Figures tall and short, young and old gathered in the town square. Their long lost leader had returned home!
For the first time in some time a sense of hope seemed to rekindle among them. The growing crowd buzzed with sleepy conversation as the villagers rubbed the sleep from their eyes and readied themselves for his appearance. Each squinted past the Eternal flame that burned constantly in the village square where two shadow figures danced in the flickering fire light.
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Darius and Ezekiel spoke in low tones, easily lost in the snap-crackle of the fire beside them. As Ezekiel went on Darius let his eyes drift over the building mass. His expression darkening as it grew to fill the town center.
“As I said Darius, unexplainable things have been happening since your disappearance. The strangest things. The women have heard the strangest cries and fowl whispers of doom and death and destruction over the evening breeze. So much so that the children are no longer allowed in the streets after dusk.” The elder leaned in, “some of them have begun to refuse to go to the river after mid-afternoon, when the sun is easily swallowed by the thicker trees.”
The grave leader turned again to face the old man.
“They claim they can see the shadows move unnaturally, even following them along the well-beaten path.” His eyebrows shot up, “They say the breeze after the first star appears carries a rancid smell.”
Darius closed his eyes, quietly taking in the story until it all started to make sense. “…Like sun rotten eggs pecked open and left by the crows.”
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Rael watched the silent exchange, straining his eyes to catch even a word of what might be being said between the two. His eyes widened as he watched his father’s slow nod and draw his hand to stroke thoughtfully at his unshaven beard. He looked older with a beard, sure, but his calm brave demeanor showed nothing had changed underneath the scraggly proof of his time away.
The boy admired his hero from the high thatch wall he was sat upon. Lost in thought, he almost missed the look Darius shot him over the rumbling crowd. The hunters’ eyes twinkled and glowed like a wild cat in the orange light. Rael smiled wide, coming alive at his fathers’ attention. Darius winked and smiled, then returned to the business he and the elder were concluding.
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“So, Master Darius, did you ever see or hear of anything like it in your travels?” Ezekiel asked, bringing Darius back to himself.
The leader dropped his eyes and rubbed his chin. “I can’t say that I have…” His frown deepened before he looked up decisively. “I will speak to everyone at once Ezekiel, I wish to be transparent, they need to be reassured we are in this together.” They nodded together, the elder bowed his head and turned to join the crowd of curious bystanders.
Darius took a deep breath, his eyes strayed over the twinkling stars before landing on the moon, who’d loyally guided him through half his journey. Thank you. He breathed out. before following in Ezekiels’ wake.
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Where have you been?
Where are the others?
What happened?
All of that time away, and nothing to show for it?
Did he leave us alone only to come back alone with nothing to show for it?
Darius could feel the weight of their questions bombarding him as he walked into full view from behind the massive flame.
“I know you all have questions. I will try to answer them all,” He looked around the fire-lit faces he’d grown to know well.
His eyes lingered over the faces of those who’d traveled with him. Darius felt divided for just a moment. He wondered how much of his journey to burden them with. Was the retelling of the tale prudent in the presence of the children? Or should he inform the adults in private and leave the retelling to their discretion…
Each face wore worries of its own. The children seemed too somber for their age. All eyes twinkled and danced like the stars above them. All at once, it felt wrong to burden them with the details in such uncertain times. He wasn’t sure how they might handle the weight. In the end, telling them felt selfish, a way for him not to bear the burden on his own.
Darius closed his mouth into a tight line. Their innocence is worth protecting. He resolved to offer them reassurance before all else. “I’ve been to the other side of the mountains.” A small series of gasps rose from the crowd leaving a soft murmur in its wake.
“On our swift descent from the mountain peaks, its frozen covering fell upon us.” A thick dryness swallowed up his voice. He resisted the urge to cough in a show of strength.
“I managed to fight my way free and escape but upon reaching the surface, I was alone.” His eyes burnt at the retelling.
A hundred sets of eyes danced around him. Not a single voice was heard among them. Darius tightened his jaw, determined to draw hope from their saddened faces. “But, they did not pass in bain, we saw things. Wondrous things you wouldn’t believe.”
With this, the crowd erupted in whispers. Rael blinked from his perch as if coming too from a trance. He looked around, scowling at the sound of whispers rising through the crowd before turning back to the bravest man he’d ever beheld.
“Yes! It’s amazing,” With the building excitement, the details that had plagued Darius suddenly turned to the answer, “In fact, I didn’t know just how wonderful the place was until returning to hear what the village has been faced with in my absence.” The crowd hushed to lean in.
“There are valleys so lush with life, they’re all but buzzing.” ooo’s and aaah’s followed the imagery, “The sun seems to speak to you as it moves across the sky, and the moon hums the most beautiful lullabies over the wind.”
Darius took a deep breath and closed his eyes as his head rocked back to gaze lovingly toward the milky mother of the night.
“The closer we got to the living valley, the more alive we felt.” The villagers one by one followed his gaze skyward, doing their best to imagine the beauty he spoke of.
“Did you bring anything back with you?” A voice squeaked from somewhere in the crowd. A murmur of agreement rose up to Raels’ perch on the thatch roof. His fists balled.
“I’ve brought you my word,” Darius looked into each set of eyes willing to meet his with a fire of reassurance radiating from inside him. So deep it was sure to catch anyone with a spark of trust in his words. “Be of good cheer my dear friends… no matter how things seem at this time, here in this valley. There is more, just at the other side of the mountains awaiting us.”
The villagers passed their agreement between themselves. Each remembering a time they’d been personally helped by their beloved leader. The talk grew louder and louder until the entire assembly was roaring with personal conversations. Darius waited patiently for the spirited murmuring to quiet.
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Rael’s knuckles had turned white, how rude of them. He steamed until it seemed to blow from his ears. How stupid are they to think what they have to say is more important…
“Quiet! Let him talk!” He lept to his feet and bellowed from above their heads. “He’s had a long journey, can’t you see? He’s been traveling for months and he’s taken the time to share the tales with you!” He finished, exasperated.
Ezekiel caught Darius’ eye and between them they shared a quiet look of pride.
Once the crowd had hushed each other into silence, Darius continued. “Thank you, son.” He nodded his approval toward Rael.
“On my journey I witnessed many things that for now, you will have to take my word on.”
The silence that followed his voice allowed for the fire to crackle and snap its comforting call over the night air. Drawing a yawn or two from the most comfortable of the bunch. Rael watched the flames licking up toward the sky. Imagining what kinds of things his father might be talking about. His words echoed around them, engulfing each in a scene of their own creation.
“The wind is alive, as I said before it speaks! I’ve heard its’ voice, as did the others. It beaconed us to the borderlands, and then into the foothills. It provided food and drink along the way. Even in the most unlikely of situations, and often in the most peculiar way, sustenance would show up as if to let us know we were going the right way.” He cried out.
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Though a few of the villagers laughed out of uncertainty most remained awfully silent, each taking in the man they’d known to be nothing but noble, a provider, and yet, they’d lost good men, fellow townsfolk to this latest endeavor…
Darius was travel-worn indeed. The childs’ words sunk in, his clothing was tattered by the conditions he’d weathered to be with them. There were new cuts and scars planted victoriously over his face, some of them healed into jagged lines, others seemed fresh. He looked like the king of a lion’s pride after a long winter season of forging. His royal coat interrupted in brands of bravery, his skin had become a tapestry for his stories.
Though still a young race the humans were learning quickly. The sands of time had seen them nestled in the safekeeping of the enchanted forest surrounding them up to this moment. They’d observed through their fearless leadership that great acts happened first in the imagination. In this moment, Darius had again captured their attention to invoke their sleepy minds into wakefulness.
He looked out, over the crowd, taking a moment to appreciate each of the familiar faces before they came to rest on his son. He’d grown so much. and they… His eyes danced back over the crowd. They’d improved their town so much together. cultivated the feeding fields. Built gardens. Improved the paths leading to and from the river’s edge at the mouth of the forest.
He smiled fondly into the mass. “I know we are strong, and I know the loss of our brothers and sister will need to be mourned, but I put them to rest with honor.” A woman choked on a sob.
Darius found her sorrowful eyes and met them with compassion as she hugged a small child to her chest. “They will grow into the trees and the forests I scattered their ashes upon. I told their stories to the heavens until the last ember scattered its ashes to the wind. The smoke carried their legacies to the ears at the edge of the lands.”
A murmur of gratitude over his lovely words filled the scene. It had been so long since they’d heard such things. The trees danced in the shadows of the firelight as if to confirm his statements.
“I know it will take some time… but, we must return to the places I have been.” As he finished his final statement the crowd erupted with protest.
“No!”
“How could you say that!”
“We’ve lost so many already!”
“Let us recover from this moment!”
“We must grieve!”
“Why would we risk it?”
One voice rang out above them all. “How do you expect women and children to cross mountains that swallowed out best hunters whole?”
The rebellious tone smoldered above the silhouette of shadowed bodies. “Can’t you see that the town has enough troubles it’s faced in your absence? You’ve only just returned and you wish to leave again already… with so much uncertainty in the air?”
The crowd went silent, listening for Darius’ answer. The leader strode to the edge of the firelight engulfing his platform searching the crowd.
“Who said that?” The crowd parted, leaving a youth, not much older than his son to stand alone. It was the stable boy. His feet were planted stubbornly to the ground.
Pfieffer. Rael closed his fists around the name hissing through his mind.
The boys gaze was intense, haunted by something that made him look older than his years suggested. “I don’t know what unfinished business you’ve left behind you sir, but to leave this place, and enter past a forest we know very little about.”
His eyes darted beyond Darius and into the shadow of the treeline. “It isn’t… safe.” He finished.
Again, the villagers began to murmur among themselves.
The hunter followed the boys’ gaze over his shoulder to the forest edge he’d just come from. He shifted his feet over the dirt to face the glistening trees. He set his hands thoughtfully to his hips for a space of time before answering back.
“Alright, tell me what you know of this rising risk, boy?” Darius asked. Still looking into the silhouetted forest beyond the entrance of the village.
A nervous quiet filled the gap until Darius turned around quizzically to find the youth much closer to him than before.
He stared up at the village hero since he only reached the man’s shoulder in height. Pfieffer bit down on his lip until it formed a rigid line. Darius knew the look well, he smiled more warmly at the youth. He was holding back a dam of words as any good leader does in the throughs of uncertainty. As if confirming the leaders’ intuition the boy looked over his shoulder toward the crowd before his shoulders slumped.
“Would you like to share a fire in the great hut with me?” Darius suggested more quietly. He crossed his arms over his chest, his smile widened as the youth’s shoulders fell into a relaxed posture, clearly relieved he nodded vigorously.
“Alright, let’s go.” Darius signaled him to follow.
A heavy grumble rose up from the town square.
“NO!”
“We want to know!”
“We demand to hear it!”
Yes, tell us!”
Darius placed a hand on Pfieffers’ shoulder. “This is a matter for leadership. Go back to your huts, you’ve struggled enough as of late, we all need our rest. Sleep easy tonight and we will meet again in the morning,”
The crowd began to disperse, lazy grumbles drifted through the air but it was late, morning would soon be rising, and how they did love their sleep. So, they did as they were told.
“Ezekiel will you take Rael with you for one more night?” Ezekiel nodded, smiling at the boy pushing his way to the front of the crowd.
“Of course I will Master Darius,” Ezekiel assured. Rael trotted to Darius’ side.
“Father! No! Why can’t I stay with you!” He cried out. “If he can know, I should as well!” He finished his protest weakly with a; “I won’t be a bother I promise!”
Darius watched his son with an expression dangerously close to disappointment until the boys eyes fell to the ground. Concealing the tears threatening to fall out and embarrass him in front of his hero. “I’ll go.” Rael murmured.
Darius fought the urge to scoop him up. He isn’t a child anymore. He’s growing quickly and if he is to make the journey, strength is key. The hunter dutifully balled his fists as the boy walked slowly away.
Darius moved quickly to catch up to him before the fork in the path would lead them in separate directions. He caught his shoulder with a strong hand. “Good night son,”
Rael nodded, never lifting his eyes, as they were still plagued with pesky tears. He turned to leave. “Rael,” His fathers’ voice boomed, spinning him in his tracks in the hope that he’d changed his mind.
“You’ve grown son!” His fathers’ eyes sparkled at him, full of love and admiration that made Raels’ back straighten from its slump. He returned Darius’ warm smile and watched him turn resolutely in his own direction. He watched his father move efficiently over the cobblestone steps leading to the high village at the base of the ancient Oak at its center. The splendid roots grounding it traced through the path as a constant reminder to all to be aware of their steps.
Raels’ fists clenched more firmly with each step his father took until he disappeared over the top and into the buildings above. His frustration around the idea of Pfieffer sharing a fire with his father growing until a new thought formed…
He wouldn’t be left out… not again…