The Genesis of the Dead

As Silvia worked, she kept trying to understand exactly what this man was. Although she claimed that what had happened was from a beast, she knew differently. The man had no pulse, no blood, and no reaction whatsoever to pain. She was a little frightened but knew better than to bring it up. Regardless of whether or not this man was human or some race she'd never heard of, it was her responsibility to do all she could to help him. That was the oath she took with her mentor, and she wasn't one to disregard her word. It wasn't her place to out him.

"There, that's the best I can do," she said after spending more than an hour stitching the various wounds all over his body. "As for your arm, there's really not much I can do at this point. Your best bet is to find a healer in the viscounty capital. I hear there are a few good ones."

"There are none here?" the quiet man, Maveth, asked while examining his body.

"In a remote place like this, there isn't any money to be had," she explained while putting her tools away.

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm just a doctor. I work with plants, not magic. If I were a healer, I'm not sure how my life would have turned out."

"What is this magic?"

At those words, Silvia turned and looked at him incredulously before returning to what she was doing. "It's complicated, and it's late. You're welcome to spend the night."

Without saying anything else, she left the room and presumably went to sleep.

Outside, a scarred man waited quietly in the dim moonlight. His spear was as sharp as his senses as he looked at the home in front of him. Zoran, now alone after sending Freir to get some rest, waited ominously for something to happen. He still didn't trust Maveth despite bringing him here and now waited for his suspicions to be confirmed.

Surprisingly, the door opened, and the man in question exited. Maveth walked straight towards him and stopped only a couple of feet away. He didn't say anything at first and gazed up into the sky before looking back at Zoran.

"Is it a beautiful night?" Maveth asked in his all-too-familiar monotone voice.

"Not what I expected you to say," Zoran replied while he, too, gazed into the twilight sky.

"What were you expecting?"

"Not sure, definitely not that. Why'd you ask?"

"I failed to determine another reason for you to stay here and achieve nothing. I assumed you stayed to watch the night go by. Thus, I asked you if it was beautiful."

"You know, I've always hated the night sky. I'm not here for it. I'm here to make sure you don't pull anything."

"Why do you hate it?"

"That's my own business."

"I see."

The conversation died, the two just stood together waiting for time to tick by.

Morning came, and the two still both stood waiting, neither entirely sure what for. Zoran, hearing a few people leave their homes to start the day, took off, leaving Maveth to his own devices. He'd keep an eye on him, but now wasn't the time.

Maveth decided to reenter the home of the woman who healed him last night. Upon entering, a small child grabbed on to his legs and showed him a wide smile. "C'mon, Mav, I'll give you a tour!"

"Who is Mav?" he asked.

"You are!" Asha, now awake and energetic, exclaimed.

"I believe I instructed you to call me Maveth."

"That's too long! Besides, friends have nicknames, so you can call me something too!"

"Very well, child."

"Not that! You'll have to pick something better. Come on!" she said while dragging him away from the door. "Mom, I'm taking Maveth to explore. Be back soon!"

"Alright, be back before dark, and no going into the woods," Silvia shouted from the other room.

The two exited together as Asha confidently explained the place she knew best. As she dramatically pointed and giggled while recounting stories, her fellow villagers were less welcoming. Several of them whispered to one another, gossiping about who the strange man was and why his arm was injured.

The village was already a pretty closed-off community that wasn't a major fan of outsiders. They felt the same about Zoran initially but had grown to accept him thanks to his protection and attitude toward helping everyone. Would this man be the same? Or would he be just another mouth to feed? They weren't sure and at least for now wanted nothing to do with him.

The adults at least had the cooth to avoid actively antagonizing him; the same wasn't true with regard to the children.

Maveth felt several almost unnoticed impacts hitting his back. He turned to discover several children throwing mud and small stones at him while laughing. Their small, dirt-streaked faces lit up with mischief as they hurled their makeshift projectiles at the tall, stoic man.

"Haha!" One giggled.

"Freak!" Another screamed while throwing rocks.

"Hey stop that!" Asha called while getting in front of Maveth to shield him from any more projectiles.

"Haha! The weirdo is protecting the freak!"

"Why don't you just go hide behind Zoran, weirdo!"

The children jeered at the two while continuing to throw stones. In retaliation, Asha threw the rocks right back while shouting back.

"Go hide behind your moms before I come over there and beat you up!"

Maveth meanwhile watched, doing nothing, neither participating nor speaking. After some time, the jeering children decided to flee as they saw a group of adults coming down the street.

"That's right, you better run!" Asha cheered in victory and celebration. "Let's go, Maveth!"

As they moved, Maveth asked, "Why did those children do that?"

"Throw stuff? Because they're idiots!"

"I see. Children are idiots," Maveth declared.

"Yeah, that's right, but not me though!" Asha reaffirmed.

"I don't understand."

"And this is the best place of all!" Asha, ignoring Maveth's confusion, said while pointing at the training area.

Zoran was following his morning routine despite the lack of sleep, training in the same way he would every morning. His spear slashed and pierced his wooden opponents yet again as he heard footsteps approaching. Just by the sounds, he recognized one of them and called out while keeping his focus.

"Asha, pay attention," he said, keeping his words about training her and recommending she get focused.

"Right!" she cheered, trying to absorb every movement with her eyes.

She wasn't the only one watching. Maveth at her side was doing the same, watching the way in which Zoran moved, the way he kept his balance, the amount of strength in every strike. Out of the two, Maveth was paying even more attention than the girl. As time passed, Zoran began to slow himself down to ensure Asha got a good example. He had already noticed Maveth's presence but decided to leave him be and focus on his lesson.

Once he finished, he turned to the girl and asked, "Ready to try?"

The girl beamed and ran forward, leaving her quiet companion to observe. Zoran picked up a wooden practice spear that was obviously too big for its wielder.

"I know it's too big for you, but we'll use it to practice your footwork and form," Zoran instructed.

"OK!"

After her affirmation, the two spent some time going over some basic movements and ways to hold a weapon. Asha quickly ran out of stamina and needed a break. During her downtime, she gushed to Maveth about her progress.

"Do you see?" she asked expectantly.

"Yes," Maveth's empty voice replied.

"What did you think?"

"That you are poorly skilled."

"Hey! It's my first day! I bet I'll be better than you in no time."

"Agreed. My own skills are lackluster."

"What's lackluster?"

"Bad."

"Oh, hehe." Asha giggled as she felt she was finally on the right path. Soon she'd be strong. Stronger than Maveth or Zoran or anyone.

Zoran meanwhile didn't speak and watched the stranger closely, still unable to get a read on him but continuously failing miserably.

"ZORAN! COME QUICK!" A loud voice screamed as Freir ran up to the group, panting with a fearful expression.

Without waiting for an explanation, Zoran gripped his spear and ran. "Tell me the details."

Freir followed while running and explained, "It's Twintails! They're already in the village!"