On Death's Doorstep

Lem's mind was in chaos.

His body was a weak shell. The evil power inside of him was constantly sucking his vitality, giving him a thin, hollowed appearance that was frightening for someone who was only fifteen.

A crowd of villagers was supervising his exile through the clearing while keeping their distance. Further behind were the farmlands and Willow Tree Village, where he had lived for his entire life. 

Ahead was the remaining stretch of clearing, and then the forest line, that boundary he had never dared cross. 

There were few he had ever considered friends and family. Now, even they refused to speak up for him, to plead on his behalf. They too were afraid of being infected. 

Not only was Lem being exiled, but it was also his responsibility to drag his fragile body away from the village premises.

Tamor was an old bearded man who had the distinction of being the village elder. 

"Go on Lem, go on Lem," he called every time Lem stopped to rest his aching legs.

Lem began moving again as soon as he was able.

"Go on Lem…"

Step after painful step.

"Go on Lem…"

He fell to the ground. The forest line was a small distance away, only a few dozen meters.

"Go on Lem."

Lem tried to get up, but his limbs refused to move.

"Go on Lem."

He began to cry uncontrollably. Why was his life so difficult? He had been born an orphan, and raised by strangers who told him that his parents had been contaminated by an evil being. 

It had not even killed them on purpose. It was a powerful creature that went to war with immortals, what did it care for a few small villagers.

They had died because they had unknowingly consumed the meat of a beast that had been infected by the evil, which had likely met its fate in the same way. This was the nature of evil in the world.

Lem was extremely indignant on behalf of his parents. 

Why were the other families in the village so healthy? 

Why had only his parents eaten an infected beast?

It wasn't fair!

Growing up, it was soon discovered that Lem was too sickly and weak to practice the martial arts of the village, the [Nine Bull Fist]. Even as a small child, he was laughed at by the farmers' sons and despised by the farmers' daughters. Every time the villagers left for Lang Town to sell their wares, the other children were excited, waiting for the day it would be their turn to leave the clearing.

Only Lem knew he would never be strong enough to make the journey.

His only friends were a few sympathetic farmers, and the docile livestock that were too dumb to hate others. Yet, even under such circumstances, Lem had tried to live a good life. He had worked twice as hard as others.

But the Gods had not finished with their punishment.

Shortly after his fifteenth birthday, his health had rapidly declined, and the physical symptoms had appeared. The dark eyes and sallow skin, the horrible spots of blight…

It was clear that the evil being had not just affected his parents, it had affected him too!

"Go on Lem."

"I can't!" he screamed back through his tears. "I can't, I can't!" 

The forest line was in front of him, but it was too difficult to cross.

It grew quiet behind him, as the villagers began muttering to one another.

They came to a decision. Tamor spoke as their representative.

"You can rest for now Lem. You are an honest child, and we trust you to leave the rest of the way without our prodding. Remember that you can never come back, not even if you think you have recovered. From now on, you are a banished person."

Before Lem could respond, a bag was tossed over roughly, landing a meter away from him. A spear and a knife were tossed afterward, a bit further away.

"There are a week's worth of provisions in there, and several weeks worth of water. The forest is full of beasts, and there are many clean streams to drink from."

Lem turned around, looking for his foster parents in the crowd of villagers.

He saw them immediately, a few steps away from Tamor. Lily and Dun.

Dun stared back at him in sympathy.

Lily looked to the side.

"Mom? Dad?"

Dun cleared his throat awkwardly. "We cared for you for fifteen years, but the karma must come to an end. From now on, you should consider yourself an orphan."

Lem knew that they were setting a hard stance so that he did not get any strange ideas about returning.

However, it was still painful.

They might not be his flesh and blood, but they had raised him from a boy. Even if their hearts were made of stone, they should have nurtured deep feelings for him by now.

Lem's gaze drifted to the other villagers, most of whom were men. They had fear in their eyes, but also conviction. Only a few looked away or openly pitied him.

Lem took a deep breath.

He knew that he did not have long to live.

The evil power within him would continue to consume his strength and grow stronger. It was a vicious cycle that would not stop until he was dead.

Evil was feared by all. From the moment it showed itself, his fate was set.

Lem looked away from the villagers. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and retrieved the bag, buckled the knife and picked up the spear.

For a few awkward minutes, the villagers stared at him. Then, he stood up, nearly collapsing under the weight of the bag.

With one last look at the people who had been his neighbors for fifteen years, he left, stumbling away under their gaze.

Tamor sighed, pulling at his beard.

Lily began to cry, and Dun quickly comforted her.

At the same time the rest of the villagers began to walk back in the direction of Willow Tree Village proper.

"When will this evil come to an end," Tamor said, gazing sadly at the sky.

"It is not your fault, nor is it the fault of the boy," a villager said to Lily. "It is the fault of the world."

"The immortals can bear witness, we have done all that we can."

"The boy…ah, the boy is to be pitied."

"Little Lem, he was always sickly, we should have known."

"If you had known, aye, maybe it would have been better for everyone if he had joined his parents."

"Such a pitiable existence."

"But it is hard for us too. It is hard for anyone." 

The villagers rationalized their callous decision, but in the end, it all came down to necessity. They needed to banish him because they too needed to survive.