A new dawn

When I awoke to the early morning sun, it was to an empty barn, my companion having left. There was a lingering musty smell, but that soon vanished as I opened the barn doors and a rush of air entered. The morning was crisp and clear, the sound of birds chirping filling the air.

There was movement at the farmhouse as the family was stirring. Stretching out my stiff limbs and flaring my wings, I settled down and waited patiently. Soon I saw as Esgard exited the house and started his morning rounds, feeding the chickens, pouring more water in the trough, before turning towards me.

“Ah, so it wasn’t a dream then. Well, I wanted to thank you again for saving my children. Light knows what I’d have done if they never returned.”

‘You may not have the same impression if you knew what occurred the previous night.’ I thought before replying, “It was truly nothing. Honestly, those men had everything coming to them acting so cliche.”

“Cliche?”

“Ah, yes, bandits harassing travelers and attempting to do them harm. Making horrible insinuations and actions. It’s a tale as old as time and almost expected at this point, which makes it very boring.”

“I never thought about it that way, but I suppose.”

“Are they common around here?”

“Bandits? Not really, between the soldiers and paladins, they keep the roads pretty safe. Granted, they are usually more concentrated towards the cities instead of out here, but the point stands.”

“Paladins?”

“You don’t know about paladins? They’re warriors of Light that have been blessed with greater power and tasked with protecting the innocent. Well, that’s what they are supposed to do. In reality, they are almost as much of a problem as those they claim to protect us from.”

“How so?”

Esgard shifts, “It depends. Some are extremely uptight, seeing any infraction as a severe offense. Others are so arrogant, expecting you to worship the ground they walk on. And others still use their power to enjoy fabulous wealth and living, often on the backs of those they are sworn to protect.”

“So they are corrupt?”

“I suppose so, yeah, but-” we were interrupted by some figures exiting the house. Wyn quickly followed by Harlan, with Astrid and Helen bringing up the rear.

“Aethergard! Good morning!” Wyn exclaimed with a smile.

“Good morning Wyn, lovely to see you” I laughed, causing a blush to bloom.

It was then that I heard a number of hoof beats off in the distance. “Hmm…there are riders approaching.”

“Riders? No one should be coming here anytime soon”

With that, I slunk into the wheat field, following at a distance, as the family went around to the front of the house.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”