Incarnation | Wandering Stars Volume One

Chapter 11

BAHYITH

Sariel sat across from Sheyir's father and the other Chatsiyr elders. It was now dusk and the whole tribe had gathered again at the place of meeting following the meal. Sariel had put off his explanation as long as possible and was now ready to disclose what he had discovered.

"In Arar Gahiy, on the north end of Armayim, I found the remains of men from another tribe. They had been dead for quite some time."

The elder's posture straightened as he glanced quickly to the men near him. "This can't be. For generations, we have had an understanding with the People of the Trees. We do not leave the land between the mountains and they do not come into our land."

"Nevertheless, I found them there at the edge of the water. Among the bones I also found a small, graven image."

The elder's forehead wrinkled.

How do I describe this to them? "Like the flowers and leaves that you wear on your bodies, but this object was made by hands, and did not grow from the ground."

The elder pushed his lips together and stared at the ground.

Sariel waited until it seemed that his words were understood. "This thing is owned by someone, just as you own or possess this land. This graven image carries with it an evil spirit."

"This is not true!" Sheyir's father replied quickly.

Sariel took a breath and sighed in frustration. Taking a moment to choose his words carefully, he tried again. "The People of the Grass," Sariel started slowly, interpreting the name of the Chatsiyr tribe, "know that there is another world beyond this one?"

Sheyir's father nodded slowly.

"In this other world, spirits live."

Again, he nodded.

"Sometimes," Sariel continued, "these spirits come into this world."

"Yes. They live inside some animals and cause them to kill others."

Sariel looked up to the sky that was growing darker with every second. This concept was incredibly vast and difficult to explain with such a limited vocabulary as theirs, or to a people whose only interaction with the Eternal Realm was the occasional possession of an animal by a demon. Technically, it didn't happen often. But the Chatsiyram were herbivores trying to make sense of the brutality of the animals around them. He decided to let the elder's comments pass. At least the man was following his logic up to this point.

"This object was crafted to defy the laws governing the interaction of these two worlds. It was crafted to deceive men. Whoever possesses this object unknowingly allows the evil spirit to live inside him."

At this, the elder's eyebrows lifted. "How can you know this?"