1 Chapter 1: Gods, Kings and Outcasts (1/2)

Within a small forest clearing, over a dozen children as young as twelve years old and as old as seventeen were training primitively under a milky grey sky which as devoid of any features. To look upwards, nothing would meet the eye besides the faint rolling clouds coloured with the different shades of grey as far as the eye could see.

Wearing a mix of tattered coarse linen and animal furs, these youths were all shouting and grunting while either sparring against each other, lifting logs and boulders or training their archery skills against the worn wooden posts which had been erected at the edge of the perimeter.

Around the sides of the field and often walking through the groups, elders of the village constantly surveyed the group teens, often nodding in approval and offering pointers to increase their accuracy. This routine had been ingrained into each of them since the day the group had settled down in the forest and the small village had been created. This simple routine was done every day starting with sparring and archery before moving onto the creation and maintenance of the villages traps, tools and structures.

Across the training field on outskirts of the village, within an isolated wooden hut surrounded by trees which couldn't even be considered a part of the village, three people were laying on the floor while blanketed in the darkness. There were no windows to let in the light of day and the door was tightly shut, blocking out the surroundings. The sound of light breathing is all that permeated the silence.

”Mom, when will you tell us another story? I want one about Loki?”

”Okay, okay”, chuckling while laying in-between two teens was a middle-aged woman with a small frame and long hazel hair tied back into a messy bun. Rather than the miss matched clothes of the people working on the training field, her clothing was made entirely from brown fur which seemed to have come from the same animal, giving a rough but warm and uniform feel. ”The last story was about you though Loki, so this time I'll tell one for Rykar.”

Over the years, their mother had always told Loki and Rykar that in their past lives they were once gods and generals who fought against demons, kings and saints who ruled over the masses or even scholars and doctors who strived to make life better for the unfortunate. Being able to hear about the adventures, battles and tricks which brought them to the edge of defeat and back again were the best moments that they had. Their only escape from the dull and repetitive lives that they had to face on a daily basis.

Hearing the words of his mother, Rykar who had been laying lazily while fiddling with a piece of dry bread sat straight up like an arrow with a wide grin and glistening eyes. Although excited, he didn't forget to wrap the bread in a thin cloth before accurately throwing it into a corner of the room out of sight.

”I want to hear a story about the young warlord! Fighting against dragons and goblins and…” Getting carried away, he stood up while punching and kicking the air haphazardly while imagining all the evil he would effortlessly destroy on a battlefield.

While watching her sons grow up, Linda had always been telling her sons stories every night up until they had been forced to leave home at 12 years old. That was all the time she could have given them through arguing and pleading with her husband to the point of tears, day in and day out.

Thinking back over the ruthless treatment her children had faced over the years, her eyes grew hazy. Images of countless better lives that they boys may have faced had she not been their mother. Or even if she could simply be stronger than she was. The stories which she had told Loki and Rykar were only a fragment of those that she had spent her idle time wishing that they had been a reality.

Any life could have lead them towards happiness, had they been born a farmer or a shopkeeper, yet they drew the shortest straw.

Watching Rykar storming around the small room, the mother and son which were still laying on the ground let out opposite reactions. Loki simply glanced up at Rykar, bored and unamused that he wouldn't be hearing another story of the adventures of himself. ”do you really have to act like such a child every time”

”Haha, don't be jealous” Rykar smirked while retaking his seat next to his mother.