by Dave Skinner
“You’re in two. I’m in three. Relax, Bray, you’re going to be fine. I’ll see you later.” With that Shawn turned away and walked off towards a group of boys Bray assumed were his classmates.
After standing alone for a few moments, Bray moved towards classroom two where another group of children stood watching him. When he was close enough, he tried a smile. It was not returned by anyone.
“Hello, my name is Bray of Nadia,” he said from the edge of the group.
“We know who you are, Nadian. Know that you are not welcome here,” said a boy who stepped close to him. Bray had to raise his eyes slightly to meet his stony stare. The rest of the group crowded around them.
“Is that how you all think?” he asked as he looked around at their faces.
No one made a negative response. Bray tried to keep the expression of disappointment from showing. He was trying to think of something to say when a whistle sounded. The group surrounding him broke up and headed for the school room door where the whistler stood.
“Bray, I assume?” the man said when he reached the door. “I am T’San, your class instructor. Take a seat at the table.”
The table turned out to be a horse-shoe shaped affair with the opening towards the front of the class. Only one chair was empty. It was the first chair in from the front of the classroom. Bray slipped into it and waited. The class quieted.
T’San was a medium-sized man of indefinite years. His hair was slightly greying, but he still moved with a vitality that suggested ample strength and fitness. His ponytail hung far down his back. His smile appeared to be something you had to earn.
“This class has an opportunity which few Tawshe classrooms have ever had. We have a person from Nadia with us. Instead of learning their customs from scrolls, you will be able to learn about them first hand. It is an opportunity I hope you will not squander.” He paused and looked around at the other students. “Many of you will go into the world as Travellers, and will encounter people of every nationality with whom you will have commerce. To be successful you have to understand those people and treat them without animosity. Now, what do we know about Nadia?”
“It is a city on North Lake,” a girl offered.
“They make good weapons,” a boy added.
“They make exceptional weapons, the best I have ever seen, and they are strong warriors,” T’San said. “Anything else? No one? Bray, what can you tell us about Nadia.”
“Unlike your village, the city is made of stone. The building, the palace, and the walls that protect it are all stone. You could fit many Tawshe villages within its walls. There are many skilled craftsmen working fine metals that are mined in the nearby mountains. We make fine weapons also. The most common of these are traded around the Lakes, but the finest swords, the ones referred to as Nadian made, are reserved for our own people.”
“Can you tell us who runs the city?” T’San asked when Bray failed to continue. “Is it run by elected officials or is it a monarchy?”
“It is ruled by the king,” Bray said. He had been told by Waycan to keep his relationship to the crown a secret. ‘It will make it easier for your fellow students to accept you,’ the Shaman had said. Bray now considered the possibility of acceptance to be slight.
T’San asked Bray no other questions, instead he continued. “Nadia, Arcadia, and Bernadice are the three major cities located on the north shores of North Lake. They are all monarchies. There are strong family and military bonds between the three. Upper Thesia and Riverrun North are the other major cities on North Lake. They are not monarchies, but are governed by councils of elected officials. Many of the elected are the richest citizens. On South Lake, only The Point and Little Point are monarchies with the rest being governed by elected officials with the exception of The Delta. It is governed by the Council of Wizards. Now, let us consider the families and councils that make up the ruling classes.”
For the rest of the morning T’San discussed history and current events related to each city. Bray was amazed at how much T’San knew. His knowledge revealed to Bray just how capable the Tawshe were at gathering information. They knew more about what was happening in the various cities around the lakes than he could imagine. By noon Bray’s head was reeling with facts. He was glad when lunch time arrived.
After eating alone, Bray joined the rest of the class for their afternoon sessions. They started with strengthening exercises, working core, arms, and legs. These moved into stretching exercises and then various types of running and dodging, followed by a run along the same trail that Bray had walked the day before. Bray started well, but was the last to arrive back. Someone … who remained unidentified … had pushed him from behind. He was still cleaning brush and twigs from his hair and clothes when he arrived back.
“What happened, Bray?” T’San asked.
“I must have tripped.”
“Are you injured?”
“Only a few scrapes,” Bray answered, although he could feel an ache beginning in his injured shoulder.
“I want everyone to find a practice sword that suits them,” T’San directed.
The students ran to a small shed located to the side of their classroom. Bray followed and was the last to select his sword. It was wooden, longer than what he was used to, and heavier. T’San paired them up. Bray’s partner was the boy who had confronted him before class. For the rest of the afternoon, T’San demonstrated offensive and defensive moves and had the pairs practice against each other. Bray received as many hits as he delivered. His arms and shoulder ached by the time they finished, but he was able to hold his own in the free style competition that ended the day, and even managed to block the final stroke his partner attempted after T’San had called for the end of the contest.
That evening Kat rubbed a soothing ointment into his arms and shoulder, as she did the next night, and the next, and the next. Bray never complained; true Nadians never do.
Chapter 10
“Why do we have to go camping in the winter? Bray heard Ta’Mara ask, as she dropped another armful of wood beside the fire pit. “No one should camp out at this time of year.”
“What if you have no choice?” asked T’San.
“How could you not have a choice? The fire hissed as she brushed snow from the hood and shoulders of her cloak. The trees were heavy with snow which rained down on those collecting wood if they failed to move gracefully with the Mother.
“Waycan has a story about that. Ask him,” T’San replied, crinkles of mirth showing around the teacher’s eyes and mouth.
From beside him Bray heard Shawn snort. “What?” he asked.
“T’San thinks that Waycan will tell a story if Mara asks him.”
“Your meaning is not clear,” Bray said.
“Waycan had some amazing adventures before he became our shaman and teacher. He was a renowned Traveller. The other teachers always try to get him to tell stories when we are on these excursions even though he claims he would rather not. If fact, they compete with each other to see who can put him into a situation when he will acquiesce. San thinks he has scored a point by having Mara ask.”
Waycan entered the circle of firelight carrying a significant armload of firewood; the only evidence of being among the snow laden trees was the snow on his boots. After he had added his wood to the pile, everyone looked at Mara and waited.
“Waycan, why do we have to camp in winter? We know how to live in the woods, and how to hide our tracks. The only thing we are learning now is how to be cold. We could be learning these things in a warm classroom,” Mara finished.
“You are here to learn how to survive in the winter. Tomorrow you will all be on your own. San and I will return after a seven-day has passed. You must provide your own food and shelter while we are gone in the same way you did last summer.”
“But you teach us to always be prepared for travel. No Tawshe would have to live in these conditions without the proper supplies.”
&nb
sp; “We never know what the future will hold, Mara. We must be able to survive no matter what task the Mother asks of us.”
“Have you ever been out in winter unprepared?” Mara asked.
Waycan looked around the circle of faces lit by the firelight. Night had fallen. San was ladling the stew into bowls and passing them out. He kept his eyes on his task. Waycan remained quiet. San passed him a bowl of stew. The slight smile on his face told Waycan what was happening. He took a few passes at his stew.
“So, it is a story you want,” he said finally to the smiling faces. “Okay.” He searched the circle until he found the face he wanted. “Do you mind, Shawn?”
Beside Bray, Shawn lowered his eyes. Bray could see that he was searching his emotions. He finally raised his eyes to Waycan’s and nodded his approval. The sounds of wooden spoons scrapping the sides of wooden bowls continued.
“I returned from travelling a number of years ago for The Contests and while home I was asked to join my friend T’Ang—Shawn’s father—and two others for a scouting mission on the Bearclaw border. Ang and I were close. We grew up together, trained and travelled together before he found Kat and decided to settle down. I had not been home for a long time, so we decided it would be a good way to reconnect. We had once been like brothers.
“The Mother was giving us a warm fall, so we travelled lightly provisioned. Three weeks into the trip we came across evidence of a Bearclaw raiding party. They had attacked a small mining community, killed many and left a few close to death. Ang and the other two went after the raiders. I stayed to help with the injured and then followed them. When I caught up I found disaster; the other two were dead and Ang was missing.
“They had been ambushed. It happened shortly after they left the village. I buried the dead in a crack in the rock and went after Ang. I judged they were three days ahead of me. They crossed back into Bearclaw territory before a day was gone and they moved quickly then. The trail was easier to follow, and I managed to cut their lead to one day before I found the village. You can tell when you are close to a Bearclaw village by the stench of garbage and unwashed bodies. The smell at this one was substantial.
Waycan paused and looked directly at Shawn. “When I managed to get close enough, I found that they had Ang tied to a stake. The Bearclaws are capable of inhumane tortures and they had been practicing on Ang for most of a day. Ang was still alive. I could tell because he screamed when they dug his remaining eye out. My arrow ended his pain.”
Bray heard Mara gasp into the silence that followed. She was staring at Shawn who had his head down. There were tears in her eyes.
Waycan continued, “I managed to kill a number of others before I had to run. I reasoned that they would expect me to head back to Tawshe territory, so I went the other way, deeper into their mountains. It worked for a few hours. That night the weather changed and winter began with a fury. They must have picked up my tracks in the snow. I managed to keep a lead for four days because of my winter survival training, but eventually they were close and I knew I had to make a stand. I was climbing through rocks when I found a trail. I could hear the labouring breath of those following by that point as I took to the trail. My enemies were so close that stopping when I passed the two red-stained bear skulls lashed to rocks at the side of the path was out of the question, but those behind me stopped. I took shelter when I realized they were no longer following. A couple of the younger ones wanted to continue the chase, but they were cuffed into changing their minds. They made a small camp and waited. I continued to follow the trail.
“It wrapped around the mountain side before cresting a rise. Below lay a valley floor heavy with evergreens. The trail led into those trees. Something in that valley had stopped the Bearclaws from following me up the trail. What it was, what lay below was a mystery I was reluctant to investigate in my exhaustion, so I ate the last of my jerky, found a spot out of the snow laden wind, and settled to rest. It was an uncomfortable night.
“The next day I descended into the valley to find food and shelter. The snow was less under the trees, so I left the trail and moved into the woods. For a few days I rested, trapped small game, and made arrows. My supply was gone by then. I would make camp under a pine and build a small fire for the night, allowing the smoke to dissipate in the branches then move on the next day. I was able to survive because of training exercises like this.” He directed that statement at Mara.
“The valley was a pleasant spot. Sheltered from the winds by the mountains, but it was a high elevation and the weather was cold. I was able to kill smaller game easily, but I needed hides to survive and large game was scarce. I was there for four days before I learned the reason for that.
“On the fourth day I caught a hint of a foul smell. A bear’s den I thought. I was making my way towards it when I heard the sound of something heavy moving towards me. Luckily, I was downwind of whatever it was, so I hid and watched. It was like a bear only larger and it walked on two feet. There are many stories about large animals that walk upright like we do. This was the only one I had ever seen and it was large, almost twice my height, covered in fur, and moving quickly. It was carrying something I thought at first was the carcass of a bear until I saw a human arm hanging free. I realized afterwards that it was walking the trail I had abandoned and was returning from outside the valley. I followed its tracks carefully and found the cave it lived in. I only needed to use my nose as I got closer. The lack of larger game and the warnings on the mountain path made sense to me now. I had happened into the territory of something primeval.”
“How did you kill it?” Ran asked.
“Why do you think I killed it, Ran? Could I not have simply left the valley or stayed away from the lair?”
“Never leave an enemy at your back. You taught us that. I would have ambushed it and killed it with my sword.”
“You are correct. I killed it, but not with my sword. I might have been successful using an ambush and a blade, but the outcome was not certain. Remember, brute strength and fighting are not your only options. You need to think also. It can save your life. But to finish the story, as I said, the beast was gigantic. I fashioned a crossbow and a shaft large enough to do the job. Set it up on the path one night and baited the beast the next morning. I had positioned the weapon a good four or five bow shots from the cave so that the noise I made erecting it would not alert the creature. I underestimated the speed of the thing. It almost caught me before I reached my weapon. I could hear its breathing close behind me as I rounded the last bend in the trail, but the beast stopped when it saw what I had constructed. I slid under the weapon and stood. The beast seemed to be puzzling out what to do. It had to charge my weapon straight on for my plan to work, so I baited it again. It worked. The beast came straight at me and my shaft killed it.
“Now it is time for bed. Enough with stories.”
* * *
Bray watched the wagon taking San, Waycan, and the camping supplies away as it disappeared down the trail. Some students had already moved off into the woods. They were leaving in pairs, one older student from Shawn’s class with a younger student from Bray’s group. Ran and Mara left and soon only he and Shawn still remained.
“Are you ready, Bray?” Shawn asked as he settled his weapons about his person. Bray nodded. “Then let us be off before Ran comes back and asks to trade partners again. That Mara is a pretty little thing. I may not be able to refuse his offer again.”
Bray was sure his brother was teasing him. Shawn’s smile said as much, but then again Shawn always smiled. Instead of rising to the bait, Bray posed a question. “Did Waycan’s story about your father’s death bother you? I ask because of something Waycan told me last month. My grandfather is dead. His death was sudden and leaves questions that the court is not answering. It troubles me. Does Waycan’s part in your father’s death trouble you?”
Shawn stopped at the edge of the woods and stood quietly for a moment. “It bothered me when I first l
earned of it, but not anymore. My mother made me realize it was the kindest thing he could have done, and he did return my father’s body to us.”
“How did he manage that?”
“I will relay that story tonight at our fire, but if we stand talking much longer all the small game will be taken by the others and we will be hungry tonight. I much prefer telling stories on a full stomach. Let’s go.’
Shawn broke trail to start. Most of the wet snow from yesterday was off the trees and they were able to stay relatively dry. They chose a direction where no other tracks headed. Over the course of the morning, they heard the sounds of the other’s passage, but by midday they were alone. Shawn brought down three squirrels in the late afternoon just before they set up a camp under the branches of an old cedar.
Bray cut boughs and laid them out as underlay to keep their sleeping furs off the cold ground while Shawn prepared a small fire. The roasted squirrel satisfied their hunger and suddenly the day was gone. They were comfortable in their sleeping skins with the smell of crushed cedar strong around them when Bray asked the question that had been nagging at him all day. “How did Waycan manage to bring your father’s body back?”
“He never told my mother or me the story, so I do not swear to the truth of it, but Ran’s father is on the tribal council. Waycan told them and Ran told me. After he killed the beast he skinned it for the hide, even leaving the head fur attached. When it was ready he left the valley. The Bearclaws must have assumed him dead because there were no guards on the trail. He found the Bearclaw village. My father’s body was still hanging where he had died. He waited until night, donned the beasts hide and head. Then he walked in, cut my father’s body down and walked off with it.”
“He was lucky no one saw him.”
“Probably,” Shawn said, “but there is another possibility.”
“What?”
“No one knows for sure, but the accepted explanation is that the beast had been raiding their villages and others nearby for years, killing and taking bodies away. Someone speculated that this village had left my father’s body on the stake hoping that the beast would take it instead of one of their own. They might have sacrificed other captors that way. If a Bearclaw saw Waycan disguised as the beast they must have thought that their plan was working.”