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2024-10-29 19:42:56
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The nation Chapter 12
Harden thanked Westin and agreed to send Briaunna in two days’ time, it was good for her to go outside occasionally. As Harden leaves, some of his people greet him and quickly take over his attention.Westin watched him leave, thinking to himself about Harden. How this man could feel things so deeply that they affect his personal life, yet he could walk with any of The People, and they will know nothing of his struggle. He was a kind, strong man who only thought of others first, his people first. Westin shook his head, sometimes there was nothing one could say to make another see or understand the feather’s edge.All around his apothecary was hustle and bustle. Hunters were coming in with fresh kills or empty handed, their horses kicked up little storms of dirt with each hoof fall. The children went running bye, yelling taunts and jeers to each other, making little clouds of their own. Fires were burning and everything felt right to Davyn. He had just returned from the woods near Craz
The nation Chapter 13
“Good morning.” She said to the two shoppers, they just nodded as if everything was completely normal.“Get over here!” Her mother said.Kaya’s hair was in tangles, and she still had the wideness in her eyes. “Hey,” she said to her mother trying to smooth out her hair, “what can I help with?”That earned her a wry smile from her mother.“Get over here and help me load the kiln.” Everything looked odd shaped as Kaya walked over to her mother.“What the heck is that?”“What?”“That, what is that? That odd one there.” She pointed.“I have no idea; it was one of your father’s creations. Just help me get it in here, please.”“Alrighty mom’o.” They both broke out in a sweat moving some of the pieces into the kiln. Once they finished the loading, Kaya went to get the flint to start the fire. She loved banging the flint’s together to get the sparks, she thought it was like magic. Tiny fireballs flew away from her and towards the tinder her mom had placed under some small dry kindling. Kaya
The nation Chapter 14
When she was at the point where the road turned west, she stopped and looked at the boulders. They were less than a kilometer away. They were large and ungainly, no one remembered how they got there; they were not a natural looking formation. Some of the boulders were sticking out of the ground, like they were dropped from the sky, and some were laid over on their sides. The formation was that of a half circle, a complete juxtaposition to the surrounding landscape. Indra was... confused, she wanted Harden, but he was not interested in her anymore, right? She knew deep down that that was not true. But she needed the touch of a man, the strength to make her feel like a woman, she wanted Andy.Indra was naked and in Andy’s arms before the sun came up.“Ouch,” she said, “there’s a rock in my back.”Andy picked her up in one of his large, muscular arms, cradling her.“I do not see it.” He said slowly.Indra wrapped one arm around Andy’s neck and reached back with her other arm.“It’s,” she
The nation Chapter 15
A few minutes later Briaunna found Claudia sitting outside of Davyn’s apothecary. Something was not right. Briaunna could never recall a time when Davyn’s hearth was cold, even when he went herb gathering a fire was left burning for when he returned. This time though, as Briaunna got closer she could not see any smoke coming from the dwelling. It felt cold, unoccupied, and old somehow. Briaunna felt a pang of intuition, she felt almost scared. “Did you go inside yet? She asked Claudia.“No, and I don’t want to.” She said with finality.“Fine,” Brie said, “I’ll go in by myself.” She still had a few meters to go before she reached the door, but her intuition was telling her that something was wrong, and she was too late to help.Andy had to leave the boulders first that morning, he was to work in the fields with the other men today, and he will go hunting tomorrow. He will be gone hunting for at least three to four days, so Indra told him he was to meet her at the boulders for a good
The nation Chapter 16
Westin was not the messy sort, however, when he returned from gathering herbs there was a general disorder for a few days while he sorted things out. The light only shown through the doorway, it blazed a path diagonal across the floor. The lack of light inside, and no fire to help, made Briaunna squint her eyes to see better. Soon her eyes would adjust to the lack of ambient light. Davyn’s apothecary was all shop out front; a table stood to the left, it had a large pestle and mortar resting on top, various herbs Brie could not name lay on the table; some were hung to dry from the ceiling. To the right were bundles of dry herbs all labeled for trade laying in baskets, pots, and vases. Some of the pots and vases were of a fancier design, no doubt from the Flistedt’s kiln. “Davyn?” Brie called weakly.She had no strength in her voice, no volume, her call was feeble. No one answered, and Brie got an eerie feeling. She walked inside further, looking for something to lean on, something for
The nation Chapter 17
“It looks like he was working with his herbs. Some of them are fresh. He also has a large amount of yohimbine bark.”Harden’s heart sunk into his belly when the healer mentioned the yohimbine bark.“It looks like he was working with the bark before he died, probably last night.”Harden’s heart could not sink any lower, but his head did.The healer continued, “I think he got too much on his skin and did not realize it. I believe it was an accident.”“Thank you Givvens.” Was Harden’s only reply, his head remained low, and he stared at the ground.“Did you hear what happened?” Marx loved to gossip as much as she loved the carvings on the boulders.“Yes, old Westin died.” KT liked the old man, he was always nice to her and her family.“He got too much yohimbine bark on his skin or something,” Marx rubbed her chin in thought, “what was he doing with all that bark anyways? My dad says that bark has to be handled with care.”“He was a kind old man.” Kaya seemed to go back in time to some pla
The nation Chapter 18
Everyone was quieted by this revelation. This was taking place right in front of their very eyes; They were experiencing it as well. Their cherished customs and beliefs have almost vanished, and they no longer remember anything. They have all deviated from the edge of the feather; The individuals have deviated from the path of life.Andy Aa Scandiniv entered the meeting house through the door and walked toward his father.Harden arose; He couldn't put into words how sad he was right now. He was aware that he should not act impulsively, particularly at this point in time when so much was happening. There's so much room for error. He knew the council needed to be led, but he didn't know what. He felt like he had to do something. More accurately, things have become excessively relaxed; They have all developed a complacency and arrogance. Realizing that he needed to lead by example and demonstrate something to the people, the council, and himself. He acted impulsively."Now that it is set
The nation Chapter 19
When the sun was fully up in the sky, Indra got out of bed. She went in to help Briaunna get up and they both went to the hearth to prepare the meals for the day. Harden had left without eating this morning, his girls would have a small breakfast while they worked near the hearth. Indra was not in a bad mood, but something was bothering her, Briaunna could tell but said nothing to her mother. Instead, Brie hummed and sang softly as she worked. Indra did not hum or sing.“I’ll be gone for the rest of the morning Brie; will you be ok by yourself?”“Yes momma, I’ll be fine. I have some bead work to finish, and I’ll tend the hearth till you get back.”“You are a fine daughter.” Indra kissed Brie’s forehead and they continued to work around the fire.When Indra left for the morning, she had no idea of what would happen, much like any day where she had no plans, it was going to be a surprise. The day was progressing at the normal rate. People were working, children played, animals needed te
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- The nation
Chapter 141
“Alright,” Rognvald said, “that was a good walk.” He pulled Lilly towards his chambers, she wanted to resist but she was ready for him, her body waited excitedly.Oren walked over to the wailing wife of Hastiin, he knelt down and put his fingers in the cooling blood on the ground, he never looked at the woman. Her wails fell on his deaf ears, as well as the rest of the caravan’s, after the commotion was over the people simply went about their business. Oren’s fingers felt the stickiness of the cooling blood, he rubbed them together feeling its viscosity. The urge to taste the man’s blood was too strong for Oren to resist, it tasted of iron and a touch of salt, he swirled the taste around his tongue to reach every taste bud. He didn’t put his whole finger into his mouth, just the tips touched his tongue, his eyes lit with some knowledge he didn’t understand. It gave him ideas, thoughts on how to do what he was born to do, rule. He thought about how to kill his father, for he knew that
- The nation
Chapter 140
Thewolf from the trees saw the one it wanted, it ran as fast as he could, but a two-leg gave his stealth away. He did not stop, he had to kill now, there would be no other opportunity. When the woman’s words registered in everyone else’s mind, they turned to see the wolf coming for them, they had all heard of the animal attacks but they had never been a part of one. Lilly and Claudia froze, Oren waited to see who would get eaten, Oscar and Hastiin looked for an out. The wolf leapt up and into the air, the man he landed on was bitten cleanly in the throat, the sound of his wind pipe being torn out was sickening. The wolf had torn out the wrong throat, Hastiin lay bleeding from a throat the was not whole anymore, a gasping whistling sound came from his opened neck wound, the man’s hands felt the deadly damage. The wolf looked quickly around, there was the one he needed to kill, the wolf moved so fast. Rognvald’s smile never once faded, the wolf charged at him, he stood, waiting.The wolf
- The nation
Chapter 139
“Thank you mother.” Said Talia.“Thank you as well,” Kaya’s eye’s pleaded for something, some miracle to save her friend. “Leave him here with me,” Sooleeaway said, she held an open palm towards Bram, “Talia will stay and help with his care. Let me look at you child.” But the healer paused before inspecting Kaya.Kaya did not flinch when Sooleeaway reached towards her face, she stood and respected the older woman, even after she was referred to as a child. Kaya’s younger self would have tried to correct the older woman, there by reaffirming her status as a child, on this day she merely stood and waited for the healer to look her over.“Pardon me,” said Sooleeaway, “you are grown now, Kaya Tasso Flistedt. You have changed, you are a child no more.” The healer spoke no more.Sooleeaway inspected Kaya, she found cuts healed, bruises, blisters, and a nearly mended heart. The heart was not spoken of, but her physical injuries were treated. Kaya left Talia with Bram, there was nothing for
- The nation
Chapter 138
“We have to get him to the bend in the river.” Talia told Kaya.“Can he travel?”“He will have to, we need to settle before the winter and Bram needs to heal, the best thing for all of us is to get to the bend.”Kaya knew Talia was right, she felt the urge to settle for winter the same as Talia did, Bram was a concern and she had no idea if he would make it. He remained unconscious fighting for his life.“I feel it to,” said Kaya, “we should go this morning, will you let everyone know that we are leaving?”“Of course.”“I’ll stay with Bram until you get back, then I’ll harness old Percy and we can get going before noon.”When Talia left Bram’s tent, Kaya looked at her friend, the burly man was lying on a buffalo skin blanket, sleeping fitfully. She watched his breathing, it was still labored and shallow, Talia said the venom attacked the victims muscles, making it hard to move or breathe. Kaya didn’t want to remember Bram as he was now, she wanted to remember him like he was in Ondu,
- The nation
Chapter 137
The force like no other was the will of the Land, it used the storm to discourage the travelers from continuing any further, the Land was exasperated by the nerve of these humans. The storm surged over the long butte, it tried to retain the water like the force instructed, but it began to rain while crossing the long butte. The water washed away all of the small animals on the ground, the animals in the trees did not fare much better, some fell and were also washed away. Then the storm saw its target, it was aimed for the humans on the ground, the Land did not like these humans, they were too far from home. The purple cloud roared with thunder and rained heavily on its course towards the humans. Everyone in the caravan raced to find the best shelter they could, they scrambled into the trees because there was nowhere else to go. The Land offered them no shelter, nothing strong and stable, some people sat under there carts, some went into the trees, others found a nook they could climb
- The nation
Chapter 136
Kaya ran after the girl, she was faster than Kaya and as she watched, Lisbet sped away towards the edge of the desert. Who was bit, she thought, who was bit that would make Talia want me? That thought led her mind to the worst possible scenarios. Was it Rollins? Or Erek? The last thought chilled her, what if it was Arun? Kaya ran as fast as she could after Lisbet. As she ran thunder echoed across the plateau, she turned her head towards the long butte, what she saw made her glad she was not in the north with the caravan. A humongous purple cloud rolled over the buttes flat top, it drug rain with it, Kaya could see the sheets of water pouring down as the titanic cloud crested the edge of the butte. So much water, she thought as she ran towards death.“Talia,” Kaya was out of breath by the time she reached the healer. Two men were carrying a third on a hastily crafted stretcher, “who was bitten?”No sooner than those words left her mouth she saw who it was, her hand went to her mouth.“
- The nation
Chapter 135
The horses pulled carts and wagons like they had for the last three years, they were thralls to these travelers now, the animals knew nothing of the Path of Life. All the animals knew was the cycle of life, and how nature gives and takes, without mercy. Now they were lashed to these heavy carts, they were penned up while not moving, something they never experienced before. Normally they were free to roam and came back to The People willingly, now they would most likely bolt at the first chance, a few had and the horses that were left had to work harder. It was miserable work but they endured, they pulled the future of the Land towards a place where a city will be built, it won’t be the one in Rognvald’s dreams, it will be tainted and immoral. These horses would not see the wickedly beautiful city of lust and greed, they would be spared those memories.The caravan stopped at a few sites that were indeed good places to settle, each time Rognvald baulked, he would not stop until he reach
- The nation
Chapter 134
“Only a few more days Percy, a few more days, then we can live for a while by the bend in the river.” She rubbed his cheek; he made no sounds only looked back at her and waved his tail.Over the last three weeks Kaya had worked at putting closure to that part of her life where her parents lived. She had their memories now and no one could remove those, she came to terms with their deaths, it helped that she knew what happened to them. When Erek told her what he heard his father say she was angry and hurt but that to was fading, she was not as angry with the big man now, his father was another story, Kaya prayed that she would never see Rognvald again. Kaya finished unhooking the horses from her cart, normally Percy would buck around for a few minutes before relaxing into grazing not today though, Gerard went right to grazing, Percy joined him without any fuss. How things change, thought Kaya, she watched the two horses feeding as most of the weight from her grief floated away on the e
- The nation
Chapter 133
Kaya’s hair had grown back over the last three years of travel, it reached down to the middle of her back now, she kept it braided in one long braid while traveling. The braid reminded her of her mother, of the time they shared together, just the two of them. It wasn’t that they had something that was better than anyone else’s mother daughter relationship, it was simply there personal relationship that Kaya remembered. When her father was hard at work, making one of his fanciful pieces of pottery, or out making deliveries, they would be together. They lived in the back of the pottery shop that had been in Tombold’s family for generations, it was one of the more permanent looking structures in Ondu, having poles that had been sunk into the ground over two hundred years ago. The poles in the center of the shop were so round that Kaya couldn’t reach all the way around them until she was twelve. The shop always had a fire going, whether in the kiln or not, the friendly smell of wood burni
