CHAPTER 3 - THE ANNOUNCEMENT
----------------------------------------
Natirra quickened her pace as she reached the forest, and with the continuous and increasingly louder ringing of those bells, her worry kept growing.
She walked, looking around, seeing peers she often recognized by face moving in the same direction, all with the same look, all with the same expression. Some of them, still in their work clothes, were also following the sound of the bells.
Natirra, out of habit, looked at the ground as she walked. Not with her head, but with her gaze. A few drops of sweat beaded on her forehead, and she twisted her mouth into an expression resembling a pout, but less pronounced. Occasionally, she scratched her nose, her forehead, her hair, her horn, and kept moving forward.
That gloomy passage surrounded by towering green trees, which seemed to touch the sky like a faint sign of terror, had always bothered her, but now things were decidedly worse. Now, she had something real to fear.
She thought it might be some festival she had somehow missed, but something about that theory, which aimed to reassure her, didn’t feel right. Firstly, because she would have definitely known if there was a festival coming; people would have talked about it everywhere, and surely it would have been mentioned at school. So... that theory was pretty much out.
That tiny hope she constantly held in her heart flickered as she saw more people walking along the path, or rather, heading in the same direction.
"It's definitely a festival, there wouldn't be so many people otherwise... But then... It’d be really embarrassing if I forgot about one. Am I heading straight for an awkward moment?"
Realizing that she wouldn't be able to find peace in any case, she decided to discard the festival theory and told herself it was pointless to dwell on it.
In that, at least, she was wise.
Needless to say, she wanted to ask her fellow villagers about what was happening, but simply couldn’t bring herself to meet their gaze. That deep-seated sense of shame and her inability to strike up a conversation out of nowhere kept her from discussing it with anyone.
However, she reassured herself inwardly, noticing that, at first glance, everyone seemed equally confused, and none of them seemed to have any idea why they were being called in the first place.
Finally, she emerged from the forest and reached the village. Upon her arrival, she saw even more villagers coming out of their homes.
The bells kept ringing, echoing persistently. They would only stop when the village chief decided to revoke the right to ring them and start his speech.
Another thing reassured the narwhal girl: she wasn’t late. And if it truly was a festival, something she was starting to doubt, then it had to be something most people didn’t know about.
After a few more minutes of walking, she reached the center of the village.
A small circular square, with a gray fountain in the center and a statue dedicated to the village goddess, though Natirra didn’t know much about gods, so she always interpreted the monument as some sort of tribute.
Needless to say, the square had never been so crowded. Natirra, turning her head, couldn’t see a single empty spot. She was convinced that, at that very moment, more narwhals were gathered than she had ever seen in one place. She was also convinced that probably every narwhal from the village was present. Naturally, she recognized familiar faces, but she couldn’t find Riaca’s, the one person she was truly searching for, the only person she could rely on for more information about the situation, or, at the very least, some answers.
She didn’t have many friends; in fact, she only trusted Riaca. So, in a situation like this, without her, she didn’t feel safe at all. Neither her parents were present, but that she could explain.
"Why do they have to do this?"
The bells stopped, just as Natirra reached the square. She had positioned herself at the back of the crowd, because she wouldn't have been able to push her way through even if she tried. Besides, she was stuck, as more narwhals gathered behind her, squeezing her into the crowd.
The square was directly adjacent to the town hall, the most important building in the village. Shortly after the bells stopped, the village chief came out.
There were no celebrations or other signs of a typical announcement from the chief. No celebratory music, no singing, nothing.
The people, who had been whispering frantically to each other about possible theories on the new announcement, or voicing their concerns about it, or grumbling about the sudden interruption, fell silent, their eyes fixed on the chief.
After a few seconds of silence, he made the typical gesture of the island's army. He placed one hand on the lower part of his back and the other, keeping a firm fist, on the lower part of his stomach.
All the narwhals raised their heads, including Natirra, and focused on the chief. That gesture, everyone knew its meaning: it was the sign of loyalty to the Empress. But it was only used in dangerous situations, such as the start of a war or any military-related threat.
The citizens' minds raced, but the foolish thoughts vanished. Now, there was only a growing anxiety. Silence, anticipation. After a few moments, the chief dropped the pose. Sounds came from the distance, accompanied by shouts, curses, exclamations, prayers, and surprise. A number of soldiers were approaching the square.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
At the same time, the chief began his speech, confusing the citizens as they struggled to focus on both things.
Natirra was still at the back of the crowd. She already had difficulty seeing the chief, who stood slightly elevated, let alone seeing what was causing all the commotion. But she reassured herself that she would find out soon. Though, saying she was "reassured" at that moment would have been wrong. Natirra's breathing grew heavier, she felt more uncomfortable, her clothes itched. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and tried to endure, pressing her lips together against the deep knot in her throat.
«"My dear fellow citizens, inhabitants of this island, and its greatest glory."»
"The praises at the start… A bad sign."
«"I inform you that I am aware of your concerns, and I promise that in this brief announcement, I will address them."»
The silence was broken. People exchanged theories again, but unlike everyone else, Natirra remained quiet. She wasn't particularly interested in these issues, but if the entire village was concerned, then it had to be something important.
Suddenly, Natirra felt a presence on her shoulders, and after a startled jump, she turned around. It was Riaca.
«"Riaca… I was looking for you."» Natirra said, her tone slightly worried. It was clear from her slightly pouting face that she wasn’t entirely comfortable.
«"So was I, but unlike you, I found you. You’re easy to spot."» Riaca, on the other hand, seemed calm, with her usual playful tone that she only showed to Natirra. «"Anyway, what’s going on? I heard the bells, but I was already working on the project."»
«"Look, I wouldn’t be so calm. This seems serious. The village chief is talking about some… requests made by the citizens, and…"» Turning around, she noticed the exclamations from the villagers were getting closer to them, whatever it was, it was arriving. «"Something seems to be coming, but I can’t see it from here. And everyone seems to be reacting very strongly, so I’m worried."»
Meanwhile, the village chief continued speaking.
«"Recently, we have noticed a significant increase in criminal activity around the seas surrounding our island and many other unfortunate islands. Initially, we decided to turn a blind eye, trusting in the garrisons of our central government, but we can no longer ignore the terrible events these criminals have caused."»
«"I see."» Riaca said, making Natirra turn back to her. «"Our seas, don’t you know? They’ve been plagued by pirates for years..."»
«"Exactly."» Said an older man next to them, who had overheard the last part and wanted to clarify the situation for the two girls.
«"The village chief has received our numerous complaints about the bandits plaguing our seas, and after a meeting with the other nobles, he has decided to gather us here to discuss a solution."»
«"We Narwhals are a proud and united people, and that means if one of us is harmed, we will come to their aid. For this reason, I want to launch a new and important mission to stop this growing threat and request aid from our glorious Empress."»
Natirra, Riaca, and everyone nearby understood the reason for all the shouts and curses. The island’s soldiers had retrieved several bodies of sailors who had gone on expeditions, and to emphasize the danger of this problem, the chief had decided to display them to the entire square.
After Natirra and Riaca saw the bodies for a while, the soldiers moved on, heading to another area, causing further chaos.
Riaca and Natirra exchanged glances for a moment and then turned their attention back to the chief. All doubts that this wasn’t an important issue vanished.
The crowd watched, eager and curious to hear what idea the village chief had in mind. A sense of fear and unease surrounded Natirra.
«'We therefore need warriors to organize a large-scale expedition and make our way to the central island to voice our requests. A mission will be set out for the headquarters of the Narwhal government, and we will report this issue to their barracks to ensure that the waters surrounding our island are safe once more, to eliminate the pirate threat. You have all seen!'» He raised his arms with vigor.
«”These pirates infect our border islands, and the government is unaware of it. We must warn them, or we risk falling under their tyranny! Have you seen what they do to our merchants and travelers? Think of how many more have been slaughtered by the pirates' cruelty!”»
Natirra felt a chill of terror, for the second time that day thinking of her brother. She couldn't even imagine that those bodies could be his, that he might be dead. Just that single thought was enough to awaken the terror of pirates in her mind. She had known about their existence, but always saw them as occasional bandits she would never encounter, as she hated the sea. But now, they became a real threat, a nightmare for every narwhal.
«”Are you alright, Riaca?”»
«”Y-yes… Yes.”» Her voice trembled, the leader's speech had clearly rattled her.
«”This mission will be without risk. We will arm the boat with warriors ready to defend it and with important ambassadors prepared to request all the aid necessary for the village. We will show these pirates, these criminals, the strength of our village.”»
The elderly and the very young cheered, but the youth and the adults remembered something the leader had mentioned at the beginning of his speech.
«”And as I said, to arm the island, we will need a large army. Therefore, I am here to announce that, by tomorrow, mandatory military draft will be opened for every narwhal between the ages of eight and twenty five!”»
Once again, everyone, from those just a year old to the fifty-year-old elders, all those exempt from the mandatory draft, burst into cheers and celebrations, showering the village leader with praise.
But those who were the target of the announcement, including Riaca and Natirra, could only maintain a mix of shock and terror on their faces.
They looked at each other. «”M-mandatory draft?”»
The leader, spurred on by the compliments he received, continued with even more enthusiasm. «'After mandatory training, the strongest narwhals of the island will be chosen and sent on the mission!'» Then, to conclude his speech, he delivered the traditional phrase used to close all village announcements, but in the gravity of the moment, it sealed what essentially felt like a sentence for Natirra.
«”May the Goddess Amelis bless this island! And glory to the narwhals!”»
«”Glory to the narwhals!”» Most of the audience shouted back.
Riaca and Natirra continued to exchange looks. It was clear what was happening—they would soon be conscripted. Some villagers tried to argue against it, but the leader’s motivation, the emotions he had stirred, and the deep fear he had instilled with the pirates’ existence, made any dissent, voiced only by those included in the draft, futile.
That terror grew stronger as the bodies of the slaughtered sailors were displayed beside the statue of Amelis, serving both as a warning and as a method of motivation.
Natirra and Riaca observed the reactions of others. A mixture of excitement, a desire for justice against the pirates, and a profound sense of surprise and terror, shock, which the two narwhal girls shared.
From the next day onward, they would become… soldiers.