“What?” Estella gasped.

“What do mean they eat them?” She asked. Her expression was one of terror and panic.

Raymond sat on the chair opposite hers and folded his arms as he leaned backwards.

“The only thing that can cure the dread is the flesh of a singing child. It’s as simple as that. Those afflicted by the dread will pursue the song until they find its choir, in this case, a single singer… your child.” Raymond explained.

“Umm… Dad?” Kalos asked as he tended to the fire.

“Yes?”

“What causes the dread?” Kalos asked, prompting Estella to nod her head in curious agreement.

“Mmm… No one knows for sure, but an old priest once told me that the dread is born from deep within the hearts of evil men.” Raymond said.

“Does this mean that women are not affected?” Estella asked nervously.

“As far as I know, nothing prevents a woman from the curse, although I've yet to encounter a case where a woman was dreaded” Raymond explained.

“No one knows exactly what it is and everyone has their two cents on the subject. There was once a theory that it was born in the hearts of evil men, but then a priest got it one time and that theory was abandoned. But then again, not all priests possess the purest of souls. Another theory states that singing children are the ones who cause the dread, but no one has ever risked validating it. My guess is that it's random. Nature trying to rid itself of an abomination with an abomination. A child suddenly sings, thus breaking the norm and so a hunter is sent.” Raymond said bluntly, causing Estella to lower her head.

Kalos noticed this and pulled out a pouch of fosberries he kept with him. He handed her the pouch and she ate away as the night wore on.

“So what do we do now?” Kalos asked.

“We run. Once the villagers find out that one of their own has died, the chief will have us hung and running is not much better. The chief will most likely send bounty hunters after our heads.” Raymond said.

Kalos looked at Estella, who nervously looked between Kalos and his father.

“Will aunt Estella be coming with us?”

“No.” Raymond bluntly.

“And before you whine, I want you to think about what she represents. She’s a liability and will only slow us down.” Raymond said. However, he didn't take into account the fact that Kalos had taken a liking to Estella and the boy wasn’t going to let the conversation end there.

“She’s coming with us.” Kalos declared.

Raymond’s brows sunk and he stood from his seat. He then walked up to his son and looked at him dead in his eyes.

Kalos was almost two heads taller than his father and several times bigger, but Kalos knew better than to think of it that way. His eyes burnt with determination and nothing his father said was going to change his mind.

Was he going through a rebellious phase? Maybe. He was only nineteen after all. But this was more than that. Kalos genuinely wanted to protect Estella.

Raymond sighed.

“Fine. But if anything happens and we have to leave her, we’ll do so in a heartbeat, understood?” He said as he walked out of the little house on the hill.

“Yes!” Kalos exclaimed and he could visibly see the blood returning to Estella’s face.

“Estella, pack your things. We’re leaving now.” Raymond said as he disappeared into the darkness.

Kalos stayed behind and helped Estella get a few of her things and some winter clothing.

“What about uncle Leeden?” Kalos asked.

Estella folded her blanket as she blankly stared into the fireplace.

“I don’t know. He could be on his way home as we speak, but for now, I must focus on keeping his son alive.” Estella said weakly.

Kalos nodded as he turned all of her belongings into a single large backpack, which he easily carried.

“Are you alright? Isn’t that too much?” Estella asked.

“What? This? Hehe, not at all.” Kalos said as he and Estella left her home. They took the short walk to Kalosýni's house, where they found Raymond who had a backpack that was similar in size to the one Kalos had.

“Alright, we’ve got about a weeks worth of food, a few knives and a pregnant woman… perfect, let’s go.” He said as he walked towards the path that led out of the village.

“Where are we going?” Kalos asked.

“Carimae.” His father said as he trekked onward.

“What? Isn’t that very far away?” Kalos complained as he had never been out of the village before.

“Its better being dead and spending eternity in the pits of Nar' Agrun, right? Right, so let’s go.”

Kalos was about to follow but he turned around to see Estella staring in the direction of her home. He walked over to her and gently nudged her hand.

“Come on. Let’s go.” Kalos said and she eventually followed him. He made sure to focus half of his attention on Estella as they made their way down the path.

“Uh, dad. Will we be passing through Eslaf?” Kalos asked.

“No,” Raymond said bluntly.

Their journey was going to be a long and hard one, but Kalos couldn’t help be excited as he had never set foot outside the village before.

The three made their way further down the path and eventually left the borders of Silves.

Kalos admired the scenery of the mostly forest landscape. He couldn’t hide his joy as everything he saw was a new sight. Back in the village, he had turned every rock, climbed every tree and picked every flower. In all honesty, he had grown rather bored.

The shock and awe that came from simply walking were enough to put a smile on Kalos’ face.

Estella on the other hand took careful laboured steps in order to keep up with the silent but determined Raymond.

They continued to walk for several kilometres before Kalos noticed that Estella was looking rather tired. He checked the horizon and saw that the sun was steadily setting.

“Dad. It's gotten rather late. Why don’t we find a place to rest.” Kalos suggested.

Raymond stopped and turned to face his son and Estella. He could see Estella was hiding her fatigue behind a determined face. Kalos on the other hand looked like he could walk for an eternity before breaking a single sweat.

“Are you tired or is it for Estella’s sake.” Raymond thundered. Kalos' eyes widened and he exaggeratedly held his back.

“Oh! My goodness, my youth is proving useless. We really should rest, left I grind my joints to dust!” He said while limping towards a clearing just beside the path. Estella let out a tired giggle and Raymond sighed at his son's foolishness.

“Fine. But we’ll have to go further in the forest.” Raymond said before following his son as he entered the forest, with Estella in tow.

They eventually found another clearing and set up some makeshift beds beneath a large boulder. The boulder had a cosy little gap at its base that served as excellent shelter.

Kalos went off into the woods to fetch some kindling, leaving Raymond and Estella by the campsite.

Raymond attentively inspected his gear while Estella stared at him. He shifted his body to avoid direct eye contact with her, but she continued to stare.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Oh- it’s just that you killed someone... so easily... like it was nothing. I was wondering if you were once a soldier or something.” She said as she rubbed her belly.

“It wasn’t nothing. He was a man, just like me. He probably had a family, but my son’s life matters more.” Raymond said before the sound of something moving in the woods caught his attention. He shrugged it off and returned to inspecting his gear.

Estella on the other hand was still concerned about the sound she had just heart.

“Umm… do animals… er- do animals hunt singing children?” She asked, causing Raymond to scratch his head in thought.

“Mmm… The thing is, I know very little about singing children, same as everyone else. But I think it’s safe to say that animals are not drawn to singing children.” Raymond said before some more rustling came from the forest. He turned around to see his son returning with a bunch of wood and a rabbit.

“What the- why did you kill that rabbit? We have food.” Raymond asked.

His true question was: How in the world did you catch one so fast?

“Well, I realised that most of the food we have is dried and preserved and salty. This made me wonder if all of that salt is good for the baby, then suddenly a rabbit hopped within by view and I caught it!” Kalos said with an expression of triumph.

Raymond rubbed his temples in amazement while Estella clapped her hands.

Later that evening, Estella prepared the rabbit over a little fire while Raymond scolded his son about the dangers of hunting in unknown areas.

They then enjoyed the rather tender meat of the rabbit and down it with some water they had in some water skins. Although Raymond had alcohol in his pouch instead of water.

After finishing his meal, Kalos found himself fully awake and with nothing to do. He looked and saw that Estella was fully awake as well.

“Hey dad, can you tell us a story?” Kalos asked.

“Oh? A story about what?”

“Anything.” Kalos insisted. Raymond let out a loud groan before signing in defeat.

“Ok. There was once a deer. This deer had the grandest set of antlers in the land. Its coat was thick and the land it roamed was bountiful. It was adored by the people, so much so that they refused to hunt it and went as far as to worship it. Even other male deer avoided it as they wouldn’t stand a chance finding a mate in its presence. The deer loved all of the attention and enjoyed its peaceful days, but one day it was caught in a forest fire. Surrounded by towers of flame, the deer frantically ran deep into the woods and suddenly tripped and fell coating itself in flame. The deer ran to a nearby stream and splashed itself in the waters until the flames died. The deer had managed to survive and it painfully waited for the flames to die out. Hours passed and the deer eventually emerged from the water. It returned to the clearing where it normally basked and found an unburned patch of grass. It sat there and held its head up high, but when nearby deer saw it, they quickly fled in panic.” Raymond said as the embers of their little campfire danced in the air.

“The deer was confused by their reaction, but it bothered him not. He had survived and that’s what mattered, however, later that day some humans arrived with weapons of all sorts. The deer couldn’t understand what they were shouting, but it looked like they blamed him for what happened. One of the humans almost stabbed the deer but collapsed and vomited as he approached it. Confused and afraid, the people ran away as well. Leaving the deer alone. Perplexed by their reactions and burning with curiosity, the deer returned to the stream which had saved his life to see that the water had stopped flowing. All that remained was a little puddle that was filled to the brim with death and rot. The deer looked at his reflection in the puddle to find that his once glorious set of antlers were broken and his pelt had burn marks. Its once radiant sheen was replaced by large festering wounds and scars.” Raymond continued.

“Broken by the reality of his new visage, the deer collapsed and slowly awaited its lonely death.”

“And?” Kalos asked.

“What? It died. The end.” Raymond said as he rolled himself over.

“What? That was a bad story! I want another one.” Kalos complained.

“Hehe. I have one if you’re interested.” Estella said with slightly tired eyes. Kalos knew that she wanted to tell a story for his sake, but he also knew convincing her to sleep wouldn’t be easy so he remained silent.

“My husband once told me stories of the downfall of an extremely powerful man. He was known as the eminence of light.” Estella said.

What followed after was silence as her words echoed in Kalos' mind.

“Whoa! That sounds amazing, please continue.” Kalos said as his eyes sparkled.

“Well, this is just second-hand information from my husband. Anyway, the eminence of light is the highest position in the order of the knights of Eirini. It is only given to one who holds their code closest to their heart and practices it with all of their strength. However, ages ago there was an eminence who took the mantle with the greatest pride and strength. He knew no rivals and was a great leader. He slew the creatures of darkness endlessly and even made peace with some of the tribes in Carimae. This time of prosperity and glory wouldn’t last forever though, it's said that he betrayed the order and killed many of his comrades in an attempt to steal the orders greatest secret, the Axis.” Estella said as she laid on her side, making herself comfortable.

Meanwhile, Kalosýni's jaw hung as he waited for Estella to finish the story.

“What happened after?” He asked.

“Well, no one really knows. Some say that he was killed, other’s say he fled. Betrayer, they call him, deserter-"

Estella was interrupted by Raymond’s loud snoring.

“Well, it’s just a story.” Estella said with a yawn. Kalos laid on his back and thought back on the two stories he’d just heard.

He eventually fell asleep and had strange dreams of deers and knights.

.

..

The next day came quickly and Kalos greeted it with a burst of energy. He stood up, stretched and walked out into the woods.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Kalos heard his father call. He turned and saw his father standing next to a tree.

“When did you wake up?” Kalos asked, trying to change the subject.

“Before you did. I swear you have too much energy for your own good.” Raymond said as he packed his things.

“Wake her up.” He said.

Kalos gave a quick nod and knelt over Estella. He gently shook her and she sluggishly awoke.

“You two wake up pretty early,” Estella said as she stretched out her rather small arms.

The three cleared up the campsite and returned to the main path.

“We might have to pass through Llendor. There’s something I’d like to get-"

“Help!”

A cry came from further up the path.

Kalos and Estella turned to Raymond for answers.

“Let’s see what happening. But if it's too much trouble, we stay out of it.” Raymond said as they walked up the path. He withdrew his dagger, Kalos did the same and Estella followed closely behind.

They walked for a few moments beforel the cause of the commotion was revealed.

They saw a rather small man being attacked by rather large spider-like creatures.

They were about the size of watermelons, had pitch-black bodies and eight bright red eyes.

“Traeltors!” Raymond gasped in a rather comical way.

“What are they?” Kalos asked as he readied his body for attack.

“Beings of darkness. Relatively harmless when alone, dangerous when in groups. They normally don’t kill people, but they love the stuff people carry.” Raymond said casually as the Traeltors took nibbles of the small man's cart.

“Help! You there! My cart! Help!” The man cried.

Raymond sighed. Then looked at his son with a mischievous smile.

“What?” Kalos asked nervously.

“You’re a strong young lad aren’t you? But you lack experience. Go kill those things.” Raymond said as he walked towards a tree, where he dropped his stuff and sat with his back against the said tree.

“Help!” The man cried again.

Kalos sighed, before dashing towards the man.

Meanwhile, Estella sat beside Raymond.

“You said that traeltors are beings of darkness. Then why are you letting Kalos face them on his own?” She asked.

Raymond let out a mischievous chuckle.

“They are the lowest of the denizens of Nar' Agrun. Just don’t tell him that, hehe.” Raymond said, while his son stabbed away at the spiders. Blue blood and exoskeleton pieces flew everywhere until all of them were crushed to pieces.

Well, most of them. Kalos noticed that one of the traeltors had escaped. He felt something rather odd about himself as well. He checked his pocket to find that it was empty. The same pocket where he kept the pendant.

Suddenly, the world in his eyes became dark and Kalos’ senses were heightened. The rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds and the location of a certain spider.

Kalos abandoned the little man and his cart and charged into the forest. The little man watched in surprise as his saviour abandoned him, but, not all had been lost.

The man approached Raymond and Estella, who saw that the man wore a rather expensive looking set of mismatched clothing. Some of it looked extremely well made and luxurious, while other pieces looked worn out and very much lived in, to the point where one could call the old. Very old.

The man removed his fancy cap then gave Raymond and Estella a sloppy bow.

“Yhank you for saving me and my cargo, really. Pray tell, what are the names of my saviours?” The man asked.

“Oh- Es-" Estella was about to speak when she noticed Raymond’s gaze.

“My name is Ueel. I’m a simple farmer, so no such thanks are needed.” Raymond lied.

“Is that so? Well, you have my thanks either way. Are you travelling to Llendor? If so, then I humbly request we travel together.” The man said.

“That sounds great and all, but we don’t even know your name… sir."

“Oh- Eirini forgive me, where are my manners. My name is Crimwal Sorvae.” The man said with a smile.