The Pearl Fox

Butter Jewels

The sky turned lavender by noon, during the Winter months. The ice winds from the mountains blew across the valley, shaking the stalks, grass and shrubs with frost. Flowers were shriveled, but Winter blooms sprinkled over the dull greens and greys of the forest and woodlands. Bright red flying cardinals made their ruby appearance, bringing good luck and harvest bounties. An old farmers' superstition with merit, for these Winter birds ate creatures who ruined the crops. Wild horses chewed on the grey grass, reeds and vegetation around the meadow. The occasional wolf lingered among evergreen trees, sensing prey. The wolf fled quickly when it saw the warrior and his flashing metal sword.

He rode on a black steed that was a gift from his last emploer, who was killed during a raid by angry citizens from a village. They felt robbed by this employer of the former soldier. The stallion was named Black Light wasn't exactly given to him. He took it after his employer died and all crumbled by the destruction and devastation by the citizens. The house was burned, the entire farm was put to the torch, assets taken and family fled, if not, butchered. Hanzak took rolls of money and rode off on Black Light. He wondered if perhaps the villagers will all get hung, or join forces with others. They were of Easternville 71 and could get away with murder. He didn't want to stay behind so he escaped the burning manor before the vilagers would find him. They would've slaughtered him. He travelled on Black Light across barren fields of slate and stone, then arrived to wintry hills, pastures and forests. He'd finished eating the last piece of bread and ham, but that was stale. He caught a white hare, cooked it over a spit, and ate it, deciding to keep the bones. He could carve them into tools later. He came to a stream and sipped the fresh icy water. The clear night skies brought death chills, while the lavender daytime brought mist and fog, the closer he was getting to the Purple Disk Lake. Hanzak wasn't able to see in thick ghostly fog. It wasn't a cold fog, and it churned over the clear water of the lake that shone violet at night. In the day, the water looked murkey with fog. Over in the far distance on the other side of the lake were the mountains, and Hnazak wanted to see it but the scene was covered over by fog. He could hear birds, amphibians, bugs, howling of wolves, baby crocodiles at the water's edge, elk and other beasts for miles all around. Later, he caught another white hare. On another day, he sharpened a stick of birch wood to spear at the fish in the water. Black Light chewed on the moist grass and fed on luscious fat reeds. Later he ended up eating a lot of fish including toads, newts and a small carp.

Hanzak was the son of a blacksmith and a serving girl in a tavern. He was low born, and his parents were now dead. He had nowhere to live anymore. He was moving now to the next populated area for labour and he wanted to find labour in a trade that his father worked in. His parents died when he was still a boy at school, so he was forced to live in an orphange in Martiport. He knew that a town called Belldark lay over 250 miles west from the Purple Disk Lake. Before that, nothing at all. For camp he sheltered beside jutted rocks because there weren't any caves or huts for shelter. The fires that he made were barely offering much warmth as they went out quickly. This region was part of the uplands of South Diaphry, close to the Eclipse Peaks that brought looming shadows and icy winds.

Two days of eating grass and puking blood, Hanzak rode Black Light for miles and he left the lake behind ages ago. The fog lifted to show the view of distant white mountains like great big clouds. It was in the north, far away and he didn't want to go there. Belldark beckons. He considered getting himself a new pair of boots once he goes there. Black Light was a good natured horse but also a greedy horse, because he ate a lot of the vegetation gathered by Hanzak.

Ahead was a conical shaped building. The rooftop was made of thatch, while the smooth stone walls were painted in murals of colour, no windows but a single narrow door made from bamboo. Just in the yard outside were small statuettes of animals. Some of them had been there for a long time as they showed signs of weathering and covered in moss and icy. Hanzak dismounted from Black Light and walked up to the curious building. He couldn't knock on the bamboo door, so he called out "Hello!" He waited, and there was nothing but wind. He called and waited again. He was able to easily push opened the door and looked inside.