The Cripple

The waves of heat that constantly struck my face caused droplets of sweat to run down my forehead. My eyes stared unblinkingly at the back of a man that was being surrounded by roaring flames. The burning charcoal gave rise to a soothing crackling noise.

The man took out a glowing bar of metal, placed it on an anvil and immediately began striking it with a hammer. Sparks were emitted with every blow along with a deep grunt from the man. The sound of metal clashing soon filled the small wooden room. The walls were covered with an assortment of weapons ranging from a measly dagger to a rapier. The man turned his head around and with an affectionate smile said,

"Luke be careful, the sparks may burn you."

That man was my father and he was also the village blacksmith. Everyone was dependent on his weapons to hunt so he played a key part in the wellbeing of our community. The earliest memories that I had are of him forging swords. His piercing black eyes stared at me and combined with his impressive build and serious demeanor, he seemed out of place in the village. He had been taking care of my sister and I ever since my mother passed away.

"Are you alright? Your mind seems to be elsewhere," he added.

"Yes, I'm fine. I will go check on Lucie," I replied.

After a nod of approval he continued striking the metal bar. I turned around and was facing the wooden door. My hand twisted the knob and the door swiveled open leaving a creaking noise echoing in the room. The crisp breeze hit my face and creeped into the room.

A little girl was running around on the wet grass wearing a jovial smile. The sounds of birds chirping in unison reverberated in forest. The energy that she was radiating could put anyone in a good mood. That was my seven year old sister, Lucie.

"Brother, aren't you going to come play with me?" she said with a frown.

"I'm ten years old, I cannot run around aimlessly," I replied.

Tears began filling her small round eyes. I sighed and said.

"Alright, you won. I'll run around with you."

With a victorious grin on her face we started running aimlessly on the field surrounded by flowers.

Our village was located on the edge of the human kingdom, right next to the beast kingdom. Ever since we were little, the adults had warned us to never cross the thick tree line. Even without that warning, no one in their right mind would set foot in that eerie place. That forest always had an ominous fog encapsulating it and nothing could be seen inside other than darkness.

The buildings were mainly built out of rotten wood planks and the roads were made out of old mossy stones. From what i had heard from the others, bigger towns and cities had houses that were larger than our whole village, but I could not believe it. I was hoping that I would be lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit one of these places one day. Our village was full of bright souls who had looked after me from the moment I was born. Everyone was like family to me. Even the guards were helping me practice my rudimentary swordsmanship from time to time.

"Luke are you dozing off again? You're in the middle of the streets. I've been in front of you for a good minute now," said a girl with a frown.

"Sorry Judy, I've been thinking a lot about the village recently."

"Yeah right, but you couldn't think to remember that you had to meet me an hour ago?" she replied.

My face immediately turned pale. Judy can be quite scary when she is messed with.

"I- I-"

"Don't try to find dumb excuses and let's just go," she interjected before grabbing my hand and running.

We ran for twenty minutes away from the village. Due to my poor athleticism, I was out of breath quite quickly. My mouth was dry and I was desperately gasping for air. She suddenly stopped running and I immediately slumped forward trying to catch my breath.

"What did you want to show me?" I asked.

"This," she said.

I looked towards where she was pointing and I could not believe it. It was a large carcass. It's skull alone was ten times bigger than me

"What is that?" I exclaimed.

"This is a dragon skeleton."

"I often heard my father and the others talking about it, but I wanted to check it out for myself," she added.

"It's magnificent, I cannot believe that a creature like that exists," I said with my mouth agape.

"Even more surprisingly, a human managed to kill it in one strike. How strong of a warrior must he have been to be able to do that," she replied.

We spent hours analyzing the remains and stared in awe. The last rays of sunlight shone as darkness soon prevailed. Our shadows became elongated and we were felt the cold in our bones.

"It's time to head back, we will get scolded otherwise," I said.

We turned around and made our way back to the village. Halfway through, we split up and I directed myself towards my house. Dry leaves were crackling with each of my footstep. The moon shone through the leaves and illuminated my path. After countless steps, my cabin was now in sight. As I ambled, the house was getting bigger and I found myself at the door.

"Dad will get mad at me, won't he," I thought to myself.

My hand grabbed the doorknob and as I was about to twist it, someone spoke.

"Relay to count Vitor that our mission has been accomplished."

The powerful voice alone was enough to send shivers down my spine. I hurriedly opened the door and my eyes met my fathers'. His gaze however, was drained of life. His decapitated head was on the floor in a pool of crimson red blood. My whole body began to tremble as my heart beat faster than it has ever done. Three imposing men cladded in armor surrounded my father's corpse. Tears began flowing down my face. I felt a pit in my stomach and my life flashed before my eyes.

Reacting instinctively, I ran as quickly as my body would allow me to towards the village. Maybe they would be able to help me, or so I thought. But in my panic, I did not realize that the attackers were not even pursuing me. As soon as I was near the village, my heart sunk even more and my face remained petrified. The streets were dyed in blood and countless bodies were dumped on the wet stone pavements, their faces wearing a horrified expression.