Osh could not walk any further for his advanced age had at long last betrayed him and he could feel death following in his footsteps, a short distance ahead of them lay a cave that would give them shelter but they could go no further.
“Leave me” the old man said weakly as he slowly slumped down on an outcropping of crystalline rock, his tired face was worn and his eyes were dull but like all who are in love the woman at his side refused to see what was before her.
“The Angel of Death is always close behind but it will not take you” the voice of the Touchtender was filled with emotion as she bent down beside her frail companion, she had done what she could to shield him from the harsh land and they had been lucky for no Sundroppers circled overhead and the earth was far too hard for Sandragons.
The old man looked up at the kind face hovering over him, she as sacrificed everything for me he thought, all his long life the Callaxion had completed his work and never thought of an existence outside that which he was programed for and having someone care for him was something beyond his comprehension, he would have been content to see his life end without that person at his side, but his time on Gorn had shown him how precious life really is and something not to be wasted alone, “You have been kind to me and showed me that I was not unaccompanied, I wish to tell you that I have never felt for any woman the way I feel for you”.
Alune knew that it would have been much easier to say “I love you” but she understood that Osh was saying just that but in his own words, “I have been with many men in my days, strong men with strong hearts but none stand before you”.
She bent down and kissed him on his wrinkled forehead then sat down beside him with her strong arm around his frail body, there they would wait for whatever fate Isarie had in store for them and as they waited Alune began to sing.
“Worlds away in a sundrenched land a flower grows from out the sand.
In that warm sky are suns that shine and a lover waits to take my hand.
Worlds away where the air is sweet we will walk together beneath the skies.
Together as one for all time and space in endless lands that never dies.”
Beautiful the old man thought, “Have I ever told you that your singing is delightful? He said weakly as he looked into the warm eyes of the woman.
This made Alune laugh, “No, but I knew that you enjoyed hearing my songs”.
The old man smiled and closed his eyes, his breathing became labored and being a Touchtender Alune understood that death was very near them now so she held her companion close and began to pray.
“Take me” she said softly, “I have lived a long life and tried to do what I could for my people, if the Angel of Death needs a life then let him take mine, I have a warm heart and that should appease his cold soul, please Isarie take mine instead”, then the old woman waited for the touch of a cold hand on her warm body for it was the way that death comes for the Angel is forever cold and seeks the warmth of the living.
But she felt no chill only the warm sunlight and the soft wind from the south but she kept her eyes closed for she did not want to see the face of death coming near, then as she waited she heard a sound like the rustling of dry leaves on the ground, she opened one eye hoping that it was not a trick of the life taker nor a dark demon ready to take their souls to the Afterlife, but something much worse.
There stretched out before them were hundreds perhaps thousands of wiggling Rockworms the poisonous larvae whose bite brings excruciating pain and sometimes death, they rose up out of the rocky ground like Kasha wheat after the summer rains, the sound of their powerful jaws rattled through the air and momentarily brought Osh back from the brink of death.
“What is that sound, is it something of interest that should be recorded?” his voice was weak but filled with hope. “It is nothing” Alune replied holding him like a mother holds her child, “Now sleep and when you wake I will prepare you a meal of tender Rimar and sweet-cakes” she knew it was his favorite meal but she understood that in few moments they would both die a horrible death, the Touchtender quickly took the small knife from under her robe and turned it point towards the heart of the Calaxion, better to die quickly then suffer she thought, and she was about to plunge the sharp weapon into the old man’s chest when she saw that the Rockworms would not be a danger to them, they crawled along the ground angulating their boneless bodies and leaving behind them a trial of foul smelling slime but as they drew near they moved around the humans leaving them unharmed.
As the old woman watched intensely as the vile little creatures moved away into the surrounding rocks, “All praise to the Goddess” Alune whispered for she knew that it must be the work of Isarie and that her prayers had been answered, but her joy soon turned to sorrow for the old man in her arms began to tremble and shake and she knew his time was near, “All things must die” she said sobbing “But why do the good end and the evil thrive?” it was a question that had plagued the scholars of the Outer Rim for ages but no one wise or dull had an answer.
The twin suns began to set and long shadows fell across the ground as Alune and Osh waited, they would be together as they had in life and share whatever ending that the Gods had in store for them.
The suns were also setting on the small hut where two sister had taken refuse, Egmar and Dennor had spoken little and although there was much to say the Holy Mother could not find the right words to say what was in her heart, they had eaten nothing but that was not a hardship to Egmar for many times she had fasted on holy days and could satisfy her body with prayers.
“Forgive me Isarie” she whispered with closed eyes, “Forgive me for betraying your children and thinking only of myself” Egmar words were directed more to herself then any Goddess for she was racked with guilt over having abandoned her tribe in time of need but she understood the reality of the situation and if she had stayed she would have surely died for once the Thungodra were set free they would kill without mercy.
Across the room Dennor sat unmoving, she also had not eaten or drank since they had entered the hut and she uttered no prayers or asked forgiveness from anyone, “You insist on asking for compassion from a god who does not hear you” the older sister laughed, “Your long years in the outlands has made you a silly old woman”. She rose and walked to the table were the metal head sat and laid a wrinkled hand on it, “Your people are dead by now as dead as this pitiful reminder of your past failures”, she pick up the head and looked into its dead eyes, “I wonder what he would say if he were alive right now?” she began to mimic a voice that Egmar had heard before, “Why did you choose Arn over me, did you not love me as you did him?”
Egmar opened her eyes and looked at her sister, that voice she thought I know that voice, and indeed it was the voice of her long lost son, “How can this be? You did not know my son”.
Dennor turned the head around so that it was looking at the Holy Mother and although it beyond reason a voice came from its metal mouth, “The end comes” it said.
And before Egmar could speak a rumbling sound rose up from the ground and the fragile hut began to sake, the wall stated to splinter and part of the roof came crashing to the ground, the Holy Mother tried to steady herself by holding onto a support beam near her but the shaking grew more intense and she looked to her sister for help but Dennor only smiled and stood like a statue, “Help me!” Egmar called out, “HELP ME! But no help came as the floor fell away and all that was in the hut was consumed by the earth.
Arn stood overlooking the prow of the Vengeance as the waves lapped gently against the wooden hull, they still traveled south for the winds and tide drew them that way, but even if the water and wind were contrary they would still have heading in that direction for something called to them and not knowing why they obeyed.
South, the King thought, we need to go south, and being the captain now the former slaves followed his orders for they all owed him their lives and they had seen what happened to the former Broglaie leader who the Nomad had challenged.
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bsp; Over the horizon another ship headed south for the Cronos and her crew also heard the unseen voice calling to them.
Andra felt nothing inside as she held the wooden railing of the great ship and looked over the water, once she might have wept and her heart would have broken knowing that her great love was now dead but that was in a former life and that life seemed as far away as the morning stars.
I have my orders she thought, and orders must be obeyed! And she suddenly felt the urge to stand at attention and was about too when Cian spoke to her.
“Andra?” the leader of the Akuna stood looking into her face, “Are you well?”
Hearing his voice brought her back and she turned to him, “What?”
“I said are you well?”
“Yes” she replied in a cold voice, “I’m fine, why do you ask?”
The Wave Rider came close and took her hand, “I know what troubles you, you are thinking of your King and the love you had for him”.
Love? The Off-world girl thought, soldiers have no time for love, but she didn’t want to argue with this man so she told him what he wanted to hear, “Yes, that’s right, the man I loved is gone”.
Cian took her other hand in his, “A lover may be gone but that does not mean an end to love”.
Then he pulled her close and kissed her on the lips.
It took all of Andra’s strength to keep from striking him in the face, a far cry from the feeling she had only a few short days ago, and when they parted she managed a smile of sorts.
“Yes, you’re right” She said, “but I want to be alone for a while”.
And not wishing to distress her Cain moved away and Moonbud watched him go.
Silly man she mused, in war there is no time for love, there is only time for victory!
But there were others on Gorn who still held love in their hearts.
As the twin suns began to set Anais and Kela along with their human companion drew near the Twin Rivers and the fresh water that they dearly needed. Jumo and Delgar howled as they raced ahead of the Tribe of Many for they sniffed the sweet water that lay just ahead of them.
“The Twin Rivers are just over that rise” Anais said as he pulled back the hood covering on his traveling robe.
This brought a laugh from the woman at his side, “ha! Even a blind man could smell the water from here”.
In return the Nomad Prince laughed also, “ah yes but did you know that there will be a clearing with a patch of Balbar trees to the right and a small herd of Rimar to the left?”
Kela was not a player of Chance-card but she dearly wanted to teach her mate a lesson, “I will wager that you are wrong and to back up my belief I will cook your favorite meal tonight if you are right”.
This pleased Anais very much, “To show that I respect your offer if I lose the wager I will rub your shoulders until you tell me to stop”.
“Done!” Kela replied,
Then the two Nomads said nothing until their Karrack rose over the hill and they had a clear view of the surrounding land.
There on the other side was a large body of water with a clearing, but the herd of Rimar was on the left and the Balbar trees were on the right.
“Well what do you see?” ask the Blind Prince.
And being the person she was Kela replied, “I should not have doubted you for everything is as you said it would be”.
“Then I will enjoy my meal”.
As the night moons began their journey across heavens the Tribe of Many sat around their camp fires and filled their stomachs with freshly killed Rimar, cool water and Well-aged Po.
Being the person that he was Anais rubbed his mate’s shoulders until she said stop and then they laid together in contentment.
Romar had no one to lie with because he had no love in his heart only his training as a soldier of the Alliance so he made his bed on the other side of the wagon and looked up at the night sky.
Will I ever see my home again? He thought. What will I become if I have to stay here?
The Captians homeworld had only one moon and it looked upon only as a strategic weapons platform and nothing more, and in his travels as a soldier he had little time for star-gazing or any other matters that did not concern war and victory, but a he looked up and the night moons of Gorn he could not help but think of his past life and all it contained.
I have killed many he thought, thousands, millions and what has it brought me, medals, recommendations for heroism, it that all that I am?
This and a thousand other questions ran though his head until he fell asleep as the stars continued to look down on him.
Far from the comfort of a full belly and a warm bed two others found security in each other’s arms, in the moonlight Osh and Alune still huddled near the outcropping of crystalline rock and waited for their end to come but they were not afraid for they were together. It did not take a Touchtender or an Outer Rim Scholar to know that this would be their final resting place for they were both very weak and had no more strength to give. The old woman continued to hold the old man close to her and although her voice was weak she still managed to sing to him.
“Above the stars and below the ground and together they are one.
For we stand on the ground and look up at the sky and see all the wonders there.
And when we die we will lie in the earth and above us will shine the stars.
We are one with all things and all things are one with us and we give thanks for that.”
And that should have been an ending but the Gods must have heard the timeworn woman’s song for the ground began to shake and the air will filled with a soft humming like the beat of a thousand Flutter-wings.
Alune lifted her head and felt a warm wind on her face; this cannot be the Angle of Death for his touch is cold. Then the wind began to rise and with it the ground, it was like the hand of a great earth giant digging his way out from his underground home, a crack began to emerge several meters from the elderly pair and with it a strange green glow that Alune had never seen before and it frightened her. “Please Goddess if this is our end let it come swiftly!” and she placed herself over body of the old man hopeful that it would protect him from whatever demon might come.
Although very weak Osh’s curiosity could not be stopped and he opened one eye to see the strange illumination, How strange, He thought, an underground phenomenon that has erupted on the surface, and the Callaxion dearly wished that he had a bit or parchment to record the event.
But he would have needed many scrolls of Rimar hide for the crack grew larger and larger and the light became more intense as it shot up into the sky like a beacon atop a pyramid city, the wind grew into a rushing storm and bolts of rainbow colored lightning shot down from the night sky and struck the ground around the two humans.
“Save us Isarie! The Touchtender cried out as she pulled the old man to her breast.
The crack in the earth widened and the light became like the twin suns, Alune and Osh closed their eyes and held each other waiting for their end.
But it did not come.
The wind died down into a gently breeze and the sky sent no more lightening blots, the burning light subsided until it was only a warm glow and the ground no longer shook. Osh and Alune opened their eyes and looked at the now gentle light that was slowly drawing towards them, at first it was without substance like marsh gas on a quite lake, and then it started to change, coagulate, from itself into an outline that slowly took on a familiar shape, the shape of a female.
Has the Goddess herself come for us? The Touchtender thought.
Osh did not have faith in in deities but this occurrence almost made him a believer.
Then as the both looked on the light dimmed and the figure could be seen clearly in the moonlight, she was strangely tall with a face and body that seemed almost transparent, The eyes glowed with a crystalline light and her pale skin was like Grana in a fire pit, the figure moved ever closer then it held out thin hands to the two humans.
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nbsp; “Do not be afraid” the figure said, “It is I Niana come back to save you, and my world.”
And all fear fell away from Osh and Alune and lifting their arms they took her hands in theirs.
Nomads The Risen God Page 38
