Spirits of Falajen

by Ginger Salazar

  She stared the buck in his eyes and took another deep breath. Instead of letting the arrow fly, she released the tension of her bow string and placed the arrow back in her quiver. She simply didn’t want to kill a beast that wasn’t attacking her, especially one that she would have to butcher and skin on her own. She rarely ate deer meat unless it was dried and overly spiced.

  “Sethi!” Korteni’s voice called out in the distance.

  She left the thick brush and ran into a clearing. “Yes?”

  “Sethi,” Korteni repeated her name, stopping in front of Brisethi, “they’re about to kill Etyne,” she panted from sprinting around looking for her.

  “Who’s Etyne?” Brisethi knew the name but couldn’t fit the face as she furrowed her brow.

  “Your combat-partner, Vorsen!” Korteni shouted out of frustration.

  “Oh, no, I need him alive!” She followed after Korteni as her friend began sprinting back the way she had come.

  Korteni led Brisethi to a group of six other recruits. They were gathered in a circle, each taking their turn kicking or punching at a man in the middle. As the girls approached, they saw him fall to the ground.

  “Hey! What’s going on here? Where’s Sergeant Vilkinsen?” Brisethi’s breathless shouts went unnoticed by the men.

  “I couldn’t find him, I’ll go search again,” Korteni said, already running back toward camp.

  Brisethi struggled to push through the tight circle surrounding the half-Kiaran, noticing two other men unconscious to either side. She finally squeezed through and fell upon her beaten partner. The recruits attempted to pry her off of him, kicking and punching at her as well. She shouted from the pain of the hits and warned the recruits to back off. When they didn’t, she summoned her power to conjure her scarlet flames in her hands, arcing all around her and Vorsen and scorching the hands of the recruits who didn’t back away in time.

  Three of them wailed from the burns as Brisethi shouted, “Get back to camp and report to Sergeant Vilkinsen! If you cannot find the Sergeant, you will remain in your tents until I bring him to you, understood?” Her ability to summon such powerful mystics so suddenly and meticulously struck fear into the six men, encouraging them to obey her order.

  She diminished the flames as Vorsen coughed blood, forcing her to lean off of him. “Gross, what the fuck, Vorsen? What the fuck happened? You’re not going to die, are you?” She examined the cuts on his face as she wiped blood from his cheeks and jaw with her sleeve. “Mother of Spirits, is the rest of you as bad as your face?” She then lifted his shirt to examine his wounds.

  “It’s partially your fault, Sen Asel,” he tried not to show pain when she touched his bruised ribs.

  At feeling her own face throb from the few fists she took she raised her voice. “Do not put the blame on me for you failing to overcome six stupid recruits-“

  “Eight,” he nodded to the two he had taken out.

  She stared blankly in their direction then continued to prod to ensure he had no broken or fractured ribs, mostly wanting him to give in to the pain. A small pain in her side caused her to examine her own injuries. “Where’s Corporal Crommik?” she asked.

  “He’s with Private Nin on a hunt, somewhere,” he told her.

  After ensuring both of them were devoid of serious injury, Brisethi glanced sideways at him to continue her interrogation. “Go on then, why did you nearly kill everyone just to get yourself nearly killed?”

  He slowly sat upon his knees. “You know how men can be. They didn’t approve of your decision of ‘permanent partner’, wondering what I did to ‘deserve’ your attention. Then suddenly it became my fault for the Kiarans attacking us nights ago. I guess one of them lost their ‘boot beau’ that night.”

  “Their what?” She asked.

  “Bootcamp girlfriend, because it’s true love when you meet in the expedition.”

  She tried not to laugh at his blatant sarcasm. “They’re going to live, right?” she nodded toward the two unconscious ones.

  “Unless you want to end them yourself for what they said about you and the other girls. They lack honor,” he replied, rubbing his head.

  Any other day, she couldn’t care less what people said about her, but today she saw two men knocked unconscious because of what they had said. She narrowed her eyes. “Just what exactly did they say?”

  Etyne Vorsen deliberated for a moment on how much to tell her, but his desire to see her reaction won out. “You know how most men brag about who could be the most creative in what they could do to a woman? Those two bragged about what they had already done to you and what they had you do for them,” he said, leaving the sordid details out.

  Her gray eyes pierced through his and could almost feel her anger scorching. He listened to her breathing intensify. She clenched her teeth then finally relaxed enough to speak. “Why would you, ‘defend my honor’ by beating two men for me? I thought you hated me.”

  “I don’t hate anyone. I dislike you,” he smirked, “but I still respect you as a fellow recruit leader, you’ve earned that much. Besides, as I said before, I was already infuriated at them for blaming me for the Kiaran attack and, of course, what they said about my mother.” He stood on one knee, examining his torn uniform. “I just repaired this uniform from the attack the other night,” he sighed.

  She helped him to stand, also observing the small rips and tears. “I’ll make you a new one if you have extra hide big enough to also supply a blanket for me.”

  He stifled a painful laugh, “That’s right, you’re the one terrible at hunting. We’re about to head into the mountains during winter, you know?”

  “I’m not terrible at hunting; I can shoot birds down just fine! I just refuse to kill such a large beast that I don’t particularly want to eat or butcher.”

  “Corporal Vorsen, are you well?” Ibrienne ran up to him with her medical kit, limping slightly from the strenuous run that morning.

  “I just need to wash off; those two need all the healing you can give them,” he said, gesturing to the two men who were just beginning to regain consciousness. He thanked her for the salve then walked back to camp with his combat partner.

  They slowed their pace when they were in view of Sergeant Vilkinsen screaming at the six men who had beaten Vorsen. Korteni stood behind at parade rest, watching the two approach camp.

  “Sen Asel! Vorsen! Get your asses over here!” ordered Sergeant Vilkinsen.

  Brisethi quickened her pace but Vorsen remained at his limping slow walk.

  “The fuck did I tell you about using mystics near the recruits? Get down on your face with the rest of them!” Vilkinsen shouted to Brisethi.

  “Sergeant, with all due respect, she was defending the two of us from the six of them,” Vorsen replied.

  “You think I don’t know that, Corporal? Get your ass to the infirmary tent and then wash that dirt and blood off you. Take Pyraz with you, you’re all pissing me off today,” he shouted. He glanced back down at his recruits who were strenuously shuffling their feet simultaneously back and forth with their hands on the ground. He then shot a particularly vicious glare at Brisethi as she joined the other six and yelled. “Stop flaunting your fucking mystics, that’s not why the spirits embody our vessels!”

  “Aye, Sergeant,” she voiced. She was genuinely terrified of the Sergeant First Class every time he snapped to reprimand mode. She was already downtrodden from the recent distance he kept from her and now he was furious at her.

  “Repeat after me, males: I will not attack other soldiers of the Dominion. Female, repeat after me: I will not use my mystics against soldiers of the Dominion,” he watched sweat pour down the seven soldiers’ bodies.

  “I will not use my mystics,” Brisethi started to say, “against soldiers of the Dominion.” Her voice was hoarse as she struggled to breathe during her mild panic attack.

  “It’s in our fucking creed, morons!” Vilkinsen shouted once more.

  He waited until his pocket watch
read the eighteenth hour to finally halt the intensive training. Brisethi remained collapsed on her face after the males hesitantly stood and walked off. Her body was beyond aching from the activities over the last few days.

  Sergeant Vilkinsen knelt down next to Sen Asel who had rolled on her side, trying to breathe. He placed his hand on her collar and ripped her Corporal rank insignia from its post and placed it in his pocket.

  She didn’t realize she would lose a rank over helping someone. She should have just allowed Vorsen to keep taking the beating until Vilkinsen appeared. But she knew deep down that she’d never allow that to happen.

  After removing his hand from his pocket, Sergeant Vilkinsen added her new rank insignia to her collar then patted her on the shoulder. He reached down to help her stand up, but she wanted only to lay for another minute. “Congratulations on your promotion, Sergeant Sen Asel.”

  She pulled at her collar to awkwardly look at her new rank. “You just reprimanded me for the last hour and now you’re promoting me?”

  Sergeant Vilkinsen grinned. “You risked breaking the rules just to protect your combat partner,” he replied.

  “Oh,” she exhaled, wiping sweat from her face with her sleeve. “And I would do it again, for any of them.” She thought about what Vorsen had told her regarding what those guys said. “Well, almost any,” she muttered before placing her head back down in the dirt.

  “Also, I can’t run the division on my own, I need someone to do all of my paperwork.” he said with a laugh.

  Chapter VII

  Recruit Training Division Forty-One was given one additional day to hunt, trap, harvest and gather before leaving the coast to hike to the mountains. Brisethi had still not gathered enough food to last two days’ worth of hiking and wasn’t looking forward to eating off rations. She searched desperately for large enough fowl, but only found crows and other small birds about. Giving up on birds, she traced her steps back to camp to grab her fishing pole and scavenge for fish bait.

  When she reached the shore, Brisethi turned the rowboat right side up and placed the oars, her pole and her pouch into it. She removed her boots and also placed them in the boat then rolled her pants up and pushed the boat into the sea. Her body still ached from the day before, making her groan as she leaped into the boat and dug the oars into the water. The cloud cover brought with it some choppy waves and mists of salt water flying into her face.

  Her arms grew weary when she finally reached water deep enough. Scraps of entrails she had collected from hunters the night before made for sufficient bait as she hooked some sort of rabbit organ to her hook and sinker then tossed it into the sea. The waves calmed enough for her to lean back against her boots and wait for a bite.

  Brisethi examined the remaining fish hooks that she made within the first few months of the expedition. She had excelled in the art of fish hooks and sewing needles made of fish bones, allowing her to trade her craft for leather and boar meat. She had even carved small trinkets out of the bigger bones and arrowheads along with tools and daggers. One of the older recruits requested a necklace to send home to his wife. Most of the men enjoyed hunting, and many of the women took one of those men as a lover so they would be taken care of for the rest of the expedition. Some women, such as Korteni and Ibrienne, were better at trapping and gathering. Sulica, meanwhile, was one of the women who got a male recruit to hunt for her. Since Korteni was the only other recruit able to get along with Sulica, she had made decent trades of Brisethi’s bone wares for the meat and hides of some of Sulica’s lover’s hunts. Korteni would then share with Brisethi and Ibrienne her successful trades of the day.

  As far as Brisethi knew, no one else enjoyed fishing as much as she did. Her mind traveled back to her childhood, when her father had taken her out on fishing trips. She remembered them with a smile, thankful for the tricks she learned from him on braiding fish hooks and how to test for better fishing spots.

  The slightest tug of her fishing pole brought her back to the present as she quickly yanked it up to hook the fish’s mouth. Once again she silently bemoaned her fatigue as she fought with what felt like an eternity until she wore it down and started reeling it in. She proudly grinned at a fish the length of her thigh as she quickly ended its life and placed it in her fishnet. She considered its weight and decided she would need only one more to last two days if she were to share with her friends. The decision made, she hooked another piece of bait and threw it over the side of the rowboat once more.

  When the division left the shore she would have to fish in the mountain streams and lakes. Those fish didn’t grow as big as the ocean ones. She contemplated catching a third fish if the second didn’t take too long. When she hooked the second fish, smaller than the first, within a decent time, she decided to try for a third.

  Brisethi noticed storm clouds beginning to creep toward her on the horizon. Feeling a little antsy, she rowed a bit closer to the shore. She hoped a third fish would quickly bite so she could have enough time to gut and descale all three fish at the shoreline before taking a quick bath and washing her uniform. Just as she had finished her thought, the line tugged once more, and she quickly pulled up on it again. Her third catch was as big as her first one, ending her day with something to smile about.

  She made it back to camp before the rain began falling, even after her bath and uniform cleaning session. Firepits had already been lit, and the smell of roasting boar and deer filled the air.

  “Sethi, what did you bring us?” Korteni greeted her companion. “I mean, Sergeant,” she corrected herself, jokingly standing at parade rest.

  “Gigantic fish!” Brisethi exclaimed. “I hope you have some seasonings for it. Or side dishes.”

  Ibrienne held up a few small red peppers as well as some green herbs that helped flavor meats. “I also traded some of these for dried deer meat for us,” Ibrienne said.

  Brisethi’s eyes widened, “Lava peppers are my favorite!”

  Korteni had been mixing her find of cauliflower and garlic with flour to grind into dough that she would fry up with her portion of fish. “I’ll trade you some of my dough for some fish? Make fish cakes out of it!”

  “Deal!” Brisethi agreed while Ibrienne bartered with Korteni for some of her mix as well.

  Although the Dominion recruits were paid monthly to patrol and train for four years, they were also taught the value of the ancient bartering system. They saved their coin for spending on alcohol, spices, and cheese in villages. Some soldiers would even spend their coin on the pleasures of women of the night at the towns when they couldn’t attract or risk the attention of the female soldiers they trained with. Brisethi preferred spending her coin on exotic oils, soaps, books and the occasional new fishing line and reel. She also had an odd collection of compasses with different designs engraved in the back of them ever since her father brought one home for her from the faraway nation of Vipurg.

  Trading finished, the girls began cooking over the campfire outside of their tent. Ibrienne watched Korteni as she made the fish cakes. “Where did you learn to cook like that?” she asked.

  Korteni smiled fondly as she continued working with the food. “I had to help my mother in the kitchen sometimes. Didn’t your mother teach you?”

  She shook her head. “No, she wasn’t around.”

  “Korteni,” Sulica’s voice interrupted their idle chit chat. “I have some extra apples and cinnamon spice. These two apples and two cinnamon sticks are yours for two fish cakes.”

  Korteni glanced at Brisethi who nodded with a smirk and an arched brow. She then replied, “On one condition: You have to sit and have dinner with us.”

  Sulica sighed and conceded to Korteni’s request, sitting on the far side of her. She only spoke when spoken to but listened intently to each of her tent-mates.

  “Is Crommick on watch tonight?” Korteni was curious as to why Sulica wasn’t with her male friend.

  “Yes, he is,” she replied, raking her fingers through her short blon
d hair.

  “That’s too bad, I rather enjoy chatting with him. He’s always fun to banter with,” Brisethi replied. She didn’t see Sulica narrow her eyes in her direction. The girls continued talking quietly while they finished their meal.

  Sergeant Vilkinsen walked around, snuffing out the fire pits and ordering everyone to their tents for the night. Only the three soldiers on watch would be awake to guard the ten tents.

  In the dim light of the lantern, Brisethi stared at the odd bundle of fur on her bedroll, hoping to the spirits it was a cat. As she leaned in closer, she realized it was just a fur blanket. She laughed to herself as she picked it up and looked up at Korteni.

  “Oh, that! Etyne stopped by just before you came back from fishing and dropped that off for you. And since I’m so very protective of you I asked him what it was for and he said he owed you,” Korteni replied.

  “Who the fuck is Etyne?” Brisethi casually asked and inspected the neatly sewed and freshly cleaned blanket in the lantern light.

  “Corporal Vorsen,” Korteni corrected herself with a smile. “I know you’re not that stupid to not know his name by now,” she teased.

  “It’s Mira Snow Cat fur, like the one Lenken killed,” Brisethi stated dismissively of Korteni’s jab.

  Korteni nodded. “Vorsen requisitioned it from Master Chief a few weeks ago when no one wanted to eat the cat meat. Since it spoiled, he agreed to use the cat meat for traps or fishing bait. He was going to save the fur for his lover back home, but he said he was done carrying it and taking care of it,” she finished with a shrug.

  Brisethi ran her hand across the soft fur. “I like cats, especially the Mira Snow Cat. Although, I would never kill one unless it was trying to kill me first, nor would I actually buy its fur.” She spread the fur blanket across her bedroll. It was light gray with black ring shapes. “I won’t let it have died in vain and treasure this much needed gift,” she said, admiring the beautiful fur.

  Ibrienne joined them and was completely infatuated with Brisethi’s acquisition. “I admit I’m really envious of you right now. You convinced the most charming man in the division to give you his cat blanket that was meant for his girlfriend in Res’Baveth.”