Azripa Kom Azgeda

Gon Azgeda

The sound of children playing woke me up. The birds singing to the morning sun and the movement of people. I felt at peace, happy, but that felt wrong.

"Finally, I thought you were going to sleep for forever. Come breakfast is ready, sleepyhead." Timber said laughing.

"Shof op" (Be quiet) I said smiling.

Bread and chicken filled my belly for the day. I went to the nearby lake to clean up and just relax.

Once I got back I saw all the young warriors doing their drills. The Chief commanding them.

"Yu na jomp in gon emo?" (Do you want to fight with them?) The Chief asked.

"Sha, ai na smak emo au daun." (Sure, I'll knock them all down.) I said jokingly.

We partnered up into groups of two. My partner was a brown-haired, green-eyed girl. She was about my height and had a few scars on her shoulders. "Yu laik gona?" (Are you a warrior?) I asked her. She nodded her head and proceeded to get into fighting position. I did the same. When the chief yelled the command we began the fight. Her sword against mine. This was easy for me, I did this everyday for years. The Trikru fighting style was different than Azgeda but I could mimic it with ease. We lasted 20 minutes until I knocked her down and got her sword, but I underestimated her. She flipped me over with her legs and put both blades up to my neck.

"Hod op!" (Wait!) I told her. Then she pulled the blades back and stood there. "Good job, Leina. Aksel, you fought hard." The chief told us. "Yu tu, jomp in." (You two, fight.) He commanded the next group.

After the fight everyone went swimming at the lake. I was sitting by the water with a few of the warriors. "It's so peaceful here." I told them.

"Yeah, it's just our everyday life here. Is it chaotic where you live?" A girl asked.

"You wouldn't know the half of it." I told her.

"Today's training went well, I hope you'll join us tomorrow Aksel." Timber said.

"Sure, I'll join you if you get me a new partner. Leina is scary." I said.

Everyone laughed.

"I just want to lay here forever. Forget everything and just watch the sunset become stars." I said. I laid on my back throwing and catching a pinecone.

After someone announced that the food was ready, the lake's voice died.

"Yu enti?" (You hungry?) Timber asked.

"Nah." I told him looking at the now dark sky.

"I'll join you then." He said laying next to me.

We just laid there looking up at the stars, then at each other. We were inches apart, looking at each other's eyes. I could've stayed like that for hours.

"Timba, where are you?" A girl said. It was Leina.

"Hir." (Here) He said, sitting up.

"Sorry to bother, I just wanted some alone time." She said.

"All good, just watch the stars with us. It's very peaceful." He told her.

"Did you tell my father?" He asked her.

"Yeah he said we will ride tomorrow instead." She answered his question.

"Where did you say your village was?" She asked me.

"West of here." I told her.

"Oh, you're close to Azgeda. Must be tough." She said. I nodded.

We continued the night telling stories and making jokes. We were there so long that we all fell asleep. I woke up to a leg on my stomach and a hand on my face.

"Timber, wake up. You're on me." I said.

He was still in a deep sleep. So was Leyna (Leina). They slept peacefully. I quietly moved their limbs and made my way to the village.

The Chief greeted me. "There he is. What have you guys been doing? You missed dinner." He said. "Sorry, we fell asleep." I told him.

"Don't worry. Today we ride for Polis. Go wake up Timba and Leina, they'll join us." He commanded. "Yes, Chief." I replied.

When I got back they were both gone. "Where could they be?" I thought. I got closer to the Forrest near the lake. Snatch. Something grabbed me. It was Timber. "Yu nomonjoka." (You motherf***ker) I told him. He bursted out laughing. "I didn't get to scare him." Leyna said disappointed. I rolled my eyes.

"Come get ready, your father is riding to Polis. You two are coming." I told them. They walked off towards the village. We got on our horses and road to Polis.

We were 30 minutes in when we heard shouting and horses running in our direction. 6 riders wearing white war paint were coming towards us. "Azgeda!" Timber shouted. We ran back to the village. Those 6 riders became 12 then 24. It was a raiding party sent by the Queen herself. I saw my older brother, Tomis, leading the raid. He saw me too.

"GON AZGEDA!" (FOR THE ICE NATION!) He yelled. The men cheered. "Frag emo op." (Kill them all. *Translation/Words may be wrong*)

"Timba run! We'll hold them off! Leina with me!" The chief ordered. Timber and I took off in the other direction. We kept running until we thought it was safe. Then we got off our horses and sent them in another direction to make sure no one was following us.

"Here, it's a cave." Timber whispered. He looked worried. His village was being attacked by my people as we spoke. I felt guilt spread across my body.

"Don't worry. They'll be fine. You have some good warriors in your village." I told him. I think it made him feel better. The cave was small. There was enough room to make a fire and for us to sleep.

"Come sleep here, I'll make a fire." He told me. He came back and I made a ring of dried leaves for him to start his fire. I laid our fur coats on the ground to make some makeshift blankets. I took his wood and set it up for him to make the fire.

"It won't last all night. We'll have to huddle up for warmth." I told him.

"Mhm." He said.

You could tell he was stressed. The fire was born. Orange filled our new home and heat hugged my skin. "Timba, it's ok. You need to have some faith." I told him.

"What if it's not. They could be all dead or prisoners. Azgeda uses slaves from our villages to do their work." He said. Slaves? Us? I never saw any slaves where I was. Maybe certain villages do it. We stayed silent for a while. You could start to see tears build up inside his eyes. I patted his back to reassure him that it was alright.

"Thanks for being a good friend." He told me, putting on a fake smile.

I laid down near the fire and stared at it. Then I felt Timber's hand go over my body and rest on my chest. His head was pressed against my neck.

"For warmth." He whispered.

We both quickly fell asleep.