You don't know?" The king exclaimed in astonishment, but then continued to speak more quietly because the bodyguards, which was lying some distance away shouldn't have noticed any of this. “Lata, you disappoint me, I would have expected a little more acumen from you. But no offense. It's my own little secret ”, Katthike raised her index finger,“ which soon won't be any more. You want to know who the child's father is? ”Lata nodded curtly. He hated being tortured by the king, but he let him have the pleasure."Do you still remember my Hy?""The warrior who was murdered by the novice from Tulga?""Quite right, that one."Lata remembered very well how they had managed to capture the Hy warrior. He ran into four Askharic scouts at the snow-covered pass, quite by accident. Of course, the scouts had recognized the incredible importance of their catch and immediately started their way back. Every child in Askhar knew that a wildly

But Katthike did not worry for long, he quickly found a new young woman from Hy. He had had to trade five pretty female slaves for them with a duke from the interior. A proud price, but this time it spared no expense. Bars were placed in front of the windows and all sharp-edged objects were removed from the rooms. After the birth, the child should be given to a local wet nurse immediately. Everything had been considered.Nine months later, the Hy slave came down. And no sooner had the birth process been completed than Katthike entered the room to examine the child. He was told it was a boy again, which made him laugh in triumph. He took the bundle with the child and unwrapped it from the cloth. The smile froze on his face when he saw the kid's legs. They were so crippled that he probably never could have walked! Furious, Katthike tossed the screaming child onto the table, drew his dagger and killed it with a single stab in the soft, yielding chest. Then he rushed out of the r

"Prince Kanaima, Your Highness the Queen, is asking for you!"Kanaima fought back the disbelief that wanted to show on his face and instead nodded shyly.The young messenger bowed briefly, turned and walked away. The captain looked sternly at Kanaima, he couldn't stand being interrupted in the middle of the exercise.“Capitano, I am expected by the queen. You allow? ”Kanaima asked politely, although he knew that the word of the head of the bodyguard was far below the queen's command. But he didn't want to annoy the grumpy warrior any more."Hm, go on, get out! But today you don't have to turn up at my place! ”He growled.Kanaima pulled off his helmet and walked away with measured steps. Only when he reached the crew quarters did he allow himself a smile. In his quarters, he took off his heavy protective clothing and rough undergarment and washed himself in a bucket. He wanted to appear cleanly in front of his mother. As he did so,

He looked dreamily over the whitewashed walls at the choir. The fields and meadows of the farmers of the clan all around began at the foot of the lofty fortress. Scattered in it were courtyards, barns, the warrior's training grounds, orchards and other small groups of trees. Cows, sheep and horses grazed on the pastures. They were seen as small white and brown spots.The forest began after the fields. As far as the eye could see, it covered the gently rolling hills around the choir. Here and there the great watchtowers, the Choron, protruded from the tops of the trees in a still visible distance. At long intervals they flanked the roads through the land of Hy. The closest neighbors of the Shari clan were the people of the Rinzai clan, which was about a day's ride to the west.Raen looked to the east again and squinted into the sun, which was already a hand's breadth above the ridge of the hill. Directly behind the range of hills the river Resch meandered to the north,

Suddenly the sun disappeared behind a cloud and shadows penetrated the trees. The undergrowth rustled and the white horses became restless. All pairs of ears were focused on the noise in order to investigate its cause. It rustled again, and a loud snort came from the same direction. The bushes parted and a peculiar red horse broke out of it, head drooping. At the touch of the horse, the leaves of the bushes immediately began to wither. And even where his hooves met the ground, the fresh green gave way to withered brown. The white horses tossed their heads up and neighed excitedly when the red horse came up to them. Yes, it really was a strange red for a horse, something like that of crushed raspberries. And there seemed to be something wrong with the fur, it was strangely damp. Drops of red fell from mane and tail. It had to be color. But who painted a horse red? The horse lowered its head again and shook itself. Small droplets flew through the forest, hit fern leaves, tree bark and