Worlds Apart: Volume I

The During: Sacrifice

Ney'ite had her eyes closed as Neyetam brushed her hair. He was always so gentle while doing it. She hummed the tune that her song chord showed. Her fingers ran over the charms that she had placed on her chord.

Her brother's and hers blood in amber.

The tooth of the Quiet Death.

The stone from the roots of the Tree of Souls.

Each one represented the biggest moments of Ney'ite's life. She wondered when it would be marked for her death.

As Neyetam finished brushing her hair, he grabbed leather cords and started to braid her hair. His fingers nimbly worked through her hair as he made the familiar patterns that their mother had taught them. Soon, the hair was out of Ney'ite's face. She took a breath before standing up. Her brother did the same thing. Neyetam had been keeping a closer eye on her ever since Tysal's death. She was glad that he was.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite set of twins," Aytanin said with a smile as she walked up to them.

"We're the only set of twins you know," Ney'ite said as she crossed her arms.

"What do you need?" Neyetam asked.

"I need nothing," Aytanin said. "Except for your company."

Aytanin's tone was much more cheerful than it had been in the past few weeks since their friend's death. Ney'ite and Neyetam looked at each other in confusion before looking back to Aytanin. She had something she wanted to tell them.

"And why is that?" Neyetam asked.

"Because I managed to convince Tsanten to convince your parents to let the two of you come with me on a spying mission," Aytanin said with the biggest smile on her face.

The twin's jaws dropped before they ran to Aytanin and hugged her. There was a whirlwind of thanks on the part of the twins. They would finally get the chance to show that they were brave and good and true.

"Don't get to excited," Aytanin laughed. "There shouldn't be any Sky People where we're going. I'm scouting places the Sky People haven't destroyed yet to try and figure out the best place to attack when they do."

"It doesn't matter," Ney'ite said. "We're going to actually help during this war."

"Let's go to the ikrans," Aytanin said as she lead the twins away.

For the first time in a long time, Ney'ite, Neyetam, and Aytanin actually enjoyed themselves. They laughed and they flew their ikrans like they once did. Ney'ite, Neyetam, and Aytanin twirled around each other and dived down to the ground below. As they got closer and closer to the territory that the Sky People held, the three friends flew closer to the ground to stay hidden in the trees. There was no laughing, just watching and listening. After a little while, they landed their ikrans in the trees. They climbed through the branches of the trees. They leapt from branch to branch as silent as the spirits of the past.

None of them had their bows and arrows. They did not want to risk engaging in a battle with the Sky People. They would lose. Instead, Ney'ite kept her hand on the hilt of her knife. It's wooden handle wrapped in leather provided Ney'ite with a sense of familiarity. It calmed her soul.

Then, Ney'ite, Neyetam, and Aytanin came upon what they were searching for. There was a stretch of forest that was cleared of all trees. It had nothing else around it. The Sky People had not begun to clear the grass and small trees out of their way. Ney'ite knew that this was were the Sky People would build their metal creations.

"They've pushed forward," Aytanin whispered. "This area wasn't cleared two weeks ago."

"They've cleared farther than they've needed," Neyetam said as he observed the area. "The Sky People are trying to make it harder for our war parties to strike. The forest teams won't be able to make the critical first blows."