Rovan woke up slowly. The morning light was already coming in at a crack next to the heavy ceiling that hung the window and kept the wind out. He rubbed his eyes, drowsy. He was tired. He hadn't slept restfully. He sat up yawning. Today the treestuff festival was again. Everyone would run like a chicken and stuff themselves with candy. However, that was not the case for him. His family did not posess much money for such events, and everything was even more expensive than usual during the festive season. Master Breuss hardly managed to fulfil all the villagers' wishes for baked goods. The prices were correspondingly high during this period. But Rovan got a job as a wooden boy this year. During the Treestuff Festival, large log fires were lit throughout the evening in the village and around it, as well as at the shrine, which had to be supplied with wood during the course of the festival. That was hard work because large pieces of wood were needed, and they had to be brought in from ever further. For this purpose, Rovan had borrowed a small cart, which he had to rent 1 piece of copper a day. Concerning this he had 3 pieces of copper a day. With this money he could either get something delicious to eat and watch the fire games over two days or take part in the ceremony at the house of the gods on Torqua Day. He hadn't decided yet. And despite his strong desire to finally take part in the festival, he had the need to give at least part of his earnings to his mother. Last night his mother was again worried by his bed. He didn't know what was wrong with him. His mother had talked to him a lot at the beginning about rolling back and forth at night, sometimes screaming and gritting his teeth. But Rovan never remembered it. He was just always tired. As the morning wore on, this tiredness vanished, but he made great re-proaches to his mother for causing such grief. Still, he didn't know what to do. How could he do something if he didn't even know what was happening to him at night? With this work he could do something for his mother, ease the weight on her shoulders.
Rovan swung his legs out of bed, put on his worn leather pants. Then he went to the window, pushed the blanket aside, and looked out. Lenja was just running outside. Apparently, she was in a hurry. Her long blonde hair was loose, and she was wearing a green dress. As if she had noticed his looks, she waved to him and then giggled, pointing to her hair and then to him. He quickly pulled his head back in. His hair was messed for sure again. And of course, Lenja had seen him like that. He ran to the water bowl, but it was empty. He remembered that his mother had poured the bowl over him to wake him. He let himself sink onto his bed. The day really started great.
- - -
It was the fourth day and the festival was in full swing. The people had become louder and, due to the heat and the increased enjoyment of wine, increasingly poorly clothed. The Auenfriese people strictly controlled the behavior of their family members, because everybody knew each other intown. But the visitors from other regions were not so diciplined. Rovan had even seen a couple that rolled on the ground in an intimate embrace, just a few meters from the square, behind a threshing hedge. He knew from the litany that Torqua saw such behavior with disapproval, and he could see everything. Therefore, he had moved on quickly on his way and had not even a second look at the busy couple. Because this, too, disapproved to Torqua. He had learned that the empire was created by Torqua's hand and that HIS hand would hold it if its inhabitants were faithful. Nowhere else was there a more beautiful and peaceful place than the Empire, so Rovan also understood that nobody should do anything to anger Torqua and cause HIM to turn his back on his empire.
His father always taught him when he was there in the teachings of Torqua by reading to him from the "Primer of Good". The stories were impressive and Rovan often wondered if he would ever get the chance to prove his faith in HIM and then possibly get Torqua's fa-vour. Just as Kraigon the Righteous, who kept his sins for the weak emperor for 15 years, was thrown into prison and separated from his family, and as soon as he was out of jail he went back to the weak emperor and preached HIS word to him, and finally his wife, Quenia the invincible, converted when the empire was about to be overrun by the north-ern orcs. This had her husband led to a holy court and was crowned empress. With Tor-qua's symbol, the crossed ring, she went into battle against the invading hordes at the top and killed 10,000 of them with the holy sword Mahjagoth. It not only drove the orcs away but conquered the area of what is now the northern Marches and struck them so devas-tatingly that they were not heard from for decades. Or Majana the sage who, in the name of Empress Miria´s IX, implored the 9 commandments of Torqua's and woven it into the 9 brocade carpets of the stone tower that had been the basis of right and wrong in the em-pire for hundreds of years. Would Torqua choose him for a big job? But he, he had to col-lect wood. Wood for the fire. At least his wood was for the 4 holy fires on the Gods grove. This was not Torqua, but dedicated to Ashqui, his sister, the mother of nature, but it was a service to the Eternal. And well, he also got money for it. So he drove his heavily loaded car down a small side path into the sacred grove. His goal was the southwestern fire. There were only a few logs left and he saw that Zir Allena smiled at him with relief when she saw him rumbling with his car. She came up to him and stroked his cheek: "Rovan you are a good boy. The other boys only bring half so that the car is not so heavy, but you know what we need and have spared no effort to bring us a large load." Rovan smiled wearily at her and shook his exhausted arms. Zir Allena then helped him to unload the cart and to stack the wood properly. Even such a job is not done in a careless manner by throwing everything on the floor. The wood is neatly stacked into a tower so that it is tidy, easy to take and good to look at.Allena leaned down a little, stroked his hair and said softly: "Even if you don't see it today, the gods reward a just, hard-working heart. Sometimes we must wait for it and sometimes not." She stooped past him and grinned at him mischievously: "Apparently they want to reward you right away. See who is watching you there." She gently turned his head to the side. "I already know how much you like her." Rovan followed her outstretched finger and saw Lenja crouched next to a wooden cart and plastered a little cake. When he looked at her she grinned broadly and pulled another cake out of a fine leather bag and beckoned him with it.
"Come on", Allena pushed him gently in Lenja's direction and straightened up again. Then she started to feed the fire with large logs. Rovan stumbled forward and then walked towards Lenja, grinning just as broadly.
"Hello Lenja", he said, letting himself sink next to her while she crouched on her heels.
"Hello Rovan, I saved it especially for you", replied Lenja slightly proudly. "It wasn't easy", she giggled. "But you work all the time. Aren't you going to look at the fire dancers or the jugglers on the square?" Rovan looked at her and gratefully took the raisin cake out of her hand. Then he bit off a big chunk and muttered a "thank you" with his filled mouth.
"You don't speak with your mouth full", said Lenja, reproachfully. Rovan looked up at her and continued chewing,
"I don't want to be a lady, either." Lenja giggled and wondered what Rovan would look like in her dress. Maybe with little hair clippers in his hair. No, rather not. Then she looked at him while eating and it did not take long before he asked:
"What?"
"Are we going?"
"Going where?"
"Well to the fire dancers!"
Rovan shook his head slowly. He would love to but there was nothing more like a little break. The northwest fire soon had to be supplied and it would not be long before dark. But he did not want to tell her that.
Instead, he said: "Look at me, I'm very dirty. We are poor. You should go with one of the rich families, maybe Exiros or Timor, the bailiff's son. "Lenja looked at him, disappointed:" Come on! I do not care if you are dirty." She took a handful of dirt and smeared it over her dress. "What are you doing !!", Rovan asked excitedly. This dress certainly had cost a lot of silver, if not gold. "Now I'm dirty too." She took his hand. "Come on." Rovan got up and looked at the cart. He would have loved to go with her. Lenja held his hand! He shook his head. "It is not possible." At the same time he turned and took the bars of the cart and slowly pulled away with it. She watched him go, the disappointment was evident on her face. She called after him: "I thought you like me!" Then she walked away with a sad face in the other direction. Now she did not want to see the fire dancers anymore. She headed for her house. When she turned around a corner, she was jostled by a man in a brown coat so that she bumped against the house wall. "Ouch," she said softly, rubbing her elbow. The man who had apparently heard her, turned around and looked at her with dark eyes. He had a pronounced black beard and his skin was dark from the sun and furrowed. His coat had smelled of horse. But then the stranger quickly turned around and continued on his way. How unfriendly, Lenja thought to herself, and went on home. It was really stupid from Rovan that he didn't want to come with her. It would have been so nice to go there with him. There was something mysterious about him. When she once played hopping with Rovan last year, her father called her to his room afterwards. Daddy didn't think much of it when she was hanging around with good-for-nothing. Of course she hadn't given anything up, but it had always turned out that Daddy was right. They had become mean at some point, or wanted something from her, or boasted to others that they were friends or even kissed. Since Rovan's parents were poor, she also expected to get admonition, but it turned out quite differently. Her father had told her that Rovan's father had found him when he had an accident with his cart. At that time his business was still new, and Anor had also supplied the surrounding villages to earn enough money. When he was late he had got off the road easily in the dark in the Smilwald and his cart had broken the wheel when he drove into a deep furrow. Back then, while Anor was unloading his belongings from the cart to cover the last distance on foot, a pack of wolf had approached at dusk. They had already circled him, and Anor had climbed onto the car, armed with no more than a knife. Rovan´s father came out of the forest just in time and had shot the leader wolf in the half-light with a bow and wounded a second wolf, so that the wolf pack escaped. He helped Anor with his things and brought him safely back to town. Lenja´s mother Sharia was worried at this time because Anor didn´t come home and when he finally came back healthy with Rovan´s father, both asked him what they could give him as a reward. But he only replied: "That someone is doing the right thing shouldn't be worth a big reward, but a matter of course." Then he had taken his hat off and wanted to leave. But he turned around again and smiled sadly: "Perhaps you are kind to my boy. He's a good guy and carries a heavy load. "Anor and Sharia had nodded silently and watched the hunter leaving.
When he had finished with the story, Anor had said to Lenja: "The rich and exalted are not always good, and the poor and orphans are not always bad. Torqua does not immediately reward everyone and he lets some evil blossom so that it becomes apparent to everyone. Be kind to Rovan, he has a hard time and his parents are fine people." At that time Lenja had only nodded and then left because her father had turned to his parchments again. It was not difficult for her to be kind to Rovan. She liked him anyway, because he was not a brag and he kept what he promised. And once she had bumped into a stone and plunged into the dirt, he hadn't laughed like the other kids, but had rushed to her and helped her up and asked anxiously if she was fine. It was so unfair that he had to work so much! Then it shot into her head like lightning: The man who had bumped into her was a Kenzoberanian!! Her heart started pounding. Really? Was she sure? Here? What should she do?She had to tell father! She started to walk, soon she ran. He had to be at the big booth on the south side of the square. There he sold his bakery. Soon she was back in the crowd and continued to work her way to him roughly. More quickly! Her heart was pounding. Kenzoberanian!! Slave hunters !!! Panting, she broke out of the crowd to the booth. But her father was not there. Breathless, almost screaming, she called to Jig, a helper of her father, "Where's my father?" The boy looked at her in astonishment, then worried: "What happened to you Lenja? Did anyone do anything bad to you?" With a much to high voice she replied: "Kenzoberanians! I saw one here!" Jig looked at her in astonishment from his deep dark eyes. "What are you saying? Are you sure? Lenja, it is a big festival, people come here from far and wide ... " She interrupted him" I know it! What he looked like, he smelled of horse and besides, what guy does not say excuse when he stabs a girl into the dust? One who does not speak the language!" Jig looked at her in shock: "Your father went home to bring the earnings to safety. If you are right we have to tell the bailiff and the guards." "I'm going to father", Lenja left Jig and pushed back into the crowd to get home.