The Book of Ominiue: Starborn (19 page)

‘Many of your soldiers seem happy to go in there now,’ Shayne observed as some walked freely amongst the trees to replenish their bundles of wood used the previous night.

‘They do not step beyond the border; they are but in the area which the forest has grown out from. They still walk on Bohanese land.’

Shayne doubted this very much, ‘How do they know that they have not already walked beyond the border?’

‘The silence,’ Pan’arden simply said with a shrug. Shayne stood frozen for a moment trying to understand the comment, he turned to Pan’arden but she was walking back to her horse. He stepped a few paces forward, staring intently through the trees; watching the lionmen as they went about collecting firewood. He tried to look into the depths, but the forestland was made of hills and gullies, barring a deeper view. Shayne’s eyes drifted to a recess, it was darker than the rest. He thought he saw movement, but as he focused upon it there was nothing. The darkness appeared to grow, engulfing the area around it; he found he could not turn away, everything else faded as his mind was drawn into it.

‘Hey!’ Shayne snapped back to reality.  Kíe was at his side trying to get his attention. Rae also rushed passed very excitedly calling to Omar with something in her hands.

‘Are you okay?’ Kíe had his hand on Shayne’s shoulder and he looked down at him, a glance of both amusement and concern on the journeyman’s face.

‘
Yeah
,’ Shayne replied as he ran his hands over his face and through his hair, ‘I am fine.’

‘Careful,’ Kíe cautioned as he glanced into the forest; a faint smile on his face. ‘There is something about the Wayel-Éaa; it draws you in. — There is a game that the Bohanese young used to play, to prove that they are brave. They venture as far as they dared to witness it.’

‘Witness what?’

‘The silence,’ Kíe simply said. Shayne glanced at Kíe with a blank look.

‘What you just did then, that was the
drawing
, surely you realise that?’ Kíe searched the Starborn’s face. ‘It is remarkable that it occurred beyond the border; that is rare. People disappear; they are drawn and they never return. Those who fight it say it is like a call and they find it hard to resist.’

‘What about the children and their games?’

‘Most never even come close,’ Kíe dismissed with a wave of his hand.

‘And those who do?’

‘Have a fearful respect,’ Kíe looked out again. ‘Provided they return.’ He then looked at Shayne again dismissing the sombre conversation and smiled broadly. ‘Are you hungry?’ he asked as he made his way to a soldier handing out rations.

‘Hang on,’ Shayne followed him. ‘How come we did not witness this when we were in the forest itself?’

‘We did.’

Shayne grimaced. Kíe’s half explained replies were frustrating to him.

The journeyman sighed, ‘Did you not notice that the forest was sometimes quiet? That is the silence. Though it is not strong up in the mountains it is greatest here, for we are closer to the heart.’

‘What is it?’ Shayne asked, a feeling he had never experienced suddenly flooded over him: sending a faint shiver down his spine.

‘They say it is the spirit of the children of Markees, a dark shadow now lies where they once dwelled; the birds of the sky do not fly overhead nor do the creatures of the ground walk upon its soil. At the heart of the forest is the great city of the Markeeians. The silence is believed to be their tortured souls desiring warmth and life from the living so they call to us.’ Kíe sat down to eat his meal, Shayne remained standing contemplating the forest. His eyes wandered across the trees and into their depths.

‘I would not look too much in that direction Afra’hama,’ Kíe warned. ‘For you could find yourself lost and none will follow you, not this close to the heart.’ Shayne sat beside Kíe but he found himself thinking about the lost city. As he finished his small meal Rae and Dominic came up to him. Rae was with some of the natives trying to talk through a robot, but frustration lead her to the Starborn.

‘Forrester,’ she called to him. He regarded her standing before him. This was the first time anyone from the party had addressed him willingly other than the Brigadier.

‘Yes?’

‘I’ve found this little guy,’ she said and sat next to him holding out a sickly thing. Shayne looked down at it. It was a tiny winged creature resembling an Australian possum, but it had wings that gripped with fright around Rae’s hand as well as four legs. Another hexapedal animal, like the bird in Keemíth. This was the first wild mammal creature they had seen for a while.

Rae put the little creature into Shayne’s open hand. It instantly clung to him; its wings griped where they could, but they were the only thing that possessed strength, the rest of it would collapse in his hand, and it would fumble around trying to escape. Kíe looked at the little creature.

‘
Kadhi
,’ Kíe spoke, identifying its name. Rae smiled.

‘It doesn’t have any diseases, does it?’ Dominic asked. Kíe shook his head as he gently lifted one of its wings with his large hands and looked at it more carefully, Shayne tried to give it to him but he did not take it. ‘It has been attacked by something, I do not think it is serious, but it has not been able to hunt. They eat bugs, hoppers and flies.’ He then pushed Shayne’s hand to Rae who retrieved the small creature.

‘The biologist would love to look at him,’ she said to Shayne with mounting excitement as she patted the little creature.

‘It wouldn’t surprise me. I don’t recall any such creature in the catalogue at settlement.’

‘I’m going to find it some food,’ she declared then promptly went to a droid and ordered it to capture any crawling insects. The robot acknowledged the order then prioritised the command. As they had no work to do it went to the nearest tree and started to scrape the ground cover, instantly uncovering a world of warm weather insects. Rae on the other hand set about to convert a discarded food tin into a home and placed some tissue paper in it for the creature. It then went about licking the sides of the container for the taste of food.

After an hour they were moving along again. Shayne’s sleeping bag and clothing were perfectly dry and packed though Pan’arden’s blanket was still cold and damp, she was not worried as she knew it would dry.

Moving along softly rising hills and down into shallow gullies the landscape began to smooth out into the open plains again. Travelling down the other side of the last main hill, they saw an old homestead further along the ridge. Old work horses peered curiously at the travellers otherwise the farm house seemed empty with the occupant out herding in the plains.

‘Look, look, I see something!’ Rahul, the private called out in excitement. Shayne peered out the direction the soldier was pointing. He shaded his eyes from the suns glare and saw in the distance something protruding from the far-eastern end of the forest. There before them was a distant tower; it was so faint that Shayne could only just make it out, but it was definitely there, standing proud above the trees. It must have been a grand structure; on the scale of a skyscraper to be so far away.

‘That is one of the three great towers,’ Kíe informed. ‘It is the tower of Septimus in Karmoníth.’

‘The Citadel Tower,’ Shayne translated to his companions. ‘It’s at the centre of the city we’re travelling to.’ The Earthmen grew in spirits at this news, their conversation rippled with excitement, but that slowly died as the day wore on and the tower seemed no closer. As the day faded they all were very tired and increasingly grim: they once again made camp. Shayne made sure to set up his swag this time before being distracted. That night they had a good fire as the Wayel-Éaa forest was littered with old wood scattered through the undergrowth.

The night was full of music, most of which was about the forest and its ancient dwellers. Shayne looked into the darkness as they sung and thought he saw movement within. He wanted to walk in amongst the trees, but the words of Kíe sat uneasily in the back of his mind.

Most of the party were in good spirits but the travelling was taking its toll on some of the Earthmen. They were tired and worn, the knowledge of at least two more days of horse riding slowly ate away at their moral. They knew that their opinions would change once there, but this night and probably the following they would remain quietly disheartened. Shayne stretched out his legs, riding did not cause him constant pain anymore but the relentless travel did mean his legs remained perpetually stiff. 

The night followed with more dreams of unrest, they were of such intensity that he found he could not rest without them intruding into his mind. He quietly rose from his sleeping bag. Two lionmen sentries sat by the fire, a male and female and they watched the flames in silence. Shayne softly walked down the path they had come from. It was a rough track, with potholes and ruts made by years of carriage wheels and little maintenance. Shayne found a large tree by the roadside and leant against it as he looked up at the stars. The colonyships were bright and they provided him with some comfort. He closed his eyes briefly as he stood, enjoying the cool air. When he opened them again he thought he saw a small creature dash across the grassland before him, but it was only a brief glimpse.

‘Afra’hama?’ He turned his head to see Pan’arden standing in the shadows of the trees; he glanced across to the fire and saw only one figure sitting in the flames light. He looked back at the lionman leader; he could not make out any features, only a dark silhouette as she moved from the cover of the trees.

‘Nida Kushnalor,’ he acknowledged by her rank and the slightest of nods.

‘You do not sleep?’ Though Shayne could not see her features he knew that she was watching him very carefully.

‘I have dreams that keep me awake,’ he admitted.

‘The forest does that to some. It brings thoughts and ideas. It is a good thing for those who enjoy thinking.’

‘I enjoy the darkness,’ Shayne sighed. ‘Day brings with it
human
nature, but night, night is still its own. It is something that we have not been able to change, even with great cities that never sleep, you can always find the darkness.’ Pan’arden looked up at the stars. The moon was less than a quarter full, revealing it was early morning with only a few hours until dawn. The pause brought with it Shayne’s unease. Pan’arden looked down at him with concern.

‘What is it that bothers you?’ she asked. Shayne hesitated, unsure himself.

‘This place confuses me.’

‘How so?’ she asked, sitting down with her head resting against the tree.

‘I do not understand,’ Shayne tried to grasp. ‘I do not know how to say it. There is something different, something that is not right. I was taught the laws of the universe, I know many things, I remember all and I understood all — until I came here. There is something,’ Shayne paused trying to find a word. ‘Something that I have missed and no matter how hard I look I cannot find the answer.’

‘I am sure the young scholar can help you.’

‘Yes, but he infuriates me,’ Shayne said with the faintest hint of frustration.

Pan’arden gave a soft chuckle, ‘Only because you allow him too, it seems to me that you do not want to accept the dilemma that has befallen you, otherwise you would not be bothered by the words of the Journeyman.’

Shayne gazed once more towards the campsite, watching as the night guard put a log on the fire. ‘That is possible.’

‘I am not highly trained in the arts of the world; fighting is my craft, but I was taught as all are taught. The importance that the teachers give to the laws is in its foundations, and that is to look at all possibilities without prejudice, then to set out to find which is the truth, even if the answer leads to the one you do not wish.’ Pan’arden frowned, but her expression was lost in the darkness. ‘I learnt a long time ago that this law is true for all, and not just for those who study in their great halls. For all their softness, they are a wise people and I am glad they are here.’

‘So you wish me to look elsewhere?’ Shayne asked.

‘It seems your despair comes from trying to find the answer in your own knowledge. Perhaps it is beyond your current understanding?’ she suggested.

‘Then where am I to look?’

‘Now, that is a question I cannot answer, for it is the journey that befalls any of us who care to look.’ Shayne leant back against the tree and stared sadly out into the fields.

Pan’arden rose from the ground. She was contemplating whether to return to the camp, but she hesitated, not sure if she should keep talking or leave the human. She was about to say something when a sudden call came from the forest; it was a strange sound, like a cross between a howl and a scream and it pierced the night causing Pan’arden to draw her sword.

‘The dwelarg call!’ she said, ‘and it is close.’

‘What is that?’ Shayne looked out into the darkness. He thought he saw something dark shoot out across the forest floor before the sound once again echoed into the night; closer to their camp. The warning was returned by Thyman’s deep and angry roar, the tiger’s great form revealed in the firelight, posed for battle.

‘They call out when danger is near,’ Pan’arden said as she grasped Shayne’s arm, pulling him along as she made for the campfire, letting go only when he registered the threat and stop resisting. Lionmen and Earthman had stirred at the cries; the warriors either took a halberd or drew their swords, readying themselves. Shayne followed just behind the High Captain, running hard they made it to the fire just as half a dozen creatures broke from the forest, vicious things that looked like a cross between a wild cat and a wolf, but twice the size. They had squashed snouts with great sabre fangs. Their shaggy hides had dark stripes running down their length. The pack instantly broke out to attack, one of them leapt towards the closest lionman; she jumped and rolled out of the way, her tail now uncurled and standing on the balls of her feet she lunged her blade deep into the creature, throwing her entire mass into the thrust so the blade would penetrate deep into the flesh. Its cry filled the night as it fell to the ground, with its own blood welling up underneath it. The rest of the pack hesitated moving back again as they prowled beyond arm’s reach, their angry cries filling the air. The Bohanese soldiers were now in a defence circle near the campfire. Only the sentries wore full body armour with the others only brandishing weapons. Those with shields had them raised with their spears or swords resting on top, ready to thrust downwards if needed. Pan’arden’s tiger, seasoned in fighting, also stood ready in the circle, her deep growls a contrast to the snarls of the wild creatures. Kíe came and stood in the fire’s light; he strung his horse-bow and held it ready, with the red flames burning brightly behind him.