The Brightest Shadow, page 36
"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. The answer is that we don't know for sure. Some bodies fell in the river, many of those remaining cannot be identified, and everything is complicated by those who fled. Bundlin is... not the city it once was."
"And where is this?" Slaten moved to the large window and looked out over the small community. Even from his greater height, it looked little different than it had on the ground floor: a few buildings clustered in the middle of the grasslands. He couldn't identify where they were in the Chorhan Expanse, the only unusual characteristic being a high number of dark boulder mounds. From this position he could see that the piles of earth lay beside what appeared to be holes dug deep into the ground.
"It was an abandoned Coran village, once." Kolanin came to stand beside him, leaning heavily on the side of the window. "Now it is... both a prison and a mining operation. We've called it Ith Ire. A very old name, but it wasn't my choice."
Slaten said nothing. There was little he could say. After a time, Kolanin continued.
"I don't want to be cruel, but I'm afraid certain orders are absolute. Anyone who attempts to escape must be stopped, or executed if they persist. Beyond that, there are certain numbers I need to meet in the mining operations. Provided you stay and assist with the work, you should have relative freedom. We'll give you time to recover before you begin working, of course."
"Can Dea - can mansthein leave Ith Ire?"
"Anyone who stays for more than a brief visit cannot leave." Kolanin straightened and met his gaze, no emotion in his eyes. "I don't know why, but the restriction applies as much to me as to you. This is a prison for all of us. All we can do is make the best of it for now."
"For now? Until when?"
Kolanin didn't answer as he slowly returned to his desk. When he did speak, his voice was very soft. "I don't know."
Though Slaten stayed for a while longer, looking out over Ith Ire, it was clear there was nothing else to say. He headed back down the stairs, trying to find his place in this new order. The pain had ebbed away, but in some ways the ice had been easier.
Chapter 24
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"The continent of Breilin is roughly divided into three regions: militaristic kingdoms north of the Sotunn mountains, developed cultures in the south, and mixed groups in the arid central region. With the exception of Estronn, these central groups are generally poorly organized and among the least developed of human societies."
- mansthein field manual on central Breilin
-
Tani bent lower in the grass, watching her target as it hesitated by the water. Not yet.
Though she wore a tattered cloak that didn't blend with the grasses particularly well, the sein flowing through her body obscured her. Her skill remained far from mastery, but fleeing the Deathspawn patrols had forced her to practice her neglected arts. She was confident that the duusha would never hear her footsteps, but it might spot her and dart away.
Normally she could run down a duusha, but as her rumbling stomach had reminded her multiple times that day, she wasn't at her best. She desperately needed to take this one down. No amount of power could make up for her lack of knowledge of local conditions, or the fact that it was simply a bad season for hunting.
Finally the duusha bent down to drink, relaxing in the absence of predators. Tani held her breath and rose, shifting the knives that had grown sweaty in her hand.
The first throw hit the duusha in the shoulder and it staggered, still able to run. While it stumbled, she landed the second throw directly in the beast's heart. Though it walked for a while longer, it soon collapsed to the ground. Tani hurried beside it, grasped one of the horns, and drove her sickle knife into the creature's head quickly to end its pain.
After so long waiting, the kill itself felt anticlimactic. Tani was hungry enough to cook and eat the animal that moment, but knew that wasn't the best use of her time invested. Instead she wrapped up the duusha in a cloth and positioned it over her shoulders.
Now, the only question was which way she should go next. Given how far she'd needed to wander, returning to the Coran village might be more trouble than it was worth. She recalled there was a town to the west, though her memory of the map was unclear. It grew less clear with every day, but she hadn't exactly been able to consult maps while on the run.
As Tani began jogging toward her new destination, she scanned the horizon carefully. It had been some time since anyone had come after her. She'd actually been surprised by a troop of Deathspawn and they'd just passed her by, so it seemed there was no hunt for her specifically. Still, best to be cautious.
Rumors about Bundlin had spread across the Chorhan Expanse. Many of them were exaggerated and warped to be shocking, yet none of them captured the horror that she had experienced. Not just the power of the Zeitai, but how the Hero had swept through a peaceful city and...
Tani clenched her eyes closed, refocusing. Rumors suggested that her friends were still alive but captured and forced to work in an unknown location. Though Tani had traveled much further west than before and was thus closer to home, going back wasn't an option. Her first objective was to find them and help if she could. Except that if another Hero came... she didn't want to lose herself again.
A looming gate interrupted her thoughts. As Tani trotted closer to the town, she realized that it might actually be an Oken community. Yet the name had been something very Coran - Hedebal, she thought. Getting closer, however, confirmed her first impression.
Twin tree trunks were bound together by complex woodwork, forming a gate attached to nothing. Her master had said that the Oken tradition was that the gate would keep out evil spirits. Tani had wondered what kept the spirits from just walking around the side, though she suspected that question wouldn't be appreciated. Just to be sure, she moved out of her way to walk through the gate and pass into the village of slanted houses.
Though the buildings looked of similar construction to a Coran village, she didn't see a single thatch roof, they were all made from some sort of baked tile. What surprised her even more was that she could hear the sound of drums throughout the village, and even saw a group dancing outside one of the larger houses. There were brightly colored flags flying from several houses as well.
Had she been expecting a village of Slatens standing around staring dourly at each other? Maybe. Tani smiled at herself and did her best to set aside such expectations.
Most of the men wore a mantle that reminded her of Slaten, though there was more variety in color among them. What surprised her were the women. Though some wore similar mantles clasped by metal rings, others wore only an inner robe wrapped tightly around them with a tie she couldn't figure out from simply observing.
Tani found that she was getting more stares than she expected, many of them apparently hostile. Worrying that her lack of Okeni might be an issue, Tani searched for the first place she could find that might purchase the duusha. She spotted a building with a short Oken man in front, skinning an animal.
"Hello!" Tani greeted him in Coran. He looked up at her, seemed surprised, then smiled and turned toward the house. After a string of Okeni, a woman appeared from within the house. She cast Tani a sour glance and spoke in Coran.
"What is it?"
"I would like to sell this." Tani opened her cloth to reveal the duusha. The man grunted in acknowledgment and moved to pull it onto his table, examining it. While he worked, Tani smiled at the woman. "This is the town of Hedebal, right?"
"Yes." The woman's brevity might be explained by not being comfortable speaking in Coran, though judging from her expression, Tani wondered.
"You don't mind visitors here, do you?"
"Polite visitors."
"Ah, should I have greeted you?" Tani vaguely knew the wrist-grasping greeting from Slaten and extended her hand, but the woman pointedly ignored her.
After a time, the man finished his evaluation. The two of them exchanged rapid Okeni words and Tani caught a few familiar words for money. After a moment, the woman turned to her and pulled open a small knot in the fabric at her waist, revealing a small stash of coins.
"We will pay two Easterns and six Arches." The man said something and the woman scowled at him. "Nine Arches."
Given how few options she had, Tani didn't have much choice. She accepted the coins, trying to remember how much they were worth. The value of Easterns was set by the Coran kingdoms, which struck her as frustrating compared to the simple mathematical money most Rhen exchanged. Arches were Oken currency and she wasn't sure how much they were worth, if she could even use them further south or east.
Overall, she had much less than she'd hoped. Having been supported by her family and then her master, Tani hadn't realized how difficult it could be to make a living, or how much Dhunor and Yomeri had offered by hosting her. She had no hope of replacing her lost weapons - just keeping herself fed while she traveled was challenge enough.
"Is there anywhere I could find food here?" Tani swallowed her pride. "Or work?"
The woman nodded in one direction with a grunt, still scowling. Though Tani would have been happy to leave her, she decided she might as well ask the awkward question now.
"Have I done something to offend you? Why is everyone staring at me?"
"We don't want whores in this village."
Tani gasped in surprise and the Oken woman took her stunned moment as an opportunity to move away. The man gave her a partial wave and promptly received a yell from his partner.
Wandering away toward the building indicated, Tani found herself interpreting the stares entirely differently. She checked in case her clothing had torn, but she had maintained it well and it struck her as respectable warrior garb. It might follow her form slightly, but nowhere near as much as the thin layer of cloth most Oken women wore.
On her way, she paid more attention to the drums and the dancing. Abruptly she remember her master saying something about the Oken celebrating like this on the same day that the Nelee celebrated Soul's Rest. The last time that day had passed had been a little before she arrived at Bundlin... no, how could it have been a year? It seemed impossible until she thought about all that had happened to her in that time.
Shaking her head, Tani focused on her destination. When she stepped into the building, Tani had to blink as the sunlight gave way to a cooler interior. The room had a low table, a series of stools... a dismantled Coran noodle wagon?
"Hello there! We don't get many Rhen in here!" Behind the table stood a Coran man wearing an Oken mantle clasped by a stone ring. He gave her a friendly grin, so Tani replied with a smile.
"May I have something to eat?" Thankfully her stomach didn't chime in.
"Of course, of course! This is a little early, but I have some bread cooking."
Coran bread was not what Tani had been hoping for, but she was so hungry her body insisted. In addition to the usual dags, she was given a large dish of green leaves and a bowl with some sort of vegetable sauce. Perhaps a Coran tradition she hadn't seen or a concession to the Oken setting - either way, she was very grateful for it.
Once Tani had sated her hunger a little, she finished the rest more slowly and spoke up. "Thank you, this is very good. A woman said I might be able to find work here? Then again, she might have meant somewhere else..."
"No, you can." The man leaned back against the wall behind his table. "I'm Ramdelen, by the way."
"Tani of the Nelee."
"I do cover a variety of jobs that require people to go outside town. But now, I mainly need people who can lift and carry tiles. They're not exactly light, are you sure you can?"
"Do you have any here?" Tani set down her food and went where he indicated, finding several piles of the Oken roof tiles in the corner. They were heavier than she expected, but gathering her sein, she was able to lift them without too much difficulty.
Moving a large number over a longer period would be difficult, however. It irritated her that all her training in sein intensity or stealth did her little good when it came to this. The sein she needed for raw strength simply wasn't the same as the power she usually required. Still, she had enough.
"Huh, you're stronger than you look. Alright, I'll let you join the crew. I guarantee you'll work up an appetite doing it... tell you what, I'll give you a little more. Signing bonus." Ramdelen tore off another blob of bread and gave her another dish of vegetables. Tani thanked him with a smile and dug in.
Since he seemed friendlier than the other people she'd met, Tani decided that he might be worth asking. "A woman outside called me a whore. Do you know why?"
"Pants."
Tani blinked at him.
"Oken women aren't supposed to wear anything with legs. It's supposed to rile up the male appetites. We don't get many Rhen here, so they're not used to it."
"I see." Tani chewed for a while, trying to imagine herself wearing one of those colored cloths. It seemed like the cloth would come undone if she ran anywhere. "Should I wear something different while I'm working with you?"
"I wouldn't try. I've been here for twenty years and they only just stopped glaring at me for wearing the Oken mantle. And I'm sure some of the men will never forgive me for taking one of their women."
Had Slaten been scandalized by her outfit? Most likely not, as he had seen many cultures in Bundlin. Still, her appreciation for him was growing.
Ramdelen leaned onto the table beside her and spoke in a lower voice. "You may look alike, but Oken and Rhen seem pretty different to me. You Rhen, you might stick together, but everybody follows their own path. For the Oken, there is only the tribe. It takes some getting used to."
Though Tani disliked how broadly he spoke, she accepted that he likely had things to teach her. But she had no intention of staying long enough to get used to it. "When can I start working?"
Chapter 25
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"The humans of Breilin are notable primarily for their cannibalism. Some believe that consuming the bodies of their foes grants them power, while others are simply so impoverished that eating their own kind is necessary to avoid starvation. It is extremely likely that they would also be willing to eat mansthein if possible and soldiers in the field should be prepared to encounter such barbarism."
- mansthein field manual on central Breilin
-
As soon as the overseer moved on, Melal leaned against the wall with his pickaxe behind his head. He'd spent a while creating an incline on this wall so that he could lie back at an angle and almost sleep. Whenever another Deathspawn showed up, it was easy to tip back to his feet and pretend that he had been working the entire time.
When it had started, he'd been afraid they'd make him actually work. As far as he was concerned, the Deathspawn were fucking idiots. Everyone knew workers would stop trying if you didn't watch them. He'd imagined constant whips and abuse, but the idiots seemed to believe they would actually keep working on their own.
Of course, some people really were that stupid. Melal kept one eye open, watching Slaten bring his pickaxe against the stone over and over again. How long would he go before he realized it was pointless? Then again, Melal had watched him repeat the same movements on the training grounds, so...
"What are you digging for?" Melal pushed off the wall. "Think you're going to find gold or something?"
Slaten finally stopped his movements and turned to him. "Are we mining for gold? No one has explained what we're doing here."
"If you ask me, you should have milked those injuries for longer. Now that you're in the mines, it's monotonous work every day." Melal came closer and stared at the partially broken rocks in the flickering light of the torches. "I have no idea what we're mining for. They look at the rocks we cart out sometimes, but they dump them all. Another reason it's pointless to put a lot of work into this."
"Well, we're prisoners. I don't think we're supposed to profit from the work." Slaten rotated his pickaxe in his hand slowly. "But I thought the movements were a good opportunity for Coran strength training. Let sein flow through the muscles, time the shifting with each swing..."
"You might think that at first, but you'll regret it if you try that for an entire day. Believe me, at the end your arms will be aching and your inner strength will be killing you. And the more work you do, the more they'll expect from you."
"We don't have many opportunities to train, though."
Melal sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Is that all you think about? We should be a lot more concerned about what the hell the Deathspawn are up to. And what they're going to do about the next hero that shows up."
That got a reaction, Slaten's already thin eyes narrowing even further, blue like chips of ice. "Do we know what their plans are?"
"Wish we did. But it's obvious that it's going to happen. They might be able to stop a false hero, but more people will keep being inspired by the Legend. Eventually the real Hero will show up, then they'll have a serious problem on their hands." It had taken Melal a while to come to that conclusion, something he never would have done if he'd wasted his energy attacking a bunch of rocks. Melal poked at the stone idly with one end of his pickaxe. "I think that's why they have us out in the middle of nowhere. When the Hero shows up, they don't want him to have anywhere to run."
"Hmm." Slaten seemed to withdraw, considering the thought. Well, better than dismissing him as so many others did.
Before they could talk any further, the rock tunnel behind them flickered with the approach of another torch. Always made it so easy. Melal began throwing himself at the rock wall, wildly striking with all his strength to prove how hard he was working. Slaten just returned to his methodical swings, making Melal look good by comparison.
But when the torch approached, it proved to be just Ulviab. He was alright as far as Deathspawn went, never a harsh taskmaster. It made him uncomfortable to think about, but Melal sort of hoped that Ulviab would leave before the Hero arrived, so that he could survive.
"Oh, good work." Ulviab had a simple, wide face that was transformed by a large smile that didn't show his Deathspawn teeth. "It's nice to see you making so much progress."
