Chapter 1

The Dark Man

“What? You don’t like the sight of blood?”.

The man looked at the hand in which he still held the old man’s heart, held it tightly, then, puffing, threw it next to the defenceless body and finally cleansed himself of the blood on the rags worn by the old man.

“You made quite a mess of it,” he said, looking around. The killing that just happened had given him a thrill of emotion that had immediately dozed off.

That’s what always happened. At first, when you are young and impudent, hunting, death, and feeling that you can be masters of someone else’s destiny, they always give a thrill of excitement that is difficult to doze off. Over time, the killing and deaths that a person caused became ordinary, a kind of habit.

They no longer had the effect of the first time; he no longer felt the blame; they passed as when you cross a river through a bridge every day. At first, we stop to observe the stream, fascinated by the greatness of the mother; then, with time, we begin to look at it with different eyes, bored.

It is no longer a novelty but something that no longer touches particular emotions within the human body. And so death had become for him. He felt indifferent to having just ended life with his bare hands: he did not feel gratification, guilt, or remorse. Only fatigue, because he had to get his hands dirty for the umpteenth time, to perform an action that he did not want but that he had been forced to do because it was what everyone expected from a creature like him. Not a man, but a beast.

He stood up and approached her, motionless, staring at the main gate of the walls; he stood beside her and watched her. She was thoughtful, hiding everything she felt for fear of showing her weaknesses.

“Has he nicked that iron armour?”

“Don’t be stupid,” she answered without looking at him before walking towards the gate. At that time, it was closed and, thanks to the fire, there was no sentry: very dangerous for a city as important as Sierra.

People weren’t shouting as loud as a few moments before. They had managed to tame the fire; sooner or later, they would see them: they needed to move away from that place as soon as possible. Although a trip down memory lane was what he needed, just to remember who he had been before and who he could no longer be.

The sun was about to rise, the sky was a rosier shade, and sooner or later, the sunlight would illuminate the whole city, waking its inhabitants. Suddenly a shiver ran through his body, and he stopped and turned towards the fortress. What was that feeling? What warmth began to pervade him, warming his soul and heart that he thought was frozen?

“Do you miss him?” the woman asked, but he continued to look at the fortress, feeling a pain in his chest. He didn’t know exactly what it was, as if something was missing, as if only at that moment he was feeling the emptiness left by that lack.

You’re wavering, the voice inside his head started again, so he closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, hoping it would stop, as the screams began to break his eardrums. They shouted that he was a coward incapable of doing what he was created for.

He tried to recover quickly, but they could not stay there long. He shook his head and turned, walking again toward the exit. If they had been more robust, they would have left there already, they would not have needed to walk, and they would have disappeared into thin air, but that was not something they could do then. They weren’t strong enough, and even though he should have been furious about it, he couldn’t help but feel relief. If he and the girl didn’t have enough power, neither would they, which meant hope and joy to him, even if he would never admit it aloud.

“We have enough power to get in here but not enough to stay long without suffering the effects of their presence or using our full abilities. Interesting,» the girl said aloud, but she was not talking to him but herself.

The man observed her along the way: the woman often found herself thinking aloud, especially when she was with him as if she felt safe and free to express her thoughts without fearing the consequences.

“The old man has just died, in a few hours, the power will be released, and two of them will not be enough to stop them.” They found themselves facing the main gate and were on the top of the walls with a leap.

From there, they could see the entire lower town; the guards were moving away from the fire site and returning to their positions: soon, they would find the body of the old man and sound the alarm, and everyone inside the fortress would come out, including the prince. Everyone but the old king never moved from there.

“Heafod, the sun is rising.” The sentry was posted outside the walls; he had not permitted him to come with him: the less they had entered the interior, the less likely they would be discovered.

“Tell me something I don’t know. Let’s get out of here before they see us.” They jumped off the walls and found themselves in the upper town.

“Did you come alone?” he turned to her blissfully, ignoring the watchman. The latter stared at her in wonder while immersed in her head full of thoughts and worries.

The soldier was one of the new ones and had never had the chance to meet her in person, but he had heard about her, like all those who sided with them. Everyone was amazed when they saw her for the first time; everyone fell in front of her beauty: the forbidden fruit that no one had ever been able to grasp. Well, only one person did, but that didn’t matter.

“The less, the better; it is not correct” she turned to speak to the sentry. “What is your name?”

The sentry froze and put a knee on the ground with his head bent down as a sign of reverence.

“Saug, Heafod.” She looked at him carefully, studying him as a lion does when he finds his prey.

“I didn’t want to bring them here”, the girl said, shrugging her shoulders and walking towards the forest. He put the hood back on his head to protect his face.

“Are you coming back?” he asked, looking at the girl’s back.

“What, you miss me?” Her tone was defiant, but she didn’t turn around to look at him. “I have some issues to resolve, don’t worry. When the time comes, you will understand.”

They entered the dark and silent forest, the animals had fled, and then he heard a noise, and he could see in the shadows a vast red and bloody eye, while a deep breath accompanied the rustling of the leaves of the trees as if a violent breeze moved them.

She brought her pet, he thought, as the beast moved his paws, getting into position and shaking the ground under his feet.

The girl approached the creature, caressing gently between the scales of the beast, while the latter basked in the touch of his mistress, emitting a sound that reminded him of a cat’s purr.

The girl climbed on the animal’s enormous back without saying a word while the man and his soldier watched them silently. The creature spread its substantial black wings, soaring and drifting toward the horizon. Then he disappeared into the clouds tinged with light without emitting any sound.

He heard Saug sigh with his eyes wide open in wonder.

“You were lucky; not everyone has a chance to see one. Our dear commander prefers to keep her secret weapons hidden,” said the man shrugging his shoulders.

“If she uses only one of them, we will be able to conquer Mihdel in no time”, reflected the soldier with a dreamy air.

“Too bad we do not control them,” replied the man.

They went into the dark forest and passed the place where the beast was hidden, laughing to see how there was a massive patch of grass and burnt trees in the middle of the black forest. It certainly wouldn’t go unnoticed. But it was better this way; they had to know that sooner or later they would come; the day was approaching. They quickly crossed the woods, passing the enormous trunks of trees.

They set off to reach the other side of the mountain on foot; they took longer than necessary but still managed to get it as soon as the sun peeked out and obscured the moon. They found the horses where they had left them. Fortunately, there was no passage of farmers there, at least not at night. Therefore, no one had had the chance to see them.

They rode up and moved. A long journey awaited them, not only that of returning from their people but, from that moment on, they would have to travel a long way, make sacrifices and make crucial decisions. It was time to accomplish that goal many years ago: to bring their people to the new home.