by D E Dunn
“so how do you know they speak?”
“You develop a knowing of things, especially when you're blind. Everyone here grows up listening to the wind, even you could do it, if you would quiet your mind. To feel others you need to expand your conscious. Relax and listen with your mind, think of what thoughts enter. You should practice, It's a skill you just might need one day....”
The rest of my morning is spent sipping tea and tending plants, who luckily don't start any conversations with me.
In the afternoon the old priest settles down for a nap, and I wander his library. He has many old and interesting books, but non interests me more than “The Foreign Gods”. Lore and history of the Gods of the forest. Some basic history I know already. The Gods are foreigners, not of this world, but from the great beyond. Their presence is what keeps this continents magic from fading like the rest of the world. And there are five of them, each commanding certain powers of the realm.
What I didn't know though, were their names, and biographies-
[Goddess - Felresi – The Earth Tender
The Goddess of the forest, she holds sway over the nature of the earth. Her shrine is a temple in the depths of the rainforest.
God - Boro – The Thunder of the Mountain
A God of power, his strength is unmatched. His shrine is kept in the heart of a mountain, a symbol of his power. His force roars as thunder across the sky, he is said to be able to create storms.
Goddess - Celti – The Moons Tears
The Goddess of the sky and moon. She also causes rain and controls the flow of rivers. Her shrine is built on a spring on the top of a glacial mountain.
God – Vicstaeres – The Trickster
A God with power over the mind, his shrine is located in an underground spring, a symbol of meditation and peace.
God – Morteus – The Death Keeper
The God of death, he cares for lost souls. Preferring to be among the dead, his shrine is built in an immense and expansive underground graveyard deep in the south.]
Reading about them all, I questioned if these unseen things could exist. Their very mention a feeling as though I had wandered into deeper waters than I was used to. The furthest depths where no men were meant to be. A place for primordial things outside of our comprehension.
***
It's not even light yet as the guards torches cast against my eyes. The metal door opens and I'm escorted into the woods. We soon gather with the others, warriors, and sages as dawn breaks lightly through the trees upon the far off sky.
“We gather for a hunt” I hear one of them say.
But first, they feel the need to train me. At first they try to teach me tracking. Out of the many animals I try to track, I only find one. An animal as slow as me, a turtle. I smile as the warriors and hunters laugh.
We break for a short lunch, the man with golden eyes sits down beside me. We exchange brief glances and smiles.
"you shouldn't feel ashamed Wendy..." He says to me after a moment.
"what do you mean?" I ask shocked
"Your father abandoning you, it's his shame, not yours, or your mothers."
I stare blank at him for a moment. "how do you know that?" I ask shaken
"You told us everything Wendy, I'm sure that your mother is worried about you."
I have to breathe for a moment to suppress my rage. "I'm not going back, and I don't appreciate you bringing this up, I don't even know you." I squeeze out through my teeth with a dead glare.
"My name is Daedan. I was born a brat, raised a warrior, made into a priest, and when the time came I took up the sword again to lead my people, at the behest of our God."
"And you can't say no to a God?" I implore sarcastically
"No you can't." He says with a smile.
"Has 'Vicstaeres' said anything about me. Daedan?"
"Would you be here if he had?"
I shake my head and bury my feelings into my lunch.
"I didn't mean to upset you Wendy, you may barely know me, but I do care for you girl" he says as he puts his hand on my shoulder.
I hate him still, for bringing any of that up, but relax myself after a moment, and give him a smile - though only briefly. I regret to admit, I do feel ashamed, sometimes. A fathers shame for abandoning his love and child, it makes sense. But where I'm from it's the opposite. An antiquated standard from settlers times meant to dissuade unmarried coupling. A silly custom still held to this day.
When lunch is over we begin the long walk to their hunting ground. I make it a point to walk with Daedan.
"So, the Gods went mad?" I ask after a moment walking beside him.
"Where did you hear that?" He questions.
"I was brought up hearing about mad Gods, but I also read it in the priests library. What happened?
“The only one who knows is Vicstaeres, and he never speaks of it.” He says low.
"And Vicstaeres, the books said that he is a trickster God. What tricks does he play?" I continue.
“These days he has no time for tricks. In the old days his tricks were cruel and ironic. One winter he burned a village. He set fire to everyone's homes. The trick being, those that didn't burn, froze.”
“That's terrible!” I exclaim.
“The Gods do not exist for men, theirs is a different realm. All of the Gods were cruel, but not crueler than nature. And we depend on Vicstaeres. When the other Gods went mad all those that couldn't escape were cut down in their wrath. Our God resisted the madness and saved us from the other Gods terrible power.”
“So is it true that there are no followers of the other Gods?”
“No men follow them. Only beasts, monsters, demons, and ancient myths not seen by human eyes in a thousand years.” His eyes grow fierce.
“That's why you don't want me to go?” I ask.
“Partly, those things are deadly, but cold is the real threat. Winter comes from the south, and with it death.”
“It's already fall, if winter is so terrible, shouldn't you let me go soon?”
He returns my question with a smirk and stare that I don't appreciate, and we gradually separate.
Finally the hunting begins. Hours of wandering, and whispered conversation broken by hysteria and murder. I keep back and help carry what the warriors catch. We return to the village in the dusk. Everyone is tired and seems to have forgotten that I'm an outsider.
Everyone smiles with me and we laugh in comradely. But my smile fades with the setting sun, as the guards come again. Once more I'm dragged off by rough hands and put back into my cell. Dank and cut off from the world, caged like an animal. They're so nice during the day, I almost forget that I'm their prisoner.
***
It's night. I look out from my little window upon the village, aglow with burning torches and bustling with cheerful activity. A cold breeze rattles the leaves of a nearby tree, shaking them loose. They flutter by as the wind blows through my hair, a tinge of ice numbing my face. Fall is here for sure, soon winter. Maybe that's their plan, keep me here until the snow falls and leave me no choice but to return home. I slowly caress the bars in front of me, secretly hoping that they would just fall away so I could leave. A foolish dream, that they wouldn't find me.
The moon begins to rise over the forest, an eerie bright glow through a vortex sky. Such a weird land, I’ve never felt a place so alive, where even the sky meets your eyes. My first days here I wondered if this 'God' of theirs even existed. Standing here now, looking over the ancient forest, there's no question.
Journal
I always felt like I was held back. Like my mom never really cared to understand me, only control me. Not to say that I was the easiest child, but it felt like I was put on rails and any deviation was punished. One day I talked Wil into teaching me how to fight with a sword. I got ahead of myself and got hit pretty bad. My arm was bruised and mom soon found out how. My mom scolded me, and had it out with Wil, he would barely even look at me for a week. I wouldn't say that I was
always right, but sometimes I just wished that she would let me be me.
-Wendy
Part 4
Release
I rise late, the sun already casting its glow upon the middle of my cell. The guards come for me as they realize that I’m awake, and again to the old priests for tea.
I sit in his home for a long time alone, until he comes in shaken, and sits. We talk for a time but his face looks drawn and pale, soon he goes silent, his head bent over forward at the floor. I begin to ask if he's alright when he interrupts.
“The God has decided” he crackles as I look on in shock. “you are to go free, in any direction that you choose.” he ekes out.
We sit in silence for awhile. I'm honestly stunned that they would let me go.
“so, what does he think about my journey?” I ask as I recompose myself.
“Even Gods can be wrong.” he replies quickly.
“What does that mean?”
“What destinations you choose, and if you get there, is all up to you. That is what he told me. You leave tomorrow. Goodbye my dear” he says quietly as he draws me in for a hug. Soon after, he rises, and leaves quickly through the doorway.
“good luck to you, Wendy...” he states with a sadness in his voice before he leaves.
“goodbye” I mutter behind him, before leaving the hut feeling a heaviness in my chest.
***
I walk freely through the town, unsure of where to go, or what to do when Daeden intercepts me.
“We are releasing you tomorrow” he says
“I know, the priest told me...”
“Will you go back?” He asks sternly
“No” I say, shaking my head to reinforce my decision.
He nods his head slowly, “come with me” he says strictly.
He takes me to a small arena. Taking two staves off of a rack, he throws one at my feet.
“take it, if you're going, you need to know how to defend yourself”
I move to pick it up when he lunges across the arena and smacks it out of my hand.
“they will not wait!” he says as I gaze upon him, eyes wide in shock.
I pick it up again. The instant my fingers touch it, he swirls around again. His whole movement faster than the eye can comprehend.
I resist, a blur before a solid crack, our staves vibrating as they lay forced upon one another.
“have you been trained already?” he asks as our staves part.
I quickly say no, trying to keep eye contact without giving myself away. I know that I’m lying, I’m sure he does too, but I want to know all that I can.
Attack after attack, I just barely hold my ground, taking an off hit here and there. The pain of it not even phasing me. I feel nostalgia from it. 'Playing' as a child, and sneaking off some days to practice with Wil. As my spear flies from my hand, I can't help but feel that I'd be better, if my mom didn't put a stop to it.
In the evening a handful of guards bring supplies over. A pack filled with food, but also some camping gear, and cold weather clothing. A new map, and a necklace, a sort of charm of protection from their God. They say that it will ward off evil, and link me to the God of tricks, Vicstaeres. The last item, a short, all metal spear is placed into my hands.
“this is the best weapon for you” Daedan says, “a spear reformed from a metal man we destroyed”
“Mecha?” I question, staring at the strange metal, light and strong, supposedly indestructible. “so they can be killed!” I exclaim in wonder.
“under the right circumstances, yes” Daedan says, continuing “with a solid blow to the chest, they can be defeated”
I twirl the spear through my fingers for a moment, remembering the bandits destruction. Holding such a violent thing almost sickens me, not at all a weapon made for a man, but for a thoughtless monster.
As nightfalls he invites me to have dinner with his family. I feel terribly grateful and accept. His hut is warm, and his family kind. We eat and laugh, and the serious feeling of the day fades.
***
The night is still and dark as I return to my cell, the door left unlocked. It's strange, to have hated this hole in the ground my entire stay, I suddenly feel a sadness in leaving it. An heir of home. But maybe It's just the people that make it feel that way. I can't say my stay has been a pleasant one, but it wasn't bad. Growing up all I would ever hear about was the savage men of the Mad Gods. Tales of terror, and murder. That's what I expected. I expected savages, who would do all manner of terrible things to me. That's not what I found. Sure they're different, but really we're more the same.
Chapter 5
Lost
Season – Late Fall
My heart sank as I was escorted through the village. My send off was a bit emotional, but mostly cold. Daedan took my shoulder as though I were a child, and told me that I was always welcome back, a gesture I was grateful for. Though I think that he just wanted me to change my mind. And then there was the priests goodbye, and parting words:
“Opportunities will always present themselves. Sometimes when doors are opened, and others, when doors are closed.”
Part 1
Tricky
I stare crooked at an old tree, and sigh. The tree has three knots, and a cluster of roots that look like a massive claw. This has got to be some kind of joke.
It's been weeks since I left the village. The guards escorted me to the deepest part of the woods that they dared to go and left me there on my own to take a short walk through what they called the God Wall. A boundary of trees that marked the end of Vicstaeres power and influence, and led into the lands of the other Gods. I was skeptical staring into the shadowy wood where even the bravest dared not go, but as I lost sight of the warriors a calm washed over me, like a deep exhale after holding your breath for a long time. It felt good to be on my own again. Nice to feel the fresh air on my face with no one to enjoy it but me. My own special little world. What doubt I had accumulated along my journey before, was alleviated. I felt that I had been gifted a fresh start.
At first it was going well, I followed the map they gave me, and made good time. Soon though it started to feel like the trees were closing in on me. Then everything started to look the same. The same forks, and paths. Circles and circles, the same trails no matter which way I went. Endless days of the same.
And this old tree, I've seen it before too. I'm lost, but at least I haven't been killed yet. Why did I ever trust those people. Hmm, “trickster God”, I should have known.
***
It's easily been a week or more. Still lost, but now proper lost. This forest is alive. I think the God is playing with me. I swear the trees are moving behind my back, slinking in the corners of my eye. I feel an unbelievable sense of confusion and desperation. There is no fight to be had, no struggle to overcome. Just days that sail by unceasingly in a mind bending swirl. It's more then I can take, I grasp the Gods charm around my neck tightly in my hands.
“stop toying with me, please just end this!” I whisper as night falls.
