The Land of The Dead Hero

Something happened in Barem that completely changed my understanding of this world. My chin was hitting Canalyse's head as she carried me to the village. I felt an ominous feeling at the back of my head. A premonition, so to speak. It was the same feeling you feel when someone close to you dies, but no one has yet told you. Canalyse felt it too. She was strangely quiet, and to my surprise, she had taken a rather clever shortcut, detaching herself from the main road. "Wait, where are w-" I shouted, when she started running through the muddy field, completely ruining her skirt. The bells tolled, but what exactly did that signal? I presumed the Caravan or "market", but surely that couldn't be it. Maybe it was the sound of the bell? I know that bells have multiple specific sounds and types, although I wasn't familiar with this one. I used to date a guy who was a big history geek, and he took me to an exposition about that once. 

When we crossed a rather primitive house and entered the village, the scene before us was difficult to get a hold of. What I immediately noticed was my sister, Aer, and my family, Elias and Anasa, who were seemingly at the center of the square, discussing something with the mayor and what appeared to be a priest. The mayor was dressed in blue, pompous clothing, while the priest wore a long white robe, quite similar to the ones I had seen before. Aer appeared deadbeat, and she looked horrible, with a large bruise on her face.

Did Anasa or my father hit her? What the fuck?

Well, there definitely was some sort of a fight. There was a fat, green-haired boy seated on the outside of the inn, with his parents cleaning his face with cold water. He was swollen and seemingly beaten, as if he had been run over by a car. I pitied the boy. But it wasn't merely a fight between the children that caught my eye. No, this intense feeling of tension was coming from something else. Something more ominous, more...Unnatural, if that makes sense. Like a calling of sorts. I could imagine a similar sensation being related to the fragment everyone spoke about before.

And then I saw it, and Canalyse saw it too.

That boy at the bottom of the stairs to the Church, who looked suspiciously similar to Lady Bluefrog. If I were to guess, I could put two and two together and presume that was Xert, her son. He was just there, seemingly captivated by what was in his hand, as his small fingers were holding a glowing purple shape. Arailt recognized it immediately. It was the fragment. He had it.

He...He has it?

"Xert! Where did you get it?" 

Canalyse was so furious, it caught me off guard. She started running to him, nearly making me fall off her back. A small, blue-haired boy lifted his face with a surprised stare when he was called to, and only I said, "I found a rocky!" with a smile on his face. It was radiating. It looked almost as if it were radioactive. Was it even safe in the hands of someone like him? I knew nothing about the fragments, but I certainly wouldn't just keep something like that in the hands of a baby that young.

"Give to me! How come YOU have it?" Her tone wasn't just concerned for his safety, however. There was apparent and utter jealousy and bitterness. But not for herself, no, but clearly for me. She wanted it for me, but instead, this Xert boy got it. Was that such a bad problem? Well, if she meant it as a tool to heal my injury, to make me walk and move my hands, I could understand her anger. However, towards a child, it seemed a bit much. Perhaps she was flustered from the conversation she had before, although there was a sense of familiarity between them. I realized that she probably served other members of the village - maybe she even helped deliver Xert, so naturally, she would treat him with a sense of directness.

Still, saying, "Give it to me! You shouldn't have it!" and trying to rip it away from his hands so angrily was probably not the correct course of action. "Arailt needs it more!" She was desperate, but so was Xert, who was relatively quick to cry when something he presumed to be his was clearly trying to be stolen. This caught the attention of the crowd: "Hey! What are you doing?" It was the priest, Savas, who was quick to judge, quickly followed by Elias's: "Canalyse, are you insane? Stop this right now!" in an authoritative tone.

It was only after the words of Elias that she stopped, leaving that blue-haired child before her crying and clenching his fragment close to his chest. I could hear the whispers almost immediately. The entire square, filled with people I was not familiar with, was suddenly abuzz with conversation.

"Well, of course SHE would do that..."

"They say where the Hero comes, the Grand Witch is sure to follow..."

"And that boy, isn't he the one also touched by the Witch?"

"Thieves..."

"Disgusting..."

"Who would rob a little baby?"

"I always knew there was something wrong about that girl..."

Elias was relatively quick to act. He grabbed the silent Canalyse by her shoulders and slapped her across the face. That slap was so loud and so painful, I felt it even for her. He then grabbed her hand and said something along the lines of: "First Aer, and now you! Why is my entire household made of idiots?" It appeared he was exchanging glares with the mayor. Well, he was experiencing financial difficulties, and if I understood everything correctly, he was attempting to influence the mayor in exchange for some sort of deal. Guess that was off now. I suspected Anasa to be happy about this situation. Still, no, she was just nervously holding Aer and cleaning her face. 

And once again, I felt like a spectator to the whole event. Powerless. Useless.

How dare he hit her? And Aer, for that matter.

My whole body was shaking. If I couldn't shake my arms and legs, my head would have to do. I understood why she tried to take it. I doubt a person as good as Canalyse would try to rob a baby. She probably thought it was dangerous for him, or she genuinely thought I needed it more. Was that enough to beat her and ridicule her? She didn't even hurt him!

"We are going HOME and we are going to have a long talk about all of this mess," Elias said in a tone that allowed for no doubt and cut deep like a knife. The way he was dragging everyone, so forcefully, made my skin crawl. Maybe he was the villain all along. I felt no warmth for him. What did he even care about? The watermill? His reputation? To me, it seemed like he was just trying to escape.

"That boy got his first fragment, and they ruined it for him..."

"Shouldn't she be jailed for something like that?"

"I pity that poor miller. Why does he employ a woman who hits children?"

"How can she be a midwife and treat children like that? Who else has she tried to rob?"

Canalyse was dead silent and seemingly just obediently went with whatever Elias said.

"My friend, the Hero, teaches us to be calm even in the toughest of battles," the priest Savas grabbed Elias's shoulder. Elias, filled with unusual anger, seemed as though he would snap at him too, but was caught off guard when he realized that the priest was trying to get his attention to something. And not just his. The whole crowd. As if he were the first swallow in the flock to head east.

The Caravan was here. The merchants on their carriages, carried by horses, were slowly arriving at the square. Everyone's faces immediately cheered up. But there was something even more important happening. Out of nowhere, but probably from that Caravan, a young woman with beautiful long red hair was sitting on one knee next to Xert. She was dressed in white armor with a white cape, with a large shield with two ravens on her back. A single-handed sword was attached next to her hip. She was holding her metal knight helmet in her hand. She seemed like the symbol of chastity, almost like a Joan of Arc of sorts. Her presence appeared graceful, calming. Her chat with Xert seemed to be lost amidst all the chaos.

"For that, calm rewards us with clarity our enemies are lacking," Savas finished his sentence and patted Elias on his back.

Xert nodded to something the red-haired knight said, and a large beam of purple light appeared. He then stood up and, on his small legs, came to the crowd with not just one, but two fragments in hand. He was handing one to Canalyse, who was seemingly flustered and confused about it.

"I made you another one, because I can make things," Xert said, pushing it into her hand.

"You can...You can make a fragment?..." Canalyse was so flustered she suddenly blinked heavily and took the other fragment into her hand, analysing it. "You...You actually can..." She moved away from Elias and the rest, holding the fragment. "Thank you...But how...This is unheard of..."

He made the fragment? Is that even possible? I was looking at the purple gem in her hand. Just how gifted was this boy? And what was it supposed to do? It nonetheless changed the behavior of everyone present, with people quickly becoming more relaxed and seemingly less on edge.

"Nothing in life is without its drawbacks. No strength exists without a weakness," said that red-haired knight and touched Xert's shoulder like he did a good thing, which made the boy very happy. "And as such, if you are looking for a real fragment, a copy of the hero's sword will hardly suffice...," she continued, the last words from her mouth somewhat stinging in the air. Canalyse swallowed nervously and continued to look at the fragment. 

"It...it doesn't have any power..." she murmured, but only I could hear it.

"Oh, it does, probably. It was made with the real deal, so it can do something...However, it likely has a significant weakness. Nothing in life is without balance," she said with a smile, and then turned to the crowd, spreading her arms.

"Everyone! Good people of Barem! I am Lady Rumabelle of the Hero's Church Inquisitors, a knight under the tutelage of Ser Baranos of the Council of Ten. I have come to this village in search of a great hero...I have expected a great voyage further east, but have nonetheless found him right here!" she said, pointing at Xert. "This boy is chosen by the sword, the greatest honor one can receive. Be cheerful for him! Be glad for him! Don't fill your hearts with envy and darkness...rejoice, for a great hero appeared!" she said, clapping her hands. 

"Arailt be praised!"

"I always knew that Xert boy could do it! He took a brick in his face and didn't even flinch!"

"Well, figures! His dad killed a dragon once!"

"Wait, seriously? That's awesome!"

"Do you know Xala? She lives just outside Barem. She's his mom, and she keeps looking for his sister so relentlessly...That family really deserves this!"

"The Hero always wins in the end!"

"Good times are coming!"

It would appear everyone was very happy for this Xert boy. And I suppose I was, too. However, I couldn't forget what he had done. What Elias did. She was just trying to help me, and he struck her. Are we going to ignore that? And he struck Aer. And I am still fucking disabled. I can't do anything. Not even the fragment wants me. Of course, it wants someone like this kid. He comes from a family of excellent people. While my parents are despicable. A miller who beats women and children. A mother who wanted to kill me when I was born. Who slanders me and the only decent woman I saw in this entire town? A woman whom everyone hates.

Why is this world so unfair and so rude?

I hate it.

"If I may, dear people. And if the great esteemed knight would allow it, let us rejoice in a celebration! We have given bread and pastry to this village for free, why not share it to celebrate young Xert's success?"

Anasa sure surprised me with that one. Well, she was popular enough to pull something like that. She appeared to be a pretty skilled people person when it came to it. Certainly better than Elias. Suddenly, his reputation completely shifted; it was almost fascinating. Are people really that easily manipulated in this world? Or maybe it's the same everywhere.

"Of course, I remember that! They give us so much...And their bread is quite good!"

"I've heard that the miller talked to the mayor about giving us even more wheat!"

"Well, maybe he isn't all that bad. I suppose everyone makes a mistake. He has it hard that Elias..."

"Well, all's well that ends well, isn't that right, milady?" It appeared that the rather sleazy mayor, the only fat person in the entire village, was quick to make the situation turn to his benefit. "I believe a celebration is definitely in order. We don't get much hope around here. But you and young Xert are surely more than welcome to any help we can give you...as well as your company!" The mayor gestured towards the Caravan, with calm merchants just watching the situation unfold.

"Please, stay for as long as you like! Father Savas's rectory will be available to you for your stay...isn't that right, Father?"

Father Savas simply nodded. "Well, naturally. I am more than happy to welcome my niece under my roof. It has been too long, Ruma."

Wait, wait, I'm trying to make sense of all the familiar relationships here. Lady Rumabelle is his NIECE? They do look somewhat alike in the face...Wait...Where are WE as a family going? 

"Where are we going?" I say, as Elias suddenly drags Anasa and Aer away, and Canalyse quickly follows them.

"Why are we going for the BREAD, of course...Since we have to our last supply to these people to save face that is already damaged because I have a crippled son, daughter that seemingly wants to replace him as a son, and a maid that robs children. So it's obviously useless. The Witch sure is doing a number on us, so we might as well join her! I am curious what we will eat next month. I suppose I can sell the field. The livestock. Or maybe even the watermill. You know, it's just something my family has had for generations. I'm sure I can sell it, no problem, as everyone expects me to if needed. That would surely solve our hunger, though we would be homeless. Luckily, no one here worries about that, because... Because they expect me to SOLVE that too. Sure, I can become a slave if needed."

Anasa was quick to say something along the lines of: "Dear, no one is saying..." 

But he shouted at her: "My father is fucking dead and no one even cried about it! Not even you! No one in this village asked if I was okay! But everyone was all too quick to ask what he gave me! ME! His son! That's what people care about here. They were all quick to ask about the possibility of fucking MONEY!" Elias shouted aggressively. "And instead of making it peaceful for me to at least WORK for this fucking family, you just cause me problems after problems. So we are going to FIX this, and then we are going HOME and I am quite looking forward to the talk we are going to have over empty plates!"

This guy pisses me so much. Such a prick. Who does he think he is? As if we have it easy? I can't move at all dipshit! And why would I care about someone I've never met? And surely his problems are not that bad...We are relatively wealthy...I think...I mean, he has a mill! That was probably a big business in medieval Europe, so it must be a big business here.

Still, this fucking sucks.

"Dad," Aer cut through that awkward, aggressive silence I knew all so well from back home in the real world. I suppose even in a fantasy world, people argue and fight.

"I need to pee."

Seriously?