This is an empty island that is not on any shipping route.
For Sky Island, it is quite large, equivalent to a county on the continent of Valance.
The mountains, forests and gurgling water here are like a kingdom far away from the world.
Ram Debir is an ordinary boy in this kingdom. At this time, he is lying on the hillside, watching his cattle grazing leisurely.
"I really envy you. You have nothing to worry about except eating."
He turned over and happened to see two knights galloping on the road in the distance.
The armor was partially exposed from the saddlebags, and they were shining, showing that they were used with great care.
The horse ran very fast, leaving two trails of smoke behind it.
"All townsfolk gather at Antler City Church!"
A knight on the horse shouted at Ram and ran towards the distance without stopping.
Ram sat up and knocked the grass off the back of his head angrily.
"Again!? It's so annoying!"
The cows were not full and they left reluctantly, but Ram still dragged them away forcefully.
He doesn't want to be absent from this kind of thing, not because he likes to watch the excitement, but because if he is absent, he will probably be the next one to stand on the gallows.
The people in the town were moving in the same direction, and there was no doubt that that was the church.
"Whose family is unlucky today?"
"The youngest son of Lang Xi's family! Don't you know?"
"How did you know?"
"We went to their house to arrest people and made such a big fuss last night. Didn't you hear it?"
"Ah? I really didn't hear it. What's the reason this time?"
"What else could it be for? Heresy!"
"Huh? Are the Langxi family heretics?! I eat the bread from their shop every day, so I won't..."
"You'd better go to the church and find Bishop Diniel to make a confession quickly. It will be troublesome when the church people come to find you!"
Ram listened to the gossip of the people around him and followed the flow of people to the door of the church.
This was originally a small square with a fountain and a statue of the god Alai. Now there is a gallows.
It stands here, making the originally sacred and peaceful church square become nondescript.
On the gallows, a man stood there with his hands tied behind his back. His head was covered and his expression could not be seen clearly.
The executioner next to him, on the other hand, looked relaxed, as if what he was about to do was not taking someone's life, but ordinary tasks like kneading dough or weeding the fields.
There were soldiers every few meters around the square. Seeing the emblems on their shields, Ram scratched his head in confusion.
Logically speaking, a border town like theirs shouldn't have royal guards here. This is an extremely rare anomaly.
In his own memory, Ram saw the royal guards as a child when the new king was crowned.
The bishop appeared at the door of the church. After chatting with the exaggeratedly dressed princess, he turned around and left with a haughty look, as if he was a rich man accusing the vendors at the door of soiling the ground that belonged to him.
The princess smiled awkwardly. After the bishop left, he tugged on the hem of his luxurious coat, stretched out his arms, and waited with a smile, like a well-dressed girl looking forward to the beginning of the dance.
Ram looked at the old face of the princess and felt sick to his stomach, but it would definitely not work if he didn't stay here.
On the periphery of the crowd were soldiers who were gradually closing in. They waved to those who were still coming. The chestnut flower coat of arms on their shoulders showed that they were local soldiers affiliated with the princess.
People crowded around, talking and craning their necks, looking at the gallows.
Who is executed and how is executed are no longer important. In their eyes, the most important thing is to end it quickly and go home quickly.
The church bells rang, and people became quiet and stared at the open door of the Hector Church. Behind the two gray cloth monks, the red archbishop came out.
People fell to their knees to hear the Archbishop's sentence.
"Webber Langxi spread heresies, destroyed the protective circle, and used black magic and witchcraft. The evidence is conclusive and he is guilty of heresy!"
Everyone here knows that this is not true.
The so-called heresy only encourages the people to overthrow the aristocratic power that is pressing on them, and it only encourages the people to break the shackles on their own feet.
Not to mention destroying the magic circle. No one knows what the purpose of those thousands of years old things are, and naturally no one knows how to destroy them.
As for black magic and witchcraft, it is a cesspool that cannot be shaken off. Every few days, someone will be hanged. Without exception, they are all accused of using black magic and witchcraft.
Even if they knew, no one stood up and said a word.
Because he said that not only would he die, but his family would also not be spared.
Everyone stood up with the gift of the archbishop. They watched the aging bishop climb onto the gallows with the support of the princess, stood in front of Weber, and took off his hood.
"Child, do you have any last words?"
There was no trace of panic on Weber's face, but his eyes seemed to be searching for something in the crowd, and finally his eyes locked on somewhere in the crowd.
His expression was gentle, like a boy next door saying goodbye with a smile.
Suddenly he began to sing, and the song was so melodious and melodious that everyone present forgot that they were staring at a dying man.
The Archbishop did not interrupt his singing, but stepped aside and gestured to the standing executioner, who began to put the noose on Weber.
With the princess's left hand chopping off, the executioner pulled the lever, and the wooden board under Weber's feet was opened, and the whole person leaked out.
The singing stopped suddenly and the crowd fell silent.
They seemed to expect that Weber, who was sticking out his tongue, could continue singing, and that Weber, who was shaking all over, could open his mouth again.
However, the silence did not last long, as a scream rang out from the crowd.
Everyone became quieter. They stretched their necks and looked in the direction of the scream like ducks.
What they saw was a panicked woman.
The woman was trembling and pointing at a short figure wearing a red cloak. She backed away in fear, but the unknown crowd had left her with nowhere to retreat.
"Witch! She is a witch!"
At this moment, the murmur of the little figure in the red cloak became clear and distinct, and she screamed with a shrill voice that could overwhelm any noisy voice: "Me! Curse!"
The crowd was in chaos, and the girl continued to scream: "I curse you to be weak and blind! I curse you to be weak and powerless!
Your enemies will be strong, your children will be killed, the things you sacrificed for will be worthless, and those you despise will rise to the top!
I! curse! "
The crowd ran in all directions, like a school of fish trying desperately to avoid their natural enemies, instantly forming a large empty area around the girl.
They crowded each other and formed a human wall. The soldiers outside could not get in, and the soldiers inside could not get through.
Just after the girl finished her sharp curse, she pulled out a rooster from the cloak like a magic trick, took out a dagger with her other hand, raised the knife and dropped it, the head of the chicken fell to the ground, and blood sprayed out.
She threw it hard, and the little headless rooster made an arc and hit the archbishop's face accurately.
dark magic.
The crowd went crazy again.
They shouted, pushed, and stampeded, and the girl's place was no longer empty. It was occupied by people squeezed out by the crowd, and soon the girl disappeared among the crowd.
The soldiers tried to rush in and catch the girl, but to no avail.
On the gallows, the headless rooster twirled around crazily, and its blood spattered wantonly. The archbishop, the princess, and the executioner were all spared, and their heads and faces were drenched.
Ram, who was among the chaotic crowd, had a buzzing head and almost fell down as he was pushed around by the crowd.
The reason why he is homeless is not because of witches, not because of curses, and not because of black magic.
The high-pitched curse made him immediately recognize the identity of the girl in the cloak, that was his sister Selu.
If he could hear it, that meant that someone else could hear it, and if someone could hear it, that meant that their whole family would be hanged.
Ram, who was being carried around by the crowd, came to the conclusion that his life was about to end.
"No... no!"
He thought of his loving mother and hard-working father, of his sister who had deep eyes but was not quiet at all, and he even thought of his two cows.
He struggled against the crowd and tried to move against the flow of people, but he was staggered by the crowd.
Just when he was about to lose his balance, a big hand grabbed his arm and pulled him up.
He recognized the man, his eyes were full of fear, and he looked like a child trying to rely on when encountering a disaster.
"dad!"
"Go find your sister! Hide in the mountains!"
"Then what should you and mom do?"
"I'm going to find your mother. Let's meet in the mountains!"
Then, the big hand retracted and disappeared into the crowd together with the equally panicked but somewhat determined face.
There won’t be constant crowds of people.
The guards at the edge of the square were pushed away, and people ran out of the breach, like rice leaking out of a bag.
Ram saw the red cloak, which had been trampled on by people and was in disarray.
People are like this. They obviously have the power to resist something, but they are always panicked and dominated by fear when encountering something.
Ram's mind was spinning rapidly. Although her sister was short, she was definitely a smart girl. She should have taken advantage of the chaos to escape from the church square.
So where will she go?
Soon Ram had a guess.
He ran in the direction of the crowd, running in the same panic as the crowd, through the muddy streets, ran out of the town, and finally arrived at the dirt slope to the east of the town.
Here, there are two huge banyan trees growing together, and the sound of crying can be heard from the tree hole. This is the place where Ram often played with his sister when he was a child.
He hasn't been here for a long time, firstly because he has grown up and no longer clings to his sister, and secondly because his sister doesn't seem to want him to cling to her.
Ram leaned on the tree hole and saw Selu curled up in the tree hole.
She was holding an old dress and was crying sadly.
"Stop crying yet! Let's go!"
After seeing that Selu had no reaction, Ram got into the tree hole and pushed his sister out.
Only then did he see clearly the scene in the tree hole.
This place was very different from what he remembered when he was a child. There was a big heart painted on the cave wall, with Weber and Selu written on both sides of the heart.
There are many trinkets scattered in the tree hole.
Half a horseshoe, a carefully carved wooden bird, a few thin books, and even old sheets folded.
Ram pulled out his eyes like he was pulling out his legs that were stuck in a mire. He jumped out of the tree hole, picked up his sister and ran away.
During the long run, Selu seemed to regain her senses.
She no longer needed Ram to hold her, and even her eyes that were red from crying showed some strength.
Entering the forest, she grabbed Ram and guided them in the direction.
Ram was relieved to see his usual sister back, because he had no idea which direction to go after entering the forest.
"Come with me, I know where to meet my parents."
The mountain forest is like a roadless maze, huge and chaotic.
Ram believed that without his sister to guide him, he would be trapped here forever.
Selu's footsteps were quick, like a seasoned hunter, she climbed over fallen tree trunks, climbed up collapsed rocks, and jumped over fast-flowing streams.
She stopped suddenly, like a wild animal that had discovered danger.
Ram also stopped. What he heard was the crackling of branches, as if a giant beast was walking in the forest.
He carefully pushed aside the dense tall shrubs, and was shocked by the scattered forest shadows not far away.
A ship slowly fell from the sky. It pushed open the branches and landed in a relatively open forest.
