Tendonai

Prologue: A Safe Place

“In these letters, I confess all of my sins. I have stolen and killed for the sake of knowledge. I killed the monks of the Silent Order after learning their magic. I have killed children to get confessions from their mothers and fathers.”

Ten years Before the dreams began:

Avaton was heading home through the alleys. Streets were too loud, and too many sneak thieves loitered these days. Avaton didn’t worry about muggers. He could deal with those. But he could never catch a pickpocket even if he realized he was getting robbed.

As he passed one of the houses with back doors, he heard a kind of whimpering cry. It sounded like a kid, so he moved closer to the noises. He heard glass shatter and another cry, this one louder. He looked into one of the windows that the noise came from and saw a man looming above a child.

There was glass scattered across the floor. At first glance, the glass looked red. Then Avaton saw the blood dripping from the head of the child. The man was yelling at the kid, barely understandable.

“Five years, I fought. Five years! You know how many friends I had to let die!?! I lost my leg!! And now you’re complaining about a little toy that you broke? You’re a fucking disappointment! You’re…you’re…”

The man swayed to the side and almost fell, his voice drifting into silence. The child, now recognizable as a boy, tried to go and help his father to a chair.

“Get off me! Get off!!” The man kicked out at the boy, knocking him to the ground. There was a loud crunch as the man’s foot made contact with the chest of the boy.

“You never touch me, you hear! NEVER TOUCH ME!!” The man lunged forward, looking like he would try to crush the boy beneath him

CRASH

Avaton had broken through the back entrance of the house. Now Avaton stood in the wreckage of the door he had broken open. He didn’t look winded from breaking down the door. He looked livid, his entire body quivering with anger. People had come into the alley to see what the noise was

“Get away from that boy. Now.” Avaton stalked forward, his eyes burning with fury. He seemed to get taller with every step in his approach.

“Who’re you? Get out of my house! He’s my boy! I can do what I want to him.” The man wasn’t scared of this stranger who had burst into his house, far from it. The man’s face, already red with drunkenness, now flushed purple.

“You’ll pay for that door, y’hear? That was a good door!” The man got right up into Avaton’s face, his breath stank of alcohol.

“You’re going to back away from the boy, or I’m going to break your arms.” Avaton’s voice didn’t match the anger that showed in his eyes. His voice was quiet but far from calm. That voice was dangerous.

Avaton hadn’t been intimidated by the man getting close, and he had stopped his stalking movement. He stood still, but he was tense. He was ready to strike.

The man snorted, then swung a fist at this intruder. He’d teach this bastard what happened when you broke into Haltro Ariag’s house.

His fist stopped short. Avaton had caught it mid-swing. Haltro looked at his hand, trying to push it forward. It didn’t move. It was like fighting against a mountain.

Grunting, Haltro tried kicking the man, the insolent pup. Haltro had been a soldier for years. He knew how to brawl.

The ground seemed to lift and smash into Haltro’s head.

“I told you what would happen if you didn’t back away.” Avaton was keeping Haltro pinned to the ground with his knee. One hand was gripping the wrist of the hand Avaton had stopped with one hand. The other hand held Haltro’s elbow.

An audible, sickening, crunching snap came from Haltro’s arm, and he howled with pain, his free hand trying to reach back and beat at Avaton. Avaton leaned forward

“I’m giving you a chance to apologize. Say sorry to the boy, and I’ll leave you with one arm. I don’t want to do this in front of him.” Avaton let go of the broken arm. It dangled at a disturbing angle, and when Haltro tried to move it, he gave another howl of pain.

There was a crowd forming. Neighbors who had heard the screams came to investigate and saw Avaton. Others saw people gathering and got curious. Nobody came to Haltro’s aid. Each of the watchers had been spit at or cursed by Haltro Airag at some point, and they didn’t seem to care if he got hurt. They watched as this stranger broke bones. It was no worse than some of the muggings that had happened nearby, so they watched without giving help.

Haltro was groaning and whimpering. The boy just sat on the ground, dazed and confused. Blood gathered in a pool around him. He tilted his head to one side and watched the two men on the ground. What was this stranger doing to his daddy? Were they playing a game?

“Go fuck yourself, you bastard” Haltro’s voice was hoarse from the screams that he had made when Avaton had broken his forearm. No fear was showing in this drunken man, only hate and disdain.

Avaton’s face hardened as he heard the insults. He pulled Haltro’s unbroken arm up behind his back, forcing Haltro to arch backward further and further. Another sickening pop came from Haltro’s arm. Haltro grunted loudly, and his shoulder hung limply out of its socket, now dislocated.

The people couldn’t see what happened after that, but they could hear Haltro’s screams of pain quite clearly. When Avaton stood, what was left could barely be recognized as an arm. It bent and bled in so many areas that people knew that even healing magics could never get full use of the arm again.

Avaton walked over to the little boy and crouched down.

“Hello. I’m Avaton. What’s your name?” Avaton’s voice was just as quiet as when Avaton was talking to Haltro before, but it had lost the danger. Empathy and concern had replaced the anger and coldness.

The boy tried to speak but coughed instead. Then he started crying, clutching at his side where he had gotten kicked. Blood was running down the side of his face. The broken bottle had made several deep cuts.

Avaton reached out slowly, touching the boy’s shoulder. The boy flinched and became very tense for a moment. Avaton was gentle, ripping off a piece of his shirt to wrap the child’s head and soak up the blood.

“I’ll take care of you, okay? We’re going to get you to a physician.” Avaton picked up the boy, careful to keep pressure off of the broken ribs. He walked through the crowd, people parting around him.

“M-my name is Khiri.” The boy had flinched a little when Avaton picked him up, but he had relaxed when he heard what Avaton said about a physician. He somehow knew that he would be safe when he was in the care of this stranger. He let himself relax. After a moment of that, he slipped into a peaceful sleep.

Avaton took him to the nearest physician and paid for him to heal. He left after ensuring the healer was reliable and checked on Khiri’s health as often as he could afterward.

Khiri healed well. His ribs had hurt, but they were easy to mend. There hadn’t been any lasting damage to his brain. Avaton had been able to get him to a good healer before any scarring would happen. Avaton thanked the gods for magic and science.

Soon after Khiri left the healer’s charge, Haltro came to find him. His arms were in poorly made splints, and he staggered worse than ever, favoring one leg.

The healer saw the splints. She thought Haltro had come to be treated and let him in. Halto immediately started looking for his kid. He had intimidated a couple of people who lived on this street into telling him where the large man had gone.

Now, he wanted his kid back, and he would beat the ever-loving shit out of that brat for running away. The damn kid had ruined his reputation, and he would pay for that.

“Where is he?” the slur of drunkenness was in his voice, and he stank of brandy and sweat. He was slack-jawed and bleary-eyed. “Where iss my boy? I want to take him home.” His voice was loud, too loud for the room he was in. His words had mixed and jumbled together, nearing unintelligible.

“We just recently released a boy. I treated him. He got beaten quite badly. It was no problem for me to heal, though. Your arms need to get treated now if you ever want to use them how you used to.” The healer had a clear voice, as clean and well-made as her tools were. He looked at Haltro with a faint sense of disdain.

This man was repulsive. But, the healer was a professional. She had sworn an oath to heal any who needed her. For a price, of course. She charged half of what the other healers in the city did, though, and she did better work than them.

“Dammit, woman! What were ye doin’, letting m’boy out without my leavve?” Haltro’s voice had exploded, angry and loud. He had turned on the healer, glaring at her. Well, with one eye. The other drifted in the opposite direction as if the alcohol had given it a mind of its own.

“Are you the boy’s father?” The healer asked with a tone that clearly showed how much the healer doubted that. This man wasn’t fit to attract any woman, much less get married and have a child.

“Of course I am! Who else would I be, eh?” there was a whining growl in Haltro’s voice in addition to the slurred words.

“I can explain the situation, madame healer.” There was something about that quiet voice. Something that Haltro recognized. There was a slight pain in Haltro’s arms as if hearing that voice reminded him of something. He spun and saw Avaton standing next to the healer, not even looking over. Haltro’s face flushed red with anger.

“I’m glad, sir. I was under the impression that you were the boy’s father. Is this…” She paused as if she was about to say something she didn’t want to say. “This…man right in saying that the boy is his?” The healer ignored Haltro’s flush, looking at Avaton calmly. She didn’t consider Haltro to be worth her attention.

“I am not the boy’s father. However, this beast was the reason that the boy got hurt in the first place. I intervened. Luckily, the boy didn’t get hurt during the scuffle.” Avaton’s voice was cold, emotionless. It seemed like nothing in the world could bother this man. His lips were quirked upward, seeming not quite amused, as if he had just thought of a joke and knew nobody else had gotten it yet.

“He’s lyin’! I ain’t touched that boy once in my life!” Haltro’s nervous eyes gave him the lie. Whatever he might think, he was scared of this man. Very scared

“I see. Do either of you have any evidence to prove your point?” the healer looked at Avaton discerningly, then glanced at Haltro with doubt.

“I don’ need to prove shiit” Haltro turned even redder, taking his glare from Avaton to the healer. “Don’ you dare say I hurt my kid. I’ll gut ye like a fish if ye do!”

“I have several witnesses that can attest to hearing this man verbally abuse his child. Those witnesses can testify to my intervention when this man very nearly admitted to abusing this child. I will swear an oath to a magistrate if it is required.” Avaton’s voice was still emotionless, and his face hadn’t changed. His hands were behind his back, his feet a foot apart.

“It would be best to have a magistrate oversee this. There have been several accusations made against…” She paused for a moment. “I’m sorry, sir, I never got your name.” The healer was a professional, but she had no training in law. A magistrate would do better for this. That, and she didn’t want to smell alcohol anymore. And Avaton had always disturbed her. He never seemed to show emotions. He was a blank slate. That wasn’t right, and it didn’t seem healthy.

“Sergent Haltro Ariag.” there was fear in the man’s voice now. A magistrate could punish him severely for what he’d done, and he had done a lot. People wouldn’t be in his favor, and he didn’t think he could fight his way out of that.

“I think having a magistrate oversee the situation, to make it official, is an excellent idea. I can send a messenger to get one if you’d like.” Avaton turned as if to do just that. But he suddenly staggered to one side as something came crashing down on one of Avaton’s legs.

“YOU! Te fuck ye think yer doing? I ain’t bein’ taken in front of no magistrates!” Haltro had kicked out at Avaton and was now standing triumphantly behind him. But his victory was short-lived. Something invisible grabbed him and slammed him against a wall.

“There will be no fighting in my practice. Sir, given your reactions and assault on Avaton, I no longer believe that a magistrate will be necessary.” The healer stood calmly, her look of disdain now fully visible.

After securely detaining Haltro, the healer summoned the city magistrates. Haltro went to prison for assault, domestic abuse, and public intoxication.

There was a brief court session on the subject of Khiri’s custody. No one could find his mother or his brother.

So, in the end, the court gave custody to the only one willing to take Khiri in. Avaton. He cared for Khiri and taught him how to work hard. Eventually, Avaton began to allow Khiri to go into the city with him and learn Avaton’s trade of carpentry and stonemasonry.

Avaton had two workshops. One in the city, where he worked on more difficult repairs such as tables, bed frames, and statues. And another in a large shed outside his home out of the noise and bother of the city.

Khiri grew into a large boy as the years passed, and he became happier and happier as Avaton cared for and loved him. They were content with their life. Then Khiri began to have dreams.