The Wildlands (working title)

Chapter 2 - Khodra

The night was dark and cold, much colder than the city. Khodra had wrapped his shawl around his face to keep warm, and it seemed to be working, because the cold became more and more bearable. But he still had moments where his body began to shiver and he felt the cold more intensely than before. Maybe it wasn't the shawl. Maybe he was just getting used to the sensation. Or maybe it was the lack of sleep that played tricks on his senses.

He looked up to take in the environment. He could see a beautiful starry sky that seemed mesmerizing above the black silhouettes of the distant hills and forests. He had never really looked at the sky with such awe before. He wasn't too far from his home yet, but everything seemed like a completely different world. Because it was. For Khodra, whatever lay before him, it was a completely new world; a new life.

He must have been walking for hours. His feet were getting tired. Sometimes he thought about sitting on the donkey's back that was carrying his provisions. But would it be too much weight for the animal? He didn't know much about donkeys. It didn't seem like the right thing to do anyway. Not in this strange situation he had found himself in. Walking suited it better.

Khodra sighed. Ever since he had left the Wall, his mind had been going on these strange, almost philosophical tangents. Too philosophical even for him. It was somewhat understandable given the situation. He was literally walking into the unknown, into a black emptiness he barely knew anything about. He knew it was dangerous, everyone knew that. Back home they talked about the Wildlands as this horrible land of savages. They filled people's heads with tales of hideous monsters, ruthless cannibals and primitive tribes, who instead of speaking would merely growl at strangers. He didn't think for one second that these tales had no basis in reality, but he wondered how much of it was actually true.

He snapped out of his current train of thought. He stopped for a moment before awkwardly glancing at the donkey next to him then slowly continued their journey. He furrowed his brows as he stared at the ground in front of his feet. Given his situation and all the tales he had heard of this place... why was he so... calm about all this? That can't be normal, can it? He should be terrified. Yet somehow he felt more fear when he was behind the Walls of the Empire than now as he was treading through the Wildlands. What if he was dead he just never realized it? No. What a foolish thought. He felt alive. His senses were working properly... for the most part. Even through his slippers he could feel the sand and the grass with every step. A chilly breeze blew through his shawl every now and then. And his feet were actually aching, so yes, he was quite sure he was still alive.

Anyway, it was useless to philosophize about such things. Although, what else could he be thinking about? One rational part of his mind nearly screamed at him that the obvious answer was planning out his next move. Where to go, how to survive. What to do if he meets other people. Oh gods, even if he was lucky enough to avoid cannibals, according to every single story about the wildfolk, they really hated Imperials. Yes, it would be best to think of some sort of a tactic for such an inevitable encounter.

Before he could really begin working on a plan, the donkey began moving around in a strange, erratic way. Khodra spun around and reached out to the animal instinctively, but his hand stopped mid-air as he had no idea what exactly was going on. It started making these horrible screams and pulling him in a new direction. Khodra didn't know much about donkeys, or other animals for that matter, but it seemed scared. And scary. He held onto the rein tightly and looked around, scanning the darkness for any sign of danger. Oh how quickly his calmness turned into terror. And the fact that he couldn't make out anything in the dark landscape did not help with this sudden fear.

And then he saw something. Right when he was about to give up the search and turn back to the panicking animal, there was movement behind them in the deep shadows of the night. Immediately he looked back at the source of the movement, but he couldn't be sure if he really just saw a creature or his terrified mind was projecting something onto the black canvas. Then he saw it again. Much closer. Much bigger. There was no doubt about it; something was coming towards them.