Chapter 1. Reminiscence
"Kyni... we need to talk."
The hammering of metal upon metal stopped. Kyni had been dreading hearing those fateful words for several long years now. Ever since he was old enough to form a crude piece of iron upon an anvil, he knew this talk would come. He put the hammer down and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Yes, Father, what is it?"
"Come with me, I think your mother should be present for this." He turned around and left the heated forge, expecting Kyni to follow in his wake. Kyni let out a long breath, steeling himself, before hobbling out after him.
They walked through the winding streets of Dale together, in silence. Crowds bustled around them. The streets were always packed nowadays, ever since the great dragon Smaug had been struck down by the legendary Bard and Dáin had taken up his cousin's throne. The wealth of Dale was now evident, even to a stranger, if he were to gaze at the buildings that lined the streets. Buildings two storeys high sat side by side, no longer in ruins like it had been after the Coming of Smaug. Instead, it more resembled the time of prosperity before the dragon had ever terrorised the town. Everyone knew the tale of Smaug's Coming: how Bard, the finest marksman in Dale had mortally wounded the dragon, piercing the one place where Smaug had been missing a scale - above his left breast. Bard had long since departed this life, yet the line of Girion still ran strong in Dale. Bard's descendant, Bard the Second, still ruled Dale and its people. Kyni had grown up with Bard II and had even briefly know his father, Brand. He had been there the day Brand the Brave had fallen.
Kyni and his father passed the worn statue of Brand the King, alongside the great dwarven King Dáin II Ironfoot. Both had perished at the doors of Erebor, where all the townsfolk of Dale had taken refuge during the Battle for Dale. Their king, Brand, led a desperate attack against a formidable force to no avail. He was slain upon the fields where, nearly 200 years ago, the free people of Middle-earth had defeated goblins in the Battle of the Five Armies. Dáin was distraught at the loss of his dear friend and left the safety of his halls, leaving his son, Thorin III Stonehelm, in charge. Dáin entered the fray outside and charged the orc ranks. He stood upon the ground next to Brand and defended his body. With his life, for he was soon overwhelmed.
Yet none of the people of Dale forgot his sacrifice. A statue of the two noble kings had been erected in memory of them. Kyni always felt a great swell of pride whenever he passed the statue. Dwarfs were not an uncommon sight within Dale; they travelled from Erebor to take part in the great markets that Dale was known for. Yet Kyni was, as far as he knew, the only Dwarf who lived permanently in the city. He was given, at the mere age of two, to the people of Dale. Only a select few in the town know why, Kyni's foster parents being some of them. He was determined to find out why he had been abandoned by his own race, why he had been taken in by the people of Dale and treated as their own.
And one day soon, he would find out.