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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
The nation Chapter 48
“I’ll freeze to death.” Kaya said while hugging herself dramatically.“No, you won’t. But, if you do, I promise to bring you inside and thaw you out. If I didn’t your mother would tan my hide. Oh, is that venison I smell?”“Dad, is that your stomach talking again?”“Maybe, but I have to leave you girls now. Leave you to investigate that smell.” Tombold slunk off to try and sneak up on Kathryn, he rarely succeeded.“So, Kaya, when was the last time you saw Callum?” Marx already knew the answer, she had seen Callum last, before he left for his hunting trip.“About five or six days ago, I hate going out in the cold if I can help it. He usually comes here to see me, but he must have been busy prepping for the trip.”Rognvald knew little about living off the land. His father and grandfather tried to teach him about such things, but he showed little interest, so they let him find his own path. Rognvald found his path indeed, it led him to seek positions of power so he could tell other peopl
The nation Chapter 49
“Kaya.” Her mother said weakly.“Yes, mom, what’s wrong?”“I think we are sick; your dad needs water and a healer. I am too weak to stand, that is why I was on the floor.” Kathryn shivered. “I had to crawl over there the last time, I barely made it.”“Rest momma, I’ll get help.” Kaya got a burst of adrenaline.“Your dad,” Kathryn coughed, “he said his heart was fluttering in his chest. Go and get a healer.”The healer came. Kaya was exhausted from her effort, she had to walk a four-kilometer round trip to fetch the healer. The healer put her to bed after a quick assessment, telling Kaya that she needed rest. The healer’s focus was on Kathryn and Tombold, they were weak from dehydration. The healer did what she could, which was to try to get fluids into the Flistedt’s and make them more comfortable, the healer didn’t know what the sickness was. Kaya was informed by the healer, that she would have to take care of her parents because she was not as sick as they were and there was no one
The nation Chapter 50
“Kaya Tasso?” The healer, Diana, always used Kaya’s full name. She said it was a powerful spirit name. “Kaya Tasso, are you there?”Kaya heard the voice, it was small in her head, like a mouse would sound from across the room. The faint voice continued.“It’s freezing out here, are you ok?”Kaya sat up, feeling no dizziness, she called back.“I’m ok.”Diana had learned where the bedrooms were in the Flistedt’s home, that way she could stand on the outside of the nearest wall and talk to Kaya. Otherwise, standing at the front door, she would have to yell over the blowing wind loud enough to be heard in the back of the home.“That’s good to hear, I was worried a bit when you didn’t answer right away. How are your parents?”“They are weak. Dad’s confused, he says some weird things and I think he is hallucinating.”“What about your mom?”“She is not as confused but her eyes are almost all black, I can hardly see the brown in them.”A moment passed before Diana answered back, she was think
The nation Chapter 51
“What? No. How did this become pick on Callum day?” Asked Callum over the icy wind that beat at his exposed skin with ferocity.“How else are we gonna distract ourselves from this cold?” Gorman shouted in reply.Lorne responded, “with Callum’s love life, lack of...”The five young men were painfully traveling through the bitter freezing morning air. The party was heading southwest, back to Ondu. They had been gone for fifteen days, one day longer than they were expected to be gone. Bastien had made them pack up and head for home, they all longed to be out here hunting. The hunt spoke to their souls as it did in most of the men from Ondu, as well as some of the women. Bastien was the closest thing to a leader that this group had, he was smart, strong, and confident. Whenever the five got into a scenario where someone needed to take charge, the default setting was Bastien. Something about his personality, his demeanor, just said leader; he had no doubt he would be chief one day. The pa
The nation Chapter 52
Callum always walked on eggshells around Marx, she could turn right around in the blink of an eye. One moment she would be your friend then, with an imperceptible quickness, she would change one hundred and eighty degrees. He liked her though, despite her all-knowing look that naturally graced her face. Marx was not the tallest or the prettiest, but she was authentic. She was always herself; confident, sassy, and genuine. Most people knew Marx, and liked her, but she rubbed some people the wrong way. Not on purpose mind you, she was a strong-willed woman, and she didn’t care whether she was liked or not. Callum wondered if she had a softer side.“How do you guys keep warm?”“The same way we do here, we built a fire, made temporary shelter and kept out of the wind.” Callum took a bite of bread after he finished his explanation.“You make it sound so simple.”“It is, I mean, we just have everything here already set up. Someone at some time had to establish Ondu, it didn’t just spring up