Page 30 of The War God’s Favorite

“I was born in the south, in the Rain Tribe.”

“Never heard of it.”

“You probably wouldn’t have. The name disappeared many years ago. Every last one of us was hunted down.”

Nebora was shocked.

“What do you mean?”

“My tribe lived to the south of this Empire , near the Riverlands. We were one of many tribes who coexisted there together, in a territory between the Dragon Empire and the Eastern Republic. We knew a war was going on between them, but we were living in a very difficult area. It was mostly dominated by swamps and heavy rain. We never thought we would get involved in the conflict.”

Nebora frowned.

“What happened?”

“I was only nine years old back then so I don’t know all the details, but at some point, someone suspected the tribes were smuggling weapons and information to the other side. Our Chief was captured and tortured…He couldn’t say what he didn’t know, and was killed. After that, they decided it would be better to just wipe us all out. To them, we were a nameless tribe of savages, a risk they didn’t want to take. It was over in one night.”

Nebora was speechless. It was disheartening to think a whole population had been killed over a conflict they hadn’t had any part in. Yet, Cassandra was quite calm as she spoke. It was as if she was just telling a tale. But it wasn’t a tale; it was her story.

She sighed and took another sip.

“How did you survive?”

“They didn’t actually kill everyone…They killed all of the adults and most of the boys. The rest of the boys, and the young girls under twelve, were sold to slave merchants. I was brought to this Empire and sold to my first Master a few days after.”

She didn’t ask anything else. Nebora was reflecting on how she had acted earlier, that childish tantrum of hers. About her being a slave? If she had been unlucky, she could have ended up like Cassandra. Losing her whole family and then being sold like merchandise. Yet, she had been the immature one, while a young woman who had already experienced so much tragedy was so calm and collected in front of her. How could she be so reckless and immature given the harsh world they live in?

Suddenly, a scream resonated through the kitchen as a young girl in a nightgown came running in, straight into Nebora’s arms.

“A spider! There is a spider in my room again!”

“Again? Did you clean your room this week, Bina?”

“I did, I definitely did!”

The girl, who looked no older than fourteen or fifteen, was almost crying, completely panicked. She hid her face in Nebora’s chest, tightly gripping onto her arm like a safety blanket.

“She is very scared of spiders,” explained Nebora with a sigh. “We always get a few around this time of year...”

“Where is her room?” Cassandra asked while getting up.

Nebora frowned as she watched Cassandra look through the trash from that morning.

“The first one on the left… What are you doing?”

Cassandra had gathered some fruit peels, and showed them to Nebora. They were all citrus peels.

“Spiders hate these. If you rub it against your doors and windows they won’t come in.”

“Really?”

Bina had turned her head, hearing a new person, and looked at Cassandra. She was stunned by the young girl’s eyes. One was brown, the other was blue, but the girl was only focused on the citrus peels in Cassandra’s hands.

“Yes. I use this trick all the time so I never get any spiders. You can keep some chestnuts in your room too; that also works well.”

“Alright, let’s go test that theory and chase out that eight-legged monster while we’re at it,” sighed Nebora, getting up. “And after that, everyone to bed. I’m tired!”

Chapter3

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