Anira woke up early in the morning to the sound of shrieking blows. In the respite between the blows, she could hear cursing. She walked to her bedroom window and opened the curtains. Ervingal stood in the courtyard, brandishing a long bronze sword. He was cleaving into the trunk of the birch tree with resolute slashes. With each strike, the blade was becoming more and more bent, until Ervingal tossed the weapon on the floor, cursing loudly.

With a big swing, Tiyodor, dressed in his nightshirt, threw open the door to the courtyard. ‘What are you doing?’ he asked. ‘You’re causing such a racket! Do you have any idea what time it is?’

Anira carefully opened her window just enough that she could better hear her father and uncle.

‘I have cast a new sword,’ Ervingal said. He made a disapproving gesture at the bent blade on the floor. ‘But bronze is too weak. No matter how I cast it, it’s never strong enough.’

‘Strong enough for what?’ Tiyodor shook his head. ‘To fell birch trees? What’s gotten into you, Ervingal?’

Ervingal gave a wry smile. ‘Not strong enough to offer resistance against weapons created from the wood of the mighty Linar Forest trees. We’ve worn out many an axe and saw felling that forest, I can assure you.’ He stared at Tiyodor with an expression of annoyance. ‘What else do you think these robbers will fight with? Bronze swords are perfect stabbing weapons, but a few blows from a massive club render them useless.’

‘I understand that you’re worried, Ervingal, but if you let me and my guard do our job, your problems will soon be a thing of the past.’

Ervingal didn’t say anything.

‘It’s time to stop your foolishness,’ Tiyodor said. ‘And I think you should demand the same of your workers and the villagers.’ Tiyodor put his hand on Ervingal’s shoulder. ‘I’ve heard rumors. I think the nightshade is starting to take its toll. Prohibit the use of it, Ervingal. It’s the only way, over time, you can turn Varna into a city worthy of the King.’

It took a while before Ervingal responded: ‘You’re right. Now that the village council has agreed with our plans, we need to take decisive action.’ Ervingal sighed and stared at the bent bronze sword. ‘You know, sometimes I do miss my old profession, and imagine my years of swordsmithing could make a difference, but my labors are getting me nowhere.’

Tiyodor grasped his brother’s shoulders. ‘I understand that there’s a void in your life now that your wife is gone, Ervingal, and that you’re looking for something to fill that void. You are a swordsmith, and no one can blame you for wanting to protect your people, but, if you’re not careful, this precious opportunity that has been given to you by the King might slip through your fingers. Concentrate on what’s important: the construction of Varna.’

Ervingal slumped his shoulders. ‘What I can do… I don’t know if it’ll be enough.’

‘Come,’ Tiyodor said, ‘let’s have breakfast together and talk some more.’

Anira watched them go back inside and felt her anger rising up. She got dressed, put on her cloak, and left her room. Her father and uncle were sitting at the table when she came downstairs.

‘Good morning,’ she said with a smile.

She walked past them on her way outside. Then she ran to the stable, where she saddled up Doriyan and managed to reach the pastures behind the house without being seen by anyone. She spurred her horse on and rode westwards at a trot. When the last houses were well behind her, she galloped through the hilly pastures until the edge of the forest loomed up in the distance. When she reached the forest, she tightened the reins and shook off her fears.

After she passed the first rows of trees, all of a sudden it became dark around her owing to the dense foliage of the Linar Forest blocking out nearly all sunlight. She slowly rode on and tried not to let the moving shadows around her frighten her. The ground was overgrown with ferns and thick catchweed, causing her horse’s legs to constantly get caught. After a short while, Anira started to feel as though she had entered another world. The gigantic trees seemed to be watching her as though they were intelligent living creatures.

She searched the ground, and for once in her life, she felt grateful that her parents had never had a son. It was for this reason that Tiyodor had taught her to read and write and had taken her on several hunting trips in the woods. As a result, she knew what to look out for when searching for animal tracks.

During the course of the morning, the weather changed. Dark clouds gathered over the Linar Forest, accompanied by a stiff breeze. The sound of the leaves rustling in the wind sometimes resembled the hoarse whispering of the creatures in her dreams. A shiver ran down her spine. Doriyan was also growing more and more restless and less responsive to her commands.

In the distance, she heard something rustle, a grating sound that repeated itself over short intervals. She rode at a walking pace in the direction of the sound until she saw water glistening. A few feet in front of her, hidden among the trees, there was a pond. A thick fringe of reeds surrounded the water, but in several places the reed stems had snapped. Above the water, there was a gap in the foliage through which Anira could see the dark rain clouds. The rustling continued, and Anira dismounted and walked towards the water. While she carefully pushed apart the reed stems and advanced to the pond, her feet sank deeper and deeper into the boggy soil. Suddenly, everything went quiet. Anira stopped breathing and held still. At the waterside, something was moving in the reeds.

A few seconds later, there was a deafening noise, and the reed stems were pushed apart in a rippling movement. Anira fell, screaming her lungs out, but her cries were absorbed by the screeches of an enormous flock of geese flying up from the reed bed. By the dozen, they spread their wings and tried to get away as fast as possible. Their wings destroyed part of the reed bed, which caused Anira, who was panting with fear, to see them fly away through the gap in the foliage.

Anira’s heart was still beating wildly when silence returned. Doriyan took a few careful steps in her direction and pushed his snout into her shoulder. She took a deep breath and got up. Leading her horse by his reins, she walked along the bank of the pond, in the hope of finding tracks.

The bank was boggy, but one spot was clearly being used as a watering place. The reeds receded and there were tracks leading into the forest. Among the trees, Anira found several snapped twigs and branches. Keeping her eyes on the ground, she tried to follow the trail.

Not far from the pond, the ground suddenly turned black in color. She had to look very closely, but was able to find the prints of a tripod around the spot. Anira shivered. These were the remnants of an enormous cooking fire. She looked around and strained her ears. When she was sure there was no one around, she began to search the ground surrounding the cooking fire. Among the trees she discovered a trench. The tension in her body rose and her heart started racing again. When she had reached the trench, she clasped her hands over her mouth and started shivering all over. It contained the charcoaled remains of dozens of bodies. They had been carelessly piled up, but Anira could see that most bodies were missing limbs. Some only consisted of a spine with a ribcage. Anira caught the scent of the blackened bones and turned away from the mass grave, retching.

She jumped into the saddle and hurriedly rode back in the direction of the settler village, her hands shaking as she tugged the reins. Suddenly, she saw movement among the trees all around her. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and trust her horse’s instinct, but she kept riding as fast as possible. She followed her own trail back until the trees receded and she reached the end of the forest. She heaved a big sigh of relief and guided her horse south. Anira rode along the edge of the forest until she reached the strip of land with the dead tree trunks. She crossed it and rode straight to the prison where she stopped at one of the windows.

‘Haynik?’ she enquired softly. ‘Haynik? Are you there?’ She stood in her stirrups and tried to look inside. It was dark in the cell, so she couldn’t see anything, but then Haynik’s head appeared in the window.

‘Ah,’ Haynik said. His eyes were bloodshot. ‘It’s the governor’s niece.’

‘Why would the Guyins be ill-disposed towards us, Haynik? We haven’t done them wrong, have we?’

‘I wouldn’t be too sure about that,’ Haynik said. He scratched his chin indifferently. ‘They are very different to us,’ he continued, ‘but perhaps the Guyins aren’t the monsters we imagine them to be.’

‘I doubt that,’ Anira said quietly.

‘They have lived peacefully in the Linar Forest for centuries, and suddenly we arrive.’ He laughed. ‘We enter their territory and, like madmen, start felling the forest that provides them with food and shelter. Do you get what I mean? I think they thought we’d leave if they killed the loggers. Only we didn’t.’

Anira stared at him. ‘That was only the beginning,’ she mumbled.

Haynik nodded. ‘I’m sure they’ve realized by now that they need to resort to more radical measures to drive us away.’ He chuckled. ‘If we stay here much longer, we’re all gonna die. You can take my word for it.’

Anira shook her head. ‘I won’t let that happen.’ She dug her heels into the flanks of her horse and rode back home. When she rode past the camp of her father’s guard, Diyur came out of his tent. He stared at her, unsmiling, as she entered the stable. She put Doriyan in his stall and went to look for her cousins. She found them in their bedroom. ‘I need to tell you something,’ she said softly and closed the door behind her.

‘I’ve been into the forest.’ She looked silently from Dunkan to Little Gavin. ‘Further than the settlers have been since the disappearance of the loggers.’

‘Gods, Anira,’ Dunkan said, ‘that’s highly dangerous. Have you lost your mind?’

‘Shh. I don’t want anyone to hear us.’

Dunkan clenched his teeth. ‘If the robbers had found you…’

‘There are no robbers, Dunkan.’

Little Gavin’s eyes grew wide, but Dunkan shook his head. ‘What do you mean by that, Anira?’

‘I mean’, she whispered, ‘that Ervingal has been lying to us and the entire village. The missing loggers haven’t formed a gang. No. They’ve been killed.’ She swallowed. ‘And worse, I suspect.’

‘Killed by the Guyins?’ Little Gavin asked.

Dunkan threw his hands up in defeat. ‘I wish I could believe you, Anira, but there’s no proof. I know Ervingal is most likely hiding things from us, but this…’ He put his arm around his brother’s shoulder. ‘Leave it alone. You’re confusing Little Gavin with your stories.’

‘Stories? Listen to me, will you? I’ve been in the forest, and I’ve found them.’ She glared at him furiously. ‘I’ve found the bodies of the loggers, Dunkan.’

He looked into her eyes for a long time. ‘Then bring me to them,’ he finally said, ‘so I can see them with my own eyes.’

‘Are you mad? I’m not going back into that forest. If the Guyins find us…’

Dunkan shook his head. ‘Maybe you need to go and lie down for a while, Anira.’

She resolutely got up and walked to the door. ‘This is exactly why Ervingal feels the need to hide the truth. Not only from the villagers, but his own family as well.’ She slammed the door on her way out.