Om

I follow the hermit out of the store looking at the sweating dwarf one last time from the door with sympathy. I understand completely, the hermit has very strange eyes, very deep strange eyes that you fall into as soon as they are set upon you. I shiver, my body trying to dispel the unfathomable depth into which its seemingly plunged.

I walk a few paces behind the now hooded and blindfolded hermit. I now truly believe him when he says he sees too much with his uncanny eyes. Completely white without a speck of an iris or blood vessels let alone a pupil. I think I can go as far as to call them milky and slightly luminous, very strange but not the strangest thing I've ever seen, not with the hoofed or horned Fae around. The strangest thing is that as soon as he looked at me I couldn't move, I was caught as I seemed to fall headlong into deep darkness. A deep darkness that is a presence in and of itself. Some people might imagine darkness as empty but where ever I was was full of a present darkness. I shake it off and look at his back.

There are people in the streets and the sun is shining, birds chirpping their mating calls pleasant. There are children chasing a wild hare with javelins through the grass between the trees. There actually is some wild life in the city in the form of wolves and some deer that have Awakened and become confident enough in their power to test the call of the Fae for hospitality in Paradisum, I wonder they do that. There is the sound of heavy construction carried by the wind from somewhere, a sound that is a constance in the growing city and has just become part of the ambience.

The hooded cloak the hermit is wearing doesn't seem all that expensive when I look at it. It is well made, it's suede so its soft, it has that weird effect of keeping the face hooded in shadow. Its long enough that it falls at his feet and trails like a train at the back.

Come to think of it, it should be leaving a trail on the ground shouldn't it? It looks like it can close at the front but he wears it open revealing a normal Norse tunic underneath. It looks stupid to me. Why buy a cloak that doesn't protect from the cold? And from the talk with the storekeeper I deduced that it is expensive.

Not that I imagine the old hermit has much wealth but I think all the Awakened were assigned an allowance or something. He probably has a hoard buried somewhere as well. The man walks slowly, seemingly taking everything in. Occasionally moving closer to a horse or a person or a house but otherwise not even turning his head to look around, I definitely get the impression he knows where I am at all times.

It seems the hermit no long needs eyes to navigate. The wolf is another strange creature and seems to be definitely Awakened by the intelligence and curiosity its displaying. Paradisum is being built as both a type of reserve and a city. Teeming with plant life I have never even heard off before, and some animals hemmed in certain areas being fattened for the slaughter.

A lazy way to hunt if you ask me, but their meat is definitely more tender, fatter. Its sad to take a majestic animal from the wild and keep it in an enclosure though. Even as beautiful and spacious as the fae make these enclosures now known as kraals.

They are almost identical to the greenhouses with constant conditions ideal for whatever is kept there. And enough space for the creatures to exercise and 'hunt' the feed and plants place into the kraals for them. Some kraals being entire domes with transparent roofs, others open to the elements depending on the animal stock's best development.

The wolf walks into such an enclosure without a care, ignoring the fae attend in charge. We follow it in and it does the most unwolf like thing. It watches the slow fat animals, moving around them as though they are a curiosity. That alone convinces me it's Awakened.

"According to the fae the animals kept this way have no history of ever Awakening," the hermit suddenly says without turning his head.

"I didn't know that," I say looking around. They do look like dumb animals. There are two kinds here, a slow smaller version of a buffalo and a sedate species of rabbit I'm unfamiliar with.

"This still seems unnatural," I say as we move between the trees and tall grass. Grass planted for the 'cows' specifically for it's nutritional value.

"How do they keep rabbit snakes out?" I ask. The Tundra is full of rabbits, and thus full of hawks, owls, griffins, griffin-owls and the snakes that prey on the little rodents.

"They don't. They like the challenge a few snakes provide to each habitat, there is a nest a few feet to your left in a hole behind that rock." He says without even looking causing me, a person that has both working eyes to look around paranoid. Though rabbit snake venom doesn't kill, it does cause persistent numbness that is very annoying.

"Eventually the snakes will become food as well. Most of them anyways, the most likely to Awaken in a few hundred years are let out."

"How can they even tell something like that?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He shrugs. "They can probably see it." Is all the old hermit says as we follows his wolf around. I'm usually a very observant person and I enjoy observing people which I think makes me a somewhat good judge of character.

The hermit has changed, a weight seems to have been lifted off him. He seems happier, looser and more eager to live his life. Yet at the same instant he seems slower to consider things, walking slowly, reaching out his hand to tickle the leaves of a tree as though he were a tree loving fae. It's unsettling from a person I've known all my life.

We eventually leave the kraal habitat and walk towards the Jotnar district. This place I haven't visited much beyond the long-houses communal area. The first most immediate change is the flora. The trees are different, the grass is slightly different, the shrubs and bushes that separate one house from another are different here.

Most of the male Jotnar walking around are the normal Barbarians. But here and there I see a few with paler skin tone, slightly broader shoulders, or wider more curvey hips for the girls. Children slightly taller than the rest of their playmates, all with clear blue eyes.

"Hello." The hermit surprises me by greeting a girl and her mother.

Both very attractive, strong-looking and armed as everyone in Paradisum is armed. I walk closer and stand at his shoulder as he looks from mother to daughter.

They both grin at us, all teeth and attitude. These women have a reputation even among other tribeswoman. As tall and as strong as men, beautiful beyond what is natural and viscous warriors are Jotnar women.

"Are you lost Norsemen?"

The older one asks looking for a fight. Barbarians are always looking for a good fight but with the Sandies at our doorstep priority goes to them. Things have been quiet lately on the war front though, with only light skirmishes and ambushes of patrols.

"No actually, we just find the two of you very beautiful. I am Gorr, this here is my friend Om." He says gesturing to me.

I grunt in reply inwardly cursing the old man for starting this yet already loosening my shoulders. I notice the wolf watching from a distance before moving away again. Stupid animal.

"Mhmmm.. I have heard that the Norse were on the decline. Surely a friendly brawl with help-"

"My thought exactly." The hermit interrupts throwing a punch on the older woman's face. He connects solidly taking her off her feet before taking a step back.

The younger one moves in towards him but he uses me as shield, moving behind me. I deflect her fists as she strikes solidly. Connecting with a foot to the side of the knee I collapse her left leg and bring her up with a right hook to the cheek. Something hard rings my head, I stumble back a step and block the next punch from the older woman on my forearms.

She hits very hard and she is faster, preventing me from attacking but not getting through my guard. I dodge right as the daughter goes for my ribs. Spinning and leading with an elbow that's stopped cold as I receive a kick to the kidneys. Where is the old fool that started all this?

I deflect the next two strikes from both opponent's, surprising myself with the burst of speed without going into the berserker Rage but I only have two arms and the third strike rings my bell again. This time from the younger woman, I grin, admiring that strike and dogging the next from her mother and head-butting the follow up punch.

I here the wrist dislocate as she strikes my forehead with the combined momentum of my headbutt and her fast fist. The fight continues though as two punches dig into my ribs as I wrestle the younger one down. I'm hesitant to use my most debilitating moves but reconsider when a knee finds my groin.

I go down as a fist meets me halfway bringing me back up. I stumble back a step, blood spraying from my nose. The girl is at the edge of the Rage, the older woman grinning like she is having the time of her life as she moves in for another attack. I stand my ground solidly and deflect strike after strike after strike. She trying to crowd me with her moment and speed.

But her momentum brings her up against an immoveable wall as I deflect with power. Bruising her with the force of my deflection, not allowing all that energy to be sent away but more blocking than deflecting. I take a step forward, a slight step, a barely perceptible step to the crowd of on lookers.

But between her and I, she knows I've just gained the upper hand. Even as she strikes me faster, some even getting through and finding my pecks or ribs, she is on the back foot. I take another step and she grits her teeth as I crowd her, preventing her strikes from getting momentum. Tapping her now and again on the arms and ribs with my open palm.

She eventually jumps back, conceding the gained ground to the confusion of her daughter who seems to have finally controlled herself, admirable. It isn't easy pulling back the Rage, especially not when you have an injury.

She gets ready to move in when the Hermit steps in front of me. "I think I've seen enough Om, how about you let me finish this quickly so we can talk with these lovely ladies."

I spit the blood from my mouth. "Be my guest." I say moving back.

The older woman grins, the younger frowns, then scowls. Attaching fast and hard, the hermit dodges, deflects and somehow twists the girl's shoulder out of socket and hits her somewhere in the head and she drops like a rock. All with one arm, while the other holds his ever present staff.

The older woman's grin widens and her eyes sparkle excitedly as she moves in. But she is more careful, probing. The hermit deflects a few blows then moves in a strange way, seemingly back and to the left but the woman is somehow drawn to him. He moves forward suddenly and has her in a chokehold, whispering something to her as she struggles.

As she passes out the small crowd claps, passing the newly minted coins around. I sigh silently noticing that the hood never left his head.

"Sorry about that," he says as he dusts himself and we start walking again.

"I saw something in them."

I grunt in response. That could mean anything with this man. Did he actually physically see anything or is it a spiritual power? Is it an ability? I'm not even sure he has the blindfold on with that hood hiding most of his face. I can only see a darkness within his hood that seems like it will fade at any moment.

We follow the wolf around the Jotnar district, skirting around other challenges and eventually heading to the long-house as day turns to dusk. The are ten hours of dusk before night falls and I've spent hours with this man already. I don't even know whether or not he has agreed to teach me anything yet.

I don't even know if he can or not.