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Ember's Tale - Part I
Ember Mugara stared out at the vast expanse of land she called home. Hills and valleys, dotted with little villages. She had been born miles away, in Cavlarock of the Seacoast Domain. She had lived there in the Lord’s castle because her father was the Lord’s closest sibling, for they were twins, just the Lord a few minutes older. Thus he gained the castle, and not her father. Her father had not been a jealous person so and didn’t care. The Lord, as he was always referred to, extended his home to his brother’s family and they had lived there peacefully until Cavlarock had been swooped up into the War of One Hundred Battles and her father and four brothers had been asked to join the army, they had consented, she had been eight years old. They had left ten years before now and Ember hadn't seen them since, even though the war had ended seven years ago. Her mother, in that time, had gone mad with grief and had committed suicide. Ember had barely controlled the need to kill herself, too. She, in the meantime, had run away, in fear of her own mother. Ember had found refuge in Elder Banter's homestead, in Hastana of the Forest Domain, and that was where she still dwelt. She had learned to call Elder Banter as Uncle and his wife, Lady Anta, as Auntie.
People in the village feared her because of her skill in swordsmanship, they called her a freak and said she was unwanted. By their standards, no woman was proper if she could wield a sword. She had had to protect herself in foreign land, and learning some level of self defense was the only answer. So she had asked the local trainer if he could teach her. She had expected a no but he had said this, "When you turn 9, I will train you,". Ember had trained hard and had eventually beaten her trainer so bad, that he had graduated her and had given her her first sword. It was this very sword which laid in her lap.
"Ember? Are you there?" Lady Anta's voice was laced with concern.
"Yes Auntie. I'm here."
Anta's graceful form came into view. "Dear, it's cold up here and dinner was ready fifteen minutes ago."
"Forgive me, I was lost in my thoughts."
"What were you thinking about? You don't wear that face when you are thinking of Neighbor Elliot's handsome son." Anta smiled at her own joke. Ember let a small grin show on her face.
"Oh Auntie, don't tease me so. I was only thinking of my travels to get here, and my Mother. I miss her, very much."
"Yes Dear, I know you do. You must learn to go beyond that and think of how happy she must be in Heaven." Anta stared out at the sky. Ember hugged her grateful for the company. Anta smiled and patted her arm lightly. "You will learn, child, you will learn."
The next day was Birth Day, the day Hastana had been founded years ago by the man they called Sam Silverdane, the day when everybody's prejudices were pushed aside and everyone was joyful. The only person in the village not eating honey cakes or drinking cinnamon milk, was Ember. She was content to sharpen and polish her blade in solitude. The sounds of laughter and merriment drifted up to her. Ember smiled, thinking of Cavlarock's Birth Day festivities. They did it much different. The treats were nay honey cakes and cinnamon milk. They ate the costly chocolate and drank berry mixtures made of berries and ice. Cavlarock would gather around a large fire and dance a dance similar to Ring Around the Rosie but longer, faster, louder, and more complicated. Hastana was different, they had a carnival, if you could call it that. A shabby dunk tank had been erected and a large swing had been hung from the tallest tree in the village. There were light wooden loops that girls and boys alike would swing about their wastes, lumps of wood on string that when you flung it down it came right back up, tall stilts, and that was all Ember was interested enough in to notice.
The sky had started to turn pinky and Ember knew it must be time to go home. Ember heaved her stiff body from the ground and walked home, wondering what Elder Banter and Lady Anta had planned for supper. Ember entered the humble cottage and noted that Banter and Anta were still out having fun at the celebrations. She stretched, not caring, figuring they could come home and wake her when they needed her. Ember yawned and went to her room. She lay down in her cozy bed and drifted off into a deep slumber. A few hours later she was awakened by Lady Anta's high pitched scream that resonated about the cottage.
Ember collected her wits and ran out of her room to see Elder Banter and Lady Anta lying on the floor with telltale marks that a master swordsman had killed them. Some one had entered the cottage and murdered them while she slept. Ember caught in a sob, her body racked with spasms of grief. She had to get away as fast as she could manage. It was no longer safe for her to reside in Hastana. She would be framed for this murder. But yet, if she ran away people would accuse her of it anyway. Better be free and thought guilty than in their hands and thought guilty.
Ember snatched up a leather knapsack Lady Anta had so lovingly sewn for her. She shoved in enough food form the cupboards to last her about two weeks. From there she would have to buy food, or steal food. She grabbed a blanket and a small camping tent. She went back to her room and cracked open a clay jar that held all the money she owned. She took every copper burro, every bronze knuckle, the three meager silver wings, and the only gold falcon. They would have to do unless she raided the cottage’s piggy bank. She couldn’t rob them, even if they were dead, she would be guilty. Ember grabbed up three sets of clean clothes and folded them neatly. She also grabbed all her utmost prized possessions which included, a silver mirror, a red silken hair-bow, a small emerald pendant, a wooden butterfly clip embedded with amber and tiger’s eye, and a velvet lined, cedar case in which, was a little velvet pillow, and sewn onto that velvet pillow, was a 24-karat gold ring with three gargantuan diamonds stuck on to it. It had been her mother’s most prized possession, it had been her mother’s wedding ring.
A solitary tear rolled down Ember’s cheek. Mother, she thought, how I miss you. Ember realized what she was doing and angrily wiped the tear away with the back of her hand. She would have no such nonsense. Ember stood and strode out of the room without looking back. She knelt over the dead bodies of Elder Banter and Lady Anta. Ember pressed her hands together and said a quick prayer. She then snatched up her sword and sword care kit that were always by the door and stole away into the night.
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