B. Alexander Howerton

The Wyrding Stone

Text Copyright © 2012 B. Alexander Howerton

All Rights Reserved

Cover Illustration by Claire Payne

The fierce cacophony of battle raged through the dense
forest.  Ull found himself on the defensive, all of a sudden.  He swiftly
raised his thickly-muscled arm, densely covered with rust-colored hair, in
order to get his club between his skull and the stout club of his assailant,
which was descending rapidly.  A sharp crack reverberated through the trees as
the two weapons violently met.  Ull could feel hot breath on his neck as he
stared up at the wide savage eyes of his opponent. 

Without a break in his motion, Ull deftly swung his club arm
in a downward pivot, so that the back of his club handle rammed into the
attacker’s sternum.  His foe’s visage of terrible rage transformed into
surprise as his breath involuntarily left him.  Ull swung his arm back up,
bringing the club heavily down on the other’s head.  His dark-haired foe
staggered, setting his legs wide to prevent toppling.  That was all the
opportunity Ull required.  He grasped his club with both hands, heaved it high
over his head, and brought it down with all his might on his opponent’s skull. 
The dark-maned head split, spurting blood and brains in every direction,
splattering Ull as well.  The body thudded to the forest floor.

Not wasting a second, Ull glanced around.  His fellow
tribesmen were engaged in similar encounters all about him.  It was easy to
distinguish ally from foe.  The dark-skinned, raven-haired, slender, naked
assailants stood out in sharp contrast to Ull’s stocky, ruddy, red-haired
brethren, who were also not wearing any animal skins, which would only hamper
one’s fighting ability.  Ull waded into the fray, smashing heads and breaking
limbs as frequently and as violently as possible.  All the combatants were
bellowing or shrieking fiercely, attempting to strike fear into their foes.

As with all such battles, the fighting was intense but
brief.  It was over in a few minutes, although Ull had absolutely no conception
of such time intervals.  To Ull and his primitive companions, the heat of
strife was when they felt most alive, most in the present, and their perception
of its duration expanded so that it seemed to dominate their whole existence. 
There would be many tales of valor and courage around the campfire this
evening, although the vocabulary of the retelling would be rather limited, and
would be communicated more with gestures than with words. 

Ull wiped the back of his hairy hand across his low, sloping
brow, to remove as much of the blood and body parts as possible that had stuck
there.  He looked around, surveying the carnage he and his companions had
wrought.  There were about ten of them left standing, of the original fifteen
or so which had begun the fray.  Of the bodies lying in various states of
destruction around them, the dark skins outnumbered Ull’s ruddy relatives by
more than four to one.  Ull’s companions were whacking away at the heads of the
severely wounded but still living survivors on the ground, both enemy and
friend.  They instinctively knew that a wounded comrade was too difficult to
care for, and the smell of his blood would only draw the tigers and wolves. 
They all knew and expected that if they had been injured, the same fate would
befall them.  It was the way of things, and was as natural as the sun rising in
the morning.  A wild goat would be sacrificed and offered to the Fire-god that
evening, so that He would conduct the souls of the fallen brothers-in-arms to
the netherworld, there to await rebirth as new, strong warriors.

The stabbing pain from his thigh finally broke through Ull’s
consciousness, causing him to glance down to see a long-but-not-deep gash along
his leg, slowly leaking blood.  He grunted to his nearest comrade and pointed
toward the freshwater pond, out of sight beyond a blanket of trees, the control
of which had been the object of the skirmish.  He stumbled in that direction,
beating his way through the brush and branches.  Now that the fighting was over
and his adrenaline was subsiding, a great fatigue began to overtake Ull, and he
tripped more and more frequently as he stumbled on.  He finally broke through
the last of the foliage and fell headfirst at the bank of the pond, thrusting
his sweat-caked head deep into the cool water, while his torso and legs
sprawled on the shore. 

He lay still for a minute, letting his body relax, and allowing
the tension of battle to flow from his nerves into the water.  He then yanked
his head out of the pond and shook it vigorously, sending droplets flying in a
cloud about him.  He flipped over, spun around, and sat up, letting his legs
dangle in the cool, refreshing pond.  He began splashing water onto his wound,
washing the blood and grime away.  The pain shooting through his leg and up his
spine was tremendous, but Ull was familiar with pain, his old friend.  This was
merely a confirmation to him that he was still alive.  Ull smiled.  Life was
good.  He had survived the battle, he and his kinfolk had defeated their
enemies, and this small, clear pond was their reward.  Their tribe would thrive
by the shores of this pond, with plenty of fresh water and small game on which
to endure the coming cold season.

He looked up with pride to survey his conquest, glancing
around the perimeter of the small lake.  He froze with a start as his eyes
reached a point almost exactly across from him.  There, crouching in the weeds,
was a young woman, staring back at him.  Her cupped hands were raised halfway
to her mouth, and her eyes were wide with fright. She had apparently been
drinking from the pond, but froze in terror when Ull had crashed through the
brush.  Instantly Ull realized why she would be struck with fear.  She shared
the dark complexion and raven hair of Ull’s vanquished foes, back in the woods.

They stared across the water at each other for uncounted
moments that seemed to stretch on to an eternity.  The range of emotions that
raced through Ull’s mind were more than his primitive consciousness could
handle, thus temporarily robbing him of his ability to act.  The first thing he
felt was an overwhelming bloodrage at the sight of an enemy, immediately followed
by the recognition of the femininity of his adversary, thus representing to him
that she was no real threat.  That same recognition of femininity aroused
certain reactions that were normally deeply buried in his psyche, especially
during battle.  But now, with the battle concluded but his senses still
heightened, Ull felt stirrings, both mentally and physically.  The female was
attractive.  Her conquest would be a fitting cap to the day’s activities. 
Ull’s primitive emotions were never far from the surface, so his thoughts soon
slowly twisted his face into a grin which could have only one interpretation.

The young woman with the expression of a scared deer must
have correctly interpreted Ull’s stare, for she suddenly bolted away into the
bush.  Ull was startled only momentarily before his hunter’s instinct gripped
him.  He jumped up, leapt out of the pond onto the bank, and beat his way
swiftly but laboriously through the growth.  In a flash he had reached the spot
on the other side of the pond that was recently occupied by his quarry.  Years
of experience enabled him to quickly assess the pattern of broken and bent
branches and trampled plants, and he immediately set off in pursuit of the
young girl.  He propelled himself forward for many minutes, expertly following
the girl’s trail, but never catching sight of her.  He finally heard the
clatter of someone racing through the thick growth ahead.  He increased his
pace, and in less than a minute spied his prey. 

He leapt forward, reached out, and seized a handful of long,
dark hair.  He jerked her head violently back to stop her, and she cried out,
more from fright than pain.  No longer able to run forward, but still
possessing a great momentum, her legs shot forward, out from under her, and Ull
slammed her down to the forest floor on her back.  He jumped forward, pivoting
in mid-air, and landed with his feet planted close to each side of her waist. 
His chest heaved, his face exhibited the crazed glow of the hunter.  The girl
recoiled in fear.  Ull dropped to his knees, pinning the girl down, and began
pawing roughly at her naked, lithe body.  The girl struggled fiercely, striking
and kicking Ull as best she could.  One of her blows landed on the wound on his
leg, and he howled in pain.  He instinctively back-handed her across the
cheek.  Her head snapped violently to one side, and her struggles immediately
ceased. She lay there, immobile, awaiting her fate.

Ull sat up with satisfaction.  His conquest was complete,
his prey was subdued.  He stood up, bent down, grabbed the girl’s hair, and
jerked her to her feet.  She complied meekly, offering no resistance.  Ull
picked the girl up, threw her over one shoulder, and strode off through the
brush.  The girl hung limply, like a dead animal.

Ull made for a spot he knew of, a small clearing next to a
low cliff by a nearby river.  It was not quite a cave, but it was surrounded by
rocky walls on three sides, and would offer adequate privacy for his purpose. 
He reached the spot and threw the girl unceremoniously on the ground.  She
instantly jumped up and tried to bolt away, but Ull was standing between her
and the opening to freedom, and he moved to block her.  She dodged, and tried
to run around in another direction, but Ull was too quick for her, and blocked
her again.  She gave up, and retreated to the back wall of the clearing,
hunching down fearfully on the ground.

Ull approached slowly, ready to block any further attempts
at escape.  A malevolent grin spread across his face, in anticipation of the
pleasure he expected soon to be experiencing.  His penis protruded, fully
engorged, from the red bristly hairs of his groin.  It was as if it had
possessed Ull’s consciousness, and was now leading his body, which was only its
vehicle of transportation.  Suddenly Ull grunted in pain and looked down.  He
had kicked a stone hard and cut his foot.  He was hurt only enough to be
momentarily distracted, but the offending stone held his fascination for a
moment.  It was smooth and clear, yet strangely reflected a myriad of colors.  Intrigued,
he bent and picked it up.  He turned it over several times, looking at it from
every angle.  Each turn shot off new rays of reflected light.  It was oblong,
about half the size of a human head.  Enamored of the pretty stone, Ull almost
forgot about his prey, until he chanced to spy her beyond the rock as he held
it up to catch a ray of sun.  Suddenly, his initial purpose returned to him
with the force of a thunderclap.  He pitched the stone over his shoulder,
already forgetting it, and continued advancing upon the girl.

He seized the girl once again by the hair, and threw her
sideways such that she landed face down, her arms shooting out to brace her
against the fall.  He quickly reached out, grabbed her hips, and jerked her
body up, so that her rear end presented his goal to him, unobstructed.  Without
warning or hesitation he plunged deeply into the girl, driving a grunt of
discomfort out of her.  He pounded away violently, heedless of the girl or
anything else around him.  Every thrust drove her harshly into the ground.  She
lay still, expressionless, merely receiving with no reaction the jolts of Ull’s
body, pressing her roughly from behind.  Occasionally an involuntary grunt was
forced out of her throat.

Ull threw his head back and closed his eyes.  His wide
nostrils flared, his thick lips curled back in a grin that was more of a snarl,
and he increased the tempo of his thrusts.  In less than two minutes from his
initial penetration, he suddenly stopped his motions, holding his pelvis
forward and his penis buried deep within the girl.  He let out a long, low,
satisfied moan as he released into her.  He immediately pulled out and flopped
over on his side.

Perceiving that Ull no longer posed an immediate danger to
her, the girl curled up next to him, hugging her knees tightly and burrowing
her back up against his side to acquire some of his warmth.  Ull was already
snoring, his chest, covered in thick red hair, heaving and sinking with every
deep breath.  The girl merely stared into the dense forest, and lay very still.

They remained that way for several hours.  The sun continued
on its path across the sky, creating an ever-changing panoply of light and
color through the dense leaves of the surrounding forest.  Occasionally a shaft
of sunlight would strike Ull’s discarded stone, shooting a bolt of rainbow
color along the cliff wall.  The girl lay very still, watching the play of
light and listening to the wind gently rustling through the leaves. 

Suddenly, Ull awoke with a snort.  He looked around, bewildered,
until the reality of his waking life reasserted its grip upon his
consciousness.  He perceived the warmth of the girl by his side, and looked
down at her.  The girl, sensing his movement, turned over and returned his
gaze.  Her face was expressionless.

Although the events of the morning were still fresh in his
mind,  Ull was completely relaxed and at peace, having exerted himself in
battle and in sexual intercourse, then having slept soundly.  He no longer
harbored any ill will or lustful desires toward this female avatar of his
enemy.  His eyes landed on her cheek, where he had back-handed her earlier.  It
was red and swollen, developing the first blue tinges of a bruise.  Gazing upon
the wound he had inflicted, a new sensation overcame Ull, something he had
never encountered before.  He felt a strange urge to reach over and gently
stroke the girl’s cheek, where he had hurt her.  She instinctively responded,
pushing her face into the cup of his hand so he was better able to caress her. 

Odd sensations were welling up inside Ull, inklings of
emotions he did not fully comprehend.  He was confused, not knowing what to
do.  He was beginning to experience tender and protective feelings toward this
small, defenseless, dark-haired female, whom he had wantonly assaulted and
violated just a few hours earlier.  He peered into her eyes, and she returned
his gaze.  They beheld each other’s faces for long, uncountable moments, both
seeing and feeling indescribable new stirrings in their souls.