Visions of blue rivers. Sinister foxes with stone faces. A woman’s soft voice and a boy’s words made of knives. Voices and whimpers drifted in, calling her out of her dreams. With them came pain behind her eyes, under her skin, in her heart. Whenever they came, she pushed them away, diving back into numbness.
A weight settled on her chest. It cut into her retreat, etching its dimensions into her mind. Round. The size of her palm. Flowing symbols carved into a metal smoother than she’d ever known. Its chill drew the heat from her eyes, and as it warmed, it drew the ice from her core. It pulled her senses forward and forced them from shelter.
The heavy scent of heat and sweat returned first, clashing with the cool of her skin. Then came the prickle of the rug on her arms and the clothes on her body.
Lilau clamped down on the thought of calling Makotae. She wanted to know if he was all right, if she’d hurt him, but she couldn’t put him in danger again.
She touched the weight on her chest, only after realizing the ease with which she did it. Her arm trembled. Its strength had waned from disuse, but it responded quickly and as accurately as she could hope. A jolt made her breath catch in an equal mix of fear and hope. Had she outgrown the need for the medicine, or had it simply stopped working?
Her eyes still wrapped in darkness, she worked the weight between her fingers, trying to gain some answer and soothe her growing unease. A disc, with strange symbols carved on each side. A small hole had been drilled at the top, where a thin rope threaded through and wrapped around her neck. Some sort of necklace.
She eased herself into a sitting position. Her body ached and shook, a sign of long-term healing she’d experienced before. The ice and fire were gone. For the first time since Tirijuki threw her into the glowing lake, she felt almost normal.
Rustling announced the arrival of others. Lilau tensed. Multiple pairs of feet thudded over the ground. More rustling as clothes shifted and people settled around her in silence.
Warmth spread over Lilau’s back as a familiar fuzz pushed against it, bringing with it a steady flow of comfort and guarded hope. No matter what happened, Makotae would remain at her side. Lilau frowned as she held back tears. She didn’t deserve such loyalty.
“How do you feel?”
Inalia’s voice came from Lilau’s left, as soft as she remembered it. “Weak. But otherwise, all right, I think.” Lilau’s hand went to the medallion. “What is this?”
“It’s best if Radai explains. But first, there are some people here who need to talk to you. Zayla, the leader of our camp, as well as the hunter group who found you. Do you feel well enough to talk to them?”
Lilau’s frown deepened. She’d talked in a similar tone to Raval as he neared his return to the land. Was she such a pathetic sight? “Yes. I’m fine.”
“Very well. I will stay here as well. If you start feeling overwhelmed, please say so.”
So I don’t blow up again, Lilau finished silently. As nice as Inalia wanted to sound, Lilau knew exactly how precarious a position she was in. She nodded.
Lilau jumped as a clear, deep voice boomed from in front of her.
“Stranger of the wolf, we seek answers.”
The command in the woman’s words reminded Lilau of Mara. If she had to guess, this woman was the head of the band Inalia had mentioned.
“I will answer to the best of my ability,” Lilau said. The formality of her words grated in her ears. Those in authority had rarely proven worthy of respect. Still, she was not in a position to resist.
“Good,” the woman said. “I am Zayla. I walk at the head of the Silent Hunter camp. Who are you, stranger?”
Lilau hesitated. Zayla’s question demanded more than just a name. How much dared she share with those who spoke Wolf tongue? Inalia had spoken of Allspeak, but could she trust her?
Makotae shifted behind her. His large head worked its way into her lap, pushing her legs down into the rug. She could feel him in the back of her mind, yet he stayed distant. It seemed he wanted her to decide for herself. She ran her hand down his neck. His usual thick coat had replaced the sparse fur from before, albeit thinner than it had been in the mountains. It felt… healthy. Someone had taken care of him, and his lack of insistence on leaving told her they’d done so with generosity, at least for now.
“Stranger?”
Zayla’s voice had grown thicker. Lilau couldn’t identify the emotion behind it, but she couldn’t afford to drive these people away like she had the deer riders. “I am Lilau Noka, of the Wolf Tribe.”
“Why have you left your tribe, Lilau Noka?”
“Because the Fokla wanted me, but my tribe did not.” Lilau squared her shoulders as a bitter taste rose in her throat. She didn’t want to talk about such things.
“An outcast, then. Fear not, we were all outcasts here, until we found each other. Tell me, how did you find us?”
Lilau’s mouth worked, but no words escaped. All outcasts? How could that be? Outcasts were meant to die quickly and alone, a destiny she nearly fulfilled more than once. How could there be so many in one place?
“Lilau Noka, what led you here?”
“I… uh… the river in the sky. A serpent showed me the way, commanded I follow it.”
Zayla spoke again, but this time in the silken language Lilau had heard from the hunters. Lilau cocked her head as exclamations rang out from those around her. Her breath quickened. Stupid, she mentally chided herself. What did you expect from sharing that?
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Makotae bumped his head against her chest, bringing her focus back to the situation at hand.
“What serpent do you speak of?” This voice came from her left, deep and gravelly.
“What does the river look like?” Another, higher pitched, to her right.
“Why were you cast out?”
“Where does Wolf Tribe live?”
“How far did you travel?”
Questions beat against her. The number of speakers seemed to multiply around her as the air filled with a cacophony of words. Lilau clamped her hands over her ears as an ember lit in her chest.
“Enough!”
Zayla’s command cut through the chaos, leaving silence in its wake. It took Lilau a minute to realize Zayla hadn’t spoken Wolf tongue, although the word’s meaning rang clear. A few more sharp words, and the shifting of cloth and plodding of feet announced the departure of Lilau’s visitors. Most, but not all. Lilau still felt eyes on her.
“I apologize, Lilau Noka,” Zayla said. “Independence and free thought are virtues among us. They can be great boons, but occasionally lead to poor manners. You have given us enough answers for now. It is our turn to provide you with some.” She switched languages, uttering a short phrase.
An answer came from the spot next to where Inalia had been. It sounded like a young man, his words carrying a heavy respect for the head of his tribe. “I am Radai, and I hope my tale helps you find what you seek.” Radai paused as if seeking a response, but when Lilau had none to give him, he continued. “It is said that among the tribes of the world, only our lands were protected by twins. As has been told for generations, after the Essence War, our Guardians molded the people under their protection according to their designs.”
Radai took a deep breath. “Narasten, Guardian of the physical plane, declared the way to prosperity came from physical knowledge. He granted his children Allspeak, that they might gather power from every tribe in every corner of the world. Animis, Guardian of the spiritual plane, scoffed at Narasten. ‘Such arrogance,’ she claimed, ‘to ignore things which existed long before the finite earth.’ She took her children and bathed them in the Earth's Blood, inside the spiritual nexus where all essence is born and must return.”
Earth’s Blood? Lilau narrowed her eyes. Every whelp in Wolf Tribe learned of such a thing before their fifth cycle. Still, the way Radai spoke of it created an itch at the back of her mind.
“Narasten’s children grew powerful. With knowledge from every tribe, they built incomparable wonders, found solutions to many seemingly insurmountable problems. Yet, no matter what they built, or what they learned, their power could never match that of Animis’ people. What one had to toil for, the other merely had to peer into the veil and ask. Where one had to guess, fail, to find the truth, the other merely looked, and knew. Narasten’s children grew jealous. They took their weapons of war, sour fruits born of their quest for knowledge, and slaughtered their cousins.”
Lilau scratched Makotae between the ears. Power led to bloodshed. Not surprising, huh?
There does seem to be a pattern.
“The few of Animis’ children who survived begged for sanctuary, safety, and their mother heard them. Animis took what remained of her children to her bosom and cast down the haughty children of Narasten. It is said she bound her brother in a fit of rage and that caused the Era of Darkness. But, some say, even Narasten wept at his children’s folly, and covered his eyes. Whether either is true or neither, the end was the same—Narasten’s children saw their great civilization crumble. For many generations they clung to life, their pursuit of knowledge forgotten, the Guardians silent, until one day a great earthquake wounded the earth. From its depths crawled Animis’ children reborn.”
The tickle again, like a long-forgotten memory struggling to resurface.
“Their skin shone in all shades, their eyes aglow like stars in the sky. They spoke of peace, and their hands worked salvation. They came to live side-by-side with their cousins, and a new era of prosperity was born. But, such things cannot last. The mingling of blood weakened the gifts of Animis, while the children of Narasten saw suffering in the passing of the stars. In their fear, they returned to folly. They bound the unmixed of Animis’ children, forcing them into servitude. Like livestock. To be bred and worked for the betterment of the children of Narasten.”
Radai’s last words hung in the air. Lilau let them fall in silence. It was a tragic tale, but she wasn’t sure what answers it meant to provide, despite the itch it created. He had spoken of a wound in the earth, but the one she had encountered contained no people.
“Your confusion is clear, Lilau Noka, which tells me all I need to know.” Some of the hardness had leaked from Zayla’s voice. “I am confident you are truly a stranger to these lands. As such, I shall speak plainly. All of my camp, except you, are of Narasten’s children. Others know us as the Cat Tribe. You are from a distant land, yet the glow of your eyes and skin speak of Animis. Not just the ones we know today, but the ones spoken of in Radai’s tale. Powerful. Unlike anything we’ve seen in many generations.”
Lilau’s heart dropped as Zayla spoke. There was the nature she knew. The leader of the Silent Hunters saw power, and she planned on using it whether or not it was hers to use.
“I will not demand your obedience.”
Lilau jerked toward Zayla’s voice. Had she heard her thoughts? Did her Allspeak extend to the mind?
“We are of Narasten, but we refuse to be a part of the City’s folly. No matter the temptation placed before me, I will not force another to serve me or my cause. If I should fail in this, my people are to cast me out and leave me for the City’s hunters. Such did I swear as the leader of the Silent Hunter camp.”
The medallion against Lilau’s chest warmed as she focused on Zayla. She spoke pleasant words, but what truth lay in words alone? Makotae, help me.
Then give them a chance. They have done nothing to make me wary of them, but it is possible they’re waiting to see if you agree to their terms. If all they want is this supposed power, then let us give it until we are strong enough to leave. That’s worked before, hasn’t it?
Leave. How many times had she done so? Lilau shook her head, clearing the odd thought from it. Whatever the future held, her present choice remained limited. “Fine. What do you want?”
“I want you to rest.”
Lilau tensed on impulse at the command.
“As you feel up to it, I also want you to work with Inalia and Radai. The medallion on your neck is a relic from a long-gone era. Radai can tell you its story, if you wish, but suffice to say it is our last attempt to calm the essence flowing through you.”
“And if it doesn’t work?”
Zayla hesitated. “Let’s hope it does. Good hunting, Lilau Noka.” Footsteps led away, and she was gone.
“Regardless of what Zayla says, I’m quite impressed with this medallion,” Inalia said.
Lilau turned in her direction. “I’d thought you’d left.”
“What, with the loudmouths? No. I have a job. I’m the healer of the group, and right now, that includes you, too. Make no mistake, you’re still the most in need of my skills. But the medallion has already had an extraordinary effect on you.”
“It’s said the medallion dates back to the return of Animis’ children,” Radai said. “Some couldn’t separate from the Spirit World enough to function in the physical. They fashioned these to help ground them.”
“Right,” Inalia said. “In short, it siphons essence away from its wearer. For normal people, wearing it makes them sick, or even kills them. But a normal person doesn’t have near the flow of essence you do. Honestly, I worried it would get overloaded, like your body, and we’d be picking bits of medallion out of your skin. I’m happy to see neither it nor you seem close to exploding.”
Lilau snorted. “Good for all of us, then.”
Makotae shifted and snuffled at her hair. Best for you. Your mind is the clearest it’s been in a while.
A sense of familiarity came over her as she remembered a similar situation not too long ago. That time had ended poorly. Let’s hope it stays that way.
“I would like to try something, maybe give us all a bit more confidence,” Inalia said.
Lilau frowned in her direction. The Cat Tribe’s abilities of deduction were a bit unsettling. “What do you have in mind?”
“I’m going to remove your blindfold.”