Ai Vetria sits Myne down on a tree stump. She looks around, flustered, noticing all of the men and women are nude.
Ai Vetria : Your people like their clothes, but for this we must embrace ourselves as we are. Who we are in the eyes of Her.
Myne : Fully... nude?
Ai Vetria : Yes.
Myne reluctantly takes off her shirt and pants and hands it to Ai Vetria.
Ai Vetria : Those frilly things, too. Nothing may lay on your skin.
She takes off her underclothes, and sits naked on the tree stump. A woman steps forward with a bowl in hand. She moves Myne's hands down, and smears a black paste in intricate patterns on her skin.
Ai Saldia : Se vey ci? Em lai buré a tirah.
Ai Vetria : Did you touch the stone? You have similar marks to mine.
Myne : No. It's hard to explain. A smaller stone fused with me.
Ai Vetria : Ai Saldia, Se stira tirah. Fisela e barre.
Ai Saldia : Ah. Em ere friee?
Ai Vetria : You are cold?
Myne : No.
Ai Vetria : Se nel friee.
They begin to hum, and the resonace lines up between all of them that it starts to sound eerie. Myne, who is still confused, is presented with a strange fruit.
Ai Vetria : Bite. Let your teeth sink into it, and let the juices flow.
Myne bites into the fruit, and they lift her head up. The juices flow down into her throat, and they lay her down on a large patch of thatch. She begins to hallucinate. She sees her father, but she can't move or speak. He mumbles something before dissapering, and leaving some kind of pendant. It is similar to the one she had, but rusted and cut in half. They chant something she can't understand. Myne notices a bunch of the stones pointed at her and she screams internally. As they pierce her skin, her ears open up and her Father's words are echoed. You will be Queen. She regains feeling in her body, but it is still a bit numb.
Ai Vetria : Myne, re ali a vas. Ai Myne Temvita. Ai Myne Temvita. Sakaria li en Myne. Myne li en Sakaria. You are one of our kin.
They all help her get up onto her feet. Ai Saldia tears open a thick leaf, and it bleeds a clear gel. She mixes it with water, and they force Myne to drink it. Her numbness fades, and she can move freely. She clears her throat.
Myne : Why go this far, Ai Vetria?
Ai Vetria : A phrase I once heard from the sailors. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We want our land for ourselves. We are the leading clan against Kyran at the moment, with the others backings us. On their next arrival, we plan to kill or capture the sailors, and use their boats to take our people to their continent.
Myne : Kyran would have the territorial advantage. You would end up in their ports if you go the same way they came from, but there isn't any other option since the ocean currents would take the boats off course if you stray away. Kyran also has-
Ai Vetria stops Myne.
Ai Vetria : Do you see now? This is your calling. You understand their territory, Myne. Will you be our Warlord?
Myne : ...This echoes what I tried to run from. Running is no longer an option. Ai Vetria, I will be your Warlord.
Ai Saldia gives her a leaf with a red powder in it. Myne holds it, as she brushes sharper lines in the coarse black paste. They scrape away the paste as it dries, and it leaves a faint mark on her skin. They present her with a large blade, and Ai Vetria takes her to train.
YOU ARE READING
Odeara - The Era Of Embers
FantasyThe world of Odeara, wrought with war and conflict, ever-changing. Within the conflicts of Kyran and Gahlne, something is discovered which can turn the tides for either side. A cache of black spikes, who turn crimson in the presence of blood. They s...
