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Saturday 2 June 2018

Episode II - IV Lessons of Strength (Shard II)



A Cliff-top Duel


IV
Lessons of Strength
(Shard II)


Ylethus spun his blade in his hand and sheathed it as easily as he had freed it. He gave a snort and continued walking toward the kennels. He could trust his men, and although it was plain that he disliked Amsthyn’s joke, he also showed how much he enjoyed watching Ghelta squirm. The warriors beneath him knew that he would protect them all if he could, but they also knew the ferocity he would protect his adopted daughter. They called him the ‘Mother Bear’ when it came to Ghelta and they were right.

Ghelta and Amsthyn wrestled for a few moments and then easily caught up to Ylethus. They walked the rest of the way to the kennels in silence. Ylethus turned several times to look at Ghelta and each time he could see the mounting concern on her face as she looked back up to him. Amsthyn tried once more to bring levity to the walk by lightly slapping Ghelta on the back of the head, but it didn’t work.

A long and painful howl came from the large wooden building they were walking towards. As soon as sound began, Ghelta ripped herself away from Ylethus and Amsthyn to sprint head-long to the door. She pulled the door open with enough force that it might rip from its hinges and she ran into the darkness inside. Ylethus and Amsthyn looked at each other for a moment and followed after.

Ghelta pushed her way though several hallways and then stopped near the exposed back of the building. She stopped at a doorway and slowly placed her hand on it. She bit her lip again and took several heavy breaths. She looked up to see Ylethus and Amsthyn make their way to her.

“I know you’re concerned, but don’t coddle her. Most wolves want to be left alone with they give birth.” Ylethus began to trip over his own words as he placed one of his hands over Ghelta’s. His hand easily dwarfed hers that was pressed against the door. Her other hand was white-knuckled as she gripped the metal knob.

Ghelta held her stance for several moments, she looked up to Ylethus for some time and then darted her eyes over to Amsthyn. The blonde warrior returned her look with a shrug of his shoulders and a sheepish grin. She inhaled sharply and then turned the knob, pressing against the door slowly to enter the room.

The room beyond was dark save for some of Ishep’s light making its way in between the overhanging roof and the half-wall that served as the wolf pen. Cool breezes flowed over the half-walls and made the open gate at the far end of the room swing back and forth with a quiet creaking. Ghelta’s eyes darted across the straw-strewn ground to each corner before finally resting on a shadowed form curled up in the farthest recesses.

Ghelta slowly stepped into the kennel and lowered down into a crouch, she let her fingers trail on the ground and then slowly lifted her hands with palms held up as she neared the shadow. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she could see Skartha laid out on a pile of straw. She reached out to the wolf and let her other hand touch the ground. She could feel wetness beneath her fingers and stopped.

As Ghelta looked at her fingers, she could see the dark blackness of blood in the dark. She looked down to see four small masses coated in glistening mucus among a huge pool of blood. The four bodies were each smaller than the size of Ghelta’s fist. She rummaged in the blood for a moment and then looked back to Ylethus who had entered the kennel behind her.

“I can’t find any remains of the sac and I can’t find the placenta.” She took a step closer to Skartha and placed a hand on the wolf’s flank. “I don’t know if she ate it already.” She leaned forward watching two extremely slow puffs of breath rise up from the wolf’s mouth and into the night’s air.

Ghelta lightly touched the wolf and then pressed one of her hands to Skartha’s chest. She could feel the wolf give only a single belabored breath. Her face furrowed in concern and then she pivoted on her toes to reach over to the four masses on the ground.

She seized up one of the bloody bodies and held it between her hands. The blood that coated the tiny little form had turned cold. She felt it in her fingers, waiting to feel a breath or heartbeat come from it. After several moments she raised the little body towards Skartha’s face. The wolf-mother stared at it for several moments and then turned her head away slowly. She let her head slump into some straw nearby and gave another long, wheezy breath.

“I think this one is stillborn.” Ghelta let one of her long legs pull out from her body and she moved along with it back to the small bodies strewn near the rump of the wolf. She still held the small lump in her hands and gently set it down in some straw.

She snatched up another body and felt it in her fingers. The body was cold and lifeless. She tried to massage the pup’s chest and she raised it up to her face. After several moments she gave a short and sad sigh and placed the little body next to the other. In short order, she made her way through all of the pups.

“None of them are breathing. I can’t feel a heartbeat from any of them.” Ghelta began to choke on her words and feel tears filling up her eyes. She looked back to Ylethus pleadingly. “I don’t understand, how could all of them be stillborn?”

Ghelta watched as Amsthyn stepped from behind Ylethus and lowered himself into a crouch next to her. He reached out a hand toward Skartha and stopped himself to look back to Ghelta for permission. She nodded and he began to feel the wolf’s chest and around her neck. He held his hands for several moments and then let two of his fingers fall into the blood pool near the flank of the wolf.

“The birth was complicated, somehow.” Amsthyn choked on his words as well. He let his eyes fall to the ground. “Something was wrong and she’s bleeding out. I don’t think she has much longer.” He lifted his eyes to Ghelta and reached out to grab her hand. “You need to be here with her and say your goodbyes. Olthenna will be upon her soon.”

Ghelta clenched her fingers around Amsthyn’s hand and looked at him with tear-filled eyes. She could see the same tears in his eyes as well. He took two hopping steps backward and pulled on her arm with his to guide her to the wolf. Ghelta followed and felt Amsthyn’s grip release as he placed her hand on Skartha’s neck.

“I’m so sorry.” Amsthyn whispered in Ghelta’s ear and sniffed back some moisture. “It’s my fault because it was my wolf-”

“No.” Ghelta looked back to Amsthyn and shook her head. She leaned forward and clutched Skartha around her chest. “Don’t you apologize for anything.” She turned and began to run her fingers through the blood-matted fur of her pet. “You got to be a mother, Skartha. Sadly, Tolesh didn’t have any souls to spare for your pups.” She began to openly sob as she ran her hand over the wolf’s neck.

Ghelta laid her head on Skartha’s chest and held her tightly. She could hear the slow and ponderous breaths coming from the wolf. She could hear the space between heartbeats grow with each breath. Skartha’s body was growing colder by the moment as her life’s blood was pooling beneath her. The wolf’s eyes looked up at her and then she shifted slightly to place her muzzle into Ghelta’s chest.

The moments stretched on as Ghelta continued to sob over her dying wolf. The breaths shortened and the heartbeats fell away into silence. Ghelta continued to run her fingers over Skartha’s fur.

“You’ll be with Olthenna. She’ll take good care of you. When my time is done here, I’ll look for you in the Lands of Shadow.” Ghelta lifted Skartha’s muzzle up in her hand. She could see the wolf’s eyes close after she spoke her words. The wolf gave one last seizure of life as her leg lifted and dropped twice, then she was gone.

Ghelta held her close for several more moments and then turned to look back at Ylethus. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she could see the glow of the moon on the moisture of her face. She looked to Ylethus and then to Amsthyn who stood with his head in his hands.

“I’ll be okay. Please-” She felt her voice give way. “I just need some time alone.”

Amsthyn let his hands drop and looked at Ghelta. He gave a nod and turned to place a hand on Ylethus’ arm. Ylethus looked from Ghelta to the warrior beside him and back. Ylethus nodded and left with Amsthyn behind him. The kennel door swung open and closed with a creak and then a bang. With the two warriors gone, the silence in the kennels began to linger and feel haunted.

Ghelta ran her hands through Skartha’s fur once more and laid the wolf’s head down on some straw. She leaned back and allowed herself to sit in the pool of blood. She reached over to snatch up the four little bodies nearby in a desperate last check to see if they were alive. She felt each one and knew they were just as dead as Skartha was now.

She held the little bodies in her lap as she looked up to Ishep in the sky. She wanted to be angry at what had happened. She wanted to pull that moon from the sky and set it on fire. She wanted to make someone or something pay for the lives that were taken away this night. Sadly, there was nothing she could do and there was no one to blame.

This wasn’t a situation that she was used to as someone who was training to become a warrior. None of her skills with weapons could bring back what was dead. There was no foe to vanquish save for Olthenna, the goddess of death, but Ghelta was hardly a match for her. She desperately wanted to be mad at something, but she couldn’t be mad at all. The only thing inside of her was the hollow feeling of sorrow and helplessness that she had grown to hate.

She lifted up and examined each of the pups in her lap and then set their little bodies next to Skartha’s. Each one was beautiful in their own way. Beneath the blood and the mucus, they had down-like fur in completely unique patterns. Each of their little bodies were curled into little balls. Each had tiny little faces, tiny little legs, tiny little tails, and tiny little ears. They seemed complete in every way save for the spark of life.

When the last was placed down, Ghelta lowered her face into her blood-coated hands and began to quietly cry. More than the loss of her companion and her pups, she felt a strange kinship to this situation. There was something that pulled at and resounded with her spirit. She began to wonder if it was her own origins in this world that was similar. Ylethus had told her that her mother had died when she was still an infant. She had no memories of her that she could recall. The feeling of motherhood was something alien to her.


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