The sun shone upon a lush forest that stretched a great distance as though painted into the landscape by a brush stroke. The wildlife within stirred and a cacophony of singing birds made the idyllic green seem more peaceful than any other place.
Amidst the many trees, there stood a singular cabin that had weathered nature's force for years. The forest's gentle creatures crept around through the many cracks in the structure, like curious bystanders watching nature's reclamation of the cabin.
Then, the traquility was broken when an impact shattered a brittle old bed within the building and scared away what idle creatures were inside. The tiny critters scurried away in alarm, only a few brave enough to stay and sneak a look from a distance.
Cradled by shattered pieces of wood, a young man held a palm to his head as he sat upright in the debris. He caughed as the other hand waved through the air to disperse a thick cloud of dust.
Once a few moments had passed, he made an attempt to get onto his feet and realized that his limbs were shaking. His muscles, as though screaming out in joy, seemed to celebrate finally being able to stretch themselves.
As he straightened his legs, he feared that he'd fall over, but, with enough caution, he slowly managed to climb out of the pile of wood that had once formed a bed. It was then that he finally took in his surroundings for the first time.
'What is this place?' he thought to himself as he took in the sight of what looked like a decrepit living room. He quietly took note that nobody had lived here for a long time, but even more so wondered what he was doing in this place then.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a damaged mirror hanging on the wall and approached it. The wooden floorboards creaked under his feet and he had to take care not to step through any holes in the floor.
He took a look at the face reflected in the mirror and felt puzzled. He had a fair looking face, though some immature features made him appear quite young, when looked through a certain angle, and the messy hair that adorned his head was quite eye-catching with it's bright ash grey color.
He frowned.
It didn't bother him how he looked, but rather that he stumbled upon a problem. No matter how much he scrutinized his face, he didn't recognize the young man that stared back at him through the mirror. He tried to remember his identity but ended up unable to. The only thing that floated through his head was a vague memory of a female voice calling out to him with "Riaz".
"Riaz, is that my name? Riaz, huh. Wether it is or not, it will have to do, I guess." His head started hurting, but he prefered not to linger on these thoughts. Maybe he had somehow hit his head and there was a chance he'd remember sooner or later. More importantly, this place was a mess and smelled badly to boot.
Riaz took a quick whiff of his armpits, trying to be as covert as possible, despite nobody really watching him.
'At least it's not me.' He somehow felt relieved, but also finally noticed that his upper garments were torn and his chest exposed.
Not only that, but he also noticed a strange mark right over the spot where his heart should be. The shape was quite unusual and looked somewhat like a six-pronged spiral with an elliptical shape at the center.
"That's, uhm... a tattoo?" He rubbed his finger against the mark, realizing that it wouldn't come off. "Perhaps, have I lived the life of a bandit or vagabond in the past?"
The idea that he may have slept in this decrepit cabin as part of his natural lifestyle sent shivers down his spine.
'No no no, I am an upstanding person most likely. Absolutely. Someone who loves taking baths and eating good food too. Yes that's right.'
Riaz searched the cabin and luckily the sunlight shone through the gaps of the structure, making it easier to see. His search bearing no fruit, he was ready to give up on finding anything when his eyes were drawn towards a hole in the flooring where something glistened under the sunlight.
He reached down to pick it up and turned the object in his palm. At first glance it looked like a dusty crystal, but as he fumbled around, it looked more and more like an intricate piece of craftsmanship. However, regardless of how long he toyed with the object, he couldn't quite figure out what exactly its purpose was, thus he came to the conclusion that it must simply be some decorative trinket.
'Well, if worse comes to worst, I can just sell this for good coin." He slipped the crystal pendant into his trouser pocket, but it was then that he discovered that something was tucked within his pockets already.
'Silver? Another accessory? Why would I have this? Wait...' Riaz gulped.
"Could these be stolen? Am I actually a bandit afterall?" He yelped, almost dropping the silver ring. His hold over the items tightened and he quickly stowed the items away inside his deepest pockets.
'No matter what, I shouldn't linger here. First of all, I should find someone who might know something.'
With that decision in mind, he stepped outside where he was immediately blinded by warm rays of sunshine. He squinted his eyes and stepped forward. There were no other houses in sight, thus he decided to venture into the forest. Just before he finally left the little sanctuary and disappeared, he felt a gust of wind seemingly tug at his clothing, prompting him to turn around and take one last look at the cabin.
For some reason he felt a peng in his chest, somewhat reluctant to leave like this. He sighed and shook his head before resuming his step. He ignored the fluctuations of his mood and, like that, he disappeared between the trees.
Following that, he spent what felt like an hour simply walking in one direction. With no clear idea of where he was, he chose to walk towards the sun.
Soon he arrived at the edge of the forest and departed, all the while he felt fortunate not to have encountered any danger.
From then on, he walked on open plains with small hills and green fields wherever one looked. The weather warmed him to the bones and the clear sky lifted his spirits. He had many questions, but at the very least he enjoyed taking his time to inhale the fresh air and to bask in the sun.
At some point, his stomach growled and he realised that, since there was no telling how much farther he'd have to go, he would have to hurry to make sure to reach civilization before sundown.
It took him a while, but he was fortunate enough to stumble upon a road and his pace picked up considerably. With renewed vigor he marched on and soon he could make out the first signs of civilization in the distance.
As he drew closer, he recognized a number of cultivated fields. He passed by various such fields, bearing corn, wheat and other crops for the season, but, most importanly, he could see the outline of buildings further along the path.
Wooden fences adorned the side of the road every now and then, but he had yet to spot a single soul.
The road became muddier the closer he got to the village and he could easily see plenty of footprints leading both ways.
He grew somewhat excited, barely able to resist the tempting promise of delicious food. With saliva pooling in his mouth, he approached the village, until the entrace finally came into view.
He discovered two guards, who stood on the dirt road, barring direct entry to the village. As he drew closer, he noticed something off about the guards, in that they looked younger than he'd expected.
Just when he took notice of the guards, they, too, discovered him in turn. Both of them clumsily held up their spears and glared at Riaz with hostility.
"Halt! State your business." The smaller one of the guards yelled and pointed his short spear at Riaz. His voice had yet to fully develop and mature, making him sound young. Riaz felt reassured about his earlier suspicions in that these two were possibly younger than him, though he failed to understand who'd employ such guards.
Riaz stepped forward vigilantly, speaking in a mild tone, "Easy! I am just a lost sheep. It may sound weird, but I have no idea where I am nor who I am."
"Huh? Did ya not say you was a sheep, then ya know who ya are. You think us two are stupids?" The other guard chimed in.
Though he was taller than the previous guard of shorter frame, he, too, sounded quite young. From up close, it was apparent that both were still young teenagers at most.
"Ghaaaah, shut it, Kolb! Are you blind? He doesn't look like a sheep at all. He is obviously a bandit! The smaller guard sneered, then tried to poke Riaz with the spear.
Out of reflext, Riaz swiped at the spear, his hand striking it short of the head, but didn't expect that it would cause the guard to lose the grip on his spear as a result.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the spear, that was flung aside, until it landed on the ground and rolled for a little while, before coming to a stop.
The smaller guard froze in place, his eyes staring at Riaz as though he'd met a ghost. Riaz himself was stunned with his mouth agape. Wasn't this a little too ridiculous?
"I didn't really mean to do that, believe me." Riaz waved his hands frantically. "But seriously, how could you just poke your spear around like this? I am just trying to talk."
The small guard picked up his spear with a flushed face. He was just about to swing the spear at Riaz, when Kolb, the other guard, grabbed him by the shoulder and cried, "Don't do it, Bolen! He's a monstah. He'll tear ya to shreds."
"Kolb, you idiot! My hand was obviously greasy and the spear slipped out of my palm. Now listen, I have a plan." Bolen then began whispering into Kolb's ear.
Riaz stood there as the duo whispered back and forth, all the while observing the village. He found it strange that he had yet to see any other villager until now and that even this commotion had not yet attracted anyone's attention.
'Oddly enough, there are only these two dolts and nobody else around. Is the rest of the village gathered somewhere else?' He quietly mused to himself. His ears could faintly pick up on noises from within the village, so maybe there was more to the situation than first met the eye. He would have to venture into the village to find out.
"I might have underestimated you, bandit, no... boss of bandits, but this time, I will show you what our village is made of." Bolen, spear in one hand, pointed at Riaz with his chin raised.
However, Riaz ignored his antics, instead pondering on how to gain entry into the village. He felt like he had wasted enough time on these boys already and nothing about this situation was cute at all. One of the boys seemed a bit slow and had a face that not even a mother could love, meanwhile the other lived some sort of fantasy in which Riaz was a bandit.
'A bandit? Ridiculous.' He somehow felt offended on a personal level, but couldn't really argue the point. Thinking about his current appearance and the valuables in his pocket, even he felt doubtful about himself.
'Just what kind of life have you been living?' he thought.
"Oi! Don't ignore me! I am Bolen and, in this village, I am the number one spear master. Are you afraid?" declared the short one, a crack slipping into his voice.
Riaz sighed. In front of him, the two idiots were obviously up to something. Worst case, he'd just have to turn around and come again later, but, fortunately, it looked like he would not have to worry about that anymore.
"What exactly do you think you're doing, you little bastards?"
An old copper skinned man with a long beard appeared behind Bolen. His long boney fingers tightly clasped a wooden stick which held great similiarities to a club. His pale beard trembled as he firmly swung down on the rascal Bolen's head.
*whack*
Bolen cried out and dropped his spear. Kolb tried to sneak off, but the old man was faster and grabbed both boys by the ear. He then gave their ears a good twist as he pulled them together. Both boys were quite unwilling and whined, but their pleading cries fell on deaf ears.
Riaz, who was watching from the sidelines, was taken aback. He couldn't tell how the old man had arrived behind Bolen without him noticing.
'Did he materialize out of thin air? Where did he come from and just how long was he hiding?'
The old man dragged the boys by their ears and lead them into the village. That's when Riaz noticed that more and more people had started to return to their homes.
"Gonna idle all day there, sonny? You have a healthy pair of legs, so use them and bring my stick." The old man snapped at Riaz with his back turned towards him.
Riaz shook off his thoughts and picked up the old man's walking stick, then finally caught up with the old man as the four of them entered the village.
Life had returned to the previously desolate village and, as he walked the road amidst the busy crowd, he felt nervous; it was mostly due to all the curious looks people gave him.
He had no identity and no memories. When they looked at him, what did they see? Did these villagers know him? He was itching to ask questions, but, deep down, he also felt afraid.
He was so preoccupied with his fears that he didn't pay attention to the squabbles between the old man and the two boys and then almost bumped into them when the old man came to a stop.
"Give me a second to load off these troublemakers." The old man spurred the youngsters on from behind as the trio passed through a fence gate and entered a sizeable house.
Riaz leaned on the wooden fence that surrounded the lot and took in a scene of children playing in the yard. The sight evoked warm feelings in him and the corners of his lips went up.
Minutes passed with Riaz just zoning out and watching the kids play tag.
"It's truly remarkable how children find immense joy in the simplest of games." A voice rang out beside him.
Riaz turned his head and saw the old man from earlier looking at the same scene as himself. The old man smelled of herbs and soil and his wrinkled face carried a warm smile with eyes full of wisdom. Once again, Riaz had no idea how he failed to notice this man's approach, but he felt not alarmed by it. He rather felt that this man exuded a very soothing aura , that naturally put him at ease.
"Are those orphans?" Riaz asked.
The smile on the old man's face widened slightly as he turned towards Riaz. "Why yes, you wouldn't think it at first, seeing how carefree they seem. We strive for it to be true as much possible, thus this orphanage provides these little seedlings with the care they need to sprout. However, mind that each and every one of them went through their own share of hardships."
Riaz asked, "So what happened to the parents then?"
The old man stroked his beard. "Most died. They either succumbed to pillaging bandits or sought opportunities in the outside world, neglecting their roots. With their villages plundered, their fields trampled, some don't even have the means to feed their children and end up abandoning them."
The old man pointed to the playing children, saying, "Some children adjust well, others on the other hand..." He then gestured towards the building.
Riaz pondered quietly, then remarked, "So the boys from earlier are orphans then. They have an odd personality, but otherwise they are quite alright."
"Alright my butt! Those troublemakers cause mischief whenever nobody is looking." Once again, the old man started fuming and swung his fist in the air. "It's really my fault for being so soft on them. Just smack them a few times if you have to, sonny, else they won't learn."
Riaz chuckled, but dismissed the advice. Should he really be bullying those younger than him after all?
"Since we are done here, care to join me for a walk?" the old man asked.
Riaz nodded in response, that's when he remembered something and returned the walking stick that he was holding onto. Thereafter, the two of them started walking through the village.
The old man appeared thin with barely any meat on his bones. However, every step, that he took, carried a lot of strength, contradicting his frail appearance. All of that made Riaz question if the walking stick was just for show.
"Lately, we have had barely any visitors in our humble Lefra Village. Sonny, your appearance strikes me as quite unusual. Also, I can't help but see that you're quite lost." The old man remarked calmly as the two of them strolled along the houses.
"T-that... it's a bit hard to explain. Was it that obvious?" Riaz sighed nervously.
"It's written all over your face." The old man didn't pay any mind to how Riaz talked and continued, "This village, it won't cast out strays, but there is an order to things. Perhaps late, but I should introduce myself. I am the head of this village and probably the oldest among all, but don't go asking people how old I am, they will each tell you something different." The old man laughed heartily. "You can call me old man Misaf or village head if you like."
Riaz stopped and slightly bowed his head towards Misaf. He spoke clearly, "Nice to meet you, please call me Riaz."
Misaf nodded. "Good. I shall listen to your circumstances over some tea and snacks at my house."
Misaf and Riaz continued their stroll and the latter took in the many features of this village. He saw the ordinary routines performed by villagers as the people traveled from and to small buildings which were no higher than a single floor most of the time.
Riaz saw the village square in the center of the village, with a well to scoop water from and a couple of stalls that stood around the edges of the square, abandoned.
At times, Riaz could glimpse behind the houses to see small fields with growing crops. Most of these houses seemed to cluster into a mix of houses and fields. It would appear that most houses had a small crop field in the backyard. From time to time people glanced at him, but Riaz tried not to pay it any mind. He had no doubts that it made people curious to see the village head walk with an unknown youth in tow.
Before he knew it, they arrived at the village head's residence. There was nothing particularly outstanding about it and it looked like a regular old house with two floors.
"Here it is... my humble abode."
Misaf entered first and beckoned Riaz inside. The latter hurried after the old man and closed the door behind them.