He looked dreamily over the whitewashed walls at the choir. The fields and meadows of the farmers of the clan all around began at the foot of the lofty fortress. Scattered in it were courtyards, barns, the warrior's training grounds, orchards and other small groups of trees. Cows, sheep and horses grazed on the pastures. They were seen as small white and brown spots.
The forest began after the fields. As far as the eye could see, it covered the gently rolling hills around the choir. Here and there the great watchtowers, the Choron, protruded from the tops of the trees in a still visible distance. At long intervals they flanked the roads through the land of Hy. The closest neighbors of the Shari clan were the people of the Rinzai clan, which was about a day's ride to the west.
Raen looked to the east again and squinted into the sun, which was already a hand's breadth above the ridge of the hill. Directly behind the range of hills the river Resch meandered to the north,
Each day of school began with religious instruction and prayers. Writing and reading took place at the same time as religious instruction for the two younger classes. A priest was always present to support the teachers.Raen liked to write the very demanding script, which was not easy to learn, but could not be surpassed in the beauty of every single letter. Like all children, it would take him at least four years to master them for normal use. And everyone attached the same importance to it, even if one or the other might later not need to write.After a short break, I continued with the teaching of how to behave towards one's fellow human beings. This consisted of two books: The Rules of Community and the Canon of Honor.“So, my dear children,” the teacher began and raised his index finger, “what are the first three virtues that the rules of the community teach us?”“Modesty, obedience and diligence!” Replied the chil
Suddenly the sun disappeared behind a cloud and shadows penetrated the trees. The undergrowth rustled and the white horses became restless. All pairs of ears were focused on the noise in order to investigate its cause. It rustled again, and a loud snort came from the same direction. The bushes parted and a peculiar red horse broke out of it, head drooping. At the touch of the horse, the leaves of the bushes immediately began to wither. And even where his hooves met the ground, the fresh green gave way to withered brown. The white horses tossed their heads up and neighed excitedly when the red horse came up to them. Yes, it really was a strange red for a horse, something like that of crushed raspberries. And there seemed to be something wrong with the fur, it was strangely damp. Drops of red fell from mane and tail. It had to be color. But who painted a horse red? The horse lowered its head again and shook itself. Small droplets flew through the forest, hit fern leaves, tree bark and
Roman didn't say much when Alea told him about Raen that evening. A vague hunch came over him, but he didn't let it show. For the past few years he had hoped the oracle might have been wrong. That Raen was a perfectly normal kid and would grow up to be a normal member of society. But with this event, this hope received its first fine crack. Or maybe it was just a one-off curiosity, a coincidence. Secretly, however, Roman knew better. There were no coincidences. He hung his shoulders and looked out the window into the twilight. He wondered, worried, where it was all going?“Don't worry, Alea,” he said at last, “Raen probably just glanced into the slaughterhouse without permission and can't get the pictures out of his head.”“Then talk to him about it again, Roman. You know how people talk about us if he doesn't stop. Explain it to him. ”“ Yes, I will, I promise, ”he soothed Alea's fear, while his own restlessness f
Katthike forgot his solemn expression and began to smile widely. That was what he wanted to achieve! Not that salivating meant that much to him, but the empire was easier to rule when the people admired its king.While Katthike was happy about his success, that of Kanaima failed to materialize. Despite great inner tension, the young prince tried to appear calm and he pretended to be interested in the solemn events downstairs in the arena. But all his senses were focused on Setna to the right. It couldn't really be long before the chair would give way, because the little, never calm whirlwind was playing around on it.To the great joy of the mob, Katthike finally opened the actual tournament, and the warriors marched into the arena to enthusiastic cheers. Kanaima continued to squint to the right. But nothing happened. The chair stopped.The sword fighters began and everyone cheered. The fighting was not about life or death, although fatal injuries were frequent.
The last four shooters competed against each other. With their short, curved bows, they shot the arrows accurately into the straw discs more than seventy paces away. And every time an arrow hit the black, only fist-sized center, the audience cheered enthusiastically. The winner of this competition was also a man from the closest ranks of the king, which was no wonder, because Katthike was always careful to only surround himself with the best warriors of his country, whom he used to select for himself with a sure and trained eye .Kanaima yawned at the award ceremony. He really didn't care for archers. He definitely preferred the direct fight in the face of the enemy! He glanced up at the palace towers, but nothing moved there. Setna stayed away.With the oppressive feeling of having failed, he endured the next exhibition fights. He just couldn't take pleasure in the festivities any more, even if his sister on the other side tried again and again to cheer him up by clic
But Kanaima could not have political reasons, he was still too young for that and had too little knowledge of this business. Katthike stroked her beard. Kanaima was his unloved son. He was crippled, but he wasn't stupid. He had certainly understood what the appointment of Setna as heir to the throne meant to him. Katthike hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. Naturally! It was amazing! He was almost proud of Kanaima. Unscrupulous little devil! This calculating callousness. And that at his tender age. Remarkable! But unfortunately also dangerous. Dangerous for Setna. The heir to the throne had to be protected at all costs, so demanded not only his own plans, but also the prophecy of the oracle. What were the words like? “Protect one son well, Katthike, because he is the son of fate! He will decide the future for your people; Then the light of Askhar will be united with the lights of this world. ”Katthike had to admit that this was obviously not sufficiently the case
A few days later, a small group of tourists left the palace. Kanaima said goodbye to his sister without shame amid a flood of tears and secretly swore that one day he would take revenge on his father for all that he had done to him and Laika.The king stood by the small group and looked at him distantly. Not a word of farewell came from his self-righteous lips. Fortunately, Setna wasn't there. With all her heart Kanaima wished the plague to both of them. He turned silently away and got on his horse.When the little escort, consisting of servants, soldiers and pack horses, was finally out of sight of the heavily fortified royal castle and the big city took them into its crowded streets, Kanaima suddenly felt relieved. He was outside, for the first time really away from the palace, which was overflowing with the venom of the snakes that he sheltered. Kanaima took a deep breath. He had to be strong now. At some point he would return here and settle accounts with all the r
And so it was that every third day of his free time, Raen would go to the temple right after school. And since this was the limit of the exception granted by the clan council, he then had to do his work for the community like all the other children of the chorten. But that didn't matter much to Raen. Even if this meant that he was less able to be with Hereke, he soon enjoyed going to the temple, where he had made a new friend - in fact there were two. And gradually the laughter returned to his face.Although he had often been to the temple with his parents before, it was only now that the deep, solemn calm that radiated the sanctuary was revealed to him, and he could not escape the mysterious power that magically lured him there. Even at school in the morning, he was looking forward to going to the temple in the afternoon. On the way home he sang especially happily. When he arrived at the chorten, he separated from the other children, who were still busy making appointments t