She giggled. “No, only if I were, I might not be in this predicament. It could be worse though.”
She finished her magic massage and scooted to sit next to me. “I also healed the minor wounds you suffered. If anything else bothers you later, just let me know.”
I nodded. “Thank you, Tyla,” I said, as I finished using the leather cord to wrap a dagger around the end of the stick I found. Tightening it as best I could, it was not perfect, but it should do against anything short of a bear.
“Do you mind explaining how your powers work?”
“It is… complicated, and not something I am supposed to share with those that are not other Chosen or more importantly in my family's service. Secrets that are kept guarded from our competitors.”
“So, you learn how to use it through your family?”
“Not exactly. We have… had an academy in our city. Anyone who was with power could go and learn if they swore themselves to my mother's service in return. I had just started there myself six months ago… then the civil war broke out....”
She looked down, her face conflicted with emotion and pain.
“Want to talk about it?”
She wiped her eyes and sniffled. “Not yet, but thank you, Derrick. Maybe in time.”
I put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Fair enough, let me know when that changes and I will listen if you want me too.”
She put her hand on mine and returned the squeeze, smiling softly.
“In the meantime,” I said, pulling another dagger. “Keep this on your belt at all times. We will train with it tonight but pulling it and stabbing something is fairly straightforward. Just keep stabbing till whatever it is dies. Understand?”
“Yes, thank you Derrick.”
I finally picked up on the name she used. “I thought you were going to call me Derk?”
“It seems so crude of a name. You are anything but crude. Maybe a little uncouth, but not like any of the other men I have met. Sweet, yet barbaric in your way, especially compared to those in mother's army. You are different… in a good way. Thank you again for being there when I needed someone. For killing those men.”
“I don't tolerate anyone who says they are going to rape a woman. Ever… and I kind of lost control for a minute. I do not regret my actions in the slightest… and you're welcome,” I said and smiled at her, staring straight into her eyes.
She blushed and turned back to packing up our meager belongings.
“Ok, we should get moving. We don't know if they are actually tracking us but staying here is going to be a bad idea. I want you to grab that tree branch over there and rake the ground behind us as we walk, break up our footprints on the game trails. I'll take point, I mean the lead, with you behind. That's good with you?”
“Yes, I think I can handle that.”
“Good, let's get moving.”
We traded smiles.
7
Day in the woods
We had been walking for a couple of hours now, just entering the higher elevations following a game trail that mirrored a creek we had crossed several times to throw off pursuit.
There were several paths leading up into the mountains, which resembled jagged teeth more than any mountain range I had ever seen on Earth. I picked one at random… well, I think it was at random, though I did feel very strongly about it more than others if I was being truthful to myself.
Up until now, I had been intentionally ignoring all the things I could not explain that seemed to be happening to me, given how rapidly things had evolved, but I was going to have to confront them before too much longer.
“So, mind if I ask you a few questions that might seem… off?” I asked.
“Um, sure.”
“This might seem weird to you, but just realize I have truly little knowledge of this part of the world. I was hoping to know a little about the history and other… races?”
She gave me that puzzled look, like I was a Rubik's cube she wanted to figure out. “You are odd. I know you say you are not from here, but I just find it hard to believe you do not know this. I am sure you have an interesting story, whatever the truth is.”
I smiled and nodded. “Fair, I have secrets, so do you. If you don't want—”
“No,” she said, interrupting me. “Someone should probably extend the branch of trust, and I will do it, after all it’s common knowledge for what you ask.”
“Thank you.”
“Humans came to this world two hundred and fifty years ago, or thereabouts, the exact date is unknown to us now. The story is that the gods transported us from a doomed home world. I put little stock in this growing up, but then…” She shook her head. “I will get to that later.”
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Yes, the Demigods have changed my outlook on the world we live in. It is still very… emotional for me right now.”
“I understand, we can wait if you want.”
“No, I am still just in shock over the recent events, but I will continue. According to our histories, the gods created this continent so that humans would have a place to call home. Protected for a time from the other races while we established ourselves.”
“How long?”
“It was never said, none of the other races ever invaded our lands, so we assumed it still applied until Seir showed up.”
“I have heard that name before.”
“He is a Demigod. I will discuss him as well. First, you should know that our race is but one among the five known races. The gods gave humans the continent of Neuerde and parts east. The elves are a secretive race, but the rumor is they arrived in southern Griyvania. They were the first race to be put here by the gods and have since expanded to most of the western continent. They make their homes in the vast forests.”
“Real elves? They were a fantasy where I came from. I didn't think they really existed.”
"They do. I met a delegation of them when I was a little girl. They have the most beautiful silver hair, the entire species does. Or at least the ones that humans encountered. Rumor is that some have pink hair, but they are extremely rare. They are also long lived. Some say as long as four hundred years."
“Not immortal?”
“Only the gods and Demi's are immortal. Everything else dies,” she said, sadness entering her voice and her facial features.
“Um… Then there are the orcs,” she continued. “A vile species, though I have never met one. They are nomadic and inhabit the great plains of western Griyvania. They attack and pillage both themselves and others. The descriptions I have heard said their skin is greenish and they have tusks that come out of their mouths. They have not ventured to human lands, but our trade delegations have been attacked multiple times near their lands.”
“Heard of them too, sounds spot on with our mythology, though that's all they ever were in our stories.”
“The names we call them differ from what they call themselves. The world magic translates everything for us, so we never know what they truly call themselves.”
“World magic?”
“You do not know the world magic? That should be impossible even if you are from an unfamiliar land all together. You have not studied the words coming out of my mouth carefully, have you?”
“What?” I asked, bewildered.
She smiled. “Do you not notice that the words you hear do not match the movement of the lips on my face, for I have surely noticed yours do not match what I would expect. Several of your words are… strange looking.”
“Holy shit.” I was watching her lips closely, now that she said that I could not unsee it. What should have been an 'O' sound on the word 'do' looked more like she was saying 'un' with her lips right behind her teeth. “I have never heard of it before, uh—”
“It’s fine, I expect that from you now. You are odd, but it is nice. Makes me forget about my own troubles.”
She genuinely smiled at me, and her brown eyes sparkled.
“Thank you,” I said, returni
ng the smile as we walked side by side. Not a proper walking formation, but it was good to get to know her. “You said five, that leaves two more.”
“Oh, um…,” she said, distracted by whatever thoughts had invaded her head for a moment. “The dwarves are next, another species I have met often as a girl. They live in the mountain ranges of northern Griyvania.”
“Let me guess, short with beards?”
“Short yes, beards on the men, much wider than humans. Stronger on average, too. Their matriarchs are powerful in the earth's magic. We actually hosted several of their refugees.”
“Refugees?”
“Oh, that's right, I keep forgetting how little you know. The Demigods have corrupted all the other races that we know of. We have heard the elves still fight, but we have not heard from them in over a decade. That was when I met them as a girl.”
“How?”
“The world, before the Demi's, lived under the rule of the matriarchs of each of the various species. Only women can be a Chosen and given command of an element. This increases our strength and speed, along with the elemental power, giving us a significant advantage over others and our own men. When we first arrived here, a war occurred between the men who coveted our power and the women who had it. They tried to control us and use us, but eventually we broke away from our yokes of enslavement and ruled the human lands. That was about two hundred years ago according to the records that survived from that time.”
I nodded. “Makes sense, my land was patriarchal for most of its history, but women did not have any special powers, putting them at a disadvantage throughout our history.”
“Yes, the new laws after the war for freedom said that men could not hold power, though they enjoyed many more freedoms than they ever gave us. The Chosen rule alone now… or did. The Demigods came to our world about fifty years ago. It was said they were gods that were cast out of heaven and forced to live as mortals for their sins. But they have the power to enslave the Chosen. They can take your free will and force you to love and serve them. All the Demigods have been men so far that we know of.”
“Force you to love them?”
“We are unsure. Fallen Matriarchs who were loyal to their sisters before capture are later fighting for their captors. There have been many stories from rape to torture, but they all end up the same. The Chosen that have succumbed to the Demigods will do anything they command. They also share their powers somehow with them. The dwarves said that the first of Demigods they encountered were strong but not unbeatable. However, the Demigods soon captured some of their dwarven kin and took their powers, able to command the elements at a level never seen before. They become difficult to fight, especially when you are also fighting someone you called sister only a few weeks before. It is how they have taken so much so quickly.”
“It's hard to fight family,” I agreed. “Why have you not tried to take them back?”
“We humans have only been fighting Seir and his minions for a year. Actually, we did not even know we were fighting a Demigod till a few months ago. We just thought my Josephina had gone mad and was fighting to take over the whole of the Matriarchy instead of just her half. But the dwarves tell us that the few Demigods they killed also… led to the death of ones they had turned. We do not know what magic causes this, but it has made it extremely hard to fight when you know your mother, daughter, or sister will die if you win.”
“That's horrible.”
She nodded. “That is why the world has fallen. Our own empathy is our doom.”
I had a thought to ask about her mother but could not bring myself to ask about such a sensitive topic.
If they captured her mother, that could mean…
Burn that bridge when we get to it.
“That's four races. What about the last?”
“Oh, the Mer people. I have never met one, but the elves told me about them. They live in the Sentar isles south of Griyvania. They do not interact with outsiders from what I was told.”
I nodded. “Thank you for that information.”
“The world is falling apart. I sometimes wonder if it's worth living in anymore.”
“Hey,” I said as I put my arm around her. “None of that. We have issues, both of us. But we can get past them and make something of this mess. We just have to figure out how.”
She leaned into me. “I hope you are right.”
8
Dinner in the woods
We found another traveler's tree to sleep under that night. Its leaves supplying an adequate shelter to keep us moderately hidden.
“I am going to take a gamble tonight and start a fire when it gets dark, cook some food, then snuff it out… well, after I find us some food, anyway. We still have jerky and some berries you picked on the trail, but we need more calories than that, with as much as we have been burning.”
“What is a… Sorry, the magic did not translate that word correctly, which usually means I do not have an equivalent.”
“Oh, sorry, something from my w… land. We figured humans burn energy at a specific rate of measurement and can calculate what must go into what we use daily to make sure we eat enough. Think of it as a log on the fire. Some logs are better than others, but if you burn two logs, you get about an hour's worth of fire. The longer you need to burn the fire, the more logs you need. Does that help?”
“Cal-o-ree, I think I understand.”
“That world magic thing is still crazy to me. How about writing? Does it do that for you too?”
“No, not writing, hence the reason we still teach reading and writing.”
“I have so much to learn,” I said with a sigh before I could stop myself.
Luckily, she let it go with just a knowing smile.
“So,” I said, changing the subject. “You set up camp, and I am going to scout the area, see if I can get some food.”
“Wait… umm, please do not leave me here alone,” she said, her face turned red, and her head bowed down.
“What's wrong? I will hear if you yell and not be gone long.”
“I uh… have always had someone with me growing up, then I was alone and running for my life. I really… I just do not wish to be alone right now. I am sorry.”
I reached out and stroked her hair. “Shhh, it's okay. I understand, I didn’t think about it that way. It’s understandable. Let's set up camp, scout around, and then go down to that creek and see if we can get some fish or something for dinner. Before we come back to eat, train, and sleep. Deal?”
She nodded, grabbing my hand from the side of her head and moving it to her face.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
We set up the camp by laying out the bedroll and grabbing the dried sticks that littered the area and put them in a pile. There was a fire starter in the bag, so that shouldn't be an issue to get going later with all the kindling available.
“Alright, keep the spear I made for you, the water bladders, and we will leave everything else behind. Just in case we see something in the woods to hunt, keep as quiet as possible.”
“Umm, I can do that,” she said, her expression still a little nervous.
“It's okay, nothing to be stressed about. There may be nothing out there, but we need to get into the habit now.”
We made our way down through the brush in a circular pattern outward from our camping spot. Nothing jumped out at us, and the area seemed calm. The birds flew away from our approach, but no large animals seemed to be in the area. Tracking was never my strong point and limited to humans, and that was more about evasion than tracking, but I knew enough to look for animal scat on the ground near game paths. I could occasionally even see animal tracks now that I was looking for it.
With nothing of note jumping out at me, we made our way down the creek. My hopes of finding a rabbit or other small mammal dashed.
“Alight, I have never done this before, so I am not sure how successful I am going to be, but I am going to try to spear some fish.”
“Yo
u—”
“I know, I live in the woods and do not know how to fish, it's odd.” I rolled my eyes at the comment I knew was coming.
She didn't answer, just crossed her arms and sat on a nearby stump, a wily smile on her face.
That was a little bit of an odd reaction. I expected a laugh, or something at least. Something to ponder later.
I let it go and focused on the task in front of me. Taking off my shoes and hiking up my pants, I would have removed them, but undergarments were not a thing I had in my bag, and I was not ready to go there with her staring at me buck naked just yet.
I waded out in the water and stood motionless, my makeshift spear above my head. The fish darted to the other side of the creek from where I entered.
I waited, eventually, as they slowly swam back to the side of the creek I stood on. I tried to get that time dilation thing to work, but I could not seem to grasp how to use it when I was calm. It only ever worked when I was in a fight so far.
Whether it was natural to my new body, or something that was given to me, I couldn't tell. But whatever it was, I would have to spend more time figuring it out. Part of me wanted to ask Tyla about it, but I did not want to say the wrong thing and spook her, ruining the progress we had made in our trust with each other.
A fish slowly came into range. It looked just like a trout, and a big one too, much larger than what should have been in a creek this size from my time fishing in the mountains of California. I guess these waters were not overfished much, allowing them to get bigger. That was good for our survival chances. I really did not want to figure out what bugs were edible. Memories of marine survival and evasion school caused me to shiver momentarily.
I timed my shot, studied its motion, waiting for the perfect time to strike. The seconds ticked by… almost there. I struck with the spear, confident in my shot.
Of course, that meant I completely missed it when I drove it down.
The spear changed directions as soon as it hit the water, sending me a little off balance when it struck the sandy bottom instead. The fish darted off, and I tried to pull the spear out to try again rapidly, moving off emotion rather than letting my brain keep control. As I yanked the spear out of the ground and repositioned, I slipped on an unstable rock and fell right onto my ass in the water, soaking myself up to my chest.
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