Amberhorn As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!
"So they rub the bark to scare off competing bulls?"
I asked, running my governess hand along the exposed core of the tree.
"Well, leading into Rut it's to clean the velvet off their antlers. If you ever see one that's partially red, that's from the blood."
Looking along the tree's heights, I couldn't see any red. It was only really exposed core.
"What's rut exactly?"
Reflexively I asked, only realizing a moment after what it meant.
Wait don't answer-
"Baby-making season."
Chessa said, deepening her voice in a joking manner.
"That's why it's easier to hunt the big boy right now. He's out there strutting his stuff to get the girls, which is of course is why he's scratching up the trees. He'll do that to a random tree he comes across in the hope a female sees it and follows him."
Chessa pulled a bow by its string from around her torso.
"He just won't be getting the females he planned on."
I eyed the bow Chessa carried. It looked too ornate for some simple hunting bow. It also looked too old and ornate to have been crafted by anyone in town, having random strappings of leather and what looked like some kind of string along its length. It was itching at me that a number of items Chessa held onto seemed to be fairly aged and used.
"What's with that bow Auntie Chessa? I never see you carrying anything else other than that and your shortsword."
Chessa perked up, looking back at me in surprise for a moment. Waiting for me to walk alongside her, she finally answered as we resumed walking.
"Well, you see… it's an heirloom. This bow was my great-grandfather's."
Chessa explained as we walked, maintaining a slightly detached tone. As if she were speaking to an acquaintance. Somehow, it felt refreshing. She was being honest rather than her normal reserved manners. Actually discussing it rather than dumbing it down. It's similar to when I talk to Callum in its own way.
"Around six hundred years ago, back before the Great Tree was razed he made this bow. He was part of a hunting lodge, in charge of collecting meat from all varieties of beasts. Elves back then weren't the kind to herd cattle, raise chickens or any of that. Most of our food was crops farmed along the tree's roots. All of the meat was gathered as needed with exception to the six months leading up to winter."
Chessa paused as she looked up, ensuring we were still following the tracks. Kneeling down, she checked something just under the surface of the snow.
"Droppings look like they're still warm."
Chessa pointed towards a small hole in the snow. Inside, fresh scat was seen, the snow melted under it nearly obscuring its detection.
"The guy is making your first hunting trip easy. Be sure to thank him, we might not have to make camp tonight thanks to that."
I clasped my hands together, praying in a joking manner.
"Oh Elk who's trying to get the girls, please don't make us camp out here."
My joke managed to pry a laugh from Chessa as she placed a hand on her knee. Chessa sighed after catching her breath, motioning for me to follow as she stood.
"Where was I?"
She asked, looking down at me.
"Meat was gathered near winter?"
"So you are listening. Well, around winter we'd gather what meat we could to account for waste and rot if we couldn't keep it all cool. Well, as tradition. If you hunted, you made your own bow… granted you had to make a few attempts. This bow was attempt five from what my grandmother told me."
Chessa held the bow ahead of her, carefully pulling the drawstring back and aiming along her knuckles. After a moment, she slowly brought the tension off of the string.
"Never want to lose a bow without an arrow. I've made two repairs and changed the string at least four times. It's seen a fair share of use with myself and my mother. It skipped a generation of use after Great Grandpa died."
Chessa sighed, letting a bittersweet smile escape as she eyed the wood one last time before bringing her eyes back up one last time to continue scanning.
"Hey, look ahead."
Tapping my shoulder, Chessa brought my attention to a set of trees closer to the woodline.
"We're getting close. We should quiet down some."
Chessa kneeled for a moment, pulling some form of small pouch from her coat.
"When hunting, usually you want to deaden your scent if you can help it. We're downwind of him so far, but it helps to cover our bases before we get too close. Otherwise, he'll know we're near before we ever get close."
Chessa shifted in the snow as she placed the bow down and poured the contents of the pouch into her free hand.
"You won't be able to do this but you should have a hunting buddy. If not… Well, deer or elk piss will suffice."
Chessa said it so casually but I couldn't hold back from gagging slightly at the thought.
"I'd like to not if I could… in fact let's say never."
Chessa chuckled softly.
"Best make sure you always have a hunting buddy then."
Picking up her bow, Chessa continued leading. It went on quietly like this for ten minutes or so. Off-handed comment here, a pointer at what to look for there. It was relatively quiet until I worked up the nerve to ask another question.
"You said there was a great tree? Where was it?"
Chessa stayed silent a few moments before answering.
"Near here… it was burned down five hundred years ago… maybe a little longer. Great grandfather died when it happened. So did my grandfather. My grandmother disappeared before I was even born, around the same time. My mother nor father would explain much, but my mother lives in the Imperial capital now, and my father is long dead."
"Ah, sorry- I-"
Chessa shrugged.
"Don't be, he was human and they had me when he was forty. He was a part of my life for nineteen years. By human standards, he held on as long as he could to raise me. He was a Mercenary so it was inevitable."
The last small bit of conversation felt like a slight stab at the topic. As if it were something discussable, but straining. I was honestly surprised she'd talk about it with me.
The surprises of the day didn't cease at that considering she actually finished my question.
"The tree, no one knows exactly where it is. The Empire burned it down before anyone else actually settled the area. Where the tree was, died with the legions that burned it and the survivors that took its location with them to their graves. It was better to let a holy ground go on lost to the world than razed a second time over… That was the logic my mother eluded to at least. Any more questions?"
Looking up to Chessa was one of the most emotionally painful things I'd seen in some time. She just seemed tired from the topic, her eyes slightly reddened and speech uneven near the end. I averted my eyes at the sight, feeling a tinge of guilt.
Youthful ignorance aside, it still bites sharp. I can at least imagine the pain if anything.
"Why tell me?"
Chessa grunted quietly.
"Noone ever asks… a dead culture, as I said… But, it's nice in a way. The weight is lightened a little."
Chessa sighed as she smiled weakly.
"You'll understand how much it helps to talk about it when you're old- wait Kiyomi, look!"
Chessa grabbed me by my shoulder, forcing me to kneel as she pointed.
"There's our Bull!"
Following Chessa's finger, I could see the creature standing tall within the woods. We were just out of the woodline as we saw it, roughly a few hour's walk from the town.
Why does this tree line look familiar?
"Look at the rack on him as well."
Chessa's voice was brought down to a mere breathy whisper.
"Count the points, see them?"
Chessa seemed astonished by just the points along the Elk's rack at first, but as she continued she seemed drawn into the creature.
"It's hard to judge 'cause of the snow but… three meters tall? It's probably a Dire subset. But it's not unimaginably big. It's maybe half a meter taller than a regular bull. He… doesn't seem young. And there's no way he hasn't had it with some cows' by now. He should be in the clear."
"Cows'?"
Chessa nodded to my question.
"I don't want us to just hunt a bull that hasn't even passed on into the gene pool. If we killed him off without him having a calf, his line would be over, no more elk like him for a while."
Continuing to observe our quarry, I was drawn in myself. We were roughly a hundred fifty meters away, maybe a little further. Thanks to his size, however, we could get a clear view. The Elk was nearly three meters tall, its fur a light shade of brown across his entire body until reaching his neck. From the neck forward, the fur darkened to a nearly black tone from here. Had we been close it would probably appear as a rich chocolate color. Coupled all together, a rack with several points, huge in comparison to his head. As we observed, the Elk raised his head and let out an unmistakable call.
"That's right big guy, let us hear that mew. Someone ought to hear it."
The call went on for a few seconds, followed by two smaller ones some ways away.
"Tch, damnit."
Chessa cursed after clicking her tongue.
"What's up?"
Chessa rolled her eyes at my response.
"Those other calls mean we have to tail him and wait. If we're gonna kill him, and he's already found his cow, we may as well wait for him to blow a load- oh shit. You didn't hear that!"
Chessa's face flushed as she let the comment slip.
Lady, I've heard and done worse… just not in this life.
"I didn't hear anything."
"Watch out for your sword, don't want that thing catching on a tree or branch if we have to give chase. For now, stay low and follow me."
Keeping Chessa's advice in mind, I straightened my sword against my back for now. Holding it in place with one of my hands.
We trailed the Elk for some time before it finally stopped near a small clearing. As we waited near the edge, we found some better concealment behind a dead mass of bushes. It was really only twigs and branches, but coupled with the snow, it was better than nothing. The Elk stood within the center of the clearing, looking around, pivoting its head as if to inspect for noise. After some time, the creature raised its head once more and called out.
"Come on, let her come to you. Stop leading us around."
A few more moments of idle waiting were enough to let the feeling of the cold seep back into my skin through my furs and coat. Shaking idly, I almost was tempted to start moving until-
"There she is! Kiyomi, look!"
Chessa pointed out towards the opposite side of the clearing as something began breaching the thick dead underbrush. The sound of rustling and snapping twigs echoed just over the sound of the wind until the brown head of another elk revealed itself. A cow, the Elk that our Bull was looking for.
"Alright, for now, Kiyomi, look away. I'll tell you when to cover your ears."
Chessa make an awkward smile as she directed me.
"Why?"
"Well, you shouldn't see this."
Perfect, time to tease. Hell hath no fury like a child asking 'why?'.
"Why?"
Chessa's expression went blank as the hamster surely faltered on its wheel within her head.
"Just turn around, they’re about to make babies!”
Chessa gabbed one of my horns by its base and twisted gently, turning me around.
“You’re too damn young to know how you were made, maybe in four more suns. Tyr’s sake!”
Sufficiently running Chessa’s patience short, I was satisfied with my pestering.
Lady I know all too well…
“Urp- by Solah- urp- bleeegh-”
“Dear, you really should take your rest! You’re nearly due, I doubt this cold is good for you, nor the child.”
Brand kneeled over Elexis, holding her hair to the side as she emptied her guts into the bucket kept beside her thrown. As she sat back up, Brand let loose of Elexis’s hair and grabbed a stray pelt from the chair’s back, and placed it over the poor woman’s shoulder.
“I’ll have none of ye' coddling outside of our intimacy Brand, right now I’m giving patronage to my daughter.”
Elexis waved a hand to the side as she shifted the fur over her stomach.
“For the child, I’ll accept it. For Danae, I want to give my full support… considering she’s the only daughter I can do so for.”
Elexis was tired, it was easily seen on her face. Shortly after she and Brand made love, they’d been raiding for nearly four months straight afterward. The security of troops, food, and the onset of winter enabled them to hold out and go on a slow offensive. For every single raid, Elexis would only allow pause for a few days. She’d nearly worked herself into exhaustion thanks to that, and the new emotional weight she never wanted to carry. With war, at least the war through the tradition of their people, Elexis battled with the reality of what she personally considered murder. Killing a farmer that was simply protecting his town was one thing, she could accept that person being a casualty if he raised an axe toward her. The difficult thought was that, while she sat warm within her keep and awaited the delivery of her next child, countless people starved and froze to death thanks to the raids on food stores.
“I’m endeavoring to be better… at least better than my own Mother… I can’t believe she did this incessantly before uniting Va-ren… through fear.”
Brand sat upon one of the armrests of the throne.
“You are, Elexis. You’re at least doing it for survival instead of pastime like she did.”
Brand ran the back of his fingers along Elexis’s hair between her horns.
“Though I still disagree with watching the tournament in your state. Danae will win, do you just want to bare witness?”
Elexis nodded at Brand's question, looking back down to the snow-filled arena. Below them, dozens of warriors brawled, wielding swords, axes, and hammers. Yelling and scuffling in the snow, it was a cacophony of excitement and anger as a stray blow would land and splatter blood into the snow and mud only to be covered by more of the snow to conceal it. The crowd around the rest of the arena cheered as a particular champion swung her axe into another competitor's collar before kicking him into the dirt.
“Danae’s claimed another one.”
Brand smirked as he patted Elexis’s head before moving to fetch a drink from a nearby table.
“That’s my girl~”
This sport was one of the few times bloodshed could be done in enjoyment. Healers on standby, rules against death blows, penalties for landing a death blow. In some way, this competition for martial prowess kept Elexis’s people's bloodthirst at bay. This particular tournament was held to boost morale, to give the people a chance to see their warriors fight for them safely. With this event, public support would rise, and merchant anxiety quelled.
“Fight’s just like her Mother. Hah.”
Brand laughed as he joined Elexis in the show, yielding his nagging for the moment.
Danae raised her axe to the sky and another arm out to the side as she turned to soak in the crowd's cheers. She was the Champion of the day. She was a General, but thanks to her age and position as the second youngest of Elexis, she was viewed as inexperienced. She was clad in a black fur cloak, whilst a chainmail shirt hung loosely over her gambeson. Moving to the side, a man in a robe ran past her, clearly marked in a vibrant green. A healer for the sport, one of the dozens who awaited fallen warriors so they could tend to their wounds. Healing the felled warrior enough to stabilize him, the healer raised the man to his feet and nodded to Danae.
“Praise to your continued victory Lady Danae.”
Danae nodded back, a stray hair falling in front of her face.
“Praise to your healing, keep up the work, now away. I have more fighters to cut down.”
Danae waved the healer and her competitor away. Just in time, another warrior approached, a human clad in simple fur and leather with his arming sword at his side.
“My Lady, I fear I’ll be your next challenger. The name is Zhelimir. May Solah will your victory.”
Danae faintly nodded to Zhelimir as he greeted forward, signaling their fight.
“Hah-”
Taking the initiative, Zhelimir pressed forward and broke the distance. With Danae wielding an axe, his safest position was close even when armed with his sword. Danae attempted to give herself space for her first swing as Zhelimir swung, his blade catching the chainmail and just barely breaking a few links. Twisting to the side, Danae shifted her grip to just below her axe’s head and forced herself to rely on her raw strength as an Oni to strike back. Danae swung forward, attempting to catch Zhelimir’s blade behind the beard of her axe.
This is gonna hurt!
Danae prepared herself mentally as she expected the bite of the blade to send jolts of pain into her hand. Surely enough, she managed to lock Zhelimir’s blade within the beard at the cost of a finger.
“Fuckin-”
Danae muttered before a fist smacked against her jaw. Stumbling, she lost grip of her axe and let it fall free. Zhelimir stepped back a moment, giving himself full swinging room for his weapon. Looking at her opponent, Danae cursed under her breath.
“I really am trying to only fight with some level of manners here… your not making this easy.”
Zhelimir readjusted his grip on his sword before planting his lead foot and swinging downward. Elexis managed to jump back to spare her just enough distance, this time receiving a cut deep enough to tear through the sleeve of the gambeson and splatter blood from her arm.
“Zhelimir, do you know why they say ‘Scuffle not with an Oni’?”
Danae asked aloud, panting as she moved to dodge another swing. Her footing lost, Zhelimir pressed forward ignoring her question. In doing so, he jabbed his sword forward in an attempt to stab Danae and disqualify her. Once more, unfortunately, Danae managed to move just enough to minimize his strike. Even more so, he ignored the blatant warning she gave him.
“It’s because you’ll be nothing but a bag of gore!”
Danae shifted on her heels just enough to allow her leg room to bend as she lifted it upward. With one final inhale, Danae shot her leg down at an angle towards Zhelimir’s lead foot and managed to land it dead center of his shin.
You fought well Zhelimir.
That was the thought Danae had for the poor man as a sickening wet crunch sounded out. Her strength was higher than normal thanks to her race, she was able to land her first unarmed strike of the match with enough force to snap Zhelimir’s shin as if it were a dried branch.
“AAAaahhh! Shit, damnit!”
Zhelimir cried out as he crumpled under his weight, curling slightly in a weak attempt at minimizing his pain.
“I yield, good luck- ah Fuck- good luck to you!”
Zhelimir waved desperately for a healer as he struggled to sit himself up. Just before tending to Zhelimir, the healer that came over lifted a severed finger to Danae.
“Lady Danae, I should see fit to reattach this right quick.”
Nodding, Danae raised her blood-soaked hand limply to the healer as she looked on at the competition. Blood spilled, victors celebrated, and losers writhed in pain as crowds cheered. It was better than her experience within actual combat. Had she been confronted by Zhelimir in live combat, she’d have undoubtedly brought her next blow to his head and ended him. She was thankful she was able to test her blade without having to kill good men. Even more so, she was happy to do so as her mother watched. Looking back up to the stands, Danae spotted her mother, and stepfather looking down at her.
I’ll continue to fight so it’s not just you two watching, but her as well. I’ll burn down all of Morus if I have to.
Danae waved to her mother with her free hand before looking back to the one that was freshly healed.
“It seems fine enough, take Zhelimir out of here so I can get on to the next poor sod.”
Amberhorn As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!
"So they rub the bark to scare off competing bulls?"
I asked, running my governess hand along the exposed core of the tree.
"Well, leading into Rut it's to clean the velvet off their antlers. If you ever see one that's partially red, that's from the blood."
Looking along the tree's heights, I couldn't see any red. It was only really exposed core.
"What's rut exactly?"
Reflexively I asked, only realizing a moment after what it meant.
Wait don't answer-
"Baby-making season."
Chessa said, deepening her voice in a joking manner.
"That's why it's easier to hunt the big boy right now. He's out there strutting his stuff to get the girls, which is of course is why he's scratching up the trees. He'll do that to a random tree he comes across in the hope a female sees it and follows him."
Chessa pulled a bow by its string from around her torso.
"He just won't be getting the females he planned on."
I eyed the bow Chessa carried. It looked too ornate for some simple hunting bow. It also looked too old and ornate to have been crafted by anyone in town, having random strappings of leather and what looked like some kind of string along its length. It was itching at me that a number of items Chessa held onto seemed to be fairly aged and used.
"What's with that bow Auntie Chessa? I never see you carrying anything else other than that and your shortsword."
Chessa perked up, looking back at me in surprise for a moment. Waiting for me to walk alongside her, she finally answered as we resumed walking.
"Well, you see… it's an heirloom. This bow was my great-grandfather's."
Chessa explained as we walked, maintaining a slightly detached tone. As if she were speaking to an acquaintance. Somehow, it felt refreshing. She was being honest rather than her normal reserved manners. Actually discussing it rather than dumbing it down. It's similar to when I talk to Callum in its own way.
"Around six hundred years ago, back before the Great Tree was razed he made this bow. He was part of a hunting lodge, in charge of collecting meat from all varieties of beasts. Elves back then weren't the kind to herd cattle, raise chickens or any of that. Most of our food was crops farmed along the tree's roots. All of the meat was gathered as needed with exception to the six months leading up to winter."
Chessa paused as she looked up, ensuring we were still following the tracks. Kneeling down, she checked something just under the surface of the snow.
"Droppings look like they're still warm."
Chessa pointed towards a small hole in the snow. Inside, fresh scat was seen, the snow melted under it nearly obscuring its detection.
"The guy is making your first hunting trip easy. Be sure to thank him, we might not have to make camp tonight thanks to that."
I clasped my hands together, praying in a joking manner.
"Oh Elk who's trying to get the girls, please don't make us camp out here."
My joke managed to pry a laugh from Chessa as she placed a hand on her knee. Chessa sighed after catching her breath, motioning for me to follow as she stood.
"Where was I?"
She asked, looking down at me.
"Meat was gathered near winter?"
"So you are listening. Well, around winter we'd gather what meat we could to account for waste and rot if we couldn't keep it all cool. Well, as tradition. If you hunted, you made your own bow… granted you had to make a few attempts. This bow was attempt five from what my grandmother told me."
Chessa held the bow ahead of her, carefully pulling the drawstring back and aiming along her knuckles. After a moment, she slowly brought the tension off of the string.
"Never want to lose a bow without an arrow. I've made two repairs and changed the string at least four times. It's seen a fair share of use with myself and my mother. It skipped a generation of use after Great Grandpa died."
Chessa sighed, letting a bittersweet smile escape as she eyed the wood one last time before bringing her eyes back up one last time to continue scanning.
"Hey, look ahead."
Tapping my shoulder, Chessa brought my attention to a set of trees closer to the woodline.
"We're getting close. We should quiet down some."
Chessa kneeled for a moment, pulling some form of small pouch from her coat.
"When hunting, usually you want to deaden your scent if you can help it. We're downwind of him so far, but it helps to cover our bases before we get too close. Otherwise, he'll know we're near before we ever get close."
Chessa shifted in the snow as she placed the bow down and poured the contents of the pouch into her free hand.
"You won't be able to do this but you should have a hunting buddy. If not… Well, deer or elk piss will suffice."
Chessa said it so casually but I couldn't hold back from gagging slightly at the thought.
"I'd like to not if I could… in fact let's say never."
Chessa chuckled softly.
"Best make sure you always have a hunting buddy then."
Picking up her bow, Chessa continued leading. It went on quietly like this for ten minutes or so. Off-handed comment here, a pointer at what to look for there. It was relatively quiet until I worked up the nerve to ask another question.
"You said there was a great tree? Where was it?"
Chessa stayed silent a few moments before answering.
"Near here… it was burned down five hundred years ago… maybe a little longer. Great grandfather died when it happened. So did my grandfather. My grandmother disappeared before I was even born, around the same time. My mother nor father would explain much, but my mother lives in the Imperial capital now, and my father is long dead."
"Ah, sorry- I-"
Chessa shrugged.
"Don't be, he was human and they had me when he was forty. He was a part of my life for nineteen years. By human standards, he held on as long as he could to raise me. He was a Mercenary so it was inevitable."
The last small bit of conversation felt like a slight stab at the topic. As if it were something discussable, but straining. I was honestly surprised she'd talk about it with me.
The surprises of the day didn't cease at that considering she actually finished my question.
"The tree, no one knows exactly where it is. The Empire burned it down before anyone else actually settled the area. Where the tree was, died with the legions that burned it and the survivors that took its location with them to their graves. It was better to let a holy ground go on lost to the world than razed a second time over… That was the logic my mother eluded to at least. Any more questions?"
Looking up to Chessa was one of the most emotionally painful things I'd seen in some time. She just seemed tired from the topic, her eyes slightly reddened and speech uneven near the end. I averted my eyes at the sight, feeling a tinge of guilt.
Youthful ignorance aside, it still bites sharp. I can at least imagine the pain if anything.
"Why tell me?"
Chessa grunted quietly.
"Noone ever asks… a dead culture, as I said… But, it's nice in a way. The weight is lightened a little."
Chessa sighed as she smiled weakly.
"You'll understand how much it helps to talk about it when you're old- wait Kiyomi, look!"
Chessa grabbed me by my shoulder, forcing me to kneel as she pointed.
"There's our Bull!"
Following Chessa's finger, I could see the creature standing tall within the woods. We were just out of the woodline as we saw it, roughly a few hour's walk from the town.
Why does this tree line look familiar?
"Look at the rack on him as well."
Chessa's voice was brought down to a mere breathy whisper.
"Count the points, see them?"
Chessa seemed astonished by just the points along the Elk's rack at first, but as she continued she seemed drawn into the creature.
"It's hard to judge 'cause of the snow but… three meters tall? It's probably a Dire subset. But it's not unimaginably big. It's maybe half a meter taller than a regular bull. He… doesn't seem young. And there's no way he hasn't had it with some cows' by now. He should be in the clear."
"Cows'?"
Chessa nodded to my question.
"I don't want us to just hunt a bull that hasn't even passed on into the gene pool. If we killed him off without him having a calf, his line would be over, no more elk like him for a while."
Continuing to observe our quarry, I was drawn in myself. We were roughly a hundred fifty meters away, maybe a little further. Thanks to his size, however, we could get a clear view. The Elk was nearly three meters tall, its fur a light shade of brown across his entire body until reaching his neck. From the neck forward, the fur darkened to a nearly black tone from here. Had we been close it would probably appear as a rich chocolate color. Coupled all together, a rack with several points, huge in comparison to his head. As we observed, the Elk raised his head and let out an unmistakable call.
"That's right big guy, let us hear that mew. Someone ought to hear it."
The call went on for a few seconds, followed by two smaller ones some ways away.
"Tch, damnit."
Chessa cursed after clicking her tongue.
"What's up?"
Chessa rolled her eyes at my response.
"Those other calls mean we have to tail him and wait. If we're gonna kill him, and he's already found his cow, we may as well wait for him to blow a load- oh shit. You didn't hear that!"
Chessa's face flushed as she let the comment slip.
Lady, I've heard and done worse… just not in this life.
"I didn't hear anything."
"Watch out for your sword, don't want that thing catching on a tree or branch if we have to give chase. For now, stay low and follow me."
Keeping Chessa's advice in mind, I straightened my sword against my back for now. Holding it in place with one of my hands.
We trailed the Elk for some time before it finally stopped near a small clearing. As we waited near the edge, we found some better concealment behind a dead mass of bushes. It was really only twigs and branches, but coupled with the snow, it was better than nothing. The Elk stood within the center of the clearing, looking around, pivoting its head as if to inspect for noise. After some time, the creature raised its head once more and called out.
"Come on, let her come to you. Stop leading us around."
A few more moments of idle waiting were enough to let the feeling of the cold seep back into my skin through my furs and coat. Shaking idly, I almost was tempted to start moving until-
"There she is! Kiyomi, look!"
Chessa pointed out towards the opposite side of the clearing as something began breaching the thick dead underbrush. The sound of rustling and snapping twigs echoed just over the sound of the wind until the brown head of another elk revealed itself. A cow, the Elk that our Bull was looking for.
"Alright, for now, Kiyomi, look away. I'll tell you when to cover your ears."
Chessa make an awkward smile as she directed me.
"Why?"
"Well, you shouldn't see this."
Perfect, time to tease. Hell hath no fury like a child asking 'why?'.
"Why?"
Chessa's expression went blank as the hamster surely faltered on its wheel within her head.
"Just turn around, they’re about to make babies!”
Chessa gabbed one of my horns by its base and twisted gently, turning me around.
“You’re too damn young to know how you were made, maybe in four more suns. Tyr’s sake!”
Sufficiently running Chessa’s patience short, I was satisfied with my pestering.
Lady I know all too well…
“Urp- by Solah- urp- bleeegh-”
“Dear, you really should take your rest! You’re nearly due, I doubt this cold is good for you, nor the child.”
Brand kneeled over Elexis, holding her hair to the side as she emptied her guts into the bucket kept beside her thrown. As she sat back up, Brand let loose of Elexis’s hair and grabbed a stray pelt from the chair’s back, and placed it over the poor woman’s shoulder.
“I’ll have none of ye' coddling outside of our intimacy Brand, right now I’m giving patronage to my daughter.”
Elexis waved a hand to the side as she shifted the fur over her stomach.
“For the child, I’ll accept it. For Danae, I want to give my full support… considering she’s the only daughter I can do so for.”
Elexis was tired, it was easily seen on her face. Shortly after she and Brand made love, they’d been raiding for nearly four months straight afterward. The security of troops, food, and the onset of winter enabled them to hold out and go on a slow offensive. For every single raid, Elexis would only allow pause for a few days. She’d nearly worked herself into exhaustion thanks to that, and the new emotional weight she never wanted to carry. With war, at least the war through the tradition of their people, Elexis battled with the reality of what she personally considered murder. Killing a farmer that was simply protecting his town was one thing, she could accept that person being a casualty if he raised an axe toward her. The difficult thought was that, while she sat warm within her keep and awaited the delivery of her next child, countless people starved and froze to death thanks to the raids on food stores.
“I’m endeavoring to be better… at least better than my own Mother… I can’t believe she did this incessantly before uniting Va-ren… through fear.”
Brand sat upon one of the armrests of the throne.
“You are, Elexis. You’re at least doing it for survival instead of pastime like she did.”
Brand ran the back of his fingers along Elexis’s hair between her horns.
“Though I still disagree with watching the tournament in your state. Danae will win, do you just want to bare witness?”
Elexis nodded at Brand's question, looking back down to the snow-filled arena. Below them, dozens of warriors brawled, wielding swords, axes, and hammers. Yelling and scuffling in the snow, it was a cacophony of excitement and anger as a stray blow would land and splatter blood into the snow and mud only to be covered by more of the snow to conceal it. The crowd around the rest of the arena cheered as a particular champion swung her axe into another competitor's collar before kicking him into the dirt.
“Danae’s claimed another one.”
Brand smirked as he patted Elexis’s head before moving to fetch a drink from a nearby table.
“That’s my girl~”
This sport was one of the few times bloodshed could be done in enjoyment. Healers on standby, rules against death blows, penalties for landing a death blow. In some way, this competition for martial prowess kept Elexis’s people's bloodthirst at bay. This particular tournament was held to boost morale, to give the people a chance to see their warriors fight for them safely. With this event, public support would rise, and merchant anxiety quelled.
“Fight’s just like her Mother. Hah.”
Brand laughed as he joined Elexis in the show, yielding his nagging for the moment.
Danae raised her axe to the sky and another arm out to the side as she turned to soak in the crowd's cheers. She was the Champion of the day. She was a General, but thanks to her age and position as the second youngest of Elexis, she was viewed as inexperienced. She was clad in a black fur cloak, whilst a chainmail shirt hung loosely over her gambeson. Moving to the side, a man in a robe ran past her, clearly marked in a vibrant green. A healer for the sport, one of the dozens who awaited fallen warriors so they could tend to their wounds. Healing the felled warrior enough to stabilize him, the healer raised the man to his feet and nodded to Danae.
“Praise to your continued victory Lady Danae.”
Danae nodded back, a stray hair falling in front of her face.
“Praise to your healing, keep up the work, now away. I have more fighters to cut down.”
Danae waved the healer and her competitor away. Just in time, another warrior approached, a human clad in simple fur and leather with his arming sword at his side.
“My Lady, I fear I’ll be your next challenger. The name is Zhelimir. May Solah will your victory.”
Danae faintly nodded to Zhelimir as he greeted forward, signaling their fight.
“Hah-”
Taking the initiative, Zhelimir pressed forward and broke the distance. With Danae wielding an axe, his safest position was close even when armed with his sword. Danae attempted to give herself space for her first swing as Zhelimir swung, his blade catching the chainmail and just barely breaking a few links. Twisting to the side, Danae shifted her grip to just below her axe’s head and forced herself to rely on her raw strength as an Oni to strike back. Danae swung forward, attempting to catch Zhelimir’s blade behind the beard of her axe.
This is gonna hurt!
Danae prepared herself mentally as she expected the bite of the blade to send jolts of pain into her hand. Surely enough, she managed to lock Zhelimir’s blade within the beard at the cost of a finger.
“Fuckin-”
Danae muttered before a fist smacked against her jaw. Stumbling, she lost grip of her axe and let it fall free. Zhelimir stepped back a moment, giving himself full swinging room for his weapon. Looking at her opponent, Danae cursed under her breath.
“I really am trying to only fight with some level of manners here… your not making this easy.”
Zhelimir readjusted his grip on his sword before planting his lead foot and swinging downward. Elexis managed to jump back to spare her just enough distance, this time receiving a cut deep enough to tear through the sleeve of the gambeson and splatter blood from her arm.
“Zhelimir, do you know why they say ‘Scuffle not with an Oni’?”
Danae asked aloud, panting as she moved to dodge another swing. Her footing lost, Zhelimir pressed forward ignoring her question. In doing so, he jabbed his sword forward in an attempt to stab Danae and disqualify her. Once more, unfortunately, Danae managed to move just enough to minimize his strike. Even more so, he ignored the blatant warning she gave him.
“It’s because you’ll be nothing but a bag of gore!”
Danae shifted on her heels just enough to allow her leg room to bend as she lifted it upward. With one final inhale, Danae shot her leg down at an angle towards Zhelimir’s lead foot and managed to land it dead center of his shin.
You fought well Zhelimir.
That was the thought Danae had for the poor man as a sickening wet crunch sounded out. Her strength was higher than normal thanks to her race, she was able to land her first unarmed strike of the match with enough force to snap Zhelimir’s shin as if it were a dried branch.
“AAAaahhh! Shit, damnit!”
Zhelimir cried out as he crumpled under his weight, curling slightly in a weak attempt at minimizing his pain.
“I yield, good luck- ah Fuck- good luck to you!”
Zhelimir waved desperately for a healer as he struggled to sit himself up. Just before tending to Zhelimir, the healer that came over lifted a severed finger to Danae.
“Lady Danae, I should see fit to reattach this right quick.”
Nodding, Danae raised her blood-soaked hand limply to the healer as she looked on at the competition. Blood spilled, victors celebrated, and losers writhed in pain as crowds cheered. It was better than her experience within actual combat. Had she been confronted by Zhelimir in live combat, she’d have undoubtedly brought her next blow to his head and ended him. She was thankful she was able to test her blade without having to kill good men. Even more so, she was happy to do so as her mother watched. Looking back up to the stands, Danae spotted her mother, and stepfather looking down at her.
I’ll continue to fight so it’s not just you two watching, but her as well. I’ll burn down all of Morus if I have to.
Danae waved to her mother with her free hand before looking back to the one that was freshly healed.
“It seems fine enough, take Zhelimir out of here so I can get on to the next poor sod.”
