CYRAN
The trail is fresh, so I have little difficulty following them steadily downhill. I pay attention to the sounds of the forest, stealthily moving along the shadows of the trees. Deja vu, and I'm back in Halden woods, hunting for game, being attacked by a wolven that ironically, I am now tracking.
I stop suddenly. The tracks have gone cold, and I can't see much anywhere from here. I scout a little, sweeping the place in an arc, but I don't find anything. I'm about to keep heading forward, when a hand falls on my shoulder and heaves me up into the branches of the oak tree.
I'm face to face with Gylen in human form, but he places a finger to his lips, then stares pointedly into the distance. I follow his gaze with dread and there are two wolves.
They are the largest beasts I've seen, but there's something else about them as well. I can't place it, but I'm not going to check it out this time. Gylen is unnaturally
SAELYNA I have never actually considered learning to knit or crochet or anything that requires me sitting still. Veesa has her way of convincing a person, though, and I have absolutely no idea how I've been able to sit here for the past thirty minutes or so, knitting a scarf. I'm not actually knitting anyway. Just fumbling with the wool and getting it all wrong. We're all seated in a circle as Veesa talks about the old days, when she was still a young woman like us, back when Halden was a large forest town known as Halden Woods. The other girls listen to her while they work, some even staring up while their hands move automatically, like machines. 'I fell in love with and married Tion. It was a time when wolvens were at peace, when Quindar was filled a land of different folk that coexisted peacefully. He was a wolven lord, of the king's court, and he owned this very land in fact'. The girls murmur in awe. I wonder how old she must be. A hundred years, give or take. 'We had a beautif
CAIVANPalma is usually sober after sex, but this time, she's less sober. She lights another cigar, non-cherry, and hands it to me. 'I quit a long time ago', I say, as I button up my shirt. Then I draw a chair and sit in front of her. 'Well?' She rolls her eyes. 'All you southerners are the same, business, business, business. Except you though. You do it best'. 'Palma!' She waves a hand and lies back on the bed, stretching one bare leg over my thighs.'One of them passed this way, a court man like you. No name, he just came for business. Leeta gave it to him, but I was listening when he talked afterwards'. She blows on the cigar for a moment. 'He got high on some of her drinks. Then he began boasting about something called the hybrid. Said they had reached a breakthrough and they have finally tamed the raveners. All that was left was to find the horn'. She tosses the cigar into the ash tray on the table. 'That was all. He didn't say anything else before h
CYRANI'm sitting on the edge of the outcrop again, but this time, I watch the sun set in the west, sliding slowly out of view behind the distant hills. It's a beautiful thing, and I wonder how I've missed much of it my whole life. Our cottage was below the hill next to the forest, so the sunset wasn't really something we saw daily. I saw it once, though, but the sky had been the darkest that day, and the village was of smoke and ashes.I hear approaching feet and I don't need to turn to know it's Gylen; he walks like he has all the time in the world, with a leisure gait that I admire. He sits beside me, his left hand in a cast and his left eye looking as queer as ever on his long face. 'I want to be alone', I tell him. 'What a coincidence. So let's be alone together'.We're silent for a while. 'You look…positively useless', he says suddenly. 'Thanks', I snap, 'I feel better already'. 'It wasn't a compliment', he says mildly, t
CAIVANI'm too stunned to drink mine. He's combined genn and iden. It must take an toll on him though, because one side of his face contracts, though he tries to hide it. That was the faint tang of magic I had smelt back in the dining hall. I wonder what other secret experiment he's carried out, and I wonder how much abominations he's willing to undergo for power.Presently, he stands up gracefully as a deer, and stares up at the sky. 'The skies will cry today', he says, 'Auspicious, one would say'. I don't ask what he means. 'You'll stay for the festival?' he inquires. 'As you wish, my king', I mutter. He drinks again before regarding me quietly for a while. It strikes me how he's looking more of a deer these days. 'I'll need you to visit Tussel the day after the festivities. I have a need of your…skills'. A real bump in my plans, but I'm sure I can turn things around. 'Yes, my king'.He stares at me again, and I feel like I'v
SAELYNAFaridah, Michelle and Constance teach me a song as we carry wood back to the circle. The Wolf's Bane, they call it. It has a catchy tune, though the lyrics make me cringe now and then. They call them out though, at the top of their voices without abandon. 'The sweetness of her groin, he sang of her with praise. The wolf of Myre was gone, and all he swore to be chaste. They called upon his name, but Wunder would not come. His mistress held the chain, and his bottle of rum'.Veesa chuckles now and then when she hears a particularly lewd line. I give her a sidelong line when she chortles out loud at one, 'The noble lady swung her staff and the alpha's balls were mush'. 'Oh dear', she mutters, wiping her eyes. 'Aren't you worried someone would hear them?' I ask, cautiously glancing around. 'Hear them? Dear, do you know what the valley is called?' she says. I shrug, and it's quite surprising that I don't. It's practically in my backyard.
RONN'Do you think Argell would accept this one?' Keilen asks, poking it with her foot. The angle of its feet and its upturned head tells me it struggled before death, but not with anyone. I pull out the dagger responsible for its death throes and show it to Keilen. 'The elf?' she asks. 'It appears so; Veesa told Argell that it attacked Cyran and Gylen and my brother isn't a person of weapons. It's got to be his'. 'And how do you know what Veesa told Argell?' she asks again, leering at me. 'Could we not talk about this?' 'I suppose. We could always talk about how you're milking her for information now…and that's not the only thing you're milking from her anyway', she remarks, turning to stare into the forest. 'We don't talk about her again. Ever', I tell her coldly. She turns back to me, her mouth parted slightly as poised to say something, but thinks better of it when she spots the look on my face. 'Yeah, whatever'.I turn back to the wolf…
CYRAN'She sings well', Hustin says. 'Your mouth is open', I snap and Laen laughs. 'He's been ogling at her since when she arrived. She's real pretty, though. We haven't had one of those in a while', Allos says. I bristle at him, 'Hey back off!' 'Shut the fuck up, Al', Gylen says briskly, and he raises his hands in surrender. 'They've been on the juice for a while now. You can't blame them', he says to me. I peer at the bottles around us, and I count twelve. 'Allos had the most of them', Pedran points out. 'You barely had two. Go on, elf, drink up!' Seirmon says and hands me a bottle. 'I hear elves don't get intoxicated. That true?' Allos inquires.I reflect back at the Fall festival last year, when Saelyna had drunk herself to stupor. 'Yes, I suppose. Halden mead however, it takes a toll. It's brewed from the barks of the willan tree, grown on Mount Iden. I suppose it has magical properties. It's the only thing that gets us really high', I tell him. 'We'
KEILENThe cold breeze whipping against my face and sifting through my hair is something I've missed for a long while. The feeling of flying, being invincible, being free.She likes it as well. I named her Varga after the fifth god of men. I still chuckle at what I expect would be the look on father's face when he sees I've bonded and named her after the goddess of destruction. It used to be a past time, pissing off the elders of the pack. It got boring eventually; most of them have died off anyway. Now riding and exploring, it had its thrills. Especially when it has to do with secrets.Varga doesn't follow the forest paths. She weaves through the trees and speeds like an arrow, or faster, following my directions. I'm going by partial memory, and I hope I'd recall where it was. My eyes stream with tears that the wind digs out, but I can see clearly; I can see the jagged peaks of the Forsaken Fortress rise above the trees.