There was a lot to do. The harvest was just around the corner, and the Shari clan needed every free hand now. As every year, a large number of the warriors were divided among the farms and billeted there until the harvest was over. So they could start their work in the fields with the farmers early in the morning without having to travel the long way from the chorten.
But there was a bad omen in the still air of the sultry late summer. Even the ancestors of the winds hid for days. And finally, the busiest time of the year began not with Reni's ceremonial first harvest cut, but with a violent storm!
As if to remind human beings of their power, Zaizura drove one heavily rain-laden cloud tower after another from the sea to Hy. They got stuck on the Junghal Mountains and discharged themselves violently. One violent thunderstorm after another swept across the land and flattened the ripe grain in the fields. The hail hit the fruit from the trees and shingles from the roofs.
Actually, you shouldn't get a reward for doing so much work for me!" He said sternly. Then he checked that the knot on the beam was tight enough and that there was enough water. Hopefully the storm wouldn't get so violent that it worried the horses."Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Laughing, Roman nudged Kaeisan as he was just about to nibble on his headscarf, which he wore instead of his helmet when working in the fields. He went through under the horse's neck and was handed the pitchfork from Hroenka, a young warrior. Roman thanked him, fetched two large forks full of hay from next door and then passed the forks on to the next one. After a few loving taps on his horse's neck, he left the stable. To his not-too-great surprise, it was already pouring rain outside and the wind was sweeping across the rooftops. Roman ran right along the wall to the washhouse. There he took off his mud-stained clothes and washed himself thoroughly. The clothes stayed as they were, he would j
After giving instructions to saddle up his horse, Roman crept quietly into the house. It was his job to bring the bad news to the farm board. He thought with great concern that now all warriors would have to leave the farms and the choir and that many strong hands would be missing from the harvest. Harvest time was a particularly bad time for war - the enemy certainly knew that too! But that was fate. They were all just little plants in the field of the universe. Some of these little plants were cherished. They blossomed and bore fruit, they could multiply. Others, however, were destined to be trodden down, mowed down, in order to use their bodies to form the breeding ground for others! Everything was an infinite cycle, and human beings were only a tiny part of it. Roman sighed, went into the old farmer's room and woke him up. The old man started up a little rudely, blinked in the light of the oil lamp and found himself facing a very serious warrior in full armament."Hraunap
His mother looked back, embarrassed. “Forbearance. He just knows peace! ”She apologized. "We should all envy him that he doesn't know what Shazura is!" Nodding inagreement, the people turned back to Richol, who had already divided the warriors into groups and appointed the leaders. Roman's name fell and Raen looked over at him again. His father seemed aloof and quiet.He's not afraid either, he thought morosely, still feeling his mother's clenched hands on his shoulders.After Richol finished the meeting, the warriors left their horses to Henendra's helpers, who tended them and filled the saddlebags with whatever would be needed on the journey. Quietly and without turning to their relatives, all members of the warrior caste went up to the temple. Raen almost burst with curiosity. What was going on up there now?Depressed silence and indecision settled over the chorten. Nobody dared to move from his place. Raen watched the people around him wi
Raen nodded again, this time a little more docile. Roman broke out in a sweat. Why did this kid manage to corner him so much? First these dreams with the blood horse and now this! Why couldn't his son be normal? He thought of Soghul's prophecy, but the thought overwhelmed him. He also felt his wife's questioning looks on his back. He took a deep breath and let out an overwrought sigh. Finally he hugged Raen again.“Don't be afraid, I'll be back soon. Take care of your mother and your soon-to-be sibling for so long, will you? ”He winked at his son and smiled."If you're not afraid, then neither am I!" Raen said confidently."Promised?""Promised!"Roman rose and Alea came over to him."Don't worry, my love." Before she could reply, he closed her lips with one last long kiss. Then he loosened his belt and wrapped another, narrower one around his waist. He was ready to put on protective clothing. Alea handed him the sturdy leather g
But suddenly the priest stopped walking and turned around. Alea was coldly scared. Was the priest wrong? Would she be punished by Zaizura after all for her insolent thoughts? Her fingers tightened painfully. The priest glanced at her. He reached out his hand with the wooden plaque ... and handed it to her best friend right next to her.There was a moment of stunned silence. Then her friend collapsed before she even read the name on the board.Alea bit her lip. Tears welled up in her eyes and she could hardly overcome her own numbness. She finally managed to hug her friend."Hroenka!" She whimpered over and over again. It was her only son. He had only just turned nineteen.Alea took good care of her best friend, hoping to clear her guilty conscience with a good deed. But every time her friend sobbed again in her arms, the relief secretly stole her sympathy, and Alea was ashamed of the selfish poison of the heart. Why was it in her chest of all places?
But Raen's dreams turned out to be right. In the following week, the Hyaunset suer received the relieving news from Shari that everyone had been waiting for."The war is over!", The Setna sent him through his aun. He immediately called the clan council together and passed on the good news. The people fell into each other's arms, relieved, and in the light of the autumn sun their fear dissipated like morning mist. The whole clan was preparing for the arrival of their warriors with increasing exuberance. Everything was spruced up nicely, and even if there were hardly any leaves left on the trees, Hrauna also emerged again in all her late autumn beauty. The sun warmed the clear, fresh air and pushed the nightly cold of the approaching winter from the woods back onto the distant mountains, which were already covered with snow caps. Not the smallest cloud disturbed the deep hyacinth blue of the sky on the day when the warriors finally should arrive in Shari. It was the day after t
Raen followed his father's request. After finishing his work in the kitchen on a very cold winter's late afternoon, he went up to his parents' room in the residential tower. He was about to knock on the door when he heard their voices from inside."Some people never leave their choir, why do you want to travel?" He heard his father ask.“It's just a request, Roman! Let's at least visit my sister in Rinpal. I want ... oh, how many times have I tried to explain it to you ... "There wassilence."Roman, I want to see what's behind the mountains, I want to be out and about, and see other things!" The plaintive sound in his mother's voice worried Raen. He was still listening illegally at the door."And then? What are you doing after? Do you want to see more and more, travel more and more, sometimes here and there, and leave the place where you are needed! Are you not satisfied with your life here? ”“ Yes, of course I am satisfi
Raen woke up with a scream. Confused, he looked around, but finally found that he was lying in his bed in the nursery. He sat up and pressed the heels of his hands over his eyes. He had dreamed something bad, but he didn't know what anymore. Only his father's voice boomed ominously through his head: “It's a secret, Raen, and you must never tell it, you hear! Never! ”Since the evening that this conversation with his father had taken place, Raen had strictly kept his promise. That wasn't difficult for him, as he hadn't dreamed anything special since then, but his trust in his father was still shaken. Raen avoided him wherever he could and instead sought the security of his mother.But something had changed. The dream he had just had had been different from usual, he felt that. Raen closed his eyes tightly. 'No, I will not break my promise,' he said to himself. 'I must not disappoint my father!' He began to bob his torso and let out a pained groan. Andra stir