Red Glass

10.

The Forest of Vatala had never looked so claustrophobic through the darting watch of Faris, sporadically searching for signs of Axil. No tracks, no traces, no time to lose, no direction, just running as fast as a racing heart. Bird ballads impossible to hear through, trees barricade every view and daunting possibilities lay buried beneath snow.

"Axiiilll?" Faris calls over and over through the trees.

Miya watches from the camp, rising to keep her companion in need in sight. "We should check the river." Miya suggest.

"Do you know the way?" Agrees Faris in despondency.

"Of course." Miya calmingly smiles.

The beautiful pallet of Vatala forest hums bleak across the browns, greys and greens. White fog of each breath, hard ground and the silent echo accentuate the atmosphere of despair in the hope, and hope, in the despair.
Trees as old as the Earth stand against the winds of time, cold rocks watch another body cross what was never a path. Birds invariably chirp from the most high rock faces and glide across the empty skies above cries for Axil pacing north through the wilds. Floating across the cold blue mountainous horizon, time has reached fatigue upon its dwellers, landing upon a time to rest.

"How much further?" Faris asks, holding to a stop.

"Not much."

The song of icy water mauls through the white with the dancing fog. Faris rushes towards the sounds of hope with wet eyes for a dear friend, but the weight of tears wet his beard. He falls on his knees, tired and broken. Holding his head, closing his eyes and clenching his jaw, his face turns red in frustration. "Where did he go? Where could he have gone?"

"He will come here, he will know to follow the stream." Miya comforts.

"What if he.. What if he just went back? What if he's gone, really gone?"
Faris questions, shaking his head at the ground.

"Keep it together, please. We are not going to lose him too." Miya says, still wearing Faris's black long coat over her blood stained dress.

Swaying his eyes toward her bare feet, he nods and stands up with purpose. Faris strokes his beard to help gather his thoughts. Collecting nearby dried out twigs, branches, small rocks and dead grass preparations for cooking begin beside the stream.

-

Against the rock face, the campfire cast monstrous shadows. Brenn sits atop her painted shield, with pupils as large as coins, like portals to another realm, beating a small drum. Fenrir and Olcan are playing hnefatafl and Agnaar cuts a dear for skinning. Brenn begins singing against the white wind in an operatic, forceful voice and her pact in very deep growls follow.

"Horses pant and neigh forward, Frosting breath with heavy riders brave,
Raiders follow the ravens caw as it guides us all towards prey.
Galloping with torn muscle and bone,
Such strides tear across the map,
Runed shields quake against the saddles,
with the wind against our back.
Horns filled,
Heretics killed let us celebrate in blood,
Glorified till the end of time,
All would follow if they could.
Fire of wood,
The axe of trees,
Salt of wounds,
The fate that weaves.
Heart that bleeds the beast that feeds,
The roar that echoes through the trees."

-

The fire crackles, releasing perfumes of burn, peppered crucian carp and garlic. Prodding and tossing the fish with his curved dagger, Faris applies a little of the infused oil he always keeps in his travel pack.

"Axil, he gave me this, .. But, I never thought I would ever use it."

Faris pours water over his blade, wipes it, pokes at the fire and puts it away like some kind of rehearsed motion. Staring into the dancing flame, glancing up at its smoke with his last glimmer of hope. His focus shifts to his pocketwatch, winding it with care and and confliction.

"I've never seen a pocket watch like that before." Miya gently words, hoping to ease the mood.

Faris looks with understanding
"Tamara gave this to me on our wedding day." Faris says, opening it.
"The compass always helps me to keep my bearings whenever it's time for prayer."

Faris moves the fish and metal cup of boiling water off the fire, dropping in a coin.

"Why did you do that?" Miya ask, lifting the coat hood to cover her ears pointing through her hair in the wind.

Understanding it may be an insecurity, Faris looks down, pretending to have not noticed. "The Nakhflay do this for luck, but I do it because silver is a purifying metal. This is why Nakhflay always use silver water jugs. It's good practice."

"So, may I ask; Why are you an investigator rather than part of the guard?"

Faris strokes his beard, looking down in reluctant deep thought.

"It's okay, if... you would rather not talk about it." Miya assures.

"It's okay, it's okay. I've just not really spoken about it with anyone, most people inside the walls either know or just don't care enough to ask...

When I was sixteen I joined the guards training. I was new here at the time but I knew what I wanted and how to get there. I endured the two years training with top scores on I.Q exams and even set the new record for the pyramid test. From there it was easy for me to gain entry into the guards police service.
Axil was not a fan of the police services being as different as I from everybody else but he promised that if I stuck it out on the force that he would stay with me but if I dropped out, we would join the armed guards regiment, .. He kept his word. Truthfully he was never the best, in fact he was almost the lowest ranking in the class but he always had my back and I always had his. Without him, I don't think I could have made it through the two years."

Miya nods, listening attentively.

"Somewhere down the line, we developed a reputation for being a good team and I was promoted to chief investigator after only seven years, despite being of foreign descent. As chief, it was my job to oversee all the reports and assign cases for whoever was best qualified. As I'm sure you know, all reports are to be given in writing.
One day a case landed on my desk with nothing but an address from the camp. Me and Axil went there to see what the report was about. The report was filled by somebody who had been beaten and raped. She was blind so she could not see the men who did this to her but she was able to describe them based on her ability to see people through touch. Facial hair, bone structure, height, hair, smell... one of the assailants was under my jurisdiction. Sköyr. Sköyr hated me and Axil, he hated the Nakhflay and anybody any different from himself. We both knew the truth: who, when, where and why.

Sköyr.

Garth.

Marcus.

Keign.

They thought a blind victim was an easy target, somebody they could victimise without consequence. They were wrong. We took them all in against the approval of many and sent them to trial. Only Victor, our Commander and a few others supported my decision to have one of 'our own' treated like a criminal."

"What happened?"

"They got eight years imprisonment between them. Not one got the rope!"
Faris says with tears of anger. "The four of them gang raped her and were sentenced to less than two years each! This.. . This is not justice!" Faris grinds through his teeth with a hard fist.

"What could you do?" Miya asks with a horrified, tragic expression.

"I never signed up and put almost ten years of my life into the law system for criminals like this to just run free, so I quit. Me and Axil both quit the same day of the sentencing." Faris shakes his head. "I went after them, Axil followed. It's funny, .." Faris sniggers. ".. Usually he's the one to lose his cool first but, I've seen this kind of thing far too much." Faris whispers into the distance. "We made sure they will never come back, but I wish we never had to...
Where I come from, they would have never gotten off so lightly regardless of who the victim was! I just hoped, I prayed the justice system here worked."

"What happened to the lady?"

"Veryth and Axil are happily married now, and finally, through Great God, are expecting their first baby."

-

From the Western Gate, a knock comes from the tattooed warriors, to enter the great city of Vatala...