Atticus

The Marakese

Darticus is trapped inside the mountains with the Marakese for a week now . The snow showing no signs of subsiding st the slightest . An unknown place , a stranger he was but the most welcome one . He has never come across a more humble , gentle and gracious set of people in his life . Not the greatest warriors , but knowing the ways of the swords . Quick on their feet and very intelligent people . Knowing the mountains in and out , they unofficially called it their own . The snow was their ally , their friend . It trapped the animals for them to keep they from getting hungry , it brought them wood through landslides . The snow was not sun hinderance to them . They wore boots made of a material found only in the mountains which carried across the snow with ease . They did not require horses or other animals to carry them . They did it on their own .

And for Darticus , the happenings . There was nothing much to complain about . The only misadventure he had was with the visions . And the only true great adventure he had was with the young woman whose face he could barely see . The Marakese chief met him everyday and gave him encouraging words . They spoke greatly in detail of the North . Their cruelty now and their novelty in the times of the previous king . Their Humungous army , their great ways then and their unruly ways now . Their topics shifted to the kingdom now and then , of the king Maximus and the great General Marcus . The most just and great of beings . Darticus was slowly beginning to enjoy the company of the Marakese .

One such day ,  along with the Marakese chief accompanied a young women . Darticus did not pay much attention to her at first . Welcoming the mountain king in and courteously greeting his daughter as well . As the conversations went on , it began to dawn on him that the girl was indeed the women in the cave earlier amidst the spoke . Darticus stood still , and time stood still . His eyes found hers . A thing of beauty she was , so was her eyes . She immediately looked away . Darticus too averted his gaze from the young women .

There is some good news for you , their chief said .
There is a path east of that summit , he pointed his finger towards . The path leads you to the North .
It should be safe for you and the horse , he further added
Darticus nodded half heartedly ,
That is good news , he replied in a much softer tone than usual
The snow , it's safe ? He muttered incoherently
It's safe for you , the chief replied
It does look like a heavy blanket still , he argued
The path is being cleared as we speak , said the chief
It should be fine .
The girl smiled .
I leave first thing tomorrow morning I suppose , said Darticus
The mountains have been good to me , so has been the people . He added
I shall return here , he added
And the visions , he asked the chief
They are yours to interpret . The Marakese king replied
What you make of it , and what the gods decide .
It does trouble me , he said . One particular vision .
My brother . He
Before he could add anything , the chief interrupted him
Again Darticus , it is for you to solve .
There was silence