Battle Scars

New Beginnings

The tears flowed down Kah's face as she looked for escape. The priests closed in, carrying chains. After she had managed to escape the brazen dragon, they followed her; they wouldn't let this sacrifice pollute their town. Two or three of the priests stopped approaching and began running to the left, dropping their weapons.

She backed against the decorative wall. The scratchy texture caused a few cuts and brought her mind into the moment more than she wanted. She panted. If she knew The Servants of the Siren had followers in this town, she would have tightened her belt and searched elsewhere for food. As a few of the religious adherents moved back to allow a wolf into the circle, she was sure she wasn't going to be the one with a full belly that night. Hisses and shrieks from the Sparks and Flames started quietly and grew louder as Kah and the wolf circled in the closed space.

"Purge her from us, Siren Mother" said some Flames.

"Tongue of Fire, take and eat. And let Mother have bones so sweet" sang the Sparks.

Some jumped and danced. One looked into the distance and ran the other way. Kah squinted her eyes and slapped her cheeks. Fighting a hungry animal, she thought. Better to die doing what you've done before.

"I will be your final meal, foul thing," she said. Her words hit the wall of violent noise. Her heart pounded so hard she felt she was nothing but eyes, limbs, and a heart. She saw the various collars and chains it wore around its neck and legs. She smirked. If she could rip one and get his eyes, it could be the chance she needed. The wolf stopped and his ears went back. His eyes darted around, mostly to Kah's left. When she slowly moved right, the wolf looked at her, his teeth bared and back fur bristled.

"Family," she whispered as the shouts began to die down. "Forgive this daughter her crimes. You saw I never did anything wrong whenever others actually helped me. Let this be done quick, and take me Home." She leaned forward to spring at the beast and ran into something else instead. She was knocked back to the ground, using her shoulder to take the impact from the wall. She winced from the new cuts. Once the disorientation passed, she looked up and saw what seemed to be either a large man or a very lost tree.

"You who slander my bride are condemned," he shouted. His voice was as deep as he was large. The Sparks and Flames ran away, screaming. The man turned his attention to the wolf.

"And you," he continued, "how dare you align yourself with those. What is worth shaming your pack? Was it worth it to spew vomit on what I have done for you and your pack's ancestors?"

Kah rolled to her knees and stood. Seeing the man, even from the back, she remembered the shock she felt when she once saw a volcano erupt in the distance.

"Did you do that," she whispered.

"The Eternal charged me to keep the creatures of the land," he said. He pointed at what now seemed less of a wolf and more of a stray pet, too small for its chains and collars. "Judgement is, thus, mine to give."

Kah heard the dog's whines and barks. Her hands trembled. Is this a dream, she wondered. Was my life stolen already and now muddies the ground? She chuckled. Then again, what life? She took a deep breath and clenched her fists. She stood up taller, waiting for her turn. The dog finished his defense.

"No one of your pack would say such things. You know the treaties bind you from attacking humans," he said.

The dog rolled to its back, its whines punctuated with short howls.

"Enough," he shouted. The dog quickly rolled back to its stomach again and Kah crouched low. "How many times has your coat been stained by human blood?"

The noise the dog made sounded like a series of sneezes as the man stooped down and grazed its snout with his fingers.

"I know that terrible battle," he said. His sigh was enough to convince Kah it was a blessing that she didn't witness that memory of blood and jaws. "My verdict is a choice: Leave now, return to the ways of your pack, and you can have your fill of days. Your pack has not changed; they want you to return in honor and peace. But if you return to the ways of those Shriekers," he spat, "if you bare teeth against a peaceful human or an animal when you do not hunger, this land will swallow you, and your name will be accursed."

The dog yipped and jumped around in circles. Kah stared at the creature that recently hungered for her flesh bouncing like a young pup. It took a few steps, gave a wolfy snarl at her, and ran into the shadows.

"And you," he said, turning to her. "Are you hurt?"

"No," she said. She looked up at the face lined with joy and sorrow. "Father?"

"Some call me that, yes," Father said as joy seemed to shine brighter in his eyes. "I am glad to see that you are unharmed. Please, accept this gift as an apology for what one of my wayward charges nearly did."

Kah trembled and nodded as he reached his hand toward her. Do I touch his hand and I will be whisked Home,she wondered. Will he give me a gift and then he will take me Home? Do we wait for—

She gasped as a bright light shone from his hand before her eyes. The world turned from white to black to a reddish-purple as she heard his voice again.

"You will know my lands and my charges will know you," he said, his voice slowly growing quieter. "Behold, you have eyes, so see. You have ears, so hear." He paused and spoke again, his voice barely audible as though over a great distance. "He was given life and has chosen death. You have feet, so run. She will help him survive, but he needs you. He didn't want to part ways at that lake, either."

When Kah's vision almost returned to normal, she was alone.

"That lake," she repeated. A familiar face appeared in her mind followed by excitement and fear. She looked at her newly colorful surroundings and saw a swath of sickly gray making its way into the woods.

He has nothing to do with this, she thought as images of that sweet boy flashed in her mind. There was a scream on the wind.

Toh kept his eyes shut ever since the attack made the world spin around him. His left became heavy from fighting off the wolf. His right arm was painfully numb. The beginning of the attack drifted further and further from his mind, as did everything. He heard a woman's voice just past the beast that lay hold of his arm. Then, there was a great heat. And screaming. Stench of burning flesh and hair. Howling and screaming. He grabbed at his arm and noticed the flesh the wolf had torn was once again bound to his bones.

"Don't move, dear child," the woman said, this time much closer. Toh opened his eyes and saw a woman who seemed both youthful and ancient. He opened his mouth to ask her name but screamed as a new pain burned through his right arm. For a moment he thought of when a blacksmith helped him last year to cauterize a wound. His eyes stayed open but everything began to grow dark.

"She will meet you soon," the woman said. "My child, hear me." She put her hand, warm as summer sunshine, on his cheek. "You do not meet your end here, but it will come sooner than any of us wish. Love your wife and daughter, Tamae, so that when that cut is made, there may one day be healing."

"Tah-mah-eh?" he repeated, "But that's not my name. I need—"

Everything went dark and silent. In his dream, a bird of fire took him up and brought him to a beautiful, flowering tree. As he went from one dream to another, the tree spoke and sang softly to him. He could not understand the words, but that didn't stop him from trying to mimic the beautiful sounds it made. It brought him more comfort than he had known in many years.