In the year 489 after the death of Niatala the Great.
Karanda, a small town in the east of Galghant, near the border to Stevar.
—Marnia—
The house was full of guests, music, and good food. Countless candles burned in every room. Marnia looked out of the window. The first snow of winter was falling.
She looked down at herself. Her new dress, made of red-dyed linen with wool trim on the upper body, was an excellent contrast to her black hair and her pale skin. She kept noticing the guests' glances.
The town was celebrating its founding three hundred years ago. The largest celebration of the evening, however, was taking place in the house of the magistrate, Marnia's father.
Her father had ordered that the citizens should celebrate for two weeks. The harvest had not been very good this year, but people still needed a reason to rejoice. Marnia knew that her father also wanted to distract from the troubling news from the neighboring country of Stevar.
Marnia had hardly heard any other topic for weeks. That was because they lived so close to the border. Stevar had been in a state resembling civil war for several months, ever since the king had died and it was unclear which of his eight sons would take the throne.
Marnia stood in the living room, holding a glass of mead. A few women were dancing, and others were clapping their hands. She looked to the other side. Alen stood there with his friends, talking animatedly. He was her fiancé, and their wedding was already planned in just two weeks. He was very kind, and they were almost something like friends, but Marnia was not really looking forward to the wedding. She was afraid that her life would always remain this monotonous.
Marnia placed the glass on a table and made her way outside. She wanted some fresh air. And she wanted to watch the snow falling from the sky.
She felt somewhat confined. As the magistrate's daughter, she always had to shine, smile, and be perfect. It was sometimes suffocating.
Everyone was so distracted that no one noticed her leaving. Except, of course, her maid Telis.
"I just want a bit of fresh air," Marnia said to her. "You can stay inside."
Telis nodded briefly and returned to the living room with a smile.
Marnia opened the door, and a cool wind immediately met her. It was not a strong wind. The air had a pleasant chill. She had wrapped herself in a warm cloth and took a few steps outside. Finally, a bit of freedom.
It was already quite dark. Only a few candles burned in the lanterns. She watched as the snowflakes danced slightly in their warm yellow light, carried by the wind. She stretched her hands toward the sky and tried to catch a few snowflakes. They melted quickly.
Her parents' house stood near the center of Karanda on a large square. The magistrate was the most important person in the town, after all, and had to make decisions every day.
As she stood there on the square, reaching for snowflakes, she suddenly heard footsteps. Who would be outside at this hour?
Marnia turned and looked in the direction the steps were coming from. It was as if the wind suddenly stopped blowing and everything fell completely silent. Marnia saw only this figure approaching her. It was a woman—but in strange clothing. She wore trousers! What woman in Galghant or Stevar would ever dare to wear trousers in public? But there was something else. She looked disheveled, wore layers of fabric, and carried a large bundle in her arms. Her dark hair looked as though she had not combed it in a long time.
What captivated Marnia the most, however, were the woman's eyes. She had never in her life seen such an intense blue. It was a deep blue, like the bottom of the sea. Even deeper, however, were the emotions in her gaze. There was something so intense in it, but also something so hopeless. As if she had received terrible news and was completely shattered.
Marnia stood frozen. The woman came closer and closer. Marnia was not afraid—she was curious. The woman stopped just in front of her and looked at her with curiosity, but also with a strong, pleading expression. Would she ask for food? Shelter? Marnia had already begun to think about what she could offer when the woman held out the large bundle to her.
Marnia hesitated at first, but moved by the tears in the woman's eyes, she took the bundle without knowing what it contained.
But the moment she held it in her arms, she realized what it was. It was a small child. Marnia was horrified. What did this mean?
The woman slowly stepped back and grimaced as if in pain. "Please!" she said. "Please, take care! You seemed kind—can you save we?"
She had a strange accent. But not like one from Stevar. It was odd. Since Niatala the Great, everyone spoke the same language, and the old languages had gradually disappeared. There were accents, but the woman spoke as if the Ground language was not her native tongue.
Suddenly, she ran away, leaving Marnia behind with the child.
Marnia watched her go, but she seemed to vanish as if swallowed by the earth. Marnia grew afraid. What was this? She looked at the child. It looked at her curiously, but soon began to grow restless. It had the same deep blue eyes.
Marnia thought for a moment about what to do. She did not want to return to the house with the child—it would disturb the celebration. Then she thought of Telis's mother. She lived alone in a small house on the edge of Karanda.
Marnia set off immediately. The child began to cry. She tried in vain to calm it.
Finally, she reached Telis's mother. She was surprised that Marnia came on a feast day, and even more so with a child in her arms, but she let her in.
Marnia sat down in the small kitchen and told everything that had happened.
Telis's mother shook her head. "What do you intend to do with the child?"
"I don't know," Marnia said. The child had calmed down a little. It seemed to be a few months or even a year old. Marnia laid the child on the kitchen table and then noticed that there was more in the bundle. A strange map. She picked it up. There were strange symbols on it that she had never seen before. She also now saw that the child wore a necklace. It was like a small silver bird. Marnia looked at it more closely. It had to be silver! That was strange, considering how poor the woman herself had looked.
"I still have some goat's milk. The child can stay until tomorrow, Marnia. But then you must take it somewhere else. I cannot take care of it."
Marnia nodded. She thanked her and promised to return the next day. Then she went back to the celebration so that no one would worry.
But she could think of nothing else but the woman and the child.
-----
The next day, Marnia spoke with her parents. One thing was certain: under no circumstances could the child be brought into the house. There must be something wrong with it, and she would bring shame upon the household otherwise.
Later, Marnia waited a long time in the square to see if the woman would return. Then she walked through the town. No trace.
Finally, she went to Alen and told him everything. He shook his head. The child did not belong to them and had to go. Marnia had expected nothing else. Alen was always the reasonable one. Her parents had not chosen him without reason.
So Marnia went to Telis's mother, who had already been waiting, and checked on the child. It was such a sweet little girl.
"Good that you are back. I cannot take care of her another day," said Telis's mother.
"You could sell it," Telis's mother suggested. "The farmers are always looking for slaves."
Marnia took the little girl, who immediately began to cry again. No, she could not sell her. She said goodbye and wandered aimlessly through the town.
She tried for a long time to calm her, and eventually the girl fell asleep.
She kept receiving curious looks.
Finally, Alen came running toward her.
"Someone is looking for the child!" he said. Marnia was relieved at first, but then she saw how serious his expression was.
"Men from the north. They are searching for a little girl and a woman. They go from town to town and village to village." He looked genuinely worried.
Men from the north. That could only mean men from Wikdiz. They certainly promised nothing good.
Marnia remembered the woman's expression. She had been afraid and desperate. Surely she had fled from these men. And she had entrusted her child to Marnia. She had to protect it. In that moment, she made her decision: no matter what, she would protect this child.
"What are you going to do?" Alen asked.
"I have to protect this child."
Alen closed his eyes and shook his head. "This is crazy, and the child is not worth it."
Marnia looked at the child again. "I have to hide somewhere with the child. I will not let them find it," she said.
"A group of Schepplachen just set out. Give it to them. They are usually kind," Alen suggested.
Marnia thought for a moment. This nomadic people were indeed known for their kindness.
That was a good idea. Alen fetched his wagon and took her and the child to the group. When they reached them, they were indeed willing to take the child. At first, she felt relieved and happy. She handed the child to a woman and wanted to return to Karanda. But as she turned away, a sharp pain struck her heart, and once again she saw the woman's expression before her eyes.
No. She could not. She could not give this child away and leave it to someone else. She alone knew what the mother looked like. She alone could help it find its mother again.
"I'm coming with you!" she finally said.
Alen looked at her in disbelief. "What does that mean?"
"I cannot leave the girl alone, Alen."
He shook his head.
Marnia looked at him firmly and said, "As soon as she is safe, I will return. Please, Alen, let me go with them."
Alen still shook his head. "You cannot do this, Marnia. The child will likely die anyway."
She did not listen to him. She went to the woman and took the child back into her arms.
She did not know herself what was happening. It was as if she were acting on instinct. "I cannot do otherwise," she said to Alen. "I will send word."
With that, the group set off, and Alen reluctantly rode back to the town.
But Marnia suddenly also felt full of energy. It was the first time in her life that she did something reckless and stepped out of line. The first time she had made a decision. And the first time she would leave Karanda.
"I will protect you," she whispered into the girl's ear.
Suddenly, Marnia became afraid that Alen or her parents might follow her. Or that someone might inform the men from the north. She walked with the nomads for a while, but kept looking back toward Karanda. Was someone already coming to get her?
Soon she saw a carter nearby and went to him to ask if he could take her with him. When he agreed, she parted ways with the nomads and traveled further and further into the interior of the land.
And so began her new life—and Nari's story.