The Blackhearted Daughters

Tina and Delin were a pair of sisters about to be married, just like all the daughters of the Larona Clan.

They spent their days toiling in barren fields planted with barley, oats, fava beans, cabbage, and flax. Whenever they had a moment of leisure, they would gather lichen and moss, dry and crush them to mix with bran for the sheep, or take advantage of the clear weather to head into the forest together to pick berries and nuts.

They remembered that the sun was quite pleasant that day; the sunlight was bright and the breeze was mild, and the men of the clan had once again taken up their weapons and armor to compete with neighboring tribes for food.

The daughters of the Larona Clan had long since grown accustomed to the returning parties, their faces beneath horned helmets beaming with joyful smiles.

This meant that their fathers, husbands, or children had gone before the eyes of all to Vagha's palace to become true Reshman warriors.

But that day, when Tina and Delin returned home, washed the dust and iron filings from the lichen and moss in their wicker baskets, squeezed the water out with their fingers, and spread them on the flat ground outside the house, they saw their father's trusted lieutenant, Kulan Black-Halberd, approaching with a grave expression, carrying a bag full of gold and the battle-axe of Xipel Blackheart.

"Where is my father? Kulan, has he gone to Vagha's palace?" Delin's voice trembled with a hint of expectation; she was about to marry the son of a minor chieftain of the Black Ember Tribe.

If her father had gone to Vagha's palace, she would receive more respect.

The cold and loyal Kulan recounted what had happened during the day truthfully: "Xipel Blackheart offended Kas of the Zagwell Clan. He carries the mission of the Great Shaman Hadi and is accompanied by Morse Ironbone, one of the seven heroes of his ancestor, King Busuo."

"Your father slandered Kas as the bastard son of Malik Axe-Breaker. His spirit has been branded with the name of shame by Ironbone, to be punished by the scorching sun and cold winds atop Iron Peak Mountain for all eternity."

"The Zagwell Clan has accepted our apology. The clan chief hopes you will personally pray for Ironbone's forgiveness; this bag of gold is his gesture."

The tragic news left Delin stunned, her face buried in her hands as she wept silently, like a mother guarding an empty nest after seeing her chicks fall from the tree.

That bag full of gold could not bring back her beloved father, nor could it free his spirit from eternal suffering on the barren earth.

"We should kill him... not for revenge, but to let our father rest in peace." Sister Tina's tone was so firm that it turned Delin's tears into a waterfall of sorrow.

The younger sister's hoarse voice lamented in pain:

"Did you not hear? The clan chief has ordered us to beg for forgiveness from Morse Ironbone, one of the seven heroes of King Busuo, and his descendant Kas. Only in this way can we rid ourselves of the sin our father brought upon us by offending the spirits."

Tina said calmly: "This order is directed at us, especially at me. The clan chief fears that I will initiate an honor killing against Kas in the name of blood kinship, and fears that the Lady of Death will blame us for disturbing her peace."

"But I know that this is the only way to let our father, Xipel Blackheart, who is nailed to the peak of Iron Peak Mountain to suffer eternal torment, my poor blood kin, rest in peace."

"Are you willing to go with me and help me lift his corpse?"

"This is the order of the clan chief, even the order of the War Chief and the Shaman. You know full well that doing this will bring punishment, yet you still want to do it?" Delin's face was covered in tears as she picked up the battle-axe Kulan had returned and swung it with difficulty:

"Look, the person you want to honor-kill is a warrior. It is not that I do not want our father to rest in peace, but I have no power to go against him or the tribe."

Tina gripped the battle-axe, barely managing to shoulder the heavy weapon: "This is the law of the gods. Are you choosing to give up because of cowardice and fear, watching our blood kin, your father and mine, howl atop Iron Peak Mountain day and night?"

"No, I do not wish to do that, but..." Delin looked at her sister's incredibly firm gaze and nodded with difficulty:

"Yes, we should lift our father's corpse and let him rest in peace."

At the butcher shop, Tina handed over a silver coin, took a string of fresh mutton from Old Biller, and suddenly said:

"Old Biller, what does it feel like to kill someone?"

Old Biller knew that Tina and Delin's father had been killed for offending Ironbone and was enduring eternal punishment day and night.

Yesterday's banquet was held by War Chief Keck Bloodfire in the name of welcoming Kas, though most people just wanted to behold the endless glory of Morse Ironbone.

The gentle, burly man smiled; he thought Blackheart's daughter was drunk, waving the knife stained with grease and meat scraps casually:

"Tina, you all always think Old Biller killed many people when he was young. In fact, when I slaughter cows and sheep, I don't even dare look them in the eyes, and I never eat meat I've butchered myself."

"Forget about this. You are getting married soon. We are not warriors; there is no need to keep talking about honor. Just live your lives honestly."

Tina's eyes followed the butcher's knife as it danced, and she was silent for a moment:

"I want to kill Kas, but the battle-axe is too heavy. Can you give me a knife? I don't want him to be tortured when he dies."

"Sure, sure." The burly man handed over the butcher knife stained with grease and meat scraps, considering it a small favor for the daughter of an old acquaintance.

After Tina left, the butcher, chopping bones, chatted with a customer about what had just happened:

"Blackheart's daughter said she wants to kill Kas of the Zagwell Clan."

"She must be drunk. No one will help them."

"No, I mean she wants to kill Kas herself, with the butcher knife I just used to shave a sheep."

"Oh? That will surely be spectacular, just like her father Blackheart, who would use his hands to rip the hearts out of his enemies."

The butcher and the customer looked at each other and smiled, treating the whole thing as a joke.

Who would be stupid enough to challenge the authority of another clan and tribe for the sake of a spirit already deemed a sinner by the War Chief and the Shaman?

Besides, it was said that the boy from the Zagwell Clan had a cursed werewolf for a wife; meeting them might lead to being cursed together, which was too unlucky.

Tina carried the mutton through the streets. She sat for a while in the tailor shop she used to like, watching Jacqueline's exquisite craftsmanship weave a beautiful flower between the linen and silk threads.

"Oh, my little Tina, what is wrong with you? I heard about that matter; it is truly terrible..."

Jacqueline offered her condolences, and seeing the butcher knife in Tina's hand, she covered her mouth in surprise: "Are you thinking of performing an honor killing on that noble guest who killed your father?"

"Yes, I am going to kill him."

The elderly woman hurriedly closed the wooden door and fur-covered window, pulling the silent Tina to sit by the hearth:

"Child, I know you are grieving, but we are women; we shouldn't place honor above all else. You are still young and will soon marry Evan. He is a thoughtful, fine lad."

"Once you are married, you will have to manage all the household affairs—endless sweeping, feeding the sheep, and children who never stop crying. You will be so dizzy with chores that you won't even remember who you are."

"As time passes, everyone will forget about this."

She walked out of the tailor shop in silence, gripping the butcher knife in her hand.

I will kill him. It has nothing to do with hatred or profit; everything is for my father, and for the honor of my sister and myself!