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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
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 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