Chapter 7: Jade

By night, the lodge had fallen silent. Rost stepped out and placed the familiar platter of bread and dried meat on the porch.

Ori peeked out the back window; he just wanted to understand who, or what, the food was for.

Hours passed. The moon climbed high, casting long, sharp shadows across the clearing. Then, a presence shifted the light.

A shadowy figure of a girl came up from the darkness, moving with an eerie quietness. She wore a simple, patched tunic and pants, and a hood obscured her face. She snatched the plate of food with a practiced, swift motion, then disappeared back into the thick forest growth. Ori snuck out the window and waited, counting the minutes, until she reappeared, setting the empty platter back on the porch.

Ori rose from the shadows of the woodpile. "Hello? Who is there?" he called out softly, stepping into the path.

The girl froze instantly, a small gasp escaping her lips. She didn't move, shrinking back slightly, clearly wary of the encounter. Ori walked closer, moving into the moonlight filtering through the pines. He saw she was slim and slight, perhaps around his own age.

Ori, perceiving no threat, and seeing only vulnerability, let his instincts guide him. "Are you okay? Do you need anything else?" he asked. "Rost leaves food for you. You don’t need anything else."

The girl’s voice was small, hesitant. "Blanket," she whispered.

"You need a blanket? Hold on one second..."

Ori ran inside, quickly grabbed a spare blanket, and returned. He walked out to the girl and carefully wrapped the warm wool around her shoulders. As he did, he saw her hair—it was an unnatural dark green, spilling out slightly from beneath her hood. Ori felt a brief surge of surprise at the unusual color, but his expression remained calm.

He motioned for her to sit down. The fire from earlier was just simmering ashes, so he put on some new logs and used his breath to coax the embers back into a bright, reignited flame. The two sat down beside the welcoming fire.

"I'm Ori," he introduced himself. "I'm fourteen, and I'm from near Estily."

The girl remained quiet for a moment, wrapped tightly in the blanket. "I... I don't have a name," she finally admitted. "I was an orphan. They only gave us numbers. I was called 108."

Ori was genuinely shocked. "That is no good! Everyone must have a name. I will call you Jade, just like your hair."

The girl's eyes widened. She was amazed by Ori's energy and enthusiasm, and stunned that he had not made fun of her hair, but had named her after it.

"Don't you think my hair is weird?" she quietly asked, a faint blush warming her cheeks.

"No," Ori said, shaking his head. "It's yours, after all. Just because something is different doesn't make it weird." His simple, uncompromising goodness was returning, a flicker of the idealism he’d lost.

He then mentioned his own fresh grief. "I'm pretty much an orphan now, too. My mother just passed away recently, killed by the monsters."

"What monsters?" she interrupted, her brow furrowing. She explained that she had been living alone in the deep woods near Thunderrock and was completely unaware of any attacks.

Ori explained the monster attack, the fall of Estily, and the dangers spreading through the land. "It isn't safe for you to be alone in the woods," he told her honestly. "The monsters might make it all the way to Sowden any day now."

Rost, having overheard the voices, came outside. He saw the girl wrapped in the blanket.

"Thank you for the meals," the girl spoke up, her eyes cast down.

Rost simply nodded. "What is your name, child?"

She paused, looking at Ori, and then back at Rost. "Jade," she replied. Ori smiled.

Ori spoke to Rost: "It isn't safe for her to be out alone in the woods, uncle. Can she stay inside overnight?" Rost agreed, mentioning that the cramped lodge would simply have to fit one more person.

The next morning, Rost led the boys out for training. After a few hours of sparring, Ori noticed Jade speaking with Rost, but it was out of earshot.

When the boys took a pause from sparring, Rost spoke up and told Ori to hand his wooden stick to the girl. "Tez, spar with Jade."

Tez was hesitant, but stepped forward. Jade was faster than Tez, and her strikes had a raw, natural accuracy. She moved with a silent, flowing grace that seemed inherent, contrasting sharply with Tez's structured, disciplined technique. Tez was quickly outclassed and conceded the duel.

Rost was impressed. "Jade, do you want to stay and train with us?"

She looked over at Ori, then back at Rost. "Yes," she agreed.

Just then, the sound of hoofbeats filled the clearing. A courier, a friend of Rost's, showed up on horseback, handing Rost a rolled letter.

Rost read the contents, his face hardening. "The monsters have reached the border of the Southern Basin. They are threatening to cross the lakes toward Sowden." He looked at the three youths. "The city of Sowden remains safe, but an edict has been sent out: a new military branch has been formed—the Reclamation Unit. They are recruiting all able-bodied personnel. Applicants must be 17 or older."

Ori's face became firm with purpose. His eyes lit up with a single, clear goal. "I will join the Reclamation Unit. I will return to the Western Woods and cleanse it of this evil."

Tez looked over at his younger brother, seeing the fiery resolve that matched his own exhaustion. "You have three years, Ori," Tez said. "I will join, too, but not until you can. We have lost too much family already to split up. We'll join together. We'll take back the Western Woods and rid the kingdom of these monsters."

Jade stood up straight. "I will join too, when you do. I am probably a year older than Ori, so I will need to wait anyways."

Rost, looking at the three young figures standing resolutely together, nodded. "Then it's a plan. You will train hard with me for the next three years. And then you will go and avenge my sister's death."

The three youths stood nobly upright, their shared commitment forming a powerful bond. With a renewed purpose and refreshed hearts, their path was finally clear.

~~~~~