Brute Force and Ignorance

I learned strength from my father but power from my mother.

One day, she asked me, "Who is the most powerful person you know?" I talked about the heroes and the villains from the tales and how their single slash would tear down mountains.

She thought the king was the most powerful. I didn't understand. A villain unsheathing their sword would be enough to tear the whole castle apart.

Then she talked to me about our lives, how they revolve around connections and unity. How the frail would perish under raids, and now we have the town guards. How the guards would starve if it wasn't for the farmers and hunters. How hunters and farmers wouldn't have their gear if it wasn't for the ironsmiths, and how the ironsmiths wouldn't have their materials if it wasn't for the miners. And finally, how no one could coordinate all this if it wasn't for the mayor. But even to get resources from other towns, we need other mayors and governors to coordinate them all. And how the king oversees them all for all the internal and external affairs.

She told me that even for the smallest action, it takes human will. Guarding, gathering, hunting, building, collecting, caring. Every action carries human will within it. And the king, who is overseeing all this, has his will on every action his people make.

Power to steer millions of people's actions on his land. Power to make peace or war. Power to architect his people's lives. Power to create both heroes and villains.

It took me a bit of time to understand what she meant. The king's power wasn't from his muscles alone, but he wasn't that frail either. He wasn't just smart but wise too. And the core concept of power was people coming together to go towards a common goal or go against a common evil. And the one who commands it is the most powerful. And the strength in my arms doesn't always add up to power. And I should always keep my wits up.

I should've remembered that.

Rain.

It was deafening, pounding against the leaves above me and the ground around me, drowning out everything else. I was curled inside a shallow cave near the forest close to my home, shivering so violently that I couldn't tell whether it was from the cold or the shock.

I slowly started to think again and remember. Thoughts started to flood like the raging river flooding in the rain. I could only scream inside my head, my mouth incapable of making any sound. My chest kept rising and falling, each breath faster than the last. My heartbeat had become so loud that I could hear it over the rain.

What happened? I couldn't remember. Just flashes coming to mind, running, running... But what happened before?

I noticed a strong pain on my hand.

When I looked down, I realized I was clutching something. My fingers were wrapped so tightly around it that my nails had dug into my palm, drawing blood. I slowly forced them open, one by one, and stared at the object resting inside my hand.

A weathered cylindrical stone. I felt the symbols engraved on it. It looked dark gray, but with a tint of red around it.

I felt a familiarity with it, a sense of ownership. Yet I couldn't remember how it had ended up in my hand.

I tried to think back. My mind was raging with thoughts and pain. I closed my eyes and tightened my grip on the item before I knew it. A strange sensation of calmness started to flow through my palm, to my arms, to my mind, as if a stream of water from the river of serenity started to calm down the rage of the flames within me. The sound of raindrops hitting the ground with all their might was all silent now.

Then I started to remember.

I was standing in the middle of our village.

Screams.

I ran towards them, trying to figure out what was going on.

I saw a mother and her daughter hiding in a corner, sobbing. I reached my hands towards them.

Blank.

A feeling of panic surrounded my chest. I was running. I glanced behind me, people with pitchforks and knives running after me. Was the village under attack? Who were those people?

An arrow flew past me. I jumped over a fence and rolled to the ground.

Blank.

I realized I was near the border of the village. A man was towering over me while I lay on the ground. From his silhouette, I could see a bow, already strung and aimed at my head. My vision was blurry. The man shouted something at me that I didn't understand, then collapsed to the ground.

Blank.

Running through the woods, I heard people shouting behind me. The rain was getting heavier with every drop. I felt confused and agitated.

I saw a shallow cave in the distance.