The Cavalier

by Jason McWhirter

  “Sleep well, Jonas. You did well today.” Fil was impressed with Jonas’s grim determination and strength during the hard climb.

  Jonas’s night was filled with vivid dreams. He dreamt that he was walking along the edges of a frozen lake, the very same lake they were camping by, when he saw a little fawn scrambling on the ice. The ice began to break and crack, causing the deer to struggle more.

  Jonas set the crutch down and lay on his belly on the ice. Slowly, he crawled closer and closer to the frightened deer. When he was within five paces of the deer the ice broke and the deer’s hind legs went into the water. Jonas struggled closer, reaching out towards the panicked deer, straining to grab its front legs to pull the scared animal to safety. The ice around him began to crack and weaken. He surged forward with one last try to save the deer.

  The ice suddenly gave way and he fell into the freezing water. In a panic, he kicked and struggled with the deer, but his frozen crippled limbs couldn’t support his weight. Slowly he began to sink into the numbing water.

  Everything began to slow. The deer was sinking next to him, just staring at him. Then the deer began to glow a brilliant white and light shot forth from the animal like an explosion.

  The panic left him and he found himself lying in the snow at the edge of the woods. He was no longer wet and his body felt warm and comfortable. Blinking several times he saw a glowing form standing before him. The light slowly faded away revealing a magnificent warrior wearing silver armor and a helm with two large deer horns. The warrior was carrying a silver shield embossed with a blue and silver oak tree.

  The figure stepped towards Jonas and kneeled at his feet. The soldier took off the great helm to reveal long flowing black hair and a face so beautiful that Jonas couldn’t breathe. Her beauty and presence was overwhelming.

  “You did well, Jonas,” the lady whispered to him. Her voice was soft, but powerful.

  “Who are you?” he asked.

  “You will know soon enough. Why did you try to rescue the deer?” asked the raven haired woman.

  “I don’t know. It needed my help. I didn’t have time to think about it.”

  “But you are a cripple. You can barely move,” she said with no hint of scorn.

  “I was better off than the deer,” Jonas replied smoothly.

  The lady smiled and touched his arm with her gauntlet covered hand. “Well spoken,” she replied, her melodic voice warming him to his soul. “Now, wake up, we will meet again”. Her hand glowed brightly as she touched him and Jonas felt a powerful surge of energy enter his body and warm his very soul. He didn’t ever want the feeling to go away. The warmth flowed through his body and exploded within him.

  Jonas awoke with a jolt, his back arching and his body rigid. He was sweating profusely and breathing hard as he struggled to regain control of his body. After a few moments he was able to relax and he looked around the cave hoping to find the warrior woman. The dream seemed so real, but she was nowhere to be seen, the cave was empty; the fire burning low next to him.

  Getting up, he looked around the room for his crutch. Then it struck him. I just got up on my own! Jonas screamed in his head. I didn’t use my crutch! Jonas suddenly stumbled, his right leg giving out on him. As he neared the ground he put out his right hand to brace his fall, and his body complied with his will, his arm lurching out to cushion his decent. He stopped himself from falling, something he had never been able to do. Jonas was now on his knees and he was staring at his hands in shock. He tried to wiggle his fingers and to his surprise they moved slowly, like they were frozen, but they moved as he commanded them too. They were sore and tight, but he could move them, although somewhat awkwardly. Jonas’s lips parted and his teeth emerged in a smile of wonder and happiness.

  “I can move my hands,” he commented to himself with more surprise. Jonas looked around for his crutch and saw it lying next to him. Instead of reaching for it, he used his arms and legs to try and lift his body off the ground. His thin frame slowly rose until he was standing and wobbling on his own feet. He focused on his muscles and willed his body to stop shaking. It took him several seconds but he was finally able to keep his body relatively still. He smiled again, and on a whim he tried to jump. To anyone watching it would have looked pathetic. His body lifted off the ground several inches before he landed on his feet and stumbled to the ground again. To Jonas it felt wonderful and he began to laugh and roll on the ground uncontrollably.

  Fil walked into the cave carrying a load of firewood. He looked at Jonas on the ground with bewilderment and concern. Looking around to find the source of Jonas’s amusement he asked, “Jonas, what’s so funny? Are you okay?”

  Jonas stopped rolling around, slowly lifting his body off the ground, smiling the entire time.

  Fil stared at him, dropping the wood he was holding onto the ground, his mouth agape with shock. “What happened? You are moving your body! You look different…your face looks different. You look normal…meaning no offense,” he replied quickly.

  Jonas walked awkwardly toward Fil, slowly placing both hands on his shoulders. “Fil, I am normal. I am healed. Well, I think I am. My body is weak but I feel amazing. I can talk without difficulty, my muscles feel much looser, and…” Jonas noticed Fil staring at his chest. “What is it? Why are you looking at my chest?”

  “Jonas, have you seen your chest yet?”

  “What do you mean?” Jonas asked as he backed up and looked down at his bare chest. What he saw was shocking. His entire torso was covered with a blue and silver mark, a giant oak tree, exquisitely created and lined with sparkling silver. They both stared at it in awe. It was obviously created by magic; no human could make something as intricate and beautiful as what they saw on his chest.

  “In Ulren’s name, what happened to you?” asked Fil.

  The possibilities came to Jonas in a flash of understanding. The dream, the deer, the dark haired warrior with her gleaming shield bearing the oak tree, and that exact symbol now embossed on his chest. He looked up at Fil with wonder. “I do not know,” Jonas stammered in confusion and excitement at the same time.

  ***

  Jonas and Fil sat around the morning fire while Jonas explained to Fil the dream he had and how he awoke with the mark on his chest. Fil listened intently.

  “What do you think?” asked Jonas after he completed his story.

  “I don’t know. It all seems so unbelievable, but here you are able to move your body as it should, with an incredible mark on your chest that just happens to be the symbol of Shyann, our goddess. I don’t know why it happened, but I think you’ve been God Marked,” Fil replied as he added another log to the fire.

  “You mean like how Airos the cavalier was?” Jonas asked.

  “I think so.”

  “But why me? Why did she mark me?” Jonas asked in wonder.

  “I don’t know, but I imagine you will find out. I think that maybe we need to take you to a priest and try to get some answers.”

  “I don’t even know where the nearest temple is located. I’ve never even been more than a few hours walk from Manson,” Jonas replied with apprehension. He absently rubbed his hands together, smiling at the simple movement that just last night he could not do.

  “I know there is a temple in Finarth. Besides, that is where I want to go when the snows subside anyway. We will travel together. What do you think?” Fil asked.

  “Why do you want to go to Finarth? The trip would take us over a month on foot.”

  “I have nothing left here. I’m going to Finarth to join the king’s army. I want to learn to fight. I want a chance to seek revenge on whoever did this to my home. You must understand that,” Fil said.

  Jonas looked up at Fil and their eyes locked. I too have nothing left thought Jonas, flexing his arms in amazement. Learning to fight, to protect the weak, to ride a horse and wield a sword, all things that he believed he would never be able to do. Now it was a possibility, because Shyann had given him a chance. Airos was
right. The gods have a plan for everyone, even me, thought Jonas.

  Jonas looked up at Fil seriously. “I will go with you, Fil. I will search out a priest and I will learn to fight with you.” He reached out and grasped Fil’s hand in the warrior’s hand shake that he had seen the men of Manson do many times. He grasped Fil’s forearm tightly while Fil in turn grabbed his.

  Fil squeezed his arm firmly and smiled. “After the winter snows, we leave for Finarth.” His smile grew wider now that they had a plan.

  ***

  The first part of winter went by quickly for Jonas. He had never felt more alive in his life, but his body was very weak and he still had limited movement. He did not have the muscle strength for running, climbing, or anything too strenuous. The first thing he had to do was train his body to listen to his mental commands, something it was not used to doing. Most of his days were spent hiking in the snow, walking the animal trails, and even running where he could as his endurance grew. His goal was to strengthen his muscles so that they could support him normally and after several weeks he began to feel different, stronger with quicker reflexes.

  After a month or so he was able to do basic tasks without getting sore or stumbling. His body was fully healing. He began to push himself by climbing the cliff walls to strengthen his arms, fingers, and legs. Fil taught him how to shoot a bow and hunt, while Jonas taught Fil how to set the best rabbit snares and find wild vegetables and edible plants and herbs, although there was not much of the latter during the winter months. When the snows fell heavily, Fil showed Jonas how to make snow shoes from branches and rope and Jonas used the shoes to continue his long walks through the deep snow.

  Jonas hated being cooped up in the cave. Since he was cured he never wanted to be idle again, the idea of not using his new muscles was unthinkable to him. He continued exercising daily as he took in the magnificent scenery the mountains had to offer. As his strength and endurance improved, his skinny frame began to fill out with muscle. Fil accompanied him often, but he did not fully share his desire to walk, run, or climb for no reason.

  ***

  Jonas took his first deer on a cold snowy morning. Hunting was the mainstay of his village and a man’s worth was often based on what he could provide. It was believed that the deer and wild game of the Tundrens were provided by Shyann herself, and she rewarded the patient hunter with the most magnificent animals. But because these animals gave them life, and they were gifts from Shyann, all hunters were taught at an early age to respect the animals that provided for them. Young boys accompanied their fathers on the hunts to learn the skills, and to respect nature and what it provided. Jonas had never learned to hunt because he could not physically take part, nor did he have a father to pass on those skills had he been able. But now he was being taught, and he absorbed the knowledge with the enthusiasm and excitement of one who would never take for granted the new opportunity presented to him. Fil was no expert hunter, but he passed on what his father had taught him and it was enough to form a foundation from which Jonas could build.

  He had tracked the animal slowly for several hours. Fil had told him that he was a natural and that he had the patience to be a great hunter. He could move quietly and slowly, and his accuracy with the bow was amazing for someone who was just a novice. Jonas didn’t tell Fil that he had spent countless hours practicing, shooting the bow when he went out on his many hikes. He could drop a bird out of a tree at thirty paces.

  The deer he was following was a huge buck. He caught a glimpse of it through some brambles before it bolted away. The rack was immense, and the large stag held it high with ease.

  Jonas was slowly moving from tree to tree, his snowshoes making a quiet crunch as he walked, an arrow nocked to his bow string. His breath came out in billows of steam as he scanned the forest for his target. He had been following the animal for a long time in deep snow, up and down gulches and over logs, and he was getting tired. Luckily for him the deer was actually taking him back towards their cave, which meant that if he actually killed it, he would have a shorter distance to carry the meat. Just to his right he caught a glimpse of the animal as it moved towards some choice buds that had begun to emerge from the undergrowth as spring neared. The buck lifted its big head to feed, exposing its side perfectly. It was a long shot, maybe fifty paces, but Jonas was hopeful that he could pierce the animal’s heart. The last thing he wanted to do was wound the magnificent beast and cause it undue pain.

  He pulled back on the powerful bow that Fil’s father had made, sighted in the animal, releasing his breath slowly as Fil had taught him, and fired. His heart pounded with anticipation as he narrowed his eyes on the path of the arrow. It whistled through the air as the big buck turned. It all happened so fast that it was hard for Jonas to see where the deer was hit, the animal bolted, dashing through the woods and disappearing completely.

  Jonas tracked the blood trail up a narrow ridge until he finally found the dead animal at the edge of a cliff face. It seemed to Jonas that the buck had run to this spot, admired its beauty, and decided that this was a good place to die.

  The beast was correct. The majestic animal was lying in the snow on his right, and Jonas stood and stared out at the valley below. The snow covered Tundren Mountains glittered in the morning sun. Jonas was suddenly overcome by a flood of emotions. He sat down next to the animal and began to cry. He might not ever see these mountains again. His mother, the only person that had ever cared for him, was dead, frozen, lying in her own blood in Gorum’s cabin. He had cried almost daily the first couple of weeks in the cave, but his grief had been tempered somewhat by all the possibilities that were now open to him. The sorrow was fueling his new body. And now it seemed this renewed grief would never go away. Nor did he want it to; he would never forget his mother. Wiping away the tears, Jonas silently wished that his mother could have lived long enough to see him walk and hunt and bring home the meat of his first deer.

  He would make things right, he promised to himself. He would take his new gift and do something good. Jonas unsheathed the beautiful hunting knife that he had taken from the dead cavalier. The blade was always bright and razor sharp and much lighter than it should be for a knife that was as long as his forearm. It was the most magnificent weapon he had ever seen.

  Wiping away the last of his tears he took the knife and began to skin the deer as Fil had taught him. There was no way he could carry it all back, so he took the best pieces with the idea that he would come back for the rest if the mountain animals didn’t scavenge the carcass. He wrapped the meat in the leather skin and stuffed it in his backpack.

  Looking down at the dead animal he felt like he needed to say something. After all it was the first animal he had ever killed and Fil had explained to him that a good hunter should always thank the animal for its bounty.

  “Thank you. Thank you for giving me your life, and your energy, so that I may grow strong to fight against the evil in the world.” It sounded good, and Jonas smiled, walking away through the snow.

  The walk back to the cave was peaceful. The snow was falling lightly and the forest was quiet and calm. Jonas was nearing the lake when he suddenly got a burning sensation on his chest, the skin erupting with a fiery pain, causing him to fall to his knees. His mind was assaulted by several flashing images as his chest throbbed.

  In his mind’s eye he saw the cave entrance, and nearing it was a large form, probably twice as tall as a big man. It was wearing dirty furs that covered a strong hairy body. In its right hand it carried a huge knotted club that was more a log than anything else. The image came and went leaving Jonas holding himself steady next to a tall pine, one hand rubbing his chest where the brief pain had erupted.

  Then it came to him; it was a warning! “Fil,” Jonas whispered with fear. He quickly dropped his pack, picking up his bow he ran as fast as his snowshoes could carry him towards the cave entrance.

  He was panting with exertion as he neared the cave, but he was right. Lumbering towards the cave mou
th was a huge ogre. The beast was walking slowly, sniffing the air with its grotesque nose as if it were tracking something. Jonas knew that it must have detected the scent of Fil, the fire, or something that grabbed its attention. Jonas had to warn Fil or he would be trapped inside the cave with no escape route. He had never seen an ogre before, but he had heard from others that they were big and strong and they loved human flesh. They were not often seen but they were known to inhabit the Tundren Mountains. According to the stories he had heard they were not very bright and Jonas was hoping that would work to their advantage.

  Jonas quickly and quietly dashed from tree to tree closing the gap between them. He was frightened and his heart pounded in his chest. The monster was huge, but Jonas willed himself to calm down, taking slow deep breaths as he came within bow range of the beast.

  Suddenly the ogre turned and sniffed the air behind him. Jonas knew that the breeze was blowing towards him so there was no way the ogre would smell him. Unfortunately the wind direction made it so Jonas could clearly smell the ogre, and it was a strong scent of animalistic musk mixed with the odor of wet and dirty fur, probably from the skins the thing wore over most of its powerful body. Jonas ducked behind a large tree and pulled back tighter on the nocked arrow, ready to fire if need be. Jonas slowly peeked around the tree and saw the ugly beast sniff the air. Large gaping nostrils flared in hopes of detecting a potential meal. Its cave-like mouth was slightly agape, exposing large yellow fangs. Small beady eyes were buried deep in a thick bony brow and its misshapen head was covered in a filthy mat of hair that hung past its shoulders.

  The ogre turned around, starting back towards the cave’s mouth, its massive tree trunk legs sinking deep into the snow with every step.

  Jonas looked around, unsure of what to do. If the monster saw him there was no way that he could out run the beast’s long strides in the snow. He would be forced to fight, and that was something that Jonas knew would not end well. Maybe Fil wasn’t even in the cave, but that was unlikely and Jonas knew that he couldn’t take that chance.