At Least He's Not On Fire: A Tour of the Things That Escape My Head (15 page)

From the front door of her home a brother and sister duo not unlike the ones that had just delivered their dead mother’s body walked out into the yard. The twins were tall, thin, and had hair black like their mother. They both shared clear eyes of a striking blue. They looked on from the step of the home with calm concern.

Catherine reached out and took the hands of the siblings that were now half orphaned. “Everyone gathered here please give the spirit of the recently departed Julianne a few moments of silence while I free her soul from the bonds of flesh that bind her.”

Everyone went silent, and Catherine began the service, her hands still clutching to the brother and sister.

Head lowered, her silken voice reached out beyond the veil of death, “All life is fragile. Today we learn that lesson yet again. The life of Julianne has reached its end, and despite the injustice of her being taken away from the world of the living, her legacy does not end today.”

Catherine looked up at the body, ensuring it was still on the slab before continuing, “Julianne’s immortal spirit is still within her, and in this moment we shall set her soul free from the body she had in life. She will roam these plains, and these hills forever, lending support to her friends and families and their descendents for all time. She shall hear the praise and adoration of the living as if she were still here. She shall lend Apostles a bit of her very essence, allowing us to perform The Way, and give mystical boons to those we can. In life she gave love and security, but in death she gives so much more, and she will do this forever.”

Catherine let go of the sibling’s hands as they slowly wept. They’d seen the Blessing of Soul’s rest done before, and to complete the ritual, Catherine needed both of her hands. The mother of three reached into a small pocket on the front of her dress and produced a handmade cloth bag. She retrieved a tiny vial of scented oil, and sprinkled a minute amount of herbs down the length of Julianne’s dead body. The herbs and the oil were essential components to the blessing Catherine was performing. They physically and tangibly bound her will to the act, and enabled her to use the Apostle’s version of The Way, or Elmoryn’s magic. Catherine’s magic was fueled by her latent talent to access the hundreds of thousands of ancestor spirits roaming the land. In a few moments, Julianne would join them.

When the proper number of oil drops had been applied, and the right amount of herbs placed on the right points of the body, Catherine placed her hands on Julianne’s body. The intimate connection of Apostle and body signaled the final moments of the blessing. Catherine reached out of her own body and soul, and into the body of the deceased woman. It was not unlike opening a metaphysical cage, and setting free a bird kept within. Her hands never moved, but behind her closed eyes she felt Julianne’s body shudder briefly as her spirit was set free. Her soul would not rot and fester in her body. She would not become the undead everyone gathered feared.
 

She took her warm fingers from the now cooling body and reached her full height. The young girl still wept, but when Catherine embraced her, she calmed quickly, feeling the relief the blessing had given them. The crowd gathered gave a quiet round of clapping as the tension faded from the afternoon. They filtered out quickly, letting the family grieve in privacy.

“Thank you,” Nickolas said.

Catherine smiled warmly, “You are very welcome. We can store the body until your father arrives, give you time to gather wood for her pyre.” Cremated bodies couldn’t be animated by rogue Necromancers, no matter how unlikely the chance of that happening was. Tradition was tradition after all, and since The Great Plague almost eradicated all human life from the face of Elmoryn three hundred years ago, all bodies were cremated.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll have Malwynn and Umaryn help with your mother’s body. In the meantime, head over to Jalen and Naomi’s over there, and let them know what’s happened. They’ll take care of you until your father returns.”

“Thank you Catherine. My mother would thank you as well,” Nick said softly, taking his little sister under his arm.

“With any luck I’ll cross paths with her spirit, and she can thank me herself. I’m glad you made it here in time.”

Nickolas could only nod. The thought of not making it to the Apostle in time was too much to contemplate.

A gentle gust of wind blew across the crest of the rolling hill just a few miles north of the village of New Picknell. The slender blades of bright green grass waved to and fro, tossed whimsically in the sweet air of the Elmoryn summer. Summer here in northern Varrland came late, and lasted only a precious couple months. The tiny shoots of grass grew quickly and robustly, living their simply lives to the fullest until the cold and snow came for the long winter that would surely bury them, cutting them off from the life giving sun they grew tall to touch.

The next day Catherine’s eldest children walked side by side. The brother and sister strode slowly beside each other under the late season’s sun. The brother stood only an inch taller than his sister, and both walked proudly with raven black hair. Slung over his wiry shoulder was a bow that had seen ample use over the past decade. A simple bow, one made to learn and hunt easy prey with, the bow was present more for comfort than for purpose. The quiver at his hip held only a handful of arrows. The sister, lean and strong walked with no weapons. Her bright blue eyes, the same as her sibling’s searched the expansive green fields in every direction, looking for something interesting to break the monotony of a quiet day that youth never seemed to find the ability to appreciate fully. The prior day’s excitement had already been forgotten.

“How’s the forge been?” Malwynn asked his sister. It was the first thing either of the two had said since leaving their small town. Comfortable silence was their way.

“Hot. It’s quite the job. I am very excited for when Luther teaches me more advanced techniques soon. I think I’m just as excited for when the colder weather sets in. It’ll make the forge considerably more comfortable,” the sister replied.
 

Malwynn looked to his sister Umaryn and smiled proudly. Much like their mother, she was blessed with a rare ability, and had taken a different route than most of the woman in his village, as well as the majority of women across their country of Varrland. Umaryn was spirit touched.
 

The world of Elmoryn was bursting at the seams with life and energy. Some gifted individuals were blessed with the gift of being able to hear and reach out to the spirits of the dead, gaining insight and power, channeling the very souls of the ancestors into mystical power. Others touched by the spirits were able to connect their own essence to the things that men and women had created. Across Elmoryn all crafted items, especially those of particular quality contained a smidge of spiritual energy, and Umaryn could speak to those spirits, and channel the energy inside into her own mystical talents.

People more experienced with these mystical energies called them The Way. It was said those with the gift to manipulate the many different energies of Elmoryn were said to know The Way. Umaryn was developing her skills with the spirits of the things made by man working in the forge, and eschewing the traditional roles a girl of their age took. She’d make no bread for the man that captured her heart, but she might fashion him a blade of tempered steel that would sing a song that could show him her love.
 

Malwynn had developed no such talent in The Way. He had managed to become a decent shot with the simple bow hanging on his shoulder, and had earned his father’s respect by working hard in the family fields. Malwynn and Umaryn’s family was small and tightly knit together. Their mother and father had traveled widely across Varrland and neighboring Duulan for many years, and their experiences had left them yearning for a quiet, safe place to raise their family. New Picknell had sufficed.

Ellioth, the patriarch of the family was a retired scholar, and veteran adventurer. Ellioth had notable skill in wielding a blade and wearing armor, and coupled with his passionate love for discovery he’d made a good living searching out treasures lost in the various wildernesses across Elmoryn. Ellioth was one of the few still living souls that had traveled deep into the Eastern Wilds far to the south. That savage, wild region was known the world over as a one way adventure, filled with death, failure, and sorrow. Ellioth had escaped the monsters and natural threats of the Eastern Wilds with tales that would turn the halest man pale white.

Catherine, mother of Malwynn and Umaryn had met Ellioth at the Cathedral in Daris where she had worked and lived. The central home of the Church of Souls in Varrland, the Cathedral of Kincaid was a massive nexus of religious energy and population. Catherine was an Apostle, a reasonably skilled user of The Way, and servant of the spirits of the ancestors that roamed Elmoryn. After meeting Ellioth, falling deeply in love, and becoming pregnant with the twins, the couple moved to New Picknell where Catherine took over as the most senior Apostle at the modest church in town. Catherine attended to the births, deaths, healing the sick and wounded, and most importantly, consecrating the bodies of the dead.

The most sacred of all duties an Apostle can perform is the consecration of the dead. It is so important to the Church of Souls, and the very survival of humanity on Elmoryn that it is the first spell taught to Apostles once their gift and devotion is revealed. Everyone on Elmoryn knew what happened to a body left unconsecrated too long… Malwynn’s mind drifted back to how close they had been to tragedy yesterday with Julianne’s death. A few minutes more, and the entire village might’ve been in danger.

“Are the fields ready for harvest?” Umaryn asked idly. In truth she wasn’t interested, but she and her twin brother had been sharing these long walks since the two could walk, and this was their way.

“Almost. Another month and a half. You know you could ask me the real question you want to. I don’t mind.” Malwynn said with a wry smile, reading his sister’s mind.

Umaryn’s eyes lit up with restrained excitement. “I didn’t want to pry. How are you and Marissa doing? Are we ready for the thought of marriage? Will I be Aunt Umaryn soon?”

Malwynn almost blushed, the skin of his thin, pale white cheeks taking on a faint redness. “Ha. You’re terribly funny. I can’t speak to children in the near future, or your ability to be an Aunt to them, but I can comfortably say that by the harvest, I think I’ll go to her family and ask their permission for her hand in marriage.”

Umaryn giggled ferociously and took her brother’s arm, shaking it happily. “Oh I’m so happy for you two! Just imagine it. Malwynn the husband, Malwynn the father. Mom and Dad will just be overwhelmed with joy. Imagine little Rynne being an Aunt too. She’ll beam!”

Rynne was their little sister, just ten winters of age. She shared the same midnight black hair and blue eyes as the twins. In just a few more years, she’d be the target of every teenage boy suitor in New Picknell.

“I’m sure she’ll be just smitten with the idea of being an aunt. However… I need to find the courage you seem to have in abundance, and find the nerve to ask her parents for her hand first. I’m sure I’ll manage. Try not to tell mom and dad though. I’m still waiting a bit longer.”

Umaryn beamed, “Not a problem. I’m happy you’ve trusted me with this little secret. It makes me feel very special.” The last bit was delivered with thick sarcasm.

“Mmhm. I’m sure you feel like the most important person in the worl-“ Malwynn stopped mid word, looking over the crest of a hill a half minute’s jog ahead. “Did you hear that?” The tall, young man’s eyed narrowed as he scanned the hill ahead.

Umaryn pointed her eyes at the same spot her brother was investigating, listening intently, trying to sense what he’d sensed. She saw and heard nothing. “I hear nothing. Too much time with the wheat? Not enough time with Marissa has you hearing things eh?”

“I’m telling you, something is happening over that hill. I swear to the ancestors I heard metal on metal. Swords clashing. You’re telling me the artificer in the family can’t sense two forged items making noise nearby? Come. I want to see what’s ahead.”
 

Umaryn’s eyes narrowed at Malwynn’s stinging insult, but she followed him as he took off running towards his goal. Sometimes he was infuriating.

But brothers can be that way.