Sunset on the Ravengard

Chapter 1

Autumn had come to the Ravengard, as it always did, and the winter snows were already visible to the north, where the lands of the Amsilranil lay protected behind the mountains. On the plain below, Konstantin Amkyro stood outside his ger and breathed in the cold night air. He watched his breath condense on the air around him, rising into the dark like dragon smoke, and quietly thanked Aru for the beauty of his life. All around him were the bustling sounds of the camp as the Ravenfolk left their fires to settle down for the night. It had been a long day; the Chief wanted to leave well ahead of the coming snows and make for the lower ground where the clan's winter territories lay. The whole clan had been working hard, with some packing the bags and saddling the horses, while others scouted out the terrain ahead or gathered their livestock from where they had been allowed to roam free. In two days' time, they would take the gers down and set off, leaving the hills behind for another season.

Such was the way of the Ravenfolk, and Konstantin had spent his whole life following the seasons across the plains of the Ravengard, as had his mother before him and so on for generations. The Sunlanders may build their homes in stone, he thought, but the Ravenfolk knew the joy of the wanderer. To be free to roam the land, and go where you pleased, and rule your own destiny, was a freedom he guarded fiercely.

His musings were disturbed by the approach of his eldest daughter. Eva was the first of his children, having being born twenty-two years ago. She took after her mother in many ways and Konstantin, as he would occasionally admit to himself, was relieved that as an adult she was no longer his responsibility. He loved his daughter, certainly, but she had always been a real handful; intelligent, but not wise enough to know when to hide it; beautiful, but without the common sense that her father valued so much. She and her brother were adventurers to their soul, and were a rare sight in camp. They would ride out into the sunrise each morning, and often not return until sunset that evening.

Not today, however. Eva and Caspar had both drawn the short straw that morning and had been assigned to the camp, helping the cooks preserve and package the supplies that would sustain the clan until they reached the lowlands. Konstantin had been forced to suppress a smile when the lots were drawn, for the look of frustration on his children's faces had been comical. Deprived of their daily adventure, and struggling to cope without the rush of adrenalin they seemed to feed on, the siblings had been in a dark mood all day.

But there was a different expression on Eva's face as she approached her father. The frustration of earlier was gone, and had been replaced with a look of concern bordering on panic. She was wrapped in her furs too, as if she planned to ride out the camp at a moment's notice, and was buckling on her sword as she came.

She stopped abruptly before her father and gave him a look that set off panic bells within his heart. Something was very wrong.

"Have you seen the twins?"

Konstantin paled, but tried to keep his composure. "Oscar and Senya? Not since lunch. Why?"

Eva's fingers were drumming a nervous tattoo into her sword pommel. "I called in on the Matriarch before turning in. The twins were meant to be helping her with her books today, remember?" She didn't wait for a reply. "Well, she hadn't seen them for hours. They'd left for dinner and not come back."

Konstantin licked his lips nervously. "Didn't she go and find them?"

"No. Why should she? They'd finished their job and where going home. Nothing suspicious about that. It's just..." She stopped, and cast her eyes down. "I went to look for them later. Caspar and I were going to ride out to the Malgoram, and we wanted to see if they wanted to come as well. Their horses were gone."

Her father groaned. "Gone? Did you find any tracks?"

She nodded. "We followed their trail out to the edge of the woods, before coming back to tell you. I was hoping they had come back while we were out."