We stared at each other for a good long second Since I have known Kara, she had been antagonizing me to some degree or other. Some of it was deserved, sure. She was of the Snake Clan originally and those had been and still were the enemies of mine. That made me her enemy originally, too. But since then a lot had happened, and while I was reluctant to trust her with my life, say, I was willing to trust her to be on roughly the same side as me.

I opened my mouth to speak, but she interrupted me immediately, putting the tea down hard, that hot water splashed sizzling into the fire.

“Don‘t you dare whine to me now, Raven. I know what you have done for the Wyldlings, although my clan should have left you with no love for my people. We are in this together now. It was neither my decision, nor wish, but here we are. Bear Clan,“ she spoke the word differently as if she had to get used to referring herself as a member of that clan, „and Ravenport. It is your doing. Now, we work together. Like it or not.“

I crossed my arms. “See, that kind of attitude may give you leeway with the Wyldlings, but I am not a Wyldling. You will have to earn my respect. It does not come for free, just because you are a [Shaman]. And I do not care for your way of addressing me one bit.“

There still was heated lightning in her eyes but she bit her lip in thought as well, not willing to continue on the path of confrontation just for confrontation's sake.

“I do have a problem with you, Raven. Why not get it out of the way. Humans do not belong in the Wyld. And yet here you are. You have killed my brother, a man I had sworn to kill myself. That is not your fault, I know that. And yet, all the years of terror and hate are still there, because I was denied my chance. Then, you sold his head away like a trophy, if my warriors have informed me correctly. I would have cursed him to wander the forsaken mists alone, for all eternity barred entry to the hunting grounds of the Totem Beasts, and yet I would have respected the warrior he was if not the man.“

“I am not sure what the accusation here is. I thought you hated him and now you have a problem with what I did with his remains?“

“The problem here, Raven, is that you lack respect for the ways and the traditions of the Wyld, and yet you claim ownership of what always was ours. We have our ways. Barak was one of ours, and our problem to deal with after you slew him in battle.“

“Then I claim his head as a victor of the duel! What would you have said to that?“

She gritted her teeth. “I would have allowed it. Asked for a proper cursing, but you would have left with the head, both of us satisfied. But you have not thought to ask. And that is the problem, is it not? He was my brother! How many weeks have passed without you coming here? Do you even remember that we hold a prisoner of the Snake Clan, fed by our [Hunters], for your convenience? You take our [Warriors] to train your whelps, you take our meat to feed your hungry and all I would have asked in return is to respect our ways. The time for asking is over. I am demanding it now.“

This woman was a thorn in my side if I ever had known one, but...she had a point. I had made attempts to integrate both groups, with the Wyldings giving meat to the survivors and the training of the warriors. But with Cogar as a firm ally and brother, I had not thought to invest much of my energy and time to strengthen the bond with the Wyldlings. Although it was only one of them I had failed to win over by merit alone, as it seemed.

“What exactly are you demanding, Kara?“ I gritted my teeth now as well, the woman made me mad with her....it was just her. “And try to be less of a [Shaman] while you explain yourself.“

Now that made her mad in turn. “You meddle in affairs of the Wyld and the Song and expect to quiet the [High Shaman of the Bear Clan] with a word or two? You are mistaken, Raven! I know that you have claimed the Wyld for yourself and that you were rewarded for your arrogance with a quest to seek out beasts, born out of the Wyld itself, to bring them under your thumb. That is what the Song of the Wyld tells me when I close my eyes and listen. Am I in the wrong so far?“

I met her challenging gaze but found no reason to not speak the truth. “You are right. It is more specific than that, but yes, I am seeking something, but I know nothing about subjugating them, the first one was quite...amiable.“

“And now, listen closely, comes the demand: I demand to be a part of this. You know nothing of the Wyld, you know nothing of its secrets. I do. It is my calling and my reason to be. Not only will you fail without my help, you will fail your clan, you have so easily forgotten, if you do not include us in the thing closest to our hearts. The Wyld is now home to us both. We share burden and triumph - by your design, I might add.“ She pointed at me with a finger over the fire, which was not close to being as heated as her look.

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And here I was, being a young man from the mountains, confronted by a mystic from a foreign culture, demanding things of me I had no idea about. What did I know about the Wyld, or Guardians, or the elements? I was vindictive, of course I was, but you know what? She wanted to wander the untamed wilds? Climb a 300 feet high tree to wrestle a Roc? Enter the depths of the earth to look for a being of fire? I would do her a favor, leaving her here. And I was all out of favors.

I snorted. “Try to keep up, I will not let you slow me down.“ I spat.

“I will make you eat your words before this is over!“ She said confidently.

I left her tent fuming, but I was cooling down quickly. I was a rational man, emotional, sure, but I saw the merit in having someone around who knew about the Wyld I so desperately tried to tame. And she had been right, of course, she was just rubbing me the wrong way. But I was determined to let the hatchet be buried, as long as it would benefit Ravenport.

I met up with Bagga next, Cogar’s second-in-command, and we talked briefly. He accepted to lead a group to Ravenport, to guard the non-combatants in the night. He surprised me by asking to let them train at night, as I trained my men: by confronting the Nightmares. His youngling warriors had been watching and had begun talking.

Time sure was shifting, if even the Wyldlings could change enough to dare brave the night. Of course I accepted. I wanted to strengthen the bond after all, and for the humans it would be healthy to see the Wyldlings fight, for them and their home no less. It would help the humans to no longer be alarmed by the presence of the Wyldlings.

He would also take over questioning the Wyldling he had held prisoner, and decide what to do with him. It was a matter for the Wyldlings, and I was only interested in the knowledge of the man concerning the Dragonamber. Maybe he had been privy to the secrets and knowledge of Barak, as his trusted bodyguard.

At last, he promised me to have a lookout for the questing knights in the Broken Lands, and to help them if need be. It could never hurt to have more eyes on the lookout.

My plan began to come together. Ravenport was safe for the time being, protected by the Wyldlings. In a few days, I would knight the warriors returning from their quest and introspection in the Broken Lands. They would be taking over some of the responsibility of protecting the people. I would not go far, but I would go. Adventure awaited!

The thought excited me. I had felt trapped by my role as a leader for too long, especially since I knew that I could help Ravenport best if I left it and tackled the quest ahead of me. The bay had stayed quiet since the battle, and the whale was still there, so I feared no invasion on that side.

It would be only weeks before we expected Simue and the longboats back. The others would return shortly after. From then on out, the worst part would lie behind us.

That meant I had a few days to prepare before the knights came back, and Grim and his [Hunters] of course, before I could truly enter the Wyld to search for the Guardians. I was determined to read and train with the Betrayer as much as possible in the next days, but I needed to rest and replenish my Mana before I left. I eagerly ran back through the Broken Lands and down the Needle. I could not wait to leave.

It was in the middle of my training, alone with Kingslayer on the deck of the Raven‘s Nest to fortify and practice the knowledge the Betrayer so...ungracefully had pummeled into me in the Valley of Swords in my mind, as I felt a foreign rage growing inside of me. I had never felt something like that before, and yet, it was subdued and muted. I felt someone‘s anger as my own.

Disoriented I looked around, shocked by my own reaction, but soon found the culprit burning in my chest. The connection I had to my companion, my [Brother in Spirit], my friend Cogar. I felt his anger as my own, thanks to the new Skill I never had tried out before. I tried to follow the rage in my chest, tucked at the strings and...

I stood atop a hill muddy with the blood of the Wyldlings dangling from the branches, cut and bled out like pigs in the slaughterhouse. The blood still was wet and stuck to my claws, no longer fitting in any boots. I had no outlet to my anger but the prints of boots and wagons in the mud, leading north. [Beacon of the Clans] roared through my body as every fire in the Wyld jumped into my hand, burning white-hot and spewing fire from there over the crooked and twisted tree, burning bodies and wood alike. A gesture, nothing more, but a gesture the men and women following me would not forget.

“We hunt!“ I screamed at them, saliva dripping from my canines. “They will lie before us in the mud before the night falls! Come forth, [Warriors] and [Hunters] of the Bear Clan, run with me. Tonight we dine on the cattle of the Snake Clan!“

I looked back and a hundred howls joined my own.

I stumbled back, the connection suddenly severed, Was he in danger? It looked like the opposite, it looked like whoever had committed the crime was in real trouble. But what he had said had my skin crawl and tingle. The Snake Clan had come back into the Wyld or had spread their influence around, turning more of the broken and dispersed clans to their side. My Brother was at war.

And I could do nothing to help him. Or could I? He was in the Wyld, after all, if near the borders, where the Song was nearly silent. If I could claim the Elemental Keys and soothe the Guardians, I could maybe help him from here, where the force of the Wyld was strongest. I would not let him down.