Aspen lay on the ground, drenched in sweat from head to toe. His breathing was ragged, his muscles trembling from exhaustion. His eyes grew heavy, let me take rest for a moment and he let them close. A hand shook him awake. Instinct took over — Aspen's hand shot for his axe as he jolted upright. But when his vision became clear, a familiar face came into view.
It was one of the attendants from his grandfather's faction.
"What happened here?" the man asked in a tense voice.
"Reinforcements" Aspen rasped, his throat dry. "Call for reinforcements…"
"Don't worry," the attendant replied, glancing around, "they're already here."
Aspen turned his head slightly and to his relied the next guard squad had arrived. Dozens of them, spreading out across the camp, checking bodies and scanning the tree line for possible threats.
"Now tell me everything," the attendant demanded.
Aspen nodded slowly, forcing himself to sit up "From what I saw, these people tried to attack our base" he said pointing at the people in black cloak "But our villagers fought back and killed most of them. When the attackers realized they couldn't win, they used cheap tricks — some kind of drug to knock everyone unconscious." He paused, his gaze drifting toward the scattered bodies. "When I got here… only Vayu was conscious and one of them was trampling over him with his foot"
Then he explained how he snuck around, how he killed them one by one, then he suddenly stopped mid-sentence "help.... help Vayu first!" he said his voice filled with urgency
Only then did everyone turn toward Vayu, who was lying near the tree, barely breathing. A few attendants rushed over, lifting Vayu carefully.
"Quickly, get him to the infirmary!" one of them shouted. Aspen watched as they carried him away, After they were gone he told the whole story of what happened next and how he had killed them all " all those who stayed were amazed by his bravery and intelligence that how he had killed them efficiently, after confirming everything they let Aspen rest and quickly started to check others for injury, Aspen let his body relax, feeling the weight of it all crash over him. The battle was over — at least for now.
It was nearly two hours later when Aspen finally woke up. He found himself lying in the infirmary, he felt utterly drained. His body ached with fatigue, and his head still throbbed from exhaustion. Around him, the room was quiet, except for a few villagers. Everyone else was fine, the healers had confirmed that none of the villagers suffered any injuries — only temporary unconsciousness. From Aspen's account, the elders had deduced what had happened: the attackers had fought a losing battle and when the tide turned against them, they resorted to foul play, using some kind of drug or powder to knock everyone out. Only Vayu, had remained conscious to fight them — and in doing so, he was almost beaten to death. When word spread that Aspen had awakened, the elders were immediately informed. His grandfather was the first to arrive — he had been waiting outside the infirmary the entire time, guilt eating him non-stop for sending his grandson on guard duty in the first place. The moment he heard Aspen was conscious, he burst inside.
"Aspen! Are you alright, son?" he asked, his voice lased with worry.
Aspen managed a tired smile "I'm perfectly fine, Grandpa. You don't have to worry."
His grandfather exhaled deeply in relief, then his expression shifted from concern to pride "You don't need to prove anything to anyone anymore" he said firmly. "Your actions today were more than enough. Even the annual competition can't compare to what you have achieved today, my grandson had faced real danger and defeated everyone, what greater proof of strength do we need?" he laughed loudly, his words echoing through the room, Several attendants nearby nodded in agreement.
"Anyone can win in that safe arena," his grandfather continued, his chest swelling with pride, "but out there, in the wild, only true fighters survive — and my grandson is a true fighter!"
The room buzzed with murmurs of approval and admiration. Not long after, the other elders began to arrive one by one, as they heard the news. As the elders arrived, everyone except them was asked to leave the infirmary. The room fell silent as
the First Elder stepped forward and looked at Aspen with a calm but firm gaze "Tell us again" she said, "what exactly happened here? and mention every detail, especially if you have seen a weird man or a weird object".
Aspen repeated the same story he had told earlier, the elders listened closely and when Aspen finished, the First Elder nodded slowly, satisfied with his strategy "You've done well, Aspen" she said "You acted with courage and clarity, whole village is proud of you." Aspen bowed his head respectfully, and got up slowly to leave. Outside the infirmary, a small crowd had already gathered, villagers, attendants, and helpers were waiting for news.
The moment when Aspen regained consciousness
When Aspen's grandfather rushed towards the room, a man followed right behind him and it was non other than Suwaha, who had been listening to every word the third elder said.
The moment he stepped out, Suwaha rose his voice, over the murmuring crowd.
"You all heard what happened? Aspen fought bravely while putting his life on line and saved everyone! he is a true hero!"
Some nodded in agreement, while others whispered quietly.
But Suwaha wasn't done. He continued, as he raised his voice once again "And that Vayu , he cheated by using a non approved weapon and broke the rules! That's not courage — that's cheating! The real warrior here is Aspen!"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Some exchanged uneasy glances, others stayed silent, unsure what to believe.
Inside the infirmary, Vayu lay still on his bed his chest slowly rising and falling. But on the other side one by one, the other villagers began to wake up. Their groans filled the infirmary as the healers rushed to check on them. The elders, still present, immediately started questioning each of them.
"What happened out there?" the Second Elder demanded. "How were you attacked? Who did this to you?"
But every answer was the same.
"I… don't know," said one guard.
"I was at my post… then everything went dark," said another.
"I remember nothing after hearing a strange sound," added the third.
Each man repeated the same confused story — none of them knew what had happened, how they lost consciousness or how they were brought here. When the last man awoke and gave the same reply, the elders exchanged uneasy glances. As the story Aspen told did not match with this. Since none of the others were injured they were free to go home, Even Aspen had already left after being questioned. Soon, the infirmary grew quiet again. Inside the infirmary, the elders gathered in a quiet corner, Aspen's story, which had sounded convincing at first, was now under doubt.
"We cant agree with Aspen's story anymore," said the Fifth Elder, folding his arms "Could it be… that the boy, Vayu, killed them all alone? He was the winner of the competition, after all."
The Third Elder frowned deeply. "Fifth Elder, how could that boy possibly kill so many trained men? Don't speak nonsense."
"I agree with the Third Elder" said the Second Elder added, his tone sharp. "There's no way he fought all of them on his own."
The First Elder raised her hand to calm the room. "Let's not jump to conclusions. We'll wait until the boy regains consciousness — then we'll ask him ourselves."
"Yes, First Elder," the Fourth Elder said quietly, then looked around the room. "But there's another matter. Why did our villagers attack their own people? Such an act has never happened before."
"Were they truly all from our village?" asked the Second Elder.
"Yes," replied the first Elder "And in the last sixty years, nothing like this has ever happened"
"What?" the second Elder leaned forward, startled. "You mean it has happened before?"
The room fell silent for a moment. The third Elder nodded slowly. "Yes… though it was never made public. My father once told me about it. He said it was the work of someone, outside the village — someone who used a foreign object to twist the minds of our people."
The First Elder's eyes narrowed. "A foreign object…" she murmured. Then, after a pause, her voice hardened. "Search the village thoroughly. Every corner, every house. If there's anything suspicious — I want it to be found immediately."
All the elders nodded in grim agreement and the search for the object begun as Vayu rested in his bed.