As I walked the dirt road bringing me back to my house, a shimmer near the edge of one of the more dilapidated houses caught my attention. Advancing toward the light, I could now see more clearly that between two rotting wooden planks, right beside a half-broken door, a small metallic sheet was wedged. I could only see the end of it, but it was engraved with the same characters as the writing on the court walls.
The door was open, and the house had clearly been abandoned for a long time, smelling of damp wood and decay. Making sure that no one was near, I took the metallic sheet and tucked it inside my clothes.
Right now, I do not know what it means, but it certainly makes me curious to know what is written on it.
Once it was almost evening, I finally finished my adventure and stood in front of my house. Waiting for me was my mother.
"How could you leave me alone all day here? Once you can walk, off you go, and you forget about your poor mother altogether? How heartless of you, little lamb," she said while fake crying.
She took me in her arms and brought me inside. This time, I did not protest because I was really tired and sleepy. Four-year-olds aren’t exactly known for their stamina, much less ones who just recovered from a high fever.
After a quick power nap, I joined my family at the dinner table. Today, the menu consisted of a watery vegetable soup with chunks of hard, black bread floating inside. Not the best food in my memory, but certainly better than wartime rations, and it was hot, so that was good enough.
Once my mother stopped talking about her day, she asked me how my day went. I recounted everything, including the offer from the Magister. My father, who was blissfully slurping the brownish liquid from his wooden spoon, widened his eyes and choked from the sheer shock.
"The Magister said so, little lamb?" asked my mother with a mix of apprehension, surprise, and happiness. I just nodded.
"Let me explain what you will have to do if you want to accept," said my father, looking at me sternly. "You have to study to read and write. You have to learn by memory every law in the sacred books for ten years. No other distractions will be possible. You will not have a family of your own, and you need to leave this one when you finish your apprenticeship. But once you finish, you will be set for your whole life."
I think he really believed that even though I was so young, I could make a choice on my own. It was probably the medieval mindset.
"I think she should do it. This is a great opportunity. I think Jute blessed my daughter and wants her services," said my mother.
Even though she sounded happy, I could see a mask of sadness hiding beneath her emotions. Still, becoming a priest in medieval times was probably the best job: work-life balance, security, and food.
"Tomorrow, I will go to the court and tell the Magister I accept the offer," I said, looking seriously at both my parents. I felt sorry for them, but this was the only opportunity I would probably have to change my peasant destiny in this world.
Ten entire years I studied with the court Magister. I learned a great deal about the brutal reality of where I was living. Our country, the Dilemd Empire, had an Emperor-Grand Master who held absolute power over the secular and spiritual world. In this world, magic existed, but few people had the gift to bend it to their will. The Magister explained to me how only people capable of seeing and manipulating their own "ember" could hope to also govern the ember inside external objects.
I also learned how to use their numbers, how to read, and how to write. Finally, after all this groundwork, I could open the Dilemdic Code for myself—a massive law book that the empire used to regulate everything: how thick a militia’s armor should be, how many fish you could catch in a river, how many garbs you could possess based on your status, and so on. Oh, and also, in this world, we had ten months a year, with twenty hours each day.
Today was also a bit special. It was the first day of the third month of the year, and that meant the yearly merchant caravan was coming to town. It was the only way for me and all the other villagers to know what was happening around the crumbling borders of the empire. It was such a special occasion that even the stern Magister granted me a free day, and this is why I was still snoring inside my bed this late in the morning.
"Wake up, old lamb, the light is shining on us by at least three shadows!"
Recently, since I had my first menstruation at thirteen, my mother had started to call me "old lamb." By the way, really awful experience, I do not recommend it. I started to bleed out of nowhere while I was walking back home, and it was really, really painful. And now, every menstrual cycle, I re-suffer the pains of hell. Thanks to Jute, in this world they invented something like tampons made with a strange red sponge and some thin rope. The only downside was their cost: 5 copper fairs each.
Really a robbery; they prey on us weak women.
While grumbling about the unfairness of the world, I finally washed my face and looked at my reflection in the water basin. My face was now more mature. I still had a little bit of chubby baby fat on my cheeks, but my features were coming along really nicely. With my father’s deep black hair and my mother’s piercing grey eyes, I was a killer.
Thank Jute I chose to become a Magister, because if not, I do not know how I could escape the already relentless pursuit of boys who want to marry me. Even after ten years living in this body, I find myself not really getting attracted to men. It could also be that here, everyone has missing teeth and really bad breath, but well, I will see how it goes in the future.
TONG. TONG. TONG.
The village bell started to ring all of a sudden.
Barbaric screams tore through the air—the barbarians were attacking.
Father rushed near the table, moved a floor plank, and pulled a heavy iron sword out of a hidden bundle of weapons. I also went near it, but before I could pick one up, he stopped me.
"No, you stay here, Elvit. The battlefield is no place for women."
"But Father, please let me come with you! Let me fight!"
"ELVIT, now go inside and hide! War is not your business. Take your mother and go!" he screamed, pointing toward the door where my mother was standing, looking outside petrified.
As I was ready to counter him, a wet sound rang out.
A massive, rusted one-handed axe was lodged deep in my mother’s neck.
A huge, scarred hand grabbed it and yanked the blade from the side of her neck, slashing through the front. A gigantic man, wearing furs and bathed in the fresh blood of my mother, stepped into the doorframe.
"I WILL KILL YOU!"
Father launched himself with his sword toward him.
Petrified, I could only watch as he slashed at the gut of the barbarian, slicing open his stomach in a shower of gore. His heavy body fell to the side, knocking over the oil lantern near the door.
Fire quickly engulfed our wooden home, and the beam above the door fell, blocking our only escape.
The hollow grey eyes of my mother were staring at me.
"Elvit, wake up! We need to go, we need to escape!"
The heat was suffocating. Smoke stung my eyes. As I looked up, my father was hauling the massive, burning beam onto his own shoulders. I needed to walk toward him to run...
Thwack.
An arrow lodged directly in Father’s neck.
I could only see his regretful expression before the entire house came crashing down on me.