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CHAPTER 1
“Oryen! Oreyn wake up!” I cracked open my eyes to see
the panicked countenance of my father at the foot of my
bed. “Ready yourself, one of our scouts spotted a group of
nomads heading our way from the south.” he said to me. I
hastily jumped out of bed and took up my claymore.
“Hurry up Oreyn! We haven’t much time! Meet me at the
south side of the village in five minutes!” my father
exclaimed. After putting on my armor I walked outside of my
house on the north side of the village. It looked like
today was another white-out. I was beginning to grow tired
of this place. Our village was always involved in some sort
of quarrel leading to war. The people had become dull and
stone cold.
As I ran towards the south side of the village I
noticed all of the women and children shuffling into the
town hall, east of my house. They most likely knew they
wouldn’t be safe there but it’s the most protected
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construct in our village so they had no choice. The snow
covered buildings towering around me, isolating this
village. I quickly ran to rendezvous with my father and the
other warriors in my village, noticing there are many more
inexperienced warriors here this time. It appears we’re
getting desperate. For a moment there is a deadly quiet as
I stood staring into the edge of the forest, waiting for
the enemy to arrive. Tiny beads of sweat began to drip from
my nose. Even after all the battles I’ve fought in, war
remains one of the most frightening things to me; you could
feel the tension in the air.
Finally we saw them emerge from the woods, wearing
bear pelt armor and dripping in war paint, their eyes full
of animosity.
“These animals are ruthless, Oreyn, have no mercy.” my
father said to me.
Hearing footsteps behind me, I turned around to see
Roope, my friend and one of the most skilled warriors in
our village, approach wearing his fallen father’s plate
armor and carrying a battle axe. He walked to my side and
gave me a slight nod.
Breaking the silence, these barbarians let out an ear-
piercing, bloodthirsty roar. You could see the terror
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written on our warriors faces. Taking a readied stance,
sword ahead of me, these nomads begin to charge, followed
by our men. As we met you could hear the bone cracking
impact of the bodies smashing into each other. I let out a
battle cry and plunged my sword at the man charging me. He
dashed to the right dodging my sword while cleaving me off
of my feet with his battle axe. Dazed on the ground I
looked up to see the blade of his axe intercepted. I turn
to see Roope standing by my side, unleashing a violent
slash beheading the man.
“Stay on your feet, Oreyn, these men are agile” he
said to me. I returned to my feet, noticing the once white
snow tattered with red. Everywhere I looked I could see
lifeless bodies falling to the ground, mutilated by the
weapons of these savages. Fury consumed me as I made a
charge at these men. Blindly swinging, I felt the impact of
my blade against their bodies and the splattering of blood
on my skin. Just as there appeared to be no hope, a loud
and eerie sound of a horn permeates the air. The barbarians
immediately stopped fighting and retreated back into the
forest. I noticed the common look of confusion amongst the
survivors.
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“Men,” my father said, wiping the blood and sweat off
of his face, “Lets not trust that these men won’t be back.
Keep ready.”
Roope and I walked over to examine the bloodied
battlefield.
“Don’t you find it at all odd that these men
that had a clear advantage over us would retreat mid-
fight?” Roope whispered while we were collecting the
fallen.
“I suppose so, but I’m not concerned as to why they
left, I’m just glad they’re gone for now,” I replied. We
all knew that if they came back we would not be able to
survive. Our village has become significantly weaker over
the years that these men have been persistently attacking
us, particularly with the death of Roope’s father, Jaska.
Jaska was the greatest warrior our village has ever known.
He gave his life in battle to protect us. He would not be
forgotten.
We arrived back to the town hall to warn the people of
the ever-looming presence of this nomadic clan. As we
entered my mother ran to greet my father and I. Our village
leader and war-chief, Stendarr, continued to tell the
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people of what happened out there, and the strange noise
which caused the enemy to retreat. I was very uneasy about
the attack. Any second now they could strike us off guard.
After our town meeting, Sulkasiipi, Roope’s sister,
ran up to me.
“I was so worried about you Oreyn! What happened to
you?” she yelled.
“Nothing to worry about, just a few cuts and bruises,
I’ll be better by morning” I replied. Roope and I continued
to walk towards my house, just across the village.
“I think my sister is in love with you, Oreyn” Roope
said while letting out a slight chuckle
“Is that so?” I asked with a grin.
“Yes that’s so! Are you blind? She’s obsessed with
you; she won’t stop talking about you. It’s rather annoying
really” he replied
“She is not obsessed with me. Besides, she’s your
sister; you know I couldn’t like her” I said. I didn’t know
what I thought of Sulkasiipi.
“She is my best friend’s sister” I kept telling
myself.
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Roope and I parted ways and I finally arrived back at
my house. I walked inside to see my parents standing
waiting for me.
“Oreyn, we don’t know how much longer we can stay
here. This village is quickly deteriorating. You saw what
happened out there, and it can only get worse from here on
out” my mother said.
“What? So we’re just supposed to leave? These people
will be massacred for sure if we leave!” I replied.
“This is a dying fight, Oreyn. No matter how much we
try to resist they will eventually defeat us. There is a
sister village across the sea that we will be moving to.
We’ll leave when this white-out finally lets up” she said
sternly.
“You can’t be serious! What about the people here?
What about Roope and Sulkasiipi?” I asked.
“Anybody who wishes to come with us is welcome to
join. Your father and I have made our decision, and you’ll
have to deal with it.” I could feel my face burning up with
anger. My parents cannot just simply leave these people
here. They’ll be killed within a month for sure. My parents
continued to try and comfort me but it wasn’t working. How
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can I leave my whole life behind me? This village was my
family, I couldn’t let them die.
“You guys are just cowards” I said to them. To which
they simply walked away. Angrily, I walked up the stairs to
my bedroom while thinking how pathetic my parents are for
abandoning everybody out of nothing but fear.
After a short nap, though I did not sleep much, I got
up to go tell Roope about my parents’ decision. I walked
over to his house and knocked on the door. Sulkasiipi
opened to greet me.
“Oh, Oreyn hi!” she said.
“Hey I don’t mean to bother you, is Roope here?” I
asked.
“Yes he is, please come in” she replied with a smile.
I entered the house as she ran upstairs to get Roope. After
an oddly quiet moment, Roope walked down the stairs.
“Oreyn, my sister said you needed me?”
“Yes, I have some bad news” I replied.
“Well what is it then?”
“My parents have decided to move to a sister village
across the sea. They’re making me go with them. I don’t
have a choice to stay” I said.
“What? Why?” he said in a distressed voice.
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“They say our village is hopeless. That’s what they told me
anyways. They said anybody who wants to leave with us is
welcome; we have room on our boat” I replied.
“So you just expect me to leave these people behind
because you’re leaving?” he asked.
“No, but as much as I don’t want to leave, my parents
have a point. If these people have any intelligence they’ll
leave if they hear of another attack. It’s their own fault
if they die” I said.
“I can’t believe you would say that! Just give me some
time, Oreyn. I’ll think it over tonight. Now go home and
get some sleep. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”
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CHAPTER 2
After a sleepless night the morning finally came. I
could not shut my mind off. The realization that I’m
leaving my whole world behind began to hit me. I turned
around and looked out my window, noticing how the village
looks even more desolate than it looked before. I heard a
gentle knock on the door to my room followed by the
peculiar creak of the door opening.
“Oreyn, its almost mid-day, aren’t you going to come down?”
my mother asked.
“Just leave me alone” I replied. She walked into my
room, came to my side and placed her hand on my shoulder.
“Listen, I know this is hard for you but it’s
something we have to do” she said. I shrugged her hand off
and turned away.
“It’s not something we have to do!” I exclaimed, “we
don’t have to leave! We can stay here and fight.”
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“You don’t understand Oreyn, staying to fight is
pointless. The elders all know that if those men come back
again there will be no chance. Unfortunately the people
here are too stubborn to believe that” she said.
“Well if the elders know there isn’t a chance why
don’t they leave too?” I asked.
“The elders here have no reason to leave; they’ve
reached their full potential. They want to die fighting for
our ancestors. But you have untapped potential Oryen! You
are the reason we’re leaving” my mom replied.
“What about my friends here? I can’t just leave them
behind!” I yelled.
“If they have any sense they’ll leave with us. Now get
up and get dressed, you can’t stay in your room all day”
she said as she stood up.
“Coward” I muttered. She walked out of the room and
slammed the door behind her.
I got up, got dressed, and walked outside of my house.
The whiteout is finally starting to fade away. I’m
frustrated to notice people carrying on in ignorance if
what could happen. It’s as if the attack yesterday never
happened. I looked ahead to see Roope sitting outside of
the town hall on a bench with an uneasy look on his face.
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“Its final, Roope, I’m leaving mid-day tomorrow. Have
you decided if you are going to stay or not?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’ve thought about it. My mom heard about it
from your parents. She told me the smart thing to do would
be to go with you guys across to the other village. But I’m
all my mom has left besides my sister. I don’t know how I
could just abandon them” he said.
“Well if your mom understands what’s going on why
doesn’t she leave with us as well?” I replied
. “I asked her the same thing. She told me that there
was no point to her leaving and that she wanted to stay so
she could visit my father’s grave in her last moments” he
said as tears began to fill his eyes.
“You don’t have to come with us. If you think it would
be best to stay here with your mom then that’s what you
have to do” I replied.
“No,” he said, “I have to carry out my mom’s wishes.
She wants me to go with you so I can have the life my
father couldn’t have. Listen, I need time to think alone
ok?” Tears began to run down Roope’s face.
“I’ll leave you to it then. If you need someone to
talk to all you have to do is ask.” He dropped his head and
began to stare at the ground. It was truly disturbing to
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see someone as strong as Roope so depressed and hurt. I
thought I should go see Sulkasiipi and see how she was
holding up with all of this. I walked to her house and
knocked on the door. Roope’s mother opened the door with
tears in her eyes.
“Oh, Oreyn, nice to see you. Please come in” she told
me, trying to hold the tears back.
“Roope told me about everything, I know” I said.
“You guys will look out for each other won’t you?” she
asked while beginning to cry.
“I don’t think anyone needs to look after your son” I
replied. She smiled while wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Yes, well he takes after his father.” It was easy to
tell she was trying to make things appear better than they
were.
“So, all that aside, any specific reason you’re here?”
she asked.
“Yes, I thought I should talk to Sulkasiipi about
Roope leaving and everything that’s going on” I said.
“Oh, she’s upstairs in her room. Feel free to go up
and see her” she replied. I nodded and proceeded upstairs.
I knocked on the door to her room.
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“Come in!” she yelled. I opened the door and walked in
the room. She was huddled over a table in the corner with a
concentrated look on her face.
“Oreyn! I didn’t expect to see you! What are you doing
here?” she said excitedly.
“I thought I would come and see how you were holding
up” I replied.
“Oh I’m doing alright, its sad to see you go. I
really will miss you” she said with a rather depressed look
on her face. She got up from the table and walked over
towards with me with her fist clenched. She then took my
hand and placed something in it. It was a necklace made of
leather and bear’s teeth, it was perfect.
“You-You made this for me?” I said, stumbling over my
words.
“Yes, I’ve been working on it all week. I knew you
would like it” she replied. I couldn’t hold my tears back
anymore. If she stays here she’ll die.
“It’s ok; we’ll see each other again. The way those
men retreated, I doubt they’ll ever come back” she said
with a smile.
“Sulkasiipi, you don’t understand” before I could
finish she took put her hands in mine and looked at me with
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her piercing blue eyes. She slowly came closer and closer.
I tried to finish what I was going to say but was at a loss
of words.
“It’s ok” she said quietly as our lips met for the
first time.
“You better get home now, its getting late” she said
with a smirk. I stepped back, almost tripping over the
floor
“Yeah ok. I’ll see you tomorrow then” I replied. With
a slight grin she gently pushed me out of the door. I
stumbled out of her room, walked down the stairs, and ran
out the door. I couldn’t help but smile. I also had a
feeling of uneasiness knowing that after tomorrow I may
never see her again. I didn’t feel like going home so I
went on a walk in the woods, the deadwood trees looming
over me like tomorrow’s departure. I had a lot on my mind.
Maybe I’m overreacting to this situation and it’s not as
bad as the elders say. But then again, I’ve never seen the
elders act this way. They’re usually open to talk about
anything but ever since the attack they’ve been unusually
quiet. As if they know something we don’t.
After a short walk the sun began to set and daylight
was fading in the woods. I walked back home while still
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contemplating this situation. I could barely step into my
house before I hear my mother yelling at me.
“Oreyn! Where have you been?” she said.
“I told you I was going out” I replied. She gave me the
look she always gives when she’s angry.
“I’ve had a long day I’m just going to go upstairs
and sleep” I said. Without a reply she walked away into the
kitchen with a disappointed look on her face. I walked up
to my room and collapsed on my bed, which seemed unusually
uncomfortable. It will be difficult to sleep but I’ll have
to try.
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CHAPTER 3
The sun began to rise over the horizon on the dawn of
my last day here as I sat gazing out of my window. The
village coated in an icy, white blanket. Just across from
my house, the village seer, Kippo, emerged from his home as
he did everyday to pray at the fountain. Kippo is the
religious leader of our village. Most people believe he’s
crazy but he has become a father figure to me. He taught me
how to fight and act while my father was away. I clothed
myself and hurried out the door to catch up with Kippo.
“Oreyn, what are you doing up so early?” he said as I
walked up behind him.
“I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been rather anxious about the
move today” I replied.
“Yes, I know about the move. Oreyn, I feel a very bad
omen about your departure today. Do not test the gods.”
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“Do you think I want to leave? If it were my choice I
would stay here stay but I have no word in the matter” I
said in a stern voice.
After a short walk we had arrived at the fountain.
“I’m just warning you, I have a very uneasy feeling
about your trip. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to meditate
on the day ahead of me.” I nodded my head and walked back
to my house.
Kippo always had a way of leaving me utterly suspended
and confused, perhaps its part of his teaching method. I
walked in the front door of my house to see my mother
sitting at the table in the kitchen.
“What were you doing out so early?” she asked with a
surprised look.
“I was out talking with Kippo at the fountain” I said.
“You know I don’t like you talking with him, he gives
me a bad feeling” she replied.
“You’ve never taken the time to talk with him, mom.
Maybe if you tried you might think differently. He told me
he sensed a bad omen about our departure today” I said.
“Listen, Kippo is aged and isn’t quite there. The bad
weather is beginning to lighten up so we’ll be fine” she
said with a sigh.
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“Whatever you say . . .” I muttered. I walked upstairs
to catch a few more hours of sleep before the day. After a
short nap my dad came knocking on my door
“Get up!” he yelled, “We’re going to go over to Roope
and his mother’s house to discuss the trip out of here.”
My mother, father, and I walked over to their house
and discussed some of the minor details of the trip and
assured Roope’s mother he would be safe. After discussing
the logistics we ate and went our separate ways. I returned
home to pack up all of my belongings. Chances are I won’t
be coming back here again. I then looked over at the
necklace Sulkasiipi gave me and was reminded once more of
all that I’m losing. The frustration is too much so to get
my mind off of things I took up my sword and went into the
back to practice on the wooden practice dummy my father
made. After about thirty minutes of hacking away at the
stupid thing my mother came out and told me to get inside
and clean up. We leave for the sister village in only one
hour. At this point I was ready to just get it over with
and move on. I was tired of this dragging on and on.
I gathered my things and went to the docks to drop off
my stuff on the boat. The boat was unusually small for
traveling across the sea, making me even more nervous about
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what Kippo had said to me this morning. Just then, Roope
came beside me and threw his things onto the boat
“You ready for this?” he asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I said with a sigh, “what
about you?”
“I’m doing alright, just ready to get this over with”
he said with a frown. We then both walked to the fountain
at the town center for the town meeting addressing our
departure. Upon arrival I notice tears in my mother and
father’s eyes, a rather shocking sight. I don’t think I had
ever seen my dad cry.
The whole town gathers around Jaska, our village
leader.
“Today we want to bid a farewell to some of the most
prized members of our community. The Skorvild family, as
well as Roope Ogrim, are leaving us to live in our sister
village across the sea for personal reasons” he said.
“Yeah, personal reasons . . . sure” I muttered.
“Come on Oreyn, just listen and then we can go” Roope
whispered while elbowing me in the side.
“. . . In conclusion, we will miss all of you, have a
safe journey!” Jaska said. I rolled my eyes, walked to the
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boat, and waited for Roope and my parents to say their
goodbyes.
Finally they walked down the dock and climbed aboard.
“Ok boys, lets get your sleeping quarters set up. You
two will sleep down in the storage room. Oreyn, your mother
and I will sleep in the cabin on deck” he said in a stern
voice. We nodded and followed him down to the storage room.
There was dust and cobwebs everywhere, along with a dead
rat in the corner of the room. My dad began to clean the
dust off of things.
“Ok we’ll hang hammocks for you two using the support
beams” he muttered to himself. We finished hanging them up
and went back on deck to once again wave farewell to our
past. My dad cut the rope and we began to drift out to sea.
I looked back at the shore to see the people waving. I
looked closer and saw Sulkasiipi looking back at me with a
smile that made me feel like everything was going to be ok.
I waved at her and with a tear falling from her eye she
waved back.
“Are you ok Oreyn?” Roope asked me.
“Yeah, I’m fine” I replied.
At last the shore was no longer visible in the slight
mist.
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“Alright, we’re going to set up in our cabin. Food and
supplies are in the storage room with you guys if you need
anything” my dad said with a shaking voice. He and my mom
then left while Roope and I stood on the deck in complete
silence, deafening silence that lasted for only a moment,
thought it seemed like hours.
“Let’s go down and find something to eat” I said.
Roope nodded and followed me down to our room. I opened one
of the crates and pulled out a loaf of bread and split it
with Roope.
“What do you think this new village will be like?” he
asked.
“I don’t know. I heard it’s a lot bigger and safer
than ours” I replied.
“Perhaps the girls there will be better than our
village as well” he said with a grin.
“I guess we’ll find out” I replied with a laugh. My
smile quickly died as I kept thinking of Sulkasiipi. I
couldn’t help but think of what the worst could be. If
those beasts attack again I could never see her again.
After trying to sleep for around three hours the boat
began to shake violently. Roope woke up and turned to me
with a terrified look on his face. We rushed up and opened
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the hatch to the deck. The thunder was roaring while the
rain fell like a barrage of tiny arrows. The wind was
taking us off course and violently rocking our boat from
side to side. My father was standing at the door to his
cabin holding onto the frame of the door.
“Get back down to the storage room! I’ve got this
under control!” he yelled. I quickly closed the hatch and
made my way back to the storage room, being slammed from
wall to wall. Roope hadn’t said a word, his face looked
petrified.
“Lets at least try and get some sleep, we’ll be fine”
I said. Just then the boat thrashed me and Roope to the
floor, my head hitting one of the beams on the way down. I
looked at Roope as my vision started to go black. He had
been flung into the wall and was unconscious. I tried to
yell to him but couldn’t find words. Finally, everything
went black.
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CHAPTER 4
A chilling breeze ran down my spine as I opened my
eyes. The whole room seemed to be at a tilt. I stood up
with a slight tremble and went over to Roope to see how he
was doing. He was lying unconscious in the middle of the
room.
“Roope wake up!” I yelled while shaking him,“come on
Roope wake up!”
He grunted and twitched as he opened his eyes.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I’m not quite sure, I think we crashed into shore” I
replied.
“Well lets get up there and check it out” he said
with a nod, simply shaking off the crash. We dashed to the
ladder out of the storage room. As Roope opened the hatch
to the deck a blinding light beamed through into my eyes.
After a few seconds I regained my vision and stood up on
deck. My suspicion was correct, we had shipwrecked on a
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rocky shore. As I was inspecting the damage, I noticed
distinct gashes and cuts in the wood. As I looked closer I
saw blood splattered on the wood of the deck. My heart
seemed to jump out of my chest as my mind ran the worst
possible scenarios through my head. I pushed Roope out of
the way and ran into the cabin on deck. I opened the door
to find the bed turned over and the room completely
ravaged.
“What happened? Where did they go?” Roope said as he
ran into the room.
“I don’t know!” I exclaimed. My heart began to race. I
couldn’t afford to lose my parents. Roope and I both began
to realize that we were blown far off course due to the
storm.
“Someone has been here. Somebody took them!” I said.
My blood boiled at the thought of what Kippo said back at
the village.
“Oreyn, lets just calm down and get some supplies
ready. Then we can set out to find your parents” Roope
replied with a calming voice. Roope has always helped me
keep my head on straight.
“Well hurry up then, we’ll go searching today and
return here for the night”
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I said with a sigh. He nodded and ran down to the storage
room to prepare.
I knew that whatever took my parents is out there,
wherever we are. I couldn’t help but think that they were
murdered. I tried to convince myself that it would be ok,
but I knew that ultimately things were only going to get
worse. Roope came back up from the storage room and handed
me my claymore. We looked at each other, and without words
we set off to find my parents. All we had to follow was the
occasional fading footprint in the snow.
It was deadly quiet as we walked inland on this
seemingly barren island. The wind howling as we walked
through snowy evergreen forests.
“Did you hear that?” Roope whispered.
“Hear what?” I replied.
“Never mind” he said with a sigh. It was easy to see
that Roope was becoming nervous about this. As we continued
to search, the footprints became fainter and fainter,
eventually vanishing. A loud crack emanated from the woods,
breaking the silence.
“You heard that . . . right?” Roope said nervously.
“Yeah, it’s probably nothing. Come on, let’s keep
going.” I replied. Roope’s uneasiness began to rub off on
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me. It could have been anything from a rabbit to a bear
that made that sound. We stopped and listened for a moment
and just as we began to walk again a loud roar pierced my
ears. Roope hastily turned around with wide eyes.
“Oreyn turn around!” he exclaimed. I looked behind me
to see a monstrous bear hurling towards me. My hands were
shaking as I attempted to pull my claymore out of the
sheath. The hilt was caught on a loose leather strap. The
beast was just upon me as my sword came unsheathed. The
bear let out another ferocious growl and slammed me into
the ground. A sharp pain ran down my left arm where the
bear had hit.
“Oreyn!” Roope yelled. He pulled out his broad sword
and charged the bear. He jumped and plunged the blade of
his sword into the bear’s neck. It mauled Roope to the
ground and began to toss around trying to get the sword
out. Roope and I crawled back while the beast began to
roar. After a moment the bear fell to the ground with a
whimper. I stood up and walked over to it, blade in hand. I
took my sword and pierced its heart to put it out of its
misery. With one last thrust of my blade the beast was
dead. The pain in my arm was growing worse by the second.
“Are you ok?” Roope asked.
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“Yeah I should be fine” I replied.
“Let’s go back to the boat. We can make you a cast for
your arm there” he said.
I nodded and we turned around, heading back to the boat for
the night.
While on the way back I kept thinking of possible
explanations for my parents vanishing. A tear fell from my
eye while thinking they could be dead. Finally we arrived
back to the ship, just as the sun began to set on the
horizon. We climbed aboard and went into the cabin. Roope
tore a strip of the sheets off the bed and made a cast.
“Stay here, I’m going to go out and get some wood for
a fire” Roope said.
I nodded and put the cast on my arm. Sitting alone with my
thoughts was an agonizing experience. I couldn’t let my
mind be at ease. After around half an hour Roope returned
with a bundle of sticks and logs. I jumped off the deck and
we set up the fire. After a few attempts, the fire was lit
and we went down into the storage room to get some food. We
sat down by the fire just as the sun had set.
“Oreyn, don’t worry about your parents, we’ll find
them” Roope said gently.
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29
“I’m not worried about whether we’ll find them or not”
I replied, “I’m worried that they’ve been murdered!”
“Calm down, we’ll go looking for them tomorrow. Just
don’t think about it and get some sleep. We’ll get up early
and find them” he replied. We set out the fire and went
into the storage room of the ship. I laid out one of the
bed rolls we brought and laid down. The scenario of my
parents’ murder kept running through my head. I thought I
would never get to sleep.
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CHAPTER 5
The sun rose quicker than I had thought as I was
laying freezing in the storage room. The sun’s radiant
beams pierced through a missing board in the ship’s hull.
Seconds later, Roope ran down from the deck.
“Let’s get a move on Oreyn. We’re not coming back here
again” Roope said softly. I nodded and rose out of my
hammock. After packing up I emerged from the storage room
to something I hadn’t seen in quite a while. The sun was
glistening outside bringing warmth I hadn’t felt in far too
long.
“Looks like this will be a great day to go looking for
your parents Oreyn, I’m sure we’ll find them” he said. We
began our journey and for once I felt good about the day. I
knew we could find my parents with the weather on our side.
The thick of the woods grew more and more as we walked
further into its seemingly ethereal grasp.
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“Look there! There are markings in the snow!” Roope
exclaimed. I looked down at the snow and saw a slight
indentation in a path running farther into the woods. It
looked as if somebody had been dragging something across
the snow.
“Come on, let’s follow it” I said. As we began to
follow this trail farther, the indentation grew deeper and
deeper.
“Should we continue to follow this Oreyn? It may be a
waste of time” Roope said.
“It’s the only sign we have to find my parents, we
have to follow it” I replied. We continued until far in the
distance I spotted a bulging in the snow.
“Roope, do you see that ahead?” I asked.
“No” he replied, “what is it?” My heart began to sink
in my chest.
“Come on, let’s go” I said.
I began to run towards this bulge, with Roope confused
behind me. As I drew closer it started to look more like
what I had feared, people.
I finally reached it and began to brush the snow off.
“No, no, no” I muttered under my breath as I swept the
snow off.
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32
I reached in and felt a hand, just as I had feared. My
heart began to race as I uncovered the last layer of snow.
I unveiled the snow to see the lifeless countenance of my
father, and next to him, my mother. It was as if someone
had cut open my chest and ripped my heart out.
“No!” I started to yell as tears poured out of my
eyes, “no!” Roope caught up and saw my parents. He fell to
his knees next to me and put his hand on my back. My
parents were all I had left besides Roope.
Anger and sorrow pulsed through my veins. I was angry
at how selfish and bitter I had become towards my parents.
The last memories they had of me were of me being a
disappointment. It was too much to handle, I couldn’t take
it anymore.
“We have to find whoever did this to my parents!” I
exclaimed.
I examined the bodies closer to see a small dagger in my
father’s back with what appeared to be a banner attached to
it. The banner was tattered and red with the word
“Skaal’drak” written on it.
“Skaal’drak?” I said.
“Wait, that word sounds familiar” Roope replied with a
puzzled look on his face.
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33
“There was a myth floating around our tribe, Drosiini,
that past exiles had formed a tribe in rebellion to ours
called ‘Skaal’. Perhaps this Skaal’drak has some sort of
tie with the Skaal.”
“That doesn’t matter to me right now Roope, all I know
is that I must avenge my parents’ deaths” I said.
“That’s a deathwish Oreyn!” Roope exclaimed.
“What else am I supposed to do? I’m doing this with or
without your help” I replied. He sighed and nodded his
head.
“Hey!” a mysterious voice emanated from the woods.
Roope and I shot up to our feet. I could feel the hairs on
my arms sticking straight up.
“Back away from them!” this man yelled as he emerged
from the veil of the trees.
He looked to be six feet tall with long, frayed brown hair
and a beard to match. In his hands was an enormous war
hammer, bigger than any I had ever seen. He pushed Roope
and I out of the way and examined my parents’ bodies.
“Just as I had thought” he muttered.
“You know who the Skaal’drak are?” I asked. He stood
to his feet and looked me straight in the eye with a
terrifying countenance.
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34
“Yes, I know them. A bunch of filthy murderers if you
ask me” he said.
“Who are they?” Roope asked.
“It all started with the Drosiini tribe. The Drosiini
exiled large numbers of people for not meeting up to their
‘holy’ standard. Us exiles decided to band together to take
revenge. We made this island our home and called ourselves
the Skaal. Our plan was to annihilate the Drosiini and take
control. However, there was a violent power struggle
between our two tribe’s two strongest warriors, Burim and
Urok. After what seemed to be a bloodbath over the issue,
our tribe split in half, the Skaal’drak occupy the northern
part of this island while the Skaal’tharom occupy the
south. As I am sure you have guessed, the Skaal’tharom is
my home tribe.”
“So you know where the Skaal’drak are located?” I
asked.
“Yes, what business do you have to be meddling in
Skaal’drak affairs?” he replied.
“These are my parents. They murdered my parents” I
said.
“Terribly sorry to hear that kid,” he said with a
chuckle, “but we have more serious issues to deal with.”
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35
“All I ask is that you tell me where they are” I
replied.
“Fine, I’ll take you to our camp so you can meet with
Burim. He will tell you where to find them” he said. Roope
and I nodded and followed him farther into the woods until
we reached a clearing.
“Here we are” he declared. The camp was nothing
special, several tents placed on an outer circle with a
wooden lodge in the center, probably used for war plans.
The man escorting us knocked on the door to the lodge.
“Come in!” He opened the door and gently shoved Roope
and I inside. The room smelled of smoke and roasted boar
meat. There was a large table in the center of the room
with eight chairs surrounding it, Burim sitting at the
head.
“And who are you?” he asked.
“My name is Oreyn,” I said, “and this is Roope.”
“Well Oreyn and Roope, what business do you have with
me?”
“My family and I crashed here yesterday, Roope and I
just found my parents dead by the hand of the Skaal’drak” I
said.
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36
He rose up from his chair and drew closer to us with a
rather condescending look in his eye.
“So let me guess, you want to take revenge?” he asked.
“Yes, it’s my only option” I said.
“Well, I suppose we can show you where their camp is
located. You will have to stay here for the night. Tomorrow
we will take you as far as we can. It’s not safe for us to
wander in their territory at night” he said. Roope and I
glanced at each other and then looked at Burim and nodded.
“Who was it that brought you here?” he asked.
“I’m afraid we never got his name” I said.
“He’s waiting just outside the door” Roope replied.
“Come in!” Burim yelled. The door opened with a creak
and the man who found us in the woods stepped in with an
uneasy look.
“Yes Burim?” the man said.
“These boys have plans to confront the Skaal’drak
tomorrow. They will stay with us tonight. Direct them to
your tent. That is where they shall sleep” Burim said.
“Come this way” the man said to us with a heavy sigh.
He stumbled out of the lodge and began to lead us to his
tent.
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37
“My name is Lumdrig by the way,” he said, “I still
think you’re crazy to even dare encroach on the
Skaal’drak’s land. They are the most ruthless and violent
tribe around these parts.”
“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s just something that
I have to do” I replied.
We arrived at his tent, directly behind the lodge. He
lifted the bear pelt door and pushed us inside.
“Get to sleep boys; you have a long day ahead of you
tomorrow. Perhaps even your last” he said with a rather
evil snicker. Roope and I unrolled our bedrolls and settled
in for the night with my heart in complete anxiety.
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38
CHAPTER 6
“Get up!” I opened my eyes and shot up to see one of
the Skaal’tharom warriors standing in the entry of the
tent.
“Get ready, we must leave before dawn breaks” he said.
I elbowed Roope and stood up. I went outside of the tent
and threw some snow on my face to wake myself up, Roope
just behind me.
“We must leave quickly, I will take you as far as I
can, and you will be on your own from then on” he said in a
hushed tone. Roope and I nodded and followed him out of the
camp. There was nothing but the faint blue light of the
night sky and the silhouette of the trees in our sight.
“My name is Silvas by the way, I’m the Skaal’tharom
scout. I’ve been through these woods hundreds of times, so
don’t worry I’m not getting us lost.”
“Oh, thanks for showing us to their camp,” I replied
timidly, “I’m Oreyn, and this is Roope.”
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39
“I know who you are. You shouldn’t be meddling in
Skaal’drak affairs, you know” he said.
“Yes I know, but it’s all I have left to do. I don’t
care if I die anymore” I said.
“Whatever you say” he muttered, “we’re almost there,
just a few more miles.” Silvas kept on scratching his arm
and grunting.
“You ok?” I asked.
“I’m fine, thanks” he said with a smile. By this time
I had noticed Roope beginning to grow more and more quiet.
I could tell he did not want to be doing this.
“Are you ok Roope?” I asked. He glanced over at me and
gave me a nod. A very unusual reply from Roope, he is
usually rather outspoken.
“Roope, thank you for helping me, I know it must be
hard on you” I said.
“No, I know how you’re feeling. After my father died I
would have done the same thing if I had the opportunity” he
replied. I knew not to linger on the subject too much
longer. The once faint blue light was beginning to grow
stronger as we walked.
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40
“Here we are, this is as far as I can take you,”
Silvas said, “follow the path of broken tree limbs to find
the enclave just above the Skaal’drak camp.”
“Thank you Silvas” I replied. He nodded at me and then
began to run back to his camp. I looked around searching
for a broken branch.
“Here it is” I said. Roope and I began to follow the
path of broken limbs. At times it felt as if we were
wandering in circles, all of the trees looked identical
with no end in sight. The idea of my parents being gone
forever finally began to come to surface. I had been too
busy to think about it until now. This realization was once
more tearing away at me. However, it reaffirmed my intents
in finding the Skaal’drak.
Finally we reached the enclave Silvas had spoken of.
We looked over to see the Skaal’drak camp, with banners
high in the air. The camp was nearly twice as large as the
Skaal’tharom camp. It consisted of several outer circles of
smaller tents with a wooden wall running around the entire
thing about six feet tall. In the center was a rather
extravagant tent in which I assumed Urok lived. As I looked
closer a man emerged from the center tent. He was dressed
in bear pelt armor with long black hair and was holding a
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41
giant war-axe that looked like it could snap me in half
without skipping a beat.
“Um . . . Oreyn are you sure about this?” Roope asked.
At this point I was beginning to have second thoughts on
how great of a plan this was, but it is too late to turn
back now.
“Let’s just wait here for a while until there is an
opening. Then we can sneak into the camp and find out more
about these people” I whispered. Roope and I sat behind a
fallen pine tree for hours waiting for the opportune
moment. The man we saw must have been their war-chief Urok.
I knew Roope and I could not defeat him by brute strength.
Stealth was our only chance.
“What is it looking like?” Roope asked. I looked over
the tree and saw the men congregating at the entrance to
the camp.
“It looks like they might be leaving. It looks like
some sort of hunting group. Urok is with them. I think this
is our chance” I said. Roope looked at me with a nervous
countenance and nodded.
We waited for another few minutes until they were long
gone from the camp.
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“Ok, we don’t know when they’ll be back so we have to
be quick,” I whispered, “look for any papers or anything
that would give us more information on these people.”
“Alright, let’s just get this over with” Roope
replied. We jumped over the tree and ran down into the camp
through the entrance of the wall. The women and children
were still in the camp so we could not be heard or seen. We
snuck behind the tents until we were in the center circle,
with the war-chief’s tent in the middle. We stood behind a
tent waiting for an opening to run inside. We could hear
the muttering of the people as we stood silently without
motion. We waited for another five minutes until we were
sure nobody was around. I nudged Roope and ran to the tent,
Roope just behind me.
“We made it” I said with a sigh.
“Let’s be quick, they could be back soon” Roope
whispered. The tent was nearly as large as my house back
home and made of some sort of thick material. There were
animal heads hanging from the walls and a circular table in
the center. There was what looked to be some sort of plan
or map on the table. I hurried over to look closer.
“Roope, look at this” I said. He came over and took
the paper from me.
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43
“This looks to be a map of the entire region” he
replied. The map was centered on the island we were on as
well as the bordering coasts.
“Look!” Roope shouted.
“Quiet,” I whispered, “what is it?”
“They’ve marked the Drosiini tribe locations. This is
our home!” he said while pointing in the upper right hand
corner of the map. I looked closer and sure enough it was
our old home. I looked closer and saw some sort of path
drawn from the Skaal’drak camp to Roope and I’s home.
“What is this?” I asked. He took it from me and put it
closer to his eyes.
“This is a boat path,” he whispered, “these people
were the ones attacking us! And from the looks of this they
plan on doing it again.”
“Well whatever it means we need to get out of here
soon” I said. Just then a large group of voices sounded
from outside. We waited another minute and the voices only
grew louder. Roope peaked out of the tent and shot back
inside.
“They’re back!” he yelled, “they’re heading this way.”
“Ok we have to make a run for it. On my signal, run” I
said. Sweat poured from my brow and my hands began to shake
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44
uncontrollably. I folded up the map and put it in my
pocket.
We readied ourselves at the door to the tent.
“Go!” I yelled. Roope and I shot out of the tent and
ran with a dash.
“Intruders!” a bloodthirsty voice screamed. I glanced
behind me to see several of these warriors charging us.
“Don’t let them escape!” they yelled. My heart was
pounding as if it were ready to explode. The exit was just
ahead, but there was a man standing in front of it.
“Roope!” I screamed. I looked over and saw Roope pull
his claymore off of his back. He let out an ear-piercing
yell and drove the sword through the Skaal’drak guard’s
chest. He immediately let go and jumped over the man’s
body, I followed just behind him. We continued to run for
what seemed to be miles until we had finally lost them in
the woods. Roope was shivering like never before.
“That was too close, we’re not doing that again” he
said while gasping for air.
I swallowed and nodded my head. We spent forever searching
the woods for the broken branch path. Finally we found it
and started to walk back to the Skaal’tharom camp.
“At least we got that map” I said.
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45
“Yeah” Roope replied.
I saw the banners of the Skaal’tharom ahead and felt safe
again for once.
CHAPTER 7
We arrived in the camp and immediately went to warn
Burim.
“They caught us,” I said gasping for breath, “they’re
chasing after us!”
“You fools! You’ve led them straight to us!” Burim
yelled. He then whistled and two of the Skaal’tharom
warriors entered.
“These two have led the Skaal’drak right to us. Throw
them into the prison and prepare the rest of the warriors
for battle!”
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46
“Wait!” I yelled. Burim simply turned away and the
guards pulled us out of the tent. They took us to a cave
about half a mile away from the camp.
“Let us go!” Roope yelled to one of the guards. The
guard pulled a small club off of his belt and hit Roope
over the head. His head dropped and his body went limp.
“No!” I screamed while struggling to escape from their
grasp. I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head and
everything went black.
I awoke to see nothing but the faint light of a torch.
I slowly regained my vision and my surroundings came to
clarity. I could hear the faint sound of screaming echoing
throughout the cave. They had put me in a metal cage,
completely isolated. Rock cave walls surrounded me with one
opening that looked like it was connected to the rest of
the system. As I stood up, the rattle of my cage sent rats
scurrying on the floor. Footsteps echoed closer and a man
entered the room.
“I see you’re finally up, scoundrel” the prison guard
said. The guard was not heavily armed, only a sword and
linen clothing. I could see keys hanging from his belt. If
I could get a hold of those I could escape and find Roope.
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47
They stripped me of all my weapons. I was left with nothing
but my clothing.
“You and your friend are to be executed for
jeopardizing everything we’ve worked for on this island,”
the guard said, “Roope will go first, then you. The
executioner should be here anytime.” Panic began to take
effect on me. Just then I remembered that I kept my
father’s dagger on the inside of my boot. Even with a
weapon, the chances of escape seemed impossible.
“Filthy pests” the guard muttered as he tried to step
on the rats. I reached down into my boot, unlatched the
dagger and slipped it up my sleeve. He was standing just
outside my cage to the right. He started to walk away. I
threw my arm out of a gap in the cage and grabbed his neck,
pulling him back to my cage. I pulled the dagger out of my
sleeve and drove it into his back with all my power. He let
out a scream of agony and fell to the ground. I doubt any
of the other guards noticed given the constant grueling
screaming. I crouched down and took the keys off the
guard’s belt. I tried several different keys until I found
the one to unlock my cage. The cage door opened with a
creek as I slipped out.
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48
I walked out of the opening to see what looked to be
the main chamber of the prison. The whole cave system was
lit by torches scattered across the wall. There were piles
of bodies littering the cave floor and people screaming in
their cages. It appeared these people aren’t as civilized
as I had thought.
“This way” I heard coming from one of the corridors.
Walking into the main chamber came three men, one of which
was carrying a massive axe. I recognized this was probably
the executioner. I waited briefly to see which direction
they went, as to find Roope. The men took the southernmost
corridor. I snuck out of the cell room and followed them at
a distance, dagger in hand. It was near impossible to see
where they were going, the cave was only lit by a few
torches. I snuck a little closer and saw them turning into
a cell room.
“Wake up!” the executioner yelled. I heard the rattle
of the cage. I ran to the entrance of the room and took a
brief look. There, Roope stood blindfolded in the middle of
the room, with the executioner readying his weapon. There
was not a hint of fear in Roope’s face. I knew he feared no
death.
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49
“Ready, boy?” the executioner said with a smirk. Roope
remained silent, without a quiver on his lips. He then
dropped to his knees and tilted his head down. I took three
deep breaths and ran in.
“Intruder!” one of the men yelled. The executioner
turned from Roope and looked at me. Without a second
thought I dashed towards him and drove my dagger into his
neck, ripping it open. I quickly cut the ropes off of
Roope’s wrists. He ripped off his blindfold and picked up
the executioner’s axe while I held off the other two men.
They were armed with massive clubs and leather armor. I
took a swing with my dagger at one of the men. He evaded
it, grabbed my hand and with a sharp twist of his arm,
broke my wrist. I dropped my dagger and fell backwards as
he smashed his club into my ribcage. Roope jumped back from
the other man and took a massive cleave with the axe,
beheading the man who disarmed me.
“Get up Oreyn!” he yelled. He turned to help me up
while the other man was disorientated.
“No!” I screamed. Roope fell to the ground; face
first. In his back was my father’s dagger. There, behind
him, stood the guard. I shot up and tackled him into the
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50
cave wall. I grabbed his head and slammed it into the
jagged rock wall with all of my might.
He struggled only for a moment, and then dropped to the
ground, lifeless. I ran over to Roope, lying in the middle
of the chamber.
“Get up!” I screamed. I pulled the dagger out of his
back and wiped it off with my shirt. I hated myself for
letting Roope get wrapped up in all of this. I had lost
everybody important to me, and hope of making off of this
island was gone. I pounded my fist into Roope’s chest,
tears blurring my vision.
“What’s going on down here?” a guard yelled. I stood
up and ran out of the chamber. My heart began to pound as I
tried to navigate what seemed to be a labyrinth,
turn after turn met with a dead end. I stopped for a moment
to feel the direction of the airflow. The cold air rushed
down my back. I turned around and saw the passage in which
the guards had come down. Being my only way out, I waited
until the guards had gone to check my cell. As soon as they
were out of sight, I made a dash for the exit.
“He’s escaping!” yelled one of the guards. I was
running as fast as I could, sweat pouring down me. Ahead I
could see the white light of the entrance to the cave. I
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51
finally reached the exit, the cold air I had grown to hate
never felt better. Taking only a moment to catch my breath,
I continued to sprint away from the cave. I arrived at a
place which seemed to be safe, a clearing in the woods
where the snow seemed not to fall, a place unusually
tranquil in such an entropic island.
My thoughts began to hover around Roope’s death. I
might as well have killed Roope myself, something I could
never live with. Even if I were to escape this island, what
am I supposed to tell his family? What am I supposed to
tell Sulkasiipi? Everything around me seemed to go in slow
motion as I became lost in my own mind. I hadn’t even
thought of Sulkasiipi since I arrived at this island, she
is all that I have left, but she will hate me. She loved
her brother, and I killed him. Perhaps my life has caused
more pain than anything else. Carrying on and trying to
escape this place seemed almost pointless now.
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52
CHAPTER 8
This grove I had found in the forest gave me time to
think things over. I hadn’t taken the time to process what
was going on since I arrived on this island. Back and forth
I went contemplating giving up or carrying on, though I did
not have much to live for anymore. Sulkasiipi was the only
reason I could think of to keep going, but it was good
enough. The sun began to set with a peculiar purple glow
painting the trees surrounding me. For a moment, if only
one, I felt peace. The trees stood tall and wide, nearly
blocking out the sky above me. The wind did not seem to
pierce this thick grove, giving me relief from the
elements. While caught in a surreal world, I was quickly
shocked back into reality as I realized I had no shelter to
sleep in for the night. I hurried over to an evergreen tree
and tore some of its branches off to use as a sort of
insulation.
“This will have to do” I muttered.
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53
It was not safe to light a fire, as it could be seen
by any patrolling warriors, so I dropped down on the pile
of evergreen branches and closed my eyes. The image of
Roope’s dying face flashed into my mind. My heart started
pounding and I opened up my eyes, the sight was more than I
could take right now. Roope was the most loyal, strong, and
courageous person I knew. His blood is on my hands, I will
never forget that. At last I fell asleep, waking up every
so often as the biting cold ran down my back.
I awoke to see the sun glimmering through the trees. I
stood up and cleared my throat. Things seemed bleak; I did
not know where to go, what to do, or how to get off of this
place. Then I remembered the Skaal’drak boat docks. If I
could somehow find my way back to their camp, perhaps I
could sneak onto a boat leaving here. The map we had found
showed that the boats took a direct route to a promontory
piece of land directly south of my village. Unfortunately
the guards had taken our map when they disarmed us. I
gathered my things and left the grove, feeling exposed once
more. At least the weather was giving me opportunity to
travel. The skies were clear and blue with the sun beating
down, melting the snow away. I had been walking for quite
some time with no changes in my surroundings until ahead I
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54
saw what appeared to be another cave entrance. As I came
closer to it, I noticed a putrid smell emanating out of
this opening. My curiosity had the best of me so I went in
to investigate. I went in farther and farther, until I
could not see ahead of me. I took one more step, except my
foot did not touch the ground. My foot seemed to fall
through the ground, the rest of my body following behind
it. I fell what felt like ten feet and hit the ground with
a crunch.
My vision blurred for a moment when I hit the ground.
There was a faint orange light glowing a little ways away.
It was a torch lit and hanging on the wall. I stood up and
brushed off. Shivers ran up my spine when I looked down to
see a pile of human bones. The hairs on my arm stood
straight up as I jumped off of them. Thoughts of who could
have done this plagued my mind. I heard a low muttering
echo throughout the cave. A light seemed to appear out of
nowhere, the sound of footsteps with it. I crouched down
behind the pile of bones and waited for it to pass. I
looked closer to see a man draped in tattered black robes,
with a book in his right hand. He turned away and walked
down some sort of hallway. I waited a few minutes and then
ran over to where he had emerged. I felt around the cave
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wall until I felt something unusual. It was a long piece of
black cloth draped over the wall. I pushed on it and found
there was nothing behind it. I walked through into a pitch
black passage way, my hands now becoming my sight.
Up ahead I could see light on the cave wall. I began
to move a little faster and as I grew closer the smell
became far worse than it had been at the entrance. I turned
the corner and arrived at a room lit by two torches. There
were Skaal’drak tapestries hanging on the walls and an
altar in the center of the room. On the altar there laid a
rotting corpse with some of its limbs removed. I nearly
threw up at the sight. I pulled my shirt over my nose and
walked closer to examine the corpse.
“I see we have a visitor” a low, scratchy voice said.
A cold chill came over me as I turned around. There stood a
man, completely emaciated, with a long black beard spotted
with grey and his hood draping over his eyes.
“It has been quite some time since the living tread
down here” he said.
“I’m sorry, I-I’ll just leave now” I replied.
“Do you know where you are son?” he asked with a grin.
I shook my head.
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“This is where the Skaal’drak takes their dead” he said
with a laugh. I began to shake as he drew closer to me.
“I’ll get out of your way then” I replied nervously.
“What’s your name, boy?”
“O-Oreyn” I said. He walked over to a table and placed
his book on it. I tried to see what the book was but I was
too far away.
“Oreyn you say? I knew an Oreyn back at my old
village. Those Drosiini scum cast me out without warning!”
he yelled. He walked over to me and took his hood off, his
eyes almost completely black. His gaze widened when he
looked at me.
“You!” he yelled. He then took a jagged knife off of
the table in the room and ran at me. I grabbed his arm
holding the dagger and shoved him into the wall behind him.
He grunted as I tried to run away. A sharp pain ran up my
right leg as I collapsed to the floor. I looked down and
saw the old knife in my calf with blood pouring out. I
pulled the dagger out of my leg with excruciating pain and
threw it at the man. He stopped where he was and fell to
the ground, gasping for air. The dagger had pierced his
throat, giving him a slow death. He began to mutter things
in a low droning voice until finally, he stopped moving. I
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stood up, walked over to his body and cut off a piece of
his robe to wrap my leg. I turned and took the book off of
the table. The book title read “Divination of the Dead.”
“Necromancy” I whispered. He must have been a
necromancer. I recalled several years ago an exile of our
village was thrown out for the practice of necromancy, this
must have been him. I doubted the Skaal’drak acknowledged
these doings, though I doubt they would care.
I must have been getting closer to the Skaal’drak. If
there was a way I could get the Skaal’tharom to aid me,
escape might be possible. I couldn’t let my friends and
family die in vein. I couldn’t think of how to acquire
their help, or how to find them. After being in that grove,
I completely lost my direction. First things first, I had
to get out of this horrid place. That necromancer had to
have been able to get in and out somehow. I started to
search the cave, looking in every corridor. I found nothing
but dead bodies, littering the cave floor. I quickly began
to realize this man might not have had a way out at all. I
went back into the room with the altar and took the table
and moved it out into the main chamber. I placed it just
beneath the hole I had fallen through and stood on it.
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After several failed attempts, I managed to grasp the ledge
of the hole. I pulled myself up and brushed off.
Fresh air had never smelled so good. I had made it out
of that wretched place, but now faced the task of finding
the Skaal’drak. I took a moment to sit outside of the cave
to collect my thoughts. As I began to day dream I could see
the glimmer in Sulkasiipi’s eyes when she looked at me, the
smile that could make me invincible. Roope would most
likely laugh at me for thinking that. I felt happy for a
little while as I thought of my life before the crash. My
smile quickly dispersed as I remembered what Kippo had
warned me of. If my parents had heeded his words, none of
this would have happened. Perhaps the Skaal’drak would have
slaughtered our village, but at least we wouldn’t die
alone. After a few more moments, I stood up, ready to find
the Skaal’drak and my only way off this place.
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CHAPTER 9
There was still plenty of daylight left as I continued
my attempts to find the Skaal’drak. While walking through
the forest, I noticed a series of broken branches that
looked very familiar. I had found the path we made running
from the Skaal’tharom camp to the Skaal’drak camp. Perhaps
I could try and make amends with the Skaal’tharom. Their
assistance might be the only way I can do this. However;
showing my face there runs the risk of being killed on
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sight. I decided to visit the Skaal’tharom, it seems to be
my only chance. I might be able to persuade Burim.
Ahead I could see their banners waving in the air.
There were bloodstains in the snow around the camp and a
few corpses. As I drew closer I could see these bodies were
that of the Skaal’drak. I ran to the cabin in the center of
the camp and opened the door. Burim sat at his table with
his head resting on his hand. He looked up at me as I shut
the door behind me and shot up out of his chair.
“You!” he yelled.
“Wait” I replied.
“How dare you show your face here! Thanks to you the
Skaal’drak found us. We managed to fend them off, but at
the expense of my warriors’ lives!”
“Just listen for a minute” I said, “it was never my
intention to lead them to your camp, Burim. But I know that
the Skaal’drak are planning an attack on a village on the
coast west of the mainland. I can show you the way to their
camp, this may be the best time to strike.”
“And why should I help you? You killed two of my
guards yourself!” he exclaimed.
“I know, and if we fail, you can have my head” I
replied. Burim sat down with a puzzled look on his face. “I
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lost my parents and my best friend to these savages, and
they will suffer for that.”
“If I do this, it is not for you. It is for the
Skaal’tharom. We have tried to maintain peace on this
island, forsaking our old bloodthirsty lifestyle” he said.
“I will be happy to help destroy the Skaal’drak,
Burim” I replied.
“Fine, it is done then. I will ready my men, we leave
in one hour!” he yelled. Burim went outside of the tent and
called for all of the men in the camp. Around forty men
congregated around him.
“Today, warriors, we strike back at the Skaal’drak!
For too long we have let their aggressions go unhindered.
Oreyn claims to know where the Skaal’drak are located, and
if his claims are false we will spill his blood. Now ready
yourselves, we leave in one hour!” Burim announced. After
everyone had left to arm up, he pulled me aside.
“Here, take these,” he said as he placed a claymore
and chainmail in my hands, “better not be any tricks, boy.”
I shook my head and put on my armor.
“Now go wait in the scout’s tent” he said. People spit
on me as I walked to the tent.
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“Filthy scoundrel!” one of the women yelled. I entered
the tent and sat down, mentally preparing for battle. This
was it, if we defeat them, I can get off of this island and
end my village’s suffering. I put my hand on my neck,
holding the necklace Sulkasiipi had given me. It reminded
me of all I had to lose, all I had to live for. One of the
Skaal’tharom men entered the tent.
“The warriors are meeting for a war strategy. For now,
you are one of us,” he said as he threw me a Skaal’tharom
tabard, “put that on and let’s go.”
I got up and left the tent, following the warrior to a
place just outside of the camp. There was a giant circle of
men surrounding one of the war-chiefs.
“These men are strong and ruthless. Get in the way of
their steel and consider yourself dead. However, one thing
these men lack; mobility. There thick leather armor
disables their quickness, but is much more effective than
our chainmail. Speed is key; there are gaps in their armor
near the shoulder and the neck. Wait for the opportune
moment, and then strike. Oreyn will lead the way to their
camp, we will wait in the woods a mile away from the camp
while Silvas runs ahead to scope things out. Everyone
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understand?” the war-chief said. The men let out a roaring
battle cry.
“Alright Oreyn, lead the way” he said.
“Let’s go!” I yelled. I showed them to the path Silvas
and I had made. Just then I remembered Silvas knew of this
path, he was the one who led Roope and I. Why hadn’t he
told the Skaal’tharom? He had remained almost speechless
since I came back to their camp. I nudged Burim, who was
walking next to me.
“Silvas knew of this path, Burim, had he not told
you?” I whispered.
“I haven’t heard anything about this path. Silvas has
been acting odd as of recent months” he replied. There was
a very concerned look on his face. We must be thinking the
same thing.
“You don’t think he has ties with the Skaal’drak, do
you?” I asked.
“I would like to believe he has remained loyal to the
Skaal’tharom, but that might not be the case. A traitor
would better explain how the Skaal’drak found us,” he said,
“the Skaal’drak brands their advocates with their battle
insignia. Perhaps we should check Silvas for this anamoly.”
It had been nearly an hour already into our journey.
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“Alright then, lets make this quick” I said.
“Everybody stop, take a few minutes to relax!” he
yelled. Silvas sat alone on a fallen tree, secluded from
the rest of the group. Burim nudged me and we walked over
to him. He looked up at us with an uneasy look on his face.
“What do you want?” he asked. Burim grabbed him and
pulled up his sleeve. There, on his arm, was the Skaal’drak
insignia burned into his skin. He pushed Burim off of him
and began running into the woods. Burim quickly pulled out
his bow, and with unbelievable precision, shot Silvas in
the back. He fell to the ground and tried to crawl away,
but couldn’t make it. Burim and I waked over to his body.
“I hate to do this, Silvas was at one time a very
loyal and beneficial scout. But traitors cannot be
tolerated,” he said, “I’m sorry we so quickly blamed you,
Oreyn.”
“I would have done the same thing” I replied. We then
walked back to where the men were waiting.
“Alright you lazy scoundrels, that’s enough! We’re
only another hour’s journey to the Skaal’drak!” he yelled.
“Where is Silvas?” a few of the warriors asked.
“It doesn’t matter, we’re following Oreyn” Burim
replied.
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We continued to walk, nothing but the sound of iron
clapping iron. Meeting the Skaal’tharom and watching their
lives, I had a different understanding of how the Drosiini
worked. Perhaps I was wrong in thinking my tribe was all
good. These people seemed honorable; they weren’t the
savages like my people had thought.
“We’re almost there” I told them. There was smoke
ahead streaming into the sky. We had finally arrived.
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CHAPTER 10
The Skaal’drak had gathered around a giant fire in the
middle of their camp. They seemed to be performing pre-
battle rituals.
“We’ll attack on your signal” I told Burim. He nodded
and turned back to look at the men. There was not a hint of
fear in their eyes, a rather encouraging sight.
“I don’t see Urok anywhere” Burim said with a puzzled
look. I scanned over the group of people and didn’t see him
either.
“Well, we can’t wait around much longer. We have to
strike soon while they are vulnerable” I whispered. I
wasn’t sure if this plan would work or not, but I’ve come
this far and can’t turn back now. We waited a couple more
minutes with Urok still missing.
“Alright men, this is it. We will split up into two
groups, I will lead one and Oreyn will lead the other”
Burim said.
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“What? I am?” I asked. A couple of the men chuckled
“If Oreyn has made it through what he tells me he has,
he is stronger than most of you” Burim said. The warriors
quickly changed from smiles to rather serious, seemingly
angry looks.
“Alright well if you guys are done; let’s take this
island for ourselves.”
We then split up the men into two groups and quickly
talked about our strategy. Burim would lead the frontward
attack, and I would lead a smaller group around through the
woods to flank them. It all sounded good in theory. But I
knew of the brute force the Skaal’drak had. Looking at the
boat in the docks, I felt closer to home than. I then
assembled my group and directed them a little ways down the
tree line surrounding the camp. Burim would wave a
Skaal’tharom banner when it was time to attack.
Minutes passed by with dead silence and a thick
tension in the air. All I could hear were the faint
mutterings of the Skaal’drak. At last Burim raised the
banner and we began to charge. The Skaal’drak was caught
off guard and began to yell to warn others. All of their
attention had been directed to Burim’s group, they hadn’t
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even noticed me. My men and I snuck around the outside of
the camp and rushed them.
“Behind us!” one of them yelled. They had become
scattered as my group charged them. Though they were
disorganized, they had brute force which outmatched ours. I
could see limbs just lying on the ground in what seemed to
be sea of blood. However, their forces were weakening with
every swing. Blood was painting the white snow a bright
red, an all too familiar sight. I remembered what these
people had done to me, infusing my blood with hatred. I
swung blindly into the crowd of people, feeling no pain.
After a few minutes, we had killed the initial group of
Skaal’drak and began to search the camp. There were a few
stragglers here and there that tried to resist, but they
were quickly overcome by our numbers. The screams of women
and children echoed throughout the camp, a truly horrific
sound. I began to search the tents for more of the
warriors. I could hear voices coming from the tent just
next to me. I snuck over and went inside. There in the tent
was a man, a woman, and two children. The man shot up and
tried to stab me with a small knife he had. I easily
disarmed him and brought him to his knees.
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“Please, you can take me, just don’t hurt my family!”
he yelled. I looked over to see his wife and kids
terrorized with tears running down their faces.
“So be it” I muttered. I drove my sword through the
man’s heart. I could see the life drain out of him as his
wife jumped to his side.
I left the tent and dropped my weapon in the snow,
realizing the monster I had become. Hatred had frozen my
heart. I looked around and saw these people being mutilated
by the Skaal’tharom, and it’s my doing. Not even the women
or children were left to live.
“Oreyn, get up!” Burim yelled. I turned and saw him
running over to me.
“What’s wrong with you? Our men are being killed and
you’re just sitting here!” he exclaimed. All around me
people were dying, and this is how it has been my whole
life. This war-fueled society I had been surrounded with
has distorted my view of the world. Whenever there has been
a problem in my life, it has been solved through some sort
of violence. I won’t take this unjust murder any more.
I ran over to the docks where the boat was harbored.
Burim followed after me.
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“Where do you think you’re going?” he yelled.
“I’m leaving!” I replied.
“You can’t just leave us now, Oreyn! This was your
plan, this is your doing!”
“Look!” I said pointing to the tents, “the battle has
already been won, there is no way they can defeat us. I’ve
done my job now I’m getting out of here.”
“Coward” he said. I paused for a moment. That was one
of the last things I said to my parents before they died.
Seeing all that has happened on this island, I understood
why my parents wanted to send me to a safe place.
“You’ve had your victory, what else do you want from
me? Look at what you’re doing. You’re killing innocent
people for nothing but greed!” I said. He simply growled
and walked away.
At last I had done it; my escape from the island is
only feet away from me. This place had shown me the cold
reality of the world. I felt no remorse in leaving it.
I climbed aboard the boat and cut the ropes with my
father’s dagger, waiting for the tide to come in and wash
me away. At last, the island, my parents, and Roope were
all behind me.
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CHAPTER 11
I cut the ropes holding the boat to the dock and
jumped on board. It was almost a surreal feeling to be
leaving this island. These past few days have been the
hardest times in my life, and will likely remain the
hardest. I turned back to look at the island one last time.
Nothing could make me happier but to say goodbye to that
hell as it slowly floated away. I got caught up in the
moment and nearly forgot I have to get this boat to the
village. I remembered from the map Roope and I had found
the direction I needed to go. I turned away from the island
and began my journey home.
The boat was nearly the same size of the boat my
family and I took. There was some wood rot and a few
missing planks here and there, but it looked in good enough
shape to sail. I had hardly eaten anything since we crashed
here so I immediately went downstairs in the boat to look
for something. The lower floor had many hammocks tied to
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the supports and some spider’s webs running across the
ceiling. I pushed through the webs and walked to the end of
the room where a few barrels sat. Just then I heard several
knocks on the deck.
“It was just the wind knocking something over” I told
myself.
I cracked open the barrel to the disappointing sight of
emptiness. My home isn’t too far away so I will have to
wait until I get there.
The hairs on my arm stood straight up as I heard the
sound of breathing. I turned around to see a man standing
about five feet away from me. He stood six foot tall with a
war hammer on his back, leather armor, and a Skaal’tharom
tabard. I looked closer and to my surprise, it was Burim
standing there.
“I can’t let you leave, Oreyn” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“If you get home alive your tribe will know of our
location. I can’t let that happen” he said as he pulled the
hammer off of his back. Terrified I pulled the dagger out
of my boot and ran at him. He simply grabbed my arm and
threw me to the ground with a laugh. The dagger flew out of
my hand and landed on the stairs behind him.
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“Just face it Oreyn, this is the end. You’ve done your
job now there is no need for you” he said to me with a smug
look. I tried to get up but he kicked me back into the wall
leaving me disorientated.
“You have no idea do you?” he asked.
I simply stared at him and said nothing.
“I saw your boat crash here, I waited for it. We had
no idea where the Skaal’drak was located. After I went
aboard to see who you were I knew that given the right
motive, you would do anything to find them. So I framed the
Skaal’drak for your parents’ deaths. Sure enough, you did
everything I needed you to. And here you stand having
massacred all these people in vain” he said with a grin.
“Stop it!” I yelled.
“Oh I see I hit a soft spot. Lest I forget your friend
Roope, he knew what I was doing the whole time.”
“What?” I yelled. I stood up and ran for my dagger. He
grabbed me and threw me into one of the wooden beams in the
hull. The wind was knocked out of me and fell to the ground
gasping for air.
“I knew Roope and his family from before I was exiled;
I knew how close knit of a family they were. After seeing
him lying unconscious on the boat floor, I took him outside
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and woke him up. I told him that if he would help you find
the Skaal’drak, I would spare his family when I raided the
Drosiini” he said. I could not believe him at first, but
then I began to think. This would explain why Roope had
been acting strange and quiet on the island. Though I was
confused, some things started to make sense now. I felt
betrayed, even though I knew Roope had no other option. He
loved his family more than anything.
“Please, I did everything you wanted me to, just let
me go home” I said.
“You look just like your parents did, filthy cowards.
They begged for me to spare them, like animals!” he
exclaimed.
I felt anger I had never felt before. I’ll die trying if I
have to.
“You’ll pay for what you did!” I yelled. He laughed
and pulled the war hammer off of his back, raising it into
the air above me. My anger had given me the strength to
dart out of the way as his hammer smashed into the floor. I
ran behind him, picked up my dagger, and ripped open one of
his legs. He let out an ear piercing roar as I ran upstairs
onto the deck, blade in hand. He followed just behind me
with steps that shook the whole boat.
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“There’s nowhere you can hide!” he yelled. I ran into
the captain’s room on the top deck and began to barricade
the door with tables and chairs in the room. I could hear
him approach the door while breathing heavily. His hammer
smashed through the door, splintering wood in every
direction. After a few more swings the door was completely
destroyed and I had cornered myself in this room. He let
out a massive swing heading right for me. I dropped to the
ground and ran out of the room behind him.
I knew I couldn’t run for too much longer, eventually
he would corner me. I had to think of a way to take him
down. I ran back downstairs into the hull to wait for him.
I just need one good stab with my dagger to take him down.
He came down the stairs and saw me hiding behind the
barrels. He ran at me and cleaved his hammer into me. As I
tried to get out of the way, the hammer smashed into my
right arm, instantly snapping it. Excruciating pain ran
down my arm. I switched my dagger into my left hand and
slashed into his side hitting an unarmored spot just above
the hip. He quacked and continued to chase after me. The
adrenaline rush seemed to make him immortal. His whole
right leg was stained red from all of the blood.
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I tripped on one of the stairs and fell into the
floor, leaving myself completely vulnerable. I got up and
ran up to the deck just before his hammer blew threw the
ground. I recalled seeing loose rope on the deck and
immediately went searching for it. I found the pile of rope
just outside the decimated captain’s room. Burim ran onto
the deck with a furious look, yearning to kill me. I waited
inside the captain’s room once again. If I could get him to
swing his hammer into the wall I might have a chance. I
fell to the ground pretending to be completely fatigued.
“I knew I’d wear you out eventually” he said as he
walked into the room. He brought his hammer towards the sky
and swung it down. I rolled to the left, dodging it. It
smashed right through the wooden floor. I shot up and threw
the rope around his neck while he was trying to free the
hammer. I ran behind him, grabbed the other end of the rope
with my left hand, locked my right arm, kicked his legs
out, and began to pull as hard as I could. He tumbled
straight backwards right on top of me, nearly smashing me.
Though I felt like he was going to rip my arms off, I kept
pulling. The pain in my right arm was becoming unbearable,
but I had to push through. His struggling continued for
awhile, causing me to lose all feeling in my arms.
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Eventually he stopped. I pulled out the dagger once more
and drove it into his heart.
A great feeling of relief came over me. However, as my
adrenaline began to dwindle, the pain was intensified. I
ripped off some of Burims shirt to tie up my wounds, the
pain becoming too much to bear. But I could not give up
now, I had almost made it. With the Skaal’drak defeated and
the Skaal’tharom’s head cut off, I could warn the Drosiini
and our trials would be finished.
I never wanted to fight again, after all I had seen
out here, the very thought made me sick. Just ahead I could
see familiar shores, about a mile south of my village. I
couldn’t be happier to see them. I took Sulkasiipi’s
necklace off and looked it at, remembering what I was about
to return to. I directed the boat towards shore and jumped
off. Finally, my feet were on friendly land.
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CHAPTER 12
I began the trek home, unknowing of what I would find.
Memories penetrated my mind with every step as my thoughts
hovered over the island. I don’t know how I am going to
tell Sulkasiipi about Roope. Telling of what happened to my
village would be painful. But this was the end of our
suffering. Our oppressors had been silenced, and at last,
we could live peaceful lives.
I could see a break in the trees ahead. I had reached
the clearing only half a mile from the village. Smoke
billowed out of the smith’s shop as always. As I came
closer, a great relief came over me; the village looked
just as it did when I left. Except, there were no people
outside. The sun was high in the sky, an unusual time for
people to be inside. I was shocked as a loud burst of
voices sounded from the village. My heart started to pound
and I began to run to the village. The sound was coming
from the town hall. I approached the doors and opened them,
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the voices went silent. Everybody in the room turned to me
and seemed to stare almost right through me. Stendarr
looked at me with utter confusion.
“Hold on everybody, stay where you’re seated. I’ll be
back soon,” Stendarr announced. People began to mutter
amongst themselves while staring at me. I looked around the
room to see Sulkasiipi, sitting by her mother, smiling and
wiping the tears from her eyes as she looked at me. Just
then, Stendarr pushed me out of the door and took me to the
fountain just by the town hall.
“O-Oreyn, we thought you had died!” he exclaimed,
“Where is Roope and your parents?” My feelings of hope and
happiness quickly dwindled down into sorrow as my mind went
over the images of the deaths.
“They . . . didn’t make it,” I said quietly, my head
slightly dropping as I stared at the ground.
“What happened Oreyn? Please tell me.” he replied
calmly. I stood for a moment in silence, still seeing my
parents and Roope’s lifeless faces in my head.
“They were killed. On the island.” I said.
“What island?” he asked as his voice rose slightly.
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“The storm threw us into an island off of our shores,
about fifty miles away. Shouldn’t be a surprise to you as
to who killed them.”
“What is that supposed to me?” he asked, slightly
angered. My blood began to boil. He knew exactly who I was
talking about and still he and the elders let our village
walk in ignorance.
“The exiles,” I said, “The Skaal.”
“They . . . they were on this island?” he asked.
“Yes. They were. But you won’t have to worry about
them anymore. The Skaal are no longer a threat to the
Drosiini,” I replied abruptly, “The Skaal have been
decimated. I killed Burim myself, that bastard.”
“I-I’m sorry, Oreyn, I really am. Your parents and
Roope were a few of the most valorous people of our tribe.
They will never be forgotten.” He said. After a few more
minutes of conversation and explaining, Sulkasiipi emerged
from the town hall and began to walk towards us.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll tell the people.”
Stendarr said with an uneasy look.
As he walked off, Sulkasiipi ran to me and embraced
me, her head resting on my chest.
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“Oreyn, what happened?” she asked, tears falling from
her eyes.
“Our boat, it crashed into”-
“Wait, where is Roope?” she said, interrupting me. I
stared at her for a moment as tears began to fill my eyes.
The look in her eyes told me she knew what happened.
“Your brother . . . he passed away. He-he was killed.”
I said. Her cries became more intense, a heart-wrenching
sight.
“What? How? What happened?” she yelled.
“Shh,” I whispered, putting my hand on the back of her
head, “He died fighting for you, and for me. His life will
be remembered, a true man of valor.”
The cold air was biting on this morbid day as
Sulkasiipi and I stood alone by the fountain while she
cried on my shoulder.
“Your brother would not have wanted to die any other
way than defending his family.” I said.
“I know, I just . . . I wish I could have seen him one
last time” she replied, as more tears began to fall from
her eyes.
“Well, you still have me, and you always will.” I
said.
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“I know,” she said with a slight smile, wiping the
tears from her eyes, “It just feels like everything I used
to know is changing.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Over the past few days, people in the village have
grown cold. Nobody is looking out for each other like we
used to. Even Kippo has lost it.” She replied while
sniffling.
“What? What did Kippo do?” I said.
“Well, after Stendarr and the elders declared you guys
as dead, Kippo started to freak out, telling people he
predicted the death and that . . . and that your
disobedience is what caused it. He started to call himself
the Prophet of Death. The stress and tension of these
attacks has really changed people.” She replied. I was
shocked to hear that Kippo did something like that. The
Kippo I knew would never say anything like that.
“Well, these kinds of things can really bring the
worst out of people,” I said, “But you don’t have to worry
about those savages attacking again. They’re done with.”
Just then, the town hall doors flung open. The people
had been dismissed. I was immediately flooded with
greetings, and questions. I tried to answer them but I
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couldn’t focus with all of the noise. Just then, Stendarr
came barreling through the crowd.
“Move aside!” He yelled. He grabbed me by the arm and
pulled me aside once more. We walked a good distance away
from the crowd.
“Oreyn, you have saved our village, and potentially,
our whole tribe. And for that, I truly thank you.” He said.
“I did what I had to.” I replied briefly.
“I didn’t pull you aside just to thank you, I . . .
well look, I am growing old Oreyn. I don’t know how much
longer I can try and keep these people together. They don’t
respect me, and are hardly willing to listen to me. I told
them about the exiles, and now they are blaming me for
their attacks on our village.” He said.
“That doesn’t surprise me.” I replied.
“What I’m trying to say is . . . I need someone to take
over for me. And I think you would lead this village to
prosperity.” He said. I was shocked. Before my family left,
I was viewed as nothing more than an adolescent with a lack
of potential.
“What do you think?” He asked.
“I-I don’t know what to say. When are you stepping
down?” I said.
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“Well, in a couple years when my age gets the best of
me.” He said with a chuckle.
“Of course I will take over. But do know I would make
many changes. Our village is based purely on”-
“Whatever it takes, Oreyn,” he said with a grin, “as
long as the people are happy and safe, you can do whatever
you would like.”
“I am honored. I never thought I would hear a thing
like that.” I replied.
“Yes, well, I have to go and calm the mob now,” he
said while laughing, “Think about it some more. I know you
will make a great leader.”
I could not believe the situation I was in. At last
the opportunity had come, to change the way this village
works. To give our future generations the life I wished I
could have. No longer would we fight for territory, no
longer would our warriors and slave and sacrifice their
lives for the selfish desires of one. A true warrior fights
out of honor, not greed.
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