2 Prologue-2

Arsh looked at the fog surrounding his village with an interested gaze. He had very little to no knowledge about the geography of the place.

The village existed in the deepest part of the northern continent. At least that was what he heard from most adult villagers. Also, the mountain range in the two directions only helped in making it more isolated. Causing any form of contact outside of the village, nearly impossible. 

"Hey, Kiddo! How are you doing nowadays?"

A villager with a brown beard waved at Arsh, a smile plastered all over his face.

"I am doing just fine. Thanks for asking though."

Arsh waved and greeted any person he met on the way to his home. He was more or less acquainted with every person in the village and was on good terms with them.

"Hey Mom, I am home."

His house was surprisingly well-built and luxurious on the inside. However, upon entering the house Arsh went on to sigh and looked at the walls. At the tons of weird paintings drawn on them. 

Which his mother seems to love for some reason, as it was always only ever increasing.

"Wash your hands first, Arsh."

Arsh made an annoyed face at her but still followed anyway. After washing his hand, he sat down at the table with his mother for lunch.

"Mom? Why do we live so far away inside a forest?" 

Arsh asked curiously, his mouth full of food. He always wondered what was the reason for that. Mainly why do the villagers never try to contact any person outside of the village?

Samantha glared at him and stated simply.

"It's quiet and peaceful here."

"But first, why don't you tell me where you were in the morning? I heard you got into a fight again."

Caught by surprise, Arsh choked down on his food.

"Cough Cough. Cough Cough"

'Damn you, Edward'

"I always tell you to eat slowly."

Samantha lightly scolded, passing him a glass of water.

"You shouldn't always fight Arsh. They are just a bunch of kids anyways, and today you did something horrible to them. They have serious injuries because of you."

Samantha's scolding started to become harsh with time. But what annoyed Arsh the most was how much she sounded genuinely upset with him.

"It was his fault for calling me a bastard."

Arsh rebutted angrily with tears forming near his eyes. He knew he wasn't completely in the wrong for doing that. He wanted his mother to take his side, rather than some random kid.

"He also said horrible things about you, Mom! I can't stand people like him. He should be thankful, I didn't kill him" 

Arsh's bitterness started leaking out. He used to ignore them most of the time himself. But today they crossed the line and Arsh had to show them their place.

"ARSH!!"

"Violence is not the answer to the problems."

Samantha shouted at Arsh with an enraged voice. Especially bothered by his last line.

"It seems to work well enough."

Arsh rolled his eyes and shouted back in a loud voice.

"Why don't you tell me anything about my father then? So I don't have to go through all of that every single day. Where is he? Why did he leave us all alone in the middle of nowhere? Do you even have any idea what kind of things I hear every day?"

Samantha went silent, her eyes filled with sadness. It was quiet for some time in the dining room, with an awkward tension around both of them as they sat in silence together. Arsh also stopped eating, feeling guilty about shouting at his mother.

"You will know when the time comes. That is all you need to know right now"

Samantha said in a monotonous voice.

In silence, they finished lunch together. Arsh cleaned the table afterward. He did not get an answer to any of the questions he wanted today. It was now time for the visit anyway.

___________

"Hey Arsh, you have grown again."

Arsh was at the house of the chief of the secluded village. The old man had a white beard and an elderly face. Though Arsh was always annoyed by the same old remark he used to give him, whenever they met.

"We met just yesterday, old man."

The village chief ignored Arsh and looked at Samantha. Nodding at her, he then turned to Arsh with a serious expression.

"Can you step out of the house for a few minutes? There are some important things I need to discuss alone with Samantha."

Arsh obediently left the house and went on wandering around the village. He was alone, as most of the villagers were busy with their day-to-day life.

The main source of food was hunting, that's why the villagers started training their kids from a young age. Though Arsh was an anomaly among them, even if he never trained in his life. His body was still stronger than most adults.

He smiled suddenly, finding Edward around the corner of the village. Who most likely was going for a hunt.

"Hey Edward, What are you doing out here? Aren't you usually out of the village?"

Arsh didn't have something better to do. So, he chose to irritate the most popular young man in the village for now. It was still better than doing nothing.

"Kid! You know this is my home village right? Anyway, I am leaving for hunting again, so I don't have time to waste with you."

Edward waved at Arsh one last time and started moving deep into the forest.

'Tch! He ditched me.'

Arsh was bored, now that there was no one around anymore. Not even the annoying kids from the morning either.

'I never imagined that I am going to miss those fuckers one day.'

Arsh suddenly chuckled silently, as something he shouldn't do popped up in his mind. Bored beyond belief, he obviously was going to do that. After all, even being scolded was a lot better than solitude. 

'What are they talking about?'

Arsh climbed a tree near the village chief's house and jumped on the balcony. He slowly moved closer to the room where they were talking, trying to eavesdrop on them.

'This much distance should be good. Probably...'

"You know! You can't protect him forever Samantha. Stop being unreasonable."

The village chief said in a deflated voice. He was clearly upset about something.

"I don't care about any of that. I alone am strong enough to kill any person, who will ever stand in my way. I don't care, even if they are mythical beings or whatever."

Samantha replied with full composure. Her voice brimmed with confidence.

"Ask for forgiveness, Samantha. That is the only way forward or we are all going to be doomed by your actions."

"I think we are done here chief. Just don't call me, if we are going to have the same conversation all over again."

Samantha replied with her voice full of anger. She didn't bid any farewells to the village chief either. She just moved out of the house, to the direction of the forest.

"So, how much do you listen?"

"What!?"

Arsh jumped up in the air, startled by the sudden voice from his side. 

'When?'

The old man who was sipping tea, just a moment ago on his sofa was now at his side. Arsh tried to compose himself quickly, trying to hide his surprise away.

"Who were you guys talking about?" 

Arsh asked with a grim expression on his face. He definitely had heard something about saving someone.

"You don't need to know about that right now, child."

The village chief smiled lightly, patting him on the shoulder.

"But, everything will unveil itself at the right time. When you will be presented with everything or rather nothing. You have to choose the path for yourself."

"The choice will be entirely yours. Just always remember, you mean everything to Samantha. Never take all the love she has given you for granted."

The village chief ended his speech on a mysterious note while Arsh just stood there, dumbfounded by the words of the village chief. He tried to make any kind of sense of it, but nothing came to his mind.

'Why the heck this geezer is trying to sound profound all of a sudden?'

"Remember! Everything in this world is made for the sole purpose of praying to the gods. If we went against their will, they wouldn't sit still. I think you already know about them by now and what they represent."

Arsh nodded. He knew most of the things there is to know, about gods, monsters, and mythical beings from the books his mother gave him. 

Always pestering him by saying that was the most important knowledge for him.

"It is for the better. Now go back, we don't have much time left. We have to prepare for the worst."

The chief hurriedly entered his house again. And Arsh slowly jumped out off the balcony. Only one constant question ringing in his head now.

'Is he right in his head?'

Arsh started rushing toward his house, as his every thought slowly went in a spiral. 

But one thing was clear to him now. He knew nothing just yet. He understood nothing just yet.

He had questions. Several questions about what they were talking about, and what the village chief meant when he said those words. What or who does his mother want to protect so badly?

"It all sounds too ominous."