Revelyn: 1st Chronicles - When the last arrow falls (63 page)

Reigin stepped back and indicated with his left hand that all further communication should be directed to Rema who immediately knew that he needed to speak well now, for the moment demanded it. The
Edenwhood
leader, Rhynos, looked puzzled and turned to one on his right who they now saw to be a woman.  They exchanged words in a strange tongue which seemed familiar, but lay just beyond their knowledge and ability to grasp. Rhynos turned back and looked at Rema.

‘I am puzzled at this development, but if this
Giron
says you are the leader lowlander, then you will speak of your reason for entering this land which is forbidden on pain of death for all of your kin.’

These words now had a harder edge and the fierce immovable wall of the standing
Edenwhood
seemed to suddenly grow taller. Rema took a deep breath and reacted as confidently as he judged possible. He suddenly strode across the gap between the two groups and stopped several paces before the immovable
Edenwhood
soldiers who towered above him. He looked calmly into the eyes of the one called Rhynos and held that contact as he spoke.

‘I am called Rema Bowman. I have come to speak with the
Edenwhood
, for I am in great need of their assistance in matters which I will lay before your rulers. These weapons we carry are for our protection and will be used only against our enemies who are lowlanders all. We come in peace and you have nothing to fear from us.’

The words carried an impressive weight which could not be ignored but his last phrase seemed to amuse some among the tall
Edenwhood
before whom he stood so vulnerable and small. Suddenly one of the great men on the left of Rhynos the Mighty Keeper of the Eastern Gate started to chuckle. Several others joined in. Rhynos alone kept up a severe face. Rema was puzzled.

‘Have my words caused such mirth for no reason,’ he inquired boldly.

‘Little man, Rema Bowman, your words are strange to our ears indeed,’ the woman
Edenwhood
spoke directly to him, ‘and we laugh for it is strange that you in your smallness stand before us and reassure us that we need not fear you...’ she was cut off by a now angry Rhynos.

‘...for we have no fear of you at all. It is you before us who should be afraid!’

The tone in his voice quietened the mirth of his companions, for they saw that he was not amused at their lack of order. Rema however took the initiative.

‘And what should I and my friends be afraid of sira?’ He looked directly at the enormous soldier, but without fear for he sensed that his peril was not as great as the man would like to imply.

This polite inquiry seemed to have no reply which Rhynos wished to give, and he now spoke his mind as a soldier which changed his demeanour in an instant.

‘I have the authority to slay any who enter this land uninvited. These are my orders and I am under oath to obey.’ His mood had suddenly changed for the worse and Rema felt that the others of his kind were uneasy with his temper.

‘We
Edenwhood
cannot allow the lowlander to enter as you have. The
Giron
must be punished, but you cannot be allowed to live.’ And suddenly Rhynos lifted his huge sword in a blur which took Rema completely by surprise. Only the swift intervention of the woman saved him from immediate death, for the soldier moved as one possessed of a speed and deathly skill which could not be denied.

‘Halt your arm Keeper Rhynos!’ she cried and caught his arm equally as fast as he moved. ‘We need not offer such violence when they come in peace.’

Rhynos stayed his arm but she continued to hold him back. The other
Edenwhood
spoke rapidly to each other in their native tongue. Rema felt a desperate need to remedy the dangerous situation, for he saw that they were none, save perhaps Reigin, any match for these deadly folk.

And suddenly as his mind sought to find a way, strange words came to his lips, which he uttered in the same lilting manner of those who stood before him.

‘
Eh arrev be harmno, Eh er shon doome sa merci. Eh apel lon elder.’

He immediately felt a wave of sensation beyond anything he had ever experienced sweep through his tense body which tingled from head to toe, for whilst the words sounded strange to his own ears he knew exactly what he had said deep in his mind.

The words had an even more powerful effect upon the
Edenwhood
. They froze in sheer amazement, and looked one to the other unable to decide what next to do. It was the woman who spoke first. She addressed Rhynos who stood in disbelief.

‘This man speaks in the language of the
Edenwhood.
No lowlander in living memory has ever done this. He has appealed to the Elder. This allows a greater law than our orders for defence, Rhynos. If to the Elder he has appealed, to the Elder he must go. You know this to be true Oh Keeper of the Eastern Gate.’

Rhynos slowly sheathed his sword and nodded in agreement. ‘Bring them!’ he ordered tersely, and then turned and walked off toward the west.

‘My name is Cordia, Second Keeper of the Eastern gate,’ said the woman of the
Edenwhood
, introducing herself with genuine warmth, ‘and this is Fleitt, Third Keeper.’ A tall soldier by her side nodded and smiled down at Rema. ‘You will accompany us in safety. You will not be harmed. Please speak with your companions and have them march with us.’

She spoke with a gentle but firm authority which recommended itself to obedience. Rema was pleased to deal with her for he now sensed that Rhynos was too eager to act in haste, where a woman might seek a more peaceful path.

‘I am pleased indeed to meet you Cordia, Second Keeper of the Eastern gate. I will direct my companions to do as you had requested.’ He held out his right hand and she smiled before taking it and they shook firmly, he reaching up, and she bending slightly at the knees to make it easier for him.

‘I look forward to talking with you when we are sheltered for the night,’ she said, as the look in her close set eyes spoke of many things. And then with a quick and graceful movement, she turned and spoke to the rest of the
Edenwhood
in the lovely lilting tongue which was their own.

Within a short time they were all marching west together toward the forest, the five companions surrounded by the tall and powerfully graceful
Edenwhood
, who were now talking and joking amongst themselves.

‘Well done Rema,’ whispered Serenna as they walked, leading their horses side by side. ‘You have made a good impression upon these strange folk. What did you say to them which so won them over, for we sensed a coldness of mood afore you spoke?’

Rema smiled. ‘I will tell you tonight Serenna, for right now I am not sure how to explain what happened. Look, these
Edenwhood
are finding Reigin to be a man of interest, and Scion too, I am sure they have never seen a black man before this moment...’ and so he changed the subject. Within a span they entered a wonderful forest and shortly after found shelter in the strangest village any of the weary companions had ever dreamt of.

‘We of the
Edenwhood,
live mostly as you see,’ Cordia, Second Keeper of the Eastern Gate spoke in a gentle lilt. She sat on a comfortable couch before a well stoked fire. Only she of her people was present, the others having other accommodation nearby. The five companions were sitting around the cosy room on cushions having just completed a meal of fine roast meat and vegetables washed down by an ale which none had ever tasted before, but which had lifted their spirits and opened their hearts to good conversation.

‘Our dwellings are in these Bulbane trees which are wide of girth and branchless to almost forty cubits,’ she continued, ‘They are a soft wooded tree and we carve out what rooms we wish. So long as we leave two cubits thickness at the sides the trees seem well able to grow and live without their heartwood. The bigger trees will allow several floors and we have skilled house builders, called
Banes
after the trees, who know the art of carving out stairs and floors and all manner of useful things. This hearth sits on stone and the tree wood is protected all about by careful plastering. The giant Frester trees are tallest by far, some reach to two hundred cubits and the wood is straight and true allowing for the best construction of furniture or bridges, anything at all...’ She talked easily this tall and graceful woman of the
Edenwhood,
and none of the five felt prisoner to their hosts, although Rhynos had lectured them shortly before their meal.

‘You will stay within the treehome. Sleep well for tomorrow we leave early on the journey west, and this land has dangers enough for ones so small as you.’ He had left with an air of anger about him, as though their intrusion into the land was a personal affront.

Whilst his words were offered sternly Cordia had explained that he spoke truly for there were creatures which lived in the forests which would make a meal of any, even an
Edenwhood
if one was not wary.

‘What creatures are we warned of?’ Rema asked when Cordia paused in her description of life in this high land, to sip her ale. She smiled warmly, for the drink had worked its magic upon her and she greatly enjoyed to talk.  Her voice was indeed seductive in its delivery, for her every lilting word seemed well placed to give the best of what she was telling, and her phrases ran together like good friends on a journey of discovery. All who listened to her that night were in some manner entranced.

‘This land holds many creatures which you would find in your lands. The rabbit and the fox, the wolf and the bear all roam here, although some have longer thicker coats. The Orax are bigger than perhaps you might imagine and the Shining Eagles are big enough to carry one off. They prey from great heights and hunt together. I have often seen them herd the Orax before making a kill. No human is strong enough to master such a bird although I have heard it has been done.’ She paused and smiled a far off smile which led her listeners to believe that she was seeing some scene from her past which carried great power in her memory.

‘You will know that the sabrecat is a fearful predator in the lowlands,’ Rema said, wanting her to continue in a similar manner, ‘what of this creature in your land?’

Cordia looked at him and raised her eyebrows and nodded. ‘Indeed it is a beast to be wary of. None wander our forests but there is a creature here which would make a good companion of such a one. We call it a scythercat, and surely they were relatives in times past. It is a deadly hunter, but one which we have learned to tame. We have no horses although they are valued highly. Instead our warriors have leaned to ride these beasts and few can stand before them when rider and ridden work as one.’

The listeners all shivered at the naming of such a beast and each conjured up their own image of this ferocious animal, which the speaker did not bother to describe beyond its fearsome title.

The all sat in silence for a time before Cordia continued.

‘The most feared of our creatures in this land is the Serper.’ At this name it seemed that a chill of fear swept briefly through the room.

‘It is a huge creature, a serpent of the forests. It hunts in silence and can take on the colours and texture of what it lies upon. Only the keenest eyes can discern the Serper lying still, and only by piercing its heart can it be killed, for its scales are thick and have been known to break a war sword swiftly hewn. Its bite is fatal; it has many teeth each sharper than the elderthorn and all know how that can pierce the strongest flesh and bone.’

‘Are these Serpers many?’ Serenna asked with a shiver, for her dislike of snakes was common enough.

‘We do not know this well,’ Cordia replied solemnly, ‘for it is hard to discern. Is there one which hunts well all over the land, or many which hunt less well? All I can say is that we keep sharp watch when in the forest. The Scythercat and Serper take not a few
Edenwhood
each cycle of the moon.’

‘What is a
Giron
?’ Reigin asked to break the silence which followed such a sombre statement. Cordia gave a puzzled look as though it should have been obvious enough.

‘You know that
Giron
is thy common name in our tongue for the
Edenwhood
not of noble birth or of the elders. All men and women, we are
Giron.
This land we call AlGiron.’

And in that moment the five companions realised that she believed, as did Rhynos and the others they had encountered that day, that Reigin was one of them, and he it was who had allowed them access to their land. And in that moment Cordia’s next question confirmed their thinking.

‘What clan are you?’ She addressed Reigin directly, and with great wisdom he deflected her.

‘That will revealed soon I am sure, Cordia, Second Keeper of the Eastern gate.’

‘As you wish,’ she replied evenly, ‘for you speak truly. The Elders will find out the truth about you all.’ Her words were delivered with a sombre deliberation which made them wonder greatly about who they next would encounter on their dangerous quest.

Nothing was said for a time and as the night was late Cordia directed them to sleep upon the cushions as best they could, although Reigin was offered a small couch which he filled well enough. Exhausted from their long day of avoiding pursuit, and climbing up the immense shaft of the Eastern Gate, they were all soon asleep, their dreams full of a strange people and creatures which were to be greatly feared.

Cordia kept watch in the room below for the
Edenwhood
did not need to sleep as others, and were trained to go for several days without, should the need require. She sat and wondered greatly at these four strange visitors from the lowlands she had never seen, beyond a distant view from the mighty escarpment on a clear day. She wondered about the leader Rema Bowman who had a special presence which disturbed her, and the black man Scion who looked so different from his companions. And then there was this Reigin, and his mysterious denial that he was
Edenwhood.
How could this be?
Her night was full of many thoughts and a growing sense that her life would never be the same from this moment on.