All Chapters of Land of Heathens: Chapter 11
- Chapter 20
44 chapters
Chapter 11 - Shadows of Manipulation
The east granary had been ransacked at dawn. Crates lay overturned, pale grain scattered across the earthen floor, the morning light catching the drifting dust. Fresh footprints streaked toward the eastern alley, hurried and uneven. Navir and Sorvan had been nearby, repairing the water channels while the sun was still low, their hands wet with mud. They had seen the real culprits, a group of youths, dart across the rooftops, their muffled laughter echoing as they vanished between houses. By the time the alarm was raised, the thieves were gone.Yet the blame fell squarely on Navir and Sorvan. Even though they had identified the fleeing youths moments before they disappeared, the Elders railroaded the innocent brothers instead: they used proximity to the crime scene and the absence of witnesses to confirm their claims became “unquestionable proof” of guilt. With Arisha away at the outer farms, no guardian stood between them and the council’s judgment.The charges were delivered quickly,
Chapter 12 - Whispers of the Fallen
The room glowed faintly with shifting colors from the old console screen. Navir leaned forward, fingers tapping rapidly; Mehrak groaned as his character fell off a ledge; Sorvan remained perfectly composed, posture straight, expression unreadable as always.They had been playing for nearly an hour when Navir’s phone buzzed. A headline blinked across the screen.“Recently employed Fresh graduate murdered by three envious friends.”Navir’s smile faded. “Another one…?” he whispered.Mehrak paused the game, throat tight. Sorvan didn’t move at first, only his lashes lowered slightly, a shadow passing over those sharp red eyes. He exhaled slowly, his voice gentle and distant as he murmured, “Hmm… people.”The silence held weight, pressing on the small room like dim light.Mehrak cleared his throat. “Let’s… just keep playing.”Navir nodded. They needed something, anything, to stop the heaviness from swallowing the evening whole.Sorvan unpaused the game with quiet precision, his calm express
Chapter 13 - Deafening Silence
Navir counted the cracked tiles as he crossed the courtyard. Sorvan emerged from the doorway ahead, silver-black hair catching the light.“You’re late,” Sorvan said lightly. “Again.”“Working on some stuff on the local power grid, with Ardavan.” Navir replied. “Took longer than expected.”Sorvan’s smile, accompanied by a slight scoff. Though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Convenient.”Navir stopped. “Say what you mean.”Sorvan laughed, soft and neat. “I did.” He nudged a loose stone with his toe. “Funny how things break when you’re gone.”“Accidents happen,” Navir countered, though a twinge of unease crept along his spine.“Sure,” Sorvan agreed. “They always do.”A cart rolled past, wheels chipping the silence. Sorvan waved once, then added, almost offhand, “Mehrak showed you his new model, right?”Navir kept his expression even. “Yes. Why?”“Impressive,” Sorvan said. “Almost too impressive for someone who trips over stairs.”Navir stiffened, one brow lifting. “What’s that supposed to mea
Chapter 14 - Brain Fog
Navir’s spoon clinked against the bowl for the third time without him noticing.“You’re going to wear a hole in it,” Ravash said, eyeing him from across the table.Navir blinked. “What?”“That. You just did it again.”Before Navir could respond, Ardavan leaned sideways on his chair, balancing it on two legs like a child daring gravity to blink first. He grinned, wide and unbothered. “If the spoon falls through the bowl, does it land yesterday or tomorrow?”Ravash stared, curiosity and suspicion echoing in his eyes.Ardavan shrugged. “Just asking.”Navir pressed his fingers to his temple. Heat pulsed behind his eyes, slow and thick, like breath trapped under water. The room felt heavier, air dragging across his skin.“You okay?” Ravash asked, turning to Ardavan. “You’ve been off lately.”“I’m great,” Ardavan said too quickly. He tapped the table three times, then laughed at nothing. “Never clearer.”Navir pushed back from the table. The floor tilted. Sound dulled. Ravash’s voice stretc
Chapter 15 - The Time Reader's Revelation
The shop breathed with quiet industry.Arisha sat near the window, fabric stretched across her knees, needle flashing in small, practiced arcs. Sunlight spilled over bolts of cloth stacked along the walls, catching dust in slow, drifting spirals.“So the border should be doubled here,” the customer said, tapping the air above the fabric. Her voice was calm, confident, the tone of someone used to being listened to. “If not, it frays within a year.”Arisha nodded. “I’ve seen that happen. Once is enough.” She smiled faintly, fingers never slowing. “You have a good eye.”The woman’s smile lingered, then faltered. Her eyes drifted past Arisha, settling on the doorway with a quiet, sudden focus, as if she’d caught the edge of a thought she hadn’t meant to notice.Nothing else changed.The street outside murmured. Footsteps passed. A cart rattled by.Then Navir stepped in through the front of the shop, quiet as a held breath. He lingered near the doorway instead of crossing the room, shoulde
Chapter 16 - Shadows of the Wasteland
Navir took a step closer. “Ardavan?”The name split the hush. The silhouette shifted, sluggish and unsure, still steeped in shadow like the others, yet faintly lighter, just enough for recognition to ache into place. It stood slumped where it was, shoulders sagging, as if held upright by habit rather than strength.Short silver-black hair framed a face Navir knew too well, sharper now, thinner, as if pieces had been carved away.“Navir,” Ardavan said. His voice landed a beat late, like it had traveled a long distance to reach him. “You’re… here.”“What is this place?” Navir demanded. “And how did you get here?” He swallowed. Ardavan lifted his head, effort written into the motion. For a heartbeat, his eyes found Navir’s, trying to hold, trying to anchor. “What?” The word came out thin, stretched, as if pulled from a distance. His focus wavered. A faint crease crossed his brow. “Hmmm...”His effort failed. His chin dipped, shoulders sagging as though the weight of standing became too
Chapter 17 - The First Rescue
An eerie hiss rippled through the air, rising into a shriek that split the silence, the wasteland tore itself apart in response.Figures tore free from open space itself, wrong shapes born of neglect and brilliance turned feral, limbs twisting where joints were never meant to bend. Eyes burned too bright. Their movements stuttered, then rushed.“Spread, no, wait, ” Navir’s voice cracked. He lifted his hand, then hesitated. Too many angles. Too close.One lunged. Another skittered low.“Ardavan!” Navir shouted.“I see them,” Ardavan said, breath quick. His fingers twitched, searching for patterns that refused to settle. “Their movement, it isn't random.”A shriek sliced the air. Something slammed into the ground where Navir had stood a second earlier.“Left!” Navir snapped, then his voice caught. Pressure closed in, thoughts slipping over each other. “No, back, wait, ”The wasteland pressed in, feeding on the fracture.Ardavan grabbed Navir’s sleeve. “You’re slipping.”“I know,” Navi
Chapter 18 - Threads of Betrayal
Navir’s boots tapped against the uneven pavement as he strolled through the busy street, mind spinning. He tried to piece together why certain gifted had been abandoned in the wasteland, why betrayal might linger so close, even within his own circle. Each thought tugged at him, restless and unresolved.The scent of roasted coffee drifted from a small café ahead, mingling with the faint tang of exhaust and warm asphalt. Something made him slow, curiosity nudging him forward.Inside, a man sat alone at a corner table, stirring a cup with slow, deliberate movements. Silver-black hair fell low around his face, and sharp, calculating eyes scanned the room with quiet control.There was a presence there that made the hair on Navir’s arms prickle, an inexplicable weight that drew him closer.Navir stopped just outside the café, studying the man. “That’s odd,” he muttered under his breath.The man lifted his eyes at last, steady and unreadable, as if he’d been aware of Navir long before he loo
Chapter 19 - The Mind's Crucible
Navir tried to shake the thought, but it clung to him, the man from the café, Tarefin, and that unsettling familiarity. The way he’d watched. The way his eyes had lingered, as if Navir were a problem already half-solved. The memory followed him down the street, tightening with every step.Then the ground seemed to tilt.Navir slowed, pressing a hand to his temple. “Not now,” he muttered.His pulse thundered, uneven, and the air around him grew thick, heavy, as though the world were holding its breath.The sky dimmed.Not suddenly, deliberately.Gray bled into crimson, the clouds parted to reveal a raw, violent red sky, tense and suffocating. The temperature spiked, slamming into him in suffocating waves. Navir looked up, breath snagging.Silhouettes drifted across the wasteland, humanoid forms barely tethered to the ground, their outlines flickering in the oppressive red sky. Heat licked their shapes, setting them ablaze as they moved without purpose, twisting and writhing. No screa
Chapter 20 - Fractured Alliances
Navir kept walking, though his thoughts lagged behind his steps.Gray sky turning red.Heat without flame.Silhouettes burning as they drifted.And the crescent seared beneath his bicep, still warm in memory, even now.He spotted Tarefin near a roadside stall, the man angled toward a seller, examining a small wrapped bundle. His hair fell to the nape of his neck, dark-silver and unremarkable in length, loose enough to move when he shifted. Nothing about him looked threatening. That made it worse.Navir slowed, letting the market noise mask his approach.Tarefin’s head turned, briefly, neither hurried nor cautious. Just enough for his gaze to slide over Navir, acknowledge him, then return to the seller as if nothing had happened.That single glance tightened Navir’s chest.“You’re hard to forget,” Navir said.Tarefin finished the exchange, passed payment, and only then turned fully. His red eyes were steady, measuring.“Am I?” he replied calmly.“I know… you’ve been watching me befor