every barrel was checked. After that, they went to the garden behind the house. They found Denara in the outbuilding next to her house. She was looking for something.

“You” one of soldiers approached Denara confidently.
“Soldier please, I have a problem” she replied with red eyes. She poke her eyes and let her tears out.
“No time for that, we are taking him.”
“What?” she stayed surprised.
“Where is your son? Time to serve his king.” said other soldier.
“I don't know” she cried even more “but,” she stopped crying “he is strong, he would serve the king well, he would be great soldier.”

Tankor heard this from the cesspool, plunged in the bunch of excrements and was astonished. He didn't understand why would his mother say something like that. He wasn't even strong. He was that kid that was always picked on, bullied even by younger boys, even by some girls. He never knew to defend himself. He didn't understand how could he be that great soldiers.

“Where is he?” soldier insisted while other were checking garden and old outbuildings.
“He went to the..” she cried hysterically “to the- yesterday- he went” she was red and she was sweating a lot. Soldier slapped her.
“Where is he? Not telling me is crime worth immediate execution.” soldier was getting angry. She could tell, because his face was also turning red. After this sentence her crying subsided. She looked soldier straight into the eyes and said:
“Listen please, he is lost, but please go find him, he will be great warrior, he is the strongest boy in village. He went to the woods yesterday and didn't come back.” now she started crying again.
“I don't trust you, crazy” soldier said. Denara exhausted by cry felt on the ground. Her clothes got dirty “We'll find him. And when we'll find him, you will be executed” after this, he turned to other soldiers and told them:
“Search whole property, even an outhouse,”now Denara knew, this was bad, but now, she couldn't break this little scene. “he couldn't get anywhere, there are troops in whole village, around whole this property. You,” pointed at one of the soldiers “check the whole house again. And don't forget, we've got a crystal for every single boy we find”. Meanwhile one of the soldiers were already in the outhouse, looking down the hole, with stinking vapor coming right into his nose and eyes. Tankor was dead scared. He couldn't even move, even breathe. For him, this was the only thing that held him from crying. He would cry loud, but he couldn't. He was paralyzed by his fear. The soldier looked first at the right side of the hole. Tankor stood at left. Soldier looked at left, looking right on the Tankor. But the outhouse had no windows so it was darker than well. The soldier disgusted by the smell, not expecting to find boy there soon turned and went away, to search other part of property. Denara wanted to laugh. Her body was excited but she kept herself from anything else as a cry. After a while soldier came.
“We haven't find your son” he looked at her laying in mud. She cried.
“He's in woods- He's strong- strong”she cried hysterically ”Find him, please”.
“Now you can proceed in your work.” soldier turned and left, saying to his colleague “Poor crazy widow”.