Gallowglass (Prequal to The Narnian Warriors Saga)

Chapter Seven

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕱𝖎𝖗𝖘𝖙 𝕵𝖔𝖐𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕺𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝕸𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘

It was the Lion's voice of course. It sounded exactly how they told the children in Bellicose it sounded like. The voice of power and divinity, a voice dripping with kindness, forgiveness and freedom. A fearsome voice made to bring comfort to the pure hearted and bring fear to those with evil intents. The voice of their great lion. The one that made their world. Their creator who molded them from nothing but the dust and dirt of their ground.

While Atticus, who was now currently next to his sister and squeezing the life out of her (she did not have her armor on so it was terribly tight) and Aquila had known for fact he could talk, it was a lovely yet terrible shock for Digory and Polly.

Out of the trees wild people stepped forth, gods and goddesses of the wood, Nymphs if Aquila remembered history correctly; with them came Fauns and Satyrs and Dwarfs. Out of the river rose a river god with his Naiad daughters. And all these creatures and all the beasts and birds in their different voices, low or high or thick or clear, replied: "Hail, Aslan. We hear and obey. We are awake. We love. We think. We speak. We know."

"But please, we don't know very much yet," said a nosey and snorty kind of voice. And that really did make Digory and Polly jump, for it was the cab-horse who had spoken. Aquila and Atticus had heard of legends in their world that Animals once spoke, but they had never seen it with their own eyes.

"Good old Strawberry," said Polly. "I am glad he was one of the ones picked out to be a talking beast."

The Cabby, who was now standing beside the children, said, "Strike me pink. I always did say that 'oss 'ad a lot of sense, though."

"Creatures, I give you yourselves," said the strong, happy voice of Aslan. "I give to you forever this land of Narnia. I give you the woods, the fruits, the rivers. I give you the stars and I give you myself. The dumb beasts whom I have not chosen are yours also. Treat them gently and cherish them but do not go back to their ways lest you cease to be Talking Beasts. For out of them you were taken and into them you can return. Do not so."

"No, Aslan, we won't, we won't," said everyone. But one perky jackdaw added in a loud voice, "No fear!" and everyone else had finished just before he said it so that his words came out quite loudly in a dead silence; and perhaps you know how awful that can be. The Jackdaw became so embarrassed that it hid its head under its wings as if it was going to sleep. And all the other animals began making various odd noises which are their ways of laughing and which, of course, no one has ever heard in your world.

They tried at first to repress it, but Aslan said: "Laugh and fear not, creatures. Now that you are no longer dumb and witless, you need not always be grave. For jokes as well as justice come in with speech." So, they all let themselves go. And there was such merriment that the Jackdaw himself plucked up courage again and perched on the cab-horse's head, between its ears, clapping its wings, and said: "Aslan! Aslan! Have I made the first joke? Will everybody always be told how I made the first joke?"

"No, little friend," said the Lion with a large cat-like smile- like a parent looking down at their giggling children. "You have not made the first joke; you have only been the first joke." Then everyone laughed more than ever; but the Jackdaw didn't mind and laughed just as loud till the horse shook its head and the Jackdaw lost its balance and fell off, but remembered its wings before it reached the ground. "And now," said Aslan, "Narnia is established. We must next take thought for keeping it safe. I will call some of you to my council. Come hither to me, you the chief Dwarf, and you the river-God, and you Oak and the Owl, and both the Ravens, and the mare unicorn and the Bull-Elephant. We must talk together. For though the world is not five hours old an evil has already entered it." He turned his large yellow eyes to Aquila and Atticus, "You as well children of bellicose." The creatures he had named came forward Aquila gave Polly's hand one final squeeze and sped walked towards Aslan with Atticus' hand in hers. Aslan was bigger and more beautiful and more brightly divine than she had thought possible. She felt terribly underdressed. Once they reached him, he nodded to her, giving her a large lion-like kiss upon her forehead that filled her with an overwhelming calm. She smiled up at him, he smiled back, and he turned away eastward.