She could not speak, so I was her voice

  Murmured and whispered for love and by choice

  O Moonborn, when you came

  Owls flew and forests learned of brame

  …

  Gavin first entered the office, followed By Vinnie, then Ethan.

  Edur, or more recently Ethan, had his hood pulled low, thus concealing his snow white hair beneath it.

  It was a small but cozy room, the ever-present warmth of the hearth giving the area a soft orange glow. But today, the fire might have as well been absent. The cold and tense atmosphere present in the room was enough to freeze a tankard of water.

  Two simple but comfortable seats were positioned in front of the desk. On one of them sat a tall woman, her golden hair cascading freely as she reclined in the chair. Her closed eyes were directed upwards, as if she were taking a nap. Her peaceful and serene expression was a stark contrast to the lethal aura she emanated

  Gavin cleared his throat, and the woman's eyes opened slowly. She sat up straight, fixing her piercing gaze on Edur.

  Her eyes, the green of emerald, combined with her hair, gave her a somewhat regal appearance further enhanced by the shine of her armor. Edur didn’t doubt her noble origins.

  “Is he the one?” she asked, her low voice ced with authority. A voice used to command people around, carrying a hint of hauteur… no, was it boredom? Edur wasn’t sure.Gavin nodded.“Ethan, this is Lady Eryndra Veylith, 3rd Commander of the kingdom we reside in, Vek.

  Edur gave her a polite bow, his gaze still downcast. His body moved on command, but his heart pounded like a drum. This woman didn’t just rule, she hunted.

  She remained silent for a moment before inviting him to take the other seat.

  As Gavin sat in his office and Vinnie stood by the door, Edur sat down, his body facing her but his face looking towards the foyer (firepce whatever)

  “Ethan,” she began, her voice calm but carrying the same underlying authority, “I wish to hear how you encountered those beasts. From the beginning, if possible.”

  And so, Ethan began to recount the distorted version they came up with hastily. All he had to do was just reciting it from memory,

  “I-I.. It was te at night when me and some of my friends pyed Knight and Servant… They dared me to go to the Last Forest. I accepted the challenge because I was too ashamed to back down and there was this girl.. I had a crush on her.’

  Edur paused, as if he was ashamed of his words. The Commander made no comment whatsoever, unfazed.

  Edur inhaled before continuing,

  “So I went there and snuck past the patroller that night. I eventually got lost and stumbled upon one, I ran away as fast as possible and followed the river till I got out”

  Edur knew that the best lies were always mixed with the truth. The more a lie was close to reality, the better it was. On top of that, he also knew that you should always “berate” yourself in your lies. After all, who would lie about being scared and pissing themselves?

  But he hated it. Each word that came out from his mouth was heavier than the st. He hated having this knowledge and aptitude to lie, perhaps another hint of who he was in his past life.

  He hated this— hiding behind a story that wasn’t his, erasing the pieces of himself he only recently started to collect.. Those memories, as frightening as they were, were the only memories he had of his origins, his arrival into this world; as confusing as they were. Denying them was denying the sheer luck and struggle he went through in order to stay alive.

  But what choice did he have? Gavin’s warning echoed in his mind, cold and filled with fear. He didn’t want to see the vilgers in danger because of him, whatever danger would result from him telling the truth.

  Speaking of, Edur wondered,

  ‘Why should I lie about me not being from this vilge? And what about the healing? Will they see it as sorcery and burn me on a stake or something?” he shuddered at the thought of being alive, “That can’t be, George told me she wielded some sort of magic as well.. Fortima, right. And there’s grandma Eda, so it isn’t that… Then what’s going on?’

  Meanwhile, Eryndra Veylith remained seated, her gaze directed at the fidgeting young man. Her eyes were cold and calcutive, but carried a hint of boredom in them.

  Edur waited, the anxiety eating him up while she showed no hurry to speak. After a moment, she finally asked,

  “Could you describe them for me? Their number, height, degree of reflection.. Don’t omit anything.”The young boy nodded as he began to recall what they looked like

  “So…I’m sure there were at least a few dozen… Uh, their length is a bit more than 10 Diva- I mean uh, Mavos.. They don’t seem to like water, and they had around 8 to 10 pink eyes, their skin was-”

  At that moment, the knight cut him off abruptly,

  “You mean red eyes?”

  Edur blinked, startled by her interruption. He quickly corrected himself, though he could feel the uncertainty creeping in. “No, ma’am. I’m sure they were pink...” He trailed off, his words hanging awkwardly in the silence

  “No, ma’am, they were certainly pink..?”

  He trailed off, leaving the sentence dangling as though afraid of contradicting her.

  Lady Eryndra’s expression shifted. Her calm demeanor was repced by something colder, more intense. She narrowed her eyes, and the room seemed to shrink with the pressure of her gaze.. She remained silent for a moment before scanning the room. The tension thickened as Vinnie and Gavin exchanged uneasy gnces.

  As if struck by a revetion, she finally broke the silence with a sha0pr question that cut through the room.

  “What about their venom?”

  Edur, still perplexed by the sudden shift in emotion, gnced briefly at Gavin before answering,“I don’t remember any venom… Is it dangerous?”

  Her eyes locked onto him, unblinking and widening slightly. For a moment, it seemed as though she was seeing him for the first time, scrutinizing him—digging deeper, searching for something hidden.

  Then, her voice cut the silence like frost on gss, “Take off your hood”

  ***

  Gavin’s POV:

  “Take off your hood”

  From that moment, I knew we were fucked. My stomach dropped as I watched Edur hesitate. The next actions could determine everything.

  Did she catch on something? How? Edur stuck to our story and even made it more credible by implementing stuff of his own.

  My eyes met my assistant’s, who seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion as I.

  We both held our breath as Edur slowly and reluctantly lowered his hood, a cascade of his snowy hair spilled out, falling in smooth, silken waves. Was he even a boy? Eda said so, but sometimes, I wasn’t so sure. Even the few noblewomen I met during conferences could never hope to achieve such fine, fwless hair. Perhaps the boy really had an elven heritage in him.

  Even Eryndra seemed caught off guard, her stoic face faltering for a second, though it was hard to tell if she felt anything at all. I always dreaded those brief moments I had met her.

  Often I was required to travel to the hub to secure trade contracts, deliver taxes… All that bullshit. But most importantly, I had to rey to the militia any kind of news concerning the Forest and attend the few meetings held by the lords of the surrounding regions, including the one this vilge fell under. Sometimes she was there too, as the commander in charge of both the northern and western militiae in the respective territories of Vek. And everytime, she sent chills down my spine…

  She never smiled, never raised her voice, never showed a damn fucking emotion. Was she even alive? Yet today - today was the most expressive he has ever seen her… But then again, Edur always had some working wonders.

  Her face slowly turned towards me, her gaze neutral yet probing. she parted her lips as if to speak but then closed them, the question remaining unasked.

  Without another word, she turned her attention back to Edur, who was beginning to squirm in his seat from the tension.

  “I will assume that what you have said is true - so far. But something doesn't add up , and I intend to find out once I return from our mission. I hope you’ll have enough tact by then to expin… this” she gestured vaguely at Edur, her meaning clear.

  “The only reason he is not dead yet is out of respect for you, Mayor. If he ends up being anything other than human, I will not hesitate to execute him on the spot” She continued, sending a sharp gre towards Edur, who seemed livid.

  With that, she stood up, her tall figure commanding, nearly suffocating the space around her. Compared to her, Edur almost looked like a cornered rat - a small; fidgety and utterly pitiful one. He subconsciously massaged his wrists, feeling anxious.

  She cast him one st, unreadable gnce before striding towards the door, Vannie discreetly making way for her.

  Once she left the door, the whole tension dropped as we three let out a long sigh, not realizing we had been holding our breaths.

  Quickly, I stood up, the small end of the bell rope dangling,

  “Vannie, pack up your stuff and take Edur with you, head to Skogheim and y low for a week or two. Tell my cousin that I sent you.”

  I was expecting Edur to protest or question me, so I shut him off before he could,

  “Edur, if you know what’s best for you, please do comply, Vannie will expin everything on the way to you.”

  Now was not the time for his boundless curiosity and barrage of questions.

  Vannie nodded, a somber look on her face, and gestured for Edur to follow her as she opened the door. The young boy reluctantly stood up, throwing one st worried gnce at me before they both exited the room.

  I’m sorry, young man, I promise I’ll get you out of this mess…

  This meaningless war can do without you.

  (worst chapter so far, good job you piece of shit, just quit already

  -13/12/2024)

  (-Man fuck you 5/4/2025)