After giving instructions to saddle up his horse, Roman crept quietly into the house. It was his job to bring the bad news to the farm board. He thought with great concern that now all warriors would have to leave the farms and the choir and that many strong hands would be missing from the harvest. Harvest time was a particularly bad time for war - the enemy certainly knew that too! But that was fate. They were all just little plants in the field of the universe. Some of these little plants were cherished. They blossomed and bore fruit, they could multiply. Others, however, were destined to be trodden down, mowed down, in order to use their bodies to form the breeding ground for others! Everything was an infinite cycle, and human beings were only a tiny part of it. Roman sighed, went into the old farmer's room and woke him up. The old man started up a little rudely, blinked in the light of the oil lamp and found himself facing a very serious warrior in full armament."Hraunap

Raen nodded again, this time a little more docile. Roman broke out in a sweat. Why did this kid manage to corner him so much? First these dreams with the blood horse and now this! Why couldn't his son be normal? He thought of Soghul's prophecy, but the thought overwhelmed him. He also felt his wife's questioning looks on his back. He took a deep breath and let out an overwrought sigh. Finally he hugged Raen again.“Don't be afraid, I'll be back soon. Take care of your mother and your soon-to-be sibling for so long, will you? ”He winked at his son and smiled."If you're not afraid, then neither am I!" Raen said confidently."Promised?""Promised!"Roman rose and Alea came over to him."Don't worry, my love." Before she could reply, he closed her lips with one last long kiss. Then he loosened his belt and wrapped another, narrower one around his waist. He was ready to put on protective clothing. Alea handed him the sturdy leather g

But Raen's dreams turned out to be right. In the following week, the Hyaunset suer received the relieving news from Shari that everyone had been waiting for."The war is over!", The Setna sent him through his aun. He immediately called the clan council together and passed on the good news. The people fell into each other's arms, relieved, and in the light of the autumn sun their fear dissipated like morning mist. The whole clan was preparing for the arrival of their warriors with increasing exuberance. Everything was spruced up nicely, and even if there were hardly any leaves left on the trees, Hrauna also emerged again in all her late autumn beauty. The sun warmed the clear, fresh air and pushed the nightly cold of the approaching winter from the woods back onto the distant mountains, which were already covered with snow caps. Not the smallest cloud disturbed the deep hyacinth blue of the sky on the day when the warriors finally should arrive in Shari. It was the day after t

Raen woke up with a scream. Confused, he looked around, but finally found that he was lying in his bed in the nursery. He sat up and pressed the heels of his hands over his eyes. He had dreamed something bad, but he didn't know what anymore. Only his father's voice boomed ominously through his head: “It's a secret, Raen, and you must never tell it, you hear! Never! ”Since the evening that this conversation with his father had taken place, Raen had strictly kept his promise. That wasn't difficult for him, as he hadn't dreamed anything special since then, but his trust in his father was still shaken. Raen avoided him wherever he could and instead sought the security of his mother.But something had changed. The dream he had just had had been different from usual, he felt that. Raen closed his eyes tightly. 'No, I will not break my promise,' he said to himself. 'I must not disappoint my father!' He began to bob his torso and let out a pained groan. Andra stir

But the next morning didn't bring any relief either. The bright light of day only made it all the more brutal to see the fact that Alea was no longer alive. Meanwhile, her body had been taken to the temple, where it was ritually cleansed. Roman had accompanied them and then retired to the Upper Sanctuary. There he had completely collapsed. Richol and Loenka had stood by him with the sensitivity that a mourner needed. In the course of the morning Roman had finally found some sleep in one of the small side rooms after Loenka had given him some Veda to calm him down. The priest, deep in prayer, watched over his sleep. Raen was lying in his mother's bed with a high fever. He was fantasizing. The harrowing events of the previous night had simply been too much for his slim, small body. The old medic sat next to him on the bed and changed the cold compresses around his calves at regular intervals."It's my fault," he heard t