Hiram and Azriel are two Tenzing, nomadic brothers who are sheep herders in the Qomolangma mountains. One day the youngest brother Azriel stumbles upon a boy named Cesario who claims to be a refugee form Alexander. Little do they know that Cesario i...
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It is said that the Qomolangmanmountain herders have the lungs of a deep sea diver and outer shell of a crustacean on their feet. Up in the mountains, high above the villages lived the Tenzing nomads, responsible for herding the goats and cattle from one place to another. The Tenzings are known for having especially large lungs because they're born acclimated to the high altitudes of the mountains that they cling to. It's common knowledge that these nomads keep to themselves. Sometimes villagers will spot them coming down from the mountains with their goats, but they are advised to stay away. The Tenzings can be a rather hostile group.
In the Qomolangman mountain range of Newal there lived two half brothers, Tenzings. One was old enough to be a man and liked to bring his little brother along with him for little hikes a dawn while the others were resting. This brother was named Hiram. He was a strong handsome fellow who had joined the brotherhood of men only last month when he turned sixteen. His little brother was called Azriel and was smaller than the littlest fawn. Azriel had a pink nose, and big floppy ears. The eleven year old had a toothy smile and a dopey expression always plastered on his cheery face. He liked to talk about his only friend when ever Hiram would listen; a tawny unicorn named Channah.
Channah the unicorn was Azriel's favorite topic and brought it up at the most unconventional moments. A couple years ago during a big storm, the unicorn had appeared out of nowhere and began following Azriel around. That had only been the start of Hiram's problems. Azriel had insisted on keeping it and so he had unwillingly obliged. It at least made it easier for Azriel to keep up with the group as they were always traveling around by foot. All the walking that Tenzings did was what attributed to the myth about their feet being as hard as crustacean shells. Everyone walked with naked feet, except for the elderly who were sometimes carried by strong Yaks usually responsible for caring equipment . Most Tenzing's had missing toes and cracked toenails. Hiram and Azriel, despite their young ages, were no exceptions.
Azriel stroked Channah's silky mane affectionately and rested his head on her warm neck. Ahead his older brother had ventured further off in search of new metals to bring back to camp. Azriel felt the animal trod on the uneven mountain terrain and closed his eyes. When the boy opened his eyes again he realized he was not behind his older brother anymore but on a quite different trek. Sitting up very quickly, Azriel scanned his surroundings. It was dusk and there wasn't much sun left so Azriel knew he had very little time to find his brother.
"Hiram!" Azriel called, pulling back on Channah's mane and sliding off her bare back. It was a lot further for him to fall than someone of a taller stature as he was the smallest of the Tenzings. His feet hit the ground with a thud his knees buckled.
Spinning around in the dusk, Azriel didn't know what to do. He had been paying too much attention to his unicorn on his way in to notice the surrounding landforms and now didn't know his way back to camp. It's said that a Tenzing knows the mountains like a part of themselves. Azriel felt like a failure. He bundled his shawl closer to his small frame and shivered in the cold. It was no wonder Azriel wasn't adapted to the cold climate of the mountain or had the intuition of a Tenzing. He wasn't born into the tribe like Hiram, he was adopted, like Channah.
