Emperor Grystov Ford sat upon his grand throne when a weary messenger entered the hall, bowing deeply before delivering grim news:
> "Your Majesty… in the northern region of the kingdom, the gates have collapsed. The guards are buried beneath the rubble. None know whether they yet live or are dead."
The emperor's expression hardened.
> "Find the cause of this collapse—immediately," he ordered.
At that same hour, another messenger reached the distant village of Kazbona, carrying an imperial decree:
> "Taxes on entry and exit shall be raised."
This caused unrest among the villagers, and an emergency meeting of the village council was called — a council made up of the village elders and clan representatives, including:
1. Tira Barkos — the head blacksmith and maker of war gear.
2. Dagus Poll — the village chief, and once a member of the Imperial Honor Council.
3. Pierre Tayun — a master craftsman, unmatched with a hammer.
4. Several other members.
5. Valer Dan Alber — one of the village founders and a long-standing defender of its rights.
---
Valer was the first to speak, his voice filled with anger.
> "This decree is unbearable. It will ruin us!"
Dagus replied calmly,
> "We should send a delegation to speak with the Emperor. A peaceful negotiation would serve us better than reckless defiance."
But Tira slammed her fist on the table.
> "Dagus! Enough of your cowardice! Why don't we arm ourselves and strike them down instead? Ha-ha-ha!"
Dagus frowned.
> "We can't afford war, Tira. You're talking about defying an empire, and we're merely one of eight villages. Do you want our people slaughtered? We must ease the tension, not fuel it. Valer, what do you think?"
Valer sighed heavily.
> "We are trapped between two poisons: we can't fight — it's suicide — and we can't remain silent either."
At that moment, Frank Fire entered the council hall, stunning everyone.
He carried an axe on his back, his face unreadable.
He said quietly,
> "This decree isn't a rule of law. It's a prison — one without bars or walls."
Tira stood up angrily.
> "Who allowed you in here? You're just the woodsman the children whisper about — the man of strange tales!"
Frank said nothing, but Dagus raised a hand.
> "Let him speak. I call for a special session — Frank shall sit as our guest."
To some, Frank was just a lumberjack. To others, he was a man with a mysterious past.
---
During the session, Pierre proposed an unexpected idea — flawed, perhaps, but still practical.
> "Why not negotiate? Instead of paying higher taxes, we can provide the Empire with more weaponry. If they supply us with raw iron and give us time, we can trade effort for taxation — a fair exchange."
The room went silent. It sounded plausible.
But Frank broke the silence.
> "You want to negotiate with an empire ranked second in the continent — first in military power and numbers? You're asking for the impossible. We don't have enough iron, food, or clean water. You're sending our men to their deaths."
Pierre's face turned red with rage — his plan had been dismissed like a child's fantasy.
> "Then what do you suggest, Frank? We're starving, dying of thirst, trapped! There's no escape from this village!"
Dagus interrupted.
> "Enough! Let me think — there must be another way."
Tira sneered.
> "Why do you think you're the only one who matters, Frank? Why act like you're the savior of us all?"
Frank said nothing, his eyes scanning the faces before him — one by one.
Tension thickened in the air, and the council fell into chaos.
Before leaving, Frank said only one thing:
> "After today… things will only get worse."
He walked out and wandered through the village — children scavenging for bread, a green-stained river, people carrying coffins.
He stood in the center of the square and murmured,
> "It seems the meeting of the three deaths draws near… and the past will awaken again, Faria."
Though no one stood near him, the name Faria escaped his lips.
Then he planted his axe in the middle of the village square and walked home.
---
In the imperial palace, tension filled the grand halls.
Soldiers and royal guards clashed in argument.
One advisor exclaimed,
> "Why now? This isn't the first collapse — but this one feels different. As if the earth itself wants to give birth to something dark."
The Emperor rose sharply.
> "We have two choices. Either the royal guard marches north, or the army takes the lead. I will discuss this with my chief advisor — Dan Tarts."
The two men entered a private chamber.
Dan asked, puzzled,
> "Who is it that concerns you so deeply, Your Majesty? I've never seen you this unsettled before."
The Emperor's expression darkened. He said nothing and turned away.
Unbeknownst to them, a shadow eavesdropped from behind the pillars — silent, unseen — hearing every word.
---
Later that day, at the northern gates, the soldiers finally reached the site of the collapse.
What they saw made their hearts sink:
The once-green fields were now blackened.
Dark, swirling clouds loomed overhead.
The ground was cracked, but not from an earthquake.
And the borders had vanished.
As for the buried guards — it was clear that none survived.
Standing there was Captain Dwayne Sparkos, commander of the royal guard, beside his lieutenant Hale Barko.
> Hale: "Sir, what do you make of this? It's unnatural… I feel something evil in those clouds."
Dwayne (sternly): "This isn't coincidence — the collapse, the clouds, this northern land… something is being woven in the dark. Something unseen — something new."
The soldiers began searching for clues about what caused the collapse.
---
Meanwhile, back in Kazbona, at midnight, Dagus knocked on Frank's door.
Inside, the flickering light of the hearth cast long shadows across the empty room.
> Dagus: "Are you truly leaving? I saw your axe buried in the village square. Is that your farewell?"
Frank (quietly): "Whether today or tomorrow, it makes no difference. My fate won't change. I must face what's coming. Leave the axe where it is — as a promise that I'll return someday."
Dagus left, and Frank remained by the fire, staring into the flames.
At dawn, Frank left the village alone.
At the edge of the road, a young woman called out to him — Diana, the daughter of Dagus and a herbalist of the village.
> "My father says you must come to the council — there's another decree. You need to see it."
Frank was startled — two decrees in one day?
Something was terribly wrong.
When he reached the council hall, the message was read aloud:
> "Anyone opposing the previous decree regarding the tax increase shall be imprisoned or executed — according to the strength of their opposition. All must obey for the good of the Empire."
Frank's instincts screamed — someone had betrayed them.
But not just any traitor — a different kind.
Panic filled the room.
Tira shouted in rage, and the others argued in fear.
> Dagus: "Just as Frank said… we are prisoners without bars."
Frank stood silently for a moment, then abruptly left the hall.
> Dagus: "Where are you going? We need your help to find a solution!"
Frank turned, his voice sharp.
> "Tell me, Dagus — have you ever heard of two imperial messengers reaching a remote village in one day? How did the Empire know about our meeting so quickly?"
> Dagus: "You're saying… there's a traitor?"
> Frank: "It's not that simple. A message takes two weeks on horseback from here to the capital — and yet they knew within a day. Something far stranger is at play."