Emperor Gristov Ford sat on his throne when a weary messenger entered the hall to deliver the news: in the northern region of the realm a gate had collapsed, and the guards were all buried beneath the rubble. No one knew whether the guards were alive or dead.
The Emperor issued immediate orders: "Find the cause of the collapse at once."
At the same time another courier reached the village of Kazbona with word that exit-and-entry taxes for the village had been raised.
An emergency meeting of the village council was convened — the council made up of the village elders and representatives of some clans — to discuss the matter. Attending the council were:
1. Tira Parkos — the head blacksmith and maker of the village's war gear.
2. Dags Bol — the village chief and a former member of the Empire's Council of Honor.
3. Pierre Tayun — the most skilled hammerman in weapon-smithing.
4. A number of other members.
5. Valer Dan Al-Bir — one of the village founders and a defender of its rights.
Valer was among the most vocal about the edict. Dags replied to him: "We should send a delegation to negotiate with the Emperor about the taxes in a peaceful manner, without provoking trouble."
Tira snapped back fiercely: "Dags, why all this fear? Why don't we arm ourselves, march on them and strike hard? Ha-ha-ha!"
Dags answered sternly: "Our situation doesn't allow for fighting; you talk about waging war on an empire while we are one village among eight. How can you gamble with people's lives? We must make things easier, not harder. Valer — what do you suggest?"
Valer said: "What am I to say? We are between two bitter choices. On one hand we cannot wage war and spill blood for a lost cause; on the other we cannot accept this and remain silent."
While they spoke, Frank Fire entered amid the stunned assembly, carrying his axe. He looked at them and said something that sounded unlikely but might be true: "This edict is not merely obedience to orders — it is a prison without bars or walls."
Tira sprang to her feet, shouting: "Who allowed you to enter here? Who are you to speak? You remain the woodcutter children fear; there are strange tales told about you!"
Frank did not answer. Dags asked that an extraordinary session be held with Frank as guest — Valer being the man some suspected of a mysterious past and one of the village's current woodcutters.
During the meeting Pierre proposed an idea no one had considered — imperfect but practical: "Why raise taxes? Instead, if we are supplied with raw iron and given more time here we could produce larger quantities of gear. We could trade rather than pay taxes — give them what they demand of us, albeit in smaller amounts, considering the empire's army size."
They all looked at one another, and for a moment believed there was no other realistic option. But Frank voiced a starkly different view: "You'd bargain with an empire that's the second largest on the continent and the first in army equipment and numbers? Extracting raw iron is extremely difficult — how will we double production? You're asking the impossible; we'd be killing our own men with this plan. Especially given food shortages, disease, and frequently contaminated water — you ask the impossible."
Pierre, who had thought himself the village's savior, was angered that Frank stood in his way. Someone asked, "What's your solution then? We're dying of hunger, thirst and exhaustion, and escaping the village is impossible."
Dags replied: "Let me think; we must find a way."
Tira shouted again: "Why do you think you're so important? Why do you believe you're the only one who understands everything?"
Frank remained silent a moment longer, not answering Tira's provocation nor Pierre's mockery. He looked at each of them in turn. The heated quarrel between the council elders and Frank stirred murmurs throughout the hall.
Before leaving, Frank told them: "Things will get worse after today." He exited the council and walked through the village, looking over the people's condition: a child rummaging through refuse for a scrap of bread; a river polluted, its water the sickly color of warped green; villagers carrying the coffin of a dear one. He stood in the center of the village thinking, then said to himself:
"Clearly the meeting of the Three of Death is nearer than I expected… the past may be opened again, Freya."
Although he was alone, he spoke the name "Freya" aloud, drove his axe into the village square's soil, and went home.
In the Emperor's palace, tensions were rising between the kingdom's soldiers and the Emperor's royal guard; the advisors had been bickering ever since hearing about the gates. One of them muttered: "Why now? It's not the first time, true, but this is different — as if the earth itself wants to release something from its depths."
The Emperor then shouted in a heavy, firm voice: "We have few options: first — either the royal guard or the soldiers must move to the front lines; second — I want to discuss another matter with my adviser Dan Tarts." The two of them withdrew to a private chamber, leaving the court in astonishment at the Emperor's sudden decision.
In the private room the Emperor addressed Dan: "Dan, I want to entrust you with a highly secret mission: bring a person here discreetly. I do not want anyone to know about this task — especially Princess Barleena. No one. I mean no one."
Dan, puzzled, asked: "Who is this person that stirs your interest so? This is the first time I've seen you so invested in someone, Your Majesty."