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Leivrat. Two days before the Dark Night.

"I have a bad feeling about this. We should not have come here, I tell you! Oh no." complained Luykan. "Bad feeling!"

"Shut up, Luykan. If anything happens, just say I made you come," responded Jule, hardly trying to hide his irritation. He had a severe look of someone used to getting his way and his will done, and his eyes spoke of a sense of entitlement that ran deep within him. His dark wavy hair fell over his forehead, shimmering slightly from the oils that the servants had applied to it since the day he was born.

"If we get caught, you better get us out of this. No canning for me, you hear?" told him Luykan.

"Our father would kill us if that happened. He says "Family honour can only be bought back with coin. Lots of coin"," said Visakis, Luykas's twin brother, imitating his father's voice. "And you know how the old man hates to part with his beloved treasures. You better make sure that our arses do not get a public parade."

Visakis and Luykan were almost identical in appearance. Both were broad shouldered and of tall stature. Their dark hair was long and braided in the Aleutan fashion; pulled tightly behind their heads, it was hidden under the hoods of their cloaks. In their nature, the brothers were as different as the two sides of the coin their father so cherished. One was restless, seeker of danger and thrill while the other was fearful and cowardly.

"...bad idea... I should not have come..." continued Luykan his lamentations. He kept his gaze firmly on the ground, afraid to dirty his new shoes. It was a gift from his mother, and mother would be unhappy if the shoes got muddy, or worse, got scratched.

Listening to Luykan's whining, Jule wished he could kick him all the way back to Aleuta. Yet, Visakis never did anything without his brother and it has always been either the two of them or none. This time it took the boys a lot of coercion to get Luykan to join and he made sure they knew how little he wanted to be here.

"I said I will get you out of this if need be and I will," Jule promised. "Haven't I saved you often enough before?"

"And you have ridden us into trouble often enough, too," pointed out Visakis.

"Wonder why we are still your friends," mumbled Luykan more to himself, but Jule heard him.

"Just shut up and keep moving. No one will recognize us here. Nothing to worry about," told him Jule, confidence ringing in his every word.

It never crossed the boys' minds that the fine black cloaks they wore were not something one saw often in Leivrat. And despite all of the precautions they took, those cloaks gave them away as highborn Aleutans and the word of their presence slowly crept through the underground world of Leivrat.

"Patys, how much further?" Jule asked the fourth member of their small party.

Patys, a chubby fellow who was a head shorter than his friends, walked ahead of the other three hooded figures. In his hands he held a piece of parchment with a hastily drawn map. He rolled his dark-brown eyes at Jule's impatience and responded for what felt like the hundredth time, "Almost there."

The narrow streets of Leivrat were pitch-dark and the cobblestone was covered with filth. Rats slinked off from under the boys' feet, only to return as they passed to rummage in the smut and waste. The dwellers of Leivrat were too poor to keep the streets lit up at night. It was easy to stay hidden in the dimness and it gave the boys a false sense of safety from prying eyes.

"No wonder we are not allowed to come down here. How can someone live in this filth?" exclaimed Jule in revulsion and kicked away a rat that was not fast enough to make way for him. He pulled a white napkin out of his pocket and held it before his nose, yet it did nothing to keep away the foul smell.

"If they knew you were coming, Your Highness, they would have rolled out carpets and flower-scented the streets," chuckled Visakis.

"And they would have send their most beautiful maidens out to greet you," threw Patys over his shoulder, always happy to add more jest to a good joke.

"They can keep their beautiful maidens. The stink could never be washed out of them," said Jule with an air of superiority.

"Don't be such a bore. They have charming Sandul singers and dancers herer, my brother said so. I am sure we could find one to your liking," told him Patys.

Jule's lips only crooked in disgust at that.

"I can't believe we get to see them!" cried Visakis with excitement.

"Only you would find liking in a filthy Outsider," told him Jule.

"A pretty face is a pretty face." Visakis grinned and straightened his shoulders. "Besides, they have Pearly Fire brought all the way from Mara Barag. A drink for the strong. That should help me with the ladies."

"Don't let your future wife find out," said Jule and gave Visakis a friendly shove.

"Do you have to bring her up?" complianed Vysakis rolling his eyes. Ever since he got matched at the last Soul Tying, the first among his friends, they never missed a chance to remind him that he was as good as married.

"Don't worry. We won't tell her. She can still go on believing that the Creators matched to the "most honest, decent and righteous boy" in Aleuta," sang Jule with laughter.

"How many times shall I tell you? It is not my fault I got matched. It can be you in a few days. Just wait..."

"Forget it! I am happy as it is. And with a bit of luck it stays so," responded Jule.

Jule thought of himself as a boy favoured by fortune. He was a prince and his Queen-mother had made sure that his every wish was granted. He could have anything he wanted. And he could do anything he wanted. Only if it wasn't for the constant nagging of the old matrons that he needed to get matched to a damsel, preferably of their choosing. A damsel that will get the crown, inherit his mother's wealth and use him to father her children. No, thank you very much!

"Don't let anyone else hear you say that, Your Highness," cautioned him Luykan.

"Shut up already. We are here," interrupted Patys.

"It sure does not look like it," mumbled Visakis, peeking from behind Patys's back.

They stood in front of a small old building squeezed under the roots of an enormous ancient tree. It had no windows, only one dark wooden door, and it did not look at all like the place they had heard so much about.

Patys studied the map again. There was no mistake. Satisfied, he gave Jule a questioning look and waited for him to nod. He then gave the door a knock. Stop. Three quick knocks followed by two more.

All was quiet.

"Told you your brother played you like a fool. Can we leave now?" asked Luykan with hope.

Everyone ignored him. They waited.

"Maybe it is the wrong door..." began Luykan sulking again. Just then, a small door shutter opened and a pair of sleepy eyes fixed on them. A voice bellowed from behind the door, "Who died?"

"Th-The o-old worm with o-one leg," stuttered Patys.

"How many of you?"

"Four."

The eyes dug into the boys like sharp claws. Two bushy eyebrows crossed in the middle in displeasure.

"Alright," said the same voice. "If you cause any trouble, I will cut your ears and make a necklace out of them!"

"Did he say "ears"? What? No!" Luykan squeaked in a terrified voice, while the others only grimaced.

Jule elbowed Luykan in the ribs forcing him to shut up.

The door opened and a large Orvat appeared before them. This close, the Orvat looked more dangerous and the boys backed away from him a few steps. He was big and broad shouldered, with large fists and a long red beard. His chest was bare and hairy. The boys gaped astonished at him, as none of them had ever seen an Orvat. Yet, they remembered what they had heard about the folk of Outsiders that made their home in Rarrah Gigidi, a floating river city crisscrossed by channels – the Orvats were easily angered.

The Orvat leaned in to have a better look at the boys. His face became even more displeased with what he saw.

"You ain't look like from around," he said.

Patys pulled a coin from his pocked and with a trembling hand showed it to the Orvat.

"No questions asked?" Patys's teeth clattered with fear.

"Ay, no questions asked. What do I care?" The Orvat grabbed the coin and shoved it down his pocket. "Move in, ducks."

He stepped aside to let the boys pass. The door slammed as soon as the last of them was in.

The four friends found themselves walking down a winding staircase with narrow steps. It took them deeper and deeper into the ground. There was barely any light and they were forced to walk down all the while holding one hand to the wall. It went on and on, until they reached a door at last. They knocked and it flew open. Before them stood another Orvat, shorter than the first, but still just as frightening.

"Cursed Veilys getting younger and younger," snorted the Orvat at the sight of the boys. He sniffed the air around them then curled his lips and gave them a most disgusted look. "I don't see you and I don't hear you. Understood?" said the Orvat.

All four nodded in agreement, too afraid to speak. He gave them another intimidating look, which made the boys want to run back to Aleuta, and opened a second door that led into a large cellar.

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Note from the writer:

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