by B K Suitter
“You’re dead,” Semik tried to say.
Michael took off, sprinting up the wide path as fast as he could, and he could not help but notice the unspeakable terror in the eyes of the men that were bound to the trees. It caused him to slow his run to a stop as he considered who actually captured these men, and where were they now? Michael looked into the swallowing darkness beyond the trees and thought he saw the dark outline of a figure that stood idle.
He glanced back at the long line of soldiers that were bound to the trees and saw the scout and his men cutting their comrades free. He quickly glanced back into the trees, past the soldier that was tied there, and peered into the darkness. He could feel dark eyes staring back at him and a cold chill went down his spine.
Michael looked back to the soldiers and found some of them free and running in his direction and he took off, racing up the pass to catch up to the group that was just ahead.
“Run!” Michael yelled out to them. “They’re coming!”
The Timberland folk all picked up their pace, but the fact that they were mostly women and children, and some elderly, kept them from sprinting ahead. Michael urged them forward, calling out to Norman to give him the axe that he carried.
“Get them through the pass,” Michael said as he reached out and took the long-handled blade. “I’ll hold them here.”
“You can’t be serious,” the lumberjack said as he watched the advancing soldiers come to within fifty yards, their torches lighting their way through the dark pass. “You can’t stop them.”
“C’mon, Michael!” Big Tim roared while pushing the frontier people on. They were all running, but just not fast enough.
“Michael, let’s go!” Evaylia cried, urging Jase to move faster. He trotted along while staring forward, his expression no different than normal.
Tris was there, pushing on Jase from behind and trying to get him to move faster. The group of people surged forward, screaming in fear and trying to help their loved ones on in a desperate panic.
Michael and Norman knew they would all be captured and possibly killed. They looked at each other with fear in their eyes, and there was no mistaking it – they had to stay and give the people time to get away.
“You still have your knife?” Norman asked as the soldiers ran towards them while holding torches out and looking into the trees with frightened looks.
Michael tossed down his torch and pulled out his knife and handed it over to Norman. Then, with two strong hands, he gripped the long handle of his axe and took a strong stance as he readied for battle. He braced himself and pulled the blade back and prepared to swing. Sergeant Semik came rushing forward with a long sword while screaming curses and Michael knew he was dead.
Suddenly, a huge black beast of a horse broke from the darkness, its large rider holding on while flying from the trees in an earth-shaking jump to intercept the advancing soldier. Michael and Norman both jumped back while Semik slammed into the side of the large beast and was knocked to the ground.
Michael looked at the horse-like creature and saw its blood red eyes and terrific orange mane which grew thick around its long head. The beast roared and threw its head back and he could see long sharp teeth as the lionsteed stomped its clawed feet in agitation and snorted angrily. Michael looked up to the rider and found the Kadomi staring down at him with a stoic face. He looked as fierce as the creature he rode – his black hair thick and long over broad shoulders that were dressed in leather and chain mail armor.
The Kadomi turned away to look at Semik as he climbed back to his feet and sprinted into the trees. The other soldiers stood with terrified looks and a nervous desperation to flee the dark pass.
A loud roar burst from the darkness behind the soldiers, just past the surrounding torchlight, and they all turned in fear. Michael and Norman backed away slowly as the Kadomi looked over at them atop his agitated lionsteed. The two turned and ran quickly away as cries of pain and death rang out from the soldiers behind them. They sprinted up the dirt road with Norman’s torch pushing back the darkness until they came out of the pass to find the group moving at a hurried pace.
“Oh, Michael, I’m so glad you’re alright,” said Evaylia and she gave him a big hug and a long passionate kiss.
“We’re ok,” Michael said after kissing her back. “Where is Tris?” he asked as he began to look around.
“She’s here,” Evaylia said and she called out her name.
“Tris!” Michael called out as well.
“Tris!” Evaylia yelled again as they all moved along, and it did not take long before they realized that Tristania was missing.
Immediately, Michael and Evaylia were running back to the pass with Norman right behind them. Big Tim stayed with the group and pressed on to Warmwater, staying close to Jase and keeping him moving forward.
The three entered back into The Woodcave and Michael and Evaylia whispered at the darkness. Norman held his torch high as they looked past the trees, calling out her name softly, but with conviction. They searched for some time, but there was simply no sign of Tris, and Michael became frantic and began yelling at the top of his lungs.
“Tristania! Where are you?!”
15
Year of the Frost Horn 2318 A.A.
The camp was spread out along the side of the road and several campfires burned to keep the chill of the long night off the traveling soldiers. Riverwatchers, they were called, but they traveled to Eight and there would be no rivers to watch there.
The large tower stood tall in a small grassy valley that sat between the hills of the Kadomi in the north and the Timberlands to the south. The watchtower stood hundreds of feet high and overlooked the waters of Shipwrecker Cove. It was the only tower that could be seen by the Northmen, who sat in watchtowers of their own high up on the side of the Titan Mountains. Once the signal fire at the top of Eight was lit, King Ironheart would know to send his armies south.
Commander Simeon Redsword sat with his group of Riverwatchers and told amazing story after amazing story. Tye thought there to be no end to the fabulous tales, and he surely agreed that Simeon Redsword was the greatest adventurer that ever lived.
“It was Cataclys himself, I tell ya!” Simeon roared when his men began to doubt his unbelievable story. “I traveled with him and King Ironheart, way before any of you were piglets in your mother’s bellies!”
“And did you mate with his daughter, the beautiful Minx?” one man asked lewdly, and the other men all roared with approval, for everyone knew the stories of the alluring seductress, Minx. She was more Kadomi than human and her lust for mating rivaled that of any mountain animal.
“Or maybe with his son, Cogaro!” another man blurted out and all roared with laughter.
“Or maybe with Madion,” a drunk soldier slurred, and the men laughed all the louder, for Madion was the name of the Kadomi’s black lion, and everywhere that Cataclys went, Madion was quick to follow.
Simeon scowled with displeasure and eyed the snickering Tye, who quickly changed his facial expression to a scowl of his own, shaming the other men for disrespecting the great commander.
“Whether I lay with Minx or not is none of your darned business,” Simeon said threateningly, which made his men laugh even more. “I’ll tell you the story Cataclys told me, and if you’re not for believing it, then you can leave off my camp.” Not a single man left the area, though, because whether the stories were true or not, they were highly entertaining, and they helped pass the time on the long road to Eight.
******************
Year of the Enlightened Wolf 2290 A.A.
Towering thick trees stood as obstacles in the boy’s mind. Each thistle bush and every twig of mountain brush was a challenge that had to be faced and overcome. He moved carefully and with the hurried caution of an animal stalking its prey, moving from one tree to the next, becoming each tree, blending with each shadow. In the distance, he could hear the caustic roar of animals fighting and the following cries of de
feat, the lament before dying. With the stealth of a forest creature, the Kadomi boy moved in that direction wearing only animal skin breeches and a look of determination.
The boy was older – almost an adult, a Kworlar, meaning he was able to survive alone and breed with many. That was the Kadomi way, to breed like animals. A mature Kadomi female with a strong animal spirit could give birth to as many as five children every six months. The over population of the Hill Kadomi caused their growing numbers to begin moving into the labyrinth of connecting tunnels and caverns beneath the Mountains of the Great Divide.
The boy had been born nearly seven years ago in the dark subterranean caves that honeycombed throughout the vast mountain range. His father, Garriusus, was a great tribal leader of one of the largest clans of Mountain Kadomi and was one of the Revered Five chosen by The Supreme Master himself to act as advisors to the Kadomi cause.
Garriusus took his sons out from the Kadomi caves and into the harsh wilderness that covered the wide range of mountains, which crossed the entire continent of Asaria from the eastern shore to the western, dividing the cold North from the more hospitable south.
Each boy was out to become a Kworlar, and they would attempt to find and connect with their spirit animals, the beasts that would draw them deeper into their animalistic nature. The stronger the Kadomi spirit, the easier it was to control the animal instincts, which meant the Kadomi’s body and mind could be forced to accelerate in its growth. Those with a weak animal spirit would take too long to mature and would easily be killed off like the runt in a litter.
The strongest of the Kadomi could mature and reach Kworlar by the age of seven. Garriusus and Bastion both reached Kworlar in just over five years, both being born in the Year of the Yawning Bear, and both during the lunar eclipse on the Night of Silence.
The two grew up together, both living close to the borders that marked the hills from the mountains. For five years the two hunted together, trained together, and pushed each other to grow at an accelerated rate. When they both reached Kworlar, their competitive nature turned violent and animalistic. Both vied for the dominance of pack leader and they drove a wedge between the Kadomi that lived in the hills, and those that were forced to live in the harsh underground mountain caverns.
The two powerful Kadomi leaders killed their way to the tops of their clans, Bastion being tribal leader over most of the hill clans, while Garriusus was the tribal leader to the largest and most powerful mountain clan.
The two were on the Revered Five Council, and only those five were able to sit with The Supreme Master. Out of the countless numbers of both Hill Kadomi and Mountain Kadomi, only the Revered Five could ever look upon The Supreme Master without hurriedly turning away and lowering their head in submission.
Garriusus sat first on the council, next to The Supreme Master and Bastion was chosen as second. Bastion loathed Garriusus and they quarreled often and even fought with intent to kill, and even though Garriusus always got the better of the deceiving Bastion, their Master was always there to save his second chosen, even bringing him back from certain death on many occasions.
The Kadomi boy stopped and stood close to the trunk of a large towering pine that grew close to the edge of a cliff. He looked out over the mountain valley and watched as a warm morning sun melted the chill from the forest below and it seemed as though the plant life was waking to its glorious first rays.
The boy scanned the trees below with eyes that rivaled those of a red hawk and saw movement in the deep shadows beneath the green pines. He watched the animal stir in the darkness beneath the tall trees that decorated the valley below and he quickly began to climb his way down the rocky cliffside.
He was strong with hands that gripped at the rocks and he lowered himself down the side of the cliff with ease, his footing as sure as that of any mountain goat. He quickly climbed down the sheer rock wall, leaping from one rocky crevice to the next, lowering himself nearly two hundred feet until he stood on the valley floor.
The sun was warm on his face as he viewed the forested landscape. He could sense he was being watched as he slowly began walking across a green meadow towards the thick wall of pines that stood tall and spread out in all directions.
The boy moved with caution, creeping closer to the forest edge when his senses peaked at the smell of death. A deep vibrating growl rumbled out from the trees and the large pines shook as the huge creature pushed past them and stepped out from the dark shadows to tower over the boy. The grey bear roared as if enraged, throwing its massive head back and all around, its gapping maw showing long teeth, and the drool that shook fell away in wet strands. The boy froze in confusion – this was not the animal he had been tracking.
Suddenly, the great bear charged, and the boy was in retreat. He scampered away like a quick forest creature, evading powerful swipes from long reaching claws. The boy sprinted with unnatural speed towards the rock wall and jumped high to clutch onto the rocks, but the massive creature was quick with its own animalistic speed and was right behind him.
The boy knew instinctively that the bear would catch him if he took the time to climb up the rock wall, so he put all his weight and power into his legs, and he leapt up and back. He sailed just over the top of the vicious animal and its face and sharp teeth slammed hard into the rocks.
The boy landed with the grace of a deer and sprinted off like one as the enraged beast turned and paced the boy only feet behind. He ran straight for the shroud of pine trees knowing he could increase the distance between himself and the bear if he could gain the forest. But the bear was too quick, for it was a pure animal, not one hindered by the body of a man.
The Kadomi boy spun around as the bear’s claws raked at his calf and ankle. He tried to regain his balance, and indeed would have, but the animal was on him. The boy crashed to the forest floor and was held under the heavy weight of the huge bear and it roared in his face, drool dripping from its gapping maw.
Surely the boy was no match for the mighty beast, but any thoughts to submit were quickly discarded and the brave Kadomi fought back, twisting and turning while evading the bear simply by scrambling away and dodging the brutal snapping jaws of the beast.
An iron tipped spear with a long wooden shaft sunk deep into the earth only feet away from where he laid trapped and squirming beneath the bear. As the Kadomi boy twisted away from the razor-sharp claws of the great beast, he looked up to the high cliff above to see his father, Garriusus, and all his brothers watching the spectacle, showing no emotion, only watching. His father, one of the greatest living Kadomi, had thrown him his spear.
“To fight with the spirit of an animal and the weapons of man,” the boy remembered the words of his father and he roared out and reached for the spear, bringing his knees up sharply into the face of the beast, stunning it only mildly, but long enough to pluck the spear from the ground. Then, with both hands on the spear, the boy struck out and hit the bear hard across the bridge of its snout, shattering the pole a third of the way down. He then spun the shortened iron-tipped shaft around and drove it deep into the eye socket of the mad beast, causing the animal to bellow in pain. With unhindered strength, he grabbed onto the top of the bear’s head as it tried to pull away and he shoved the spear deep into its brain. The creature slowly lost its heart, and the adrenalin rush of unnatural strength and power left the boy gasping for breath as he crawled out from underneath the dead beast.
Slowly, the boy stood and yanked the broken spear from the dead bear’s eye socket and wiped the gore from the blade across its shaggy back. He stood tall and thrust the weapon up high, holding the spear up to honor his father, who stood silent, but beaming with pride. His brothers all called out and they whooped and hollered, congratulating the boy on his bravery and boldness.
The boy turned immediately when he heard the stir of bushes behind him. He held the broken spear out and cautiously stepped toward the trees. He could smell the dead animal before he got close to the forest edge and he knew th
e grey bear had killed the creature and was feeding on it when he first approached the trees. He moved carefully into the brush, stepping through the trees into the dark shadows where he spied the large carcass of a black lion. This was the animal he’d been tracking, and his heart fell with sadness. He had hoped to bond with the creature when he saw it stalking through the mountain wilderness the previous day.
A tiny growl turned the boy’s head again and immediately he saw the small black lion cub peaking out from a forest shrub. The boy slowly knelt and put his hand out, trying to catch the animal’s spirit scent, trying desperately to push his own out to the small cub.
He had it, and the warm feeling that washed down his spine was like nothing he ever felt before. A sharp tingling followed by the rush of blood to the brain had the boy staggering, and the small lion cub started sneezing and snorting as it ran in tight circles around him. He quickly scooped up the small animal and held it tight while it squirmed against his chest, drawing long red scratches with sharp tiny claws.
The Kadomi boy held the animal close and soon the small cub began to relax and lay quiet in his arms. He stepped out from the trees and back into the grassy meadow where small gnats broke from the disturbed shrubs and weeds and rose up into the air with the pollen. The boy looked up to the high cliff above to see his father, and he watched as his brothers began to fall from the cliff with desperate cries, screaming all the way down until they crashed into broken heaps of skin and bone.
The boy looked up in horror and saw his father on the ledge, fighting for his life against a swarm of Hill Kadomi. He quickly tossed the lion cub back into the forest and sprinted for the rock wall, watching as his father was overpowered and held. When the boy reached the towering wall of rock, he froze. Looking up, he watched as the sun reflected off the stroke of a polished blade and his father’s head went sailing out of sight. Then his decapitated form was dropped off the ledge with streaks of blood trailing behind it. The body crashed down in a splatter of broken bones, and the boy stared at his dead father, the once great Garriusus. He looked up at his father’s killer and watched as Hill Kadomi started climbing down the rock wall while screaming and pointing at him. One exceptionally large Kadomi, the beast that took his father’s head, stood motionless and just stared back at him. His animal spirit radiated in waves and the Kadomi boy knew him to be Bastion.
