The Old Gods

Back Home

The cold breeze caressed the face, drying salty tears of the broken Queen who gave her best to stand strong among her people and guide them into the better life that could be expecting them someday, if they remained together, strong as one. The winter was approaching them, and it was so cold, they felt the cruel algid sneaking into their bones, and entering their sorrowful hearts. But something had to be done, in order to survive. The Queen ordered those who were strong enough to stand, to hunt for food, to try to build the wooden houses, the old woman, were ordered to cook the meals. Together, they were able to adjust themselves to the cruel winter in the mountain, and to try to lead a peaceful life, without being founded by the intruders, who were suffering in Walnia, that was burned.

The intruders were slowly dying from hunger, dying from coldness, and they were finally aware that they will never be able to keep the lands of Walnia. 

"These lands are cursed by their God! We are all going to die!" The Mongols would say in the times of the desperation. 

Zorya simply knew that one day, her people will be free, and they will come back home, but she didn't feel like there is a home for her soul in Walnia. After Darius passed away from his wounds, and she took his last breath with her passionate kiss, everything broken, and her heart was constantly aching with the unbearable pain, calling for Darius, wishing he was there.

But the Dark King was gone, and his body was already rooting beneath the soil, covered in tears of those who loved him the most.

 Zorya believed that she will see him one day, she knew that he won't just get up, and come to her in his own flesh and body, but she knew that his soul will visit her, when she needed it the most.

"My Queen, the soldiers are ready for hunting."

 "I am coming with you today, I haven't tested my strength against the wild animals in the long time, and believe it or not, but when I was young, I was able to catch a wild bear all alone." Zorya said, covering her sadness with the nostalgia of the old days, when she was still a wild, pagan princess, and knew nothing about the pain she was facing in these dark moments.

The man just smiled at the Queen bowing his head, and waiting for her outside.Zorya would hunt almost every day, before the snow fall, they needed to collect as much food as it was possible, or they could die from hunger, they needed fur, to keep themselves warm for the winter. 

Zorya decided to give up most of those pleasures, and leave it for her people, especially the young ones, because they were now the future of Walnia. Her diffidence when it came to food and warm clothes, were maybe, the results of her depression. Zorya stopped caring about her body, and about her soul, and took only enough to survive.

Late at night, when she would finally have some time to rest, and forget about the sad reality, she would feel like suffocating by the cough, and the slight pain in her lungs, the pain that was, month, after month becoming stronger.

"My Queen, you need to start caring about yourself, the people are worried for your condition." The doctors would say.

"I am just fine, help those who really need it." Zorya would answer.

"But you are the one who need it the most." 

"First, we will survive, and come back to Walnia, then I will get the help that I need." The Queen simply withered in front of eyes of her people.

"Every day, the Queen is giving us a piece of what is left from her soul, punishing herself for everything that happened to our Kingdom and our King. We must pray for her." The people would say. 

Just when people were starting to get used to the life they were living, in the nature, hunting, and trying to survive every single day, the children saw the Mongol ships leaving the Walnia, because maybe, they couldn't take it anymore.

"They left!!! We are finally free to return home!!!"

 "God decided to look upon us! And we are finally free to go back home!" People celebrated. But Zorya knew, that now her duty was to become the Queen of ashes they left behind when they abandoned their home in flame, and she was slowly losing her own strength.

But she couldn't stop people from singing, and celebrating the life they could have, after the intruder was gone.The people of Walnia, finally returned home, in the spring, after all the sacrifices that were made for that to happen.

"Listen to me, our home became the wasteland, and only a shadow of what it was before, maybe you don't understand but the hardest part of our journey came. Now we must restore what we had, we must learn to live with what we have done to our home. But I am not strong enough to help you with that. " Zorya said to her people, and she knew that it was the painful truth. 

Zorya's long, once golden hair, was slowly becoming grey. Her warrior-like figure, became so fragile and skinny, people wondered how she could stand on her own legs, her smile, became sad, and her eyes, lost fire. 

"My Queen, what are you talking about? We need someone to lead us." One of the people said.

"You lead us well, you always did, and only because of you we managed to come this far." 

"No, my time is over. I will bring you the King and the Queen that this Kingdom needs in the times like this. I will bring you someone to lead you again. Prepare the ships, I am sailing back to Gora Nevskaya, only they can help us now. And announce everyone that Walnia is alive and that the people of Walnia are back home after the long tears of war, and that we are ready to return the glory that we earned with our flesh and blood." Zorya ordered to her people.

There was no time to waste anymore, the ships that were left by the Mongols, were set, and the Queen decided to sail on her last journey, to bring Walnia, the rulers, the people deserved. 

After so many years, she was going to see her children, and she wondered, do they even remember her? Did they grow up into a warriors? What are they going to say when they finally see the face of their mother?

And how are they going to react when she tells them that their father is dead?