Dear brother, I hope all is well. Charity and Temperance have blessed us with another hot and humid summer that made the crops grow strong.

Sebastian crawled in the dirt, curled his finger around the clay marble and held it tight. He squinted, aiming for the larger red ball in the middle, then loosened his grip and flicked his thumb out. One by one the grey marbles were shot out of the ring he had drawn into the sand. The green balls didn't even budge.

Puffing out his cheeks, Fox banged his head against the barn, its outer wall one of the last places in the village providing shelter from the feverish sting of summer. "No, it's not fair! Why do you always win, Seb?"

"Because I'm the best." Sebastian wiggled his eyebrows as he got up and stepped out of the shade to collect his rewards. Another five of Fox's marbles would be his.

Just as the smouldering sun pounded down on him, a small breeze shifted the heat. It didn't help much. Sweat was still pouring down his back.

"But I wanna be the best marble shooter in Laneby."

"Soon you'll be. I won't be playing with you anymore when I'm eleven," Sebastian said in all seriousness. Finally his birthday was coming up—only three more days.

Behind his long red fringe, Fox's already pale face turned a shade paler. "No, Seb, you can't abandon me. First, it was Alex, then Nick, and now you. It really isn't fair. I want to join the men too."

"You can't. You have to wait until you're eleven too. It's the law." Sebastian picked up the clay balls and dropped them, one by one, into the grey pouch hanging from his belt. "Besides, why do you even wanna join the hunting patrol? You're not a good horseman. You drop every sword you get your hands on. And don't even get me started on your archery skills. You'd shoot out your own eyes before hitting any target."

He sniggered, laughing louder than he intended to. The joke wasn't that funny, but it was too easy to tease Fox. His best friend had other talents, but fire-building wasn't a skill Laneby's finest warriors were waiting for.

Fox stuck out his tongue, then came charging ahead with the force of the God of Wrath. With his sticky hands, the redhead grabbed the sleeves of Sebastian's shirt and pushed him towards the drying mud from yesterday's thunderstorm, groaning and moaning.

Oh no, that wasn't going to happen. Sebastian swung his arms around his friend and pulled him closer, then he hooked his foot behind the boy's leg. With a high-pitched yelp, Fox slammed down into the mud.

It hadn't even been a challenge.

While a victorious grin filled his face, Sebastian reached his hand out to help Fox back up. "Enjoy the taste of defeat?"

Fox spat out pieces of brownish slime, coughing. "This always happens. Why can't I be as strong as you are? I'm the blacksmith's son—I should be strong."

Before Sebastian could tell him he was probably switched at birth, Alex and Nick appeared on top of the hill. They had just left the edges of the mighty Forest of Lane and its luscious green canopy behind and were treading down the craggy path leading to the barn.

While Alex carried her bow on her back like it had been glued there since birth, Nick was lazily dragging his sword on the ground. Sweat was pearling down their faces, and a well-timed breeze carried Nick's pig-like scent from under his mop of dirty blond hair all the way down.

Sebastian didn't care. Next hunt, he would stink as well. Nick had been with the men for nearly four moons, and Alex for over a year. As a girl, Alex was an exception, but her talents with a bow were like no one had ever seen. She was easily the best archer of all the children in Laneby and better than most adults. So when her eleventh birthday had come last year, Father had given her the best present one could ever get: a place among the warriors.

"Boys, we're going to the river for a swim," Alex said, her long legs marching faster than Nick's could ever follow.

Through her tattered shirt, a nasty cut was bleeding, but it didn't seem to bother her. Her eyes were fixated on the river, and if Alex wanted something, then the rest had no other option but to follow her lead.

Nick groaned as he continued limping. "On this inhumanly hot day, your father made us ride all day long, Seb. I swear to the Goddess of Kindness, I want to turn into a child again so I can play with marbles or read books all day."

"It's not fair," Fox repeated his favourite song. "Oh, only eight and half more moons before I'm a man and then—"

"You'll kill us all with your clumsiness," Alex yelled from a distance. Her brown curls danced as she turned around, smiling a mischievous grin.

Fox picked up a dirty stick that lay half in the mud. "Not true. When I grow up, you and I will protect Laneby from all villains. Like this." He swung the stick around, pretending he was the warrior he so desperately wanted to be.

Sebastian turned around, burying his laughter in his hand. His friend could be such a muttonhead.

But they were no longer alone. Father had come out of the forest and was now standing at the foot of the hill, more sweat than man. He put his finger on his mouth, to which Sebastian nodded. This was going to be good. Father may be Lord of Laneby, but his pranks were the best.

Foot by foot, Father crept towards Fox, who was still fighting some imaginary monster. Slowly and soundlessly, Father unsheathed his blade; the iron flashing in the light of the evening sun.

Swoosh. As the single blow cut the stick into two, Fox leapt three feet into the air. "MOTHER!!"

Sebastian's thunderous laugh echoed so loudly throughout the valley that birds twittered in annoyance as they flew up from their nests, decorating the cloudless skies with blots of life.

"Daydreaming again, boy?" Father asked, neither rude nor friendly.

"Lord Brandon?" Fox dropped the remainder of the stick to the ground, his eyes seeking refuge to the marbles that had fallen out of his pockets. He picked them back up, sobbing. "I know I'll never be a good warrior... I'm too young and too clumsy, My Lord."

Father sheathed his sword and crouched down. "Hey... what's that pout, little lad? Real men don't cry. Nobody but the Gods know what the future will bring. Maybe one day you'll beat all the men in this town."

"And Alex too?" Fox sniffed.

"Alex too."

As Father winked at him, a broad smile appeared on Fox's face, his bright red hairs bouncing up and down like a drunk squirrel dancing on his branch. "I won't disappoint you, My Lord. I will work with the God of Diligence by my side and become the best warrior ever. I promise."

"That's more like it." Father gave him a pat on the back. "Now, run to the river and play like there is no tomorrow. Soon the leaves will start falling, and summer will come to an end."

Father's words were still warm when his friends started sprinting down the narrowing path that led to the rock-filled beach by the river, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

Still, it wasn't hard to tell that Alex was the first to reach the smithy and its smoking chimney that always burnt—day and night. Fox came in second, but he nearly tumbled over as he unbuttoned his shirt and shook off his boots at the same time. Nick profited, but not for long. Fox passed him by effortlessly, and no matter how hard Nick's short legs fought to keep up with the two, he was the last one to enter the crystal clear water of the River Faith.

"That was a good race," Father said, pulling him into a playful stranglehold. "But I would have enjoyed it more if you had been there."

"But I still need to ask you something." Sebastian pressed his head against his father's chest and looked up, able to count every bristle of his five o'clock shadow.

"It's still no." Father's voice was stern, but his green eyes were wrinkled with laughter. "For the hundredth time, I won't tell you what your birthday present will be."

"But I want to know. I don't want to wait anymore."

The tight grip turned into a hug; a deep frown replacing the happy lines on his forehead. "I know you have been looking forward to this since the day you could hold a sword, my boy. But do your old man a favour and be a child while you still can."

"But, Father, I want to be a man like you."

"You'll be ten times the man I am, Sebastian." Releasing him, Father sighed along with the wind. "Don't let your friends wait. It's rude."

Sebastian stayed put, his father's inexplicable sadness pounding him in the chest. "No, something's wrong. Tell me!"

Just as an uncomfortable silence settled between them, Fox let out an unmanly shriek. Nick had splashed water into his face. "Seb, help me! Nick and Alex are drowning me!"

"You still dawdling here while your best friend is in need. That's what's wrong," Father whispered, patting him on the side. "Come on, my boy, show your old man what you can do."

Sebastian unbuckled his leather belt and pushed it into his father's arms. Along the way, he took off his shirt and trousers and left them where they landed. Father would pick them up anyway.

When he reached the loose sand on the beach he quickly kicked out his shoes, then leapt into the water, forcing Alex down with him like a true cannonball.

Letting go of her, he took in a large gulp. One down, one more to go. He kicked off the river's rock-filled bottom to launch himself back up. As he rose above the water, he spat it all in Nick's face.

The blond boy raised an eyebrow, all unimpressed. "That's all you've got?" He swished his hand through the water, the wave hitting Sebastian in the face.

"I could say the same thing." He jumped onto Nick diving. In a reflex, he managed to grab his foot, but Nick jerked himself loose.

"Let's catch him together, Seb!" Fox ran towards him, gingerly, never letting the water get higher than his thighs.

"Oh no, you won't," Alex swung her arm around Fox. "Whoever wants to get to Nick has to defeat me first."

And so the battle continued, even when the evening sun slowly dropped behind the large birch trees that stood guard around the village of Laneby. This day was not allowed to end. Ever.

"Can we do something else now?" Fox had his hand wrapped around his nose. Nick had beaten him again. "I don't like playing in the water anymore. It stings."

"I know what we can do. Look." Alex pointed at the elderberry bushes on the riverbank. Underneath the leaves slept a little hare. Two or three moons old. Tops.

Without causing as much as a wave, she snuck back ashore, where Father was standing. He handed Alex her bow and a single arrow.

She glanced at her quiver, but Father shook his head. "Only one. I know you can do it."

"It's never gonna work," Nick hissed.

"Shhh!"

Sebastian held his breath as she stretched her bow. Her arrow flew in a slightly curved line, disappearing underneath the bushes.

There came a single squeak, then nothing. Sebastian moved closer and squinted. The animal was lying on its back, blood dripping down its fur.

Father clapped his hands. "A swift and painless death. Well done, Alex." He grabbed the hare by its ears, recovering her arrow. "Get this to your mother. She'll cook an excellent meal for you and your brothers."

After pulling her shirt over her head, she sprinted towards him. She put her bow on the ground to investigate the hare. "Thank you, Lord Brandon. It's not very big, but it's nicer than eating boiled potatoes."

Father picked up her bow. With a short but effective pull, he tightened the string—a strange quirk that helped Alex sleep at night. "You're an example for the boys, Alex, in many ways. Your father would have been very proud of you."

Sebastian kicked his hands in the water. Father was supposed to be on his side. He regretted the thought immediately; The God of Envy was getting hold of him.

Fox tapped him on the shoulder. "Let's catch a hare as well, Seb. Show everyone that we're just as skilled as Alex."

Sebastian followed his friend, but not without turning his head once more. Father was walking alongside Alex. He'd rather take her home than watch him hunt his own hare.

"Goddess of Kindness, take this away from me," he murmured. He shouldn't be jealous. It wasn't Alex's fault her father had died during a winter hunt all those years ago. Nor was it Father's, though he blamed himself for Vanya's death.

Sebastian didn't understand. A bear had killed Vanya. Why should it be a Lord's responsibility if it had been an accident?

As Father glanced over his shoulder, their eyes met for a split second. Sebastian smiled, then looked away, to Fox, who was arguing about wanting to use Nick's slingshot first. Nick, whose Greed-infested mind didn't want to share, was tugging at the weapon, reminding Fox it was his.

"Stop that, you muttonheads!" Sebastian shouted. "I go first—I'm the Lord's son."

"But Seb!" Fox argued.

A queasiness settled in his stomach as he grabbed the weapon by the handle and dug up a nice round pebble from the bottom of the river. He aimed it at the bushes, finding a potential target. The shore was quiet, not a leaf that moved.

Then out of nowhere came a loud feminine voice that almost made him drop the slingshot. "Fo-o-ox! Your father has asked for you."

His redhead friend shot his head backwards, a pout growing on his face. "No..."

Every day, Sebastian dreaded the moment Rose called Fox to the smithy to work. Now Alex was already gone too, and it would be a matter of time before Nick would be called home for dinner. He hated playing alone. He hated being alone. As a warrior, he would never have to be alone again.

Only three more days until his eleventh birthday.