Wardens, warriors, adventurers. The devilish whisper of instinct and emotion.
Wardens: the protectors of the empire and the common folk.
I always believed that with hard work, I too would be able to bear that heroic burden...
However, my current situation isn't as heroic as the tales of the great heroes from long ago.
Shovel in hand, I kept digging. If someone caught me and discovered what is that I'm digging, I'd have to serve time in jail. So I dug as fast as I could.
It's hard to know if what's buried here belongs to me or someone else. Depending on who asks, the answer I'd give would be different.
My hands were going numb. Just to be sure, I look again at the tree before me. Yes, there is a cut. This is the right tree.
This tree has a cut, a cut made by an axe. I know that what I am looking for will be around this tree.
Finally, after another hour or so, I hear the sound of wood. A sound ominously similar to the one made by that person.
The thing I am trying to get by doing this surprisingly dangerous activity is a rudimentary wooden box. A wooden box that was once a wooden toolbox, but now it's just a wooden box. My father gave it to me a long time ago so that I could store my "amazing treasures" on it. That's what I did, of course. I used it to bury something, something I'll retrieve now.
I put the wooden box on the ground. The wood is a bit rotten. The wooden box that was my first birthday gift, a gift that my parents gave me just as I was starting to speak, was now covered in dirt. I made a mental note to give a farewell gift to at least my parents. After all, even if my older brother received fancy toys instead of this lousy box. This lousy box turned out to be a lifesaver in the end.
I looked around one more time, making sure no one was around, and then I finally opened it. Inside, there is an engraved axe and a badge. I took a closer look at the badge. It said 'Warden' alongside the name of our empire, 'Naidour'. Looking at it made my heart beat a little faster. It wasn't a magical object, but it felt a bit magical to me. The warden's badges are made of tin. Some people call badges like this "tin stars," although not only warden badges are called tin stars. It has an amazing design, and the star in the center is remarkably well-made.
There is also an axe, but I am not so interested in it; I am going to sell it at the first chance I get. It's a Franciscan axe. The most relevant thing about this axe is the fact that it's made of magic steel, which is very pricy. I took it.
It's a bit dusty, but that shouldn't be a problem. I only have time to throw it one time, I am already taking too many chances. I took a position and faced a random tree, four metres away. After a bit of aiming, I threw it. It made a small cut, and the sound it made was also noticeable, but it didn't get embedded in the tree. The axe fell to the ground.
I'm a bit disappointed, but throwing an axe is more difficult than it looks. Normally, I only manage to do it successfully six out of ten times I do. I am better at handling swords and spears than axes. But axes are the most popular weapons among wardens.
I took the shovel again and destroyed the box. After making sure that it's now a broken wooden box, I bury it again. This time for good. I put the axe in my belt and the badge in my pocket, and I carry on towards my house, shovel in hands.
It's the middle of the night, and my family has already finished their first sleep, so I could go unnoticed if I play my cards well.
I told my family that I was going for a walk. They can't know I have these things with me.
I finally arrive at my family's farm. I look inside the barn and see no one, so I enter. I muster all the confidence I can gather on my steps. Finally, I found out what I was looking for. An empty grain bag. I left it here this morning and hid it, making sure no one could find it.
I put the axe inside the bag and hid it again, behind the hay. I also leave the shovel. I should sell the axe as soon as I can.
After making sure that the axe is successfully hidden, I leave the barn, not without petting my horse, of course.
Even after all this time, I still haven't given him a name. I don't want to grow too familiar with him after all, he could die, or I could sell him. He is a mustang with a bay pelt.
Finally, I enter my house. My family is probably praying in the living room. They usually pray before their second sleep. I go up the stairs and I enter my room.
As soon as I get into my room, I leave the badge inside my chest. Luckily, I have my own room, the same cannot be said about my two siblings. They share the same room.
Thanks to all the equipment and stuff I have collected, and the fact that my room is sometimes used as a storage room. It's almost as messy as theirs.
I am going to sleep now. I wash my face in the basin and get into bed. Sweet dreams, I tell myself as I close my eyes. Something I am doing more frequently as winter gets closer to an end. Once winter ends, my journey to the capital will begin. I need to be ready when that day comes. After some time, I fell asleep.
I wonder what studying in an academy will be like...