It's the little things that don't immediately jump out at you. But we should quickly recognise these small things, because they can expand into unimaginable dimensions...

I should probably keep this as a painful memory in my mind forever. Memories that ended as painfully as they had begun....

Hail to the Gods....

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I would like to welcome you to my little fantasy world.

I am looking forward to your thoughts as well as feedback in the comments of my books.

I hope you enjoy reading it.

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Yours, Aislin Bosch

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A fresh breeze swept across the stony shore up to the rocky outcrop where I sat. Like every sunny morning, I sat there and looked into the distance, where the sun was ushering in a new day on the horizon.

The cool air seemed to mix with the sea, creating a salty current of air that meandered behind me through the rocks towards the forest.

As I did every morning, I tried to judge from the air whether it was going to be a sunny day or a rainy one, but I was seldom right in my guesses. Nevertheless, I loved watching the sunrise and feeling the cool morning air on my skin.

My gaze wandered out to the open sea again. In the distance could be seen the coast of Whale Island, where I used to go whale watching with my brother when I was a small child.

I lived with my family on a large island that consisted mainly of mountains and forests. Although our island also had smaller sandy beaches, it mainly consisted of numerous cliffs against which the high waves of the sea rose foaming.

Niantra. That was the name of the island where I was born and had been at home all my life. Whale Island lay to the east of Niantra and was only accessible by boat.

In my opinion, it was the most beautiful place in Niantra and so I took every opportunity I could to go there.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the morning sun, which brought a smile to my face as it does almost every morning.

A loud drumming noise woke me from my daydreams. Horrified, I looked up at the sun on the sea horizon. The sun had left the sea and had risen into the sky.

Only a few rays of sunlight still touched the water in the distance.

I quickly jumped up and grabbed my spear, which I had placed beside me on the ledge. As I picked up the spear, the glass-coloured beads I had attached to the spear jingled.

The dark wood from which my spear was made contrasted beautifully with the bright beads.

Clattering, I thus walked along the uneven rocky path on the coast towards home. The loud drumming heralded a new day in Niantra.

It was the morning wake-up call in the villages of Niantra that could be heard for miles.

I usually managed to get home before the drumming started, but sometimes I forgot the time and came home when everyone was already awake.

But this was exactly the situation I had to avoid, because my morning trips to the coast were forbidden. According to my parents, I had to get up at the morning drumbeat at home and help prepare breakfast.

I sprinted through the forest, which stretched inland just beyond the cliffs. The forest had also come to life as the day wore on. Occasional rays of sunlight shone through the treetops and lit up the forest floor in spots.

Occasionally, small fluffies can be seen jumping from branch to branch.

Fluffis were small creatures no bigger than a little finger that called the forests their home. Their human-like bodies were covered with rainbow-like scales and long antennae grew out of their heads as the fluffis grew older. The little fluffies were harmless creatures that fed on leaves or dead leaves.

I loved to walk through the forest and watch the fluffies foraging for food. When a fluffi was looking for food, they would jump from branch to branch singing melodies.

The more fluffies there were in one place, the more likely you were to hear the chorus-like melodies.

One fluffi used my head as a springboard as I ran under a swarm of them. The little creature did a little pirouette and its long antennae rotated smoothly around its body.

Even as a child, I listened to their songs and played with the little ones.

A few of them accompanied me through the forest as I continued to make my way through the undergrowth towards the village.

Before I reached the end of the forest, the fluffies sat on the branches and looked at me curiously.

I waved goodbye to the little creatures.

Undeterred, I ran on and jumped over the fence that separated our fields from the forest. The harvest was coming up and the tall greenery was up to my chest.

After a sprint that left me quite out of breath, I finally stood at the gate to the village. A quick clearing of a throat made me cringe.

"Yona what are you doing here?" a deep voice suddenly asked and I looked to the side.

From behind a wooden pillar, a young man stepped out of the shadows.

"Paico.", I breathed out in relief and grinned wryly.

Paico and I were the same age and had attended the same class together as children.

"You didn't answer my question." He furrowed his eyebrows and eyed me up and down.

"I was on the cliff," I mumbled softly but still loud enough for Paico to hear.

Paico sighed and shook his head. "You're lucky I'm standing guard today. Imagine if Hua or Onea were standing here now. They would have grinded you to the tribal leader stone cold.".

I grinned at him mischievously, "I'm lucky you're standing here today."

"Yona... You have to stop going to the cliffs in the morning. You know your father doesn't want you to. He's already not well disposed towards you and you know it. So don't do it."

I nodded dejectedly, but knew I still wouldn't listen to him.

"Are you going to let me pass quietly now?", I asked in an overly friendly manner to which I received an annoyed sigh in reply."I saw nothing and heard nothing."

"Thank you." Quickly I dashed past him. I ran as fast as I could along the path towards the house.

"Don't get caught," he called after me.

"I'll try."

Then I darted behind the next hut.

I ran as quickly and quietly as I could between the wooden huts. The village was slowly coming back to life just in time for the early morning.

In some of the small, knee-high fenced gardens, chickens were already running around and loudly demanding food.

Occasionally, I could also hear the Niantran women from the huts calling loudly for their children and husbands so that they could have something proper to eat before they went to work.

This was not a good sign for my plans to arrive home undetected. So it was all the more likely that my parents were already up.

I let out a small sigh as I stood in front of the entrance to our medium-sized hut. The smell of fried eggs permeated our front yard and the clatter from the kitchen was clearly audible due to the open kitchen window.

I was clearly too late.

Aware of what was about to happen, the small sandy path to the front door seemed shorter than usual. Despite the prevailing situation, I tried to avoid a telling off. I quietly opened the door and stepped into the sunlit hallway.

I slipped off my leather shoes and placed them beside the iron dresser. I slid my spear into a suitable holder on the wall, the small beads jingling softly. I immediately froze and peered towards the kitchen, where my mother was still busy with breakfast.

She seemed so concentrated in her preparations that I assumed she had missed the sound.

Slowly, in what felt like slow motion, I crept across the wooden floor towards my room. But just as I was about to open the door, I heard a stern clearing of a throat.

"You don't think you just walked quietly to your door, do you?" I turned to the person and raised an eyebrow in annoyance.

"You can stick that triumphant grin up your arse!", I hissed at my brother who was leaning against the door frame and eyeing me.

"Don't be so cheeky sis, otherwise I'll have you busted right away. I don't think you want to be told off, do you?" he asked, walking slowly towards me.

Annoyed, I looked into his mischievous dark brown eyes, "Just leave me alone Zao."

"Oh no Yona, I definitely won't."

"What do you want?" I rolled my eyes and Zao continued to grin gleefully to himself. He was now standing right in front of me and his smile disappeared. Instead of his mischievous smile, my brother was now looking at me urgently with a serious expression.

"Tomorrow is the divine hunt and I want to emerge from the hunt as a butcher. I want you, as soon as you receive your divine blessing tomorrow night, to vote for me. I want your vote to be included in the circle of the highly blessed."

The divine hunt was an annual ritual in which the blessed, and thus candidates for a place in the circle of the highly blessed, had to hunt and kill a rare creature.

The one who killed the creature was given the title of Slaughterer, which increased his chances of becoming a Highly Blessed One.

The killed animal was offered as a sacrifice to the patron gods before the annual blessing could begin. As soon as one reached the age of twenty, everyone was entitled to a blessing from the patron god of each country.

Since I had turned twenty this year, I would receive my divine blessing tomorrow. My eyes widened in amazement and I took a step back, "Are you serious right now?"

Zao nodded and grabbed me by the shoulders. "I don't want you to give your vote to your friend Tiao."

Astonished, I freed myself from his grip. "I thought you didn't want to become a highly blessed one?"

"I changed my mind," he replied, leaning against the wall, somewhat lost in thought.

"Why?"

"Because I want to, Yaona. That's why!" His inner turmoil was visibly palpable. "So are you giving me your vote, yes or no?"

"Of course you get my vote. No matter if you blackmail me now or not. If you really want to do this, I'll support you."

I smiled at him but the feeling of unease spread through my body which made itself felt in my stomach.

"Thank you." Zao hugged me tightly and then took another step back. "I have something to tell you, by the way."

Embarrassed, he ran his right hand through his brown hair and gave me another crooked smile.

"Please, no more surprise news. My stomach can't take it anymore.", I replied laughing but being dead serious.

"Now don't get carried away Yona."

"I'm serious Zao!"

"The fuck you are!" he laughed. "I'm getting married."

I almost stopped breathing in shock, "What do you mean getting married?"

"Yes, getting married. A woman and a man vow to stay together until the end of their days. To love, respect and honour each other until death..."

He didn't get any further because I interrupted him at this point. "I know that! BUT WHO ARE YOU MARRYING? You don't have a girlfriend, do you?"

Towards the end I became quieter again as I was afraid of being caught by my mother. Zao took a deep breath and suddenly looked at me uncertainly.

"Hua. I'm getting married to Hua the day after tomorrow."

"Hua?" I asked, horrified. Hua was the daughter of the tribal leader and my age.

Just like me, she would receive her divine blessing tomorrow and only then be considered eligible for marriage.

At this point it should be mentioned that Hua was my absolute nemesis and even the term was an understatement in my opinion.

Not only had she bullied me because of my snow-white long hair and light grey eyes, but because of her my childhood had been an absolute horror. But the worst thing she had ever done to me was to steal my boyfriend only to break up with him two weeks later.

"Yes, Hua," he replied, avoiding eye contact with me.

"First you build yourself up in front of me, act like such a lunatic and talk about support, and then you tell me straight away that you've hooked up with the village slut and want to lead a happy love life? Are you out of your mind?" I shouted at him, whereupon Zao winced slightly.

"Why are you shouting like that?" my father's deep voice suddenly sounded as he stepped out of his room into the hallway. "And what have you got on Yaona?! Have you been outside? Now don't tell me you've left the village again?!"

The negative tension that had built up in the room increased immeasurably and pure hatred for my brother and father spread through me. Had my mother not stepped into the hallway at that moment, our conversation would probably have been different.

But unfortunately this was not the case.