The Northern Tribes

13

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No one in the courtyard moves. The talstav lets out another ear-splitting roar, turning his horrible sights on the rest of us. My knees feel weak and when they give out I fall to my butt in terror. How will I face my family in the afterlife as such a coward? I feel death breathing down my neck, and I've done nothing to redeem myself. I begin to panic as I think of how we are all doomed. But when I look at Catall, he is unmoved, still watching the dust swirling around the broken pillar. Kami is doing the same.

And when I look back towards the pillar more closely, I see a faint glow. The talstav turns its attention to the wreckage as well and the glowing intensifies, a white light illuminating the settling dust. A figure walks from the swirling cloud, the source of the glowing light.

It's Valaric. His tattoos are now glowing with a shimmering white light, along with his eyes. He's still holding a sword in each hand and now I can see his right hand is glowing red, feeding into the white glowing tattoos. It wasn't my imagination. And when I look towards Kami again, I can see her eyes shining white as well, the same shimmering white as Valaric.

Valaric spins his swords once more, and again runs towards the talstav. This time when the creature tries to swipe him, he digs his swords into the leg and swings around the foot, severing it completely. The animal screeches in agony and tries to hit him once more with the other foot. The Reth sticks his swords into the bottom of the foot and cuts all the way down, essentially slicing it in two halves.

When the talstav's tail whips around to grab him, he jumps up towards it, bringing his swords down with a mighty slash, dismembering the tail. The beast roars loudly once more, shaking the ground with its intensity. Valaric lands his jump with a roll and is on his feet again in an instant, ready and waiting for the talstav to make its final mistake- which comes in the form of the beast getting desperate and lunging towards the Reth with an open, insidious mouth.

The Reth stands his ground until the last moment, when he jumps again and lands on the talstav's head as the creature pulls back. But it is too late. Valaric plunges his swords down hard into the top of the talstav's head, dropping to a knee. The talstav stops, mouth still open. Valaric pulls down hard on his swords and we hear a crunching sound.

And then the beast dies with a shudder, collapsing in a heap on the ground. Valaric stays on the head, still holding onto his swords as the animal falls. When the talstav lands, Valaric remains. But after a moment he finally stands, pulling the swords from its head. And I absolutely hate my admiration, but I can't help it. The entire fight might have been the most incredible thing I've ever seen. He defeated that beast all alone. It was over in almost no time. I now know why they respect him so much.

We all stay still for a moment, and I can feel the admiration and awe swell in everyone present. A loud triumphant cry sounds from all of us who bear witness to the incredible feat, except from myself, Catall, Kami and the Reth himself. At first, he remains still, dulcifying his labored breathing. The shimmering light from his tattoos begins to fade. And then Valaric sheaths his swords, walking from the courtyard calmly with Kami by his side as his men sound their cry of veneration.

Catall pockets the stone again and turns towards me with purpose. When he sees me sitting on the ground, he gives me a small smile and offers me his hand.

"Can you walk?" he asks. Although my entire body is still shaking and I think I might get ill, I nod to him, taking his hand. He pulls me upright and nods to me resolutely.

"Follow me," he says, turning and walking briskly away. I force my legs to move although my entire body feels numb. It's almost as if I'm floating along. And things are even more surreal as I look around. Warriors, both men and women, are on the ground groaning in pain. There is blood everywhere. The air smells strongly of blood and sweat. There are many people now rushing out to assist their fellow tribesmen, or attempting to clean up the mess. Someone screams in pain and I see a group of tribesmen rush by carrying a warrior who looks almost like he's been cut in half. I have to stop at one point and lean against a pillar to throw up. But Catall doesn't notice.

I hurry to catch up with him and see that he has followed the Reth, who is now being trailed by a small group of people including Aven and Meja. Hanging at the back of the group, I try to stay as far as possible, but when we approach a room, Catall looks back to make sure I'm still there. And then Aven is next to me, putting a warm hand on my arm and escorting me with them. Still shell-shocked and numb, I go with them into the room.

They're speaking their native language and Catall is discussing something with the Reth. It seems rather important, with the Reth listening quite carefully to what Catall is saying.

"You're shaking, Demda trainee Esme," Aven says softly to me. "Breathe deep. It is okay." She gives me a reassuring smile and I feel like I might cry.

But then the room gets silent, drawing our attention as Reth Valaric walks over towards a large desk, littered with papers. He pauses, and turns to Catall with an open mouth like he is about to speak. No sound comes out though, and a troubled expression flashes across his face for a moment. He reaches out towards the desk and his eyes glaze over.

"Valaric," Kami says quietly, making no move towards him. Her voice is soft and deep, but her tone is concerned.

And we all watch in silent shock as his hand misses the desk and he collapses unconscious in a heap on the ground.

As I sit on the bed in my room, staring at the moonlight shining in the window, I wonder what I'm shocked about most. Perhaps it was Kami speaking. I had managed to convince myself she simply couldn't speak.

Everything else was so shocking and confusing I can't even begin to process it all.

After Valaric collapsed, Karia appeared and brought me back here to my room. She didn't even have the energy or time to waste on being cruel to me, so I was glad about that. But now I'm just confused and very alone.

I crawl under the covers and try to silence my mind. I am quite unsuccessful. I see the talstav biting the people in half. I see the red mist of human blood. I see it turns its horrifying gaze on us in the courtyard... on me. I sit up in bed, feeling myself begin to sweat nervously. I try to breathe deeply and I lie back again.

The talstav appears again when I close my eyes and I try to redirect my thoughts. But now I see Valaric, shining white, his eyes glowing. I see Kami with matching eyes. I see Valaric slaying the beast.

I can't even begin to speculate about what I witnessed. There are so many things I don't know. I'm sure there are so many things they won't ever be able to tell me. I wonder if I will even be able to attempt revenge if he has that kind of power. I know I will try. But I am now aware that my chances of being successful are quite slim. I knew they were not good to begin with, but now I realize just how slim they are. He's far too powerful for me to assume I will be successful in even landing a hit. Nevertheless, I will try.

And it's my thoughts of revenge that help dispel the memories of this evening long enough to allow me to fall asleep.