I had been riding trought the mountain trail for several days now, although it seemed to me that it would soon be the end of my journey, nothing around me gave any indication that there was any settlement nearby where people lived. I just hope the Teacher didn’t send me back on another futile assignment. As always stingy with words, I was only instructed which part of the Empire I should go to, and told a name. Strange name, Marlan Ajalak, strange for many reasons. Firstly, because ordinary people have never had a family name, and the second reason is that they did not fit into any of the possible Mares accents. It sounded unnatural and strange. And so, weeks after the beginning of my mission, here I am in the mountains of the Spirit, where no one seems to have passed for centuries. I saw some plants that I was almost certain no longer existed. Every part of the pine forest was flooded with wildlife. On second thought, I did not expect that after the Wars for supremacy there would be a place untouched by human malice and hopelessness. Maybe my view of the world is greatly influenced by what I do.
In fact, this is my first task of this nature. I was usually sent on much more dangerous missions, usually more dangerous to my life. Now I have not been told anything, except that I must find that man in a great hurry and take him to Weren, to the Teacher. As a community, we have always stood aside, but when the war and conflict were as widespread as in previous years, it was impossible to remain neutral. The years, unfortunately, have reduced us to only a few hundred members of an elite group of warriors. They called us Silent Deaths, which is actually very close to the truth.
We have all been trained in the well-known skills of weapons management since our earliest days. Years of relentless training with weapons and fighting with bare hands, and then even more ruthless learning in the crypts of the Church of the Great Bear. That has made each of us capable of many things.
I was taken aback by the lack of something. I went back to reality and noticed the absence of birdsong. Nothing rustled, there were no animals in sight, only the mountain wind could be heard. He sang a song, lonely, sad. My vigilance grew instinctively, a weapon at my fingertips.
The road turned to the right, and suddenly a view of the valley stretched out in front of me. A village full of roars. I was taken aback, but it was also the effect of the cold blade I felt on my neck.
*No sudden movements if you want to live * - strange voice, old, but I did not dare to turn my head. She was quite valuable to me, so I wanted her on my shoulders.
*I'm looking for a man, Marlan Ajalak. Sheh sent me for him. * I said with coldness in my voice, ready for anything.
*In that case, there is no point in standing here forever. Marlan is on the hunt, but he will be here soon. So, my friend, go on. * The coldness of the metal was gone, I looked back after a few steps, but I couldn't see anyone on the edge of the woods.
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Well done! Nice, interesting worldbuilding and quick characterisation. A good air of mystery that was built on toward the climax of the story, that left me wondering what was going to happen to the main character at this village, and who this Marlan person actually is.