1 - Daughter Of The Storm

00 - Prologue

The child had wrapped himself in his only blanket that he had cherished since his earliest memories. His bed was too short for him. He had grown so fast, so suddenly. It wasn't normal, he knew that. He didn't dare complain about it, but he slept badly and since that morning he had been suffering from pain in his eyes and in his head.

At first, everything was calm. He could only hear the owls hooting outside. For once, he had had a good day without being scolded. He always asked too much, according to his parents. From his point of view, he didn't get enough. He had no friends and only interacted with a few specific individuals. It was difficult. He didn't understand why they were so fearful, so strict. And there were never any explanations.

He closed his eyes, satisfied with his comfort.

"It will never be time!" thundered his surrogate father.

On the other side of the time-worn wooden door, the voices suddenly became aggressive. The little one buried his face in his dirty pillow hoping to muffle their voices.

"He's going to have to live," the mother replied. "One day, we won't be here anymore!"

Silence reigned for a long time.

"He's coming tonight," replied the man, looking gloomy.

"I don't like it," confessed his lover.

"We don't have the luxury of time. Don't stop me. You know this is bigger than us. It's important."

The cabin was so poorly insulated that the boy heard the distinctive sound of a hand slapping a face. A growl echoed and the sounds of heavy boots became more and more distinct.

Someone had stopped in front of his bedroom door. It was his father; he knew it. He knew the way he walked, the cadence of his steps. He had never been violent. On top of it, he could handle his mother's fiery temper.

He sighed, looking desperate. He opened a door, but not the one the boy had anticipated, rather the one that led outside.

He had ignored his lover's concerns, again. He probably believed he was making the best decision for the family, once again.

"Don't go," she begged.

It really wasn't like her to stoop. In fact, she claimed that it was this flame that had enticed Krûnan.

"I don't know him. You don't..."

She had interrupted herself in a grunt as pitiful as it was angry. He had surely signaled to her that he did not want to hear anything more. His decision was made. He continued on his way and closed the door quietly behind him.

"Krûnan!" she barked.

He did not answer.

Argoshin hated it when his mother was upset and that, for any reason. She had always been there for him, unlike Krûnan who had shown up four winters ago. Admittedly, this was more than half of the boy's life and he had generally behaved well with them, but the youngster could not help but favor his mother. She was stuck in suspicion and so was he.

Krûnan was doing something she did not like at all. He was going to talk to... a stranger?

Argoshin relaxed easily and closed his eyes. Little by little, a new world around him took shape. He could feel the flow of life of all the creatures nearby. His energetic mother was healthy, but like everyone else, he could feel her life slowly fading away. It was like an hourglass, hundreds of hourglasses, that never stopped and it made him anxious to know all this.

He didn't understand why he could read this, and when he confided to his parents two winters ago that it was getting too overwhelming, they reacted with sadness and anxiety. Since then, it was the most depressing topic and it kept returning. It tormented them all, for they didn't understand.