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The nation Chapter 40
“Fine.” A rough sounding voice responded.Baylie went in through the flap, it closed gently behind her. The room was lit by two candles, one on each side of the bed, but the room had a quality about it. A quality of sadness, of desperation, of darkness. Baylie saw a lump on the bed and sat down close to it. She put her hand on the lump and it moved.“Honey! Are you ok?”“I’m fine.” A muffled voice answered from under the blankets.“Explain to me how you are fine?” Baylie, still sounding concerned, added a tone to her voice. A tone that said, “stop lying to me.”Indra appeared from underneath the covers, her head was pointing away from Baylie, she didn’t want to look at her friend.“I’m pregnant.” Like that was some kind of answer that spoke for all her problems.“Women get pregnant all of the time in Ondu, why is yours different? What is going on with you? Is it just morning sickness? Maybe the baby will have a lot of hair when it’s born.” Baylie let a little excitement creep into her
The nation Chapter 41
“You have been cheating on me for years Harden, the village is more important. The People are more important, the crops, the stores, everything but me. Why am I last on your list husband, why?” Like running into another tree, Harden was stunned by his wife’s admission.Briaunna was also stunned. She believed that her parents were perfect, that they would always do the right thing and protect her and The People. Now, she was hearing things that made little sense to her. Her mother was having an affair with another man, her father was too distracted to be a good husband. What was happening? “You have never been last on my list, why would you say that?”“Harden,” Indra wiped at her nose, “whether you meant to put me last or not, that is exactly how I feel. Last.”“Rognvald told me, that fucker. I had to find out from that snake in the grass.” Harden let the anger fill his words.Indra was not sure how to respond, first off, she was surprised by the fact that Rognvald knew. That meant t
The nation Chapter 42
“Hold on!” A voice called, one that she thought was familiar.Then with almost no effort at all, she was lifted out of the snow by a man, a big man. “It’s ok, I have you.” He said. “Why are you walking around by yourself?”“I’m going to the council meeting.”“You are? Me too.” The man had joy in his voice.When Brie lifted her head up to see who had picked her up, she was surprised that it was Erek. Simple Erek did not sound that simple anymore. Brie decided to play it smart and not give away too much.“I’ll carry you to the door then I’ll put you down.”“Why would you do that?”“So, you can pretend like you made it on your own, it’ll be our secret.”Brie had never heard Erek speak like this, he usually had one- or two-word answers and blank stares. Who was this Erek? “Oh, I didn’t think of that,” she said honestly. “Well let’s get moving, I’m freezing.”Erek walked them towards the meeting house. When the two got close to the council room Erek set Briaunna down.“Now you can walk i
The nation Chapter 43
Much of the gossip was just idle chat and good-natured banter to help pass the time away. Erek was not the only topic of conversation, the women talked about their men too, not one of them was off limits. But, that night after the council meeting when Indra went after Erek, she was not in control of herself, she was guided by her lustful inhibitions. None of the gossip played in her head when she walked after Erek. Not one time did she think about what she was doing, she just needed to feel a man again, her regret came shortly after her orgasm. Gasping from pleasure, Indra looked down and saw a face that wasn’t her husbands, it was the face of a frightened and bewildered Erek.Indra was in the third month of her pregnancy now; she stayed home and in her bed on most days. Her feet swelled to an absurd size; they wouldn’t fit into her moccasins anymore. The nausea and vomiting have left her weak and with little appetite, fortunately her nausea was almost over, she only puked now if some
The nation Chapter 44
What Sokonan intuited from this statement was; I don’t have time for any other problems right now, you know; like a pregnant wife.“Harden, you know you aren’t in this alone, you do not need to carry the weight of the village on your shoulders. Ondu will survive, The People will survive.” Sokonan put some force into her words. “Winter is always hard on The People, it is ok to let nature take its course.”Harden slapped his leg, making Sokonan flinch at the sudden sound.“What if I, or we, can do something about it? Aren’t we compelled to do whatever is in our power to do to make things better? What if a group leaving is the right thing to do?”“Is that what has been bothering you lately? What Rognvald said about some people leaving Ondu?” Sokonan looked like she had figured out Harden’s problem, she had only uncovered a part of it.The three hearths that were meant to heat the meeting room had fires burning brightly in them, casting the familiar dancing shadows along the tough tanned
The nation Chapter 45
When Callum wasn’t hunting, he and Kaya were spending as much time together as they could. In winter keeping warm was a necessity so they spent a lot of time at the Flistedt’s pottery shop, more specifically near the kiln. The kiln was burning every day, wood was a priority for the Flistedt’s, just as food was, and they all took turns gathering, cutting, and stacking wood. Wood was the one thing that the village was not lacking, the problem was going outside to gather it, the wind and cold were unrelenting. When winter fell on the land, it came down and firmly plundered it, leaving nothing exposed unfrozen.“Hey! Not too close to the kiln.” Kaya laughed, “you’ll burn your ass.”“Are you sure your parents aren’t gonna be mad that we keep hanging out in here? I mean do they know we are...” He trailed off.“That we are what? More than friends now? They know.”“They know?”“Yep, they are lovebirds still to this day. They told me that they know what we are getting up to,” Kaya pulled her h
The nation Chapter 46
In Rog’s world, everyone would be doing what they were good at, or if it were a skill that needed more people to be doing it then he would have people learn to do it. Hunters would hunt, cooks would cook, farmers farm, etc. But not everyone saw eye to eye with Rognvald, not everyone shared his views. Most of the people still prayed to the old Gods and still followed the old ways, stay on the feather’s edge and all that. Rognvald thought it was all rubbish, trash. He did not believe in any of the Gods, not one single one. He believed in himself, and the power of manipulation.Tombold won’t just go away or not become a problem, Rognvald knew that this would somehow turn into a problem for him. Erek he can deal with or at least figure out how to handle him, but Tombold was a factor that was too far out of reach. Rognvald could send Erek hunting at every chance, keeping him away from as many people as possible, limiting the opportunity to confront Indra or Harden. Rognvald chuckled to him
The nation Chapter 47
“So, what, I just wanna know what you heard, I don’t care whether it’s true or not. I am so bored from the weather being bad, I mean we’re all stuck inside for the most part. So, just tell me already.”“I heard him tell my mom,” he bent forward and lowered his voice so that only Marx would hear. “My dad said a group of The People were gonna be leaving Ondu.”“For what?”“What do you mean for what? Don’t you know about the food shortage?”“Yes, you idiot, everyone is on rations.” She made a, duh, gesture.“Come on Marx, you don’t gotta be mean about it. But yeah, that’s what I heard my dad say. A group will be leaving in the spring to try and cross the Domea river.”Marx gasped so loud that Callum blushed.“Keep it down! I don’t know if it is true and that’s why I didn’t want to say anything. Maybe I misunderstood what I heard, ya know?”Only a few heads turned when Marx gasped, to be honest there were only a few people in the meeting house any way, everyone gathered around one of the
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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
