The Wanderer, Part 32

1 Comment / storytelling, The Wanderer, Wanderer Series, Writing

The Wanderer, Part 32

This story is part of a series, this is the thirty-second part.

You can read the first story here: The Wanderer, Part 1

and the most recent story here: The Wanderer, Part 31

Tas was standing, walking through a field with freshly tilled soil. The sky was blackened and it was night and he knew he was dream walking.

It was so dark… Tas could feel his forearm hurting; he pulled up his sleeve to look closely he saw that the wyrm tattoo on his arm was smoking. But the smoke seemed to fade right into the dark mist that surrounded him.

His eyes began to adjust to the darkness and to pierce through the shadowy mist. He could see that the landscape was nearly empty, but also that it seemed to be pulled apart by the wind. Everything seemed to turn to dust in the shadowy mist that threw itself into the spaces. He looked closely at his own skin and sighed. His skin was resilient to the shadows, but he was in the nether. But it was glowing.

Once again he felt empowered by the shadow. He closed his eyes and felt a rush flow through his spine, and he stood a bit taller with more energy than he could remember having something in his hands.

He suddenly remembered how he arrived, and looked up only to see the darkened sky twinkling back at him. He wondered if something else was behind this; he felt like it was no coincide he had arrived here. He scanned the horizon, mostly in futility. The entire landscape seems to be deserted except for the tundra plants and clouds of swirling, dark mist. The moon was high in the sky, but was only a sliver so that it could barely be seen and provided no useful light through the thick misty shadows.

He walked into the hazy wind slowly, pushing against it onto the horizon. On the path there were hills and Tas figured that if he elevated himself, he could at least get a feel for the surrounding area. But he wasn’t hungry or tired, or thirsty; he felt like he’d just slept all night and eaten plenty the night before.

He walked quickly through the hard tundra, and didn’t even look up as he walked quickly ahead. He heard a flapping sound above, him; something was stalking him. He looked up to see a small dragon flying above him, starting to descend to his level. Rings of smoked blew from the creatures nostrils and his eyes pierced into Tas’ as he dove. The creature got closer and Tas could see his horns and tendrils extending into his scaly backside. Then he saw the claws and teeth, which looked sharper than razor blades.

Suddenly Ice appeared on the horizon, his normally white fur was now completely black and seemed to flow with the wind, without being affected by it. Even his eyes were black now and Tas was a bit taken aback. But Ice sniffed him and curled around his leg as usual, then jumped up to lick Tas directly in his right nostril. Tas had no idea how the wolf had gotten here, but he wasn’t surprised. Ice hadn’t come to them by accident; Yao had hammered that into Tas’ brain. Ice was a part of his destiny.

Ice was watching the hovering dragon as it circled, ready to attack. But when the horned and winged beast landed it looked at them without menace, its stance was completely defensive and the dragon buried itself in its own wings.

Then, it spoke,

“Tas and Ice, I presume. Welcome to my cave. It’s quite spacious for me, but I have learnt disdain for the wretched nether.” The dragon snorted and huffed plumes of smoke into the tearing wind and his eyes were wildly chasing the clouds in the sky.

“Yes, I am Tas, this is my companion, Ice. His wolf snarled at the beast as Tas motioned to his white haired companion. The dragon continued to look defensive, but Tas could see the creature’s eyes glinting with the desire to talk. He took a step back and felt a push of hands at his back stopping him. He looked behind and saw Yao driving him forward. Behind him, walking slowly was Yaina.

The dragon looked even more curious now, it stepped closer and said in his slimy and slithery voice, “Yao, how wonderful to see you again!”

Yao laughed heartily, seeming unconcerned about the dragon’s presence. “You are the first to have said that to me in a long time,” Yao winked at Tas. “So you have brought the boy back into the nether. To set yourself free?” Yao looked sternly at the dragon.

“Yao, I am hurt,” the dragon said with dismay. “Have you not know me to be of noble intention? Haven’t you felt the abundance of my generosity?” The dragon’s voice had sharpened over the length of his speech, sounding terrifyingly unappreciated at the end.

Yao laughed. “I suppose I have not, dragon. Perhaps a demonstration is in order?”

The dragon looked incredulous for a moment, then a deep grin formed across his face like a breeze sweeping through a valley in preparation for a storm. His teeth glinted and the dragon replied, “Of course, Yao. It would be my pleasure.” The dragon looked as if in deep contemplation for a moment. “Though I do wish you remembered the sword I gave you when you fought against Melkar. As I remember, it helped you to slay him.”

“It did,” Yao replied, “but it also destroyed itself in the process, almost killing me. You think I would be so quick as to give my apprentice to your will without first knowing your intention?”

“My intention is the same as yours, Yao. To end Melkar.”

“I do not wish to end him, dragon. What then, is your name? And are you a demon?”

The dragon’s chest puffed as he heard Yao say the last word. He truly looked hurt now. With a slow and depressed sounding air, the enormous shadowy dragon responded “I am named Arcartre; it means sly one in my parent’s tongue. I am a shadow dragon, slave to the nether since times that are now forgotten; however, once I was a black drake. But that was an age before.” Images circled of dragons and men fighting together, red, green, and yellow banners. “There was once many dragons in your world, Tas; though I suspect that now, there are very few.”

“Do you wish to put a stop to this shadow fiend hunting your both or do you prefer to be pursued by this wretched shadowy demon for the entirety of your existence? That creature, might I add, is much different in creation and purpose than myself.” Arcatre huffed again.

“You know this answer Arcartre. Did I say that right?”

Call me Arc, my young friend.

Yao spoke suddenly, “I remember you more clearly now,” Yao looked at the dragon with squinty eyes, “you nearly betrayed us at the end of the battle. It didn’t seem to matter to you much if Fei lived or died.”

The dragon looked cold heartedly at Yao, “I did what I had to do to survive, Yao. Let me give your apprentice what I could not give to Fei.”

Yao huffed. Then nodded. Tas walked forward to greet the dragon properly.

Arcartre looked at Tas playfully at first, then entered his mind. Tas sat and his eyes rolled back into his skull.

Hello boy. It is a shame we haven’t met until now, but I will show you the way that the shadows ebb and flow. You may yet become a great weaver, if you are properly practiced. For now, you will spend your days in the nether and learn what I have to teach you. Unless you wish to die at the hands of your foe.

Tas looked at the dragon, but said nothing. He didn’t have to; he knew that this creature would teach him things that he could never unlearn; and things that Yao didn’t know. Tas looked at Yao, hesitantly. Should I follow this beast Yao?

“As much as I wish I could say no, I don’t think we have a choice Tas. Melkar could find us any day in the Bahar. And you must be strong when that twisted creature comes after you.”

Tas looked at the dragon with some excitement now; there was no turning back. There had never been any turning back. He thought of his mother and father in his village and knew that they would want him to go further, to push himself to his fullest potential. He thought of his mother the night before the fire and knew, this was his path. “Show me, Arcartre. What do you know of the shadow?” The dragon lowered his head and neck and Tas climbed on. He put his right hand in the center of the dragon’s wings and felt his mind enter into the dragon’s.

Arcartre leapt into the air and with a sweeping flap of his wings launched them straight up into the dark winds of the nether.

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The Wanderer, Part 31

1 Comment / Story, storytelling, Wanderer Series, Writing

The Wanderer, Part 31

This story is part of a series, this is the thirty-first part.

You can read the first story here: The Wanderer, Part 1

and the most recent story here: The Wanderer, Part 30

Tas almost never dreamt anymore. Occasionally he would have a dream in the early morning, but they were nothing supernatural. His arm occasionally, but the wyrm remained dormant and he hadn’t experienced any fading into shadow or dreamwalking. He was beginning to grow much tougher in the winter cold, always pushing against the wind and the falling snow. He was strong now, and Tas knew that Ice made him much stronger. The wolf was like his eyes in the snow, they worked in unison now.

Yao was finally tiring from the hard work on moving through the snow each day. Tas could tell that he was busy planning their next move. Though he had no idea what it was.

On the way out of the door, Tas wacked Yao in the head with the end of his stick, causing a big yelp from the old man and a reflexive grab of Tas’ collar. Yao pulled him in tight and laughed, though Tas could see that the old man was weary. “You’re tired, Yao. I’ve never seen you so physically deflated.”

“Yes, I am tired. The time has almost come for us to leave these mountains and to move on. You have gotten strong in the past months and your hunting is now better than mine.” Yao glared at Ice. “The wolf makes you inhumanely good at finding prey.”

Now Yao turned to Tas more seriously, as though he’d been waiting to ask something that was now finally coming up. “Have you dreamt lately? Has the wyrm wriggled free in your dreams?”

“No, Yao, nothing. I haven’t dreamt in months!” It was weird, now that Yao mentioned it, he couldn’t remember the last dream he had. “And the wyrm has been completely meaningless for me. I’m not sure if it is even still a part of me.”

“Oh, it most certainly is Tas. I am worried, the absence of action is the same as drastic action in cases of shadow magic. You may be sitting on a time bomb… with a demonic nightmare just waiting around for one night when you slip too deeply into your sleep. It’s just like Melkar to wait as long as he needs to in order to surprise me.”

“Then we will just have to be ready for him.” Tas said eagerly, scratching Ice behind his ear while he said it.

“Yes, Tas, we will. You have gotten stronger, but it may be time to return to the monastery. Fei could help you to learn how to use the dreamwalking now, instead of simply avoiding it.” Yao’s eyes sparkled with possibility. But Tas was enjoying his time in the snow and he loved the thrill of the hunt. He would have to pack lots of jerky with him to go; he didn’t think he could return to the old ways of only small amounts of rice each day. His body had grown quite a bit and he was no longer a child. He was now a young man, as Yaina liked to remind him.

They set out into the day with the scolding morning winds, ripping through Tas’ furs as if they were napkins. Yao’s face immediately sank to the snow and they trudged off together, separate from the main pack of hunters, but moving in the same direction. Ice led, as always; Tas bridged the wolf and Yao and made sure that everyone was in the proper position in case of a stampede or of a herd moving though the area. Tas trudged slowly using his spear Ice began to take off in search for a scent while Tas and Yao looked for tracks. Ice always found something first these days.

This was the coldest day Tas had experienced. They all had to keep moving to stay warm; even Ice was grimacing against the wind. Yao lagged a little, but he looked the least affected by the conditions.

After a few more minutes, Ice picked up a trail and they moved through the icy desert until they stumbled onto a small cave. Ice stopped at the mouth of the small rock formation and sniffed before they arrived. He looked excited, but also very wary. As Tas approached the rocks, he could see that the opening was large enough for a bigger animal.

As Yao arrived last, unusual for the old man, but Tas knew that the cold was taking its toll on the old man. They would have to leave this place soon, as Yao had said.

Yao scoffed as he reached the mouth of the cave, and began to peer down expressionlessly. Tas couldn’t seem to make out what the old man was thinking, even though he knew Yao better than he knew himself at this point. Or at least close.

“There is something dark down there.” Yao said slowly.

“What do you mean?” Tas said slowly. His mind instantly rushed to Grethatch, Melkar and the nether-magic that they had encountered at the monastery. “Is it from the nether?”

“Yes.” Yao said instantly. “I can taste the shadow in the air.” It smelt like rot and dampness to Tas, but he didn’t know better. The only nether beings he had encountered were once human; except for the wyrm, which hadn’t so much as moved since his last nightmare.

As Tas thought about the wyrm, it began to squirm in his arm. He was terrified; it was obviously responding to whatever was down below.

Suddenly a sound echoed through the cave; a raspy and chilling breath that made Tas’ heart shudder. His eyes began to go dark, though they were still open and a loud ringing sound took over his hearing. He looked at Yao, who seemed to be yelling, but was making no sound. Another breath and now Tas was shaking uncontrollably. He could feel Yao’s hand on his face, but Tas had to focus completely on breathing, because he was grasping for air. Then Tas felt Ice lay next to him and with a sigh that broke through the shaking, passed out.

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The Wanderer, Part 29

Leave a Comment / Story, The Wanderer, Wanderer Series, Writing

The Wanderer, Part 29

This story is part of a series, this is the twenty-ninth part.

You can read the first story here: The Wanderer, Part 1

and the most recent story here: The Wanderer, Part 28

Yao and Tas readied their gear for tomorrow, another day of hunting in the ice-cold mountains. They took turns to wash quickly, then dressed to eat with Yao’s cousins, the princes. He was even looking forward to the meal.

After washing from the day of hunting, Tas found himself missing Ice; he hadn’t ever felt this way. He just wanted to spend time with her, but knew that he would be busy tonight. But he was happy that he had a new friend. Yaina had taken well to the news that there would be someone new around to take care of and was already feeding Ice before Tas had a chance to think about it, much to the glee and confusion of the small pup. Ice would miss and accidentally scratch Yaina, but Yaina didn’t seem to mind. After a few cuts, she rolled her sleeves down and that kept the pup’s teeth from cutting her skin. She was even more keen to care for Ice when Yao had announced that she was an orphan now and needed a new mother. Tas said his goodbye to both Ice and Yaina, then adorned his furry cloak and followed Yao back into the icy wind.

The walk back to Yaina’s was a brutal ordeal and Tas was exhausted to say the least. But it was still early in the evening and they would feast with the cousins, Idril and Adal, and hopefully regain their energy. Yao had brought the unnamed male pup with them and they were all huddling close as they strode against the wind to the palace.

They arrived a quarter of an hour later at the huge structure, iced stone walls rising high into the night. There were three blacksmith forges surrounding the castle, running on wood from the immense forest behind the outcropping that housed the foundation. The mountain was still full of huge trees and Tas couldn’t help but wonder what kind of animals they might encounter in dark woods.

The group of three knocked on the iron door then Yao entered; he led the way into a dark antechamber and seemingly empty hall. The room was enormous, so big that Tas couldn’t see the ceiling in the darkness. But he could hear a dim sound in the back of the castle and Yao had continued in its direction. Tas scuttled to catch-up and found himself in another hall. Yao was just slipping through a doorway to his right and he followed the old man quickly, grabbing the door before he closed it and shutting it behind him.

The cousins didn’t notice Yao at first. They were both taken off guard and erupted into expressions of exasperation when they saw him sneaking a leg of elk from the table. They welcomed Tas and Yao to sit and feast with them, without question. Tas had never eaten venison before, but it was delicious and he enjoyed himself enormously while the cousins and Yao discussed the circumstances under which they had found Jaar; Adal named him immediately, but Yao kept Jaar in his jacket while he ate.

They all ate fairly quickly and the twin’s meal was taken away by their two maids while Yao was the last to finish. Tas took his time finishing the stew; it warmed his insides and seemed to finally get rid of the cold from their long day of trekking through the snow.

Finally Yao removed the small pup from his pocket so that it could eat some of the remains of the elk and both of the cousins hushed with astonishment.

“Yao, where did you find this glorious little arctic wolf?” Idril moved closer and started to pet it softly and tenderly, much to Tas’ surprise. “Of course, he will only be small for a couple of months. These are wolves.” He started to examine the long teeth and their eyes were silver as ice.

Adal picked the Jaar up, a little less tenderly, but that didn’t seem to upset it. It licked Adal’s nose, then he lowered it slowly while giggling. “What an interesting little guy. He’s so small. He’ll be a hunter soon?”

“Yao, this is the perfect age, thank you for your gift. He will be fun to have on our hunts,” Adal stared at his husband. “It would seem that destiny had a hand in this. You bring a white wolf back with you from your first day of hunting? We owe the gods a great honor! Who could have predicted it? We are honored to receive it Uncle!”

Yao smiled fully and embraced his cousin. But Tas was more interested in what Adal said about the gods; he wanted to know if he meant it. It seemed to Tas that everything was going very well, but as soon as Yao turned his back on his cousins, he expression turned dark and they left immediately, leaving the pup behind in the arms of Adal.

“We will return tomorrow night.” and Yao left without a backward glance. Tas shrugged at the stunned cousins as he left, then follow Yao.

They left through the same entrance and entered into the cold night without a backward glance. Yao trudged off into the darkness, forcing Tas to catch up; Tas was still confused.

“What’s the matter Yao? Why were you so quick to leave?”

“It hurts me to leave the poor wolf there; he will be cage and most of his life will be as a slave.” Yao looked back at Tas with tears in his eye. “I fear I have condemned that poor wolf to a life of enslavement.”

“Not all beings get to be free.” Tas said suddenly, surprising himself. He remembered his home and the small farms around it; many animals were locked up there. Many of his friends were slaves. He knew that what he said was right.

He returned back to the house, happy to greet Ice, who was still awake, but Yaina was startled as they entered. It was late now and Tas went to his room, where he slept in a warm feather mattress and comforter and Ice and Yaina joined hims and kept each other warm in the cold.

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The Wanderer, Part 28

1 Comment / storytelling, The Wanderer, Wanderer Series, Writing

The Wanderer, Part 28

This story is part of a series, this is the twenty-eighth part.

You can read the first story here: The Wanderer, Part 1

and the most recent story here: The Wanderer, Part 27

Tas continued through the thick snow barely tracing Yao’s footsteps through the darkening sky. They were nearing the end of the day and hadn’t found anything yet; nothing since they saw the three men killed by the bear. The continued against the mountain, traveling back down the steep hills and slopes, but still alert for anything that they could hunt. Tas could tell that Yao had gotten very tired; his pace had slowed by at least half and he kept catching up to the old man. The wind started to bear down heavily on them and they continued their descent crouched against the side of the mountain to shield from the wind as much as they could.

Tas looked up the mountain and saw a larger beast roaming, some kind of white wolf. It pushed forward against the side of the mountain like them, but kept its head lowered and continued forward quickly through the harsh winds. It was far above them, but the majestic animal was hard to take his eyes from.

Tas continued on a higher slope through the snow, watch the wolf as it moved against the wind and off into the distance. Yao was slowing down again, Tas could tell he was distracted.

He unwrapped his mouth from his leather neck-strap and spoke loudly in Tas’ ear, though just loud enough to compete with the raging wind. “We should track the Wolf’s den!” Yao shouted. “We could find a kill to steal!”

Tas nodded, though he was skeptical. This was one of the first times that he had ever hunted and he found the whole ordeal to be completely pointless. There was far more waiting, moving slowly, and stalking than he had initially expected.

Yao moved at a faster pace now, their daylight was running out and Tas knew that they would be fighting the clock to return to Bahar before dark. It seemed to get colder every minute.

They found the wolf’s prints easily and followed them back over the mountains, though after 30 minutes they turned to moved down a slope. Another 30 minutes of wading through the dense snow and they reached a rocky outcropping; the den.

Yao began slowly, moving in towards the sheltered outcropping and then motioned for Tas to do the same. Tas could hear a faint whispering sound through the stone, almost as if someone were yelping inside. Yao looked back at Tas, having heard the same sounds and they continued forward. There were pups in the small cave. Yao found them, maybe a month old, hiding in a warm thicket of brush, leaves, and pine needles. There were three of them, one was asleep and the other two were yelping and trying to move away for Yao, but unsuccessfully.

Yao picked one up by the back of its neck and held it up for Tas to see. A pure white coat was growing heavily over some spots and mostly pink skin. It was cold in the cave, but the pups seemed to be alright. Tas pet one for a moment, then found himself being bit savagely by the pup’s already long canines. It began to play with his tattered leather jacket and Tas realized that it was snuggling against him and trying to get warm. Almost as if it liked him.

Yao saw the whole thing and started to get that stern look that meant he was thinking hard. He grabbed the second pup that was awake; this one was a boy and much more rambunctious. Almost immediately Yao had to lower the pup quickly back to the ground because it was biting him savagely in the hand. Tas’ pup was rather more quiet and alert.

We should bring these two with us. We can train them to hunt with the Bahar, and perhaps you can train that one.

Tas was stunned. The possibility of taking this animal with him had never even crossed his mind.

“What about the mother? Won’t she worry?” Tas was not happy to split apart a small family; it reminded him of his mother.

“These pups have a much greater chance of survival with us. They could be hunted within the next few weeks; most Bahar would eat wolf pups; or they would likely die to the elements. Life in the high mountains is not easy Tas.”

Tas nodded, though he didn’t really understand. It felt wrong to take this pup from its mother, but like Yao said, it would probably die if he didn’t.

“We should just bring the one.” Tas offered. He felt guilty about taking one, but if he left the other two, he could feel better about it. He was already starting to think of names.

“No, we have to take two.” Yao sighed. “My cousins will require a payment if we are to eat tonight. We must either kill one to eat, or offer it as a gift to them. They have quite a large bestiary actually; the pup would be a hunter and have a nice life in the palace.”

Tas was very sad to leave the cave with the young wolf pup in his hands; he felt as if he were robbing a man of his most precious jewel; but Yao continued to remind him that it was for the best. Yao hadn’t been wrong yet. Tas sighed, then left the last pup behind and went with the old man.

Even as he felt guilty, he could feel the young pup warming herself against his chest and he thought of the perfect name, Ice. He smiled then said to the pup inside of his jacket; “What do you think of Ice? Do you like it?” A small yelp confirmed his suspicions; this was no average animal and no small coincidence. Tas looked up at the sky, darkness was settling heavily on the landscape. They continued against the harsh winds and Tas felt the pup now keeping him warm as they trudged through the snow; it was colder and windier than anything Tas had ever felt. He was so thankful to have the pup to keep him warm now that he began to forget his hesitations about taking the pup from its mother. He began to get a funny feeling that he would need Ice far more than she would need him. He shuttered against the cold, sure that they had another hour to trek before they would arrive in Bahar. But the pup kept him warm and he enjoyed checking in with her every few minutes.

“What do you think Ice? Is there a god?”

The pup was silent this time; perhaps she had fallen asleep. Yao was starting to move faster now so Tas doubled his speed and continued towards the old man, with his new companion wrapped snuggly against his chest. Into the cold they marched, against the wind and ready for this long day to come to an end.

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The Wanderer, Part 26

Leave a Comment / philosophy, Wanderer Series, Writing

This story is part of a series, this is the twenty-sixth part.

You can read the first story here: The Wanderer, Part 1

and the most recent story here: The Wanderer, Part 25

The Wanderer Continued…

Tas continued his leisurely stroll down the last of the stairs and into a magnificently adorned dining hall with silver and crystal furnishings that glinted and played with the candlelight. Yao kept his eyes fixed on his cousins, but Tas could help looking around at all of the marvelous paintings and sculptures woven into the fine architecture and decor of this palace.

Tas brought himself back from his imagination at the perfect moment; his feet nearly caught the edge of the final stair which would have sent him tumbling down and embarrassing himself completely in front of Yao’s obviously very important family. He took a deep breath, then looked up towards the table and saw it garnished with a feast of several large and lean meats that he had never seen, poached eggs, raw, and smoked fish, porridge, assortments of cheeses, a few different colors of yogurts, and a vast selection of fruit that was certainly not local to their cold mountains, but very ripe nonetheless.

They were each sat by a butler who then filled Tas’ glasses with three different liquids. One cup was glass and tall with a big bottom and was filled with a velvety dark red liquid; another was shorter, again a glass but this time filled with ice and a golden brown liquid; the final was a brighter yellow with pulp and placed into a coconut shell and then scraped for him by the butler. Tas was open-mouthed at the end of the process. Both of Yao’s cousins laughed easily at Tas’ surprise.

“What has startled you my dear little friend?” The taller and slightly more handsome one said. Tas remembered that his name was Idril? Yeah, that’s it.

“I’ve never seen such a well dressed slave,” Tas said slowly, not sure how it would be received. But he continued, “I’ve never seen a coconut that wasn’t already eaten. What is this orange stuff that’s inside of it. I’ve never seen this much food!” He stood up in exclamation, his eyes wide as he staring at the table. “I can’t believe this exists!”

The other brother laughed, “Well you will see lots of things over the next few days that you have never seen before, Tas. Bahar is very unique, one of a kind in this harsh world.” He winked and spoke as if he’d said it a thousand times. “Consider Iril and I your cousins. You are royalty in this city and peasants will have to obey you and your guard, which you will be assigned.” Adal, who was a bit darker, but shorter, stronger, and a bit uglier. Tas couldn’t say why, except that he was.

“Well thank you…” Tas looked down. He didn’t know what to say. He felt ashamed that he had said Iril name wrong and drooped his forehead towards the floor.

“That’s enough.” Iril said commandingly gathering Tas’ attention, then standing. He was very serious and had dropped his brother’s semi-joking tone. “As our honored guest, you will train and eventually hunt as royalty, as will Yao if he stay” There was no room for negotation, but Yao was fuming. “This is the highest honor we can give to you,” Iril said, looking right at Yao. “Outsiders and the banished are normally enslaved here, consider yourself lucky uncle. But after you are fully trained… let’s say after 40 new moons, Tas will raid with the hunt. 40 moons of hunting will be your payment to Bahar then you may do as you wish Tas.”

Yao smiled at Tas from across the table, as if he had hoped for this. He looked more smug than Tas had ever seen him, just like Tas’ father looked after he correctly guess a dice roll in the local watering hole back home. Tas couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed. He would train to hunt and kill with these snow warrior and… Yao was royalty? Everything was still so fuzzy and unclear. He was confused, Yao was poor, not some royal lord. His head began to hurt and imagination receded to make room for reality and Tas realized he was starving.

Tas saw that Adal had already served himself a full bed of cantaloupe, melon, and pineapple and was eating them leisurely so Tas grabbed a bright red piece of smoked salmon and put it on the plate and began to eat it with his hands before Yao stopped him. Both Adal and Iril roared loudly in racuous laughter as Yao taught Tas to use a fork and knife, much to the surprise of Tas. He couldn’t believe how useful, but hard to wield a fork was! He spent several minutes trying to puncture his salmon until he gave up and snuck bites with his hands while the others weren’t looking.

After another 10 minutes of banter about eating and the proper way to use a fork and knife, Adal spoke in a more serious tone. “We will train you as our kin Tas, because Yao has returned. But you must know why Yao was originally banished from Bahar. It is his home, you know?”

“He told me. I thought he was banished because he refused to hunt? He wanted to live in peace didn’t he?” Tas asked.

“Not exactly,” Iril responded this time, his gaze fixed on Yao as he talked. “But that is the general idea. You see, Yao gave up his family’s name. Our name, when Yao was going to be our advisor and assist us in ruling by taking a head position in the military. He refused us every offer we made.” Yao nodded in the background while Adal scowled.

“Why are you so proud, still uncle? It makes no sense to me how you can not see how your decision had set our entire family back a great deal. Do you care nothing for your family?” Adal was obviously furious, but kept his tone calm and under control.

“I care for my own self more than I care about my family, if you must know nephew. I also care more for certain things than I do for my self, but money, power, advisory roles, applying military strategy, and commanding are not any of those things. There isn’t a single day where I regret my decision. I spend hours in the morning meditating and enjoying the trees, eating small portions of things that I find delicious, and seeing place after place after place. I am sorry if that does not align for your vision of my future, but I do not care. I will not lead your armies to pillage the lands of this world. Ever.” Yao talked slowly and with nearly perfect annunciation. He finished and a solemn and deep silence came over the table. Both of the brothers seemed semi-shocked, but neither spoke. It was almost like a long-standing mystery had just been revealed and they both wanted it to remain a mystery.

Tas didn’t know if it was a good time, but he had stopped caring; he was stuffed so full that he couldn’t eat another bite. He asked loudly, so they could all hear him, “What were you before you left, Yao? Some kind of leader?”

“I was one of the highest respected military generals in the hunting army.” Yao said happily to Tas, as if the other two weren’t directly across the table. “But I’m happy to no longer be a part of this,” Yao waved at the walls around him, then at the food, then at his nephews, who looked back at Yao disgruntled. They were starting to look a bit angry.

“Well uncle, now I remember why you were almost executed,” Adal said shortly. “Although this is quite a bit less embarrassing, I must say.”

“And to think we welcomed you with such a royal flair! What a waste. Even the salmon was cooked perfectly. Did you even eat any meat uncle?” Iril’s face looked somewhat saddened, even though he was obviously joking.

“He never really eats,” Tas said. “I want to get to training though, just because Yao didn’t like living with you doesn’t mean I won’t!” He smiled then had one last cherry. He felt like he wanted to puke, but just suffered through his breathing instead. He was in pain, but supremely satisfied, in a way that he had never been before.

“Tomorrow, Tas.” Adal said. “You’ll see where all this comes from.” He waved his arms grandly at the dining hall and Tas felt a great sense of wonder at all of the huge tapestries and countless antlers and dead animal heads of all shapes and sizes lining the wall. It was truly magnificent. Tas wondered if he could bring himself back here while he dreamt, so he could eat without feeling like he was ready to explode.

Yao left silently, Tas followed. Tas smiled at the brothers and they smiled back, Iril even let a grin fly across his face as Yap and Tas walked from the palace and returned to Yaina’s house further down the mountain in the cold chill and shrieking wind of the dark night.

The Wanderer, Part 26 Read More »

The Wanderer, Part 25

Leave a Comment / Story, Wanderer Series, Writing

This story is part of a series, this is the twenty-fourth part.

You can read the first story here: The Wanderer, Part 1

and the most recent story here: The Wanderer, Part 24

The Wanderer Continued…

They walked all morning while the sun rose over the horizon and then proceeded to cross the sky changing from a deep red to an outstanding whitish yellow that Tas couldn’t stare at. The snow around them reflected the bright light, but it was still freezing on the hilly paths. Most paths that they had taken were completely frozen over, and occasionally they would see a hut built into the side of the mountain as they climbed.

Yao whispered behind him, “these are Bahar’s nobility.” As they passed several built together, then they could see a bigger group of what must have been 7 enormous huts built into the mountain. They turned a corner to the right, on their path around the mountain and Tas saw a huge castle-like structure and surrounding townhouses looming in the shadows of the giant mountain that rose above it. There were many spires, but of them only two were high enough to travel at least quarter of the way up the huge mountain to stand against its imposing majesty; they were attached to a gargantuan cathedral build into the side of the granite cliff-face with stained glass windows to play with the light of the sun. Tas could tell it was the kings’ castle, but also enjoyed seeing the capital town as a whole.

The buildings in the city were only a couple of stories, except for the three that were much larger than the rest, but most of the others looked like they were different parts of the same building. The castle, the tavern, and the stables were larger and far more detached than anything else and the castle imposed its huge spires over the rest of the village. As Tas and Yao walked through the small city they found a tavern and Yao moved inside while Tas chaffed at his heels. Yao immediately moved towards the back of the bar with his head lowered; Tas followed the old man into the shadowed corners at the far side of the bar.

As soon as Tas sat, Yao made a motion for him to stay seated, then got up to buy drinks, most likely the local ales. Yao would likely come back with enough beer for them to drink as much as they wanted and then would share only a small dinner. But instead of coming back with just beers, the barkeep came as well. The beers the keep carried were large though.

“So you’re Tas, Yao’s charge?” Tas nodded at the burly and muscular man with hair growing particularly long out of his shoulders and back.

“He is my teacher.” Tas said happily, smiling at Yao and not giving way to any of the ways that he felt betrayed to left behind; he didn’t have time for those feelings right now.

“I’m Sarjin, I own the bar here in Bahar. Nice to meet you, Tas, nice to meet you. I hear you are quite the student? You have traveled far with Yao, haven’t you?” He waited for Tas’ reply.

Tas initially nodded his head at everything Sarjin said, but when it became his turn to speak he could, or wouldn’t; either way, he was silent. Yao scoffed.

“He travels where and when he wants with me Sarjin. How do the details concern you my friend?”

Sarjin shrugged. “They don’t.” The way he spoke made Tas hair stand up, as if Sarjin wanted it to mean more than what he said. “I was just hoping to make a friend.”

“Well my name is Tas.” He was sick of Yao talking for him; it was time he made some friends of his own. “and I’ll be your friend.” Tas stuck out his hand to grasp Sarjin’s. The hairy man laughed, then gripped Tas’ hand hard enough to completely stop blood flow.

“Good to meet you boy. I’ll be your friend, but probably the only in all of Bahar.” Sarjin let out a chuckle as he let Tas’ hand go.

“No.” Tas said simply. “Yaina is my friend too.” She is my favorite friend.” Tas looked down at his hand “She doesn’t hurt me when we talk.”

Sarjin looked at Tas with a peculiar glance, one that Tas couldn’t explain or understand. Yao took over the conversation.

“I am going to meet my cousins right now.” Yao took a step closer to avoid being heard by anyone other than Tas. “Is there anything I know should? Any recent…events?”

Sarjin took a moment from pouring another man’s beer and took his money into the register. Then he leaned back over to Yao’s ear, “Its been oddly silent up there, old man. I’m not sure what is happening, but I’m sure its unusual.” He nodded at Yao, then said loudly, “thanks for stopping by old friend” and went back to serving. Yao left looking pleased, but also a bit confused.

They continued for a time to a large steel gate that led to the top of one of the tallest spires. Tas looked straight up along the heights of the pole to see it rise into the sky. Three guards waited at the gate and asked Yao what his business was. But all Yao had to do was say his name and they let him pass. Tas walked in behind him, boots clanging on the hard stone floor.

They walked through a dark corridior for a while, the only light came through the small slits on the side of the walkway. Then they came to a flight of stairs. It was unending. Yao set off first, looking like he was avoiding thinking of the innumerable steps before them altogether. Tas followed, but more curious as to how many there would be rather than dreading the walk.

They arrived at the top after about 30 minutes of climbing, each was panting, though both were weathered by their long days hiking through the mountains. Another decorated guard waited for them at the top, then took them through a corridor and into a waiting room. They walked over a velvet purple carpet that looked pristine in the candlelight. There was minimal sunlight because of the massive stone walls.

After another few minutes, a guard entered through the door at the other side and took them into the courtroom, bigger and more extravagant than anything Tas had ever seen. Two men, both iron clad and in full raiment greeted them, obviously the kings. Yao bowed to his knees and Tas followed suit.

Each had a fur cape, one was dark blue and the other dark red, but each had an unmistakable silver crown adorning their shortly cropped heads. They also had sleek steel armor connected by fur coated leather joints.

“Oh get up you old goat. What a pleasure it is to see you uncle!” The one in red embraced Yao while the second waited his turn.

“You’ve gotten older since we last say each other.”

Yao frowned, “you have obviously gotten stupider! Iril you should know by now never to insult those wiser than you.” His eyes twinkled with mischief as he spoke.

“Yes, Iril, I’m afraid I have to agree with Yao, you have gotten rather idiotic lately. He has a new girlfriend.”

“And you don’t Adal?” Iril smirked and waved his brother off.

Tas didn’t know what to think of these two men. Yao hadn’t told him anything about them besides that they were his cousins.

“Come you two, join us for dinner.” Adal said and led them down the stairs at the end of the hall, his heavy armor clunked down the stairs.

Tas looked at his master, who smiled, shrugged, then followed his two cousins down a much shorter staircase to the dining room.

The Wanderer, Part 25 Read More »

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I’ve just finished updating the blog to scale as it grows, as you may know I’ve been running out of space for all of my pictures recently, which isn’t good because readers love pics. Now I have a lot more space and the pages of the site should load much faster. I’m excited to continue writing and to tie the blog into more of my yoga activities. Please let me know if you experience any issues with the site, but with new hardware I’d be surprised if you find anything…

This comes at the perfect time, since I am right about to start ramping up teaching yoga classes in Sacramento and possibly in Roseville and other suburbs. I move into Northern oak park on the 15th so I will also be upgrading my living situation, which I am very excited about.

I use Synthesis for hosting, in case you are interested. They are a bit expensive, but I’m really hoping the performance increases will keep people reading on the site instead of bouncing with a slow load time. I’m excited to see how the site performs over time. (PS this is my shortest post ever, I need to do this more!) Enjoy your week!

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The Wanderer, Part 24

Leave a Comment / Story, Wanderer Series, Writing

This story is part of a series, this is the twenty-fourth part.

You can read the first story here: The Wanderer, Part 1

and the most recent story here: The Wanderer, Part 23

Tas found himself in a dark cellar, with dusty casks, kegs, and wine bottles stacked up the dark stone walls that encircled him. His vision was flawless in the darkness, he could see himself well and there was just a tiny bit of light pushing through the crack in the bottom of the door. A flickering candle on the other side, most likely. He quietly undid the bolt on the door and moved through it to the dimly lit corridor on the other side.

He grabbed the candle on the wall to light the hall after he softly closed the door, then walked slowly through the corridor; he was sure by now that he wasn’t awake. His skin was translucent and he had no general idea of where he was. And Yao would certainly not have access to where he was because Paj was back at the monastery. He was alone, back in the dream world.

Tas decided to sit for a long moment and meditate. He had never meditated inside of a waking dream before, so he decided this was as good of a time as any to try. He sat with his legs crossed and began to listen with his eyes closed, trying not to be distracted from his natural breathing.

At first, he felt a sense of being light; almost like he weighed half as much as usual. It was easier to maintain a fully erect posture and he found that the meditation came easily. But slowly, everything became much heavier, to the point where it seemed to bring him down with it. Each breath was a labor, intensely freeing but like he had been chained down. His concentration was so intense, but he was losing focus. It was like he was limited in some way, but he didn’t know how. His breath grew shorter and he began to panic, he couldn’t breath now! What could he do? The world around him began to go dark. His dream world was literally falling apart, melting into the dark ground beneath it until Tas woke up screaming into the dark night.

He was gasping for air, sweating when he realized his dream and lay back down to settle into his mattress. He was in a cold sweat and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. The air was absolutely freezing, though the fire by his head kept him warm. He was still panicked, he had no idea that this would happen as a result of meditating in the dream. He needed to talk to Yao about this.

He got up to look outside through the small window by the door and found that it was still completely dark. The sun hadn’t yet peaked over the horizon to commence the day’s light.

Yao was scuttling around the small room, preparing hot water as he moved seamlessly over the rugged wool floor.

“I had another dream last night.”

“Good.” Yao said nonchalantly. “Was it exciting?”

“Not particularly.” Tas rubbed his head again; he was still sweating. “I meditated in it.”

Yao turned his head with a surprised expression that quickly faded. “You meditated during the dream? Why did you think to do that?”

“I dunno.” The sweat finally stopped pouring from his forehead. “But it worked.”

“How?”

“The world began to melt around me. It was like I hit the eject button on the dream and it was forcing me back out into the world.”

“Interesting.” Yao said in a very peculiar tone. “It seems that you are getting better and better at traversing between the dream world and this one Tas. Be careful, you don’t want to get stuck somewhere that you don’t belong.”

“Well, I guess I will just have to keep moving then.” Tas grinned at Yao’s dis-satisfied frown in response. “What are we doing here anyways? You’ve never said anything besides getting to safety.”

“We are going to train and hunt here in Bahar for the remainder of winter. Which is 5 more months of the bitterest cold you’ve ever felt.” Yao raised his eyebrows and smirked when Tas’ put on a melancholy expression and let out an exasperated sigh.

“We are also going to meet the kings this morning. My cousins, both of them, though they are simply brothers. Kings are not allowed to marry in Bahar. You will find that they are very different from myself.” Yao smiled briefly, though Tas couldn’t tell why. “Afterwards, you will hopefully be assigned a hunting party with the younger hunters your own age. They will teach you what you need to learn to survive in the high mountains. Or they won’t and you’ll die.” Tas sniggered. He wasn’t going to die from some cold, not after everything he had been through. Yao’s slight grin was telling of his own sarcasm.

After they finished their tea and Yaina came to make them breakfast and help Tas to find some clothes to wear. Tas tried to insist that he would be fine with similar garments to Yao, but Yaina would hear nothing of it. She wanted him prepared for the cold.

“The is your first time in the snow,” she said with her gentle and soft voice. “You’ll need some time to adjust before you’re like him.” She scoffed as she looked over at Yao, but the old man wasn’t paying attention. He was deep in thought, looking out the window at the white cold world outside. “Plus,” she said softly into Tas’ ear, “you need to look your best for the kings! First looks are never forgotten.” She gave Tas a firm nod.

Tas heaved on the furs and other jackets, gloves, boots, and a couple of old metal pauldrons that glinted in the sun and were surrounded by what must have been wolf fur. He strapped on the leather under armor, then began to strap his boots while Yaina helped with his pauldrons and boots. Tas stood up only to be immediately reseated by his own weight. Yao laughed loudly.

“Well boy, you’ll get stronger in no time! But right now, we have to go see my cousins and we can’t be late, so get on out of the door and leave my niece to her own work for the afternoon.” Tas hustled out of the room and into the cold mountain air. It was freezing outside.

He turned and saw Yao talking softly to Yaina before joining Tas in the snow. As Yao left he smiled at Tas, “get a move on, if we’re late to see my cousins they won’t hesitate to behead us.” Yao didn’t give the faintest hint of whether he was joking or not, so Tas just put his head down and followed the old man as fast as he could. They trudged off leaving a path of broken snow behind them and getting a light dusting from the sky. Enough for Tas to feel like he was in the fairytales he had always heard from his mother as a child.

The Wanderer, Part 24 Read More »

The Wanderer, Part 23

Leave a Comment / storytelling, Wanderer Series, Writing

This story is part of a series, this is the twenty-third part.

You can read the first story here: The Wanderer, Part 1

and the most recent story here: The Wanderer, Part 22

Tas woke with a harsh sneeze that echoed off the trees and shook a bit of snow into his eyes. He shook his head to get rid of the dusting of snow in his hair then stood to shake the rest of the snow from his clothes. Yao had pelted a deer three nights before and made jerky with a lot of the meat, so they wouldn’t need food for another month. Plenty of time to get wherever they were going. Yao still hadn’t said anything really. He just walked

Yao was already awake and about; he had just finished making his morning tea and handed Tas the scalding cup, which he had learned to hold carefully with his sleeves after Yao poured it. The old man seemed to be impervious to the heat and he chugged it like it was lukewarm chocolate milk.

In the past days the old man was silent; as they approached the upper heights of the mountains Tas could see his gaze darting up the mountain, looking for things Tas couldn’t see. Somehow seeing them. Tas didn’t know what the old man was doing, but he was certain it involved magic. There was a blur in his eyes, and the freedom in his expression were unquestioning, hollow, simply euphoric. As they continued their walk forward and upward Tas pulled him back by grabbing his arm.

The old man shook his head for a moment, then his eyes refocused on Tas, “Why’d you do that? I was watching them!” He pointed at the huge ice wall in front of them, nearly covered in white wind from the hearty winds passing through. After a minute or so of staring Tas could just barely make out a couple of black dots slowly climbing the white sheer cliff. They looked liked ants.

Tas felt his arm grabbed violently, but didn’t respond. He knew that Yao was playing some game. He began to zoom in further on the climbers, deepening his concentration until he saw them much closer. He could still feel Yao’s grasp grow tighter on his arm. What was the old man doing to him. He could see the powerful strokes of each climber’s iron traction against the ice now, he was so close. They wore suits with spikes pointed downwards to keep them flush against the ice, black and grey and silvery fur lined their bodies and heads. In this part of the world Yao said it never melted.

He felt his vision increase further and could nearly see their grizzled faces. There were more than eight climbers that he had counted, though there could have been more below. Each was a man at least twice as old as Tas, each had a mantle of some extravagant type of bear. Not old men, but certainly strong men. They tore up the cliffside as they passed through, moving steadily upwards. They wore furs from all kinds of animals, wolves, elk, bears, including one that was dressed in all white, probably from a polar bear. The man was massive to match, but Tas thought for a second about how much help the man would have needed to kill such a creature. These men must be elite hunters. The fur looked whole and his eyesight grew even more powerful to see it closer. But he decided it was enough and his head was already hurting again.

He closed his eyes and grabbed Yao’s arm, moving it away from him. Yao huffed and walked away, but it took a few minutes for Tas’ vision to return. When it came back, it was still a bit blurry.

“Don’t worry boy, it’ll return in the morning all the way. Probably better than before honestly.” Yao gave him a little wink and a big grin as if he’d just handed the world to Tas. Tas didn’t really understand, but he knew that Yao was smarter than him. He was far too light-headed to think rationally right now. Maybe he could do it himself now that Yao had taught him? He got up and forgot all about it in his suffering in the cold with his headache.

They continued walking through the snow, both were well fed from the big stockpile of jerky that made when they killed an elk a week ago in some lower forests so they had plenty of energy. They had to take their time to get used to the altitude and to ensure that they arrived unseen. Yao said that it was essential.

Tas and Yao made their way leisurely and slowly up the trees and through the snow. It was colder up here, but their newly tanned hides kept them warm at night. Each day was a day of drudgery, looking, and boredom, though they were both beginning to run low of energy. The snow seemed to take it from them.

Yao continued to lead through the enormous patches of trees, some that were wider and taller than anything Tas could have imagined. These trees seemed to grow up into the sky and their bark was thick as armor.

They went through the largest patch of trees Tas had seen yet, before emerging from the trees into the center of a group of buildings. They were small white huts made partially from snow, partially from treated wood. It was cold enough up here to ensure that the ice would not melt and each hut was closed shut with a large chimney billowing up into the sky. Tas counted twelves huts, but he was sure that he missed some. And he was only looking at a single area. They continued to trudge through the snow, moving towards a larger, more central location probably. Yao seemed to move very cautiously, as if he were ready for the worst possibility. But they continued through the rusty pink dusk they could barely see through the scattered storm until they arrived at a particularly small hut with a noticeably bigger-than-average chimney.

Yao led them inside to be greeted by a woman who could have been the same age as Tas’ mother. She turned out to be Yao’s niece, as she explained while she gathered things for Tas to bath and redress. Her name was Yaina and she said that she would make sure that Tas was ready for what would happen in the morning. Yao nodded his approval and went upstairs with her to talk of what had happened to them, and why they had come here.

Tas was exhausted, his head hurt from the long days of walking through ice and sleet. He would rest for the night and was happy enough to not move at all after finishing his shower and dressing in his undergarments for a quick rise the morning.

Yaina brought him soup as he was settling down for bed, some light potato with a morsel of cheese and some tomato. He ate a few bites, then told Yaina he was finished. He rolled over onto his back to go to sleep. She paused for a moment and rubbed Tas back slowly, her hand was like a motherly protection, he could feel himself nodding off to sleep, slowly yet surely. He hadn’t been touched in so long, not at the monastery, not really in his travels with Yao. He could feel the warmth spreading out from her fingers.

He opened his eyes one last time, but fell right back into a dark sleep.

The Wanderer, Part 23 Read More »

Writing

The Wanderer, Part 32

The Wanderer, Part 31

The Wanderer, Part 29

The Wanderer, Part 28

The Wanderer Continued…

The Wanderer Continued…

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