Wind Valley, such a simple name but for people who know nothing about outer world this name was enough. About a hundred years ago people settled here, near the rocky coastline, where winds always wept, and you could hear from far away how waves desperately fought with invincible cliffs and now I’m standing on the edge of a cliff with my arms spread open wide, feeling how the might of nature’s power is pushing me back. Salt is gathering in my nose and it starts to itch, but I can’t scratch it. Two of my friends, my only friends, are holding my hands. I close my eyes and imagine myself as a huge seagull, catching the gust before a hunt for a tasty fish.
My left wing’s name is Senka. I look at him and see how afraid he is of height and waves that are bursting beneath us. He never spoke much and always accepted all my endeavours, but I always understood from his face what he wants to say. I’ve known him since forever. Our families share neighbouring farmlands, and I’m only one month older than he is, so our parents decided that it would be perfect to raise us something like brother and sister.
Our village is placed between the Northern Ocean and the Cold Peak (from top to bottom this mountain is two giants in height or at least that’s what I’ve heard from my father, he still has a memory of places beyond the Cold Peak, or he heard it from his father, my grandad, who was among the first settlers here) and vast fields are scattered around the valley. People in Wind Valley determine time by sun’s position between the ocean and the mountain, dawn from the Sea and Dusk from the Peak. It is always time for us to head home when the sun hides behind the Peak, otherwise mountain witches would tear away our ears (at least that is what my mother told me, or her mother, my grandmother, told her). I was afraid to never hear the ocean again and always got back before witches could get me.
It is difficult to raise crops in this weather, so most of the villagers are forced to raise cattle or practice in craftsmanship to sell their goods to neighbouring settlements, or chosen few decided to become hunters. It was obvious that they would introduce me to Senka so when we grow up, we could continue the job of our parents. Our relationship developed slowly, as Senka was very shy and preferred playing alone in the mud, rather than speaking to anyone. Through our silent meetings we felt close to each other. I think that we both felt equally uncomfortable and that lead to our bonding. When mud puddles became too small for the two of us, we started exploring fields that were near our houses. There is nothing particularly interesting in those fields, yet we found it exciting. Being further away from our houses than we have ever been before thrilled blood in our veins. We were dreaming about adventures beyond the Cold Peak. Looking at those fields everyday we grew bored of the same landscape and they looked less and less appealing.
Wandering merchants would visit our village from time to time to sell knifes, axes and other metalwork that you couldn’t find in these places. In return, they would buy meats, eggs and hides. Our fathers would take us to these markets to teach us how to bargain and get a better deal. One day we overheard one of the merchants telling stories about vast lands behind the Cold Peak, but local folks just laughed. These stories encouraged us even more.
Having Senka as a friend helped me to avoid spending time with my elder brothers. Before Senka I was used as a servant by them. They would send me to the village when mother told them to bring crops or water for the kitchen. Elder brothers used to tease me with scary tales about Cold Peak and goblins that were living inside of the mountains. But with Senka I could run away from home and leave my brothers to entertain themselves by milking cows and gaining my father’s appreciation. I am still too young to be allowed to handle cows but grown up enough to run around green fields and think about how fascinating it would be to cross the Peak and reach the unknown lands.
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My right wing’s name is Hina. Her long sweet chestnut colour hair is waving in the wind. Her palm is warm and soft in comparison to Senka’s. I could see fire in her eyes, she is brave and adventurous. We met her during one of our wanderings towards the Peak. She was all alone and had no fear in the eye when we approach her. We asked her what she was doing there. She only smiled, immediately I saw something shining in her palm. It was a small knife that she was prepared to use if we move an inch. When she asked who we are in return, we pointed our fingers towards the Windy Valley and told her that me and Senka are children of local farmers. She bursted with laughter, because we were stuttering. Immediately she pointed her finger towards the Cold Peak and told us that she lives there. I one instant, our bodies were covered in shivers. She lived there? How? Impossible. She looked our age and already lived beyond the Peak. Then I inspected her more thoroughly and realized that her clothes looked like those that wandering merchants were wearing. So, we trusted her and showed our empty hands. With a swift flick Hina hid her knife in a rear pocket and introduced herself. I doubt that Senka ever noticed the knife and I didn’t ask him if he saw it.
From that day, she called us to stroll around almost every evening. Frankly saying, I was afraid of her and couldn’t go without Senka accompanying me. We were showing her our favourite spots in Wind Valley and in return she would tell us tales about the world behind the Peak. She didn’t tell about the details, just described the nature. I think it is because she didn’t want to scare us and just wanted to share what she has seen or heard during her adventures with parents. We were amazed how much she had seen at her age and we on other hand were only exploring fields around the village. She invited us to visit her place at the root of the mountain where her parents made a camp, but it was too far from our houses, so we never did.
I couldn’t resist the itch and sneezed so loud that Senka fell on his butt and Hina started laughing.
‘Next time you do something like that tell me in advance, I need to prepare myself. I almost fell off the cliff’, cried out loud Senka, trying to stand up. When it came to complaining, Senka wasn’t shy and could tell off anyone.
‘Hahaha! You could scare off any goblin with this shout, Tarynn! Is this how you going fight your enemies? Rhaaa! And all of them just flee. Hahaha!’, was Hina’s response to my sneeze.
I cleaned my nose with the back of my palm and gazed into the horizon,
‘Hina,’ I began, ‘Do you think me… and Senka… Would we be able to come with you? I mean. Beyond the Peak.’
She looked at me and stopped laughing,
‘No. You would die. Instantly.’
It didn’t sound as if she was joking. She genuinely thought that there was no chance for us, maybe even we were not the first ones to ask her this question. Who knows how much she travelled and how many people met. We might’ve been her hundredth attempt to make friends in this journey. However, she continued,
‘In your current state,’ then I saw fire in her eyes, ‘You must learn how to survive in the wilderness at least. Then we can speak about your journey to the other side of the Cold Peak.’
I slowly turned my head to Senka and he was already standing by my side,
‘My uncle,’ he began murmuring, ‘Nimrod. He’s a hunter. We can ask him… to teach us how to hunt. And stuff…’
Ocean wind was hitting my ears, I could barely hear his voice. I heard only ‘Hunter, we can ask...’ and just an idea that we could start preparing for our adventure sparked a joyful smile on my face. There are only a few hunters in our village and they don’t like to share their knowledge with others, but we will try our best.