Tamed

Chapter 31. The Magjat tribe

The evening sun penetrated through the spaces between the branches. The leaves ruffled slowly in the gentle breeze. The narrow passage guarded by giant old trees on either sides, seemed endless. Aiden and Natalie were walking briskly towards a destination unknown to themselves. All they knew was they had to find her. It was the very purpose of their visit to the Carpathian Mountains. Aiden looked over at his friend and felt proud. The determination in her eyes was bright as ever. He wasn't able to match her pace as they walked, even though he was almost a foot taller than her. that's when he realized that he wasn't able to take in enough air to breathe.

"Nat could you please just slow down?" He panted.

"No!" came her outright denial. "Aiden, it's already getting dark! We don't have time to slow down!" She squeaked. "you want to find her or not?" She stopped on her tracks raising an eyebrow and looked over at Aiden, who was bending down, resting his palms on his knees.

"I do! But I need to breathe too" he stated, breathing heavily.

Nat sighed and rolled her eyes at this statement. "Fine!!!" She mumbled with frustration.

"Shall we rest under that tree?" He pleaded.

"Yeah, maybe take a nap too" she said, sarcastically.

Aiden rolled his eyes clearly getting the message and shrugged  "Where do you get this energy from?"

"I was born energetic" she grinned.

"Can imagine" He mirrored back a wide grin.

They went and sat beneath a giant black locust, which had branches touching the skies. 

"Maybe you are right" she admitted "The sun has set and the odds of finding her in the dark are fewer than that of us getting strangled by the Magjat tribes" she snickered.

"What should we do then?" He asked.

"Let's find a branch to sit on. We can monitor the surroundings from the high branches. Maybe we could seize this opportunity to discover something" she winked at him.

"Discover? Like what?"

"Tribal secrets" She grinned, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

"How?"

"Stop questioning and move your ass Mr. McMiller" she said, getting to her feet and climbing the tree like a monkey.

Aiden followed her and they both sat on a branch, big enough for someone to sleep on. 

"This looks cozy" he remarked.

"Ssshhh" she shushed him, and pointed her finger at something. He blinked and stared at the distance.

 A group of men were huddled together on a vast area outside their stone carved settlements.  They were all dressed in thin white clothing.  Lean, tall men with sharp features. They had decent dwellings and they looked much evolved than the generic tribal behavior. Aiden narrowed his eyes to get a better bird's eye view from the branch he was sitting on. It looked like the men were huddled around a sacred pyre. He studied it intently. No. It wasn't a pyre at all but a ball of fire floating in the air. It was so bright that it could hurt your eyes. But the men had their eyes fixed on it. Two men at the center were making weird gestures with their hands and fingers as if they were trying to control the blaze. 

"Is it like a tribal prayer or something?" Aiden asked, curiously. 

"It's sort of a cogitation" Natalie replied, without taking her eyes away from the scene they were watching.

"Meaning?"

"Magjat is a highly evolved tribe" she explained.

"I can see that" he replied, studying the tribal men "Why are they all dressed in white?"

"Alzena was dressed in white too, wasn't she?"

"Yeah" he  said.

"See Aiden, this tribe, Magjat is a tribe of purity. White signifies purity" Natalie stated.

"Tribe of purity?"

"Yes. Purity of the soul is what they value the most. This thing what they are doing right now, you know what it is?" she asked.

"I can only guess" he shrugged.

"And what would be your guess?" she asked curiously.

"They are worshiping fire?" he suggested "Maybe fire is their God?" 

"It's not just fire Aiden. They are invoking their inner fire and meditating" 

"You are bluffing, aren't you? Inner fire you say" he chuckled.

"No I am serious Aiden. But the choice is yours to believe it or not" She shrugged and silently stared at him.

"I am sorry. It's too much to take in, you know. I won't interrupt. I promise. Go on. And Nat, I believe you" he assured.

"Inner fire is not just an expression" she explained " It's a real thing. That's what sustains life. That's what keeps us going. That's where we get our energy from. It is the source of all powers, discovered and undiscovered." She paused to look at her friend and then continued "The ball of fire that we see is the fusion of the vigor that each and every one of those men possess. And this fire can never be impure like other elements. It is the purest of all elements in nature." 

"It's just so spooky you know. Mysterious things" he said, taking a deep breath.

"We are surrounded by uncountable mysteries Aiden. Some are beyond our comprehension" she said.

"Natalie?" he called. He had been wanting to ask this to someone for a long time now.

"Yes, Aiden" She looked at him, her eyes were shining even if the darkness had descended on their faces.

"Do.. Do you think this was a good idea?" he asked.

"What was?" She asked, even though she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Us coming here" he hesitantly answered, his head bent down.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Do you really think she will come with me, if I ask her to?" His cheeks were deeply flushed.

"What I think is not relevant, Aiden" she smiled at him, taking his hand in hers. "But whatever happens, promise me you will deal with it bravely."

"hmm" he sighed. Disappointment clearly visible on his face.

"Hope. Don't expect. Hopes always lead you on. But Expectations  give you the severest of heartbreaks" She told him. "So hope for the best"

"Aye" he smiled.

 The night descended fully, making their eyes droop. The background noises faded. They climbed the tree further until they could find the safest branches and fell asleep. Their stomachs grumbled in the eerie silence.