The Fourth Hand - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A small boy of 10 solar cycles, with eyes of mahogany and hair of gold, scuttled across the well-paved but heavily worn streets of Imperos. Each step calculated as he weaved his way into the crowd that had gathered across the communal marketplace. He had grown up on these streets. He knew each nook and cranny, each cut-through and alleyway. Today he was carrying out the family errands. Medicine and bandages for his father, silks and needles for his mother, all readily sourced amongst the humdrum of the capital cities’ market day.

He stopped with a jar as a barrow emerged through the crowd stacked up so high with grain that could only be achieved with a total disregard of the common laws of physics. [Sometimes, even physics can be taken with a pinch of salt] The merchant was keen to avoid any ruckus or delay on his run and pressed on, almost toppling the boy with not a thought to his wellbeing or the state of his toes. But still, the boy pressed on unabated. This city was his home and it would take more than brief commotion to hinder his progress.

The boy’s father had moved to the city many years ago as an apprentice to the High Commissioner’s masons.

Imperos has always been a thoroughfare for travellers, merchants and scholars alike and the wear and tear required a constant supply of labourers. Unfortunately, the job was one that left his father prone to accidents, and just as the boy turned 4, his father suffered from the fruit of his labour and had lost both of legs in an installation mishap. The commissioner had been an honourable man and taken the boys mother in as seamstress on an inflated wage to support the family, but that didn’t sit well in any social circle. A family relying on the labours of a woman was doomed to be ranked among the lowest of the societal classes. The current High Commissioner had been good to all those who found themselves in need, and as such his enemies found it hard to unseat him. The boy admired High Commissioner Alma as a strong and righteous man, although the sentiment wasn’t shared by all.

The boy approached a small oaken doorway at the edge of yet another courtyard and rapped his knuckles against the aged oak. He paused and strained to detect the sound of footsteps over the humdrum behind him. The door was opened and the boy as greeted by a kind face.

“Ah, young Max, please do come in”

The door shut behind him and The grand courtyards remained as busy as ever.

Imperos may have been the crowning jewel of the glorious Cinder Vale, with its white stone communes and trader halls set against the ever-amber backdrops and floral canopies, but its inhabitants left a lot to be desired. All of the great cities of the realm could make laws and enforce them as they pleased, but the freedom of Imperos caused division. Xenophobia and oppression were rife with the Commissioner imploring people to decide the morality of their own actions. Many economic migrants from the surrounding lands would try and capitalise on city life but were often rejected by the locals. This angered High Commissioner Alma, but he felt that outlawing honest thoughts would go against everything he stood for. This might be why he found himself constantly elected to rule not just his own city, but the whole realm.

The Fourth Hand is a work in progress piece of fantasy writing by Liam Perkin, set in a realm of wonder and intrigue. It centres around the life of Jain Lightfoot, daughter of the High Commissioner of Imperos, as she uncovers dubious plots to topple the natural order, while struggling to find her place in a world of power and deception.