Chosen: A Warriors Trial Fit for a Thief

Chapter 1

There was once a time when I would tend in fields of golden crops, sun bearing down my arms and neck as I watched the horizon, waiting for the thundering sounds of the horse’s hoofs. I was in my late teens then, but still not old enough to be an adult. Ever since I was young, I had enjoyed watching with a mix of awe and fear as Heaven’s soldier’s rode over the hill top and passed my family’s farm.

 Their horse’s gleamed pale white in the glow of the sun, their riders armour varied for each person but was still stunningly bright and silver as if it was constantly polished. Every one of Heaven’s soldier’s wore the same dusty white hood that covered their face and was pointed at the front, no matter how varied their armour and weapons were. It was their strange symbol all of them wore that kept them shrouded in mystery.

But one day that life changed for me.

I tend the fields as I do every morning as the sun rises and I watch the hill top as the sound of the galloping horse drifts with the wind. The rider comes to the top of the hill and instead of riding on, they stop. I look on in fear as I feel their eyes bear down on me. I can’t tell if his eyes are on me but some sixth sense tells me he is watching me.

My heart is racing, the fear inside of me building. He has figured me out. Any moment he will come down to me and kill me where I stand. But he doesn’t. He suddenly charges on, continuing on his journey.

A voice from behind startles me. “Hmm, that’s the first time one of them hoods has ever stopped their runnin’”, a younger boy that also works on the farm says. I don’t respond. I am still transfixed and believing they were on to me. I don’t know what to do, they have found out, I could tell. “Dante?” the boy is confused at my absence of words.

“Look, I’m going inside. I’ve gotta’ talk to my father”, I turn and run towards the farmhouse, sprinting through the dirt. I find my father milking one of the cows and I stop beside him, my lungs gasping for air.

“Dante, shouldn’t you be attending to the crops?” he asks with a confused look on his face.

“Father! They know I’m the one who’s done it!” I am panting for breathe.

“Dante, just calm down”, his look of confusion has turned to one of concern. “Who knows?”

“The Chosen! One of them stopped on the crest of the hill. He had looked straight at me. He knows something, father! They’re going to kill me!” I am frantic now.

“You can’t be sure of that, they wear those hoods. He probably wasn’t looking at you. And if you were found out by the Chosen, you’d be dead already. There’s nothing to worry about. You’re the fastest and most skilled man I’ve ever seen, Dante. Keep doing what you’re doing, you’re helping so many people”, a reassuring smile appears on his face.

“I’m still a boy, father, I’m still a year away from being an adult”, I say but my hopes are rising. Maybe they haven’t found me out.

“Then all the more reason for them not to kill you. Now go on, get out of here. The boys have been starving for days. We may live on a farm but the crops are still growing and we’re running out of food too quickly. Go find some food for them, will you?”

I smile, “Okay, father” and leave the farm sprinting. I am a fit runner. I run every day and I am in great shape for my age. I have to be since I am a farm hand and a thief, although never at the same time.

Glancing quickly back at the farm, I run in the other direction, like I always do when I leave for the day. I avoid running along paths but instead run through the forest and dense bushes. I pull out a map from a side pocket on my pack slung over my shoulders and study it quickly. It is my own images that I have mapped out multiple times, marking the routes and paths through the forests as well as the location of camps that are constantly set up in the area. I slip the folded map into my pocket and continue on.