One day ago.

“Branded, get up,” a shrill voice stirred Ves from the solace of sleep. Unfortunately for her, it was followed up by a swift kick to the side. Ves gasped and sat up, clutching her side as she looked up at her assailant. An older woman, who was acting as head of the servants on this dreary trip. One who also served her bastard of a master directly.

“Wipe that glare off your face, girl. Chamber pots, take care of them.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Ves replied. She wanted to protest, as she had been the only one cleaning them every day so far on this trip. Though from experience she knew speaking up would just lead to another kick or worse, no food for the day. So, she held her tongue.

As the woman walked away, Ves removed the threadbare blanket and pulled herself off the cold ground. None of the servants were given pleasant accommodations during the trip, but Ves couldn’t help but notice hers were a step below the rest. At least the others got proper blankets.

Dressed in her wholly impractical servant’s uniform, at least for a forest outing, the hem of her skirt got caught on everything. At least they provided good boots. Presently, they were on an expedition in an ancient forest that bordered Kohdessia. The forest was large enough to be a small nation itself. Yet no nation claimed it. At the center of the forest were the Scaleback Mountains, named after the beasts that supposedly lived among the peaks, dragons. Even someone as uneducated as her knew the stories. Any nation that had tried to claim or settle the forest had met a swift end, burned in dragon fire.

Not that Ves had ever seen a dragon herself, despite this being one of many trips she had accompanied her master on in the forest. Tales of dragons aside, the forest held plenty of more mundane but no less dangerous threats. Only heavily armed groups dared to venture past the outer edges. 

Still, she was safe in camp. Before starting her work, she stepped outside the tent and took a deep breath of the crisp spring air and the refreshing smells of the forest. It was a wonderful change of pace from the stench of the crowded city she lived in. One of her few pleasures before she set off to complete the nauseating task of washing chamber pots. She wouldn’t get any food until she was done, not that she really felt like eating afterwards. Her saving grace was that only a handful of people on this trip had them. Most of the guards and servants were expected to simply sneak off into the forest if nature called.

Thankfully, as long as she kept her head down and didn’t draw attention, most people ignored her as she went about her work. She was branded, a slave from birth. On her forehead, a magical birthmark passed on to her from her parents, going back generations. To most everyone here, she wasn’t even a person. She could be killed at any time for any reason at all, and it would be perfectly legal. Well, legal as long as her master filed the proper paperwork. The crown couldn’t risk a bloodline of branded slaves dying out from mismanagement.

So, she stayed quiet, looking no one in the eye and never speaking unless spoken to. Her morning dragged on, one by one carrying putrid pots of filth down to the stream to wash, then hauling them back only to grab the next. Before long, she was down to the final few tents, the three she dreaded the most.

The first was her master’s tent, Senator Ermis Berkandis of Kohdessia. The brute would often beat her, using her to vent his own frustrations. Given how poor his relationship with his wife was, he was almost always in a bad mood. For better or worse, Ves’s treatment was a significant point of contention in their marriage. His wife, Elaine, was from a country without slavery, so she abhorred her husband’s treatment of Ves. Sadly, the law was on the senator’s side. The more his wife pushed, the more he would take it out on Ves. After one beating almost killed Ves, Elaine had to bite her tongue and withhold further protest lest things escalate further.

Ves both loved and hated the woman for it. From Ves’s earliest memories, she had always been a thing. Literally spending most of her childhood locked in cages like livestock. They didn’t even need the brand to control her or her siblings. They were all dead inside. Ves could still remember the hollow eyes, no different from a corpse. Eyes she herself once had.

That was before she was given to her current master. A gift from the newly crowned king for the senator’s loyalty. It was there that she met Lady Elaine. Elaine and her lady-in-waiting, Vanessa, took pity on Ves. While it was not in their power to free her, only the royal family could do that, they did treat her like a person. Taught her to read and write, practically raising her alongside her own children. Teaching Ves that she was not a thing but a person. That love and kindness brought color to Ves’s lifeless world. It also gave her perspective. The perspective to see how horrible her life had been. How wretched her place in the world truly was.

Needless to say, her husband disapproved, turning Ves into the target of his violence. A means to vent his ever-growing frustrations. Even now, simply breathing hurt, one of her cracked ribs not quite healed from the last assault.

This morning, Ves lucked out. Berkandis was already up, leaving his tent empty. Even as she let out a sigh of relief that she could avoid him, a foul smell assaulted her. Reluctantly, she reached down and pulled his chamber pot from under the cot. It was full of a rancid brown slop. It took Ves everything she had not to throw up herself. Seeing a half-eaten plate of cheese on his side table, she knew the likely cause. Even when he wasn’t around, the bastard always found ways to make her life miserable. She wanted so much to lash out. Her daydreams of what she would do to the man if she was ever free of the brand grew ever darker by the year. The brand prevented her from living out such dreams. It had twisted and wound itself around her very soul. Compelling her to follow all orders. It went without saying that harming her master or his property was prohibited.

The next tent she dreaded almost as much, but for entirely different reasons. It housed the senator’s son, a young man only a few years Ves’s junior, Owen Berkandis. She and Owen basically grew up together. Thanks to his mother’s influence, Owen didn’t share his father’s disdain for her very existence. In some ways, that only made matters worse. Half of her viewed him as something akin to an annoying little brother. The other half despised him for being the son and heir of her tormentor.

Worse than all that, he loved her, and the senator knew it.

“Ves! Good morning!” Owen called out with his blond hair and sapphire blue eyes, which beamed whenever he saw her.

Ves simply ignored him as she walked over to grab his chamber pot.

“I take it father still forbids you to speak to me?” His question caused Ves to stop and glare at him. She would have choice words for him if only the brand would let her speak. If he knew the answer, why ask? The idiot was as subtle as a rock. He had never confessed, but his feelings were obvious to almost everyone. The day the Senator found out was one of the worst beatings Ves had received in her life. She was cursed for being a harlot and for seducing his son. To the Senator and most natives of Kohdessia, branded were property, on the same level as livestock. For Owen to have a crush on her was akin to lusting after a farm animal in his father’s eyes.

Returning to her work, Ves reached down to grab Owen’s chamber pot, only to find it already cleaned out. “I cleaned mine out this morning. Least I could do is save you a trip.” If that was the case, why didn’t he tell her before she walked over and picked it up!? Worse, if anyone saw him clean his own, she would be accused of not doing her job. He even smiled at her as if it were a kind gesture worthy of praise. This was the problem with the love-struck idiot. All his attempts to be kind to her only made her life worse in the end. With the order from her master, she couldn’t even speak to him to explain the harm his actions caused. So she did the only thing she could. A part of her wanted to strangle the boy. If the head maid learned about it, she would get the belt. If the senator learned it would be a fist.

Finally, the last tent wasn’t as bad, yet it was arguably the one she had to be the most careful in. Occupied by a foreigner, a knight of some sort in service to the temple. Ves didn’t have an issue with the woman herself, but she was a very important guest. Meaning she had to tread carefully—any offense, real or not, and she would be punished by her master. The temple stood above all in this world, bowing to the leaders of no nation. They answered only to the gods themselves.

“Chamber pot duty again?” the woman asked, giving Ves a sad smile. Ves simply kept her head down, avoiding the woman’s gaze, and nodded.

“No need to grab mine, didn’t use it. Can’t believe we even have these things out here this deep in the forest. We’re out here tracking a dangerous void-sent, and the Senator acts like it’s a casual fox hunt.”

Ves continued to stand there, saying nothing. It was safer that way. Even if the woman herself didn’t mind, Ves could still get in trouble for speaking to her.

“Anyway, why don’t you take a few minutes to sit down and rest? You look exhausted. If anyone asks, tell them I ordered you to help me with a few items in my tent.”

Ves really wanted to accept the generous offer. The woman was right, she was exhausted. Nevertheless, she was wary.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone if you don’t,” the woman said, warmth in her voice. Ves looked up to see the woman smiling and gesturing to a chair. The woman had dirty brown hair pulled back into a short ponytail. She was tall and broad-shouldered. Even through the loose-fitting clothing, Ves could tell the woman was in exceptional physical shape. Which was saying something, as if Ves had to guess, the woman was somewhere in her late forties. Granted, it was always hard to tell with cultivators. So reluctantly, Ves gave in; at this point, rejecting could stir up worse trouble. She needed a rest anyway. It was a long walk to the stream where she washed the pots.

“There, that has to be better. Rest up while you can.” The woman sighed and looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry you’re treated this way.”

Pity, the woman pitied her. It was almost worse. It was something foreigners often did, and it only made the truth of her reality hit harder. The reminder that other countries had outlawed slavery. That being born branded was not normal in most parts of the world only made it more painful for her.

“You say that, but it’s not like you’re going to do anything about it,” Ves mumbled under her breath as she saw the woman wince at her words.

“No… no, I cannot. I am oath-sworn to the temple in service to the pantheon. As much as I may hate it, the temple cannot interfere with the day-to-day affairs of any nation.” 

“I know… can you at least tell me what we are doing out here? It’s not the first time my master has dragged everyone out here for a hunting trip, but it is the first time we have gone this deep into the forest and this close to the Scalebacks.”

The woman looked surprised at her words. “The Senator never told you?”

“No, why would he? He would no sooner explain it to me than he would the horses we used to get here.”

The woman paused at that for a moment. It was clear she wanted to say something, but stopped herself before she finally answered the question, “I’m hunting a void-sent, a very dangerous one.”

Ves was vaguely aware of the term, something like a monster, but that’s about it. “What’s a void-sent?”

The woman’s eyes widened slightly at the question. “Didn’t you hear about the incursion up north?”

Up north? Ves strained her brain trying to think. It sounded vaguely familiar, but world events were not really a topic discussed with Branded. Her lack of education didn’t help. That she even knew how to read was only thanks to lessons, ones that a few kind souls gave her in secret.

“What happened up north?” Before the woman could answer, the sound of screaming crashed into the tent.