CAIVANThere is a reason these back roads are not plied regularly, or at all, for the same reason the valley is called Delagad. They are not the safest to follow, especially not when winter is close, even if they are removed from clear sight. Gazens constitute a major part of my angst, however; one or two we can handle, but a herd? Lian; the name had come naturally to me, the Sneyan name for Lupion's forerunner, and he seems to like it; sniffs at a cluster of purple flowers beneath a large tree to my left. I'm about to point out that curali are not exactly nose-friendly when he sneezes violently, backing away from them with a snarl. 'Keep your nose to yourself,' I caution. Not that I should bother. This wolf is particularly bull-headed. I squint down the path that winds through the tress ahead of us like one giant snake, crossing my fingers with superstitious instinctiveness at the thought of the dreaded creature. I've only taken the back roads this far south once, and I had been wi
CAIVANBy the gods, they are fast, even for me. There is no telling their number and that has got to be the scariest fact that faces me (or in this case, pursues me). I take a sharp turn, veering off the path and into the unmarked parts of the forest. Another warning tugs at my mind, one that I studiously ignore. Lian, the big brute, is a long way ahead of me, too fast for me to follow, and a sure temptation to transform.Come now, Caivan. You can evade them. No need to give in to that scary part of you.Something catches at my foot, and I go tumbling down a slope I had not seen in the first place. Plants catch at my hair, scratch my cheeks, have at my clothes. I reach out sharply as soon as the ground becomes smooth enough for my grip, and dig my claws into the earth, just as a pond comes up to meet me. Lian growls softly at me a little way to my left, half-hidden beneath some bushes. The beast must had tripped me up, bless his hide. I limp over to the small outcrop overlooking the
CAIVANI eye the bow in her grip with an old fear. There's something about the way she wields it that sets me off. Most wolvens are fast, usually quicker than weapons. Arrows seem to find that fact amusing and untrue. It's no wonder Gylen lost his eye to Cyran, though it would have to be close enough for him not to notice it on time. As this one is. Daena notices my uneasy stare and cocks her head. 'You don't like bows?' she asks. 'No,' I reply evenly, 'Just don't trust people that carry them about'. Camille makes a small noise, like she's stifling a snort. 'I saved your life back there,' Daena says, a little too quickly. 'I did not exactly call for one. Regardless, it looks to me like you two need my help more than I do yours,' I point out clearly, and she purses her lips in silent agreement. 'We told you everything, sir. We are not your enemies'. I find myself nodding quietly, because they are not, I realize. Not in the least. The blonde one keeps shooting glances behind us, down
RONNI turn the map around again, this time upside down. The blue lines seem to mock my efforts, remaining prickly, little puzzles. I still can't place where a village might be, or the waterways, for a quick drink of water at least, or a hand in the right direction. 'Fuck you!' I toss it down the path with a snarl, and Sirgil gives me a look of disapproval. 'Right. You don't give a hoot anyway'. I take a look at the road behind us. Taking the main road might have been a bad idea, as it's just one straight, unstopping stretch of hard sand and gridstones. Now and then, I'd see mirages in the distance, perhaps owing to the heat; at sometime past noon, the sun had taken a brutal turn for worse. A positive prelude to rain. I'd feared the possibility, but that was a long while ago. Now I spot the lining of dark clouds in the horizon, I'm definitely uneasy.Something brushes past and sits next to me quietly. He growls once, swishing his tail against me. 'Of course I'm sad, we're in the midd
RONNHe slowly lowers the crossbow when I finish talking, but that hard glint does not leave his eyes. Grey, like stone, like clouds before it rains. Like mine. 'Say you ain't one of them freaks, eh?' he asks in a funny, clipped accent. I can only guess where he's from, and it's not this far south. 'No, sir, I am not,' I reply with as much honesty as I can muster. He grunts. 'Well, I suppose there's room for one more,' he says, 'But I ain't going as far as the city. Gotta drop stuff off at Patrain. Still got a little way ahead, but then, these beasts are the best I seen'. He reaches down and pats them fondly. Great black geldings that seem to listen or respond to his touch only. I've never liked horses, and these ones are no exception. They snort or sway their great heads whenever they cross eyes with Sirgil. I turn back to their master as he speaks. 'Come along, master Rolenn. I reckon them clouds'll be upon us in a mo, and there's only so much we can cover in a few minutes'. I gri
GYLENIt patters down slowly at first. Drop by drop, until it increases to a steady beat, hitting down hard without remorse or stopping. It doesn’t usually rain this hard, this early in the fall. Maybe a bad omen.As the thunder rumbles, I recall something someone had once told me all those years ago. Something about thunder indicating the wrath of the gods. Well, if anyone should be furious, it should be us, their supposed creation who are always at the receiving end.I wrap the blanket around myself more tightly, as the wind threatens to rip it off my shoulders. I’m as safe as I can be here, in the hollow of the diwan tree, in the thick of the forest, but not from the howling gale that threatens to rip off the trees. For the nth time, I send a shiver down my body, turning out the cold and shaking off the waters.As a wolven, its relatively easy to turn out our fur, as insulation against the cold. Even so, we would be required to curl up properly….or wind up in a tree hollow, like me
SAELYNAIt's not exactly a village. Neither is it a hamlet. It certainly doesn't look like one. We climbed the slope when we found the pines, just when the first drops of rain came down on us. Sure enough, there were tendrils of smoke in the distance, and that's where we headed, while Dell insisted one keeping Elwyn in front.He was right. Sort of. It turned out to be a camp. And not just any camp.Outside the tent where we now eat, thunder utters its last threats as the rain reduces to nothing more than soft patters. Ryon hands me another piece of bread with a soft smile that I can't help returning. He looks to be an elder, I think, well into his mid-forties. His hair is a dark shade of blue that catches the light from the fireflies that hang above us, on every inch of the tent's roof. He has deep set blue eyes that are welcoming at most, above a straight nose and a small mouth, all placed in the middle of a perfectly round face. It's hard to feel uncomfortable around him.He had wel
CAIVANAnother bar. Since Gilford, I've not been especially keen to step into one. But we have very little option; not when we've been turned away thrice.The hamlet is a certainly quiet one. And the few folks we've seen seem very cautious, so I can only assume they've had their share of the creatures that now plague the south.The bar is even quieter. Perhaps because it had rained, or something had happened before the rain. Either way, the place is dark, and the only people inside are a cloaked person in the corner and the bartender.Of the three of us, I'm the one who's gotten the worse sting of the rain, given that Daena and Camille conveniently had coats suited for the purpose. Lian and Ima could handle the cold. Not me, I couldn't risk transforming for insulation. Couldn't risk transforming at all.The bartender throws a glance at us, but it's Ima she really sees. She frowns when she says, 'No animals in here'. Camille raises her brows in something similar to despair. 'But she's