500 years later

The sun sat low in the sky and painted the sea of clouds above in soft pinks and gleaming golds. Asher closed his eyes and enjoyed the warm embrace of the evening sun. He was taking a break, stealing away a moment to enjoy the sunset. The work could always wait a few more minutes. 

He often found himself pulled away from his duties by the allure of the afternoon sky. From here, out in the family fields, he could see everything. There was the impossibly tall ivory Tower that stood as the centrepoint of his hometown. The city itself sat in the shadow of the Tower, encircling it. Then there were the sprawling fields which extended almost as far as the eye could see, ranging from just outside the city all the way to the boundary of the forest which marked the limit of Astradel territory.  

The sky over the sprawling landscape felt endless. The only blemish on the scene was a thin wisp of smoke rising from somewhere in the inner city. Asher felt as though if he could open himself up to the sights in just the right way, he might just be able to drift away. Unfortunately, chores, and his brother, beckoned. 

                “I hate this place, Ash.” Ben complained. 

                “The farm?” Asher replied with a smirk, he knew well enough that his brother was not talking about their fields. 

                Ben glared up at Asher. “You know that's not what I mean. I hate this city. I hate the people, and I hate feeling trapped by these woods.” Ben gestured to the distance where the edge of the Wilds could be seen. 

                “Astradel is our home, Ben. Besides, where else would you go? Going to try your luck with the Tower? Or maybe out in the Wilds?” Asher chuckled as he returned to packing their tools away. They had finished ploughing the fields the better part of an hour ago, and had been packing away their equipment when Asher had grown distracted by the sunset.

                “I know you're making fun, but just watch. As soon as I'm strong enough to hold my own, I'll be off, and you’ll all see. All I have to do is get through the wilds and find another town.”

                Asher half listened as he returned to packing. It wasn’t that Asher didn't have sympathy for his little brother and his problems, more so that they had been having a version of this conversation almost every day for the past year or so. Ben would get into some kind of fight or argument with the other boys in the town, he would lose, and then lash out. He would blame the city guard for not stopping fights, or the parents of the other boys for allowing their kids to do whatever they wanted. It was unfortunately all becoming quite the routine. 

                Asher often struggled to find the right words at times like this. He wanted to tell Ben to just avoid the others, but that wasn't really possible in Astradel. Since finding the right words was proving difficult, Asher gave up on planning and just went with what came naturally instead.

                “If you can’t take on the pampered kids in the city, what makes you think you can take on the Wilds?” Asher honestly wanted to discourage this idea of Ben’s. It would be suicide to try to make the journey from one town to another alone. The beasts and wildmen would tear him to pieces. 

To Asher’s surprise he noticed a tear beginning to form at the corner of Ben’s eyes. “I don’t know what else to do.” Ben said, voice cracking as he pushed out the words. “I’m not strong enough to defend myself. Nobody can be bothered to save a kid being picked on, there's nothing I can do.”

Asher had been caught completely off guard by the outburst. They had spoken about these problems time and time again, but Ben had never shown so much emotion, so much pain.  Asher felt a pang of sorrow for his brother when he saw the tears were now streaming freely down the youths’ face, leaving behind pale streaks as the tears wiped away the dirt. Asher walked over to stand by Ben and reached out to place a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder.

“What happened?” He asked gently. 

Ben did his best to wipe away the tears and prevent more from forming. “It’s nothing, I just need to figure out how to get out of here.”

                Asher grimaced. “Something must have happened.” Asher argued. “We’ve talked about this a hundred times but you've never been like this before”

                A few moments passed in silence, Ben looking as though he were weighing the pros and cons of talking. Eventually, he made a decision, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an object that glinted as it caught the light of the evening sun.

                “What’s that?” Asher asked as he tried to reach out to grab the object. 

Ben pulled his hand back protectively. “Just a stone.” He said sheepishly. “I found it yesterday. Dirk found out about it and he and his friends have been coming after me ever since.”  Ben sniffed, clearly still focused on holding back his tears. 

Dirk was a real piece of work, but he wasn't the only issue. Asher understood why the other kids picked on Ben, he was the smallest in his age group, the other boys had hit their growth spurts and seemed to grow overnight. Ben on the other hand still had the frame of a boy, rather than a young man. Asher had never had the same troubles, where Asher was tall and leanly muscled, Ben was still short and a touch on the flabby side. Asher understood that would change with time, Ben was due for his growth spurt any day now, he just happened to be a bit behind the other boys.

In many ways Asher and Ben were opposites. Where Asher had always been tall for his age, Ben had always been short. Where Asher had near black hair and bright green eyes, Ben had blonde hair and blue eyes. Where Asher had never had an issue with bullies, Ben had dealt with them as a part of his everyday life. Their differences made it difficult for Asher to understand all of Ben’s problems, but he tried his best anyway. 

“How do you still have it?” Asher asked, genuinely curious. “If they were harassing you all day, how did you keep it away from them?” 

“I hid it in our fields, just here.” Ben pointed to a place a few paces over where a small hole had been dug out. “I knew it would be hard to find out here and I thought they would leave me alone when you came out here with me.” Ben replied. He was turning the stone over in his fingers as he spoke. “When they found that I didn’t have it anymore, and wouldn't tell them where it was. Well, that’s when they started with the rocks.”  Ben held his forearm up to show Asher; the underneath of his arm was a patchwork of black and blue. A few stones must have caught him as he was running.  

A wave of anger washed over Asher, bringing heat with it. “Why would they go so far just for a pretty rock?” He struggled to keep his anger out of his voice. 

Ben hesitated, glancing up at Asher nervously. “Just look.” He said finally as he held the stone up for Asher’s benefit. Asher was just now getting his first proper look at the rock and as he did, he saw that it was actually some form of raw gemstone, it was translucent white with what looked like wisps of black smoke trapped inside. As Ben held the stone something began to change, slowly but surely a new colour began emanating from within. A dim yellow glow appeared out of nowhere, as if the light were hovering in the gem, playing among the smoky wisps.  A moment passed with Asher staring slack jawed, and then, in the blink of an eye  the light was gone. 

“I can only make it appear for a second or two.” Ben sighed and let his hand fall. 

“What in the wilds was that?” Shock was written plainly across Asher’s face.  “What do you mean you can only make it happen for a second or two? You did that?” He stuttered out. 

“Pretty, right?” Ben replied with half a smile. “That’s why Dirk wanted it so bad.” 

The mention of Dirk’s name snapped Asher out of his preoccupation with the stone. “Whatever that is, it's amazing Ben, it really is. But that doesn't make what Dirk and the others did any less terrible.” Once again Asher began to feel his passion rising, testing his will to remain calm. He pushed that feeling down and focused on what he could do right now. “I’m going to have to talk to those kids, maybe even their parents. This is too far Ben.” Asher grabbed Ben’s wrist and pulled it up, revealing the bruising under his arm.

Ben smiled up at his older brother. “Thank you.”  As he said the words his smile quickly faded. “There's no point though, really, don’t worry about it.” 

“But - “Asher began to say but he was cut off as Ben continued. 

“Because Hazel already did all of that.” Ben finished, a hint of a smirk flashing across his face. 

Asher burst out laughing, his anger fading away. “What did she do?” he asked while wiping away a tear. 

“She saw this happen.” Ben said as he gestured to his colourful arm. “She came charging over and threatened to beat the other boys up.” 

“Good old Hazel.” Asher replied. 

“It isn't so great as all that…  whenever she helps, they just wait until next time, and then they’re more mad that a girl embarrassed them.”

The sting of irritation caught Asher off guard once more. “Come find me next time.” He said the words firmly, with resolve. “These kids need to learn a lesson, I know you don't want to be rescued by your big brother but this is getting out of hand.” 

“I can’t-” 

                “I’m not asking, I’m telling.” Asher’s stern voice cut Ben off. “Come find me. We’ll sort it out, I don't know exactly how right now, but we will sort it.” 

Ben didn’t respond right away, instead turning aside, hiding his face once more.

“Okay?” Asher asked. 

Ben finally looked up and met Asher’s eyes. The tears had dried but his eyes were still glassy and red. He smiled lightly, some confidence returning. 

“Okay.” He agreed.

* * *

The brothers set out from their field, following the path back into town. The fields which sustained Astradel’s population circled the perimeter of the city, sprawling out in all directions. The fields for the crops and the livestock covered more land than the city itself did. The huge size of the farming district meant that even though their family’s allotment was as close to town as was possible, the trip back could still take as much as half an hour. Their ageing beasts of burden only worsened the issue. 

                Ben always complained about the slow pace, griping all the while at how unfair the price of a new ox was. Asher on the other hand didn't mind the pace of the trip. The plodding progress allowed him to rest his aching muscles, sore from the day's work, while also keeping his mind occupied. The entire journey provided a clear line of sight to the city, and more importantly, the Tower. 

The origin of the Tower was a mystery.  It had been here before their people arrived and began recording history, and it would likely stand long after they were dead and gone. It stood impossibly tall, its structure disappearing into the clouds above. Its grand scale was matched by its pristine condition. Regardless of what had taken place under its watch, be it progress, chaos, or even war, the Tower stood eternally unmarred. The completeness of its ability to stand the test of time unaffected spoke to something important, something that had never been explained. Asher found the logical impossibility of the Tower fascinating. He could, and often did, ponder it for hours at a time, lost in his own daydreams of the other side. 

Aside from the alien majesty of the Tower, the town itself, it had to be said, truly was a beauty of its own. Nearby rivers and streams had been diverted in order to provide running water for all of Astradel, with the additional benefit of creating scenic lakes which were reserved for the wealthier areas of town. 

The Tower might put their efforts to shame, but their people strove for beauty regardless.

Asher was ripped out of his reverie once more when he began to hear shouts, coming from the direction of the city. The sound was faint at first, enough that he wasn't sure if he had imagined it. It didn't take long - however before it became clear that he actually was hearing screams. The sound had been muffled by being carried unnaturally far on the wind. Asher shared a glance with Ben before leaping from the cart and taking off in a sprint.

Asher noticed that Ben had joined him in his run after a brief moment's hesitation. He had initially been able to catch up to Asher’s head start but it wasn't long before he began to lag behind. Asher’s legs were significantly longer than his brothers and he was also the fitter of the two. 

The further they ran the more screams joined the wall of noise they were heading into.

“Go.” Ben shouted between gasps.

Asher was slowing down periodically to let Ben catch up, he wouldn't just leave him behind during an emergency. Even if he didn't know what it was yet.

“I know you are holding back for me. Just go, find Ma. I’ll head home and wait there.” Ben really was struggling to get the words out between breaths. 

Asher felt stuck. He didn't want to leave Ben behind but he also wanted to go make sure their mother was safe as fast as possible. A few precious moments passed by, wasted, as he struggled to make a decision. Eventually he realised that hesitating and making no decision would be the worst option of all. 

“If whatever this is gets too out of hand and you can't stay home, meet me back in the fields. You should be able to stay out of sight out there. If you need to run you can disappear into the woods further out.” Asher panted out.

“Yessir.” Ben squeezed out as he began to slow down, struggling to get the words out between ragged breaths. 

As soon as Asher began running at his full speed Ben was left behind.