The Faithful Ones

Part 1- Chapter 10

Raine, Sunny, and Matthew went to see the Hollow Clan sages. One was a vaguely mysterious but friendly man named Bouniek for his black hair. He taught them various things such as how to best light a fire in the rain, and they found him to be very good company. He often told them popular dwarvern fables -- some they'd read of in the Buchod Room, others they hadn't found.

Raine dreamt of the time Nimue taught the seven the rhyme. They had chanted it over and over and over. Then the dream became the one of the leopardess, and the big cat smiled with contained excitement as she declared 'soon.'
"Come on Raine, it's Winter Midnight today! Get up!" urged Sunny, and Raine opened her eyes. She'd forgotten it was Midwinter.
"Oh! What do the dwarves do for the Winter Midnight?" she asked as she sat up.
"We don't know yet, so hurry up!" smiled Rose. Raine got up and ready, and the seven headed off to a breakfast of porridge. On their way back to their quarters, Taigat-Zhëtzen said that there would be a banquet that night, and he explained how it would work.
"This is one of the few nights when the clan dining halls are open to other clans. Everyone makes a mask during the day to wear to the banquet, and some choose to paint their arms with red, orange, and gold," he said.
"Cool! In the village we come from, we just sit around a fire with our families -- sometimes friends too -- and tell stories, and then when it's really late we all go outside and look at the stars," said Freya.
"Stars! I only ever saw them once," sighed Taigat-Zhëtzen.
"They're beautiful, we'll have to show you one day," replied Rose.

Taigat-Zhëtzen sent Amedël with mask-making supplies and the paint just after lunch, and she helped the seven make their masks. Raine made a butterfly mask, Rose made a dog mask, Sunny decorated hers with bright colours, Salma made a wolf mask, Freya made an owl mask, Matthew decorated his to look like water, and Blaze's mask was a fox. Raine, Rose, Sunny, and Blaze painted their arms. Raine, Rose, Salma,and Freya did each other's hair, sitting in a chain that looped into a circle., and they talked about memories from the Spirit-Pool Village to Amedël. They decided to go to the Ice Clan's hall, and when the tëlëvai-biezhel sounded through the caverns they all headed off with their masks on.

It was fun to try to guess who was under each mask, and the food was particularly good that night. Everyone told stories to each other as they ate, and some had painted their arms as intricately as the books in the Buchod Room were illuminated. When the banquet ended, they returned to their rooms, exhausted. They passed the tunnel that led to the glowing pool, and Raine asked where it led, pretending she hadn't been down it already. Amedël responded with a huff, and Salma shook her head.
"We don't know, nobody would tell us," Rose said.
"Oh," replied Raine. She decided the dwarves probably had a rule against following the tunnel where it led, so she didn't tell her friends she'd been down it. As they passed she could faintly hear the song. Raine wondered what her heart sought. She asked the leopardess in her dream that night, but she only answered that it wouldn't make sense yet.

The seven told more stories to the Dwarvern king, and were almost always spending their time with friends they'd made. One day, Raine just sat beside the Forgen listening to its song. It was peaceful, and it gave her the space to think over the last while. She missed Nimue, and she missed travelling. That morning, she'd woken feeling empty because the leopardess dream hadn't been as vivid as it once had been. Every day it faded, and Raine feared she wouldn't be able to remember it when she woke. Was she going to stop dreaming it? To silence her worry, Raine sang the Forgen song and braided her hair. It was nice in the Caverns but she was getting restless and longed to be above ground again.

A moon had passed since the Winter Midnight it was now the middle of the eleventh moon. The seven were telling more stories to Gatûkai-Zhëtzen. Suddenly Raine remembered something from her early childhood. When Blaze finished the story he'd chosen to tell, Raine asked to tell a story from before she met the others.

"You may," the king gave permission, curiosity showing in his eyes.
"I only remember bits of it, but the Water Spirit once told me this strange, fantastical story that doesn't quite make sense. There is a key forged from blood. The man who made it gave all his blood for it, and somehow survived his sacrificing to make the gruesome key. It fitted any and every lock. The man could see each invisible cage people had built around themselves from fear or anger or sadness and set those free who had trapped themselves. He could see each invisible chain binding people to the past or others, and every kind of bad bond that shouldn't have existed. Then, when everyone was free, he melted the key and mixed it with the clouds in the sky so everyone could truly live as he did. Everyone drank the water that fell when it pooled into lakes and rivers, and they found true hope and life. They could be happy and live free from all the bad things in the world. But to live, they had to drink the blood-water that cleansed all guilt," Raine said. She curtseyed nervously when she finished.

"That is indeed strange. Gatûkai-Zhëtzen said, rubbing his chin. Raine's palm tingled, and then there was a note in her hand.
"Oh! I have a message," Raine gestured for the others to gather around and read it. 'Well done, you've completed your task here. Go to the forest just east of here, and soon you will find answers to many questions. You will need trust'.
"It says we need to go to the forest near here," announced Raine and the king sighed.
"That is well. I've enjoyed having you here, you know. I'll have preparations made so you can leave tomorrow before noon."

The dwarves gave the seven packs of food that included oats for porridge, hard cheeses, preserved meat, and ohtceks. The ohtceks were things the seven had only ever heard of, and they were told they were delicious and filling -- perfect for travelling long distances and not weighing down one's pack. They were also given new water skins, since theirs were old, and some blankets. They packed up their things and said goodbye to their friends who wished them well in their travels.
"We'll come back one day," Rose promised.
"Please do. We'll miss you and your stories," replied Amedël, and Rose nodded.
"We'll miss you too," added Sunny. There was one last round of hugs, and then the seven were on their way out of the Caverns to the forest. The blinding white snow made them realise exactly how long they'd spent underground.