Streams of lights splashed his face, wakes him up just when dawn is breaking through the horizon, he can barely glimpse it through the dense forest, he stretched himself from the cold ground and sat up. His mind kept going in circles as he remembered what happened just four days ago - he had an argument with his father, and Mountain soldiers came to claim the town and his father was taken. He can't think of anything else no matter how hard he tried. He got up and packed things up. Most of the buildings in the town he lived in were burnt down to ashes, so he took what little money and food he could use. Without an idea of where to go, he just wandered through the forest. When he packed everything up, he ventured off to his objectiveless destination again. He walked without the slightest sense of direction or time, that is until he looked up to the sky through the tree tops and noticed it was almost midday. He sat down and looked in his satchel bag, he only sees a can of bean soup and two loaves of bread. When he ran out of water two days ago, he was only able to drink dew early in the morning. He said to himself, "I don't know how much longer I can keep on walking, with no water, I have to find a... a village, or... or a town... or a city, anything will do." A glimpse at the sword that is still in its sheath and wondered what was so important about the sword that his father had to hide it. Zilian always had a passion for swords, but it was a touchy subject with his father. He never knew there was a sword in his own house, much less about a secret basement. He gathered up wood and started up a fire, cooked the can of bean soup and ate the last two loaves of bread. When he finished eating, he packed everything up again. As he was about to go, he took another look at the sword, a moment of ponder. He buckled up the sword, then continued on his way.

~---~

It had been three days since Zilian had eaten and almost a two days since he had a proper drink of water. He kept on walking until he finally collapsed from exhuastion. He thought, What a way to go, lost in thought and wandering in the unknown until lack of food and water. "What is your destiny?... Never be afraid and find your destiny." Zilian shouted "Father! Father! Wait! Don't go!" Jolting straight up from this nightmare, he finds himself in a room on a bed. He looked around, a window next to his bed on the right and a small dresser next to the bed and a table with a chair in the middle of the room. All of his stuff were sprawled on the dresser. Out through the window, he saw a couple of silos next to each other. A barn and a couple of pastures with cows eating their grass. He got up from the bed and walked through the door, he saw a hallway with several doors on each side and a stairway at the end of the hallway. He heard a couple of voices downstairs as he walked to the stairway. Now gone down stairs to see whose house it was he is in. He heard an old, shaky voice, "Hahaha, them town boys were taught, don't ya think so? Hey, while you are there get me some dried hapers." A second voice, a young girl judged by the voice, "Ok, grandpa." He walked into what seemed to be the living room and saw an old man. The white haired old man, partly bald with a very slim, straight body, was sitting in a rocking chair. A young girl, her neck-length brown hair swaying as she moved, walked into the room. The tray in her hands held a bowl full of dried, black fruits that looked like rocks, probably just as hard from the way the man munched on them. Zilian coughed to get their attention. The old man and girl looked at him, there was a pause until the old man spoke first. "Hoho, so the mysterious forest boy finally awakens. Come, come, have a seat, have some refreshments. We have dried hapers, of course thats what us old people eat, how about gabits and some juice my boy, lets chat. Sit, sit." The man pulled out a chair next to him for Zilian to sit on. Zilian surprised at their hospitality replied, "Thank you, I would like that." When he sat down, the old man turned to the girl and asked, "Erica dear, would ya mind if ya get some goods? Thanks." He turned to Zilian and said "Ya must be very hungry, ya were out for many days." Zilian said, "Was I really out for that long?" "Ya sure was, of course it wasn't me who found ya, oh where's my manners? My name is Farame and this is my granddaughter Erica, what may yours be? Or shall I name ya Forest Boy." Zilian chuckled, "No, that won't be neccesary my name is Zilian, who is it that found me?" "My dear Erica of course, nobody else lives in this house anymore, my son and his wife... we will just say they won't be coming back." Zilian said, "I guess I thank you for helping me, I will be on my way soon." Before he got up Farame said, "Wait right there sonny. We haven't had any visitor in a long time to chat with, stay for a bit longer. What may your story be?" He sat back down, "Well, I lived in a small town, but I really don't want to talk about it, I'll just say that I lost everything because of the Mountain Empire." Erica comes into the room with some refreshments, Zilian and Farame take a cup of juice. Farame stays silent for moment and said, "You know, I am friends with the Swamp Empire and my job is to gather information from them Mountain soldiers. When I am selling my goods to them, them soldiers always are chatty, so we get information like that. Then them spies from the Swamp come here every so often to see what new information we may have." Zilian wondering what it is he is trying to say, he just told him so casually of something is really big. "Why are you telling me this? What does this have to do with anything about me?" "Well, ya are now a war orphan and you have no idea where to go, so I figured to tell ya as a friendly way to invite ya to the family. Course, I'd have ya not sitting around doing nothing, there's work needing done, how would ya like that?" Zilian looked at Farame and Erica. These look like good people and besides, it's not like he has anywhere else to go to. Zilian answered, "I guess I wouldn't mind to staying with you." Farame said, "Very well, I guess you can settle in the room ya woke up in, I believe we will get along very well. I have one question which has been bothering me for awhile, why do ya have a sword? Ya don't look like skilled with a blade." Zilian thought about for awhile and replied, "I honestly am not so sure myself, my father's last wish was that he wanted to me take care of the sword." "Very well, it's not my business to pry into ya's business, especially since it was your father's last will." Farame got up from his chair and said "Excuse me, if you don't mind. I have some work to do myself and while I am at it, I will fix out a schedule for some work for ya to do around the farm, see ya for supper." He left through the front door, Zilian sat there for a moment longer, he got up to go to his room and sleep because he was still tired, as he was going to go back up the stairs he heard Erica call him. "Excuse me, I just wanted to let you know I took the liberty to look for a set of clothes for you." She handed Zilian a bunch of neatly, folded clothes, he said "Uh... thanks, I appreciate it." Erica said "Your welcome, I believe they are the proper size." With the clothes Erica gave him. He went back up the stairs to his room, he thought I guess it would be nice living here.