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The nation Chapter 126
“Father, be careful, I’d be hard pressed to carry you back by myself.” She said sarcastically.“I know, clumsy old dad, ya know I’m not that old.” He screamed, “I’ve been bitten.” He pulled his leg up so fast the snake that bit him was still holding on. It let go and fell to the ground, before it could even hiss, the daughter chopped its head clean off.“Father you’re pale.”The daughter helped the poison spread through her father’s body faster, she helped him walk back to the caravan, they had paused to search for water. The movement caused the father’s heart to pump faster, along with the trauma of being bitten by an unknown snake. He collapsed before the healers cart, his daughter carried the snakes carcass to show the healers, her father foamed at the mouth and went still. The healers could do nothing, none had ever seen a snake like this, it had small horns above its eyes, it looked like sand. The color was a perfect camouflage for the desert, the man had stepped into the snake’s
The nation Chapter 127
Oren had been out wandering through where the commoners set up their tents. He was not looking for anything in particular, he wasn’t spreading rumors either, he was only out for a walk. He looked seriously at the people around him, he didn’t look down on them, nor did he love them, he pitied them. He thought they were only here to be a bother, to be cared for so they could do what they were told. The wind blew a chill through the winter camp the caravan had set up, they learned from last winter to take care in how they set up for the freezing weather. Tents were buffeted on the outside, and staked firmly into the earth, the hides were doubled and sometimes tripled if the family had the hides. A lot of valuable gear was lost in that damned river, some equipment was lost or ruined as they traveled farther from Ondu. Only a few thought of their old home now, Kaya and Erek were among them, Rollins replayed that fleeting moment she had there with her mother.When he saw Kaya, Oren followed
The nation Chapter 128
“I’m’ gonna go and check on my family.”“There fine,” said Kaya, gesturing to Rollins and herself.“Not you dingbats, my father and sister.” Erek trailed off, he was looking in the direction of his father’s dwelling.“Oh.” Was all Kaya said.“Well, give them all my love.” Rollins made an insulting gesture.“I’ll be sure to do that.”“Especially that drunk in charge up there,”“Alright Rollins, that’s enough,” Kaya didn’t want to hear the insults, she had heard them enough from Rollins by now, Kaya wanted to know why he wanted to check on his father.“You’re right, Erek I’m sorry for that, I shouldn’t think like that but I do.” Rollins looked at the big man, “you are different, you’re growing on me, like a fungus.”“Sweet,” said Kaya, “now can we go get something to eat? I’m positive Lorne was cooking something when we left.”“I could eat,” answered Rollins, raising her shovel as an exclamation, “whatever that fool is cooking.”“I’m gonna go and check on my family.” Erek said firmly, l
The nation Chapter 129
The People believed a person was both good and wicked at the same time, it was the internal fight everyone faced, it all came down to which halve the person fed. They called these halves, the good wolf, and the wicked wolf. The elders taught the young that if you feed either wolf more then you took on the traits of that wolf, most of The People fed the good wolf more, but some had selfish desires and often gave the wicked wolf a treat or two. No one in the history of The People had been completely wicked, not until Rognvald, he was feeding the wicked wolf more often than anyone in the memory of The People. When Lilly gave birth to Oren, the child should have been returned immediately to the earth, but that to was never a thought among The People. Oren was born wicked, as he grew, so did his wickedness. The criminals were feeding their wicked wolves, the internal struggle was turning them towards a dark life path, it was following them as they followed Rognvald. The farther from their
The nation Chapter 130
“Erek,” Kaya pulled the big man’s arm to stop him, “Erek, I know something is bothering you, talk to me.” The caravan had stopped for the night.“Kaya,” Erek turned, looking anxiously around for an escape route.“Will you talk to me? Please?” Kaya missed the comfort that he was by the fire, Erek had gotten up and walked away when Kaya sat next to him, he did that a lot and this time Kaya had enough.“Kaya, I,” His eyes pleaded for some escape, he had thought to tell Kaya what he heard his father say about her parents deaths but he, well he couldn’t make his mouth say the words. He also learned from Claudia the depths of his father’s madness, he was completely unapproachable to anyone accept Oscar, Hastiin, or Lilly. Erek had no idea if what he heard was true, or were they ravings of a psychotic mind, his gut told him it was true but what if he told Kaya and it was a lie. What if his father was simply insane?“You what?” She stood firmly in front of him, “you think I smell? You don’t l
The nation Chapter 131
If you run a predator will chase you, if you’re in a tree and the predator can climb it will climb after you, bears weren’t always predatory but they can run faster than a man, and they can climb any tree. Morgan had nowhere to run, hide, or climb to, so he stood his ground and braced for a fight. Morgan had killed many animals since leaving Ondu for good, many of The People thought him foolish in his wanderings over the Land, he had only killed in self-defense three times in his forty-two winters, never was his enemy this large. The bear was at least three and a half meters tall, and weighed more than Morgan cared to speculate, the dense brown fur of the bear moved rhythmically as it charged out of the trees. The creature stopped in front of Morgan, Morgan stood his ground yielding nothing to the bear, the bear stood up on his hind legs and growled. Morgan didn’t wait for the bear to make the first move, if he waited maybe the bear was bluffing and was only putting on a display, but
The nation Chapter 132
“What was that for?” Kaya asked Rollins.“I can’t kiss you anymore?” Rollins asked.Kaya wasn’t sure how to answer, her hesitation said a lot, it was nice kissing Rollins but Kaya wasn’t ready for that last kiss. It was a surprise to her, she was thinking about talking with Erek when Rollins kissed her, pressing those soft lips onto hers. But it gave Kaya no reaction, or rather, not the reaction it had in the past. “It was just a surprise is all, I was deep in thought and I think I have something to tell you to.” “What is that then?”“I’m not going to follow Rognvald anymore,” she almost said sir instead, “I’m going back to the bend in the south river, we should find a nice encampment by the time we get there.” Kaya turned to look at Rollins, her shimmering eyes, still wet, met Kaya’s in return.“I think that is a fine idea, and it’s about time.” Said Rollins.“We can leave in a day or two, I’ll go with you to see Morgan and help you any way you need, then we can head back to the be
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
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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
