The Sacrificial Boy by: Elsbeth Aislin learns that all choices in life come with consequences

Chapter 1

Standing inside a smoky campsite in the ancient forest of Wyre, a young man with shoulder-length raven black hair and piercing blue eyes watched with interest as the other men of his village began the arduous process of clearing stumps from a section of the forest.

Their Lord, needing to raise taxes due to another one of their King’s wars, gave permission for this endeavor. Without this bit of extra farmland, the chances of starvation over the winter could become a reality. What the men of the village didn’t need was someone who couldn’t pull their weight.

Although his coming of age ceremony occurred over the winter, the young man named Aislin, who was small in stature, reluctantly admitted he wasn’t best suited to assist the other men of the village. He wasn’t even upset to be assigned to help the women make the meals. What saddened him was, no matter how hard he worked, the village gave him little respect, much less compassion.

“Aislin, get your head out of the clouds and come stir this pot.”

Ina, the young man’s grandmother, shook her head. With his name meaning Dreams in the old tongue, the old Wise Woman and healer thought that his mother had well named the boy. Unfortunately, in this part of the Kingdom, most considered Aislin a girl’s name. Even without the name, with his beautiful hair and striking blue eyes, she had to admit her charge had much more in common with the young women in the village than the men.

“Sorry, Gran, just daydreaming.”

“As usual.” She commented with a small smile.

Aislin grinned, although the older woman wasn’t his grandmother by blood, she was by action. Walking back to the campfire, he checked to make sure that the coals were spread evenly before stirring the contents in the pot. The barley stew, mixed with mushrooms and leeks, would keep everyone happy for the long day ahead.

“That poor excuse for a boy should not be here.”

For the most part, the women who worked around the camp preparing meals gave Aislin little grief. However, Seara, the wife of the village Headman, tended to look at Ina’s charge as some sort of anathema and a stain upon the village.

Aislin, however, ignored the words coming from the tall, middle-aged woman. Such vitriolic comments flew from the woman’s mouth on a regular basis.

“And where should my grandson be, Seara?”His grandmother, however, would not allow such drivel to be unanswered.

“You know what they do with pretty boys in the Capitol?” Seara looked down at Aislin with disdain.

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell us anyway.” Clar, the miller’s wife, commented as she dropped off a small armful of wood. Looking at the boy for a moment she realized it wasn’t necessarily that he looked like one of her nieces that made them uncomfortable. It was this strange air about him that made everyone uneasy.

“Whatever, Ina, that boy has no business being near my daughter, not with her recent betrothal.” With that, she turned away to start berating a group of other women.

Ina sighed, the young girl, said to be the prettiest in the village, recently caught the eye of the decade older Seneschal while her father visited the Keep on one of the festival days. Everyone agreed that the marriage would benefit the village greatly.

Although Seneschal Oran was considered a good man, her grandson had only a few friends in the village. Seara’s daughter had been his best friend since they were small children.

“Aislin, is this true, have you been with Rowena again?”

“She’s my friend Gran, plus she isn’t very happy right now.” The young man made a sad face, the life of one of his only real friend had been turned upside down since the announcement of her betrothal.

Late last week, she had burst into his grandmother’s small cottage crying. After claiming her life was over; he spent most of the day consoling Rowena. Secretly, Aislin had visions of being mounted on a tall white steed, like some of the Lord’s Knights he had seen jousting during festival days; properly attired with lance and armor, riding to the castle to do battle with the monster who was taking his friend away.

“You still like her, don’t you?”

Aislin shrugged; her grandmother missed nothing. “Doesn’t matter, she is to marry Master Oran. Plus, my life isn’t going to be terribly long anyway.”

“Aislin, don’t say that.” Ina looked shocked, what was he saying?

“I have no skills, no one in the village or Keep is willing to make me an apprentice. When the King calls up new levies, the Elders will make sure I am one of the men picked.”

Ina closed her eyes; true, her grandson might not have typical male skills useful in the village, but there was no mistaking his intelligence. Born a girl, Aislin would have been chosen to be her apprentice years ago instead of Macha, her new apprentice from one of the nearby villages.

“If that happens, you need to make sure that you speak with one of the King’s Healers.”

The Kings Healers were Wisewomen of great power and influence whose Order kept the realm safe from sickness. Unlike the Wisewomen, who healed the common folk, they also tended to the nobility, which found themselves wounded on the battlefield.

Although it was obviously impossible for Aslin to be a Wisewomen, Ina believed that her grandson had a healing touch. Even his herb knowledge surpassed hers.

Aislin nodded, they had spoken about this before. Besides the Kings Healers, there were others who helped with the wounded. Even then, there was little chance that would happen. Such things went to people with both money and patronage, Aislin had neither.

As much as he didn't want to face it, he knew his future appeared grim. No matter their height or build, all men would be given a spear and thrust into line with all of the other untrained militia.

A cry from the forest caught Aislin’s attention dragging him from those morbid thoughts.

“Grab my bag.” Without another word, his grandmother hurried towards where the men were working.

Quickly following right behind her, Aislin ran to his grandmother’s side to thankfully discover there were no injuries; however, what he found was something wondrous.

“I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t even see it.” Jaralth, the town’s farrier, explained as Aislin approached a small black obelisk.

Moving closer to get a better look, Aislin could see that a small piece had been chipped off; obviously, from the farrier’s reaction, he must have damaged it. The man continued to explain that before his ax struck, it looks like nothing more than a stump.

The group began to talk all at once, before Tadhg, the village Hatcher stepped forward. “We are on her land.”

“Don’t be a dolt, even if we were; King Myles conquered her lands after she and her minions were defeated.” Rian, one of the village elders, raised his voice.

The object in front of them, although unusual, was not uncommon as the remains of the ancient Sorceress Kingdom littered the countryside. According to the stories, all of these lands were once part of Liadan, the legendary enchantress, lands. But that was ancient history. Why everyone was making such a fuss over the black monolith, he didn’t know.

Looking about, the village Elder motioned Ina to step forward. ‘What do you think, Ina?”

The men stepped back, allowing the Wisewomen to approach. Considered one of the most learned. Hopefully, the older women would put all of their minds at rest.

The monolith, crafted from some unknown stone, stood less than four spans tall. While examining the intricate golden runes that covered the black stone, Ina could feel some small amount of unknown eldritch power surrounding it. Not having a clue about its nature, she turned to her grandson.

“Aislin, what do you think?”

Ignoring the frowns and a couple of unflattering whispers, the small boy moved closer. Immediately he understood the crafting skills needed to create such a simple stone lay beyond even those who built the Keep that dominated the lands surrounding the village. Knowing better than to touch the black stone, he knelt down to study the runes. They were in the familiar language of the ancients who once ruled over all of the lands.

Pointing to a particular line, he commented. “I have seen this before; remember the standing stones off the Kings Road near Buttlebridge.”

Aislin had accompanied his grandmother a year ago to a meeting of realms Wisewomen a few days away. Unable to attend the meeting, he spent most of the time wandering around the scattered black stones that made the Mijar Circle.

“I remember.” Ina smiled; the boy had a good eye for things. Unlike the rest of the village, the boy could even read, taught to him by his mother before she passed away from the Wasting sickness.

Keir, the largest man in the village and also its blacksmith, looked upon the stone with trepidation. “Let’s leave well enough alone for now. I believe we need to inform the castle.”

Most of the excitement upon finding the stone had worn off among the older people by the end of the week. Several members of the Keep had already come by to assess the situation, found nothing dangerous, and left the village. To the younger children, the stone was an object of mystery. With its discovery, numerous old stories and songs began to circulate once more about the Black Sorceress.

Not too long ago, mother’s forced their daughters into obedience stating that if they weren’t good, the Sorceress would come for them. Some of the older women even taught an old game. One child, claiming to be the Black Sorceress would run through the village trying to capture other girls. To Aislin’s annoyance, the children often captured him, commenting that he looked like a girl.

His mood continued to darken when Master Oran arrived several days later for an investigation of the black stone, which consisted of him looking at it then quickly returning to the village. Obviously, his true purpose was to spend time with his intended.

Through the day, while working in front of his grandmother’s cottage drying out herbs, Aislin watched the drama unfold as Rowena, and the Seneschal walked around the village together. The two seemed to be enjoying each other’s company. Finally, an unexpected kiss on his friend's hand signaled the Seneschal departure.

Aislin did not know if his feelings for his friend bordered on the romantic, but what he did understand when Rowena went to live in the Keep he would most likely never be allowed to talk to her again. With that thought, dying under the King’s Colors didn’t seem to bother him anymore.

Macha, returning to the cottage, look at Ina’s grandson with concern. She knew he wouldn’t say anything. Even after being forced out of his bed to sleep by the stove upon her arrival last summer, he always spoke with her with a smile.

The young girl thought it was all unfair. The little minds in the village did not understand his brilliance. His knowledge of herbs and medicines surpassed his grandmother's. He even made most of the medicines taken by the village, little they knew. Aislin even didn’t mind passing that knowledge to those willing to listen spending most of the summer happily teaching her forest craft without a complaint.

Finally, over the long Winter, she started to admit to herself that she had real feelings for him. She never considered herself beautiful, with her dirty blonde hair and crooked nose, but he didn't look at her like he did the perfect Rowena.

For Macha, even the first time meeting him, his beautiful looks and piercing blue eyes left her breathless. Those eyes haunted her dreams, leaving her, most mornings now, covered in sweat. Beyond his looks, lately, she found herself just watching him, admiring the effort he put forth when working around the village.

“Aislin?”

Twisting off a handful of herbs, the young man looked up with a forced smile. “Did my grandmother send you back to check on me?”

“Well, no, she wanted to know if you needed help.” The young apprentice bit her lip; obviously, the Wisewoman, like the rest of the village, had been watching Rowena and the Seneschal half the morning. Only Aislin’s grandmother knew what that stroll was doing to her grandson.

“I see.” The young man’s eyes twinkled, not believing a word the apprentice just said. “Well, thanks.” Moving to the side, he patted the ground next to him and passed her a basket of herbs.

“You’ve been friends with the Headman’s daughter for a long time.”

The young man gave a small laugh. “Since I was little, one summer when she was little she became fairly ill. None of her other friends’ mothers would allow them to visit her. My mother, who had some healing skills of her own, helped Rowena through the illness and didn’t mind if I tagged along.”

“Wasn’t your mother afraid you would get sick too?”

Aislin looked away slightly so as not to watch his childhood friend talk excitedly with her mother across the village commons.

“Not really, she understood that Rowena caught a fairly common illness from the north after a group of peddlers came through the village. Half the town ended up ill, but it wasn’t all that serious. So unlike the other children in the village, I played with her every day until she got better. She always remembered that.”

Before Macha could say anything, Rowena appeared in front of the pair, all excited. “Aislin, did you get a chance to see Master Oran? I was afraid at first, but he seems nice.”

The young man nodded. “That’s good; you looked as if you had a nice time walking around the village with him.”

“I did…about the other day…”

Aislin waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it, already forgotten. I’m glad you had fun. Anyway, I’d better go back into the house with these herbs; No need for you to get into trouble for talking to me.”

Without another word, he grabbed the baskets and headed back inside his grandmother’s cottage.

“I thought he would be more excited.” Rowena sounded confused and a little hurt.

Macha stared at the young girl. An uncomfortable few seconds had passed before she spoke. “Why would he be excited?”

“It’s a good marriage; it will benefit the village. I mean, it could be worse.”

“Like marrying him.” The apprentice whispered.

“What did you say?”

“I’m sure that Aislin is just sad that he will be losing a friend.”

“What don’t be silly, I’ll always be his friend.”

“How?”

“What do you mean?”

“You will be the wife of the Seneschal up at the Keep. With a much higher status, he won’t even be able to talk to you.”

Rowena grimaced, hearing the truth in the apprentice's words. “I see. I’ll just get him a job at the Keep.”

“As a servant?”

“Why not? At least we will see one another.”

“Even if he wanted to be a servant or whatever job you managed to find for him, you would still be a married woman, a friendship with another man would be improper.”

“But.”

Macha rose from the ground looking the village’s headman’s daughter directly in the eye. “Don’t be upset, you’re right, the marriage is a good thing for the village.”

”Thanks, I believe so too, and I’m positive Aislin will find someone, I’m sure of it.”

“Who? Most of the town hates him.” Macha commented, angry how stupid the young girl in front of her could be.

“They don’t…” Rowena looked away.

“And when you leave, who is going to protect him? Do you know why he is normally left alone? It’s because the village knows that you two are childhood friends. Only your father’s position has kept him safe.”

“Not true, he is the grandson of the Wise Woman of our village; no one would do anything to him.”

“And when she is gone, who then?”

“I’ll protect him.”

“How; you will be at the Keep.”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

Rowen knew her friend was the most caring person she had ever known. Just because he couldn’t work in the fields, or cut down a tree didn’t make him any less of a man.

Sadly, both knew that not one mother in the village would accept him as a suitable husband material. During the last Spring Festival, mothers of eligible girls sought out other families. Of course, many of these marriages had been set up well beforehand, some at their children's births. However when Alislin’s grandmother approached some families about her grandson all of them turned her away. So by this time of year, all of the girls he grew up with had their hair tied with yellow ribbons signifying a betrothal.

Macha sighed. “There is nothing to be sorry about. Don’t worry; I’ll take good care of him. I’m an apprentice to a Wisewomen. We might not often marry, but there is no reason why I cannot be by his side.”

“You?”

“Yes, me. All you can do now is hurt him. Trust me; I’ll make sure he is happy.”

Rowena looked at the Wise Woman’s cottage with tears in her eyes. “I have to be going. I still have some chores around the house.” Before leaving, she asked one more thing. “Did my mother get angry because I spoke to Aislin?”

“Yes, because as I told you before, it’s no longer proper with you’re betrothal.”

The young woman nodded then ran off, the tears streaming down her face. Macha watched as she crossed the Village Commons before turning away to find Aislin. “It’s really for the best.”

Dinner ended up being a little more quiet than usual, both Ina and Macha leaving Aislin alone to his thoughts. As the apprentice stood up to start clearing the table, she said. “There is a strange rumor going around the village that the Keep is thinking about removing the obelisk.”

“Foolish, if it were true, such things are better left alone.”

Aislin shook his head, agreeing at the stupidity. “Who did you hear it from?”

“Renny, who heard it from her brother.”

“That’s right; her brother works in the keep, doesn’t he? Gran, why would they do such a thing?”

“I rarely understand what the nobility is thinking, Aislin. However, it might be as simple as that Lord Kelvin dislikes the thought of a boundary marker on his land. I hope that it’s only a rumor Macha, that black stone still has power. I believe removing it will cause great difficulty for our entire village.”

Little did the three of them understand at the time how prophetic Ina’s words were.