1 Prologue
As the silent pitter-patter of the December rain beat against the walls of our small shack I reminisced the feeling of warmth as all the heat was slowly scraping from my body as I fell into an uneasy sleep I curled up and blacked out. When our ancestors first colonized this wilderness they did not give any thought to the Climate or the infertile land.
The house if you could even call it that was stationed on the top of a small cliff with the rest of the village. The village was known for its fishing. Although not fishing as you know it we go after a rare species of flying fish that routinely fly up to the four waterfalls surrounding the village to a murky lake about 70-100ft deep to reproduce. In the early months of spring, the fish came up the falls and left in September where the would winter in a far off land.
My work day as a fisherman started before even the sun was up and was finished after it had gone down. Although the fishing was not all that bad in its self the fact that you had to sit in the rapids of a waterfall was enough to scare away most outsiders from joining the job.
I woke with a start. As I was already in a sitting position I looked around and suddenly realized it that it was past noon I had missed half a days work!
The rays of the afternoon sun were bright as I pushed the door of my house open. Proceeding to the village square I walked in a slow drudge, kind of dragging my feet still not completely awake. As I passed the various shops and dwellings I noticed that no one was out and about, the shops all were still open with not a single shopkeep to man them. I found this very peculiar because just yesterday it was bustling with life and today dead as a doornail. As I approached the entrance to the village I solved the great mystery, everyone was gathered around a tall figure on a horse outside the open gate. As I made my way through the crowd I saw my best friend, Takashi and wadded towards him. When I got to him I asked
"Whats' the big commotion"
"I don't exactly know but from what I've been able to gather he is a messenger from the Capitol"
"what did he say?"
"Not much yet, but he only just announced himself".
As Takashi finished his sentence the figure which I had not gotten a good look at spoke to the crowd.
In a deep leathery voice, he exclaimed
"You all must be wondering why I am here. I am a messenger from the Capitol for any new listener joining us, I trust you have gathered everyone now?"
"Yes" replied the village elder
"So now I may begin, I am here to announce that the Capitol is raising the yearly tax on the outskirt villages, but don't worry this is all for the betterment of the kingdom".
"Kekai, this guy is full of it" Takashi muttered in a sarcastic voice.
"I think the Capitol is losing control of the borders, just yesterday I heard reports of various creatures scaring off the prey".
The small sermon came to a close about an hour later and the rest of the day was spent wondering what the Capitol was using with the extra 300 Len (Len the standard currency in the Kingdom and its territories, equal to 0.5USD ) in addition to the 500 Len they were already charging the village. In the later hours of the night Kekai thought of the day, the fright of finding the village empty, the messenger, and his message more taxes, but for what? with that thought, he drifted off to a night of restless sleep.
