The Nameless Warrior

I Hear The River Won

Gar lay on the cot in Kindra's tent, trying not to think of the circumstances that brought him there. He should have been enjoying his life as a married man with his new wife, but Kindra was Obsid's wife, washing the battle gore off at the river, and Gar was unsure if the wedding was valid. Had the Gods accepted them? They hadn't been given the chance to. Was the marriage still valid if the ceremony was interrupted in such a way? Would anyone even care?

The wound in his back throbbed as he reached for his cup of tea. There had been others hurt worse than he, but Kaye made sure that Gar was cleaned, bandaged, and medicated before seeing to them. Her acceptance back into the tribe had been seamless—she was the only one who could help.

Kindra returned, hair dripping and blood-caked clothes bundled in her hand. She threw them in the corner, and turned at Gar's sudden exclamation.

"Kindra!"

"I'm not going to leave them there."

"That's not it." He motioned her over. "Turn around."

She did, and he grunted as he propped himself up. He trailed a finger over a new cut on her back that ran from one side to the other.

"Oh." She sat heavily. "Pike finally ruined my mark."

"No," Gar whispered. "He completed it." He followed the line again with his finger, watching the waves of vision ripple behind it. "She knew. The High Priestess knew your name."

"What are you talking about?" Kindra turned, trying to see the mark on her back. "What is it?"

"I hear the fish attacked the river," Gar quoted. "I hear the river won, but the fish left deep rents in the stream." He smiled at her. "Your name is River."

A smile slowly grew across Kindra's face as she reached behind to feel the scars on her back that had finally come together into a completed mark. "River," she said, trying the name out for the first time.

"River," he agreed. "The perfect home for a little fish like me."

She cupped his face and laughed softly. "My father used to call me Little Fish."

Gar pulled her to the cot and wrapped his arms around her, no longer worried that about her marriage. The Gods gave him their blessing in a different way.