A Witch's Son

|Wretched Pagans| Chapter 1

{This is not historically accurate-I based this off of mainly the fact witch-hunts were prevalent in the 17th century in Russia. Things like guilds and some weaponry are not historically accurate to the location. Also the fact I can't indent paragraphs here drives me insane}

The day before Midsummer Eve arrived and I just watched my fellow men immersed themselves in women, booze, and whatever sinful pleasure's they could indulged in within the tavern. It must be easy to loose oneself in this type of atmosphere. However, no distraction could remove the unsettlement that made lair within my the pit of my stomach for what will come tomorrow. Tomorrow would be my first Exorcism of Superstition; a mass exodus of witches , having the choice of fleeing or to meet death. The purpose of doing this during Midsummer's Eve is because of the supposed magical properties the earth gives to the witches that draws them out into plain sight and allows us to target them easily. But it also makes us vulnerable to attacks...

"Oi, Lazar!" from a distance I heard a familiar voice of my commander, Maksym , sounding slightly concerned.

"Yes, Komandir(1)?"

"Are you doing alright, Paren(2)? You don't seem to want to join your Brothers." he took the seat across from me, his old age starting to become prevalent in the way that he moved. I knew he was concerned for me, as would any uncle, but I really didn't want to become a burden and drag my other Brothers down with me or have him show any favoritism and have the other Okhota Servants  fall out of his favor.

"I'm fine, Komandir. My ears are tired from the drunken enjoyments my Brothers are indulging in." I wasn't lying, but I wanted this confrontation to end quickly. As much as I enjoyed talking to my uncle I didn't want him to converse with me for more than needed. Looking down I heard his whole-hearted chuckle.

"You'll certainly  have to stuff your ears with something tonight unless you plan to get some yourself. But you're nervous Paren. I can see it in your eyes. Let me ease your worries, I wouldn't want you to be distracted during the exodus tomorrow." that warm single blue gaze brought me comfort as it did many years ago when my mother, his sister, was convicted of being a witch and had to be killed for her crimes. Ever since that day, he vowed to me that he'll make right of what the witches did to our village. I admired him. I truly did. With a final sigh I opened up to him and shared my worries with him, everyone else was distracted, so no one could see he would be favoriting me.

I once confessed my worries for the following day I was only met with a bemused gaze from him. "I know, it's quite pathetic of me--" I began but his laugh interrupted me. My face turned sour, I should've expected this.

"Listen to me boy, the first of anything will always be terrifying. " I still didn't understand why he was laughing at me though. "Trust me, you'll be fine. The most powerful covens I've already dealt with and expelled. We're just dealing with the stragglers and new recruits. The most terrifying thing you'd have to worry about is them killing you with their sub-pare healing incantations. "

"Hehe, is that so?" immediately his deep voice eased away my worries. But something more worrisome popped up in my mind. "Hey... dyadya(3)..." immediately he perked up and his facial expression changed to one of seriousness at the familiar tone I was uttering. "How can we be so sure that it's safe to spend our night here when there is a possibility of any of these girls could be witches and kill our men when they sleep?" my voice was low and quiet, I didn't know if he could pick up everything that I said but his face seemed to understand my concern.

"We're taking a chance lad. Your Brothers are already aware of the risks. Besides, the tavern keeps tabs on which girls slept with who tonight for us after such an incident occurred many years ago.Though... one was not murdered per say." this piqued my interest.