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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
The nation Chapter 74
Erek was overjoyed to have his son but confused as to why. He was walking next to the wagon where his stepmother and siblings rode. He didn’t want to do this alone, and he fantasized about Indra being alive and leaving with him. The last time he saw her she looked so sad, he wanted to hold her and make everything alright. He wasn’t sure about his feelings and knew he had no one to talk to about them, Briaunna was his only friend, and he would never tell her about his feelings for her mother. Lost in thought, Erek walked automatically.Harden stood stoic on the west side of the field, he was still quiet and withdrawn, but he knew he had to see this group off. He had said as many goodbyes as he could then he walked over to where he stood now. His arms crossed over his chest, his shadow was long behind him, his hair was sticking up on the left side of his head. When he told Briaunna about her little brother she was in disbelief, he didn’t lie to her, he told her the truth. Harden told hi
The nation Chapter 75
After the reseeding the Land was slow to recover, the growth was hampered by weak light from the distant star, and the things that grew struggled. The skies were hazy and fought hard to keep the light out, but the haze could not keep all of the light from the ground. When some of the things that grew took root, slowly the world recovered, slowly the green things grew and helped to clean the air of the haze. Then and only then, were humans on the Land. The animals that remained were hardy and stout, they had survived an extinction event and it was supposed to be their time to prosper, but the humans were clever and began to learn, grow stronger, and to hunt. The spirit of the planet, Oshwee’laho’ka, could see what would happen before it happened, she could see the humans and their potential. The spirit knew then what she must do, she must keep the humans in small bands and never let them gather in larger groups, for she knew that these large groups would turn into locusts, consuming ev
The nation Chapter 76
“Callum,” Bastien needed some help gathering wood to keep the fire going all night, “let’s get some wood for the fire.”“Alright.” Was Callum’s response.“What about me?” Asked Raymond, “what am I to do?”“Keep the fire going until we get back. Finish setting up the shelter and put away the gear you used.”“Okay!” Rosie said, enthusiastically. As long as he had something to do, he was good.“He can be annoying, don’t you think?” Bastien gave a sly grin to Callum.“Yeah, it’s a good thing he has such good friends, otherwise, someone could take advantage of him.”“Yeah, good thing.” Bastien had a smile on his face, “but what I really want to know is how are you doing?” The smile went away.“How do you mean?” Asked Callum.Neither men saw the shadow that moved like a cat, it was slick like warm fat, and moved efficiently to follow them.“I mean with everything that has happened. Ondu being torn in two, Kaya being torn with it, and Marx, well, where the hell did that come from?” Bastien w