Frost and Darkness

Chapter five; Community

It's not that he meant to ruin my mood, I know that, but right now I can only be grumpy and all I want is to be alone. Okami senses it and lays down on her spot next to the fireplace. I throw my new clothes on the make-believe bed and put the food – mostly vegetables - in the bowl on the dinner table. Okami growls at my roughness and I drop down on the ground. I want to cry, but all I can do is scream. I scream until I fall asleep.

When I wake I'm on my bed. I must have dragged myself onto it while I was screaming. My throat is dry and my eyes glued together by tears. I cried in my sleep. Another nightmare? No... I can't remember any dream. I slept of exhaustion. I rub my eyes open and look around. It's dark outside. I call for Okami, but get no response. She must be in the forest. I get up and note that I'm hungry. I throw some of the vegetables in the pot hanging in the fireplace and ignite the wood. It doesn't fill you up but the soup kills most of the hunger. I walk outside and check the view. The city is ignited by hundreds of lanterns and candles. Sounds of festivals are far in the distance. That guild must have arranged something useless again. I look at the sky for any indication of the time and decide that it's around eleven-thirty. I walk back inside and check on the soup. I hum the melody of one of my songs – one of the sad ones - as I search for a bowl. I should really do the dishes. When I finish the soup I fill a bucket of water and clean my plates and bowls. I clean my teeth with some mint leaves and grab my bow and arrows. I feel naked without them. I sprint into the woods, my steps stealthy and steady. Not long after, I hear Okami catching up with me. "Hey girl." I say while dodging a tree branch and she greets with a short grunt. We run until we get to a place with beautiful gardens filled with flowers and bushes. I stop and listen. Nothing. I continue with more careful tread and sling my bow around my shoulder – while running I have continually kept it in my hand. I stop at an altar and kneel. The altar shows a woman with branches for hair and leaves as clothing. Her name is Melandru – the goddess of nature. I thank her for the food she provides and some other things. Okami lays down beside me as I pray. I get back up and turn around to the slight sound of feet breaking the twigs on the ground. "Sakura." I whisper. The scent of cherry blossoms fills the air.

"You have returned." A gentle voice comes from behind a nearby tree. Followed by a young woman. She has a mild-tanned skin and long light brown hair. Her eyes are gold-green and have a loving vibe. The tips of her long ears peek through her hair. She wears a violet wool dress with a cotton blouse under it. Her legs are covered in brown leather leggings and she wears high leather boots. "I needed a familiar face." I say and approach her. "Has something happened?" Her face is gentle and her voice sounds like the chirping of birds. "No... Just memories is all." I answer shortly. "How are you?" I change the subject. I haven't been here in years. "I have been well." Sakura smiles and places a hand on my cheek. "You look awful, dear. Are you certain you are alright?" She looks me in the eye and I glance away. "I couldn't sleep." I reply. "Someone reminded me of my past." I murmur and pass her. Okami wags her tail and sniffs Sakura's hand, begging for a pet session. The elf chuckles and strokes her fur before following me. Sakura recruited me as a scout a few decades back. I kindly declined, but I was told to be always welcome here, so I sometimes return. I walk toward a place with several white marmer buildings - the Circle of Dawn. The elves responsible for the morning tasks live here. I direct myself to a building on the right and sit down on a bench made of dry saplings. "Do they know?" The woman follows me with silent steps. "My past?" I ask. "No. But he told me he is only one hundred years younger than I am..." I rest my head against the wall of Sakura's house and Okami lays her head on my lap as she sits down in front of me. "We tangled up in conversation and I had to bring him up again..." Sakura sits down in the grass, across from me. "Is this about that man that taught you what you know?" I nod. "Yeah. I screamed until I fell asleep. When I woke I just felt like coming here." I close my eyes. "This place calms me." On my right I hear a door opening and I open my eyes. "Sleep here then." The woman invites me in and I gratefully accept her offer. "Thank you." Okami waits in the doorway and tilts her head. I chuckle. She once got kicked out by Sakura because she wrecked the place out of excitement over something. Now she doesn't dare to come in. The elf turns and smiles. "Come in, Okami. As long as you do not break anything." Okami jumps up and speeds over to me. I calm her down and lay down on Sakura's sitting sofa and Okami lays down next to it. I think for a while longer, but Sakura's easy breathing on the other side of the room eases me enough and I fall asleep.

I wake just after the first sunbeams light up the world. I've always been one to wake early, but the elves of the Cycle of Dawn wake - as their name implies - at dawn. I get up to find Sakura outside tending the plants around her house. "Good morning, dear." She greets me. I just nod as a greeting, because my voice is weird in the morning. Apparently Okami has woken along with the elves, because she runs around with a few youngsters and elven hounds following her. I chuckle at the sight of it. "We left you some breakfast." Sakura smiles and pulls me to the dining table in the middle of the Circle. It's sweet how they made the vegetables into some sort of salad and made me a cup of thee as well. I thank the few friends that gathered here and eat the food.

Elves are not afraid of humans but they do not show themselves often either. They feel safer when humans think they're just a myth. Good for me, because I have an advantage in battle this way. Because the community taught me their way of fighting – both hand-to-hand combat as with weapons – I can get my opponent off guard by some of the tactics I've learned from them. But the other way around it's just as easy for me, since I can use the human ways of battle against elves. Not that I seriously need to, but it's fun to throw them off guard when we spar. Sadly Sakura sees through me. I guess I've pulled those pranks on her too much when I used to come here more often, about twenty years back.

Some of the older elves cheer when they see me and Sakura approach at their battle pit. "Ah, you missed me!" I joke and some male fighters laughed. "Watch it, friend! You will not be as cheerful when we are through with you." A green-cloaked male with mint colored bracers responds laughing as he joins me for the first battle. His skin is the same tint as Sakura and his eyes are brown. His hair is short for elven fashion as it only reaches to his shoulders. His ears are longer than Sakura's but rougher in shape. Trahearne is one of the Firstborn. They call him this because he was one of the first to found this community. "I assume I'm gonna spar with you first?" I put my bow and quiver aside and enter the pit. Trahearne is a warrior, so it's no use trying ranged weapons against his sword. "If I may?" the male answers, his voice is warm, and like most elves of this race, it has a British ring to it. I invite him to the pit with a motion of my hand. As the Firstborn enters the pit I take the dual swords that are offered to me by one of the other males.

I've sparred with Trahearne before, but this time he looks different. He wears an amused smirk and seems to be more confident than he was before. He's pretty much the only elf that dares himself among humans. But not too much. "For the first fight;" Sakura announces as game master, "Firstborn Trahearne versus the human Jayden." Trahearne and I put our fists on our chest as a greeting and Sakura calls out to us. "Are both parties ready?" Trahearne and I both stance. "Then let the battle begin!" The archer calls and Trahearne charges immediately. He starts the battle with a few regular left and right slashes toward me, but I block them easily. "You're gonna have to try harder than that." I smirk, charging at him with a combined attack of a double slash, followed by a simple downward pound with both swords, which the male blocks by placing the great-sword diagonally between himself and my swords. Trahearne's plate armor makes it hard for him to move as quickly as I am. My leather jerkin makes me more agile. Attacks like these go back and forth for quite some time until I make a mistake. I leap into the air, meaning to throw an air-based attack at the elf, but I never get that far. Trahearne sees his chance and charges at me while I'm in mid-air and thrusts the hilt of his sword into my waist, knocking me down onto the ground. As I lift myself up onto my elbows, the male aims the end of his sword at my throat and I chuckle. "Should have known better not to use a leaping attack in a battling pit..." The supporters cheer as Sakura calls out. "Winner; Trahearne!" The male sheaths his sword and holds out his hand. "You fought well." He said. I take his hand and he pulls me up. "Same to you." I laugh. "Who's next?" I ask the audience. A few more come to spar with me and the outcome is pretty much divided.

The rest of the day Sakura, Okami and I spend just roaming around the community lands and talking with other Cycles. They ask me to prepare some human food for them and so I do. Their food is better though. After dinner Okami and I go back home.