Harbinger

Diana and I went from house to house telling the slaves they were free, that the slavemaster was dead and the guards taken care of and that they should meet us at the town square if they want to know more. The slave owners were upset, but we had the means to shut them up.

We entered the tall house at the end of the valley the village was located in. After walking through long hallways, there was a woman with light skin, wearing a maid dress, leaning against a closed dark wooden door, she looked concerned. Somebody was audibly wheeping. "Paska, are you there?" The whiny voice came from the door behind the maid.

"It's not him, miss." The maid turned toward us. "Can I help you?" she had long black hair and piercing, blue eyes. She was obviously bought because of her looks.

"No, but maybe we can help you."Diana walked up to her. "Who is Paska?"

"He's the slave master. The mistress' husband." She whispered "Have you seen him?" Diana quickly answered for me. "The slaves in the village have revolted. I... don't think he is coming back." She turned her head into my direction. Diana did not know what exactly had happened with the slave master after I left with him, aside from seeing the blood dripping knife. "Probably not..." I averted my eyes.

She looked to ground, but suddenly her eyes widened, glistening. "Then, have you seen a man with dark brown hair, about this long?" She held her hand at chin height.

He was obviously important to her, but I could not tell her. I did not want what had happened. I felt as terrible as I should have. "I saw him and... he gave me this." I pulled the creased sheet of paper spotted with blood out. She started crying as she saw it. I gave her the paper. "Come on, let's leave" I put my hands on Diana's shoulder. She reluctantly followed me, but not without looking back at the maid, collapsed on her knees.

The paper read:

Property Ownership Receipt

In the Name of the City of Rivers, the City Council hereby announces the official purchase of the property on Woven Street, house number 4.

The ownership is hereby transferred to Owen Ikowill and Dalaya Wen.

Seal: The River Council

Later, Diana and I were waiting for the slaves to gather at the small village square.

"Guess this really is not going to be as smooth as you made it sound." Diana had not talked since she and I left the small mansion.

"I have to do it." Some damage would be inevitable if I wanted to change things. This village was a small achievement and I was sure somebody would eventually come to stop me. I had to do this quick.

Slowly, light skinned people started pouring into the town square, surrounding the foundation we were sitting on. I stood up and waited for a couple of seconds. Many different people were gathered here. Men, woman, farmers, nannies and even the Maid called Dalaya. Apart from the few onlookers, all of them had one thing in common. They were slaves. But not anymore.

I was euphoric. Even a days work could achieve that much. I affected these peoples lives and I was not even close to done. I could have never dreamed of fighting the evil in my life.

The sun had started setting as I cleared my throat. "Ladies and Gentleman." I confidently shouted. "Today is the day I realized that we need change. For many years we have been brought here to work for people who thought they are better than us." I did not have enough time to write a proper speech. I had to use the few sentences I had prepared and improvise. "We were seperated from our families, enslaved and violated. They defiled our home lands and took everything they could. But, as shown today, we have the power to get back what we want. To gain the rights, the freedom and everything else the people in Kestan have. Because they wouldn't give it to us, we will take it!" The crowd started feeling more energized. "I want to free other villages and fight until no one is enslaved. If you too want to help our brothers and sisters, follow me there! Tomorrow morning we will meet here! Prepare while you can!" The crowd started applauding. I had hoped for more.