"A man who helps someone, when everyone is watching, is a good man. A man who helps someone, even when no one is watching, is a great man. " 

Lothar, Traetos Province, Southern Avestria

The Parso commander signaled his troops and his subordinates dragged a prisoner along with them. They pushed him in front of the villagers and the soldiers of Lothar. Everyone was thunderstruck. The prisoner was none other than Ramusa Vorcerus, the Ashra primus warrior, the only warrior at that rank in their kingdom and now he was fettered in shackles.

Ramusa appeared taller and stronger in comparison to the Parso soldiers but somehow, he had lost to them. The soldiers of Lothar were slightly discouraged from seeing their commander in shackles. Ramusa had various injuries over his chest and abdomen. His left eye was damaged. His shoulder was completely dislocated. Ikshah was demoralized on seeing their strongest warrior in this captured state. The commander of Parso walked towards Ramusa and looked at him in the eye.

The commander of Parso, named Krora, was much shorter than Ramusa. He had to look up to him, to see the rage and fury boiling in Ramusa's eyes.

"Kneel," spoke Krora. Ramusa didn't obey and he just continued to stare at Krora, furiously.

"I said, kneel,"

Ramusa continued to be obstinate and disobedient. Krora snorted and then signaled one of his men. A soldier rushed towards one of the women and pressed the dagger against her throat. The woman begged and cried as the Parso soldier held her captive.

"Kneel. Or she dies," said Krora, the Parso commander. Ramusa stared at him with gritted teeth, as he gradually lowered himself on one knee and bowed down. The Parso chief Krora looked down upon him and bent lower, as he clutched Ramusa's brown and curly hair and pulled them back. Ramusa's head was tilted upwards by that pull and his furious black eyes were fixated on Krora.

"Look what happens when you don't obey," said Krora. The man who had pressed the dagger against the woman's throat slit her throat open. The civilians screamed while Ikshah and his men leaned forward to land an assault but they saw the other Parso bowmen, who had aimed their arrows at the other hostages.

Ramusa's hands in shackles were stiff, as his blood boiled with anger on seeing this heinous act. Parso chief Krora grinned while the corpse of the woman plummeted to the ground. Krora turned towards the captured soldiers of Lothar. Herios was filled with rage on seeing this depravity by the invaders. Ikshah was equally ferocious.

"If any of you attempt a coup d'état, I shall kill every woman and child that you are seeing in front of you....brutally. Now all of you are my slaves and you shall obey when commanded." spoke Krora, loudly and firmly.

"I am Krora. I am a commander of the Parso forces," he said.

He lifted a small bag of cloth which was lying at his feet, for quite a long time now. Krora kicked the bag and it rolled down the staircase of the platform. When the cloth got unwrapped, while rolling down the stairs, it revealed a severed head. It was the head of their Autarch, the ruler of the kingdom of Lothar. Everyone was petrified on seeing this horrendous thing.

"Your Autarch is dead. I am your new ruler. Your kingdom is now under the rule of Parso. These civilians are the hostages who shall serve in the citadel while you work as slaves---collecting wood, stone, and food for us." he added.

"The future of these people rests in your hands," Krora said to the captured soldiers of Lothar.

His eyes were distracted by a small boy, hiding behind Ikshah. Krora narrowed his eyes at him and pointed his finger towards Herios.

"Bring forth that child," he commanded. One of the Parso men who had led the prisoners out of the dungeon snatched Herios from Ikshah's grip and dragged him towards Krora. Herios was getting wounded over his thighs and calves as he was being yanked by the man. He resisted his hold but the soldier was too strong for a boy of eight Mesha.

"Put him with the others," he ordered. The Parso soldier threw him in the crowd of women and children, who were taken as hostages. Chief Krora instructed his men to take the slaves of Lothar back to their dungeons, as he headed towards the captured citadel.

When he reached the gate of the citadel, he glanced behind to look at the crowd of women and children while he swiveled his eyes through the mob.

"Send her up for tonight," he said, lustfully pointing at a young, petite girl who was cringing amidst that crowd. She was hardly eighteen Mesha of age. The Parso conquerors were libertine tyrants. They used to rape the beautiful women of the kingdom, after capturing it.

"All the others would be servants," he said and climbed up the staircase to disappear into his newly gained citadel. The young girl who was chosen by Krora was dragged by one of his men as she pleaded, begged, and cried.

"No!... You dare not!!" yelled Ramusa who stood upon his place but he was smacked down on the ground by two Parso soldiers, with their clubs. Ramusa collapsed on the ground as his vision faded and he saw the young girl being dragged through the staircase to be Krora's whore for the night. He was vulnerable and so were Ikshah and his company of bowmen who were fettered in shackles.

After spending the night in the middle bailey, the hostages were forced to wake up early for their daily chores. The hostages would be working as servants and farmers who would serve the Parso soldiers and the commander Krora. Herios, along with some women and children were made to plow in the fields without using the cattle.

Some of the soldiers of Lothar, who were imprisoned, were commanded to work in mining camps and as lumberjacks, for collecting stone and wood. The soldiers of Lothar were going to rebuild the devastated kingdom, but not for the people of Lothar.

They were going to build a Parso city, atop the ruins of Lothar. That is what the Parso precisely did when they used to conquer over a kingdom. Their strategy of establishing their dominance was to capture a kingdom, make slaves from the survivors, and expand their religion and power by building their palaces, atop the ruins of the Avestrian towns and citadels.

The lateral wooden bar of the plow was rested on the shoulders of Herios and two other boys who were forced to plow the fields. The plow was extremely heavy for a boy of Herios's age. By the afternoon, the other two boys were completely enervated. It was Herios, who was pulling the plow on his own by dragging them along.

"Come on! Don't give up. We have to do it. They would kill us if we don't," said Herios, pulling the plow that rested across his shoulders and his neck.

He was in the middle position and the two boys were on his sides. One of the boys was completely drained of his strength. His eyes revealed that he was incapacitated. Herios glanced around to see the other groups of boys, who were also made to plow the fields while the Parso soldiers kept an eye over everyone. The scorching heat of Seros was a harsh punishment. The plow of Herios was suddenly heavy and it became harder for him to pull it. As he glanced to his right side, he saw that the boy was already unconscious and his head was resting on the support while his feet were getting dragged. How long had he been like this?

"Hey wake up!" exclaimed the boy to the left of Herios as it was getting heavier for the both of them to pull it.

"He is unconscious," replied Herios.

"We will have to pull it till we break for the mid-day meal," he added.

"No! I am not going to labor all day, while he just lies there!" said the boy, agitated.

"Listen! If we stop, they are going to kill us!" fulminated Herios as he glimpsed at the Parso soldiers who were keeping a watch over them.

They were carrying swords in their hands while some of them were carrying spears. The other boy was still obstinate, but somehow he realized that Herios was speaking the truth.

After a few Kesta of hard labor, the Parso soldiers finally announced the mid-day break for their meals. As soon as Herios released the heavy plow from his shoulders, it collapsed on the ground, along with the comatose body of the boy who was beside him. Herios rushed to help him by lending his shoulder as a bolster. The other boy had already left them, selfishly. He rushed towards the bailey for receiving the meal.

Herios dragged the boy along with him, all the way to the middle bailey, where they were serving meals for everyone. As soon as Herios reached the bailey, the mother of the boy rushed towards Herios on seeing her son, unconscious.

"Oh my god!... My son....my son!" she cried. She tried to wake him up but he wouldn't. Herios gently placed him on the ground and went towards the water pot to get some water for him. Near the pots, stood a grotesque man who gazed at Herios, as he dumped the receptacle inside the pot. Herios stared at him with gritted teeth and the man did the same. But as soon as Herios dumped the second receptacle inside the pot, the Parso soldier shoved him away.

"Only one receptacle per head," he said, loudly. Herios was furious. After working for hours under the scorching heat, his throat was parched and he wanted to carry another receptacle for the comatose boy.

"It's for me and my friend. He is unconscious," explained Herios. The Parso soldier grinned, displaying his yellow gangly teeth.

"So? Why should I care? One receptacle per head!" he repeated.

"But he would die if he doesn't get water," said Herios. The Parso soldier guffawed and bent lower to stare into Herios's eyes. The acrid smell of his sweat invaded Herios's nose and his foul breath disturbed him.

"If you are so generous, why don't you give him, your receptacle?" he replied and smirked at Herios. Herios stared at him in anger. He looked at the receptacle in his hand. He could see the mother's melancholy as her boy was dying of thirst and exhaustion.

Herios never had anyone as a real family. He was an orphan, so he was oblivious to the feeling of having a mother, who would cry for him. Herios walked towards the boy and his crying mother. He was holding the receptacle of water in his hand, as he strolled towards them. He was parched and he needed water to quench his thirst but he thought about that mother, who would lose her son.

Herios didn't drink the water but he sat next to the comatose boy and his mother. He dipped his finger inside the receptacle and sprinkled a few droplets over the boy's face. After a few moments, the boy regained consciousness and opened his eyes.

The mother was exuberant on seeing her son alive and conscious. "Here," said Herios, as he lent the receptacle to the boy. Herios glared at him when he emptied the entire receptacle to satisfy his thirst. The woman thanked Herios by lowering her head in front of him for saving her son's life. Herios hesitated and modestly denied the woman to bow in front of him. After all, he had never been one for vanity or glory. The Parso soldier was watching all of this from a distance.

Everyone took their meals and sat in the middle bailey with their plates. They were served one Vorys and two fruits only. This was all that they were going to be offered. The mothers with infants below seven Mesha were not given separate plates for their child. They had to share their plate with their children. Herios was sitting next to a pair, comprising of a mother and her little daughter.

As Herios glared at the small girl and greeted her with a gentle smile, she smiled back at him. It reminded Herios of his lovable sister Aerytha, whom he adored. "What's your name?" asked Herios, gently. The girl looked at her mother for assurance and on seeing her mother's approval, she spoke in a tender voice.

"Kiyara," she replied.

"I am Herios," he said.

"Here, you take this," he said and placed the two fruits from his plate into the girl's plate as if he was feeding Aerytha. As it is, the girl and her mother were sharing their plates. Getting two spare fruits enabled the mother to have a healthy meal for herself. While Herios was adoring the little child and giving her his food, he noticed that the soldier, at the water pots, was staring at him incessantly. The Parso had set up a patrol around the bailey.

Bowmen were stationed at the ramparts to kill any villager who would try to flee or escape the quarters. Pikemen were stationed at the gatehouse of the citadel to keep a guard over the castle and its corridors, to monitor the flux of people through the gates. The hostages were imprisoned inside the citadel and they were trapped in its bailey, as a way to coerce the soldiers of Lothar from committing any rebellion.

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Footnotes:

• 'Kesta' is a unit of measuring time, equivalent to hours