Consequences Within Chaos

by Derek Barton

  “Keyare adslii Madnada Yua Tib Deet. Kadofa asnno Madnad Kua Dos Deet. Klnnenen yaujua.” Her voice was loud and formal.

  The Duradramyn bowed before Taihven, dropped to one knee and curled an arm over her head. She then rose from her pose and bowed in similar fashion to the male. Motioning with a hand at the black leather warrior, she stated, “Madnad Bromaj Palyavek eina yea aadnerma kos—”

  “—Please, please!” Taihven interrupted. An awkward hush fell over the room. Their eyes were wide in surprise.

  The prince inferred that the two elder Duradramyn were important and that her words were very significant to him. He knew he could not afford for there to be any miscommunication.

  He beckoned with his hand at JaFraeda who stood in a corner of the room with the other female, but he could feel blush on his cheeks. “JaFraeda?”

  She gasped hearing her name and hesitated to come to his hammock.

  Taihven begged her with his eyes. JaFraeda approached with a worried frown. “Areaqed dojo mas?”

  In a slow decisive motion, he leaned to the right and gripped her wrist. He spoke with care to the elder female, “I deeply apologize if I have offended you by my interruption. It is not my intention to seem rude or ungrateful for all that you have done for me. I stopped you only to explain that I can only understand your language or speak your words when I am touching one of you. Please forgive my first impression with you, Your...Highness?”

  She glanced over to the two males. They did not speak, but exchanged nervous looks.

  “I also want you to know that I am feeling much better – thank you. You may know me as the Wandering Wolf, but please call me Taihven Artadeus.” He tried to smile and reassure the elder pair. No one spoke, tension built in the room. The dark warrior had even placed a cautious hand on one of the blade hilts.

  She stepped back a step and looked down at her feet. After a thoughtful pause, she looked back at the prince in his sick bed and came forward two paces. “I accept your apology and I accept your reasons. Your position is a very difficult one, Young Wolf.” She bowed and fell back upon her knee and put her hand over her head. She rose and stepped over to JaFraeda’s side. “I am the Madnada, Yua Tib Deet. Behind me is our Madnad, Kua Dos Deet.”

  She halted her introduction and glanced over at JaFraeda. The nurse took the hint, bowed and returned to the corner of the room by the Ara Yve Seld.

  Yua Tib took Taihven’s hand and then proceeded. “They say that the sightings of the Wandering Wolf are most fortuitous. Finding you was indeed fortunate for all of us as well as you.” Her voice had a smooth and majestic tone. She had obvious diplomatic skills and experience.

  Madnad Kua Dos came forward and took Taihven’s other hand. “Indeed, on that day, we were hunting for members of our own who had gotten lost in the same storm fields. The light reflected from your signet ring made it easy for us to locate you in the grass-reeds. Our scouting party was found a short dist—”

  His words were disrupted by a stifled sob from the Madnada.

  “Our son led that party, but was taken by the same tempest.” He explained. “You see, we were determined to not let anyone else die that day.”

  The Madnad had matching golden flecks and highlights in his short black hair, a scar along his brow and his eyes were a faded orange-grey tint.

  “I am truly sorry for your loss, Madnad. I have recently lost my own father – it is like no other pain I have ever felt.” Taihven stated.

  Yua Tib coughed into her hand, she then took Taihven’s hand out of Kua Dos’ grip. She cleared her throat again and said, “Thank you for your words, but I must ask, why was the Wandering Wolf in our Sacred Groves? What are your intentions for us?” Her eyes scanned his face; they were intense and sharp. She was trying to read his reactions. The Madnada was in full command here.

  “I was not aware that I was in any sacred lands of the Duradramyn. It was by pure accident that I found myself there.” He worded his response as to not reveal his Gate Ring ability, but his answers were a bit too careful.

  “I see.” She removed her hand free of his, turned and spoke to the Kua Dos in hushed tones.

  Taihven extended his hand, touching her arm. “I would like to make up for what you have done for me. Not only for the healing treatments, but to make amends for my trespass. Is there anything I can do?”

  She did not answer and walked away from his hammock. Over her shoulder, she replied with some anger in her voice.

  Kua Dos laid his hand upon Taihven’s shoulder, “We only want to know what your intentions are. There is no way for you to return our son, so you have nothing to offer us that we want.”

  He too marched away, following after Madnada Yua Tib Deet. When he passed the warrior, he barked a heated command.

  Taihven knew he failed the interview. He was a patient and a prisoner under the watch of the Duradramyn. She had detected that he had not revealed everything. They were not sure of what to make of him and his Wandering Wolf reputation. The couple were on edge probably due to their son’s recent death.

  It was a rookie-diplomat mistake. Taihven had been severely wounded and not on his game.

  The prince would have to find a way to rebuild his impression with them. He laid back into the animal furs and passed out with the worries and stresses whirling round in his head.

  #6

  Taihven stretched his left arm out until it flared and rolled his neck trying to uncramp a muscle along his shoulder. He was exhausted and beyond bored. The swollen knee had reduced in size, but remained an ugly purple. His shoulder was scabbed over, but it did not overly hurt any longer. He laid back down in the hammock.

  It had been four days since his Healing Chant session; his healing had advanced fast. On the third day of his stay, he was even allowed to walk laps around his room. His strength had not fully returned and he spent a majority of the day taking three-hour naps. He hoped to rebuild his rapport with the Duradramyn soon. Until he had that chance, he would relax, heal and think over his options.

  The unusual race did not use tonics or natural medicines from what he could tell. Nor did they use any magical spells or items aside from the crystals and salve they had used that first day. He wanted to ask JaFraeda or her assistant questions about their Mending skills, but they remained aloof and kept their distance other than changing his bandages or bringing him fruit.

  The prince agonized at the possibility that Auste had succeeded in keeping him in a permanent episode and worried what strife the albino was bringing to Wyvernshield. He tried to steer away from these dreaded possibilities as he knew it only would distract him and perhaps delay his recovery. He had to trust that Letandra was alright and that he would find a way back to confront him soon.

  “Eads fas los avva breas.”

  Taihven looked up to see their queen at the doorway. The Madnada spoke to the dark-clad guard and he stepped aside to let her enter and went outside of the room. She was dressed this time in an elegant, flowing green and black dress. Her hair had been styled, put up in rolls on one side and draped down long on the other. A brooch with orange beads came down over her right eye.

  Madnada Yua Tib bowed once more as was their custom. She then approached Taihven and extended her palm for him to grasp.

  “It is a pleasure to see you, Madnada Yua Tib Deet. I hope the day has been good to you?” Taihven tried to be charming. While the anger in her eyes and tone from their last meeting had disappeared, a tension cloaked her features like a cursed aura.

  “Thank you, Wand—” she interrupted herself and rephrased, “Thank you, Taihven. I came by to check in on your progress. How are you feeling?”

  “Much better. Much.” He was unsure of what to say next.

  “I am glad. Please inform JaFraeda if you have need of anything.”

  She fidgeted and was also uncomfortable.

  “I, uh, I am sorry that I am interrupting your rest, but I came here to talk with you about an important request.” She forged ahead.<
br />
  “I am in your debt and glad to assist you in any way I can.”

  “You were rumored to have been imprisoned by the Eulocths a while ago. Was this true?” Taihven was confused until an image of the Green Ones flashed in her mind.

  “Oh, yes! Vicious, little lizard-like creatures.” He blurted out, but immediately he felt anxious and did not like the possible outcomes of this topic.

  “Well, you see our race has had constant conflicts with the Eulocths. Ever since we got knotted in Yamtolak.”

  “Knotted? What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Yes, knotted. How do I explain…” she gathered her words. “Where you come from, do your lands not knot? When the lands collide, but connect versus pushing away from one another?”

  The look of confusion on his face answered for him. “Our lands do not move. They are locked into position.”

  “Ah! You see, all the continents here float upon a massive ocean and they move along with the subterranean currents. Occasionally, the lands collide, but bounce off from each other. The knots are when the lands strike and lock into each other or part of the land tears free and remain with one land or another. Such is what happened with our Sacred Groves of Ara Turas. We have been knotted and trapped here on Yamtolak when it knotted with our homeland.”

  “How long have you been separated from your home?”

  “For too many months. We have to wait for the chance movement of Ara Turas to be close in order to escape. The Eulocths have charged us as trespassers, but it is really an excuse to attack and steal from us.” She pulled her hand back and crossed over to a table in the corner behind his hammock. Yua Tib poured each of them a cup of water.

  Taihven accepted the cup and her extended hand. “I cannot imagine how hard you must have had it here. Being pulled away from everyone you know and trapped next to an enemy like the Eulocths. I am truly sorry for you.”

  “Thank you. The Sacred Groves are a minor piece of our lands, but it is very important to our race. Our Gods roam those lands. Our temples were built there – where they answer prayers and take our sacrifices for good harvest or hunts. The knotting has stolen all that from the rest of our kin. We fear for their existence and we live in heartache for our loved ones left behind.”

  Her words faded and she was lost in far away thoughts.

  “So even when you escape, you will be leaving behind a great part of yourselves here.”

  “Yes. It is not certain that we can leave. Or if we return, there is anyone or anything to come home to.” She wiped at her eyes with the tips of her fingers. Taihven stayed quiet. He had no words anyway.

  “You… you are kind. I have strayed away from what I came to ask. On the day we found you, Wolf, we were searching for a lost hunting party of ours. I am sorry, but we lied to you before: our son has not died. Brem Ald was the leader of the missing hunter party. We feared that they were caught in the storm, but in truth, we feared that they were captured by the Eulocths. You were the only one found in the Groves. Yestermorn, word came to us that the Eulocths do indeed have them. They want to – they demand…” Her words trailed off. She had not finished her thought, but the prince had already read her mind.

  “You want to exchange me for the life of Brem Ald and the lives of his hunters.” His tone was flat and distant. Taihven had no desire to be back in the hands of the malevolent creatures, but he also owed the Duradramyn his life.

  “The Eulocths want justice for the lives you took from them. By harboring you here, we have already angered them and it threatens to bring an all-out assault upon us. Yet, I could not just hand you over to them. I had to speak with you and I wanted you to know that this is not an act of vengeance against you or punishment for being in the Sacred Groves. If we do not give you to them, it will be a death sentence for u—”

  “—but if you hand me over to them, you fear it could be a death sentence for me.”

  She nodded. “We have no…”

  He held up his hand. “I will do it. I want to bring you back your son and kin.”

  She wiped more tears away. Yua Tib started to leave the room once more in an emotional rush, but when she got to the door, she spoke to the guard and he left with her. The Duradramyn appeared to be a highly sensitive race. Taihven wondered if the act was a sign of friendship or if leaving the door unguarded, she was testing his resolve to help them.

  He sipped the water from the cup as he considered the situation and mused in his hammock for a long time on what steps he should take.

  #7

  Taihven awoke as hands fluttered over his legs and worked to unwrap his bandages. He smiled at the younger female nurse that assisted JaFraeda. They called her Cadalei. Her dark brown hair had bronze-like highlights. She had it braided, swept behind her head and down the back of her neck. She also had darker leopard-like spots than most of the others he had seen. The spots were below her eyes and across her nose. She was pretty, but shy as most girls of young age.

  After his soiled bandage strips were removed and replaced, Cadalei brought him a platter of assorted fruits for his menaa. The air outside had heated up and the occasional wind that swept in from the open door was humid.

  The Madnad and Madnada couple came in to his room while he finished and stood, polite and regal, in the corner. They nodded to him and smiled, asked a few questions of the nurse, but there was an unease about them.

  Madnad Kos Tib walked to him; the prince held onto his wrist. Taihven leaned up onto his elbows to regard him. “Good morn, sir.”

  “Thank you. Are you well enough to walk or would you prefer we carry you by hammock?” The Duradramyn leader replied. His tone was serious and direct. Taihven’s time with them had come to an end and they were anxious to make the trade. The Madnada remained aloof and detached. Keeping distant probably would help them with the resolve of giving over a prisoner to the Eulocths. Taihven knew that this was hard for them; they were a benevolent and kind race.

  “Yes, I am ready and if the trip is not too far, I should be able to make it to the exchange.”

  Kos Tib helped steady Taihven onto his feet and they left the room all together. The nurse trailed behind them carrying a small bag of extra wraps. The stern male guard that had watched over him, was instructed to give Taihven support and he took the prince’s arm over his shoulder.

  This was the first time he had seen the outside of the room other than from the doorway. His room had been a square built of tan wooden shoots. It was set among a few other abandoned shacks. He was amazed to find that the square apartments were set upon one corner of a building’s roof. They were at least a good hundred fifty paces above the ground.

  The lands that surrounded them were flat and divided into massive farms and fruit groves. Surrounding the farms were the marshlands of the Duradramyn Sacred Groves. The building was not a castle or tower, but more like a hollowed out stone dome. Cut into the center of the smooth stone roof was a set of steps leading inside the “hollow hill”. The steps evolved into a set of twin, curved staircases that pierced the eggshell building.

  Landings branched off every ten feet, connecting to rooms or five foot wide catwalks. He noted tiny window slits in the walls that were cut out every twenty feet or so into the outer wall. Taihven felt there was something amiss about the structure as he studied its architecture. The Duradramyn used wide pieces of their black crystal to act as beams and supports. At one end, in the corner opposite from his healing shack, was an impressive open-air elevator. Winches and rope pulleys were turning as several males struggled to bring up a platform.

  It struck him then. The building itself had no doors leading out. The only way from the building that he could see was the unique elevator system. While the two races were very different, the defensive building style of the Duradramyn was reminiscent to the Balshazra’s compound. He wondered if the two had somehow met on one of those land-knots that Madnada Yua Tib had described to him.

  The entourage guided him along the catwalks until they
arrived at the elevator. Stepping out onto it, he felt sunshine on his skin for the first time in possibly three weeks. It was like taking a hot bath after spending days in the winter snows.

  Taihven leaned over and grasped Caladei’s arm. “If this is but a piece of Ara Turas, your homeland must be very beautiful.”

  She smiled back at him, but did not reply and gently removed her arm.

  As the platform eased slowly down, he noticed that the building’s walls were scorched in spots and nicked all over by spear or arrow strikes. The hollow hill was not only a living quarters, but it doubled as a sanctuary from the Eulocths. Taihven took in a deep breath as he regarded the vast hordes of the Green Ones sprawled all along the plains before him. The angry scene reminded him sharply what he was there for.

  About half of an arpent from the Duradramyn structure stood two wooden platforms. The first was adorned with the familiar stack of boxes that the Eulocths fashioned for their king’s throne. He remembered the last time when he was paraded in front of their king and his box-tower throne. A sense of dread crept over the young prince — his instinct warned him that this might have a worse outcome than the last.

  Upon spotting the Wandering Wolf their king leaped up and down on his tiny stage in front of his throne. Taihven did not get a good look at the chair the last time. He noted how it was a conglomerate of small skeletal bones. The bones were melded together and fashioned into a crude C like form. The skeletons appeared to be former Eulocths.

  Next to the Eulocth’s throne, they had erected another lengthy wooden platform. The captured Duradramyn rangers were kneeling and had a guard standing behind each. The little lizards each had a serrated blade exposed at their prisoner’s throats. Déjà-vu struck Taihven when the mob began to chant and growl. On Taihven’s prior visit, he was blinded by a hood. This time their anger and bloodlust in their eyes was not hidden from him.

  Upon a shriek from their king, the Eulocths split and an aisle opened leading directly to his wooden tower. The Madnad and Madnada were behind Taihven and a circle of Duradramyn warriors encircled them in a frail line of protection. The party halted in a patch of matted, dried grass and mud and stood before the King of the Green Ones.