“We need him to step down and let Norland take over,” said Toniss.
“Wosot, yesterday morning, Nox’Tor approached me about Norland joining your circle,” Kyana said. “I believe he meant it as a peace offering to me—to begin letting him in on the leadership discussions. But I do not believe for a moment that he would consider stepping down.”
“I do not see that we have a choice but to let this run for a while,” said Trak. “Perhaps Nox’Tor’s mind will clear and he will come to his senses when he sees the turmoil it is causing. After all, he is making decrees that he cannot truly enforce,” said Trak.
“This is true. He cannot make the females accept a male.”
At this, Kyana shook her head and looked away.
“What is it?” Toniss said. “Tell us. What has happened?”
Kyana did not want to answer, but they were all staring at her, waiting. “Nox’Tor demanded that I let him return to my bed. I told him no. He implied that it was not my choice,” she told them.
Wosot’s eyes feverishly searched Kyana’s face. “He was saying he can force himself on you? Without Your Consent?”
“Where does Teirac stand on Nox’Tor’s leadership?” Trak asked Wosot.
“I do not know. I will find out,” As he spoke, Wosot did not take his eyes off Kyana.
Though the small group dispersed, Lorgil and Kyana remained standing together.
“Your offling is coming along?” asked Kyana, glancing down at Lorgil’s mildly swollen belly. Only another female would have noticed it.
“Pagara says before the next summer’s heat. So it will be a while. Nox’Tor no longer comes to my quarters, but after what you just said, I would be afraid to refuse him. I do not know what he is capable of—he might do something that could harm my offling.”
“Did the news of your seeding not please him?” Kyana asked.
Lorgil looked down, “I have not told him.”
“Why not?”
“I suppose I wanted the offling to myself a while longer. I do not relish being tied to him for the rest of my life. I pray it is not a male, as perhaps he will not be as interested in a female offling.”
Kyana hooked her arm in Lorgil’s. “Come. Let us take a walk. Soon enough, the refreshing snow will be gone. Let us talk of happier days and enjoy the relief from the summer heat while we can.”
The two females walked arm-in-arm and talked together for some time.
Wosot found Teirac working with some of the other males to remove a tumble of rocks that was blocking one of the paths around Kayerm.
He drew Tierac aside. “About Nox’Tor’s announcement. Where do you stand?”
“I did not know I had a choice. He is the Adik’Tar.”
“For now.”
“For now, and until he turns the leadership over to Norland? I do not see that happening any time soon if that is what you are implying.”
“Will you choose a female then?”
“He has made it clear that I must. And the longer I wait, the less choice there will be. I suggest you do the same, Wosot.”
Just then, Nox’Tor himself came up and interrupted them. “I see you are making progress on clearing the path,” he said to Teirac while studying Wosot.
Then he added, “Wosot, considering your station, I think you should set an example for the others. I expect you to choose a female in the next several days. Choose wisely. I can assure you that a bad choice will only cause trouble for the rest of your days.”
“I know what that is about,” said Wosot.
“Do you? What is that about? Certainly nothing to do with you. This is not personal if that is what you are thinking,” said Nox’Tor.
“And if I do not choose?”
“Then I will choose one for you. And I strongly suggest you do not let it come to that.” Nox’Tor glared at Wosot. “You have three days.”
The next few days were filled with tension and even outright bickering. A group of females found Toniss in her quarters speaking with Pagara. Toniss led them outside to a more private area.
“What are we to do?” one of them exclaimed. “We are being approached by males and told we must pair with them. We have no say-so? And some of the males have come to blows over us. There is chaos. Grunt said he chooses me, but I am repulsed by him. The thought of him touching me, mounting me—” A shudder passed through her. “Please tell us we do not have to comply? Tell us there is some way out of this.”
“And there are more males than females,” said another. “When he first took over, Nox’Tor said we would have to accept more than one male. Are they going to pass us around like property?”
“I do not know what might be coming,” Toniss said. She thought for a moment. “Perhaps we need to meet with Nox’Tor together and confront him. He is creating a war between the males and the females, and our community cannot stand for it.”
Early the next evening, the group of females, led by Pagara, found Nox’Tor speaking with a group of males, including Teirac and Wosot.
“May we have a word with you?” asked Pagara.
Nox’Tor peered around her at the assembly. Among them were Toniss, Kyana, and Lorgil. “What about?”
“We need you to hear us. We need you to listen. We are also part of this community, and we must have a voice in what happens to us.”
“Perhaps from the others, but I did not expect this of you, Healer,” he frowned. “You are part of the leadership. Your loyalty should be to me, not them,” and he glared at the group with her.
“I am a female as well as the Healer. What you decide for them affects me too.”
“Say what you have come to say then.”
A few steps back, Teirac, Wosot, and the other males stood watching.
“We do not wish to be paired against our will. We know that the community has to grow, but there are reasons we have not chosen certain males as mates,” she said.
“What possible reasons can there be?” he sneered. “You are the givers of life. It is your role to populate Etera. If you do not become seeded, there will be no more Mothoc blood entering Etera. Whatever your personal reasons are, they are not as important as your responsibility to the community.”
Faeya spoke. “If we have to be paired, then at least let us choose. At least give us that,” she pleaded.
Nox’Tor scoffed. “You have had more than enough time to choose. Years and years. I have made my decision, and I expect you to make the best of it. Now the males will get to choose.”
He turned to Wosot. “Speaking of which,” he said loudly.
Frowning, Wosot stepped forward with Teirac and the others following behind.
“Have you chosen yet?” Nox’Tor barked.
“With all due respect,” Wosot said. “No.”
The Leader’s face contorted with rage. “Your time is up. As I warned you, if you are unable to choose, I will choose for you!”
He stormed into the group of females, who parted to make way for the abrupt intrusion. He grabbed Lorgil by the forearm and dragged her out.
“Here. Here is your new mate,” he said and shoved Lorgil toward Wosot. She lost her balance and slid to the ground just in front of Wosot’s feet. He bent down and helped her up before placing his hand across her as a shield.
“What?” gasped Lorgil. “But I am your Second Choice!”
“What are you doing?” Nox’Tor’s mother, Toniss, stepped forward. “Are you out of your mind? Lorgil is your Second Choice.”
“Well, now she can be Wosot’s First Choice. She is not doing me any good. It has been long enough; she is obviously barren.”
The females glanced disbelievingly at one another.
Kyana stepped forward to stand by Toniss. “This is not right. You cannot just set her aside like this, let alone force Wosot to take her.”
“I will take the female,” said Wosot.
Against her will, Kyana’s hand flew to her mouth. Then she turned her back and choked back her tears. Her be
st friend, and— Oh, Nox’Tor was a monster. He suspects something between Wosot and me, and he knows exactly what he is doing.
“Take her then. Now!” Nox’Tor barked.
Wosot took Lorgil’s hand, “Come with me,” he whispered. “Do not worry.”
As he led Lorgil away, he looked over to Kyana but could not catch her eye.
“See how easy that is?” Nox’Tor said to the males. “I suggest you all spend some time together and work it out. Time is wasting away, and I expect to be holding pairing rituals before too long,” he glared at his mother and stomped off.
Pagara put her arm around Kyana’s shoulder. “Please do not be upset. You know in your heart as well as I do that Wosot only did that to protect her. He will not touch her, but the next male might well have.”
“Lorgil is seeded, Nox’Tor does not know,” Kyana whispered through teary eyes.
Toniss turned to the males who had started to move closer to them. “I suggest you stop right where you are. These females are not yours to choose—that is their right. I do not care what my son says; you know he is wrong just as well as I do, only for some reason you are too afraid to stand up to him.”
Teirac stepped out of the crowd of males, “He is the Adik’Tar. And he is your own son.”
“He may be the Adik’Tar,” she shouted, “but that does not give him the right to destroy everything his father and Moc’Tor struggled so to create. Do you think Straf’Tor would have wanted this? Would he support it if he were here? Do not let your blind allegiance block your ability to think for yourselves. We have come this far, and we cannot return to the old ways.”
“He still holds the title,” Teirac rebutted.
“He may hold the title. But by what means? Because he was the firstborn? He has not earned it,” Toniss answered. “Nor has he proven he is worthy of it.”
Kyana collected herself and joined Toniss. “Males, go on your way. You know what she says is right.”
Neither of the females moved a muscle. Slowly the males dispersed, some grumbling, others looking as if they were considering what Toniss had said.
Finally, when all were out of sight, Toniss and Kyana turned back to the other females.
“What do we do now?” one of them asked.
“We find those who stand with us against Nox’Tor,” stated Toniss. “I did not want it to come to this, but it has. Nox’Tor can no longer be allowed to lead Kayerm. Each decision he makes is worse than the one before, and we must take a stand against him, but we need a sign to show us when that will be.”
The females turned and slowly walked back to Kayerm.
Kyana hung back with Pagara and Toniss. “I have to go to Lorgil.”
“Not yet,” counseled Pagara. “You must let it be for a while. Nox’Tor will be expecting that—perhaps even wishing it—to give him another excuse to do who knows what.”
Kyana balled her hands into fists and tried to steel herself for the days to come.
Wosot led a frightened Lorgil back to her quarters and helped her settle down on her sleeping mat.
“Do not worry, Lorgil. I will not touch you. Neither of us wants it, and I promise that you have nothing to fear from me.”
“If you do not want this, then why did you agree to it?” she asked, still trembling.
“If I had refused, he would have given you to another male. And who knows what that male might have done.” Wosot leaned over to catch her gaze. “You are safe with me. He has no authority to do what he did; you know that. I will watch over you, and in time things will right themselves. But for now, understand that no harm will come to you while you are in my care.”
“Kyana.”
“What about Kyana?” he asked.
“I have seen how she looks at you. And how you look at her.”
“I understand. But for now, we must play this out.”
Lorgil looked at Wosot and realized that she trusted him. That she always had. She remembered the nights he had stayed outside Kyana’s quarters, protecting them both from Nox’Tor.
“There is something you should know,” she said quietly. “I am seeded.”
Wosot’s eyes widened, and he could not help but glance at her belly. “Ah. It is not yet obvious. How could Nox’Tor reject you for being barren when you are carrying his offling?”
“He does not know. I have not told him yet, though it will become apparent before too much longer.”
“Who else knows of this?”
“Kyana. Pagara. Perhaps Toniss,” she said. “I have not kept it from my friends. Only him.”
“Is there anything you need for the night?”
Lorgil shook her head, no.
“Then rest now. I will sleep outside, and no one will get past me. Try to put all this out of your mind, at least for tonight.”
When Kyana went to her room, she saw Wosot leaning up against the rock wall at the entrance to Lorgil’s, Their eyes met, and Kyana’s heart pounded.
A long-drawn-out sigh escaped her lips as she entered her quarters. There she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer, Oh Great Spirit. Please help me. I am lost and so confused.
After a day or so, Nox’Tor called another assembly. Had he been paying attention, he would have noticed that the single females and males were now separated, standing with a fair distance between them while the paired families clustered in the gap.
The community was once more divided.
Off to the side stood Toniss, Trak, Kyana, and Pagara. The younger of Kyana’s offling stood assembled behind her, while Norland stood next to her, resting his arm around Kyana’s shoulder. Wosot and Lorgil stood at a short distance from the others.
Nox’Tor addressed the males. “Time is passing, and I must know who among you has chosen a female.”
The males glanced at each other, but no one spoke.
“Surely, some of you have made a selection. Speak up!” he demanded.
When no one answered, he turned abruptly to Teirac. “Explain! Explain to me how none of the males have selected a female?”
“The females refuse,” said Teirac. “They object to your decision, and they will not comply.”
Nox’Tor gritted his teeth, and his fists clenched. “What do you mean they will not comply?”
He swung around to face the other males. “I have given you a choice, and you refuse to take advantage of my generosity? Very well. You still have until the full moon. If you have not chosen by then, I will choose for you as I did for Wosot.”
Wosot stood motionless, with Lorgil standing next to him.
“Wosot is now with Lorgil. They will be paired at the full moon with the rest of you once you have come to your senses. We need to get on with it. We are wasting precious time.”
“Lorgil is your Second Choice. How can she be paired with Wosot?” Finally, one of the males had found a voice.
“She is no longer my Second Choice. She has not produced an heir, so I have no use for her. My purpose in taking a second female was for offling. Since she has failed in that regard, she is now with Wosot.”
Heads shook, and a murmur rose. “That is not right,” said Ser’Hun. “You cannot just set a female aside like that. Nor can you give her to another male without her consent.”
“Are you going to cause trouble for me now, Ser’Hun? Did my father’s whipping, which left you crippled, not teach you a lesson about rebellion? You are lucky he let you live. I might not be so inclined.”
Ser’Hun stepped back, looking to Toniss and Trak for help.
Toniss took a step forward, but Trak reached out and clasped her arm to hold her back. “No,” he whispered. “Give it some more time.”
Norland whispered to his mother, “What is going on? What is he saying about Wosot and Lorgil?”
“I will explain later,” she whispered back.
But it was too late; Nox’Tor had seen them. “More dissension? And from my own family?” He marched over to Kyana and Norland.
“I was about to b
ring you into the leadership circle,” he hissed at his firstborn. “But I can see that was a mistake. One of many I have made.”
He then turned to Kyana, looming over her with his face only inches from hers. “Do you support me? I am asking you to tell me where you stand. Are you with me or against me?”
“No! I do not support you in this.” She raised her voice, shouting right into his face as she let her anger fly. “It is ludicrous. You are not a law unto yourself; you cannot just take a female and then set her aside when your mood changes. If your father could see what you are doing, he would be ashamed.”
“So you are also against me? Well, you are wrong. I am the Adik’Tar, and I can set a female aside if I choose to. In fact, I will demonstrate my authority to do so right now. You, Kyana, are no longer my First Choice. You are now free for any other male to choose you.”
“This is preposterous!” Toniss stepped forward, unable to hold back any longer. “You have lost your mind, Nox’Tor,” she called out as she marched closer.
“Kal-Sol ‘Rin!” he shouted. “It is done. I will choose a new female.” He turned and looked at Pagara.
Pagara took a step backward, putting up a palm and shaking her head, no.
“You,” and he pointed at Pagara, advancing toward her. “You and I will be paired at the same time as the others. I suggest you prepare yourself and pray that you are not barren like Lorgil nor insolent like Kyana.”
By now, the crowd seemed on the verge of a riot.
Teirac, who until now had been convinced that Nox’Tor was fit to lead, finally had his eyes opened. “You may be the Adik’Tar, but you have overstepped your bounds,” he said. “I did not want to see it, but it is true. Whatever has happened to change you, you are not fit to lead.”
He turned to the crowd, “Who agrees with me? Who else can see that Nox’Tor is not fit to be Adik’Tar?”
Nox’Tor stood, nostrils’ flaring, as he watched thick fur-covered hands lifted skyward, no vote withheld.
The Chamber of the Ancients: Wrak-Wavara: The Age of Darkness Book Two Page 11
