Silver Feather said:

Schatten Waechter said:

The king will get what he deserves... some day.

I could give you a sneak peak of chapter five...

Yes!

Schatten Waechter said:

This isn't finished- but ah- yeah. Chapter five.

It took another whole day for Asterix and her to get enough wood, dry grass and twigs to make something that was somewhat flammable and floated. It didn’t look great and was more like a pile of wood than raft, but it was the best they could make. She smiled sadly, remembering that Asgar had been training under the village carpenter. He would have managed to make something nice for Valek. But he was dead, just like everyone else.
Jaro clenched her fists and looked over to Valek.
By now flies of all sorts were swarming around his body, though Asterix and her tried to keep them away with smoke, and he was starting to smell. It sickened her. He shouldn’t have needed to wait; he shouldn’t have died.
“Are you ready?” Asterix asked from behind her.
They hadn’t spoken much while they were making Valek’s pyre, Jaro had learned that the less she thought the easier it was not to cry, and speaking caused her to think and remember. Her father and brothers would want her to be strong, not cry for the rest of her days.
“Yeah” she answered shakily.
She’d been to two funerals, one for her father’s mother and her mother’s father. She’d been young then, five and eight, yet she hadn’t felt as broken as this. She’d been sad that she wouldn’t see her grandparents ever again, but this was different. Now she felt like she was lost, she didn’t how to continue, or what to do without her family. They’d always been there for her, and now they were gone, never to be seen again.
By now she was numb to her tears, barely noticing them.
Before lifting Valek onto the raft she took of his sword and its scabbard and laid it beside the fire. Usually a man was burned with his weapon, but he had asked her to give it to Brenna, and that’s what she would do.
Carefully they lifted Valek onto the raft and pushed it over to the lake, which was just past the trees.
She saw the small fire that Asterix had made on the side of the lake, a pile of grass and twigs beside it, as they came to a stop.
Jaro closed her eyes, flexing her hands as she swallowed, and breathed in.
“I call to our Abranen and our Vaskanen. I call to the gods and the spirits of the north. I ask that they guide the spirits of my Abranen, Valek, Asgar, Kilian and… and Lysias Kletchar’Tsen, I ask that they guide my Vaska, Racknare Kletchar’Tsen, my Masta, if she has passed, Rydia T’Schanta” even women married to a Kletchar weren’t allowed to take his name, her uncle had once said she should take her mother’s name, to please the gods, but her father made him swear never to say such a thing again, “and my Otraf, Janick Kletchar’Tsen. I ask so they may find peace in their deaths” she finished, a tear sliding down her cheek.
Slowly Jaro grabbed the pile of grass and put it in the small fire, waiting a few seconds for it to catch before holding it above Valek’s raft, “Tsala os Kah’draen mazer tror, gla tsala trer Staksa jas tsier” she kissed Valek’s forehead, whispering “I’m sorry” before brushing the burning grass along the sides of the raft, igniting all the twigs and kindling they’d placed around her brother, then pushed it into the lake. The raft wobbled dangerously, but stayed afloat and the soft current pulled Valek further into the lake.
The flames were weak, struggling to burn through the still moist wood. Her hands were balled to fists, her jaw was clenched and she was staring straight at the flames, willing them to grow. Grow and feed so that her brother could join the other fallen. She felt a spark of energy and the flames erupted, engulfing the entire raft in seconds.
After that it only took a few minutes for the flames to consume Valek and the raft to fall apart, leaving nothing but ashes and a few stray pieces of wood.
“Tsala trer atzka jasko tror kalzarve” she heard Asterix whisper behind her.
“You- where’d you hear that from?” Jaro turned around, wiping away tears.
“I- I ah- I met a northern family after my parents died. They told me the words when their Ospa died” he murmured, looking up from his feet.
“Your pendant- its glowing.”
She looked down and gasped as her eyes registered that the stone from her dream was actually glowing. It was a faint blue that was quickly fading away, but it was glowing.
“Why is it glowing?”
“I don’t know…” she grabbed the stone and looked straight at it, but in seconds the glow was gone and all she had was a gold blue stone in her hands.
“Has is glowed before?”
“No? I-” what could she say? Was she allowed to reveal her family’s tradition to this stranger? “it was gifted to me a while before the fight.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know! I… The elder gave me it after the ceremony” The ghost had been an elder of some sort… hadn’t it?
Asterix shook his head, but said nothing more on the subject, “Doesn’t matter. We need to leave before the southerners find us; if they didn’t see the smoke from our little fire, they’ll definitely have seen it from the pyre.”
“Us?”
“Well I can’t just leave you out here. You don’t have an axe, you don’t have a weapon that can be used to hunt, don’t have a water skin and your cloak won’t hold up much longer. Leaving you would be a death sentence for you, and it sounded like your brother wanted you to live.”
“The southerners aren’t looking for you. You could leave. You probably should” maybe uncle Janick was right. Maybe she was a curse. In one single day her entire family was murdered while she was left to mourn the loss as the only daughter ever born into the Kletchar families. If that wasn’t a curse, she didn’t know what was.
“Aye. I should. But I won’t. I already told you why” he looked over his shoulder, “We need to get going. You unhobble the horses and give them some water while I pack up” he didn’t even wait for her to reply, he just turned and walked off.
“What if I don’t want to leave” what if she wasn’t ready? Jaro just burned her last brother and he wasn’t giving her time to properly mourn him.
“It doesn’t matter what you want. Unless you want to join him when the southerners notice the smoke, you get the horses ready.”
She glared at his back, but begrudgingly followed him back to the horses.
Storm and Wolf were nibling away at the last bit of grass that they could reach while Selenus was stripping a small pine of its bark… and eating it.
“Does he do that often?”
“When he’s bored or there’s nothing to eat. We had to ride through a rocky mountain and trees and bushes were the only food, since then he does this after a day or so of doing nothing” Asterix replied, piling up all the spare twigs they had.
She gave his horse a weak smile before picking up Storms saddle and pad and putting it on the mare. Yesterday they’d taken off the saddles when both mares started rubbing against all the trees they could reach. They had a few scratches in the leather now. Selenus seemed used to having a saddle on for more than a day, but they’d still taken his off as well.
By the time Jaro had tightened the girths for the second time Asterix had wrapped up the spare twigs and tied them to his saddle and covered their fire with dirt and was handing her Valek’s sword as he grabbed Selenus’s reins.
“Any idea where you want to go? Any place where the southerners won’t find us?” Asterix asked as he mounted his chestnut, which was still gulping down water.
“West. To the mountains. It’ll be safe there till winter. If we’re not gone by then, we’ll be dead” she looked behind to Kletchars Lake, to the place where her family was slaughtered and to her village that her family could no longer protect, then kicked her mares sides, sending silver buckskin into a gallop.
Wolf shook herself and snorted, but followed when the rope she’d tied to Storms saddle tightened, and Selenus quickly outpaced them, taking the lead.
After a while they slowed back to a walk, riding along the coast of Kletchars Lake for half the day before the lake finally ended, and then they were navigating between the dense trees, stopping multiple times when Wolf went around the wrong side of a tree. After another few hours the blood bay learned to follow more closely, which was good. At this pace it’d be at least two weeks till they reached the mountains.
“We should stop here.”

Schatten Waechter said:

This isn't finished- but ah- yeah. Chapter five.

It took another whole day for Asterix and her to get enough wood, dry grass and twigs to make something that was somewhat flammable and floated. It didn’t look great and was more like a pile of wood than raft, but it was the best they could make. She smiled sadly, remembering that Asgar had been training under the village carpenter. He would have managed to make something nice for Valek. But he was dead, just like everyone else.
Jaro clenched her fists and looked over to Valek.
By now flies of all sorts were swarming around his body, though Asterix and her tried to keep them away with smoke, and he was starting to smell. It sickened her. He shouldn’t have needed to wait; he shouldn’t have died.
“Are you ready?” Asterix asked from behind her.
They hadn’t spoken much while they were making Valek’s pyre, Jaro had learned that the less she thought the easier it was not to cry, and speaking caused her to think and remember. Her father and brothers would want her to be strong, not cry for the rest of her days.
“Yeah” she answered shakily.
She’d been to two funerals, one for her father’s mother and her mother’s father. She’d been young then, five and eight, yet she hadn’t felt as broken as this. She’d been sad that she wouldn’t see her grandparents ever again, but this was different. Now she felt like she was lost, she didn’t how to continue, or what to do without her family. They’d always been there for her, and now they were gone, never to be seen again.
By now she was numb to her tears, barely noticing them.
Before lifting Valek onto the raft she took of his sword and its scabbard and laid it beside the fire. Usually a man was burned with his weapon, but he had asked her to give it to Brenna, and that’s what she would do.
Carefully they lifted Valek onto the raft and pushed it over to the lake, which was just past the trees.
She saw the small fire that Asterix had made on the side of the lake, a pile of grass and twigs beside it, as they came to a stop.
Jaro closed her eyes, flexing her hands as she swallowed, and breathed in.
“I call to our Abranen and our Vaskanen. I call to the gods and the spirits of the north. I ask that they guide the spirits of my Abranen, Valek, Asgar, Kilian and… and Lysias Kletchar’Tsen, I ask that they guide my Vaska, Racknare Kletchar’Tsen, my Masta, if she has passed, Rydia T’Schanta” even women married to a Kletchar weren’t allowed to take his name, her uncle had once said she should take her mother’s name, to please the gods, but her father made him swear never to say such a thing again, “and my Otraf, Janick Kletchar’Tsen. I ask so they may find peace in their deaths” she finished, a tear sliding down her cheek.
Slowly Jaro grabbed the pile of grass and put it in the small fire, waiting a few seconds for it to catch before holding it above Valek’s raft, “Tsala os Kah’draen mazer tror, gla tsala trer Staksa jas tsier” she kissed Valek’s forehead, whispering “I’m sorry” before brushing the burning grass along the sides of the raft, igniting all the twigs and kindling they’d placed around her brother, then pushed it into the lake. The raft wobbled dangerously, but stayed afloat and the soft current pulled Valek further into the lake.
The flames were weak, struggling to burn through the still moist wood. Her hands were balled to fists, her jaw was clenched and she was staring straight at the flames, willing them to grow. Grow and feed so that her brother could join the other fallen. She felt a spark of energy and the flames erupted, engulfing the entire raft in seconds.
After that it only took a few minutes for the flames to consume Valek and the raft to fall apart, leaving nothing but ashes and a few stray pieces of wood.
“Tsala trer atzka jasko tror kalzarve” she heard Asterix whisper behind her.
“You- where’d you hear that from?” Jaro turned around, wiping away tears.
“I- I ah- I met a northern family after my parents died. They told me the words when their Ospa died” he murmured, looking up from his feet.
“Your pendant- its glowing.”
She looked down and gasped as her eyes registered that the stone from her dream was actually glowing. It was a faint blue that was quickly fading away, but it was glowing.
“Why is it glowing?”
“I don’t know…” she grabbed the stone and looked straight at it, but in seconds the glow was gone and all she had was a gold blue stone in her hands.
“Has is glowed before?”
“No? I-” what could she say? Was she allowed to reveal her family’s tradition to this stranger? “it was gifted to me a while before the fight.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know! I… The elder gave me it after the ceremony” The ghost had been an elder of some sort… hadn’t it?
Asterix shook his head, but said nothing more on the subject, “Doesn’t matter. We need to leave before the southerners find us; if they didn’t see the smoke from our little fire, they’ll definitely have seen it from the pyre.”
“Us?”
“Well I can’t just leave you out here. You don’t have an axe, you don’t have a weapon that can be used to hunt, don’t have a water skin and your cloak won’t hold up much longer. Leaving you would be a death sentence for you, and it sounded like your brother wanted you to live.”
“The southerners aren’t looking for you. You could leave. You probably should” maybe uncle Janick was right. Maybe she was a curse. In one single day her entire family was murdered while she was left to mourn the loss as the only daughter ever born into the Kletchar families. If that wasn’t a curse, she didn’t know what was.
“Aye. I should. But I won’t. I already told you why” he looked over his shoulder, “We need to get going. You unhobble the horses and give them some water while I pack up” he didn’t even wait for her to reply, he just turned and walked off.
“What if I don’t want to leave” what if she wasn’t ready? Jaro just burned her last brother and he wasn’t giving her time to properly mourn him.
“It doesn’t matter what you want. Unless you want to join him when the southerners notice the smoke, you get the horses ready.”
She glared at his back, but begrudgingly followed him back to the horses.
Storm and Wolf were nibling away at the last bit of grass that they could reach while Selenus was stripping a small pine of its bark… and eating it.
“Does he do that often?”
“When he’s bored or there’s nothing to eat. We had to ride through a rocky mountain and trees and bushes were the only food, since then he does this after a day or so of doing nothing” Asterix replied, piling up all the spare twigs they had.
She gave his horse a weak smile before picking up Storms saddle and pad and putting it on the mare. Yesterday they’d taken off the saddles when both mares started rubbing against all the trees they could reach. They had a few scratches in the leather now. Selenus seemed used to having a saddle on for more than a day, but they’d still taken his off as well.
By the time Jaro had tightened the girths for the second time Asterix had wrapped up the spare twigs and tied them to his saddle and covered their fire with dirt and was handing her Valek’s sword as he grabbed Selenus’s reins.
“Any idea where you want to go? Any place where the southerners won’t find us?” Asterix asked as he mounted his chestnut, which was still gulping down water.
“West. To the mountains. It’ll be safe there till winter. If we’re not gone by then, we’ll be dead” she looked behind to Kletchars Lake, to the place where her family was slaughtered and to her village that her family could no longer protect, then kicked her mares sides, sending silver buckskin into a gallop.
Wolf shook herself and snorted, but followed when the rope she’d tied to Storms saddle tightened, and Selenus quickly outpaced them, taking the lead.
After a while they slowed back to a walk, riding along the coast of Kletchars Lake for half the day before the lake finally ended, and then they were navigating between the dense trees, stopping multiple times when Wolf went around the wrong side of a tree. After another few hours the blood bay learned to follow more closely, which was good. At this pace it’d be at least two weeks till they reached the mountains.
“We should stop here.”

Schatten Waechter said:

No compliments. I will tear out your lungs.

Schatten Waechter said:

No compliments. I will tear out your lungs.

Hey, guys, do you want to read a chapter from my real book? I mean, the one I'm working on outside of WP, and I might try to get published when completed?

Wilo is the only place I shall show this, I trust you guys. ^^

I just know you all aren't writing thieves.