I - The Student

The student sat underneath the old oak tree to escape the heat of the midday sun. It was one of those rare days when she had time to herself. No assignment from her master sent her to Ardport or any of the neighbouring villages. None of his lessons tied her to a book. This day belonged to her. So she sat under that old oak and leafed through a book. The murmur of the brook and chirping of the birds filling the solitude in this nowhere, where there was little except for the old mage’s house.

Laid next to her was a pile of books, selected from the master’s library. She had chosen whatever caught her eye; without rhyme or reason. The library was constantly changing and she had long given up on trying to fathom all of its secrets. The house was small, but the library inside seemed endless. The master had told her of the Great Libraries. Of Osena, Rúnknǫttr, Dayaph. This library in the small hut, in the middle of nowhere right at the border to the Grave of Titans, rivalled them in their wonder.

As the hours passed, the pile on her left shrunk as the one on her right grew as she picked up one book after another, only to quickly put it down again when it didn’t reach her expectations. On the Spheres was the first to make it to the other side. Had someone else written it, it might have been worth her time. As it was, she struggled through sentences that seemed to stretch on forever, springing from one page to only find their end on the next. She simply wasn’t enjoying herself.

The early Years of the unified Kingdom followed soon after. And she quickly learned that she wasn’t in the mood for history that day. She then also gave up on documentary works fairly quickly.

The Wonders of Karraighe kept her interest the longest. She was very strict about who she gave her limited free time to, but this book seemed to understand that. Short chapters described the wonders of a realm long gone, fallen before the war. Towers of glass. Artificial life. Liquid stone. A time when the continent was small and its inhabitants could fly. It was a good story. The author showed a lot of imagination.

As the sky began to turn red, she looked at the two piles. She hadn’t finished all she had set out to do, but she thought she had made good use of her afternoon. She would probably see these books never again. Every time she put one back into the shelf, it seemed to disappear. She had never found any book her master had not told her to find.

She watched the evening sun. Somewhere in that direction under its light was Ardport. On few days did she miss her streets. Or her guards. There were days she’d rather it burnt to the ground.

II - The Soldier

The soldier and his troop finally reached Cruidín base. They had spent the better part of a month on the road. None of them understood why the militia command had ordered more Bows and Swords to the border. Especially not when they were originally stationed so far north. But their task was simple: they would protect the annexed territories of the empire in the west.

During their journey they had learned of minor incidents, but none to justify something like this. But when the emperor commanded, they followed.

In Cruidín they had been greeted somewhat cautiously. No one here had expected reinforcements either. The last couple of months had been quiet. The elves had not left their territory, the new borders had been secured. And there had been no further incidents since the uprisings that followed Cyndon. At that time, more bases had been established and militia presence increased. This had ensured peace for the cities in this arm of the empire. Even if people were still reluctant to settle in this part of the continent. Even after the emperor had closed the border to elves.

The first months at Cruidín were quiet. There was little to do that actually required his military training. They spent most of their time cultivating the land. Cutting down trees and pushing back the Ironwoods; leveling trails that would become roads; at one point even building a bridge. The master builder was only transferred to this base in the third month after their arrival. Under his command, the infrastructure around the fort grew and if only given enough time, he might have turned Cruidín into a fortress. But the emperor had required his services elsewhere.

After half a year, the first large wave of elves attempted to cross the border. Until then, it hand only ever been small groups they could dismiss easily. A patrol had spotted them and a troop of Swords had been dispatched to stop them. They set up camp at the border. Every day they tried to negotiate, without any success. The emperor’s word was law. The few who tried to take matters into their own hands and crossed the border at night did not make it far.

When the uprising broke out, it was quickly put down. The losses on the imperial side were minimal and the elves retreated into the Ironwoods. But this was the beginning. From then on, such events occurred more frequently. And as dutiful soldiers, they beat back the elves every time. Soon there were enough dead that it took them several days to burn the bodies. But the border was secure and the emperor’s will was enforced.

III - The Dreamer

While the tavern was still buzzing, the festivities outside were finally dying down and soon it would be quieter again. Then - like all the other orcs - she would leave the city. They would return to their tribes for free nomadic groups. To families and friends. She herself would make the long journey eastwards across the Sea of Sands with the group from her tribe. She too was looking forward to seeing her family again. Her parents, her sister and her brother. They were a small family. Recent years had been difficult and not many children had survived. But eventually the gods had answered their prayers and sacrifices and eight years after her, there were numerous offspring. The continuation of the tribe was assured. She was also looking forward to seeing them again. She would tell them of the great city. Of the enormous temples and the myriad of orcs that had gathered here. She would show them the pictures she had drawn. Of the statues of the divine parents. Of the solstice celebrations. Of the old temple and the new. OF the trees that lined the streets. Of the lake on whose shore the city lay.

She would not show them the other pictures. The ones she had dreamt about and hoped were just mad fantasies. She would discuss those with her mother and how the tribe should deal with them, but the young ones need not know. They lay on the table in front of her and she stared at them, hoping to draw some other meaning from them. As if only looking hard enough might change what was plain on paper.

She emptied another cup. The first ones had stung in her throat. This one went down easy. She had stopped counting. She had been sitting here for too long and yet not long enough. She could still see the same images in front of her.

The next few moments were a little blurry in her memory. Something ran wet over her head and down her face. Behind her, a voice slurred something, but she didn’t listen. Before her eyes, the shapes of her drawings into unreadable nothingness. She took two steps to the orc she blamed for this. In retrospect she wasn’t even sure it was the right one.

Her fist hit his face and he stumbled. What followed was shouting and thrown cups. She hit him again, without paying too much attention to her surroundings. Then something crashed into her. Someone was holding her. She threw a punch and stumbled, pulling the other person to the ground with her. More shouting. Then she was standing again, the world spinning around her. She tried to support herself, but her hand grasped at nothing and she fell onto a bench, landing between bodies. Someone punched her and she couldn’t manage to fight back. She just rolled to the floor.

She ended up lying on the dusty street outside the tavern. Wet and with the taste of blood and wine on her tongue. Several parts of her body hurt and she decided against getting back up.

A shadow fell across her face. She refused to look up. “Go away.”

“Oh child, come on, let me help you.”