Heron stared at his godmother like a mouse cornered by a cat. “What?” He looked at his parents. Were they his parents? They had to be. Everyone always said he had his mother’s eyes and his father’s nose.
Keri continued, completely unfazed, like she’d half-expected this. “Heron. They’re your parents. They raised you, they love you. It’s just that you had another family first before you had them. You were too small to remember, but that’s probably for the best. What I really have to tell you about is that. Please listen while I explain further.”
Keri waited to make sure Heron wasn’t going to interrupt again, and looked to see if his parents were going to also encourage him to sit quiet and listen. They looked at each other, then Heron’s father nodded to Keri while his mother gave Heron an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
“You came from a family that was part of the local nobility a few provinces away, on the other side of the Kern Mountains that are to the west of here, beyond the marsh and forests. Your family, the Kaheri, had inherited some relics that had been said to be keys to a great power. Some bad people who wanted those relics gathered an army together and attacked the Kaheri estate, destroying both the castle and the little town around it. They also drove off all the tenant farmers and anyone else who was associated with the Kaheri, giving the land and animals to other local nobility who had supported their army. They thought they had captured all of the family members, but one of the smallest children got away. I had been visiting them to talk about the relics and the prophecies associated with them, and your... mother was holding you while walking with me on the grounds behind the castle when the attack came. She told me to get you to safety, and ran back to try and get your twin sister and see how many of the rest of her family could get away. Unfortunately, neither she nor any of the others were able to escape after that. The Kaherian Relics had all been hidden away long before then, so the attackers were not able to find any of them, but they killed the entire family and their closest friends and servants because of a prophecy that one of them would later rise up and defeat those who had led the attack.”
