barely an hour before. Making Toby as
comfortable as possible against the trunk of a large tree, Varan
built a fire as Sonal easily collected enough wood to maintain it
throughout the night and on into the following day, he placed the
pile within easy reach of Toby, thinking of Dotty’s last
instructions.
‘Don’t you
leave him to die.’ She had ordered as they left the clearing, ‘it’s
not our place to kill him, even if he deserves it.’ She added
before giving them a spelled blanket, one that would shake off damp
and cold and enough food for him to keep himself alive throughout
the night.
‘That be a
well-travelled road, mores the pity,’ Gideon’s father said as his
contempt for the boy became obvious, ‘so someone should find ‘im
afore it’s too dark...’ he called after the disappearing twins
carrying the unconscious man.
Varan pushed a
small healing spell into the badly damaged leg, not to heal it
completely but enough to relieve the pain until someone found him.
They left Toby propped against a tree, with food within easy reach
and enough equipment to be warm and dry, before they returned in
silence to the dead clearing.
The area was as
they had left it. The corpses, dry and lifeless awaited a burial,
the soil was grey and dead and the tiny bodies of birds and small
mammals seemed to litter the entire clearing.
‘Well…, let’s
do this thing!’ Varan said as he looked at his brother and as if
they had never been apart, they faced each other, held and locked
both forearms and began to sing. As the magic built, they released
one arm and stood side by side perfectly in balance, two halves of
one whole. With the magic holding a natural balance this way
nothing was impossible, no destruction, no death no itching or
aging. Perfect balance, Sonal felt the tears run down his face as
he remembered what he had lost when his own stupidity had seen his
brother pulled through the rift so many years ago. Gazing at him
now he realised Varan was crying too, he smiled and tightened his
hold on his forearm, Varan returned the smile, a look a pleasure on
his face.
As one, the
twins sang to the earth, harmonising in a soft encouraging way,
making their hearts glad, filling the atmosphere about them with
promise, and re-energizing life within the soil. The very air about
them seemed to thicken and thin tossing the notes of the voices
around and around creating echoes of sounds, alternating and
dancing with the cadence of tuneful harmonies like a beautiful
never-ending poem.
The twins
continued their song… They could not, undo, the deaths but they
could make the ground and the earth receptive to the seeds that
blew in on the wind and those that birds flying overhead dropped as
they flew past. As they sang, the clearing slowly lost its cold
dead feel and once more seemed to be waiting for spring and new
growth, new beginnings.
Then the song
changed becoming sorrowful and yet still melodious, earth began to
fall out from the ground underneath the bodies of the soldiers.
More and more earth piled up before them and as the song continued,
the bodies began to sink into the soft soil as if the soil had
become liquid and the bodies made of lead, unable to float on the
surface. Deeper and deeper the bodies went more with more soil
falling in on top of them until there was nothing left to see, just
a quiet winter clearing awaiting a new season and new life; slowly
and gently, the song stopped.
‘From the Gods
we come, innocent and pure; from the gods we have life and choice.
On our Journey we judge how we used what we were freely given.’
Varan said quietly, as he faced his brother once more holding both
forearms tightly.
‘As we judge
ourselves may we not be too harsh, may the gods forgive us and not
be severe, and as our journey ends, may we have fulfilled our set
tasks.’ Sonal replied ending the rite of passage.
Sonal held his
brother’s arms tightly and at the last, pulled him into a tight
embrace.
‘The
comfortable as possible against the trunk of a large tree, Varan
built a fire as Sonal easily collected enough wood to maintain it
throughout the night and on into the following day, he placed the
pile within easy reach of Toby, thinking of Dotty’s last
instructions.
‘Don’t you
leave him to die.’ She had ordered as they left the clearing, ‘it’s
not our place to kill him, even if he deserves it.’ She added
before giving them a spelled blanket, one that would shake off damp
and cold and enough food for him to keep himself alive throughout
the night.
‘That be a
well-travelled road, mores the pity,’ Gideon’s father said as his
contempt for the boy became obvious, ‘so someone should find ‘im
afore it’s too dark...’ he called after the disappearing twins
carrying the unconscious man.
Varan pushed a
small healing spell into the badly damaged leg, not to heal it
completely but enough to relieve the pain until someone found him.
They left Toby propped against a tree, with food within easy reach
and enough equipment to be warm and dry, before they returned in
silence to the dead clearing.
The area was as
they had left it. The corpses, dry and lifeless awaited a burial,
the soil was grey and dead and the tiny bodies of birds and small
mammals seemed to litter the entire clearing.
‘Well…, let’s
do this thing!’ Varan said as he looked at his brother and as if
they had never been apart, they faced each other, held and locked
both forearms and began to sing. As the magic built, they released
one arm and stood side by side perfectly in balance, two halves of
one whole. With the magic holding a natural balance this way
nothing was impossible, no destruction, no death no itching or
aging. Perfect balance, Sonal felt the tears run down his face as
he remembered what he had lost when his own stupidity had seen his
brother pulled through the rift so many years ago. Gazing at him
now he realised Varan was crying too, he smiled and tightened his
hold on his forearm, Varan returned the smile, a look a pleasure on
his face.
As one, the
twins sang to the earth, harmonising in a soft encouraging way,
making their hearts glad, filling the atmosphere about them with
promise, and re-energizing life within the soil. The very air about
them seemed to thicken and thin tossing the notes of the voices
around and around creating echoes of sounds, alternating and
dancing with the cadence of tuneful harmonies like a beautiful
never-ending poem.
The twins
continued their song… They could not, undo, the deaths but they
could make the ground and the earth receptive to the seeds that
blew in on the wind and those that birds flying overhead dropped as
they flew past. As they sang, the clearing slowly lost its cold
dead feel and once more seemed to be waiting for spring and new
growth, new beginnings.
Then the song
changed becoming sorrowful and yet still melodious, earth began to
fall out from the ground underneath the bodies of the soldiers.
More and more earth piled up before them and as the song continued,
the bodies began to sink into the soft soil as if the soil had
become liquid and the bodies made of lead, unable to float on the
surface. Deeper and deeper the bodies went more with more soil
falling in on top of them until there was nothing left to see, just
a quiet winter clearing awaiting a new season and new life; slowly
and gently, the song stopped.
‘From the Gods
we come, innocent and pure; from the gods we have life and choice.
On our Journey we judge how we used what we were freely given.’
Varan said quietly, as he faced his brother once more holding both
forearms tightly.
‘As we judge
ourselves may we not be too harsh, may the gods forgive us and not
be severe, and as our journey ends, may we have fulfilled our set
tasks.’ Sonal replied ending the rite of passage.
Sonal held his
brother’s arms tightly and at the last, pulled him into a tight
embrace.
‘The
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