Gallel's Heir

Chapter 16: What can be Found Under Carrots

Who or what are the Creators? In what realm do they dwell? I have heard it said that if you can place your creators neatly inside your mind, you have made them too small to be worthy of your worship or your awe.
---Anath shen Sorrel Albandor of Yambisey.

 Tutang woke with a sore head — and what surprised him more, he woke with a sore knee. More than sore. He couldn’t move. What had made his knee sore? He was heavy, like a stone, and it took great effort to move his hand to his head. Something hot and sticky oozed there. The reaching and the pain wore him out and he couldn’t help but fall asleep again.

 Tutang woke with a sore head — and what surprised him more, he woke with a sore knee. More than sore. Where was he? Opening his eyes, he glimpsed a dim canopy overhead, black. Why were the leaves black? The sky was dim, so maybe it was night time. Maybe the forest was just dark, and it was daytime. But that didn’t tell him where he was. Why wasn’t he in his bed, maybe with a pretty girl at his side?

 He turned his head; the movement made his head swirl. Everything blurred, darkened then brightened, and he saw a woman. So he wasn’t alone out here, wherever he was, away from his bed. Stranger things had happened, who knows why he may have chosen this spot? Or maybe the woman chose it… some women liked strange things… she was asleep, so he better not disturb her. Women don’t like that.

 He sniffed ocean air. Was home by the ocean? How did he know what the ocean smelled like? Had he ever been to the ocean? No, he wasn’t home in Vishall… Vishall was home. So, if he wasn’t in Vishall, where then? Fem, Fel, Feer… that last one sounded familiar. Feer. An island? A colony of Galia? He was a leader. There had been a war, and it was over. He looked at his hand, pondering. Reddish brown smudges covered it, but it was a nice, firm hand otherwise. He had fought in the war. He had killed. The war was passed, but he still felt someone’s life in his hands, hot, pulsating, pleading. His emerald signet caught his eye in the dim light, and it looked official, with a fancy T.

 Chief Counselor, Tutang kel Lain Altutang of Gallel. He was the Kel. What was he doing in Feer, of all places? All that hard thinking wore him out, and he couldn’t help but fall asleep.

 Tutang woke with a sore head and a sore knee. What happened? Why was he cold? Shouldn’t there be someone here to help him? Feer, wasn’t it? What about those pompous people at Whellung Hall? … the government seat of Feer. He had some connection with it, other than being Kel.

 The woman nearby was pretty, from what he could tell. Not that he could really see her, but she seemed to have a comely shape. Kind of dim, it must be night time. Or maybe it was just his eyes. Everything blurred, then brightened. It must be day after all.

 He should not disturb her, but he would like to take a look. Pretty women amused him. He sat up and nearly fainted again. Determined to see the woman’s face, he scooted along the ground on his hands and bottom, dragging his legs. If he’d been a weaker sort of man, maybe he would have blubbered with the pain.

The woman, lying on her back, was smiling, and her hands rested on her chest. Something was wrong with her dress, it was shredded something awful, and she seemed to have placed her hands on her chest for modesty. Her eyes were open, but he couldn’t tell what she stared at. So serene. Her appearance startled him ― she was so beautiful, but bloody as though ravaged by a monster. He caressed her cheek; it was as cold as the damp ground. Stiff, like a carcass. He couldn’t look away from her face… so familiar, somehow, like a part of himself. But he wasn’t a beautiful young woman. No, of course not. Why was she so familiar? She was a relative, then? Something closer? He remembered a girl, she seemed scared, but he couldn’t remember why. This woman came from Whellung Hall. Lila? Linna? Inna? Lianna sounded familiar, but that wasn’t the woman’s name. It seemed he had come to this spot to find Lianna. His daughter, his beloved Lianna. It was important that he find Lianna.