Kingdoms of Caelum; Autumn of the War Queen

Chapter 33

The Pelyn Pass wound and weaved like a snake's gullet amongst giant black rocks that were capped with deep snow and ice, and even though there were many hundreds travelling from Fortis, the desolate feel of the mountains hung over them all. As the days passed, however, the weather began to change, and the further they travelled, the thinner the clouds became, until glorious sunlight began to split open the suffocating mass above and pour its gentle warmth over them all.

On all affairs of hunting, skinning, butchering a kill, and of swordsmanship, Bane was a good teacher. Since the procession to the Lunar Agora was slow they had had plenty of time to practice survival skills off the course of the pass, and now twice she had taken his instruction, successfully tracking wild snow dogs. She had taken great pride in showing off her archery skills to Bane, and he began to call her little wolf, quietly impressed at her deadly precision. Every evening they would re-join the travellers with a fresh kill and were soon welcomed at the many campfires that lit the long trail as they clustered together under a dark sky. The nights would come alive with songs, flute, drums and dancing; every so often Katla would notice a faint sparkle in Bane's eyes as he watched the merriment, although he flatly refused to participate.

"Come!" she cried one evening, beckoning his hand in a dance. The mood was joyous after a bunch of men had killed a large stag; all but Bane seemed to be up dancing to the sounds of the drum beats. He smiled, gazing into Katla's eyes.

"No little wolf. The dancing is for those with joy in their hearts."

She frowned catching her breath.

"The warrior has no joy in his heart?" she mocked. He smiled but this time it was forced and he looked away, seemingly vulnerable, childlike. She had a strange urge to comfort him as she zoned out of the laughter and merriment around. Slumping to sit beside him it occurred to her how close they had grown in this last week or so. The time they had spent together had earned them both mutual respect, and she realised she was no longer angry, and had come a long way since the fear she had harboured for him. Quietly they watched the dancing for a moment before Katla spoke.

"You never told me why Lofaid owes you his life?"

The question was unexpected and Bane cocked his head to the sky.

"Curiosity killed the cat. Have you not heard that expression before little wolf?"

He tugged on his wild cat hood, bringing it over his head and shrouding his face.

"I have never told anyone of it before," he said, and looked at her gravely.

"But I can maybe share some of my pain with you, seeing as you are so keen to know it." Bane smiled, letting the crackle of the campfire emulate over them. She looked at his rough skin under the shadow of the hood and wondered what horrors he had faced.

"You are a mysterious person, Bane Olaf," she considered, "but if it pleases you. Yes I would like to listen."

He drew himself up and looked to the sky again.

"Okay, I will start at the beginning, the first week after running from Roskilde in fact. I survived on berries and insects. I had nothing to hunt with, no knowledge of survival. At the end of that week I was weak and certain that death would come in the form of wolves or starvation. There was a morning I woke up with four dark skinned women hanging over me, prodding me and laughing. I was terrified."

"Incants?" Katla gasped and Bane nodded.

"Yes. Certain I would die they took me to their camp, two days walk away at the edge of the GaarDesert. They paraded me in front of the men. Like a wild animal I tried to fight them; they were amused it seemed and they took me under their wing."

Katla tried to picture the scene. Native Incants who lived in animal skin tents, deadly killers with grass skirts, 'rats' as her father used to call them. It was them that had actually saved his life?

"Immediately I began to adapt to their way of life, learn their tongue and habits. They taught me to fight, to be a warrior and soon the eldest daughter of the Chief took a shine to me, and me to her. Zaphiya."

The surprise on Katla's face was obvious as she remembered the name from Bane's fevered yells.

"After a few months or so, we planned to marry. The Chief was happy enough. It had been a dry season that year so celebrations had to be on hold, we had to move with the herds to survive."

Bane gazed into the fire before them as though he saw his past dancing in the flames. His memories were stark. He had not realised how clear they still were until he had begun speaking about them. He could still see the many faces of the tribe that had took him in, he could still smell the incense and spices, feel the skin of his lover.

"The last ground we settled upon was close to the marshes near Thurlstone: long, long grass, as tall as any castle wall. The tribe had settled there often and knew the land well. Everything had seemed perfect."

"But it wasn't?" Katla asked quietly. Bane smiled sourly.

"No it wasn't. Fate intervened a few days in. Thurlstone had the company of the Dark Elves at that time and held a great hunt for their Fortis guests. Men and Elves alike stalked into the grasses chasing deer they had released, almost passed us by until Lofaid strayed alone from his party and right into our camp."

Katla hung on Bane's words. The singing and music all around was nothing more than a blurry background din.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice barely audible, and Bane forced a painful grin as he remembered.

"The elders were quick to bring him down. They killed the horse and stripped him bare before I even realised what was to happen. I tried to talk to the Chief but he was mad with hate. The Incants hate all men from the Kingdoms, but Dark Elves, well they hate them the most. They consider them to be unnatural, laced with darkness, like the Rakshasha."

Katla felt bile rise in her throat.

"Lofaid's scars... they burned him?"

Bane gave a quick nod.

"They broke both his legs with a hammer first and then set him alight. I tried to stop it but the Incant men held me back. His screams, however, reached the ears of some of the group and one by one they came and attacked the camp. In the commotion I ran to Lofaid and put out the flames. I dragged him further into the undergrowth, away from the battle. He was safe, but when I returned to the camp again, Zaphiya and the Incants were dead."

Katla went to put a hand on Bane but he shrugged her away, an angry glint returning in his eyes.

"The story has yet to end before you pity me, little wolf. Standing over Zaphiya's body I changed. When the men from Thurlstone came at me, I fought them. Six men and two Dark Elves in total; I felt the hate from my past, and my broken future, rise. It grew into a monster and in wild anger I slaughtered them all."

The silence hung heavy between Bane and Katla. At seventeen years, he had killed eight men in one battle. It seemed unreal, chilling. Yet as Katla looked at his tortured face, she knew it was true. Bane stood, wiping down his cloak. Now he spoke calmly, as though talking about the seasons.

"I buried the dead and went back for Lofaid. Death would have been easier for him, but I nursed him back to health, out in the wilderness. For some reason I felt I needed to do this. It gave me a reason to live, if he survived. When he was stronger, I travelled with him back to Fortis. He hates all humans, except me. He can't hate me, as much as he would want to; I gave him life. That is the extent of our relationship."

A moment later Bane rose silently and walked off; away from the happiness that now surrounded them, into the blackness off the pass that hung around like a dark void, and Katla suddenly realised that was how Bane now existed. When happiness crept up, he would shrink into his own dark shadows, and although she wanted to follow him, to wrap her arms around his giant body and tell him everything would be okay now, she did not follow.