The cold outside the walls of Rosa quietly retreated as the sun slowly rose, greeting the denizens of the small community outside the city.
At the community's edge Xaryus and Zadius sat on the feeble wooden steps that led down from the front of their home. Their eyes glued to the small group of men that steadily carried the corpse of their mother wrapped in a dirty cloth.
A bleak and defeated haze covered their eyes.
It was ironic to see their mother being escorted away by the same people that pushed them to the edge of the settlement.
Even if it was at the behest of another man.
Everyone answered to someone after all.
Xaryus knew the group of men rather well. Their simple leather armour and well-maintained weapons - by the settlement's standards - gave them away.
They were subordinates of Andrew, the revered leader of the settlement.
It was a known fact that the main reason he held such authority outside of the city was due to his presence as the sole awakened in the settlement. Even more solidified by his well-honed combat skills and knowledge of leadership, finances and agriculture etc.
Just a few metres away from the shack, Andrew stood tall, supervising the group of men.
He was a seasoned man with a slender but strong build who looked to be in his late thirties with short curly brown hair and a scratchy beard.
He always wore a long, black unbuttoned greatcoat that stretched down to his knees.
Excluding Xaryus and Zadius' late father, Andrew was the most capable person within the community.
The usual procedure to dispose of corpses entailed sending them into the city to be buried or cremated. But on that day, Andrew felt a bit charitable. He commanded the men to bury the woman under a large tree she often spent her time reading, a skill many people in the community did not possess.
The group of men carrying the body carefully began moving it towards the dense canopy north of the home. Only after a few moments did they completely vanish between the dense tree line.
The moment that they left Andrew's sight, his attention then shifted towards Xaryus and Zadius.
His calm gaze faltered for a moment, revealing a plethora of emotions that neither of the two brothers could discern.
Returning to their usually calm and collected state, Andrew continued to stare at the two for an awkwardly long period of time, taking in all their features from head to toe.
Only after realizing that he was making them uncomfortable, he weakened his gaze and finally decided to blink.
"It's a shame that she decided to take her own life… A rather selfish decision really.
But now that she's gone and you have no one to protect you anymore. What do you think is going to happen now?"
Andrews' voice echoed through the air, his soft tone starkly contrasting the sinister meaning behind his words.
Shaken by the insinuation of his question, Xaryus turned away from Andrew and instinctively reached a quivering hand towards Zadius.
Feeling his brother's hand grasp the edge of his shirt, Zadius calmly responded to Andrew's question." I think you would either kill us or make us labour for the sake of our own survival."
There was a moment of silence between Andrew and Zadius.
Andrew didn't necessarily expect either of the boys to respond to his subtle threat or understand the threat in itself.
But it seemed that Zadius was well aware of the cruel and sinister nature of the world.
Even if society had tried its best to hide it, in a world where mortal men possessed the ability to level mountains and part seas.
Strength always prevailed, and it was obvious that Andrew was stronger than them, so they were at his mercy.
Not allowing himself to feel impressed at Zadius' answer, Andrew continued to speak with a smile on his face.
"Good answer, Zadius. I expected nothing less from you, your father had always complimented your sharp mind."
Andrew's compliments however, fell on deaf ears. He had no idea how sharp Zadius' mind truly was and that lack of understanding would one day come back to bite him.
Keeping the same smile on his face Andrew continued to speak once again.
"However, I will not be killing you or forcing you into labour… How could you think I would do such a thing when I held your father in such high regard." He said, trying to make himself seem hurt.
Once again, his words held no purchase. Xaryus' gaze was still angled away from Andrew and Zadius simply stared at him with a still expression.
'Tough crowd' Andrew thought to himself briefly.
"Ahem… Instead, I will provide you with rations once a week, besides that you two will have to survive on your own. Understood?"
Surprisingly, neither Xaryus nor Zadius had shown signs of resistance. Almost as if they were prepared for such a situation.
Andrew paid it no mind however; it simply made his plans a bit simpler. After addressing the brothers, Andrew straightened himself and made his way up into the shack.
Zadius wished to follow him into their home, but he knew better. Both his mother and father had warned him to be wary of that man.
They never explicitly explained why but just by looking at the emotion in their eyes he could tell that he was dangerous.
After a few minutes Andrew emerged from the shack and walked in the direction of the settlement.
Zadius noticed that his steps were not as calm as they were before. Andrew was seemingly annoyed for some reason.
"... This week's rations were left on the decrepit table inside. And one more thing, I would prefer it if you kept to your own devices…"
Zadius' face contorted slightly at Andrew's statements.
After his father died, everyone in the settlement ostracized his family, subsequently banishing them to the edge of the community.
Something like that could never happen without Andrew being on board with the effort.
Because of that, Zadius was sure that he had no intention of interacting with the scum that scurried to lick Andrew's feet.
Thinking back at some unpleasant memories, anger began to swell within Zadius but it was quickly replaced with another emotion.
Fear.
"...In other words, I don't want to see either of you anywhere near my settlement."
Andrew slightly turned his head back towards Zadius, seemingly noticing the anger swelling inside him. His words were filled with venom and his body swelled with a surge of power.
His cloak rose as if a gust of wind erupted from the floor and a dense white mist began to emit from Andrew's body.
A cold sweat began to run down Xaryus and Zadius' face.
If they were not overcome by an immense feeling of dread, they may have felt awe at the sight of an awakened person harnessing their spite.
But it was a miracle that they didn't collapse at the immense pressure pressing down on them.
Andrew hid the joy he felt seeing fear take hold of the brothers and promptly deactivated his ability. With nothing else to say, he simply kept walking back towards the settlement.