Chapter One
Niuqi shucked corn into a threaded basket as the sun dipped down under the mountains beyond Etag Yek-on. Farther down, the village lights shown in the twilight. Her sister, Auqum, was baking bread in the family's outdoor oven. The smell of the white loaves wafted through the air and swirled around Niuqi, making her mouth water. She looked at the loaves, watching steam rise in circles in the dimming light.
“Wyay,” Rril, Niuqi's friend, greeted her with a grin. He sat beside her and picked up an ear of corn, then began peeling back the layers of the husk and putting them into the basket. “Jumari sulu ti toreni yi reenay?” he asked with a smile, speaking in the native tongue of Adnakis, the country they lived peacefully in. He normally asked then when Niuqi didn't reply right away, and it usually meant that something was wrong.
“Speak normally. Who talks that way anymore?” Niuqi demanded, glaring at him.
“What are you angry for? I was only asking a question.” Rril stared at her, hurt, and his hands stopped shucking.
“I'm sorry. Olpa. . . he is making me. . . he wants me to marry soon. A young warrior from Repxehs has asked for my hand. I said no, but Olpa ignored me. He is making arrangements this evening. That is why we are preparing this feast, for the boy and his family.” Niuqi sighed. She looked down at Auqum, sweating over the oven as she baked the bread. Auqum was two years older than Niuqi, but she was not beautiful and no man had ever asked for her hand in marriage. She was a plain girl that did house work well, but never captured the interest of men. Niuqi was the opposite; she hated house work and chores; she was a lovely, exotic-looking girl that wanted to do nothing but run wild and explore.
“Marriage? When, why?” Rril asked, concern brimming in his eyes.
“I don't know,” she snapped, her eyes narrowing. “Olpa wants to be rid of me; he wants to make room for the daughters he will get by betrothing my brothers.” She paused and watched her three young brothers playing in the creek that ran through the village. They were all naked, with toys swords and spears. They stabbed at the fish and at each other, making Niuqi smile. Her eyes glistened like two amethysts hitting the light. Rril stared at her, intent on capturing her beauty in his eyes forever and sealing it tightly in his mind. “Anyway,” she said after a while, making Rril start and look away quickly. “Olpa and Yippa do not want you around me. They are frightened I will run off with you.” Here, she laughed. Her laugh was a clear, sweet sound like birds singing in the dawn. “What a funny thing to think; that I would run off with you! Only on an adventure to discover hidden treasure or defeat an evil-doer. But, it is unlikely you will do anything of the sort.” She smiled at him mockingly and Rril turned away, trying to hide his jealously and anger.
“Totori, is the corn finished?” Auqum called, using the Adnakis word for sister. She always called her siblings in the same way the ancient people of Adnakis had. Niuqi shook her head no and looked at the basket.
“Not yet, almost,” she replied. Auqum nodded and turned back to her work.
“I have to go,” Rril said suddenly, rising to her feet and handing her the corn he held. His hand brushed hers as he pulled it back and he spun away quickly to hide the red in his cheeks.
“Yayo,” Niuqi called as her friend walked stiffly away. “Tutoo yi yu yeerorr! Stay out of trouble!” she teased. He was never one to cause trouble, or get into any.
“Kromg, Bbulb, Grems,” Auqum called to her younger brothers playing at the edge of the village. “Come quickly! I have a job for you.”
The three young boys looked up; stopping their play for only a moment, then continued hitting each other with their toy weapons.
Auqum called to them again, “Totodas! Come here!” She was cross and ready to march down and haul them up if she had to.
The boys dropped their weapons and ran up, still bare-skinned, whooping and hollering. They paraded around Auqum, continuously demanding what she wanted of them. Niuqi watched absently. She was elsewhere in her thoughts, thinking of things to come. She wondered what this warrior would look like, and if he would like her. The thought of him despising her made her mind whirl. She had never known rejection from anyone, but there was always a first time. Even though she was not fond of this man, she didn't want to hear that he refused to marry her.
She rose and shook her head to get the thoughts out. Niuqi wouldn't allow herself to think such negative things. She looked at the basket of shucked corn and then down at her siblings. Her eyes were brimming with longing as she turned her face westward to the Yek-on Shriken. One last glance at her family, then she ran for the comforting darkness of the forest. She entered and continued running deeper in until she could no longer see the entrance. Then, falling to her knees, she sighed and stared up at the leaves. All around her, the wild animals were making noises of curiosity and coming closer. The plants turned toward her. The faces of flowers stared at her with wide petals.
“Help me,” she whispered to them all. She turned around and looked straight at a large bull elk stepping closer to her. “Help me! I am not meant for this! I cannot do it!” she screamed at the creature. It stared back blankly, and then looked past her at something deeper in the forest.
“Go!” a voice inside her head said. She turned around and peered through the trees to a blue light glowing from beyond. She stepped carelessly over plants and fallen branches toward the light. The blue glow danced back and forth, taunting her, bringing her in closer and closer. It grew and shrunk in size, like a heartbeat, and egged her on with the sound of sweet music. A voice inside her mind told her to keep moving, to follow the sounds and the light. She hurried toward it and, upon reaching it, held her hand up to touch it. The light moved toward her, edging itself toward her hand. They met and, with a cry of pain, Niuqi fell back. She clutched her hand to her chest and struck her head on a rock. She whimpered, and then she could see nothing.
