Between the Veil and Crown

Kylin 1

Kylin sat on the large boulder overlooking the hidden entrance to the forest prison, the rain pelting his hood. Listening for any unusual noise, he watched as the captain of the Rangers tested the barrier locking the evil within.

Behind him, Xane, the keeper of the prison, shuffled his feet in boredom.

Eventually, Captain Rei emerged, a sour expression peering out from underneath his hood.

"Is it as bad as we thought?" Kylin asked, not moving from his spot.

"Worse, I'm afraid," Rei growled. "It's done a number to the enchantment. The sooner we can reinforce it, the better." He looked up at Xane. "And no one's been by here?"

Xane shook his head. "I haven't even seen or heard anything out of the ordinary."

"How much longer would you give it?" Kylin asked.

Rei hesitated, looking back at the entrance. Both scars and wrinkles lined the grizzled face, speaking to years of experience that had drawn Kylin to respect him in the first place. He rubbed his beard anxiously. "I don't know. I would like to say a couple of months, but with it coming on so unexpectedly-" He sighed in irritation. "Of course, it's happening at the worst possible time. The moonflowers haven't bloomed yet."

"Amelia probably has some," Kylin suggested.

"Amelia is the only healer in her village within a day's riding distance," Rei snapped back. "I don't want to take anything from her that she might need with only a moment's notice." Shaking his head and grumbling, he headed back to where they had left their horses.

Kylin shrugged off the harsh tone. He got to his feet, jumped off the boulder, and followed after Rei. He gave one final glance at the prison entrance before mounting.

It really was such a clever place. Between two giant tree roots, the ground dipped steeply. Ferns, boulders, and a tangled mess of undergrowth discouraged anyone from trying to find a cozy shelter. The only indication that an evil older than Kyin's grandparents could be stored under the tree was the lone Ranger who stayed nearby. It had been sealed away by Rangers generations ago, back when the Veil Forest was overrun by creatures, and the Veil villages were in constant danger. Now, only the Rangers knew of it and worked to preserve the secret, should anyone with the wrong intentions try to unearth it.

Rei directed his horse away from the prison, calling out to Xane as he left: "Send word immediately if you see anything change."

The two navigated there out of the depths of the forest, making their way back to where there were well worn paths. The rain could be heard high above them, sometimes finding its way through the cracks in the leaves and branches and landing either around them or on them. Occasionally, the chatter of a squirrel or the song of a bird could be heard.

When they reached the path, Rei headed to the east, towards the villages. Kylin stopped short, already on the way to head back to the base.

"Not yet, boy," Rei called over his shoulder. "I have to take care of some business with the soldiers.

Kylin felt his lip curl in disgust as he turned his horse to the east. There was always business with the soldiers. They sat around in the villages, eating their food and using up their resources in exchange for the joke of protection. They hadn't done any actual work since the danger had been driven from the Veil village, around the same time the evil was sealed into the tree. The only work they did do was harassing the villagers. With their king not listening to their pleas to remove the soldiers, the villagers often turned to the Rangers for their help in resolving issues.

"Harassing" may be too kind of a word, though, Kylin realized, as the memory of his own family's experience with them came to mind. They could perform outright criminal acts and walk away with no repercussions. As much as the Rangers tried to play peacekeeper, they had as much jurisdiction over the soldiers as the soldiers did over them. Retaliating against the soldiers for the sake of the villagers was asking for a war- a position Rei and captains before him did not want to put them in.