Servants and Followers (The Legends of Arria, Volume 2) (46 page)

“
I have some idea.”
Goga said, nodding and bowing his head. “I have more of an idea now
than I did once. I apologize for what my brother and I have failed
to do in the past. We will not fail again. We had no idea once, but
now that we know, for certain almost, we will not fail
again.”

“
I hope so, for your
sake.” The Black Wolf said, licking his lips. “This is your last
chance to prove yourself as a Follower of Doomba. Agasint his
better judgment, the Wolf packs are standing by, awaiting further
orders. They will not attack, but will wait for you to fulfill your
mission, and capture the group on your own. Proof that you can
accomplish a mission successfully.” The Black Wolf practically
sneered.

“
I can handle it.”
Goga said.

“
If you succeed and
deal with the threat, the Wolves will stand down, but if you fail,
the Wolves will have at them. Show them no mercy, Goga, or we will
show you no mercy.” The Black Wolf insisted. “You have 12 days to
accomplish the task. Does this sound fair to you?” The Black Wolf
asked.

“
It does. Just one
question.” Goga asked.

“
Yes?” The Black Wolf
said, turning to Goga.

“
Do you know which
one wields the Black Sword?” Goga asked.

“
The Black Sword?”
The Black Wolf bristled, growling. “I do not know.” The Black Wolf
admitted, his ruffled fur going down. “Keep your eye out, and see
which one does.” The Black Wolf said, turning away. “I leave this
man in your care. Fare you well, Goga.” The Black Wolf said,
leaving behind the injured guard, groaning softly as he faded into
unconsciousness.

Hava shuddered. “Why did you have to
provoke it?” He asked.

“
I just wanted to
know what was known about this group that we were supposed to be on
the lookout for at Coe Aela,” Goga said, bending down to look at
his injured man. “Apparently, not much. Hava, take this side. We
must carry him back out onto the path.” Hava came over to help.
“One of the horses will have to be used to carry him, unless some
of the men can bear him up along on a stretcher.” Goga paused in
his conversation as he and Hava hoisted the injured guard up, and
carried him back towards the halted guards.

“
A
ctually, a
horse might
be better. It would be too unwieldy to carry him around on a
stretcher all of the time.” Goga said, before he ordered one of his
men to dismount, and surrender his horse to bear the injured
man.

“
What about--” Hava
gasped, a little winded after having helped carry the injured man,
and heaving him up onto the horse’s back. “What about the Black
Sword? And the--Black Wolf not knowing much?” He asked.

“
Either the Black
Wolves do not know much about the group, which is likely if Doomba
doesn’t want word to spread about them being potential Knights of
Arria,” Goga said, strapping down the injured guard as best he
could to the horse’s back, “Or not even Doomba knows much. This
also could be a possibility, though disturbing.” Goga said, turning
to Hava.

“
Why?” Hava
asked.

“
Doomba does not know
what he is facing.” Goga said. “Doomba could be facing his end if
the Knights wield the Black Sword against him. And that is
disturbing.” Goga muttered. “Call in the other guards!” He called
out to his men. “We’ll be leaving the area shortly, en
masse!”

“
What? But they’re
just children.” Hava sputtered.

“
We’ve established
this, Hava, interrogating Janus.” Goga insisted. “They’re not just
children, they’re growing up. They have the potential for violence,
and that is disturbing.” Goga said. “I don’t think they’re as
innocent as Janus would have led you to believe. Especially if they
have the potential to unman and overthrow Doomba. That would be
chaos for us Followers and Servants of Doomba, because we need
Doomba, our leader and our protector, because without Doomba we
would be powerless, nothing. Life would have no meaning, and we
would be directionless. He gives us our meaning, our power, our
direction and--”

“
Okay, okay.” Hava
said, turning back to his horse.

“
You are a Follower
of Doomba, are you not?” Goga said, grabbing Hava. “You made the
oath to Doomba, you swore to obey him, and you kissed the ring, did
you not?” He asked, turning the other man around to face
him.

Hava shuddered. “It was disgusting.
Imagining how many mouths might have--”

“
Never mind that.”
Goga said. “You kissed the ring, did you not? And did you--feel
something--”

“
What, like a--” Hava
frowned as he tried to describe it. “Like something was sucking the
wind out of me?”

“
Exactly. That is
part of the ceremony.” Goga said, nodding as he clasped Hava
tightly on the shoulder. “And that part--kissing the ring--that is
an exchange between you and Doomba. You owe him as much as he owes
you. You have a part of him in you as much as he has a part of you
in him.” Goga emphasized the last.

“
Yes, yes, they said
that in the ceremony, but--” Hava gasped. “They mean it, don’t
they? That I have a part of Doomba inside of me? And he has a part
of me? That is disturbing!” Hava cried.

“
Calm down, Hava.”
Goga said, patting him on the shoulder. “You made the agreement
with your oath. You are a Follower of Doomba now, no matter what.”
Goga circled around Hava from behind him. “It’s a spoken agreement,
one sealed by the kiss and the exchange of spirits, as one may say.
It’s binding even if you break it, Hava.” Goga said, turning to
Hava as the other man looked nervous. “You will be a Follower for
the rest of your life and even beyond, with a part of your spirit
lingering inside of Doomba. Be proud of that.”

“
Proud?
I’m
…
Goga, how could you accept that, knowing what you know?” Hava
asked, changing the subject. “You made an oath like that, gave away
a part of your self
…
you wouldn’t have done that if it
was Fobata who was accepting your oath!”

“
You are right about
that.” Goga managed to say, staring at Hava. “I made the oath with
Doomba when I was a young man, yet I knew what would happen
upfront, because my father had told me about the ceremony
beforehand. But it was because I knew what would happen that I
decided to do it. I did not want to stay forever in my brother’s
shadow. I wanted to stay in Doomba’s shadow forever. I made a
choice about what I wanted to do for my future, and I was proud of
it.” Goga said.

“
I would obey Doomba,
not Fobata. And for that, I would be a better man, a stronger man
than he was. For Fobata obeys only himself, and no one else. Even
when he participated in the ceremony and kissed the ring, I knew
that Fobata held a part of himself away from Doomba. His lips
touched the ring only slightly, just enough for him to seal the
deal and not reveal too much of himself to Doomba. I kissed the
ring fully and embraced Doomba into myself
.
I felt joy in that moment.
The purest joy that I have ever known. I had no qualms about
becoming a Follower of Doomba. Not like some members of my
immediate family.”

Hava grimaced, shuddering again.
“Whatever you say, Goga.” He said.

“
Certainly.” Goga’s
grin seemed hollow, void of emotion, yet all the more menacing.
“Whatever I say.”

“
Just one question,”
Hava said after a moment, when they had mounted their horses and
continued on with the rest of the guards, “Do you think the Black
Wolf was speaking as himself, or was Doomba speaking through
him
, as a part of the Black
Wolf
?”

“
I haven’t got an
answer to that.” Goga said after a moment, although now he was
concerned that he might have upset Doomba even more. Definitely not
the wisest thing for him to do, if he wanted to stay
alive.

Chapter 15: Fire on the Mountain

Where Mila and Popo are met, forest to
hill,

There rises a mountain some call Old
Smoko.

Where Mila and Popo are met, marriage
of nature,

There is where Tau rose and took his
throne.

--
Legends of
Arria
, Arria

“‘
Twenty-nine, twenty-nine,
children Za and Wan had,’” Basha sang softly to himself as Gnat
snuggled up close to him inside the cave. “Twenty-nine, twenty-nine
children ‘til fifteen of them left. They went up, up, they went up,
up, to the sky on the mountain. They went up, up, they went up, up
to the sky on the mountain--’”

“
Stop singing that.” Oaka
muttered.

“
Sorry.” Basha
said.

“
Keep singing, Basha.” Fato
said, nestled close to Monika on her lap. “We need some music to
keep us awake.” The falcon remarked.

“
Do you just object to
everything I say to annoy me?” Oaka asked.

“
Maybe.” Fato
confirmed.

After two and a half days
of walking and running from Coe Aela, they reached the foothills of
the first mountain range in the Popo Hills. They started climbing
on the 18
^th
of Markee, managing to make at least 15 miles a day on the
foothills and lower slopes of the mountain on that day and then the
next, when there was a path and the incline was gentle enough. But
then their progress slowed to a crawl the next day and the day
after that on the mountainside, especially when they had to grab
onto the face of the mountainside, staggering across to reach the
other side, their feet threatening to slip down. Monika was of
great help to them in those times, with her previous experience of
mountain-climbing. She told them of the best foot- and hand-holds,
and how to use the rope to secure themselves. Fato kept up with
them, and sometimes went ahead, but the wind gusts kept knocking
him back.

It was hard to move and
rest sometimes in this close to dangling position, but they managed
to hang on barely, stopping to rest on any wide ledge they could
find before continuing. On the 22
^nd
day, they reached the other
side of the mountain, but they had to stop here as the weather got
bad. They managed to find a cave, barely more than a rift, on the
side of the mountain, as sleet came down and the temperature
dropped close to freezing. They had no wood for a fire, no proper
kindling to keep them warm in the night.

“
Don’t stop singing,
Basha.” Gnat said as well, shivering as she looked up at him. “Or
at least say something.”

“
Like what?” Basha asked,
wondering if she looked pale and blue. They probably all looked
pale and blue, even Fato beneath his feathers.

Gnat shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you
know any stories?” She asked him.

“
Of course I do,”
Basha said, and hesitated. “Usually only the Old
Man
…
he is a storyteller, or katlin, in our hometown, besides
being our protector
,
he is the one who usually only tells the stories,
but I wll try.” Basha said, clearing his throat before he
began.

Myth
of
Tau’s Cup

Mila and Popo recovered from the shock
of Tau’s birth slowly, as Tau was put in charge of the ground not
covered by Mila’s forest, Popo’s mountains, or Menthar’s desert.
Tau performed well in his task, maintaining the grass, fields,
prairies and valleys that fell under his domain, watched over by
all of his parents, even by Menthar trapped in the desert, until
they felt comfortable with having another god like him around. They
left him alone, and he wondered if he had upset them somehow, that
he had been forced into this task and moved away from their
territories. Tau looked up into the sky, and wondered why no one
had claimed it yet.

He went up into the
sky, possessing the strength and height of Popo, the fire and
ferocity of Menthar, the ineffability and inevitability of Loqwa,
and the growth and magic of Mil
a. W
hereas all of the other gods
had failed to rise above the ground they had fallen upon, after
being dropped from the sky in the egg released from Day’s and
Night’s union, Tau rose above for he possessed all of the qualities
of the other four gods within himself. Tau reached the sky, and the
sun, moon, stars and clouds were his
. H
e claimed them for himself and
for the other gods.

He opened a bridge between the sky and
earth, the rainbow, and the gods were able to reach the sky again.
For this reason, Tau’s domain became the sky, and of the Cloud
Rulers the gods became, he was the greatest, known as king of the
Cloud Rulers. Mila and Popo had recovered sufficiently enough, and
loved each other enough, that they bore a daughter together named
Quela, yet Mila’s strength had diminished in death. She allowed
Quela to take on some of her responsibilities, namely in the realm
of caring for female animals and their offspring as well as
nourishing and replenishing the waters of the earth. Tau and Quela
eventually wedded each other as the only other gods in their
generation, and Quela became queen of the gods.

Quela eventually bore
a daughter named Gorbana, who often wandered in Mila’s forest and
joined the predatory animals in their hunt for sustenance, leading
to her designation as goddess of the hunt and of animals in
general
, taking away another
of Mila’s responsibilites
. Gorbana often
associated with Loqwa as Gorbana’s hunt led to the prey’s demise.
For a long while, they were the only gods upon the earth, when
there was no need for any other gods to do anything as they had
very little to do themselves. Nature took its own course, the
mechanics of it ran like clockwork or at least were regular enough,
and they only had to guide it along in a general thrust.