The morning air was somber as the village gathered. Nathrae had convinced Aresis to recover for one more day before leaving. He had a large pack on his back and was ready to go. Uther was similarly laden, but first the chief wanted to address the village. Garreth climbed on top of a rock and raised his voice.
"The time has come once more, my friends, to move the village." This sent murmurs through the crowd. They were expecting a farewell speech for the pair being sent out, not an announcement that they themselves would be moving. Garreth raised his hands to forestall the protests.
"Listen closely. The Great Storm has moved further south than it ever has. Not only that, but our elders have heard that a Harbinger was seen within our land, in the company of that cave bear that killed several of our people and many of our food animals." At the mention of the giant, the crowd began whispering amongst themselves. Garreth continued speaking and they grew quiet once more. "Wolf packs of increasing size and aggression will continue moving into our lands. I say these things not to make you afraid, but to show that this problem is not one we can stand against by staying here. Just as our ancestors moved to this land to plant this village, so we shall go to a new, safer land to the south." Garreth cleared his throat. "In the meantime, we have been visited by a seer of Aeindarhu, who brings hope mingled with grim tidings. The Great Storm shall not cease expanding. Yet Aeindarhu has not forgotten us. The seer has chosen one of our number to be the Anointed and raise the Sun, just as was prophesied and confirmed by Nathrae and other seers long ago. If Aeindarhu wills it, they shall be successful in their enterprise, and save us from the Great Storm . If not, we shall wait for the true Anointed in our new village. Consider carefully what to bring on our journey. We leave in three days."
With that, Garreth stepped down from the rock and the villagers began murmuring again. Several came over to the chief and other elders and began asking questions.
Aresis shouldered his pack and made his way over to Uther and Thamuk. "Ready to go, boy?"
The brothers embraced and Uther picked up his own pack. He had grabbed extra darts and a replacement lasso along with the other supplies he would need.
"Be sure that you bring that axe back to me," Thamuk smiled.
Uther smirked and smacked his brother's shoulder. "You'll probably come after me once you realize that I swapped it with the one you actually like." He looked at Aresis and nodded. "I think so."
"Wait!"
The three turned and saw Nathrae and Garreth moving toward them through the crowd. "Before you leave, you should receive a blessing from your Father."
She brought them to Garreth, who was caught in a heated discussion with one of the older members of the village. He paused his conversation and faced the foursome. "Yes?"
"Chief, we should bless the travellers before they go, don't you think?"
Garreth frowned and he shook his head once. "I don't bless mistakes." He lifted his finger at Aresis. "Leave, and may those cursed wolves follow you." Then he turned back to the villager and continued arguing as if nothing had happened.
Uther's heart fell into his stomach. But along with it came another feeling: determination to prove his father wrong. Aresis bowed his head. "Just as you wish, we shall leave."
He turned to go, but Nathrae stopped him. "Wait. If the chief will not give you his blessing, accept mine." She put one hand on Aresis' shoulder and one on Uther's and spoke a few short phrases in the same language Aresis used when he anointed Uther, but there was no vision this time. Then Nathrae finished her prayer. "Go in peace, and return in well-being."
Chapter 7Scene 7
As the pair made their way through the lava fields north of the village, Uther tried to pass the time with conversation. His first instinct was to satiate his curiosity. "Where exactly are we going? And how will we raise the Sun?"
"We are going to one of the Solari villages on the Eastern Coast," Aresis said. "It is about midway between your village and Tel Eramin. They have the means to reach the Bright Lands, where the sun is, in the northern part of the Eastern Sea. Once we reach that land, you will raise the Sun."
Uther frowned, confused. "But...how? That seems impossible."
Aresis smiled wryly. "There's a reason it hasn't been done yet. Shaaldir would have raised it if he could. But what will be more difficult for us is actually getting to where the Sun is. Crossing the sea is a dangerous business."
"Why is that?"
"Have you ever been to the coast, boy?"
Uther shook his head.
"Listen well," Aresis said. "First, the Great Storm makes conditions on the sea choppy at best and suicidal at worst. Waves taller than any building in your village are common. That's not to mention the Leviathan and her offspring who make their home in the sea. The wake of their passing alone would be enough to capsize most ships, if they decide not to eat them. All these things mean that only the Solari, who have learned the secrets of the sea, and learned the location of the Bright Lands are able to venture out into the open sea."
"Why didn't you choose one of them to anoint, then?" Uther asked. "It seems like it would have been a lot simpler to get to and raise the Sun, however that will happen."
"Because I didn't choose you," Aresis answered, digging into his satchel. He produced a bone tube. He pulled off the top and reached inside to produce a scroll. He unrolled it a little, revealing that much of it was covered in dark scratches.
"What's that?" Uther wondered.
"Writings that are part history, part hope, and a little future." Aresis answered as he rolled the scroll back up and put it away. "That last part comes from Aeindarhu. And around a month ago, I was in Tel Eramin and received two directions from Aeindarhu. I was to try one final time to convince Shaaldir and his family to change their ways. Then, once that failed, I was to go through the Great Storm until I came to the Lunari and anoint someone matching your description. I had to wait until I was sure I had the right person, but eventually I knew."
"So, you did have a choice," Uther said.
"There is always a choice," Aresis replied. "But for me, there was only one option."
After this, the pair fell silent, and the only sound was the wind, the snow crunching under their feet, and the occasional hiss of a lava flow cracking the ground. Eventually, the silence was interrupted by a distant wolf howl that cut through the ongoing whistle of the wind. Other howls answered the first. Aresis stopped to listen. "It seems that we are being pursued."
"Why didn't Cegvir attack the village along with his bear?" Uther asked.
"Because I stabbed him," Aresis replied dryly. "I think he went back home to recover. The bear, however, is another matter. It should be dead. The Chaos infection must do something more than kill."
"What is that?" Uther asked. "Syrath called the bear a demon."
"That's a rather good word for it," Aresis agreed. "He is infected with Chaos, which is one of the most ancient of the Primordials, and would have passed it on to me if Nathrae did not have those herbs." Aresis patted his pouch. "I have some extras in case that bear catches up with us again."
As the seer finished speaking, another howl cut through the dark, sending shivers up Uther's spine. He made sure his atlatl was close at hand and checked the fletching on his darts.
"The journey to the Solari village will take several days," Aresis eventually said, hand resting on the leather-wrapped hilt of his sword. "There are a few spots I stayed at on my way here that should be defensible in case those wolves catch up to us."
"And what about the demon bear?" Uther asked.
"He'll probably follow behind the wolves," Aresis replied. "They're faster over long distances."
"I've never seen wolves act like the ones at the village," Uther said, thinking back to the attack.
"Nor have I," Aresis replied. "But it doesn't surprise me. Cegvir has some ability to control animals with that pan flute of his, and there's no telling what effect that Chaos spawn has on other animals."
"Why was the giant after you, anyway?"
"Because his father, Shaaldir, didn't like what I had to say," Aresis stepped over a low snow drift. The country here was beginning to transition from lava fields to snow-swept plains. "When I left after telling him off, he guessed that I was leaving to find his replacement. I managed to give him the slip at first, but by the time we got near you, he had almost caught up." He smiled tightly. "That's why I'm glad you followed your wyrm into his camp. Perhaps it was foolish. Or perhaps it was destiny."
"It seems like telling him off was a bad choice, then," Uther observed.
"A bad strategic choice, certainly," Aresis agreed. "But I'm a seer, not a strategist. Part of that means sharing what I see, regardless of if the one I must confront is a Harbinger or a member of the Lunari."
"And what was it that Shaaldir did wrong, exactly?"
"The main one is that he is ruling the tribes, rather than serving them. When Aeindarhu created him and his kin, they were creatures of pure order," Aresis explained. "Sent to counter the Primordials."
"And who are they?"
"You already know of some of them," Aresis replied. "The Great Storm is caused by them. The Leviathan is another one. The mountain range Tel Eramin is at the base of is the result of a fight between Mammoth and Titan. There are many other Primordials, and their natural state is chaos. They rend the world to such an extent that without the Harbingers, your tribes would not be able to exist."
"So what happened?"
"At first, the Harbingers, led by Shaaldir, did their job. They restrained the Primordials as best they could. But it was always with the understanding that Aeindarhu would send an Anointed to raise the Sun and give them final victory."
"How does that make a difference?" Uther asked.
Aresis leaned down and scooped snow into his hand and held it up. At this point in the day, it barely glowed at all. "This is a poor imitation of the day and night cycle Aeindarhu promised with the prophecy of the Sun." He dropped the snow and wiped his hand on his robe. "The Sun represents a cosmic beauty and order that no Primordial, no matter how powerful, can escape." Aresis sighed. "If you could only see it."
"And you have?"
Aresis nodded, his gaze drifting toward the horizon. "In visions.But Shaaldir eventually grew impatient with waiting. Eventually, instead of hunting down Primordials and protecting tribes as he was told, he gathered the Harbingers and established them as rulers over the tribes, claiming Tel Eramin for himself. Though the tribes in these cities are well-protected, it is at the expense of all the other tribes that the Harbingers are sent for."
"Which is why our village moved a few generations ago," Uther pondered out loud.
"And is moving today," Aresis added. "Which makes your tribe one of the lucky ones. Many others have been completely wiped out by the forces of chaos, with no hope of respite."
The pair continued on for about an hour longer. The snow had lost all its glow now, making the going much more difficult. Finally, they reached a particularly large set of lava mounds jutting out of the deepening snow. They had to dig through a couple of snow drifts, but they were greeted on the other side by a cave formed by the lava flows.Inside was a small pile of charcoal, evidence of the last time Aresis had been there.
"We'll have to take alternating watches through the night," Aresis said. "I don't want those wolves to get too close without us knowing."
"I'll take first watch, then," Uther said.
The pair began to set up camp. As Aresis prepared his bedroll, he winced.
"Is your arm feeling any better?" Uther asked.
"The work Nathrae and her husband did was good," Aresis said, moving his left arm more carefully now. "But time is what it needs now. How's your head?"
Uther took off his fur hat and touched his bandage gingerly, sending a slight twinge of pain across his scalp. "Similar."
He took off his necklace and set it on the cave floor. It flickered to life, and its warmth staved off the bone-chilling cold of the night, made even less welcoming by the periodic wolf howls that echoed through his watch. Uther studied the fire, remembering the one who had gifted it to him. Her broken body on the floor of the cave flashed through his mind. She had lost her husband and children at around the same time that Uther was born. She had all but adopted him. Uther gripped his atlatl as a wolf howled into the night, but relaxed when the answering calls were far away. He reached his hands toward the fire to warm them as resolve hardened in his heart. Though Volgen had been the one to kill her, Cegvir was the one behind the attack. It was his blood that must be spilled, and if the bear came between them, it would die, demon or not.
***
Author's Note:
Hey there! I have the rest of the first draft of this story written. Sound off in the comments below whether you'd rather have me upload it all at once, or do something more like one chapter per week.
Thanks for reading this far!