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The nation Chapter 66
Rognvald manipulated his way into the leadership role of the group leaving while Harden mourned for Indra. His impassioned speeches about how The People had suffered, about the benefits of a new village and farmlands, and about trade left all but a few of the council members questioning Rognvald’s motives. It was clear, to every member, that Rognvald thought he should be chief. Harden was propped up by his friends and supporters during his grief over losing Indra. Only a few people knew about what really happened, how Indra died, and those people had their own agenda.Kaya hadn’t been this far from her home since before her parents died. The farthest she strayed from her doorway was to collect wood for the hearth fire, that was only a few meters from the door. She had no reason to leave, even after the quarantine was lifted, she stayed home. She let the kiln fires go cold, there were still pieces inside that needed to be finished, she left them there. The rest of her home was empty, d
The nation Chapter 67
Then Kaya froze, her eye’s must be playing tricks on her, she could not believe what she was seeing. I must be dreaming, she thought, this can’t be real. What Kaya saw was her best friend run up to Callum and jump into his arms, then they kissed, passionately. Marx was holding the back of Callum’s head as he returned the passionate kiss. In that moment, her heart broke, again. Her refuge was gone, the one person she wanted to be with was gone, Marx had just kissed Callum in a way that was unmistakable. They were together. Kaya’s eyes remained dry, they had no more tears in them, her stomach clenched, and her heart sank, she watched all of Callum’s friends smile for him.Harden began his speech with a stammer, he was not mentally prepared for this, to give a speech to his entire tribe. He wasn’t prepared to stand above everyone else and deliver the messaged that he must deliver now. It was a message of division, a message of sacrifice, and one that will bring hardship to the group leav
The nation Chapter 68
“I am finally going to be the leader The People deserve.” Rognvald announced.“Yes, here, here.” Oscar sounded off.“It is about time Rognvald, about time.” Hastiin Leffler raised a mug of beer to toast his new leader.“It will be worth it in the end.” Angeni Spier adds.The council meeting had broken up, most of the members had gone to their respective duties. Rognvald stayed back in the meeting house to celebrate his triumph, some of his supporters felt obligated to stay as well. Not all of them were happy about leaving.“It will be the time of our lives. We will cross the Domea and establish a village on the other side.” Rog finished to cheers.“It will go by fast.”“What will go bye fast, Hastiin?” Asked Oscar.“The two weeks. The two weeks until we leave, they will go bye fast, we should begin our preparations now. We should save the revelry for after we cross the river.”“Hastiin, why are you so worried about preparations?” Asked Rognvald after a big gulp of beer.“It is a long
The nation Chapter 69
“How long have you been here?” Brie asked.“I sat down after the meeting ended,” sip, “no one needed me so, I just had a mug of beer.”“I can see that.” She said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. “Well then, I have to tell you what I found out.”Erek took another sip of his beer, after wiping his mouth he said. “Ok, I’m dying to know what happened to me.”Brie winced at the word, dying, but Erek didn’t notice. “I spoke with Niall first, then Leland and the last one I talked with was Vardon. They all said the same thing, you were normal Erek and then you weren’t, but they were certain that you changed during the time you spent at Crazy forest.”Briaunna was smiling when she finished, Erek drank his beer and thought about that trip. His mind was foggy but not too much, his memories were not clear, but something was coming back to him.“I think it had something to do with the water there.”“What water?” Asked an excited Brie.“The lake that’s there, I can’t remember the details
The nation Chapter 70
After supper, Erek set out his bed roll, he lay it next to the fire and outside of the shelter they brought. Brie sat next to him, and they watched the sun set. After a while, the chill of the night crept closer to the fire.“I’m getting cold.”“Me too.” Said Erek.“The stars are so many; I don’t think I have ever looked at them like this before.”“It was just like this on my first trip to the forest, we slept out just like this,” he gestured to the ground. “The stars were just as impressive then as they are now.”“Erek? Do you know why my mother died?”That made Erek shudder, he did know what she did, but he had no idea why. “I really don’t, I wish I did though.”Brie knew that he was sincere but couldn’t put her finger on why it would bother him so much, she could see that he was sad too. She looked into the fire and seemed to mature in an instant.“The midwife told me that it was her heart,” she paused, “she said that it was broken, her heart, and that some mothers died from this c
The nation Chapter 71
Closer to the water now, she looked back to see Erek waiting on the trail, he smiled back to her his best smile. The lake knew Erek did not need healing anymore, the lake made Erek feel love, but it also made him stay on the trail, today was for Briaunna. Briaunna felt such a joyous feeling that she smiled back to Erek her best smile; she didn’t know that she was floating towards the glowing water. She was moving her feet in her normal gate; her feet were not in contact with the ground anymore. When Brie turned back to the lake, she was standing in waist deep water, a euphoria settled in her.The next morning Erek noticed he didn’t have to help Brie as much, he didn’t need to carry as much gear either, old Percy must have had a change of heart and decided to carry some gear himself. Erek walked beside Percy, Brie was sitting on the old horse with poise and a strength that had not been there the night before. It was then that Erek knew, come what may, bringing Briaunna here was the rig
The nation Chapter 72
The caravan would be the largest ever to cross the land, there were over eight hundred people already to leave. The group had a diverse skill set and would have everything they needed to start a new settlement, once a suitable location was found. The plan to cross the Domea came straight from Rognvald, he was being too ambitious. The land was vast on this side of the river, to the northeast mountains loomed providing some shelter from the weather, going east was not the only option. The group does not have to cross the Domea, but Rognvald wanted to cross the river, a feat only performed by the Buffalo; a creature three times the weight of a man. The Domea river was fed by ice melting from the top of the great mountain range that will become known as the Spine of the World. In spring, the ice melts, breaking apart large chunks that get stuck down river. When these backups occur, the melt water builds up behind it, waiting to escape in a rushing torrent. After the spring melt, the rive
The nation Chapter 73
Pushing his way through the doorway, Rognvald immediately saw the only fire that was burning, and the lone figure that sat near the tub. The figure by the tub did not move when Rognvald entered, it sat unmoving, giving him another shiver. The room felt cool, even with the fire burning, the light didn’t reach far from the pit were it burned. The smell of the fire was subtle, it was a common fragrance throughout the village, Rognvald went to stoke the fire. He thought, let’s get some light in here, and drive out that chill.“Leave it, we won’t be here that long.” The figure spoke, before the figure stood, it bent down and picked something up out of the tub. It was a small bundle of some kind.Rognvald stood straight after the figure spoke. He dropped the log he was holding and watched the figure bend down and pick up a bundle from the tub, then the figure stood. As Rog watched, the figure materialized into Harden.“Harden! I, ah.” He stammered, “I’m here at your request.”“Don’t sound s