The Nebulous Stone

Death comes to all who seek it, but life comes only to those who can abonden their own, convulsed the dragon scale.

The land became narrow in front of him over the years, from the beginning he had no thing to set his heart on, but over the years he felt things shrinking around him to a mere hot dusty wind, the cycle of winter was during the time of enlargement already throughout his life, every year of his life was more full of winter, and losses around him, there was something awestrucking in the winter, as well as in the darkness, they will hurt you, if they are allowed, but until they can reach you, you will go through a dance of many exploits together. Mainly among all the large forest trees that surrounded the settlements, or the hollowed out fields in volatile and warped soil.

So he would scout, and in the winter days he would steal the equipment of the expeditions from the big warehouse, as he is the one who knows how to blend in the dark, and runs outside, groping the myst that embraced the place with the fresh face of winter, before the freezing snow. More than once he was left outside on the brink of the migration season of the shadows and yellers, which seemed to follow the cold and the fog, but his mind wasn't blurred enough to stay there that long, until now.

His head was still throbbing in his hand, dull pain pulses as his blurred field of senses began to open up to him.

Dusk fainted a few times, his lifestyle was not so forgiving, but when he began to grasp the space around him it was it was not a normal fainting, it was not even fainting from an extreme blow, it seems that there was something different about it that if had all the sensory power in his hand he would try to analyze.

Soft and fuzzy noises echoed around helping him to piece together his surroundings. arranged noises, it seemed, too arranged for nature. A soft hum that flowed softly and smoothly through the ripples of his pain. Between them, words finally began to flash to him.

"...

at the ends of the wind

Where the little king still goes.

So armies wield their weapons

wallow

in the joy of life's sorrow

and drunk

at the ends of the wind

Where the little king still goes.

With his power he blesses...

.."

This part hummed in his head and took shape, he remembered this song, or so he thought, an ancient song about hidden times, when people still walked free on the face of land, and the spirits were drawn to the ends of the world by the kings of the desert, or something like that, he didn't really remember clearly the stories of the old times that were picked up by his ears.

Dusk tried to move himself up from the ground he seemed to be resting on, a severe pain went through him and a sharp sigh escaped from his mouth. The singing stopped. "You woke up again, passing shadow, it took you too long, you and your sister, you are not a burden worthy of a man on his journey" the voice was smooth and deep, almost comforting by its very nature. Dusk tried to sit down again.

Whenever he tried to get up, his eyes began to open up more as well, and his gaze became clearer. He was in the forest, apparently in an area close to his village, it was possible to recognize by the thin, straight and elongated trunks of the trees that pulled from them fine needles that were woven by the wind with the woolly tops that cast a scant shadow over the place. As you get further away from the settlements, the trees become thicker, he guessed that it was either because people planted the trees in the village area or because people threw waste out of the village and this harmed the plants, he didn't really know and it didn't seem like anyone was interested in the subject, so he didn't delve into the matter either. He shifted his gaze to the sides, on the soft grass beside him lay Bell, apparently unconscious, the relief lifted Dusk up, back to life.

And from that he was aware of the unusual thing around him, in front of him sat on a rough rock a man of unusually tall height, dressed in a leather coat that covered his whole body, and a wide-brimmed dark leather hat that shaded his entire face, so they could not be seen.

It seems that the stranger was staring at them, maybe even almost captivated, he seemed to be waiting for any response. "Ah, hello, sir, thank you for helping us" The man nodded to him briefly, there was a momentary silence, Dusk didnt feel settled well at the moment, so he continued "How did you find us sir..."

"Hiss, at least that's what you can call me, passing shadow"

"A passing shadow?"

"indeed"

"why?"

"I found you in the densest night, just after the shadow lost interest in you, which is unusual, and your skin is pale enough for the shadow to pass through" "O... okay."

There was a moment's silence again, and then Hiss got up from his place while sighing at the wind surrounding his sleeping limbs "Take your sister with you, I have no interest in carrying her around, although I will still accompany you back to your house, it is not safe for you to hang outside in your condition" he turned his back while making a light and sharp gesture with his hand in the direction of Bell, Dusk assumed from his single movement, that all his movements, were graceful and sharp.

Dusk still felt his head throbbing deeply, and parts of his body were on the verge of falling, he needed more rest, but it didn't seem like Hiss had any internal gesture to the matter and he started walking behind them, getting closer to leaving their reach.

Since Dusk did not know their location now, and even if they were close to the village, it could take more than a day's walking to reach it, especially by wandering, and it really wasn't in their best hands to survive another night outside. Dusk didn't have much choice, and he tried to slap himself and shake his body a little for some sort of stability, it didn't work out very well, but he was barely able to get up with from his place to a standing position.

He had several unsuccessful attempts to bend over and grab Bell, most of the time he found himself trying to avoid falling and losing consciousness. In any case, it didn't seem to bother Hiss.

Finally, after a battle crowned with failure, he was able to muster all his strength and stand his ground with difficulty, he faced considerable and dangerous instability with a burden placed on his back, only under his extensive experience with such situations was he able to remain stable, lucky me. He slowly stalked after Hiss who apparently ,hearing the sighs of Dusk's self dragging, slowed the pace a bit.

"Do you... even know... where... my village is?" Asked Dusk before the high Hiss. "Even in the face of wastelands, this place is not considered well populated, there is a single village in great range in this area" Hiss pointed out to him in an almost defiant voice.

Dusk lowered his stature and did not answer, it seems that he will need to save all the strength in his hand, since Hiss's actions hinted that he will not stop or slow down in any way.

As they began their journey, the sun stood on the threshold, extending from between the refined partitions of the trees that indeed seems to have kept their shape along the way, appearing just above the horizon, late in the afternoon.

Dusk continued to wobble from time to time but he did not happen to fall, while his path became more stable as he continued to walk. Hiss continued to dismiss his steps like the resentment rooted in him, for a long time he was clearly not interested in things, and did not open in his imagination vanityfull conversations, it was a long way.

The fog that appeared to be gripping the place with a heavy hand has wrapped around itself in an attempt to retreat to the distant dark strands of the forest, leaving them a legacy of the refined rays of the sun that set the place on fire with a magnificent golden reddish luminosity that was reflected in the calm grass covering every elegant drop of dew resting in their embrace.

It was typical for the fierce winter to give way for a short while to a fresher and more contained temper, for very few instances, which Dusk's heart had Cherished.

Many lives in the forest were not well remembered and those voices and their purpose were certainly not heard, most of the noise answered the wind and the blasphemy of the treetops, and therefore from time to time the flickering forces of life between the cracks in the place were blocked. From what Dusk heard the places around the villages were teeming with life in the distant past, it was not known to many what it was that commanded all these to go.

Finally, after a long while Dusk's confidence in his movement was well established. "What is a stranger like you doing here, sir? how have you succeeded in your journey so far?" There were several more questions that came to Dusk's mind, but there was a clear order to them.

"Such a thing is really none of your business"

It seems that the misty Hiss tried to stop at the end of the conversation, but Dusk was properly bored, and apparently suffering from brain damage of one kind or another, a sharp response will not cut his case.

"It was surprising to get hold of the little king's poem again in such a random place" Hiss gave him a look that seemed crooked, even though his face was almost not visible through his cover. "Why would he who's cultured and scholared wouldn't know about the character of the little king?"

"The surprise did not come from knowing the song, but from singing it out loud, from everything I knew, these songs are forbidden to come out loud in any human settlement, to honor the judges."

It seems that Hiss is gathering a response of sorts to his reflections, but remained silent for a little while longer.

"You aren't holding it? I never imagined that there is a place that dares to look like he is defaming the judges to such an extent," Dusk provoked the stranger attempting to get a response, as he seemed to be immersed in reflections and memories.

"And why do you say that those songs disrespect the judges?"

Dusk felt more at ease with answering now, it seemed that now he had actually come into conversation with the mysterious man.

"I won't be able to say exactly, no one was very happy about being the person responsible for my studies, from what I gathered I knew that these poems show a longing for the time before the judges, where people went about whatever their hearts desired, and rested scattered in the land of enormous creatures with even more power than the judges."

It seemed that Hiss almost verified the details under the prohibition and analyzimg them well.

"In this way, you explained very well the subject of my question, why wouldn't they want to teach someone as sharp as you?"

"I'm not sure it would better my image if I were to answer that.." There was something attractive in the conversation with Hiss, it probably had something to do with miserable condition and his dire need for a distraction.

"Look who you are standing before, I am a vagabond, what do you think I was when I stayed in my place that made them send me to be like that, there would be nothing in your words to make your situation worse, you have my word."

The man sounded a little indifferent, but there seemed to be truth in his words, and Dusk assumed that they were a little closer to the village anyway, and also that there is no sign of his coming to the village that they will meet again many times with Hiss, so it seemed there wouldn't be any harm in telling him that.

He arranged his thoughts easily.

"Well... in the village I was called a cursed child from childhood, from what they said before, the thing date's back to the birth of my life among other few things, it started when my mother lost her mind that when I started to walk in her, and she died even before she was able to bring me to the world, I was told that her body was found in the center Shaved in the forest while a muffled cry tearing up the place, that's how it was described to me, it was my cry, and I was rescued from my mother that I killed with my curse. And in recent years it got worse, whether from my love for the night and the darkness, or from my ability to avoid the effects of the darkness, that's more or less it"

Hiss kind of nodded to himself.

"Can you resist the effects of darkness? It's indeed unusual, it doesn't even seem human to me at all, it's amazing, at such a sharp wat... How did you survive like that?"

"Do you mean the last night or my life in general?" It was a sad question, Dusk was aware of it. On the other hand, most of Dusk's senses were gathered in his calm and lackluster reaction to the matter against him, there were quite a few people he met who came from abroad to the region, and all of them, even if they were nomads, did not bear him a trace of kindness . Hiss leaned down for a moment and finally gestured with his hand in his direction "I will hear what you have to answer".

"Well, regarding the previous day, I'm not sure what happened, we were saved twice thanks to the strange ability I discovered at the moment to really accurately imitate the growls of shadows.

How I survived my whole life, well, it's mainly related to me being a tough one, but secondarily it's about the help of the one I'm carrying on my back now."

Despite the incoming things, Hiss seemed to have stayed calm, even though a very light quiver on the side of his body could have been noticed for a light moment. He remained silent from that point to the end of their journy.

The sun was already at its peak and shot over all the wild night-armed hills, it didn't stay for long, but as the two walkers came up to see, the village was already clearly visible in front of them in its shadowy figure. It was down the hill they were now qualifying for, while the wind came and played with them, sending harsh movements to their clothes and hair. The place was already empty of trees.

"I will also stay in your village for a short time, but it seems that our official ways will now separate" Hiss resolved to him without warning and began to gallop forward, while he swayed behind walking slowly over to the unattractive and melancholic image of the village.

It has been a long time, but in the end of his blurred path, Dusk found himself falling on the edge of his shelter. After laying Bell in a comfortable place somewhere nearby, the place was covered with slightly rotten carpets and sheets that Dusk managed to obtain through hard work And with Bell's considerable help, when she turned to him from among her frequent study periods. Luck was with him in this part, bacause if the fabrics had not been used to redeem his body heat during the prolonged winter, he would have been long gone.

Due to his obvious dizziness and pain, he could not fall asleep, only to stare up at in the fabric shelter supported by the rods reinforced in the ground he had built, his place was on the threshold of the village, far from the eye.

Some time has passed, not much, from his count, he remains in his place for that time, there was nothing that was woven into mind, just him, blankly staring upwards. The wind equaled the commotion and did well to carry his thoughts until the sound of light steps and movements came from outside into his shelter.

Dusk tried to stand up slightly, but had difficulty doing so, in any case it didn't seem like there was any danger, especially since they were in the vicinity of the village, but none of them would have brought themselves here. "boy, boy, get out and stand before me" A split voice and a lot of rude giddiness, full of age and oldness, stretched out from the front of his dilapidated tent. "Swan, is that you?" It seemed that she was one of the only ones who dared to confront him. "Very indeed my boy, and now get out to here, this is important"

Swan was a nomad, very much not from the village, nor the bearer of it's affection affection, she was considered a madwoman with no curb to all her follies, which was not entirely wrong.

"My condition is not good at the moment, can you come in here?" A moment's mutterings were heard from outside and in front of him at the entrance of the murky tent burst forth a crumpled wrinkled old woman in a white and torn nomad's cloak that covered her whole body. Her wide face, which used to be almost expressionless to him, now seemed filled with fear. She walked next to him and bowed before him. "You don't have time, boy" she sent him a worried look, something very unusual for her. "What.. what happened?" Vaguely calling voices began to be heard in the distance, Swan turned her face away for a moment, and returned to him in a frantic state "You really don't have any time at all, just take this, it might be of good use to you, the dark one" she shoved something smooth and rounded into his hand, and in that moment the fabric of the tent was pulled to reveal another man, with a sullen expression.

"You are hereby summoned to your judgment."