My head was killing me. I felt needles stuck in my body. It was glacial, and I was shaking like a madman. I remained in bed, looking at the cracked, unpainted roof. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice: the girl from the prairie. She grabbed my hand and placed something upon it: a gold necklace with an angel raising a shield and a sword.
‘Ttttt… thanks.’ It was difficult to talk with my teeth trembling. Before leaving, the girl grabbed my hand again and got closer to my ear.
‘You’ll get better, and we’ll play again.’ She whispered to me and left. Then, two middle-aged individuals appeared and…
I woke up, sweated and agitated. I decided to take a bath at room temperature. I had to pay a visit to my mentor, who wasn’t living far away from my home.
I had a day trip. I had to go through forests full of pines and conifers. The path was clear, as well as the sky since it was summer and had not been raining for some days. Though it was the longest part of the trip, it was the easiest one. The second half was the hardest part. I stopped by an abandoned cabin to rest for the day. Before going to sleep, I made sure that no monsters were roaming.
I woke up before the Sunrise and started packing the elementals: water, food, potions, elixirs, oils, and weapons. I mounted on Night, my horse, and parted. As it was a mountainous path, there were many rocks and climbs that complicated the journey. I had to carefully choose where to step because some rocks were loose. On the highest points, there was snow accumulated, and I didn’t know where I was stepping. On other stretches, the land was slippery, and I had to be quick to not fall. For a beginner or someone who had not been there before, it was a risky and deathly journey but for me, who I had traveled through those hills many times, it was as easy as walking through a plain field.
When I reached the hill peak, I could see a stone cabin surrounded by a water mirror and coniferous trees. There was my destination. When I arrived before the Sunset, a young man greeted me and let me in. An old, curved man was sitting by a window, drinking a strange liquid.
‘Look who came. Guleon, give our guest a pint.’ Guleon opened the cupboard and took a wooden vase. I sat next to my mentor, who didn’t turn his face while Guleon handed me the vase full of ale.
‘Thanks, Guleon.’ I told the young man who left the cabin.
‘He’s ready for the final exam. He’s so excited and full of energy. He’ll become a great monster slayer. Like you.’ My mentor looked at me with his crystal eyes and wrinkled face.
‘There will be no monster slayer like me.’ We laughed so loud that my mentor started coughing.
‘Are you ok, Meleon?’ My mentor nodded.
‘I don’t know how much I have left. I must prepare him before I die. Anyway, what is the reason for your surprising visit?’ He asked me.
‘I don’t know who my parents are and where I came from. I don’t have memories from my childhood.’ I explained to him. He rested on his chair and took a deep breath.
‘And, why all of a sudden? You are a great warrior and the best monster slayer on these lands.’ I turned my head down, closed my eyes, and breathed. He was right, but the curiosity and the need for answers were hunting me.
‘Because I desire to know what the person who died within me when I became a slaying machine.’ I told him coldly, but I didn’t regret the words chosen. I was tired of gutting and butchering monsters.
‘Sunhighborough. There, you will find the answers you are seeking.’ Meleon replied while looking at the enchanting hill landscape.


© Jero Gandini