Aldith, Forever. (The Witcher.)

a l d i t h

a l d i t h

Candlelight was the only thing to light the cold, dark huts on the outskirts of Velen; No Mans Land.

People often mistook all Temerian's as rich. As one of the wealthiest realms in the Northern Kingdom, it also had the highest rate of poverty, which was cleverly hidden through drawing attention to the capital, Vizima. Home to King Foltest. No Mans Land was the land of sickness and deceit. Bandits, thieves, monsters.

She paced along the uneven, creaking floor, a book balanced firmly in the palm of her hand. She focused on each word carefully, not taking into consideration her surroundings. It wasn't long before she knocked the silver cutlery off of the cabinet, "Shit."

She bent over to pick up the spoons and placed them back on top of the cabinet. Bending back over carefully, she picked up her book and continued reading.

Eventually setting down on the rolled out rug in what was the shared bedroom for both her and her brother, Belvedere - the lilac haired woman studied a particular page with a furrowed brow. She had always known about Witcher's, and had often heard civilians speak of them, 'Mutants', she heard them be called, or 'Scum'.

You see, now humans had evolved with weaponry, combat skills combined with Mages serving with Kings - there wasn't often need for a Witcher; a monster slayer; they were a dying breed.

A long, skeletal finger traced over the words written on the page that spoke of a particular Witcher. He had always fascinated her, his brooding expression, strength, bravery amongst many other things. He was written to be a hero, yet many people despised him, for his amber eyes and tall, stocky frame.

Before Belvedere and Agnus - her mother, were subject to bandit slaughter, they would ridicule the lilac haired woman for having such an interest, an infatuation with this man, "Reading the same words over and over won't suddenly make him appear, my love. It's all tell tale, Witcher's don't exist anymore, and if they did, they sure as fucking hell wouldn't waste their time in a shit infested wasteland like this."

She had lived in No Mans Land her entire life, her father killed hunting; leaving just Agnus, Belvedere and herself. She was conditioned to grow up without a father figure, learning how to sew, clean and cook whilst her brother went to hunt. She taught herself basic hunting kills, and learnt how to defend herself if the situation ever called for it.

A strand of hair fell from behind the young woman's ear, which was gently placed back to where it was previously sat, it soon fell again when she jumped backwards at the sound of an almighty crash coming from the outside of the hut. A faint crackling could be heard, and a soft red glow emitted under the cracks of the door. The woman stood up and slowly edged toward the door, her hair now free flowing over her shoulders and cascading down her back and face, her gut told her that something bad had happened, and it was only confirmed through the terrified screams erupting from the neighbouring huts.

Fire.

Smoke bellowed throughout the forest village, as children, men and women screamed, helplessly running around as their clothes burnt from their backs, the smell of fresh rotting away filled her nose and lungs, causing her to lunge forwards and vomit, "Help, someone help us!" She bellowed as loud as she could, but nobody heard her, nobody responded to her cries for help. Why would they? They were seen as an inconvenience to Foltest, and to the rich. Burning them alive would only be ridding the world of 'Vermin'.

She knew what this was though, bandits raided through poor community's, for the people wouldn't fight back, nor would they have adequate protection. They were easy targets.

Fearing for her life, with adrenaline coursing through her blood and veins, she ran. Ran deep into the forest, away from the smoke, and the screams. She had no idea where she was going, her boots getting more soaked the deeper she ran into the forest; mud collecting at the front. Her blouse falling out of her leather trousers, yet she had no time to care for her appearance as tears stained her cheeks and her hair matted from the sweat, rain and leaves that fell from the trees. She ran for hours.