A gentle tap on the shoulder jolted Khizo awake. He sprang up from his bed and looked at the surroundings confusingly before the reality sank in.

"Calm down! It's me," Cloris laughed. He was two years older than Khizo, with dark hair and a tanned face.

Khizo blinked a few times, his vision clearing as he focused on Cloris. "You are ready already?"

"It's almost noon," Cloris replied, adjusting the red vest over his white tunic.

"Noon?" Khizo gasped, "I have no idea how I slept that long."

Cloris's expression turned serious all of a sudden. He fixed his gaze on Khizo and scowled. "You had that nightmare again, didn't you?"

Khizo looked away, staring at the ground to avoid Cloris's gaze. "It was nothing. I am used to them."

Cloris held his gaze for a moment longer before sighing deeply, "I wish there was something I could do to help."

"It's fine, Cloris. I am happy where I am," Khizo said, resting a hand on Cloris's shoulder. "It's been fifteen years. That incident has been put behind. These nightmares are just mere remnants of it."

"Alright then," Cloris said, getting up, "We have a busy day at the field today. Mum and Dad are waiting for us."

"Just give me a moment. I'll be there," Khizo called out to Cloris as he headed out of the room.

The water was icy cold and a splash of it helped clear out Khizo's mind. He sprayed a few more splashes of it from the bucket before getting dressed in a brown vest.

The sun was unusually bright when Khizo came out of the house. Surrounding him were a few acres of wheat field that his family owned. Their small house stood on the edge of the field. At the other corner was a stable housing two horses.

"Good morning, Khizo," Maybel, his foster mother, greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning, mother. Is there anything you need help with?" Khizo asked.

"You can start by feeding the horses," Maybel handed him a tray full of hay.

Khizo took the tray from her mother and headed to the stables. The horses nickered in joy upon seeing the food.

Aron was the first one to get fed. He was a beautiful white stallion with sturdy legs and a dense mane.

Khizo stroked Aron's muzzle gently while watching him slowly munch away the food. By the time Aron was finished, more than half of the food was already finished from the tray.

"Alright Cal, your turn," Khizo passed the tray to a dark horse with a glossy black coat. He was no less muscular than Aron.

Cal didn't get the same treatment as Aron, however. All Khizo did was wait impatiently for Cal to finish eating the leftover food before walking out of the stables with the empty tray.

After the horses were fed, he remained busy at the field for the entire day. He worked alongside Cloris, Maybel, and his foster father, Roger. By the time of sunset, his hands had become sore from threshing the wheat. Yet, he wasn't going to give up on his favourite activity of the day.

"So, ready for the ride?" Cloris asked once both the brothers had done their work.

"Of course," Khizo replied.

They went to fetch the horses from the stables. Khizo came out riding on Aron. Cloris followed behind on Cal.

"Race you to the tower?" Khizo asked.

"Of course. You'll find me and Cal waiting for you there."

Cloris took off without a warning, taking the early lead.

"Come on, Aron," Khizo gently nudged his heels against Aron's flanks. Aron responded instantly, storming off, with Khizo on his back.

The horses galloped through the muddy roads on the outskirts of Krimagha. The wind had turned chilly in the evenings, intensifying the earthy aroma from the fields on either side of the road.

After a while, Cloris veered off course to a deserted road, surrounded only by forests. Khizo followed close behind.

From the dense vegetation of the forest, a wooden outpost came into view, mostly hidden by the trees.

As they neared the outpost, more of it became visible. The tower was an old wooden structure with a deck sitting on top of it. A long ladder led to the deck.

Cloris had started galloping as fast as he could to seal his victory. However, Khizo wasn't giving up easily. Very soon, the brothers were running side by side.

Khizo shifted the weight of his body away from the horseback and gently pulled at Aron's neck. In response, Aron let out a neigh and lifted his hind legs, launching them in the air. For a moment, they soared, suspended in a perfect arc.

Aron landed with a thud, right in front of the tower. Cal arrived mere seconds later.

"You said I'll find you and Cal waiting by the tower," Khizo folded his arms and smiled. "Didn't see you there."

"It's because you didn't feed Cal properly today. He seemed weak," Cloris muttered.

"Give any excuse you want."

The brothers started climbing up the ladder with Cloris in the lead. Wood creaked wherever they placed their steep. However, after years of following this routine, they had learned to ignore the sounds and keep going.

By the time they reached the top, both of them were gasping for breath.

"Here... we are... at last," Cloris wheezed, his hand gripping his knees as he struggled to stand upright.

Abandoned in the middle of the forest for years, nobody would have paid any attention to the tower. Yet, it harboured a secret that only they were aware of.

The railing around the deck had slash marks everywhere. The marks ran deep across the wooden walls. Stains of blood were scattered across the floor.

Khizo walked to the corner of the deck, where a plank was loosely fitted on the floor. He removed the plank and grasped his hands around the hilt of the dagger.

The grip of the dagger felt smooth against his palm. The letter 'K' was carved on it in elegant writing. Its blade was as polished as the rest of the dagger, with sharp edges that just needed a touch to pierce through anyone's flesh.

"I will be a Kodus warrior. You will be a Petukian soldier. Now fight!" Khizo pointed his dagger at Cloris.

Without waiting for his reaction, Khizo charged at Cloris. His first swipe from the dagger was dodged by Cloris. On the next try, however, Khizo found an opening in Cloris's defence.

He imitated stabbing with the dagger, and Cloris let out a fake scream before acting dead.

"Alright, that's enough," Khizo stared at Cloris lying on the floor with his eyes shut. A smile tugged at his mouth, but he suppressed it.

"I will really stab you this time," Khizo brought his blade closer to Cloris's neck.

"Alright fine," Cloris laughed, getting up. He combed the dust away from his breeches and leaned his body against the railing, admiring the view outside.

Beyond the trees, the entire city of Krimagha spread in front of their eyes. The camel-coloured walls surrounding the city basked in the warm glow of the setting sun.

"Looks so peaceful from here, right?" Khizo stared in awe.

"But I can bet you 100 Krugens that some poor guy is getting murdered there right now," Cloris replied.

"What more can we expect?" Khizo stated. "I wish we could have more people like Kodus Warriors who could fight for freedom."

"Even Kodus Warriors got defeated in the end. Nobody can win against the Great Alliance. And our puppet king obviously doesn't care."

"That's not true. Nothing is impossible if we just try. Like Kodus Warriors did," Khizo replied, rubbing his fingers across the 'K' engraved on the dagger in his hand.

"I guess so," Cloris sighed before going silent.

They silently watched the sun set over Krimagha. The horizon blazed golden, casting its glow on the shimmering buildings.

"Come, Khizo, it's time to go. Mum and Dad are waiting for us," Cloris said after a while.

"Yeah, just two minutes," Khizo replied.

When they were about to leave, the sound of horses trotting in the distance entered their ears. They peered down to the road leading to their farm and saw a group of soldiers riding on horseback.

The soldiers were wearing floral green armour. Their capes fluttered in the air, revealing the crest of a phoenix intertwined with a crown.

"Soldiers from Petuk," Cloris exclaimed, "They are heading for our farm."

Author's Note

Sorry guys for taking a while to update this chapter. I was away on a trip for some time. Besides, as always, I was busy with lots of other projects.

The next chapter should come out sooner than this one did. Also, my usual chapter count will be 1.5K - 2K words.