No Matter How Far

2. To Word's End

Night had fallen when he reached the Dinigaiji village. He strode confidently into the Dinigaiji, grinning broadly at the people who stopped and gaped at his battered state. The wounds on his back burned fiercely, weeping streams of blood. Before reporting his deed to the village elders, he visited the village's K'ehakimi, a healer and spiritual leader.

The Dinigaiji village was much like his own, and he had no trouble locating the healer. The healer was a tall, bony woman with long white hair woven into a single thick braid that she hung over her shoulder. One look at him, and she began fussing around, forcing him to sit while she rummaged through her hut for the various salves and ointments to treat his injuries. He had not expected her to pull out a small talisman from a pouch hanging at her waist. The talon of some large bird with beads and other baubles hanging from it served as her talisman, and he sat astonished as she began to cast an enchantment over him. He could feel her spells settle into him, soothing his hurts. He had only seen magic done a couple of times in his life. A roaming A'waki would come to his village for feast days and other important rituals. He had a spark of an idea. He showed her the flower that he had found.

"Can you enchant this?"

"For what?" she had a wry smile, "You should just go back to your village and hand it to your sweetie before it wilts."

"I am afraid I will not be going home for some time, but I would like to keep it preserved as it is. I mean to make a wreath."

The K'ehakimi shook her head.

"It is much simpler to add to a wreath already made and give it to her before someone else decides to place one at her feet."

He warded that thought off with a wave of his hand.

"Please? You know the ways of the spirits. I mean to make her a wreath of the most beautiful flowers of our land. I will not have this one fading away before I can complete my task."

She shook her head ruefully.

"You warriors, always thinking of what should be done instead of doing what could be done. I will do this thing for you only because you have done this village a great service."

He held the flower in his palm as she did her magic. Once she finished, he tucked it back into his waistband.

"Thank you, honored one," He bowed before her. She clucked her tongue with a pitying shake of her head.

"If you're so concerned about flowers, there is a pretty one that I know."

"Where, wise one?"

Her bony face cracked into a grin.

"Where the world ends." She said with a chuckle. Tafari was not discouraged. He thanked her for her guidance and left the hut. Seeing the end of the world was a deed worth doing.

For his service to the village, the Dinigaiji saw him off with a sack full of food and a new bow with a quiver full of arrows. What Tafari prized the most was a new medallion that hung under the one from his clan. It was made of bronze and polished to a shine. Flowing in a delicate script, read Tafari Okoro, Slayer of Ganeni Mereti. He smiled down at it whenever its glint caught his eye. The day he left the village, the Dinigaiji held a great festival. Maidens and married women alike danced in the pathways between houses. Near the entrance to the mud wall, the warriors stood, shoulder to shoulder, their bronze spears pointing out. Each one dropped to his knee, thrusting the head of the spear into the ground as he passed. This display of respect almost made him feel validated. Almost.

Everyone knew the world ended far to the east, where the sun emerged from each day. The route he took skirted the edge of the Libi forest, giving his home a wide berth. His knowledge of what lay north of the forest came from the sporadic travelers that came to his village. The Wihat'afachi river, the river's source that passed near his home, meandered through the grasslands there. The fount was lost in some mountains far to the west, but everyone knew that to the east, the river emptied at the world's end. He was unsure how far or if there were any more villages in that direction, but determination drove him forward.