“A cool autumn breeze arrived on the farm, carrying the scents of fall – fallen leaves, hay from neighboring farms, and smoke drifting up from the stone chimneys. Trees surrounding the farms were cloaked in an inferno of color, brightening the early morning light. Beyond the fields of cabbage, onions, and turnips, the Nayt River carved its way between the farms and the city. Above the tree-lined riverbanks, the gray stone walls of Nainre towered toward the sky. Above the scene, between breaks in the clouds, geese and sparrows were flying south from the mountains, trying to get an early start before winter arrived.

A fourteen-year-old boy with medium-length chestnut hair blowing in the morning breeze, was taking in the landscape and the beginning of fall. He sat on the roof of a gray wooden barn; his sharp, narrow hazel eyes stared into the distance as he daydreamed about life away from the farm. He let out a short sigh, pulled a wooden pan flute from his dusty brown tunic, and put it to his lips. The shiny wood reflected the dusting of freckles on his face as he played one of the songs he remembered from when he was a child. He felt at peace. But the peace didn’t last long.”

• Excerpt from The Azdar Kendurans: Fates Decided ( Chapter I: The Emerald Jubilee)