After walking alone through the wilderness, a man in a robe finally reached a hidden civilisation deep within the forest. His face was concealed behind a veil. A sudden gust of wind blew past him. He breathed out, without a word, he stepped forward and entered.

  ***

  Completely black.

  A faint sound of footsteps broke the silence, heavy and muffled, as though someone was treading on grass. Everything was suddenly illuminated, revealing a young man carrying a small boy on his shoulders in the middle of a grassy field. They laughed.

  The young man's face was blurred beyond recognition, while the boy on his shoulder pointed forward and spoke.

  "I want to go there."

  "Alright, hang on tight!"

  They ran forward, laughing joyfully. Ahead of them was nothing but a blinding light. Little by little, they disappeared, swallowed by the light.

  "Sayda"

  A jolt woke him up.

  "W... Where am I?"

  He clutched his face, breathing heavily.

  "Dream...?"

  Suddenly, a voice broke through his panic.

  "Are you up?"

  He gasped and quickly turned to his side. A man sitting on a chair with the sound of sparks as he dragged rock to his sword.

  "W... who are you?"

  Sayda asked, dazed.

  The man remained silent, his eyes fixed intently on his task as he sharpened the sword.

  Sayda's eyes darted around as he realized he was inside a wooden house adorned with patterned carvings. He was sitting on a wooden chair, and in front of him stood a simple but tidy table with a circular pattern carved in the middle. At the center of the pattern was a blooming flower, while the edges resembled thorny long branches overlapping one another.

  Above the ceiling, hanging a carved wooden ornament, that he had seen before. A circle symbolises the sun, with a crescent moon positioned next to it in the sun. The man spoke.

  "Calm down. I won't punish you for what you've done."

  "You look nervous."

  Sayda looked at the man, his face pale.

  "W... Who are you, and where am I?"

  The man continued sharpening his sword. With the final stroke, a spark flashed. He set the stone aside, studied the sword for a moment, then slammed it onto the wooden floor beside him. Slowly, he raised his head, leaned slightly and for the first time, their eyes met.

  His eyes are hazel, the tips of his ears are pointed and his hair is black with greyish-white streaks. There is a scar of his right eyebrow and line of scars on his left cheek extended to the middle of his nose. His body is brawny and covered in sparse hair. Around his neck, there is a chain with a canine tooth hanging from it. Three fingers on both hands, from the thumb to the middle finger, are partially wrapped.

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  "You do not have the right to ask questions. When a culprit is on trial, you are to listen and respond."

  Sayda swallowed.

  "B... But–"

  The man cut his word.

  "First of all, is that wolf over there yours?"

  He pointed to his left. There was a wolf lying on the floor. It had its eyes closed and it was snapping its jaws. Sayda's eyes widened and immediately stood up.

  "Eldras!"

  "Sit! I never said you were allowed to stand."

  The man exclaimed.

  Sayda sat back down to his seat, his forehead wrinkled.

  "Where did you find him?

  "Can you shut up for a while?"

  The man grabbed the knotted cloth, loosened it and pull out a knife. Slowly, he raised it, letting Sayda see the gleaming blade.

  "This is yours too, isn't it?"

  "T... that's mine, where did you find it?"

  The man sighed and laid the knife back on the cloth beside him.

  "So, it's clear that all this belongs to you."

  "I don't understand, why you have my items and–"

  "That wolf..."

  The man looked at the lying Eldras.

  "Huh?"

  "Not long after you fainted, a wolf suddenly appeared and attacked the person who caused you to lose consciousness. In its mouth was a knife. Despite the brief commotion, the wolf calm down."

  "And now it's clear why he acted that way, because you are his owner."

  Sayda gripped the base of the chair on which he was sitting.

  "So, is that all you want to know? Is it enough for you to know that I am the owner of the wolf and the knife? Is that all you want to know?"

  The man then crossed his legs, placing both hands on top of each other on his knees.

  "No, It was just to justify my curiosity and now that it's satisfied, let's move on to main topic."

  "This guy is annoying."

  "So, tell me, why did you steal? Was there a reason behind it?"

  Sayda was silent for a moment.

  "I will be punished for telling the truth– but who truly this man is? The judge?"

  "I did not steal, sir!"

  The man took a deep breath. His gaze dropped to the ground before slowly returning to the teenage boy in front of him. He then picked up the knife beside him and tossed it to Sayda, who caught it.

  "Use that weapon to defend yourself if I decide to punish you. Now you know that I will not."

  "Stop lying and tell me the fucking truth. Everyone knows you stole from the bakery. They even found a piece of bread hidden in your shirt. So tell me – why did you do it?"

  The man raised his voice slightly, and Sayda's face immediately went pale.

  "I... I'm hung–"

  Suddenly, Sayda's stomach rumbled loudly. The man uncrossed his legs.

  "I see now, hunger... makes people act irrationally."

  Sayda's gaze down, and the weight of his stare is almost palpable.

  "Do you not have any money, gold, or anything you could offer instead of resorting to theft?"

  "No, sir... I have nothing."

  The man looked at Sayda, holding the tip of the sword at his side.

  "So I conclude that you stole because you were too poor to afford even a single loaf of bread."

  "Why do I feel as though he is insulting me?"

  "Is that right?"

  "Y... Yes sir."

  "Now, apologise."

  "Huh? What?"

  "I will convey it to the bakery owner. Now say that you're sorry."

  "Fine"

  With his face turned to the side, his lips pouting and voice lacking any sincerity, the words came out of his mouth.

  "I... I'm sorry."

  The man looked at Sayda with a flat expression.

  "You didn't really meant that, did you?"

  "At least... I said it."

  Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass made them both turned around. They saw a man slightly bent over, holding a tray. On the floor, a cup and a teapot lay shattered, their contents spilling out.

  "Oops! Sorry... I slipped."

  Sayda looked at that man, dazed.

  "Another guy?"

  The man who had been in front of Sayda for a moment patted his own forehead.

  "Makari, what have you done?"

  "I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional."

  The man shook his head.

  "It's fine. Clean up the shards you broke and bring the dishes here. The water can wait."

  Makari lifted his hand to head level, showing three fingers – his thumb, ring, and little fingers – partially wrapped, small and delicate.

  "Yes sir!"

  As he was about to leave, his gaze fell on Sayda, and his eyes immediately widened.

  "Oh, he's awake!"

  He quickly ran into the kitchen, which was covered with shutters.

  "What's wrong with him?"

  "Pardon me, we were disturbed earlier."

  With his face averted, he resumed sharpening his sword, picking up the stone again as he did so.

  "Our conversation ends here, as I have discovered the main reason behind your theft."

  "Is that all?"

  The man remained silent, but a sudden, loud knock right beside him made him jump and scream in surprise.

  "What the hell!"

  He glanced to the side and saw Makari grinning, holding a tray filled with steaks, berries, and fruit. Makari placed the tray on the table before him.

  "How on earth is he here?"

  "Yo! I'm Makari, the guy who kicked you in the face."

  "What?"

  "You stole because you were hungry, I heard. I have food ready for you to eat. Steal again and this time I will kick your head twice!"

  "A... Alright, and this food for me?"

  "Yes! All of it."

  The man spoke, the friction of his blade against the sharpening stone sending sparks flying.

  "Makari, put the pieces back together – now!"

  "Alright, sir!"

  He went straight into the kitchen. Sayda took a bite of the food, and for a moment, the flavor struck him as truly delicious.

  "Damn! I never experienced such delicious food since I came into this world."

  Without hesitation, he dug into the food in front of him, eating voraciously. Even though his mouth was already full, he kept shoving more in until both his cheeks puffed out.

  A soft burst of laughter slipped out from the man's lips as he watched Sayda eating greedily.

  "You were so hungry, huh?"

  He asked, amused.

  "Oug korse" (of course)

  He responded with his mouth full.

  "You've been here for a while, and I still don't know your name."

  Sayda consumed the food in his mouth before proceeding to speak.

  "My name is Sayda."

  "Sayda... Huh."

  Sayda resumed stuffing food into his mouth, but he suddenly spat it out when he heard the man's question.

  "You're not from here, are you?"

  "W... What do you mean?"

  He was stunned.

  "From the outset of our conversation, I knew you weren't from here. Your questions and reactions made it very clear."

  "So now... How about telling me the race you truly belong to?"

  "But before that, let me introduce myself, as it would be impolite to ask for your name without doing the same."

  "My name is Saugrar, the leader of this tribe, also known as The Lone..."

  "Wolf."