The Danu (2 page)

Legends say there was
once one great wild weave stretched the breadth of the land, but it had been
generations since a Danu was born that could combine the weaves.  Now they were
a scattering of different size forests, each with its own weave.  Once a Danu
connected to one, there was no moving to the next.

Katrine had seen what
that connection had cost her parents and the rest of the Danu of her village. 
No matter that her heart cried out for the weave, she did not plan on falling
into the same trap. 

With the outcast tribe,
Katrine had spent her mature years roaming from one land to another, hiding her
abilities from everyone but Deni, and never in one place long enough for a true
connection.  She had lived by Outcast rules first because she had no choice,
and then because of Deni.  Now that he was gone, she was free of that life.  She
would never go back to that.  Neither did she wish to make herself as
vulnerable as her parents had been by staying in the green long enough to form
a connection that could be exploited.

No, she would do as Deni
had suggested.  She would move through the wild places quickly and head for one
of the great walled cities, close enough to the wilds to sustain her for a
time, and find work as a weaver.

***

Katrine spent a good part
of the journey northwest working her way through the high trees avoiding the four-legged
predators.  The Wild Green was so dense in places; it was like walking a path
through the thin vine tangled branches high above the forest floor.  Within the
weave she unerringly found and gathered edibles from the forest around her, she
kept her energy high and left no trail to follow.   When it thinned out, she
would practically fly through the green, feeling free for the first time since
the war.  As nimble as a monkey she flew from branch to branch in athletic
leaps and flips only the Danu were capable of performing. 

At night, she slept lightly,
if at all, but by the time she had traveled two weeks Katrine knew she needed
to find somewhere she could rest.  Somewhere it would be safe to let down her
guard enough to have a real sleep.  Otherwise, she was going to be without
energy when she really needed it.  While she could absorb magical energy from
the wild weaves she entered, each new weave she encountered meant expending as
much energy holding herself back as she was gaining from the connection she
allowed.  She did not want to face the city walls at a disadvantage.

A Danu took energy from
the world around them, but the closest she had traveled through the larger
cities, were the outskirts.  With what she had briefly glimpsed of rock structures
and paved roads where civilization had taken root she very much doubted she
would find what she needed.  She hoped to endure it by visiting the green around
the cities frequently but she had no idea if living so far removed from her
wilds would be the safety she dreamed about or just another something to
endure.

The black walled city of
Haven sat at the edge of the green.  Forests that had at one time dominated all
of the Northern lands had been cut through by roads, hacked down, and burned to
make way for the towns.  Even before the southern armies staked their claim on
these verdant and wild lands, the people of the North had carved out their
cities, and the roads outside the magic boundaries that ruled the rest of the
lands in the North.

The Southern armies led
by the Warrior King Rek Morten had no love for sorcery, having seen what magic
in the wrong hands was capable of in their own lands.  Set on conquering the
North, Morten first spoke of peace with the Danu who were known by the city
folk as both protectors of the green and feared rivals for its resources.  Before
talks could even begin, he had attacked the wilds with fire, burning the magic
forests and the Danu with them. 

Between winning the
battle for Horth and destroying the Danu, it meant the rest of the North
surrendered without a real fight.  But, Morten underestimated the wild magic of
the green.  When the smoke cleared, it rose up to reclaim the land, without the
Danu to act as a much needed buffer between the wilds and the humans.  Only then
did the city people understand the Danu were not the true danger in the green. 
Unfortunately, by then the damage had been done.

Burning the forests and
decimating an entire species of magic users had gained the humans nothing and
lost them much.  The wilds that had burned to make room for advancing armies
grew back nearly overnight, bigger and denser than before.  The plants and
animals came back, developing new teeth and claws.  The conquering armies of
the South and what was left of the Northern people were forced to rally
together quickly to survive.  Even the outcasts that roamed as nomads stayed on
the established paths after that, doing business with the armies that patrolled
and guarded the few defensible roads that remained passable.

King Rek Morten absorbed
the verdant lands of the North into his Kingdom, claiming the three great
cities as his, but the vast wild green with all its abundance and natural
treasure remained impassable and deadly.

 The walls of the city
were already showing in the distance when Katrine stopped dwelling on bitter
truths, and old history, and began thinking of finding a place to rest.  It was
with a heavy body and a relieved sigh that she found herself in a burrow that
bore the markings she recognized as Danu safe passage.  The markings were old
and without magic.  From the feel of the place, it had been long abandoned,
still, she should be safe, at least until she had rested and recharged.  When
she was at her best, she would face the wall, and find out if it was possible
for a Danu to live outside the green.

With a whisper of magic,
she reignited the safeguards that would seal her off from the rest of the
forest and its danger.  A sweep of her hand was enough to have soft moss
growing across the dark green soil and spreading into a pallet.  Deep
underground and surrounded by the root system of the forest she could rest here
in relative comfort and recharge before facing what was to come.  She ate the
last of the herb and berry mix she had collected in the forest.  When she awoke,
she would take the time to replenish what she had used.  Katrine was determined
to enter the city gates with food to see her through finding a job and out of
necessity a garden, if only a patch, where she could work her magic to sustain
her, since a Danu needed living plants and the foods touched by wild magic. 
For now, she used the last of her reserve energy to warm the walls around her
so that the stones held both magic and heat through the night.  Then she
drifted off, shutting down and fell into the natural weave that called to her.

Time passed, enough that
Katrine was rested and magic fueled enough to leave the wilds.  Before she left
the Danu safe harbor, using up a small amount of her new energy, she reinforced
the magic until only a Danu would find the place after she left.  If any did
come they would see that she had been there and know they were not alone.  She
hunted up berries and greens in the forests until her pack was once again full,
and refilled her water jug at the stream where she took the time to bathe and
change, pulling her hair out of the traditional Danu weavings and letting it
fall down her back in waves as a normal city born human would.  She also
changed out of her own forest garb and into a dress she made herself.  It
looked like any other warm wool dress with long sleeves, a high collar, and
ankle length skirt.  This one had as many hidden pockets and crevices as she
could weave into a garment where she stored her knives and the small amount of
money she had squired away over the years.  She left on her soft boots, which
you could not really see under the skirt anyway and added a wool wrap over her
shoulders that mostly hid the long knife at her back.  She could do nothing
about her distinctive hair and eyes, but then few people would recognize a Danu
if they saw one.  Even her skin might garner some appreciative looks; few would
recognize the subtle under glow for what it was.  Magic. 

If she was actively using
her forest magic it would become more obvious, but in everyday life, it
appeared to most of the uneducated as just the healthy glow of a young girl. 
Stories she had heard in her travels among the outcasts suggested that Danu had
glowing green skin with pointy ears and bark for hair.  The outcasts might
recognize a Danu without difficulty because of their travels, but the
superstitious towns people?  In all the cities where Deni had taken her to
trade and sell the horses the outcasts were best known for, never had anyone
recognized what she was.

Haven was at the very
Northern tip of the great forest and backed by craggy peaks and endless
impassable mountain ranges.  Full of untapped natural resources, the industry
was mining and jewelry making primarily.  Geographically it was a challenge.  North
you would have to travel through either Horth, a Seaport captured and now defended
by the iron ships of the South under Prince Ansgar the Bloody, or the land
locked border city of Dunsen, where King Rek Morten himself resided in his
freshly conquered and reinforced castle with the bulk of his army.  Dunsen was
the main gateway between the Southern Kingdom and the largest city of the
North.

The portcullis was up at this
time of day. That didn’t mean it was undefended, or that Katrine would pass
without notice.  A man alone traveling the roads and wilds was unheard of.  A small
female, seemingly unarmed?  Impossible.

The two soldiers dressed
in the brown leathers and sun emblem of the southern army manning either side
of the gate looked her over, and then looked at each other.  Tall and broad,
scarred and armed to the teeth, to them she must have resembled a child.  She
certainly felt a bit child sized when they stepped forward and raised their
arms so that she was halted between them.

"Where is your
escort, lady?"  The tallest one asked the question.  His heavy brows
nearly colliding from the displeased frown that crossed his face.  Like all the
southern warriors, these two were olive skinned and dark eyed.  Without facial
or body hair they stood tall and muscled.  Their dark hair cut short on their
head and not a speck of softness anywhere on their person.

Katrine shrugged. 
"As you see."  She motioned behind her to indicate her lack of escort
as if it was nothing.  "It is only me."

"No one travels the
wild roads without an armed escort."  The other leather-clad warrior could
have been his brother so close did they resemble each other, down to the sword
at their belts and knives sticking out of their long boots.  "How is it
that you survived the wilds alone?"

Katrine raised her chin
and looked the speaker in the eye, and gave him her rehearsed story, which was
not exactly a lie.  "I was an outcast by marriage.  My husband died and I
left to find work in Haven."

The men shared a look
above her head she could not read.  She did notice the long perusal her chest
received at her words.

 "You seem awful
young to be a widow."  The tall one said, clearly distracted by the
thought.

"And awfully soft
skinned to be an outcast."  The other one was more suspicious.  His eyes
betrayed appreciation as they ran hotly over her exposed neck and down over the
rest of her.

"By marriage,"
she reiterated. Katrine was careful to keep her calm heartbeat and cool eyes. 
The eyes on her might be suggestive.  They were also seeing everything.

"What kind of work
does a pretty widow hope to find in Haven?"  The shorter one asked, his
voice a hint suggestive.

"I'm a master
weaver."  Katrine told the lie easily, without even a blip of concern,
after all Deni had sold her weavings more than once saying the same thing.  She
might not have been certified with the weaver’s guild as master, but it was not
for lack of skill.

"Young for that as
well," the taller guard said, his voice showing more suspicion not less.

Katrine flipped the wool
off her back and held it in front of her.  She must have moved too fast because
both men were suddenly holding their swords and had stepped back.  She smiled
at them.  "This is some of my work," she said, not even trying to
keep the humor at their expense out of her voice or eyes.  "I assure you
it is quite safe."

They looked her over, the
tall one’s mouth firming in displeasure.  The shorter one, who still managed to
top her small stature by a good foot, got a challenging gleam in his eye. 
"How can we know for sure unless we thoroughly examine you?"

The taller man gave him a
glare of warning and took the weave out of her hands.  He studied the swirl of
colors and fingered the fineness of the pattern and thickness of the weave.  He
raised a brow and looked her over with both a small touch of disbelief but also
appreciation.  After a moment of studying her, her well-made and durable
clothes, then the cloth again, he passed it back to her.  "My brother’s
widow is a cloth merchant," he said.  “I have rarely seen such quality even
among the master wares."

She bowed her head in
appreciation of the praise, saying nothing more.  Finally, after a long moment
while Katrine stood wondering inwardly if she was going to have to use her
knife so soon on the journey, he spoke.

"If you take the
high road to the hill you will see a house with blue shutters and a garden just
beyond the main market road.  Ask for Amelia. Tell her Dorn sent you.  If this
is indeed your work, she will give you the best deal of the merchants." 

Katrine would believe
that after she talked to the merchant, and if it was not her work, she had no
doubt she would see this warrior a second time.  For now, she just nodded her
thanks and waited.  A moment later the tall guard stepped back and waved her
on.  She felt his eyes, worse, the eyes of his shorter friend burning a hole
through her back long after she was out of their sight.  She forgot about both
of them at her first real look at the walled city of Haven.

Living as an outcast
since she was eleven the most Katrine had seen of the bigger cities was the
outside walls and the selling booths that were erected every changing of the
season for traders and traveling merchants to exchange and purchase their wares
to sell at other towns and throughout the provinces.   The outcasts attended
these events choosing not to enter the towns further than necessary.  Though,
from what Deni had told her, Katrine knew that some of the men, including
Renault would go in secret to the drinking establishments, gambling places, and
other unmentionable houses where they could sin without the disapproving eyes
of the elders on them.  Outcast women did not go farther than the black gates
themselves. She had thought the bustling markets were a good representation of
what city life was, full of semi-permanent wood structures, lean-to's and the
bustle of people all intent on either buying or selling. She had been wrong.

First, there was nothing
semi-permanent about the stone houses and cobbled streets of Haven.  The
industry was mining so it was probably no surprise that the walls were solid
stone and ten times the size of the tent homes she was used to, and there were
a lot of them.  In the first few rows of buildings there was more the fair feel
she was used to. People bustling down the streets.  A few horses loaded down,
or carrying carts behind them.  Some of the soldiers rode their steeds through
the wide streets, clopping along.  The streets were clean though, and the stone
houses, though bustling with activity did not feel closed in or crowded.  As
she made her way in the direction the tall warrior had given her, glad to be
away from so the bustle, she noticed houses began to have more size, and were spaced
farther apart.  Short walls of stone separated courtyards that were
progressively grander as she walked.

There were trees and
flowers in pots, water wells, and stone statues and in some cases small plots
of greenery.  Her sense of the weave had opened up just enough that while she
felt the distance and discomfort; it was almost bearable, which was more than
she had hoped.  That would change as time went on.  For now, she could endure. 

She reached the cloth
merchant's house with the blue shutters on a quieter street with the bigger
lots and trees, and found to her excitement that behind the waist high stone
was a large crop of land that someone had at one time taken the time to plant. 
Right now, it was empty, nothing more than a few scraggly bushes, and neglected
roots hidden deep within the dark earth.  Nevertheless, there was life there,
calling to her.

Katrine took a deep
breath and allowed herself to get lost in the simple structured weave that was
fading here.  After the walk on stone cobbles, the simple step she took through
the gate and onto the bare ground was a whoosh of connection and relief.  It
was different from the wilds.  The life here was tentative, the weave more
structured than she was used to feeling.  She knew immediately that she would
never be lost in this weave, or bound too tight no matter how long she stayed,
which in itself was a relief.  She also knew it would help her, this plot of
garden, more if she was permitted to work her magic here, but it would never
satisfy the way the wilds could.  She could survive here, but thrive, that
remained to be seen.

She did not realize her
eyes were closed and she stood swaying one step inside the gate until a small
boy spoke.

"Are you going to
fall over?" he asked, his eyes locked on her with an awe that seemed out
of place when Katrine opened her eyes.

He was small child of
about six wearing brown tunic and trousers and boots scuffed from hard use.  He
wore the traditional colors of the North in springtime when the weather could
move from warm with gentle breezes to chilly evening winds when the sun went
down.  In the winter month’s furs for warmth would be added, typical for the
Northern peoples, and so very different from the skin showing supple leathers
of the Southern armies.  Despite his obvious Northern clothing, his dark skin
and hair proclaiming his southern ancestry.  The woman, who hovered just behind
him, her hands holding on to his small shoulders, was pure northern beauty.  Honey
blond hair, blue eyes and light skin.  Her clothes were as finely woven as the child’s,
her boots shiny and scuff free, obviously as well made as the simple short
sleeved dress the woman wore in a sky blue nearly the same color as her eyes.  Her
only adornment was a silver and copper cuff she wore high on her right wrist.

Despite the weariness and
suspicion that clung to her, she looked too young to have a child of this age. 
Even so, with one look at them Katrine knew the golden haired woman was the
child's mother.  The coloring might be different, but there was no denying the
shape of their eyes, mouth, and chin were identical.

"No," Katrine
finally said, smiling at the child.  "I won't fall over."  She turned
serene eyes to his mother.  "Are you Amelia?"

Katrine watched those
golden brows lift as surprise hit the woman’s blue eyes.  "I am."

"A guard at the gate
told me you might be able to offer me work as a weaver.  He said to tell you
Dorn sent me after he saw a sample of my work."  Katrine presented her
weave with both hands held out before her.  Even from the small distance
between them, the quality of both color and texture would be unmistakable.

Amelia did not look at
the fabric; her eyes were on Katrine.  "Why come here?"

Katrine wondered at the
suspicion, almost fear, she could see in the woman’s eyes.  She decided to
retell her story in hopes that whatever the woman thought, she was not a danger. 
This time she told the unvarnished truth.  "I was an outcast by marriage,
my husband died.  I did not belong among the outcasts."  She shrugged. 
"He had sold my fabrics many times at master level prices, so I had hope
to find honest work as a weaver."

"I have never heard
of Danu living in the cities."

At her careful words,
Katrine stilled utterly.