Kalmu

Kalmu walked through the streets of Roboro. As he walked past adults and shopkeepers, the majority of them greeted him. He was reminded of Razmuth as he watched children play and roam the streets. He bought some bread and wine from a store, neither of which were of special quality, then continued on his way. He had often taken such long walks to free his mind of anything that was bothering him. Losing an important contract, having his prize horse die, and otherwise worries that would befall his mind could be dissipated by taking a walk through the town. This time, however, the worry just wouldn't disappear.

Kalmu decided to go sit on a bench that was in the town's garden located at the very center of Roboro. His mind was still on what had been plaguing him for a few days now. Was letting Razmuth go to the capital the correct decision? He had often worried about Razmuth, though he didn't show it clearly. He found that Razmuth was very emotionally motivated and was quick to fight. In Roboro, Razmuth wouldn't be in too much trouble because the Bridwyrs had a decent amount of political influence but everywhere else, Razmuth would be on his own. He knew that Razmuth needed to leave the nest someday, he had hoped that that day would come after Razmuth had had time to mature. Kalmu's conversation with Lord Lanna echoed in his ears as he took out his bread and tore it a bit to feed the pigeons.

When Lanna ordered Razmuth to leave, he turned to Kalmu and spoke, "Razmuth is a bright young man, however, he is very lacking in experience." Lanna took a momentary pause before continuing, "By the look on your face, I assume you were able to understand what I said."

"Yes, my lord, I was able to. There's a war coming," Kalmu spoke feeling overwhelmed with fear and worry.

"Precisely. Many scholars bickered over what Hapster's final prophecy meant, but the orthodox priests of my house have remained adamant that the prophecy describes a war: a war that will be so destructive that the entire world will be caught up in it."

"And since that information would cause mass fear, the populace has been kept in the dark, I assume?"

"Yes."

"But this prophecy has existed for centuries, why bother with it now?"

Lanna leaned towards Kalmu before resuming, "The final prophecy of Hapster isn't 'East wind will mark the end of all', no, it is: 'A child, with bright red eyes, unlike all other, able to learn all, born of a peasant and a rancher near Roboro will be the one on whose shoulders will the responsibility fall.' Does that sound familiar?"

Kalmu's eyes widened then, his heartbeat spiked, and his throat went dry, "...It sounds terrifyingly like Raz..."

"I thought so too. That's why I took such an interest in him. I used scholars to see if he was able to learn anything, and truly, he was."

"But I've never heard of this prophecy before."

"That is because this prophecy wasn't shared in public. Hapster said this to my ancestor when he came to visit him on his deathbed. Our house has kept this prophecy secret but alive and unaltered."

Kalmu let out a defeated sigh. Though Kalmu himself had never fought in any battles, he had seen how it affected people. When he was a young boy, he had visited the border of Ertistan. There, he saw villages burned to the ground, people lying on the ground with their guts ripped out as vultures and crows ripped their eyes out and devoured them. He saw men, women, and children alike torn to shreds. Those who hadn't died physically, had died mentally: living an emotionless life, clearly stuck in battle be it soldiers or civilians. No one wins in war, Kalmu realized that then, everyone suffers.

Eventually, Kalmu decided to go home. As such, he got up and left. On his way back, Kalmu swung by the post office of Roboro to collect any mail that may have arrived for him or his family. He was pleasantly surprised to find a letter from Razmuth. He accepted and tried his best to not open it before he got back home. As he was about to get out of the city, he heard someone.

"Coins fo' the poo'?"

Kalmu looked at the beggar who wore tattered and dirty clothes, had overgrown unkempt hair and beard, had dirt and soot all over his body, and was very visibly in bad health. "Poor soul," thought Kalmu as he reached into his pouch of coins and pulled out a few gold coins. He gave the coins to the beggar who became flabbergasted.

"S-si'! Thank you, oh, thank you kind si'! May ou' lo'd, Hapste' be kind to you!"

Kalmu just smiled back at the beggar and continued on his way.

Once back home, he immediately went to Aina, his wife, and said excitedly, "Dear! We've got mail from Razmuth!"

"Oh? Iz 'at so? Wha' did he say?"

"Well, I haven't opened it yet. Come, I'll read it."

Kalmu read Razmuth's letter aloud. Aina was ecstatic to hear from her son again.

"It'z wonde'ful tha' he'z okay!"

"Yes, it is," Kalmu replied half-attentively.

"An' how sweet of m'lord to give 'em a place to stay!"

"You're right, I suppose," Kalmu's mouth turned sour for he knew that Lanna had planned to throw Razmuth into the midst of battle. He had always wished for his family to live a peaceful life, but it was not possible anymore.

"Wha'z wrong?"

Kalmu looked at Aina who wore a worried expression.

"Nothing. I… I'm just worried about Raz. I don't want him to get in a fight or something like that."

"Ah. Well, he does figh' a lot," Aina giggled. "But he also always gets ou' of tha' mess, don't he?"

"Ha! You're right," Kalmu gave his wife a kiss, "you're always right. I'll write back to him before we go to bed."

The two then tended to their remaining chores for the day, and as night fell, they gathered to eat dinner. Aina had cooked a rabbit stew and Kalmu opened and poured them the wine that he had bought earlier. They raised a toast to Razmuth's good health and dined.

Once they were done eating, Kalmu cleaned up and went to write his reply letter to Razmuth. During his writing, however, he was interrupted by Aina's scream followed by a loud thump. He immediately jumped and rushed towards where he heard the scream come from.

"Aina! Are you okay?"

Once he got to where Aina screamed he saw what made him die from the inside out. There, on the floor, was a pool of blood in the middle of which lay the love of his life, Aina.

"AINA!"

Kalmu rushed to his wife who had a gaping gash in the neck. Her jugular vein had been sliced and her eyes were lifeless. He held her in his arms as her blood got smeared all over Kalmu. He looked up and saw a boy not much older than Razmuth standing in the corner with a short sword in hand. The boy had white skin, whiter than any skin Kalmu had ever seen, as white as snow. His hair and eyebrows were also white. His eyes, however, were like beautiful shining light-blue diamonds. He wore a black shirt, black pants, black shoes, and a black mask covering everything below his eyes.

Before Kalmu could move, the boy rushed him and thrust his sword straight through Kalmu's neck. Kalmu felt the cold iron hit his skin, pierce it, hit his bone, break through, and come out the other end. Kalmu reflexively tried to scream but nothing came out. He felt his blood rush out as his body temperature rose and his vision dimmed. He fell next to Aina and with the last of his strength, hugged her as he died.