The market of Etharyon was already bustling at dawn. Wooden stalls lined the central square, covered with colorful cloths that fluttered in the wind. The smell of fresh fish mixed with spices, baked bread, and human sweat. Vendors shouted their prices, trying to outdo one another amid the crowd.
Kai moved through the stalls, holding a small leather pouch with a few coins. It felt far too light—the result of long days of hard labor in the warehouses, poorly rewarded with miserable wages.
He stopped at a fruit stand. An elderly woman with sharp eyes looked him up and down before speaking.
"Two coins for these apples. Best price you'll find today."
Kai sighed. He knew he was being taken advantage of, but he had no choice. He handed over the coins and received three small apples.
He moved on, stopping in front of an improvised butcher's stall. Pieces of meat hung from hooks, some already dried by the morning sun.
"How much for the salted meat?" he asked.
The man behind the counter scratched his dirty beard.
"Five coins for half a kilo."
Kai hesitated. He opened the pouch and counted the coins again. If he bought the meat, he would have nothing left for the bread and salt he still needed.
"Three coins," he tried to bargain.
The butcher laughed loudly.
"Three coins? Go hunt rats in the alleys, boy. This is real meat."
The man's gaze lingered on Kai's gray eyes. The smile faded, replaced by a look of suspicion.
"You're not from here, are you? Which village did you come from?"
Kai closed the pouch quickly and turned away without answering. He was used to that kind of look—the kind that didn't see him as just another poor young man, but as something… different. Something to avoid.
In the center of the square, a group of preachers had gathered a small crowd. They wore white robes marked with golden symbols, and their voices rang out firmly.
"Purity is the light that guides mankind!" one of them shouted. "Corrupted blood is the seed of ruin. Half-breeds, hybrids, abominations—all must be purified so that humanity may flourish before Creation!"
The crowd murmured in approval. Some clapped, others raised their fists.
Kai shrank deeper beneath his hood, slipping along the edge of the square. But before he could escape, a boy ran toward him, pointing.
"Look at his eyes! He's strange!"
Several heads turned in his direction. Kai's heart pounded, but he forced himself to remain calm.
"It's nothing," a woman said, pulling her son by the arm. "Just a malnourished laborer."
Even so, the murmur lingered in the air—heavy, like a veiled accusation.
Later, as he was leaving the market with his nearly empty bag, Kai overheard another kind of rumor. Two men spoke in low voices near a fountain.
"I heard the Paladins are coming."
"Is that true?" the other asked, eyes widening.
"They'll arrive before the next moon. They say they're reinforcing the watch against heretics and half-breeds."
Kai walked past slowly, pretending not to listen. But every word burned in his mind like iron.
Paladins… so even here they will impose their purity.
He knew the stories. Holy warriors, armed with faith and steel, capable of calling upon miracles in battle. Loved by the people, feared by the different. The mere mention of them was enough to divide hearts between hope and terror.
Kai arrived home as evening fell. He placed the bag on the table, looking at the few apples and the hard piece of bread he had managed to buy. A poor meal for another lonely night.
He sat before the unlit candle and the rune-marked stone. Resting his forehead against the cold wood of the table, he murmured, almost without a voice:
"How long until they see me as an enemy?"
Outside, the temple bell rang three times. Etharyon drifted toward sleep under the promise of faith, but Kai knew that each toll was also a warning.
The paladins were on their way.