“Rawna” she said pointing to herself.
Hearing that she understood also brought a smile to the boy and he nodded, “yes, you are Rawna” and this time when he spoke she was not frightened and seeing this Endo put his hand on her slim shoulder, “you are Rawna, a jewel of great price”.
The air filled with the sweet perfume of acceptance and the Sandjar male took his female into his arms and in the darkness of the great cave they found light.
There were too more who lay in each other arms but it could not be called love by the strict definition of that word for Kuno and Balru were more concerned with the mating of theit bodies then the intertwining of their hearts. But who can say if the Gods truly had love in their minds when they created males and females, perhaps they were just playing games with those that did not live in the stars. But legend say that Shawcona loved the war God Atos so much that she tore out her heart and flung it to the ground when he did not return her affections. And it was also said that the great Goddess Isarie has love for all things that live, but why then does lust sometimes turn the heart away from those we cherish and seek comfort in the arms of those we do not love?
There are many wise men and women among the tribes of the Outlanders and Norgonie. But for all their wisdom they cannot offer an answer to that question and when they are asked they simply say that Love and Lust are horns on the same Trofar and leave it at that.
Chapter 26.
Dreams and Death.
A warrior may challenge another to combat. And if that warrior refuses to fight they will be made Outcast and none shall offer them comfort for they are weak and unfit to live.
Law of the Norgonie.
Andra stood on a hilltop at that place between this world and the Afterlife, before her lay a vast green meadow of plenty filled with those who once loved her and all the things that she once loved. How long she had been there she did not know for time and space had no meaning and the past and the present seemed to live together in harmony.
As she looked around at the dream world before her eyes she saw a small house surrounded by farmlands and a green wood’s reaching up to tall mountains capped with snow.
I know this place, she told her mind, this is the place where I grew up, and indeed it did look exactly like the small cottage were she and her younger brother had lived with their mother. But she knew that this was a lie for Simon and Niana were dead and her Home-world destroyed, but knowing this did not soften the pain she felt when she looked upon the green earth below. Why do I have to look at something that I know is a lie? So she turned her head and started to walk away, and as she did the green world around her began to fade and one by one the familiar became unknown to her and she found herself in a dark tunnel. But she had never been afraid of the dark and she laughed as she remembered how her brother cried when their mother put out the night candle in their room.
Poor Simon, I miss him very much.
Then in the darkness she heard a voice, “I’m afraid Andra” it said, “I don’t want to be alone”.
The darkness around her began to glow with a soft light that soon grew into a warm luminescence and in its green warmth she saw a small boy dressed in a patched nightshirt standing before her. He had golden hair and bright eyes and in an instance she knew it was her slain brother.
This can’t be, she told herself, “your dead”.
Hearing her own words cut deep into her heart but the boy only smiled. “Yes, I am dead but I am not forgotten”, and he came over and took his sister by the hand and together they began to walk.
Slowly the tunnel became brighter and soon they found themselves in a vast cavern filled with enormous green crystals, they rose up from a broken floor and vanished into a dark nothingness. Simon pulled his sisters hand, “you remember me and I remember my mother, and she knows of her mother and that mother knows the one who gave her birth, it is the way of things. Each of us is a memory of those we loved and those memories will continue through all time.”
Andra knew that these were not the words of her bother for he was a kind but simple man who only wanted to live out his life in peace. “Who are you?” she asked.
And again the boy laughed, “I told you, I’m your memory”, and he continued to led his sister through the green crystal forest. But as they walked Andra was suddenly aware that they were not alone for she listened to a soft clicking sound that she had heard once before.
Lurkers in the darkness, the crystal spiders! And as she again looked around her she saw the small glowing orbs that carried the gift of rebirth, but her old fear of spiders took hold of her and she pulled back on her brother’s hand. “No. Let me go!” she screamed, but Simon held her tight and spoke in a soft voice, “you have forgotten, look and remember”, and with his free hand he pointed to a cluster of glowing rocks and at the small thing that now lay upon them.
She did not know why but she felt calmness come over her and taking her hand from her bothers she slowly moved towards the small creature. It lay naked and surrounded by dozens of crystalline spiders who seemed to be caring for it, and as she grew closer she saw that it was a small child. The baby was naked and its soft pale skin was white as snow, it had no hair and the fingers on the small hands seemed to be elongated. But what struck the girl most were the eyes, for they were as blue as the waters on her Home-world and seemed to glow with an Inner Light.
Andra bent close to the infant but did not reach out for it, then she heard her bother speak once more.
“Remember”, he said.
When Arn woke the sky was just beginning to darken for the twin suns were no longer high in the sky, soon night would fall and with it the Sagar cats would come out to feed. But that danger was not in the mind of the King and for a moment he lay there thinking of the strange dream that had just filled his mind.
The crystal spiders? He thought, why should I dream of the lurkers in the darkness, they are far away in the Hollow Hills? But he had dreamed of things passed many times before and he knew it was only a dream. Then he remembered something that he did not understand for in his dream he saw a tiny creature with skin as white as the winter snow. It lay on a bed of green crystals and its eyes were as blue as the Western Sea but he did not know what it was, what a strange creature, so small and helpless. He tried to think of when he had ever seen such a thing but try as he might he could not, so he drove the image out of his mind thinking it a trick of some dream demon and continued to look up at the waning sunlight.
Like a flash of lightning he remembered where he was and what he had done for beside him lay the naked body of Ishea.
He turned his head to look at the Queen, beside her lay her armor and weapons and if an enemy were to fall upon them now she would be defenseless. To anyone but a Nomad it would not have been of much concern but the Outlanders and the Norgonie were bred to be warriors and the thought of being helpless was something that never entered their minds. Yet there she was sleeping as if she lay in her tower surrounded by loyal guards. And the same could have been said about the King for his war-ax lay with his armor on a rock near his head but it was not a feeling of helplessness that he felt it was guilt.
What have I done? He asked himself, Andra lay wounded in our tent and I am here lying with the person responsible.
The King had been in many great battles and received wounds that would have killed a lesser man, and once as a child he had fallen into a thicket of young Moonbuds and the pain was so intense he thought he would go mad. But all those were agonies of the body and a Nomad was use to that but now he felt a pain to his heart and it cut deeper than any ax or thorn.
I swore that I would stand beside her, but I lied. And now he tried to tell himself that it was a slip of emotion, and that he was overcome by some witch curse put on him by the Norgonie Queen. Yes, she has put a spell on me; it was her witchcraft that turned me away from the woman I love. And hearing those words in his mind he lifted himself up and grasped the handle of his Tooth in his hand, he raised th
e ax and made himself ready to strike and cut the head off the witch woman that had hexed his mind. I will kill her and end her power over me and then I will be free and return to my mate. But as he was about to end the life of Ishea he knew this to be yet another lie for he remembered how they had held each other beside the pool and how sweet her kisses felt on his lips and how her embrace had thrilled him. So he lowered his arm and sat down on the ground beside her.
I have done this to myself, he thought sadly, the spell was of my own making.
And before he could think further he saw the eyes of the Queen open and look at him, and seeing those green pools of fire made his heart ache all the more for at that moment he wanted her again.
Ishea stretched her long strong limbs and gave out with a sigh, “hummmm, you are as strong as I remembered,” she said smiling. A moment later she saw the wound that her spear had made in the thigh of the King and she rose quickly, “your wound is not deep but it should be tended too”. And without dressing herself she began to gather moss from the surrounding rock to make a dressing, when she had a handful she moved towards her lover, “this will help in mending”. But as she was about to place the compress on his leg he grabbed her arm and pushed her away. The Queen stood there for a moment looking into the eyes of the King, and seeing the way he looked at her she understood his action. “You wish that this day had not happened?” she asked.
Arn nodded his head “yes, it is best forgotten”.
Ishea threw the moss to the ground then spread her arms wide showing all her naked beauty, “would you throw all this away for the embrace of a feeble Half-Soul?”
The King said nothing and turned his head away. But the Queen was not done with him and she fell to his side and put her arms about his leg, “can she love you like I do, are her kisses as sweet as meadow cane and does her hair smell of morning dew. Does she know all twenty-six embraces of Shawcona and the dance of the blood maidens and will she ride beside you when ice covers the land and the Hagars come from the north?”
Arn still did not look at her, “her arms know how to hold and she can fight as well as any Outlander”, he said coldly.
The Queen touched his arm; “all you say may be true but can she bare you strong sons and daughters like I can?”
This was a question that the King had no answer too for he knew that an Off-World woman could never fulfill that wish.
“It is growing late”, he said dryly, “we must return to the fortress”, and pushing her away he rose and without taking precious time to wash the blood from his body he began putting on his armor. He acted as if he had not heard the words of Ishea but he had, and he knew that she only spoke the truth, when I am gone who will lead my people for I have no son?
It was indeed a harsh truth but there was no time for thinking for the light was fading and the air began to fill with the cries of night creatures that knew only one truth.
Kill or be killed.
At first Ral did not know that his mother had gone into the forest with his hated father, but when he found out he broke into a rage and gathering together his best warriors they mounted Rowgors and set out to find their Queen.
Almost at the same time the Nomads realized that their King was not in their camp, so quickly saddling their Whiptails twenty strong Outlanders with Kuno at the head raced for the gate that led into the forest. The guards that were posted at the entrance had no orders to open the huge doors for the Nomads and they challenged the Outlanders, but the Captain of the Spikebacks told them that they would open the portal or have their heads mounted on them. It was not certain who gave the order but the doors did open and the Almadra warriors galloped across the moat.
The Nomads understood that Rowgors were ideal mounts for the dark woodlands but they knew that if it came to a fight they would rather ride their own beasts then rely on the slower moving beasts of the Forest-dwellers.
Meanwhile Arn and Ishea were moving as fast as they could through the darkening forest, they both knew that Sagar cats hunted mostly after dark and without their warriors and the added protection of the Rowgors they stood little chance of surviving. But if their end came they would not go down without a fight, and they would kill as many of the great beasts as they could and Nomads and Norgonie alike would sing songs to their glory.
As they ran they could hear cries from the woods and soon the air began to fill with the beating wings of Nightflyers and the whimpering of creatures huddling together hoping that they would not end up in the belly of a predator. The King ran as fast as he could but the wound in his leg began to bleed again and with each step came shooting pain, but still he continued to run. Beside him the Queen kept pace with the Nomad and although the man had the greater strength the female was perfectly capable of running beside her former mate all day and night if needed. But she could see the blood now flowing freely from his thigh and she knew it would be only a matter of time before he would be unable to continue.
If he falls go on without him, she thought, he has made his choice and if he wants the half-soul girl let them walk in the Afterlife together. But no sooner had she said those words to her mind she realized that she would never do that, we all tell lies, and those are told mostly to ourselves. Whether she was remembering days long past or the afternoon that they had spent together she did not know, all that mattered was that the burning hatred that had so long filled her heart was now gone, but replaced by what she was not sure of?
All she knew as that she could no longer live with lies. If my heart lies to me, I will cut it out.
Arn knew that he was growing weaker by the moment but he knew that they must reach the fortress or die, and then he looked over at the women running beside him, she is not hurt he thought, she can reach safety if I fall. But the idea of not being with the Queen now cut into his heart and in spite of all his efforts he was powerless to think otherwise.
Ral shouted to his Rowgor and struck him on the side of his head with his Kagar, in turn the huge beast let out a roar and quickened his pace, the other Norgonie that followed did the same and the ground shook to the stomping of heavy feet.
If my mother is harmed, thought the young warrior, I will soak the earth in blood.
Not far behind them Kuno was also pushing his Whiptail to its limits, he knew that the Norgonie had a head start on him and his men but he was determined to find his King and return him safely to his people.
If I find the King dead, he thought, I will burn their fortress to the ground.
The twin suns were now gone and all that was left were the night moons overhead. Ecka, Eubano and Italus had looked down on Gorn their mother for hundreds of milleniums, and in their endless travels they had seem many Kings and Queens rise and fall so it was of little concern to them that yet two more monarchs were about to meet their end.
Arn continued running but now the shooting pain in his leg felt like a hot iron was being driven into his flesh, but he knew that if he fell now he would never get up. So he shut out the pain and set his mind on reaching the Fortress and the woman lying in his tent.
Andra, I have betrayed you, he thought, but I cannot die without seeing you again.
And clinching his teeth he gripped the handle of his ax and quickened his pace.
Step by step Ishea stayed at his side but darkness began to move in around them and the cries of Sagar cats grew closer, she knew there only hope was to run even faster so she turned to the man beside her.
“ I have seen Ax-breakers move faster than you” she called out.
Arn knew that she was only saying this to encourage him onward so shaking his head he shouted back at the Norgonie queen, “I would run faster but a weak woman is holding me back!”
The narrow trail that they had taken to the pool changed into the path through the forest and that soon open up to the ancient road, but as they passed the great columns that marked the way they heard a roaring and stopped in their tracks. The sound that they had heard came from behind them so they slowly turned an
d when they did they saw five large Sagar cats slowly moving out of the dense trees. Two of them were smaller but the other three were huge, their massive canine teeth were the length of a man’s forearm and sharp as a spear point. Their eyes glowed in the darkness as their great jaws open and closed dripping saliva, they had been drawn to the two humans by the smell of blood and now nothing was going to turn them away from their feast.
One look at the huge cats and Arn knew they were going to die, they might kill one or perhaps two of the beasts but there was no hope that they could kill all five, so turning to the warrior woman beside him he smiled.
“You were not holding me back,” he said softly.
In turn the Queen spoke back to him, “and you are not as slow as an Ax-breaker”.
Together they faced the hungry beasts; the great cats fanned out to the right and the left working as a team to insure that their quarry would not escape. But Arn and Ishea had no intention of fleeing, they would meet their deaths like all warriors, standing on their feet and facing their enemy. So they braced themselves and held their weapons at the ready, then came a roaring sound and the cats began to race forward their mouths agape and their eyes wild with rage.
Arn readied his ax to cut the head off the first feline to reach him but as he was about to strike he heard a whistling sound and watched as a dozen or more Kagars came flying over his head and burying themselves in the flesh of the raging beasts. With a great cry of pain three of the huge cats died instantly but that did not stop the other two from jumping over the bodies of their fallen comrades and leap for the two humans. As they did there was another sound and several war-axes sailed passed the head of the King so close one of them cut a horn off his helmet but they did manage to kill one of the cats and wound the other. So screaming in pain the remaining Sagar raced away from its meal and into the safety of the forest. With their lives now saved the King and Queen turned to see warriors from their respective tribes coming to the rescue.
The Fallen God Page 38