Chapter 1
Bryan awoke in a cold sweat. It took him a few moments to shake away the haze. He had been dreaming, he realized and wondered why the memory of that fateful day would be haunting him now. In the first two or three years since his mother was murdered, his dreams contained little else but as more years went by the nightmares subsided. Now nearly six years later, reliving the event more vividly than he ever remembered, brought all of the turmoil rushing back. Bryan had channeled his emotions into improving himself and providing the best life he could for himself and his brother. It had taken a while for them to find the right place to make home. Spending a few years on the streets of some of the larger cities of the realm had made them resilient. They finally found a place to build a house on the outskirts of Krif, a small town in the countryside but it would never be the home they had with their mother. Julip was gone, all but burned to the ground by the marauders from Palatin across the sea.
Bryan rolled off his bed, dressed sluggishly, still half asleep and walked out of his room. He moved across the main living area and looked in his brothers room. Daniel was still sleeping. He looked around the dwelling they had build with the help of other villagers and felt the residual pain from remembering his mother fate melt away and be replaced by a hint of satisfaction. They had survived and made a life for themselves. After a minute of recollection, Bryan walked toward the front door and stepped out. As he did he nearly ran over a young girl standing just outside. She appeared to be about the same age as Daniel though he couldn’t recall ever seeing her in the village before. She stood a few feet from the door her long light brown hair gently swaying in the morning breeze. She looked up at Bryan after a few moments and simply smiled.
"Hello, can I help you?" Bryan asked.
"I do believe you can" chimed the girl, "I am Shayla. I have been sent to retrieve Daniel."
"You what? By Who?" he stammered, "Why would Daniel be going with you?"
"Where else would he go while you are gone?" she replied looking puzzled. Realization washed across her face and she continued, "surely you have not forgotten. Daniel is to come with me on a journey to the oracle." She looked at him questioningly. "Unless you have made a different choice than anticipated."
"I haven’t actually made a choice yet" he deflected, "are you saying I will have to make the choice soon?"
"Of course, why else would I be here?" She retorted, rocking from her heels to the balls of her feet and back repeatedly.
Bryan thought of a few curt remarks but they faded in memory. He remembered being in a cave but wasn’t sure how he had come to be there. The last thing he recalled was his mother being attacked. His brother was asleep on the cave floor and an old thin man with wispy white hair and a long beard was cooking stew over a fire. "Ah, you’re awake" he remarked, "The stew is almost ready." Bryan was wary, unsure of exactly what was happening but the stew smelled delicious and it made his stomach growl with hunger. "No need to be frightened, I am here to help you along your way."
"I have no idea which way I’m supposed to go" Bryan proclaimed in despair, "our parents are gone now, how am I going to keep my brother safe."
"You’re choices will define you and shape your brother as well. He admires you and will continue to do so, whichever path you choose, he will follow." The old man paused to taste the stew and resumed, "There is one choice that will determine Daniel’s fate and the fate of the kingdom. Years from now, with war looming, the royal army will recruit soldiers by conscription. The army will take Daniel unless you replace him. Be warned, you will most likely die if you take his place but if you do not, Daniel will not survive and neither will the kingdom." He paused considering. "I do not see your death nor can I see your future beyond the battle. Perhaps your fate is yours to mold, choose wisely." The oracle lifted the wooden spoon to his lips and tasted the stew. "Ah, it is ready, Let us eat."
"Bryan!" Shayla shouted, apparently not for the first time, "Are you listening to me? The knights are on the way to conscript the young men. The time for your decision is nigh"
Bryan stared at her resolutely, "There was only ever one choice." Not a moment later the town bell rang beckoning the villagers to convene in the center of town. "You can wait inside while I see what this is about" he directed and started down the hill. The villagers started making their way to the meeting area, some were obviously half asleep but most appeared to have been preparing for their day when the bell was rung. As Bryan neared the congregation he could hear whispers among the villagers, most were inquiries of the cause of the meeting. He stopped on the outer edge of the crowd and waited, not wishing to get any closer to the bell which Horim, the self appointed bell ringer and would be assistant to the village leader, had continued to ring even as the last of the villagers arrived. After a several aggravating minutes Horim apparently perceived his duty fulfilled and ceased ringing the bell. While everyone was still recovering their hearing they saw why. James Nilton, the village leader, was walking toward them with an official looking man in fine clothes who carried a satchel. James, a tall man with a muscular build, stood a head taller than the thin courier. James was a blacksmith and never desired to be the a leader but accepted the position out of loyalty to his village. He was never one for fancy clothes and the like but his image was always respectable. The official was dressed lavishly and next to him James could have appeared disheveled with little difference apparent.
"Welcome," James’ boomed, "I have gathered you here this morning to hear a decree from the king which this courier brings." The small man unrolled the parchment he produced from his satchel, cleared his throat and began in a high nasally, "By order of King Darnis, ruler of the Kingdom of Litrios. It is hereby decreed that all males between the ages of sixteen and nineteen shall be conscripted into the royal army effective immediately. Due to excess need a quota for each village will be determined based on population. If the quota is not met volunteers will be required or the age range shall be expanded until the quota is met." The courier began rolling the parchment and produced a smaller parchment before he was finished talking. He seamlessly transitioned and Bryan wasn’t even sure if he took a breath. "The quota for the village of Krif has been determined to be six. At dawn of the day after next all conscripts shall be in the center of the village and ready to embark." He replaced the parchment and concluded, "knights will arrive tomorrow evening and will require accommodation for the night. They will escort the conscripts to the capital." He bowed and less official sounding said, "I leave you to convene." He turned and walked back toward James’ home where his horse was tied.
Murmurs immediately ensued and James tried to get all of the villagers to remain calm and discuss the shocking news. Bryan, meanwhile, was already reasoning the ending result. There were in fact five males between the ages of sixteen and nineteen currently residing in Krif. Peter Crump, age seventeen, twins Lester and Trent Balwar, age sixteen, Adam Rean, age eighteen and Daniel. Luckily Bryan had taken the strange old man’s warning seriously and had taken several precautions. One such precaution was convincing everyone, including Daniel, that Daniel was a year younger than he actually was. It wasn’t difficult, given their lives for the first couple years after their mother died it was almost surprising they even remembered how many years went by. Bryan managed to bypass Daniel’s eleventh birthday given it was shortly after the traumatic event.
"Silence!" came James’ booming voice, "as you may have realized we have four young men of the required age. Trent, Lester, Peter and Adam will need to prepare for their journey. The four of them and there family can go, as well as any of you not close to the age range." He waited while the majority of villagers dispersed, a few shedding tears for their soon to be leaving family members. "As for the rest of us" he began, "We are tasked with either finding two volunteers of choosing two more conscripts. This won’t be easy, and it will be much worse if we have to force our own to go. Do I have any volunteers?" Bryan refrained from speaking just yet. The last thing he wanted was to volunteer and everyone else decide that Daniel might as well go along with him. They had found a good home in Krif and got along with the people but they were still relatively new and it wouldn’t be too surprising if that were to happen. There were a few other options. Joshua Nilton had recently turned twenty, barely missing the cut off and Bryan was four months older than him. Daniel’s birthday was six months ago, the perception being that he was still six months from being sixteen. There were still two others age fifteen, though Bryan was unsure of their dates of birth. As Bryan had hoped, Joshua spoke’ "I have barely turned twenty and I cannot in good conscience let a younger man be forced to go. I will volunteer." James did not seemed surprised at his son’s decision and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Joshua took after his father, he was also tall and working on the forge had made him muscular and lean. He and Bryan had become friends in the last two years. Hunting, fishing and talking about women of the village. Joshua had expressed his desire to see more of the kingdom than their small town but he would feel guilty leaving the rest of his family here without any good reason. Now he had that reason and though Bryan felt he had seen enough of the kingdom, he was ready to do what he must. Brian looked to Joshua returning a nod and declared, "I will volunteer, as well." Following his proclamation the people dispersed until only Bryan, Joshua and James remained. James looked toward Bryan and said, "Thank you, whatever your reason."
"I can’t let this guy go off by himself," Bryan replied, lightly punching Joshua’s shoulder. They both chuckled lightly. A touch of an appreciative smile came to James’ face and was gone. "I will feel better knowing you are with him. What of your brother, he is still young? We have enough room for him, it is the least we can do."
"That is very kind, you can’t possibly know how much that means to us. Krif has been the closest to home I’ve felt in many years. I will miss our home here but it just so happens that an old friend showed up this morning to pick up Daniel. They already planned on leaving for Dion in the morning. I had planned on travelling with them for a while so we may leave as soon as we are ready. I will be present and ready to depart tomorrow at dawn." He nodded to them and headed home. James sighed and said, "come Joshua, let us break the news to your mother."