Winter Land: The Tiger Brothers

Chapter 4 - His Aura

"Brother, you are here."

Toklo arose as a tall young man walked into the room. He was clad in thick brown leather and several amulets hung from his neck. Aurora knew instantly that he was Toklo's twin for he resembled Toklo in every way, except for the slight frown on his chiseled face.

He was shadowed by a rather short man garbed in a bizarre outfit. The shorter man walked around the bed where Aurora lay, setting strange-looking objects on the floor in seemingly strategic positions.

Aurora smiled cautiously at the tall man. "You are the one who saved me from the beast."

He looked confused, impatient, or perhaps, irritated, his dark eyes squinted, observing. It was hard to discern his emotions from his expression.

"How did you know? You were unconscious when I found you."

"I awoke at some point and caught a glimpse of your face," Aurora replied.

Toklo strode over to the fireplace and threw sticks of wood into it, causing the fire to flare up.

The frowning man nodded, deep in thought. "The angakok is here to heal you," he said after a while.

Aurora slid her gaze to the other side of the room where the supposed 'angakok'' stood, a fake smile pasted on his face. He had somehow blended into the surroundings from the moment he entered the room. Aurora forced a reciprocating smile.

As though he had been waiting for this moment, the shaman drifted across the room and stood next to Toklo's brother. He scrutinized the arrangement of strange paraphernalia on the floor with satisfied concentration.

The fire began to burn brighter as it consumed the wood in the fireplace.

"This is Tonraq, the community healer," Toklo introduced, dusting the dirt off his hands. Aurora knew bits and pieces of arctic language, but she had no idea what angakok meant, so she was thankful for Toklo's statement.

"Ton...rack?" The Princess asked.

Toklo chuckled lightly as he wore his gloves, obviously amused by her inability to pronounce the name correctly.

Aurora pouted, her cheeks heating up. She would have to get used to these unusual names. Realizing she wanted Toklo's brother to know her name, she made use of the opportunity.

"I am Aurora, First Princess of Atheerya."

"You can begin the rituals." Toklo's twin nodded impatiently, ignoring her.

The shaman held up a short staff swathed in strips of animal skin and strings of beads, and made a series of complex dances around the room while chanting incantations. An eerie paranormal energy filled the atmosphere as the tempo of his invocations reached a crescendo.

A gentle wind picked up, causing the fire in the room to ingulf the entire hearth of the fireplace.

"Wait, wait, wait," Aurora interrupted suddenly. The static energy instantly disappeared and the fire calmed to a steady blaze.

Toklo glanced at her from where he leaned lazily against the ice brick wall.

"I do not quite understand," Aurora continued.

"He is here to heal you," he explained. "Your wound is infected and there will be grave consequences if..."

The princess shook her head. "I imagined he would administer some kind of medicine or..." She stopped when they continued staring at her as if she was out of her mind.

Toklo was amused, in contrast to his brother who had his eyebrows perpetually furrowed.

The shaman looked insulted.

Aurora swallowed a lump in her throat. "Was it supposed to have something to do with...sorcery?" The practice of sorcery was an offense punishable by death in her kingdom. She had to remind herself that she had no authority over anyone here.

"He shall not call upon an evil spirit to seize
you if that is your source of concern," Toklo's twin said.

The Princess knew a few things about the people who inhabited this area. There were shamans who performed magic, and she had no intention of insulting them. She had been bred to be polite in all situations.

"Surely not," she agreed and turned to the shaman. "Please, continue."

The shaman nodded, the red coloration fading from his face. He raised the object and proceeded with the incantations.

The Princess pulled closer to her body, the soft hide that served as a blanket. It was unnerving being at the centre of all the spellcasting and magic-working and it hardly helped that Toklo's brother stood a few feet away, his arms crossed and his face twisted, as though he was expecting something to happen.

A few minutes passed and gradually, the shaman's evocations came to a stop.

"There was nothing?" Toklo's twin asked the shaman.

Toklo stared at his brother. "Is something wrong?"

His brother looked on at the shaman, who opened his eyes slowly.

"There was nothing," the healer replied. He looked a lot more amiable as he began packing his items into a leather bag.

Aurora did not miss the curious look on Toklo's face as he left with the shaman and it made her wonder what had just transpired.

Had there been more to the spells the healer had cast?

She did not realize that Toklo's brother was still in the room until he spoke.

"Do you feel better?" He asked with his back turned to Aurora.

"I do," Aurora replied. She truly felt better, as most of the pain she felt earlier had subsided, leaving only a dull throbbing in her calf.

His head moved subtly, his braided locks brushing his lower back. It felt awkward that he was just standing there, not speaking a word. Aurora fiddled with the front laces of her dress as she observed the man.

She was not much into paranormal phenomena, but a familiar aura seemed to hang around him. Did the shamanistic healing also come with increased supernatural awareness? Maybe it was nothing like that and she had indeed met him before. She resolved to find out.

"May I..."

"I'll be..." He began simultaneously. They stared at each other. Aurora pushed a stray lock of her hair behind her ears.

"Speak."

It sounded like a command, and the Princess was almost compelled not to concede, but her curiosity took the better of her.

"May I ask your name? I told you mine earlier but you didn't say yours."

Toklo's twin did not budge, not even a little, his arms crossed behind his back. "I'm a ruler. No one refers to me by name." He stopped. "Except for my uncle."

"Then what shall I call you?"

"You shall call me Master," he replied drily.

"Master?" Aurora scoffed inwardly. He was so different from his brother. How could twins be so different?

"If that is all, you should have some more rest."

So offhand, Aurora thought. "I shall."

The curtain whipped closed as he left the room, leaving Aurora wondering what he had wanted to say.