LAN
The whistling arrow spreaded terror in Lan's heart. The arrow pierced through his hair and hit the swordsman behind him, killing the swordsman.
Lan stunned. His heart pounded, pumping hot blood all over his body. He thought he would die.
Once again, the saviour saved him. "Thank you, thank you mister." His vision blurred, and everything slowly became dark.
"Hey boy, boy? Aia, don't faint on me!" said the boy who helped Lan stand up. "I don't want to take you home. You must walk alone! Hey, damn brat."
The child's voice slowly faded, looking like he was drowned in the deep sea.
-Lan faint and had a strange dream-
[He rode a white horse on the green hill.
Lan cannot move his body as someone controls it. But somehow, he enjoyed the sun rays which hit his face.
The galloped horse slowed steadily. A man on another white horse stood dashingly at the clift and scanned a city below.
The grandeur tunic laminated with kevlar made the mysterious man look dignified, like an emperor who led the troops on the battlefield.
"You see there, fast green land. That is the future Kun Empire." The mysterious man said in a deep voice.
"Kun Empire? You must be mistaken. Kun is Dukedom, not an empire." Lan response.
Lan saw a road full of life. The trade was booming. The city gate was wide open, without fear of enemy attacks.
The black-bearded man with a handsome face nodded for Lan. He spoke magnificently. "The world under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite. After a long period of union, it tends to divide. This has happened since antiquity. The candles of the Ahn Empire are getting dimmer. Those who are brave and have a great admiration would replace that light."
"Kun empire, shall rise from the Ahn ash?"
The man nodded. "Maybe not now. Maybe in the next generation, or the next after the next generation. Now is the right time to lay a foundation."
"I-I don't understand. Who are you anyway?" Yes, Lan was only an eight-year-old boy. How should he know such difficult words?
The land was swallowed by dense milky white light. All become warm and everything blurred.]
The crips of the bonfire entered his ears. The smell of strange soup made his nose twitch. Lan sat, rubbing his eyes, finding himself in a strange place.
The room's walls were made of a pallet, and a bonfire was burning on the centrebof the room. The smoke billowed upwards like it soaked out through a relatively large hole facing the bright sky.
Lan sighed. His dream had been strange, and for some reason, he was excited, wanting to make his dream come true.
However, he was more curious about the smell of the soup in the brazier over the burning fire.
With a body full of energy, he threw off the heavy animal skin blanket, crawling towards the furnace. He opened the brazier and found a thick gravy containing … "A Gmgrass? Are they horses, eating grass?"
He inhaled a delicious aroma reminiscent of stewed meat. "Maybe there's meat inside?" Lan stirred with a spoon. Only grass, stones, and potato skin.
"Stones? Who eats rocks? But why does it smell delicious?"
His growling stomach made his tongue brush his lips. Then, he was about to eat grass.
Suddenly the curtains were opened from the outside. A boy threw a bowl at his head, yelled, "Don't touch that food, boy!"
"Ouch, it hurts." Lan rubbed his head. "What is your problem?"
"This is my cooking, you know."
"Stingy."
"Stingy? Eating this grass before it's fully cooked, you can get diarrhoea for two days." Weird boy putting sand in a pot.
Lan remember something. While confirming, his finger formed a frame. He moved sideways while closing one eye. He finds a mysterious boy similar to the boy who helped him. "You helped me yesterday, right?"
"Yesterday?" The long-flowing black-haired kid grinned. "Yesterday, you slept there."
"I sleep?"
The mysterious boy nodded, sat stirring the pot. "You forget who fed you, who wiped your body for several days. You should thank me. Ah, let me introduce myself. I'm Lin Pin Zin. Who are you?"
"Huh? A few days?"
"Almost a week. Who are you?"
Lan was muted for a moment. He recalls the incident that happened. "Father… Where is my Daddy?!" He got up, clenching his fists. "Dad, Dad!"
"He was alright—he was in the main tent with the chief. Your father just woke up this morning. Oh God, he was so worried about you, ran over here just to check—hey you idiot, where are you going?"
Lan came out of the ger-shaped wooden moat He digested Pin Zin's sentence. "Main tent… Main tent."
There were many tents, similar to the tents that accommodated him, followed the wooden plank road covered with snow, forming a path up the hill.
On top of the hill was a giant white ger with a strange flag.
Maybe it's the main tent? Lan thought, when he ran there.
"Silly boy, wait!" Lin Pin Zin fell when he came out of the tent, and got up to chase Lan. "Naughty brat, come back here!"
Lan lunged at several stout men who tried to stop him. He was agile, the result of his outdoor activities in the capital.
He entered the main tent like a shadow, looking for father. He was afraid of being caught.
"What do you want to show?"
Father's voice? Thought Lan, trying to hide behind the wall.
Father sitting on the mat with two stout men with thick beards. Father studied arrows and some strange objects in front of him.
"All were from Han, but this, it comes from Kun," said the stout man in front of the father, sitting cross-legged, pointing at a strange round object.
"They're after you, Duke Kun," the young man replied.
Duke shook his head. "No, if they were after me, they couldn't possibly be trying to help me, right? It's like you said. They were trying to help me and kill my son."
Lan gasped in surprise. He had wide, curious ears. Why is he being targeted?
"Don't tell Lan about this," Duke Kun begged.
"Why?" asked the old man. "Maybe the assassin found out we were alive and tried to kill him here. Better let him know if someone wants to kill him, so he's ready."
"No, he's still a child."
"Duke Kun, if he doesn't know, and he trusts the wrong person, his life–"
Duke Kun shook his head.
Lan heard everything. He strolled away and bowed. Who wants to kill him? But why? What is wrong with me?
He exited the tent, and a strange shadow from the side moved quickly, pounced on him
Murderer?
This guy was so rudely pulling him, and yes, he was pointing the knife at Lan's neck.
Lan looked straight into those narrow eyes.
****