come, but I am not happy about it."
"Well, that's too bad," White said, clearly faked sadness in his voice. He was in human form on the far side of the fire, almost hiding behind one of the new tents as he took the time to study Bay and Lor's argument.
Kam, as well as a number of other people who had been equally intent on the argument, jumped in surprise at White's sudden appearance.
"I never would have guessed my own Tribe would be Riven as well," White continued as he stepped closer to the fire. Then he blatantly turned his back on both Bay and Lor, focusing his hard, golden eyes on Kam. "No magic," White said quickly, throwing up a hand to hold Lor off. "I have no wish to enspell our young empath or incite your ire."
Kam could feel that White was being sincere, so he held still under the intense scrutiny of White's gaze. Then White blinked and Kam was finally able to take a full breath of air. When White opened his eyes again, he was focused on Lor.
"Explain how the Riving occurred," White said sharply to Lor.
Lor nodded and took a deep, bracing breath before speaking. "It was at least a thousand years ago, probably closer to two thousand years. There were three witches remaining in the Tribe: my father, my mother, and myself. The Tribe was large with many people and survived the cold and ice thanks to having three people with power. But we were too populous and it wasn't long before finding enough food to feed everyone became almost impossible. My mother went out with a hunting party, set to travel a full day south in search of new hunting. She never returned.
"I told my father we had to move and that the Tribe had to split in two or we wouldn't survive. He disagreed. I was sent on the next hunting party, but the drifts from the blizzard that took my mother had changed the landscape. Our navigator became lost and our sled fell into a ravine as we traveled new roads in a desperate search for game. I lost my first child, a boy of sixteen, that day. Still, my father refused to move.
"But by then our people were starving. My wife died after she gave one too many of her own portions to feed our hungry children. So I packed up myself and what remained of my family, gathered any followers from the camp who wished to join me, and traveled far south where there was fresh hunting," Lor finished with a final glare at Bay.
"You abandoned your responsibilities!" Bay snapped. "Without a second witch to watch over the Tribe they died in droves from ice related accidents that should have been preventable!"
"They were dying already!" Lor snapped back. "From hunger, because even with two witches we still couldn't feed them properly! Now look at us," Lor continued with a wave at the mass of tents circling the central fire. "We have just as many, if not more, members of the Tribe alive and well simply because we split our hunting grounds!"
"I see that this is quite serious and quite unlikely to be solved simply," White said with a groan. "It will take considerable time and mediation. Even if it takes another thousand years to reconcile, we will keep trying. However, we have other monumental news upon us as well," he said to Lor.
Kam watched as Mae stepped forward to unroll the trade agreement so White could read it. "Grains and vegetables in return for furs and blocks of ice," White read. "Witches with one year contracts on the ice from the school." He nodded to himself. "It does seem mutually beneficial to me. Of course, our reliance on the human city for grains, vegetables, and fruits will end once I find the ice city and we rekindle the hot springs underneath that melted sufficient farmland for our needs before the Riving. Still, this is an excellent beginning to our peace agreement with the human city and their allies."
"Peace agreement?" Bay asked, sounding horrified. "Trading? What is this farce?"
"This farce," Lor snarled, "will save our people. More food with a varied diet will make us stronger and healthier. We'll be
"Well, that's too bad," White said, clearly faked sadness in his voice. He was in human form on the far side of the fire, almost hiding behind one of the new tents as he took the time to study Bay and Lor's argument.
Kam, as well as a number of other people who had been equally intent on the argument, jumped in surprise at White's sudden appearance.
"I never would have guessed my own Tribe would be Riven as well," White continued as he stepped closer to the fire. Then he blatantly turned his back on both Bay and Lor, focusing his hard, golden eyes on Kam. "No magic," White said quickly, throwing up a hand to hold Lor off. "I have no wish to enspell our young empath or incite your ire."
Kam could feel that White was being sincere, so he held still under the intense scrutiny of White's gaze. Then White blinked and Kam was finally able to take a full breath of air. When White opened his eyes again, he was focused on Lor.
"Explain how the Riving occurred," White said sharply to Lor.
Lor nodded and took a deep, bracing breath before speaking. "It was at least a thousand years ago, probably closer to two thousand years. There were three witches remaining in the Tribe: my father, my mother, and myself. The Tribe was large with many people and survived the cold and ice thanks to having three people with power. But we were too populous and it wasn't long before finding enough food to feed everyone became almost impossible. My mother went out with a hunting party, set to travel a full day south in search of new hunting. She never returned.
"I told my father we had to move and that the Tribe had to split in two or we wouldn't survive. He disagreed. I was sent on the next hunting party, but the drifts from the blizzard that took my mother had changed the landscape. Our navigator became lost and our sled fell into a ravine as we traveled new roads in a desperate search for game. I lost my first child, a boy of sixteen, that day. Still, my father refused to move.
"But by then our people were starving. My wife died after she gave one too many of her own portions to feed our hungry children. So I packed up myself and what remained of my family, gathered any followers from the camp who wished to join me, and traveled far south where there was fresh hunting," Lor finished with a final glare at Bay.
"You abandoned your responsibilities!" Bay snapped. "Without a second witch to watch over the Tribe they died in droves from ice related accidents that should have been preventable!"
"They were dying already!" Lor snapped back. "From hunger, because even with two witches we still couldn't feed them properly! Now look at us," Lor continued with a wave at the mass of tents circling the central fire. "We have just as many, if not more, members of the Tribe alive and well simply because we split our hunting grounds!"
"I see that this is quite serious and quite unlikely to be solved simply," White said with a groan. "It will take considerable time and mediation. Even if it takes another thousand years to reconcile, we will keep trying. However, we have other monumental news upon us as well," he said to Lor.
Kam watched as Mae stepped forward to unroll the trade agreement so White could read it. "Grains and vegetables in return for furs and blocks of ice," White read. "Witches with one year contracts on the ice from the school." He nodded to himself. "It does seem mutually beneficial to me. Of course, our reliance on the human city for grains, vegetables, and fruits will end once I find the ice city and we rekindle the hot springs underneath that melted sufficient farmland for our needs before the Riving. Still, this is an excellent beginning to our peace agreement with the human city and their allies."
"Peace agreement?" Bay asked, sounding horrified. "Trading? What is this farce?"
"This farce," Lor snarled, "will save our people. More food with a varied diet will make us stronger and healthier. We'll be
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