Ruveneska, Chapter 6: Overbearing Truth by Darro

It did not take long for Shuren and Karoline to reach the thick layer of dead plants surrounding the graveyard. They halted as they felt something wrong. There was a bad aura seeping out of the graveyard. They arrived at the gate only to find it locked.

There was a sudden moan from behind Karoline. She turned around to see a big bulky gray Troll equipped with a spiked club. She readied herself. “Break the lock,” hollered Karoline dodging a swing from the troll’s club.

With her order, Shuren pulled out the new scimitar and hacked at the lock. There was a loud CLING, but it did not break. He struck again, but it did not cut through. No matter how many times he tried, it would not budge. Shuren heard Karoline struggling with the troll from behind.

“Switch with me,” Karoline said as she dodged another attack. She ran to where Shuren was striking the lock, and Shuren ran to the troll to engage battle with his new weapon.

The Troll swung at its new opponent: Shuren. Shuren managed to dodge and swing; he missed. There was another swing from the troll that missed Shuren. Shuren seized his chance to attack the Troll. There was a fast vertical swing from Shuren, and the troll cried out in pain. On the Troll body was a humungous gash. Though the wound seemed fairly fatal, no blood was spilled. Abruptly, the wound began to grow. In a matter of seconds the Troll became swallowed up by his own wound and turned to ash. Shuren gazed upon the pile of rubble in amazement.

“That blade is bizarre, it can disintegrate a Troll, but cannot break a lock,” Karoline said. Shuren was still shocked to hear Karoline use humor.

They entered the graveyard in search of Rollan. The bad aura from earlier grew more intense. Shuren felt strangely familiar to this sensation.

The graveyard was filled with moldy tombstones that gave off an intense atmosphere. Thick green vines ran along the wall and ivy swarmed over corners of the walls. The thought of finding Rollan’s corpse sent a chill down his spine. He knew it was very possible. Neither he nor Karoline knew just exactly what would be revealed.

Karoline had an odd feeling that something was lurking within the walls. For the first time, Shuren saw Karoline puzzled. “Shuren,” she said with a bleak expression on her face, “someone had used powerful magic here.”

“Is someone here?” Shuren asked with confusion. “What if we’re being followed?”

There was sudden silence followed by a halt from Karoline. She stared at the wall completely to her right. “There,” she said, pointing her finger at the wall.

“What’s there?” asked Shuren now even more confused.

Karoline gave a slight shrug and walked slowly toward the wall with caution, expecting something. “I feel a presence . . .” she said with difficulty.

Shuren heard a rustle behind a tombstone several yards behind him. He jerked his body around hoping to find Rollan. Instead saw a big black ball of energy flying toward Shuren with immense speed. Before he could react, he was thrown off balance and flew back, injuring his right shoulder.

“Shuren!” shrieked Karoline as she turned to see Shuren on the ground. She began to run, until something made her halt.

A tall man in a dark black coat covering his entire body from head to toe stepped out from behind the tombstone. A hood concealed his face.

Dread filled Shuren as he saw the man reveal himself. It was the man from before! Shuren struggled to get himself off of the ground. He picked up his scimitar which had fallen out of his hands.

“Drop your weapon,” the dark man said with a dangerously calm expression.

“Where’s Rollan!?!” demanded Shuren ignoring the man’s last comment and now raising his scimitar even higher.

Though Shuren could not see his face, he was sure he had a grin. With unnatural speed, the man dashed to Karoline. Before she could respond, Karoline was seized.

Unable to move, she screamed with despair, “Let me go!”

“Did you hear me? Drop your weapon or this traitor dies,” the man said threateningly.

“What does he mean by traitor? “ Shuren pondered. He realized that he could not do anything without endangering Karoline, or even her life. Shuren had no choice but to obey. Hesitantly, he dropped his scimitar and said, “Let her go now!”

The man laughed and between breaths he managed to say, “Little weaklings, slowing each other down. I have a proposal for you. After I kill this traitor, I will give you the honor of becoming my slave.”

This enraged Shuren. He wanted to hurt the man greatly, though no matter how furious he was, there was nothing he could do. He had Karoline seized. Shuren’s scimitar was on the ground. If he picked it up, the man would kill Karoline. Then, Shuren thought, “Would he kill Karoline regardless of me being unarmed?” Shuren was confused.

He laughed again. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you yet, I will take you to his greatness for him to punish you personally.” “Who is that?” Shuren wondered out loud.

“You are not worthy of his punishment. I don‘t expect such a low form of life to know who he is. His name is Lord Garland!” screamed the man, who was now clutching Karoline's collar even tighter, causing her to let out a gasp.

“LET HER GO!” screamed Shuren now ready to pick up his scimitar.

There was a sudden flash from the sky struck the ground which drew the man’s attention. A black bolt of lightning struck the ground, sending a ferocious thunder throughout. Dark smoke rose from the ground. For that quick second, Shuren knew he had to get Karoline. He ran to him and yanked off the man’s arm from Karoline collar before pulling her back. The dark smoke was now getting thicker and from it, emerged a man with the same black coat as the other.

“We were ordered us to destroy the village without hesitation and, also, let out the Demon Trolls,” said the man very calmly.

“What of the old man? Shall we kill him?” the other asked. Joy filled Shuren’s body as he heard this; Rollan was alive!

“Nay, he is no use to us, e should be dead in a matter of minutes anyway,” he said. Shuren’s joy filled with dread, Rollan was going to die!

“Understood,” replied the man. He turned toward Shuren, "In time, all of you will be dead.”

Out of rage, Shuren picked up his scimitar and charged at the man who had Karoline. Before Shuren was able to strike, the man kicked him, causing him to fly back and crash into a wall. He laughed.

“Stop playing and follow orders!” the other man said. He looked at Karoline in disgust, “Let the Sleepwalkers handle this traitor and her lover.”

He stopped laughing. “Foolish little boy you are.” Then, a bolt of lightning struck the ground. More smoke rose, they were concealed, and then they disappeared. As the smoke cleared up, a herd of Sleepwalkers were revealed.

“We have got to find Rollan!” reminded Shuren.

“Fight them off, I will search for Rollan,” Karoline said. Karoline placing her hands on a wall. She moved it around as if she were in search in something.

Shuren charged into the crowd of Sleepwalkers. He was slashed anything that came near him. He jumped and did a full circle slash. He felt barely any friction as he sliced through the zombies. Any Sleepwalker that touched his blade ended up in a pile of dark black ash. He had demolished practically half of the zombies.

Karoline suddenly felt a jolt as she felt a certain point in the wall. Shuren jerked around in Karoline’s direction. She had a blank look on her face. “What is it?” asked Shuren turning another zombie into ash.


“Oucra-Veras!” she said, and her hand burst with purple flames. She got in a stance ready to strike the wall. She forced her arm through the wall and grabbed something inside. She began to pull her hand out of the wall. Suddenly, a green leather vest emerged from the wall before Karoline even touched the wall. There was a black leather boot now emerging from the wall, and wearing it, was Rollan Canona.

“Rollan!” shrieked Shuren.

“This is him, correct?” Karoline asked.

“Yes, that's him,” said Shuren trying to wake Rollan, who was on the floor and still seemed very unconscious.

Rollan woke up with a sudden long gasp for air. It seemed he hadn’t breathed in days.

“Are you okay?” asked Shuren helping Rollan on his feet. He gave a small nod looking light headed. He turned to look at Karoline.

Shuren introduced Rollan and Karoline. Shuren turned to Rollan, and then asked, “What is it that you were doing in there?”

“They did it,” Karoline said, referring to the men from before. “They sealed him in there to keep him alive, barley. Someone can be sealed into something like that for weeks and it would seem to them that they were asleep.”

“Talk about that later, we must help save the village!” shrieked Shuren. He looked around as the zombies were swarming. Rollan looked at the scimitar Shuren held and smiled.

Shuren slew a Sleepwalker. They made their way to the gates of the grave-yard with several corpses behind them. Paying no mind to them, Shuren, Karoline, and Rollan continued on. They ran into the thick hunting forest. They forced themselves a new path to Hogony. The swerved over, under, and around trees until they recognized their original path. They made their way out of the hunting forest and out to the field before Hogony.

Rollan frowned as he saw what was bestowed on the village. He did not seem surprised at the site somehow.

The havoc in the village was even more. More than half of the buildings were destroyed. Even more Trolls and Sleepwalkers were unleashed than before. They ran into the village as fast as they could.

“We have to save everyone in the village,” said Shuren. Rollan made a gesture with his hand. Out of thin air, a slender silver staff emerged into his hand. He turned to the nearest zombie and simply flicked at it. Suddenly, the zombie burst into flames and turned into a pile of ash.

Stunned, Karoline managed to say, “We must split up. Save as many as possible.”

“Escort them all to the big mansion, Bastian‘s house,” said Shuren. “He would at least let the villagers stay in there,” Shuren thought to himself. Then, they all departed.

Shuren searched everywhere. Shuren abruptly halted in shock. Before him was a Troll, but it was different. Its skin had a reddish tint to it and it was much bigger. Its face appeared to be more aggressive than other Trolls. Its weapon was a huge battle ax twice the size of Shuren. This must have been the Demon Troll the man in the forest was talking about. Shuren was about ready to run away in fear. The Demon Troll ran towards Shuren quickly, rumbling the ground with each step. It lifted up its ax high into the air and swung down with intent to kill. Shuren managed to dodge the ax with a side roll. He leapt up with his scimitar and aimed for the Troll’s neck. He swung at it but missed. He landed on his feet, sending a rumble up his spinal cord. He stood straight up. Before he could dodge, he was knocked off his feet and onto his back by a punch. Pain surged through his body as he landed.

Ignoring the pain, Shuren leapt onto his feet. If he was going to eliminate this Troll, he would need a distraction, and it would have to be a big one also. He looked around in search for something good enough to distract it, even for just a second. He searched but there was nothing. There was a sudden swish sound above Shuren. He turned his head toward the Troll to see it lifting its ax high into the air. Shuren bolted to the Troll hoping it would not strike yet. He jetted around the troll facing its back. Shuren raised his scimitar, jumped up as high as he could. He tilted his scimitar and forced it down the troll’s back leaving an enormous wound. The wound had no blood but grew and the troll turned into a pile of ash in seconds.

Shuren continued to search for anyone that he could find. There was a faint cry that turned Shuren’s attention to a burning building. There could have been a Gippy inside. He dashed still in pain from the troll. He heard the cry again, this time it was closer.

“Is anyone there?” asked Shuren trying not to get burned. There was a cough and someone managed to say, “Help!”

“Just stay there! I’m going get you out!” Shuren replied unsure of how to save him. He looked deeper and saw a hand waving in the air. Shuren ran into the burning hut and searched for him. The heat was intense and he could not breathe properly. He turned around and saw a helpless Gippy gasping for air. Shuren picked him up without a word and lead him out of the burning building. The Gippy gazed at Shuren, who saved him.

“Shuren!” he gasped with a very stunned look. “Why would you save me? Why would you help us?”

“Because,” said Shuren searching for the right words, “Hogony is my home. No matter how horrible you guys treat me, Hogony will always be my home.”

The Gippy was amazed by what he had just heard. He got on his feet and said, “T-Thank you, I can walk now.”

“Do you know where everybody else is? We have to save everyone,” said Shuren more calmly.

“I think Cotoz, Lorica, and Blurton took everyone else to Bastian’s house,” he said.

“Okay, can you go there by yourself? I have to get rid of these monsters,” Shuren told the Gippy. The Gippy nodded and headed off.

Shuren, instead of going to Bastian’s house, went to look for Karoline, who he was worried about. He ran to the center of the village in search of a high place where he can see everything. Before he was able to search, he came across a massive distraction. There was an army of Sleepwalkers waiting to strike.

He raised his scimitar and attacked. He charged into the wall of Sleepwalkers, hacking and slashing at any zombie in reach. From behind, Shuren was grabbed, ceasing his movement. The grip tightened on Shuren who was gasping for air. He tried swinging backward but it was futile. Suddenly, the grip loosened and the zombie fell to the floor. Shuren turned around to find a man in a golden-red coat. On the top right of his coat right under his shoulder was a picture of a falcon on fire. He looked at Cotoz’s sword. It was a shiny sword nearing three feet long with a sharp rigid blade.

“Hey Cotoz,” said Shuren getting back into his fighting stance, “thanks.”

“Yea,” he said also getting into a fighting stance. Even more enemies have appeared. More than half of them were Sleepwalkers; the others were a mixture of Trolls and Demon Trolls. Cotoz was back to back with Shuren raising his blade. “I’ll take this side.”

“And I’ll take this one!” said Shuren charging forward demolishing batches of zombies at a time.

Shuren rammed into the pile of live corpses, beating down every zombie to cross his path and killing any Troll that got near him. Suddenly, he felt a slick of wind behind his neck. He turned around to see a Demon Troll lifting his ax high into the air. Shuren looked around and had nowhere to run. He could not dodge it due to the fact of zombies surrounding him. The Troll’s ax was now vertical with itself. Shuren slew a nearby Sleepwalker leaving room for him to dodge the Troll’s attack. The Troll swung down and Shuren leapt out of the way before the ax hit the ground. He quickly regained his balance and charged at the Demon Troll. He jumped up and obliterated the troll. Shuren turned around and continued to exterminate enemies.

Cotoz swung his sword with tremendous force and speed. He wiped out three Sleepwalkers at a time. He destroyed any enemy that crossed his path and with style. There was a loud roar from behind. Cotoz turned his back and saw a troll unarmed. He dashed to the troll as fast as he could and executed it with ease. Nearly half of the enemies that started out were wiped out.

After what seemed to be an eternity, all of the enemies were eliminated. Both of them fell to the floor with exhaustion.

“We have to get to Bastian’s,” said Cotoz breathing calmly. “Yea,” Shuren replied heaving for air.

They reached the Bastian’s house several minutes later. They entered the house. It was still in good shape. Inside, many things were missing and replaced with villagers. The children were silent, but unharmed. There was much chatter until Shuren walked into the house.

“Him?” said one Trone on sight, “why is he here?” Shuren looked around seeing other Gippies giving Shuren another look.

“Because . . . he saved my life and fought for this village,” said a familiar voice. Out of the shadows revealed, Rollan. Shuren had just been looking there, but there was no one before. “That’s ridiculous!” shouted another Gippy.

“No . . . It’s true,” said another. Shuren looked more closely to see that this Gippy was the one Shuren saved from the fire.

“Bastian was a traitor,” said another familiar voice. He was wearing a green coat with the same falcon on fire that was on Cotoz’s red coat. “Bastian was deceiving us all along. He was a follower on the Ingle’s,” said Lorica again.

“He planned this ambush for years. He was the one to cause Rollan’s absence,” a deep gruff voice. He was wearing a dark blue coat with yet another falcon on fire. “He tried to kill us all,” said Blurton again.

“So you’re saying that . . . Bastian was setting us up?” said the Gippy again. Cotoz nodded along with Lorica, Blurton, Shuren, and Rollan. “And . . . you guys saved our lives?” Again, they all nodded.

There was a lot of murmur in the house, but it was silenced by Rollan’s fake cough.

“So . . . why were you captured?” asked a Gippy. Shuren switched his attention to this question for he had been longing to hear the answer.

“Bastian knew I was a threat to the Ingles,” answered Rollan quietly, “so he and the Ingles devised a plan,” Everyone suddenly turned their attention to Karoline, and Ingle.

“It was not I who did it. I am apart a Rebellion against their organization,” Karoline explained.

“Then who did?” asked another Gippy.

“It was a man in a black coat. I saw more than one today, I and think there are more. I know nothing about them, except they‘re strong,” said Shuren.

“What business do the Ingles have with us in the first place?” asked another Gippy. No one answered. Soon, the question died as no one answered it.

The villagers stayed in Bastian’s house and chatted for a while. Mainly all of the talk was about what was to happen. They all agreed that they would rebuild Hogony, and even make it better than before.

Astonishingly, there seemed to be no hatred towards Shuren. Since it was proved that Shuren was a hero, they seemed to turn their hatred to Bastian; who was absent. Joy filled Shuren as he talked to everyone without anger for the first time.

Soon, the sky was dark. Mainly everyone slept in Bastian’s house. Those able to fight slept outside of the house, in order to ward off any enemies that may have remained.

Shuren stared at the fire eat at the wood. He was lying in one area around the house alone. In spite of his tiredness, he could not fall asleep. He sat for nearly an hour, thinking of petite things. Suddenly, his eyes began to feel lazy as Shuren slipped into a slumber.

Shuren was being carried, by a screaming woman. She was crying for Shuren. She glanced behind, paranoid of something. Suddenly, Shuren was thrown into a forest that caught fire. He rolled on the ground deeper in the forest until the woman could no longer see him.


Fire surrounded him. It was feeding on the tress of the forest he was in. He was helpless as a baby was. His small body was lying on grass as heat waves filled the air. Falling branches of timber struck the ground as Shuren began to wail even louder. His movement was limited to crawling. He tried to, but he was not fast enough to escape the fire that engulfed the grass he lied on.


Suddenly, Shuren was lifted into the air by a mysterious figure. He was carried past the burning forest.


Darkness continued to surround him as the illuminant fire grew distant. His heated body began to shiver as they grew deeper into the cold forest. He was no longer crying, for the woman who carried him turned Shuren nonchalant.

Shuren woke up calmly from this nightmare the first time. He sat up and stared at the dying fire as he pondered about this dream. “Why do I keep experiencing it?” Shuren thought to himself. He sighed, thinking he would have no relief from this nightmare.

Suddenly, a sweet melody floated in the air. The sound was familiar, but the melody was exotic. Shuren had a recollection of when the Dragon attacked him. It was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep and rescued by Karoline. It sounded oddly similar to it.

Shuren followed the sound, back to the stream where he found Karoline. She was playing a wooden instrument. It was small and rounded on the edges, and holes and knobs. In the middle was a unique symmetrical design that was shaped similar to a shell. Shuren smiled on sight. He had wanted alone time with her for a while, but there was too much chaos for romance. Now he was alone.

Shuren approached her hesitantly. She stopped playing her instrument and turned around. Shuren panicked when she looked at him. Quickly, he asked, “What is it that you’re playing?”

For a moment, she said nothing, then she said, “It’s called a Pismeria, with it I can cast magic, that’s how I saved you from that Dragon.”

“Oh, so this is the thing you were carving at the Rebellion,” Shuren said. “How come I didn’t fall asleep just now?” Shuren asked.

“Because I was not using to cast magic, just to play a melody,” she said simply.
Shuren gazed her for a moment. Then, their eyes met, creating an uncomfortable silence. Neither one did anything but stare. Finally, Shuren said, “Can you play that again in please?”

She stopped, and then began to play a tune. Shuren stared at the stream before them, as fish began to gather around. “The music is attracting fish,” Shuren said.

She finished her song and then said, “It is a beautiful tune.”

Thoughtlessly, Shuren said, “Not as much as the one who played it.”

Karoline was shocked. She stared at Shuren for a moment, who was now regretting it. She said nothing, causing Shuren to feel embarrassed. The night was late, but their conversation was over.

* * *

Shuren awoke to the sun high in the air. It was well past noon. A delicious smell got Shuren only thinking about food, making him realize how hungry he was. He followed the smell to find fish being roasted. There was only enough left for Shuren, so he helped himself. He saw to his left, something scratched in the dirt. He saw that it was a message that read: Shuren, meet us at Bastian’s house. Once he finished his meal, he did so.

He had just reached Bastian’s house when the door opened, revealing Rollan, Cotoz, Lorica, Blurton, and Karoline inside. He entered slowly without a word. He figured that everyone began rebuilding their homes. “It’s time for some answers,” said Rollan breaking the silence. This was it; this is what Shuren had wanted to hear his whole life.

“Well, let’s start off with the reason why every Gippy in Hogony hates my guts,” said Shuren calmly. “Well,” stammered Rollan. He thought to himself and began a very long story. “Sixteen years ago, when the Gippy and Grundell war was still active, Cotoz, Lorica, Blurton, I, and a few other people were in an organization named the Flaming Falcons. It was a rebellion for the war. It was very secret. During that war, a Grundell village, was raided by Gippies, it was a surprise attack. They killed your parents, along with everyone else in the village. There was one survivor, it was a baby and he was found by a Gippy nurse that was a part of our organization. She was there undercover, trying to help the Grundells, but only managed to save that one person, which was a baby. That baby was you Shuren. You were found in a burning forest.”

This had explained everything. Shuren was awe-struck. His dream about him being a baby in a burning forest! It was a flash from the past! Am I a Grundell?” asked Shuren, apprehensively.

Rollan nodded silently. He expected Shuren to be angry, but Shuren showed no sign of anger.

Grundells were known to be taller and stronger than Gippies. Their magical ability was not very high for some, and their physical strength was superior for most.

“You were found by a Gippy. She adopted you, but when the village found out, they killed her. They tried to kill you, but somehow it didn‘t happen. Instead, they let you live, but only to be hated by them,” explained Rollan.

“What were their names?” asked Shuren.

“Your father and mother I did not know, but the Gippy nurse-.”

“How long did that woman take care of me?” Shuren asked.

“Her name was, Clare, and she had you until you were able to crawl,” said Rollan, a little impatient.

“When your adoptive mother was killed, Lorica, Blurton and I secretly took care of you,” said Cotoz.

“We would leave food for you in front of your path so you would find them,” said Lorica.

“And we would leave items for you,” said Blurton.

Shuren was in a state of shock unexplainable. He was so confused and at the same time understood everything. The Gippies of the village did not like Shuren because they had a war with his kind. He then thought about the reverse blade scimitar back at the tent and how it was hidden under the floor board of his now ruined log house.

“Did the Flaming Falcons only consist of Gippies and Grundells?” asked Karoline. She was silent for most of the time and Shuren did not notice her until she spoke up.

“No,” answered Rollan,” there were many others, including your parents, Karoline.”

Karoline’s question was answered before she had asked it.

Shuren was still shocked. He had been a Grundell his whole life! Now he understood why casting spells was so difficult for him. “Since, I’m a Grundell; I can’t cast any Gippy magic, can I?”

“That is not correct. Any person can cast any type of magic. You just need a good instructer.” Rollan answered.

There was a long pause. It was suddenly broken by Shuren. “I have one more question,” said Shuren. “Why was that reverse blade scimitar thing under the floorboards of my house?” There was a long pause, no one said anything.

“You will find out in time, when you are ready,” said Rollan. “For now, we must plan.”

“Is the Grundell village that I am from around here?” asked Shuren.

“I am afraid not. Journeying there would take nearly a week,” said Rollan, “but, there is a way to shorten that.”

“Let’s go there.” said Shuren seriously. “I need to see it.”

“Be aware, Shuren, the village is hidden deep within a very large forest, the largest in all of Oryk,” Cotoz said.

“We shall go see it anyway,’” said Rollan. “They may know how to reach the mountain.”

“That’s possible,” said Lorica.

“What mountain?” Shuren asked. He looked around, awaiting an answer, when no one answered he opened his mouth to ask again, but before he could talk Blurton said something.

“You will find out soon enough,” said Blurton. He stood up along with the rest of the trio. “We are going to help the villagers rebuild this place; I suggest you all get ready for your journey.” Cotoz, Lorica, and Blurton left the room, leaving only Karoline, Shuren and Rollan.

“So what is going to happen now?” Shuren asked as he began to put away the chairs of the departed trio.

“Well we are going to see this Grundell village, correct?” Karoline asked she leaned against the wall. She eyed Shuren, who had finished returning chairs, and then Rollan, who was extraordinarily nonchalant.

Rollan looked up to see that Shuren and Karoline were staring at him. “I’m sorry, what was that?” Rollan asked, strangely dumbfounded.

Shuren glanced at Karoline, who seemed puzzled. He turned to Rollan and asked, “What will we be doing next?”

“We will be traveling to this Grundell village. First, we will stay here a while, heal, and help the village,” Rollan said. He stood up and walked out of the house, silent.

Shuren and Karoline were concerned about Rollan. “What was wrong with Rollan?” Shuren asked. Karoline shrugged. Shuren paused for moment, deciding what he was going to do next. Soon, he realized that he was alone with Karoline. She stayed against the wall, which didn’t appear to be leaving. There was silence for a few moments. Shuren had expected her to leave, but she hadn’t.

“All my life, I have wondered what really lies in this house,” Shuren began, recalling all of the times he had be kicked out of this house, unable to explore. “Now I can finally find out.” Shuren walked out of the main room, of which he was issued the mission to rescue Rollan, and into the neighboring dining room. Karoline paused for a moment, not sure of whether or not to follow Shuren. She lightly pushed herself off of the wall and crept into the dining room.

The room was filled with extravagance. Chairs that seemed to be pure gold were sat in pairs along a long red covered fine oak table that sat in the center of the room. Along the walls were used red candles in between every war painting. Against the lower walls were dressers made of green marble. Green marble was just as rare as gold, and to have an empty dresser made of it just seemed profligate.

Karoline gasped before her first step into the room. She immediately began observing and admiring every inch of the room. She looked as if she never wanted to leave, and for a moment, she did not know if she wanted to. She placed her hand on top of the marble dresser and smoothly slid it to the opposite end.

“This is all so expensive,” Shuren muttered as he studied the paintings. He noticed a painting of Bastian himself. Bastian was dressed in a fine blue coat and stood tall next to a handsome young Gippy. On Bastian’s coat was a badge of a seven pointed star like figure. Shuren assumed that it was a badge from during the Gippy and Grundell War.

“Yes, very,” Karoline said, still astounded. She felt the firmness of the golden chair, and then the red fabric cover of the oak table.

Shuren noticed in the next room, a line of bookcases. Shuren jogged into the plain empty room and straight to the books. Shuren ran his fingers through the books, quickly reading the titles. He noticed that many of them were of the library before it was burned. Shuren then came across an oddly familiar book. He pulled out the Gospel of Oryk and noticed that there was a burn mark on the top left corner. He began to pull out more books; each had a burn mark on it. Soon, he realized that the books were ones saved from the library! He was frustrated, yet glad that Bastian managed to save some books.

Karoline walked into the room, nearly disappointed that it was not as elegant as the dining room. She approached the bookcase. She felt a breeze against her legs. She shivered, “What is this?”

Shuren turned his attention to Karoline. He walked the right side of the room to where Karoline was standing. He lowered his hands to be her legs were. Suddenly, he felt a cold breeze of dry air blow against his hands. He kneeled onto the floor and looked at the crack between the bookcases. He moved the bookcase slightly over and the breeze intensified. “What’s behind this?”

There was a sudden sound coming from the main room. A door closed, Shuren and Karoline quickly pushed the bookcase back to its original place and dashed back into the room. Shuren saw Lorica with his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave.

“Shuren, there you are. Please come out and help us,” Lorica said, referring to the rebuilding of Hogony. Shuren and Karoline nodded. Lorica left the room.

“Let’s not speak of this to the others,” Karoline said quietly. She started for the door.

“Why should we keep it a secret?” Shuren asked as he began to follow her. Karoline said nothing, and left. Shuren, who had been walked out by twice, ignored it and went outside.

The first Gippy who wanted Shuren’s help was surprisingly Trone. He agreed to help rebuild the barn. Shuren stood against the wall, nailing in chunks of wood at a time. There was an awkward silence between them. After hating each other their lives, Shuren could not see how they could come to amends. Though, Shuren did not feel that he owed Trone an apology, he did so anyway. “Trone, I’m sorry, I guess,” Shuren said hesitantly.

Trone looked down from the second floor of the barn with confusion. “What are you apologizing about?” He finished hammering his nail and said, “I should be the one who is apologizing. So, I’m sorry . . .” Trone said weirdly.

Shuren could do nothing but smile back. He was out of words. A day before this, he would be cursing at Shuren. For the rest of the day, they were quiet. Shuren proficiently repaired the barn, and received silent sincere thanks from Trone.

Now that the village was sure that no more enemies remained, Shuren was able to sleep in his own home. Shuren walked into his already deficient home. He took off the pouch of nails he wore and placed it on his handmade night stand. He stumbled across a hard object on the floor. He got up and lit a candle. The room was now illuminated, and Shuren was able to see what he tripped over. On the floor was three ripped planks of wood. He remembered that he yanked the floorboards to get his new blade.

Shuren grabbed his pouch and hammer off of the night stand. He aligned the wood into the gaps. Shuren placed a nail on the corner of the plank and pounded the nail deeply into the wood underneath it. Shuren repeated this process until there was no longer a gap in the center of the room.

Exhausted, Shuren jumped into his bed and shut his eyes. After a few moments, Shuren was soundly asleep.

* * *

The next day, Shuren agreed to help Karoline rebuild Rollan’s house. Shuren approached Rollan standing outside of his house with a massive pile of wood on the ground. Shuren realized that nearly Rollan’s entire house needed to be rebuilt. The windows were broken, the roof was collapsed, and the walls barely stood up.

“So what are we to do first?” Karoline said as she walked towards the house from behind.

Rollan said nothing. He fixed his eyes upon the hut. He raised his hands and inhaled a deep breath. Rollan put his arms in front of him, pointing towards the house. He exhaled vigorously. The entire house blew over, creating a clean space. “Start at the ground,” Rollan said. Soon after, began to gesture his hands at the wood on the floor. The boards of wood were placed on the ground. He used his other hand to levitate nails. He placed the nails over the wood and then swiftly dropped his arm. The nails were forced into the wood, creating a firm floor to start building on. “This should not take long,” he said as he began to build a wall without even touching the wood.

Karoline, who seemed unsurprised, began to work on the other side of the house. Shuren, alternatively, was fascinated. “That was amazing Rollan!” he exclaimed.

Rolland turned to Shuren, still using his magic, and said, “Oh that’s right, you haven’t seen much magic have you?”

Shuren shook his head. “How are you able to levitate it like that?” he asked, referring to the wood.

Rollan laughed, “This is not levitation Shuren, and this is basic wind magic.” Shuren heard Karoline chuckle from the other side. “I tightly compact the air particles in the air, supporting the object, and with it,” he waived his arm down on the nail; “I can force it into the wood.”

Shuren was amazed, “Would you be able to teach me this?” Shuren walked and began to help Karoline hammer on the other side.

“I suppose, but I don’t think this is the right time,” Rollan said as he finished a wall.

“That’s fine,” Shuren said as he continued to work on his wall. After a few more pieces of giant wood, Shuren and Karoline were finished their wall. The rest of the house was easy as well, due to Rollan’s skilled magic.

A few hours past noon, Shuren had helped with several different houses. Rollan’s magic made rebuilding easy and quick. Though, there were still a lot of different houses that needed to be rebuilt. Many of the Gippy women wanted to tent to the children. When they had to leave, the rebuilding process would decrease dramatically.

Shuren sat in front his house next to his stream, washing his sweaty face. The day had been tough, but the fact that he was helping a village that no longer despised him reassured him.

He sat still for a few moments, taking a break. Shuren heard footsteps behind him. Slowly, the sound increased, until the person was right behind him. In the reflection of water, Shuren saw Rollan standing behind him. “Yes Rollan?”
“Shuren, do you mind if Agatha and her child sleep in your house tonight?” Rollan asked, signifying a now cheerful Gippy woman and her infant.

“Yea, that’s fine with me,” Shuren said happily. He stood up and dusted his pants off. “Oh, by the way Rollan, when are we going to leave?”

“Tomorrow, I suggest you begin packing tonight. We will be sleeping in tents.” Rollan said as he walked away.

Shuren sighed. Now that he was lifted of the villagers’ hatred, he was hesitant to leave. Still, he walked into his hut, and filled his sack with his now usual traveling gear: flint, knife, salt, canteens, and other things. By the time he left his house, the sun had set.

He walked to where there stood three tents, surrounding a fire. Rollan and Karoline had already been asleep. Shuren walked into the remaining empty tent and collapsed onto the relatively soft ground. For the third night in a row, Shuren fell asleep highly exhausted.