Legon smiled at Edis and said with a playful taunting voice, “The deer we got?”
Edis looked confused for a moment and then said sarcastically, “Oh, forgive my mistake, o mighty hunter, the deer you got.” As he said this he gave Legon a slight bow.
“Very good, peasant, you may go back to your work now.” Legon tried to make his voice sound pompous and important.
Edis laughed and shook his head. “You should respect your elders.”
Before Legon could retort, Edis walked to the ice box to get the deer. Legon walked back to the wall and grabbed a large cleaver. This one boasted a three foot handle and a blade that was about a foot and half long and six inches wide. They used this one for splitting carcasses. He walked to the cow hanging from the ceiling, raised the cleaver high above his head, and brought it down on the center of the cow’s back. His aim was perfect; the cleaver cut right against the vertebrae about two feet down the back. Legon pulled the cleaver out and repeated the cut, and within a few minutes the cow was split in two. Legon and Edis took one half to the ice box and then placed the other half on a counter in the back of the shop. He spent the rest of the morning cutting up the piece of meat.
They didn’t break for lunch until two. When Legon walked into the house he saw Sasha sitting in the kitchen looking put-out and talking to their Mother.
“Mom, I’m okay now. Everything is fine. Let me help you,” she said.
“No no, dear, I can do it myself. I have been making meals without your assistance for some time now and I can do it today. Besides, you need to rest,” protested Laura, waving her arms and hands in a dismissive manner.
“Hey Sash, how do you feel?” Legon asked sitting next to her at the table.
“I’m feeling fine. I can help mom, but you know how she is,” she said, shooting a look at her mother and folding her arms.
He chuckled. Laura placed a plate of food in front of him. She’d made chicken and some flatbread for lunch. He began to eat his food with delight. He was very hungry from the day’s work, and they ate fast since they didn’t have much time.
“Ey ash ii,” he began with food in his mouth.
“Swallow,” Sasha said flatly, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. “Boys they can be such animals,” she thought.
Legon swallowed and began, “Sorry Sash, but if you’re feeling a bit useless you can always get me some water. You know, if it will make you feel better.”
“Put the food back in your mouth. I liked it better that way,” she said, giving him a stern look, but she got up and brought him some water. Legon nodded in thanks.
“Are you going to go over to Kovos’ today?” she asked.
He began to talk with food in his mouth again but he realized what he was doing, swallowed, and began again. “Sorry, no. We have too much to do. You know how it is— either we are bored to tears or there’s not enough time in the day.”
“I’m sorry I made you late this morning.” She sounded mournful.
“Don’t ever say that, it’s not your fault.” He was serious. He hated her thinking that things like this were her doing.
“It’s not you, its dad, because he’s such a slave driver!” Legon said in an elevated voice to Edis.
Edis gave him a wicked grin. “Ha! Wait until this afternoon!”
“I love you too, dad.” At this, Edis nodded his head and took another bite.
It was a hard afternoon, but it wasn’t the work that weighed on Legon. The work was nothing to him; he was in good shape and his dad had been training him to be a butcher from the time he could hold a knife. In fact, Legon would be setting off in a few months to start his own shop. He was turning eighteen this year, which meant that he would be a man. His family would keep him around for a while since he was a help to them in the shop, but the problem was taxes.
In The Cona Empire, the queen had decreed that all should be taxed fairly. This meant that families who pooled their resources together were treated as though they were trying to put themselves above their fellow men, or at least this was the queen’s public stance on the matter. Therefore, a house consisted of two adults and however many underage children they had. If a child grew to be eighteen and still lived at home, you had to pay considerably more on your taxes, and if you could not pay that amount, the member of the family that was the cause of the increase went into the queen’s care. The queen’s care was slavery; people could rent you for a price from the empire, or you were sold to Iumenta for their own uses. This exact thing happened just a few months ago to Sasha’s friend when her family couldn’t afford her. When it was time to pay the annual taxes, the queen’s tax collectors took her into the queen’s care and she had not been seen since.
The problem now was not Legon; he made the family a good sum of money and his mother, who was the town healer, did decently enough. The problem was that Sasha was overage already and the family would have to pay a lot for her again this year. Because the townspeople didn’t care for her, she had a hard time making any money, and her condition prevented her from becoming a certified healer. This coming January when the collectors came, the family would now have to pay for both Sasha and Legon, and they could not do it. In fact, Legon was going to be forced to leave solely due to the fact that the town was not big enough for two butchers. The family’s best hope was for Legon to make as much as he could and bring it to his family to continue paying the taxes for Sasha, but he couldn’t see how it could be done. “I will not allow them to take her,” he said to himself. He could feel his face flush with anger as he thought of Moleth’s comment that morning.
Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face, because Edis said, “Son, we’ll find a way. We won’t let her go.”
“I hope so.”
As if in answer to their conversation, the door tinkled again. Legon turned to look at the newcomers and he felt his heart drop just a bit. Because of the type of work their family did, they were subject to quarterly tax appraisals and inspections. These were, in short, a chance for the government to come in and make sure Edis and Laura were fulfilling their requirements as a healer and a butcher. The inspections and appraisals weren’t pleasant, but not that bad either.
The two men stood side by side, and Legon could tell who was who right away. The one on the right had greasy hair and a bent nose that looked to have been broken on several occasions. This man was the collector; it was his job to secure payment. His deep blue robes were slightly disheveled, showing the slightly physical part of his job. The other man’s robes looked brand new. He was shorter than the first and had a round face. It looked like he took the time to part each hair on its own every morning. This man was the appraiser. The collector spoke first. His voice also sounded greasy and unclean.
“Edis I take it? We are here for your quarterly appraisal.”
Edis spoke. “Oh, I wasn’t expecting you for a week or so…”
The appraiser cut across him calmly. “Sorry, do forgive us, we are running a bit ahead of schedule. If you are not ready for us we could come by tomorrow.” There could not be more of a difference in the two men, as Legon knew. He liked the appraisers for the most part; they had the personality of bricks, but they were a lot more polite.
The collector looked scandalized. “I have things to do, Harper. This is only a quarterly, anyhow. Do you really need to look at their books and all that stuff?”
Harper looked irritated. “Fine, but we have more to cover this time than normal.” He pulled a piece of parchment from a shoulder bag. “This says here that you have a son coming of age this year?”
“Yes, my boy Legon here,” he said as he patted Legon’s arm.
Harper went on. “Very well. We have a bit of paperwork then. May we sit down somewhere?”
Edis took them into the house and with the rest of the family sat at the table. Laura looked flustered at the unexpected visit.
“I have records of treatments, if you would like. It shouldn’t take me long to get them.”
&n
bsp; The collector, who still hadn’t introduced himself, spoke. “Won’t be necessary. Harper here has agreed to the short version.”
Harper took out a large stack of paper. “In years past there has been no denying your ability to pay for your daughter…,” he paused, looking at the sheets, “…Sasha. This year it is unlikely that you will be able to pay for her and your son, so I have some paperwork to do with her.”
A very unnatural silence filled the room and the appraiser looked up at Sasha. “May I ask you a few questions?”
“What for?” she asked
“Because you are going into the queen’s care girl, that’s why,” said the collector, taking Sasha in with hungry eyes.
“But I … I thought we had until….”
Harper interrupted. “You are not going now, and your family may have enough for you this year. This paperwork is just a precaution so that when you go into the care, or I should say if you do, it saves time.”
Without another word Harper started in on the paperwork, asking Sasha everything from how tall she was to what she could do. During the entire interview Laura and Edis sat in stunned silence. Finally the interview was done.
“Thank you, miss.”
“So what does this mean?” Sasha asked.
The collector spoke. “What do you mean? You say here that you have been turned down for an apprentice healer’s license because of your affliction, and being a good cook isn’t much of a skill now is it? You will most likely go into a service field.”
“Service?” asked Edis for the first time.
“Maid, cook, farmhand, escort, things of that nature,” said the collector coldly.
Sasha blanched at the last one on the list. Edis’s face glowed with sweat.
“Well, we have taken up a lot of your time today. Thank you for the help, and we will see you in January,” Harper spoke, and he got up.
The collector followed him but turned back to face Sasha at the door. “Dear, I would not think to leave if I were you. We will find you if you try, and I can promise you, you will not like that. I will be the one to collect in January, and I look forward…” he paused as his eyes looked Sasha over again, “…look forward to getting better acquainted at that time.” The door clicked shut.
There wasn’t much talking after that, and Sasha went up to her room. Legon followed, wanting to see if she was ok. He poked his head in the doorway. Sasha was sitting on the bed with her arms around her knees, a solemn look on her face. Legon knew that she hated not doing anything all day and that she felt like she was a burden on the family, and today’s visit must have only confirmed those feelings. He walked into the room and sat at the foot on her bed.
“How was your day?” he asked as he leaned back on the wall. He knew that neither of them would want to talk about the appraisal, but he didn’t want her to be alone.
“It was fine. I just watched mom all day. She wouldn’t let me do anything. I know she means well, but it’s still annoying.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Hey, I’m going to pick up that cleaver from Kovos tomorrow. Do you want to come?” He hoped she would say yes. It would be good for her to get out of the house.
Sasha’s face brightened a bit. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, of course I am. I’m going to head over in the morning. Don’t worry about waking me up, I’ll be fine.” He said this last part with a smile.
She laughed. “Are you sure? I don’t mind helping.”
Legon’s face darkened a bit as he reached up and felt the lump that was still on his head. “I know you don’t.”
They sat quietly for a while. Legon closed his eyes, thinking that he may have been a little overzealous at work today. He reached around his neck and rubbed the top of his shoulders a bit.
“Had a long day?” she asked.
“I think I may have strained something today, but it shouldn’t matter. I got ahead, so I’ll have most of the day tomorrow.” His neck and shoulders were really starting to hurt now that he was thinking about it. “The perfect end to the perfect day,” he thought. Sasha scooted around behind him and started rubbing and pushing at his neck and shoulders.
“Sash, you know you don’t have to…”
“I know, but I haven’t done anything today and the muscle does feel tight. Let me fix it now so you’re not hurting for the rest of the week.”
“You’re the best, you know that?” he said, turning his neck to her.
“You’re just lucky I haven’t done anything today. Don’t expect this to become a regular thing. Besides, I owe you from this morning on the hill.”
He reached up, stopping her hand, “You don’t owe me for that.”
She didn’t answer, but he heard her sniff and knew what she was thinking.
* * * * *
Sasha was surprised at how knotted his back was. “He must have had a hard day,” she thought. She moved her hands along his shirt along the top of his shoulders to try and get a better fix on a knot. In truth this was as much for her as him. She needed to be doing something. She just wanted a semi-normal evening. She paused and looked down at his slightly exposed back, at the tattoo that had been on him from before Edis found him in the woods. Normally it was a dark green that was almost black, but tonight it was a deep purple.
It wasn’t like any other tattoo she’d seen. Most tattoos were of names and pictures, all the lines coming together, but not on this one. None of the lines touched, and if they overlapped the image would end right before the other and continue again just past the other side. In the center of the tattoo was a circle that was filled in. Three curving branches came from it, spaced out and symmetrical and covered in little leaves that were amazingly detailed. The circle and branches overlapped what appeared to be a triangle that was filled in except where the circle and branches went over it. There was another circle surrounding everything, with only the tips of each branch breaking out from it. In whole the tattoo was about three inches wide and three inches tall.
Nobody had been able to figure out why someone would do this to a baby, but now Sasha knew the question was not why but how. Tattoos didn’t change color and they distorted with growth. This one had not, and that meant one thing: magic.
She continued working on the knot, Legon blissfully unaware of her momentary pause. She should say something to him, but what would she say? He, like everyone else in the family, was at the breaking point today. She would wait until tomorrow, wait and collect her thoughts. After a bit she stopped rubbing his shoulders and sat back down. She was still thinking about the tattoo. If it had been made by magic, then why? And did that mean that there was more to it than just decoration? She never worried that much about her brother. He was tough and could take care of himself, but if he had been marked with magic….
“Thanks Sash,” said Legon with a yawn. “It’s getting late. I think I’m going to go to bed.”
Sasha smiled at him and nodded her head. “If you must. I will see you in the morning.”
* * * * *
Legon got up and stretched his arms above his head, then leaned over and gave her a huge hug. He walked out of the room, shut the door, and walked into his own. The bed was bathed in soft moonlight and looked wonderful. There was a slight breeze outside that made the room feel cool and nice. He undressed down to his undershorts and slipped under the covers. His mind drifted from thought to thought in a haze as oftentimes happens when one is falling asleep. Legon drifted to sleep in what felt like moments, never knowing that next door his sister lay awake, thinking and worrying.
Chapter Three
The Arrow’s Flight
“Gray is sometimes seen as a mix of light and dark. This, however, is incorrect. To the trained mind and soul there is no gray, simply light and dark, good and evil, joy and sorrow. Gray is only misconception, and it is in this misconception where failure occurs. Yet dark is not always evil, nor is light always good; you may move to one and find the other.”
-Lectures of Logic, Hous
e Paldin
Legon was walking in a misty field of soft heather. He couldn’t see the sky through the mist, but there was enough light to tell that the sun was up. He could barely see five feet in front of him. He could feel the mist fill his lungs with each breath and feel the weight of it. The mist was cool and felt good. Legon knew that he was not anywhere he’d ever been before. The weight and moisture in the air made his skin feel moist, like after a heavy rain storm. He was in the lowlands somewhere. I’m probably by the sea. Arkin told me they get… what did he call it? Foggy. Fog down by the sea, that’s what this mist must be, he thought.
There was sound coming from ahead of him. Something heavy was dragging, accompanied by thumps of something large hitting the ground. He heard a deep rumble that reverberated in his chest. The sound was moving toward him. He could feel his heart race. A branch snapped in the far distance and the dragging sound stopped. He could tell now that whatever was making the sound was right in front of him through the fog, but the snapping branch had made it stop, which meant that there was more than one of whatever was here.
Silence. A sound from overhead and a bit forward. What is it? Legon’s ears strained trying to place the sound. It was like breathing, but it couldn’t be. The breaths were long and deep, he couldn’t think of anything big enough to breathe like that. Then a thought came to his mind: Only a dragon would breathe that deeply. His body became rigid. It’s a dragon!
Up to this point his heart had been pounding with a sense of adventure, but now his blood ran cold and his heart seemed to stop beating altogether. The only dragons in the land were Iumenta dragons, and they were cruel and clever. The deep breathing caught for a moment. Legon stood stalk-still, hoping beyond hope that it couldn’t hear, smell, or see him. Then a new dread tore through him. Dragons can read thoughts! It doesn’t need to smell me! He had to run. He turned on his heels and bolted away from the sound, his legs and lungs burning as he sprinted. There was a snort and a grumble from behind him and from above there came a resounding thud… thud…. Thud. The other dragon.
Legon felt the air in his chest catch with every thud. The sound was at first far away, then over him… and now in front of him. The ground shook and he heard the sound of claws scraping against rocks in the field. He was trapped. One dragon was behind him and the other in front. He wondered if dying was going to hurt. Then the fog parted and Legon saw a flash of bright blue.