Knox of the Bloom

Chapter 5: Born Anew

Damn the gods but her mouth tasted like fish guts. Her eyes burned, they felt swollen, and she clapped her hands over them, afraid that they would burst and drip acid down her cheeks. A few moments passed before she worked up the strength to look around. She was inside some kind of stone hut, a small gap let in the hateful spear of daylight, and she bared her teeth at it. She realized then that she was dressed in a green cloth, and had no recollection of how she had gotten it on, or more importantly, who had put it on. More for that matter, where in the Otherworld was she?

It took a lot of effort to push her aching body up from the bed of moss. Her arms shook and groaned as she picked up the clay bowl set beside her and gulped down the water, much too greedily, as it came back out as quickly as it went in. She wiped her eyes and nose with her sleeve, before sipping a smaller quantity. Looking down at her legs, the bowl fell from her hands, spilling water over herself, as she pulled up the cloth around her legs. With wide eyes she took in the marks covering them, her hips and her stomach, hidden beneath large circles with workings of smaller swirls inside them. They were like burn marks, but didn't hurt, as if it made long, long ago.

.'I see you have awoken, this is good. You are strong. Some sleep for many moons.' A woman had entered the hut and now watched her.

'Where am I? And who are you?'

'You won't remember me, but my name is Aird. You are on one of the Isle of Druids, and have been claimed by the gods. As you see by your scars, you have been marked and are now one of them.'

'I... I can't remember.'

'Some never do. It is the will of the gods to restore your memories, and the path you have once walked is theirs alone to return to you. You were burnt beneath the sight of gods, and now are born anew. Your old name, your old life, it is but ash.'

By the gods her head hurt. Aird smiled wider, as if hearing her thoughts. 'If you would follow me, I would give you food and something for the pain.'

'That sounds... good.'

She followed the woman out of the stone hut, and was blown back against the stone hut by the sheer power of the wind. Her hair whipped into her eyes, and she would have fallen over, if not pressed against the hut.

'Here,' shouted Aird, who wrapped her in a thick cloak, and they huddled together, as she helped her toward more huts, which were crouched, hiding from the sea gale behind a meagre jut of rock. The blue horizon surrounded the island. White foam sprayed over the edges, landing near them. Smoke wafted up and out from the nearest hut. Inside sat three women around a peat fire, they were wrapped in cloaks also, and a small pot rattled and hissed over the fire, dripping foam onto the flames, but making it burn all the more, not hindering it.

'Hello,' one of the women smiled at her as Aird sat down near the fire, and lifted the pot's lid, stirring the dark broth inside.

She returned the woman's smile, feeling as if in a dream, and sat down beside Aird, who dipped a jug into the pot and handed it to her. 'Drink this. It will help to stop the pain.' She sniffed it, and then sipped. It was sweet, and her stomach slowly settled as she emptied the jug. The women spoke amongst themselves as she drank, speaking of happenings on the other isles, of things happening on the mainland.

'They found ships belonging to the Bronze Men drifting off the southern coast,' said the woman with the two scar-like runes running across the right side of her face. Her eye on the said side was discoloured, grey and lifeless. 'Lir says the flames have something to do with it. He had a vision of shadows building behind the flames, and they gather like a storm.'

The woman with the bright blue eyes spat into the fire, making a cloud of sparks startle and disappear out of the smoke-hole above. They then shared the broth in silence between them, until the pot was empty, and shared some dried fish. She had drunk three mugs of the broth, and managed in getting one of the fish down without throwing up, and felt altogether the better for it. After eating, the room grew quieter, and she realised they were all staring at her.