Part 1
Part 2


A grey mist hung across the rain-soaked fields and muddy roads leading to the small town. Autumn leaves of murky brown scattered across the cobbles which led through the streets of the few small houses and past the ominous church of the unspoken deity. On a hill above the town, the Fairfax residence stood silently, thick evergreen hedges obscuring the large garden from sight.

As the morning rains began to fall, it became clear the once-peaceful town had begun to show signs of life. From the local tavern emerged a large, plump man with a grizzled appearance. He took a moment to examine the skies and grey clouds above before setting about his work with a bristled brush, sweeping away the leaves from the building's oak doors. Nearby, women with thin faces and young children in rags also took leave from their homes, trekking out to the nearby crop fields and animal pens to begin their daily labours. Similar activity sprung up all across the small village as it awoke, but still the Fairfax residence remained silent, as did the church.

On the outskirts of the village sat another small cottage in a state of disrepair. Seated outside were two young men, both barely adults. While both wore almost identical clothes, their physical appearances couldn't be more different. While the taller of the two sported dark green eyes and shoulder-length mahogany hair, his companion sat in a hunched position with messy black locks and hazel eyes. While Jason had chosen to keep clean shaven for most of his teenage years, Walter had chosen to let his stubble grow the past months, giving him a ragged look suitable only for a beggar.

"S'time soon."

Walter nodded slowly in reply to his friend's remark and glanced sideways to one of two thick rucksacks positioned beside the log bench they were using. It had only been a month ago that he was told he, his friend Jason and another, would be asked to leave the village. Long had it been the custom of their home to send away young men for work when there was none available in the town. They were allowed to come back if they learnt a skill, but having little to return to, Walter was daunted by the prospect. "Did you choose where you were going to go?" He asked Jason. With a simple shrug, the taller man replied, "Nah. Father did mention a town 'cross the river that's lookin' fer smiths. Might go there, but I ain't sure yet.". Walter nodded again and looked across the grim landscape towards the only track that led out of their remote village. It led alongside a river for a mile then through a thick forest inhabited by all manners of creatures. Thankful he wouldn't be alone for the biggest move in his life, Walter rose from his seat and collected his belongings. "We better go tell them we're ready." He spoke, and Jason followed after him as they both made their way, bags over shoulders, into the village.



The sun had finally decided to show its face when the majority of the town had collected outside the steps of the church. Warm rays cast down upon the rows of families all gathered to watch the departure. Near the large iron gates which formed the doors of the building, a wooden podium had been placed for a speaker. Normally it had been the head of the Fairfax family who would speak during this event, but it had been common knowledge the blonde-haired master of the household had fallen ill in recent times. It was then left to question whom would take his place, as Conall had long lost his wife and sired no male heirs. The only other known Fairfax family member was Fionn, his beloved daughter.

As Walter and Jason joined the chattering crowds outside the gates, their third companion had already arrived and was ascending the steps of the church to stand near the podium. A small teenager with the same charcoal-coloured hair as Walter, stood nervously before the crowds. At his feet was a large rucksack that must have been filled with more than just essentials. "He's goin' t'fall behind carryin' that lot." Jason mumbled to Walter, whom in turn let out an exasperated sigh. The pair carried their own belongings through the crowd and joined the small lad upon the steps of the church and exchanged brief greetings. Many of the people in the crowd had turned their attention onto the trio who would be taking part and in particular, some older women buried their faces in pieces of fabric; it had been known that some of the men who took part in this event had died before. Walter hadn't been phased by this fact though, despite Jason's warnings of bears, wolves and even the odd tale of spirits. Nothing could keep Walter in this town where he had spent his life.

Excitable chatter suddenly ran through the crowd as one woman called out. Walter didn't catch her words, but he looked in the direction to which she pointed. His jaw dropped as he saw, from the gates of the Fairfax household, a white-clothes figure emerge. There was no mistaking the identity of the blonde-haired woman as she decended the path leading to the village, accompanied on either side by two broad-chested bodyguards. Walter had not beheld Fionn in almost a decade, but that time had simply added to the beauty he witnessed as a child. Her golden hair cascaded across her shoulders and down her back, with curled bangs framing her flawless, porcelain skin. Eyes still as blue as the clear skies above, she smiled with courtesy at the gathered villagers as her form swept through the masses towards the church. Dressed in the finest materials, white was the only colour adorning her body, from the ivory-coloured ribbons in her hair to the immaculate dress trailing behind her. Walter almost winced to see such a fair gown drag across the dirt. Beside him, he noticed that the other two men had frozen in place and were also staring at Fionn. Neither had seen before the gold-haired daughter before and had become paralysed with both awe and shock.

Taking a place behind the podium, with a guard to either side of her, Fionn rose a hand in greeting to the now-silent crowd and smiled. "Greetings to all. We are fortunate to have such pleasant weather to conduct these proceedings today." Her voice was as sweet as honey to Walter and he itched to hear her speak further. "As many of you here know, we take time each fall to begin the Ceremony of Departure for those whom must find elsewhere. These three-" She gestured to the three young men, "- Are but another generation we must ask to carry out such tradition. It is my honour to wish them good luck in their future endeavours and ask that they take the blessing of us all with them.". Following her speech, applause rang out from the crowd, although Walter suspected many of them were simply celebrating the fact that Fionn was conducting the speech this year. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Jason ignoring all the attention from the crowd and still staring at the blonde woman. Digging a sharp elbow into the side of his friend, Jason blinked and looked at Walter in confusion, mouthing the words "Is her hair really gold?". Walter grinned and returned his gaze to Fionn, who had begun to decend from the podium in the company of her escort. She made no attempt to look at either of the three youths directly but instead proceeded past the villagers and back towards her home. Walter stared dumbfounded after her for a moment, but the small lad beside them cleared his throat. "W-we better get going then." Jason agreed and picked up his own bag, following the other youth. It took Walter several seconds to register that his friend had left before he grabbed his belongings and began to follow. Several villagers waved and some shouted their farewells as the trio made their way through the houses and out towards the path leading to their futures.

By the time the three reached the road, the village had already returned to its quiet ways and once again the sun had fallen behind the clouds. The Fairfax house stood looming over the village again and soon it too vanished behind the hills as the men walked. Their road was straight and it led alongside aged railroad tracks for some distance before it would reach the river. As Walter watched a rusting train rattling by them, he felt a spot of rain on his forehead and shrugged it off.

The three continued well into the night when the storm broke out.

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Author's Note: It felt good to finally write this after I had been imagining it for so long. It makes up for the fail-game I had been trying to finish and not succeeding at anyway.

I hope you all enjoy it, links to part 1 and 2 are at the top of the page and the music that I composed some time ago to go with this story can be found here. For some reason this page won't load it but we'll have to wait and see.