Fantasy uncharted land

[Tonstad39]

“The warriors live in the longhouses” explained Green Glen pointing towards the longhouses “The middle mountain people train their warriors here”

“I was asking because I thought YOU were hesitating!” exclaimed Stefan

 

[MJ ._.]

Mitra nodded and let go of mage's arm. "Will we stay out when you meet them?" Asked Ember. "It's been my first long journey after centuries..."

"Don't be ridiculous... when did I do so?" Ben replied. "Ok, let's race till the village of shape shifters..." He said excitedly before racing up his horse.

 

[Tonstad39]

“Don’t worry, they respect me and once they know who you are, they’ll respect you too!” said Green Glen Unhanding Ember & Mitra.

And just like that, Stefan raced his horse as well completely dropping the matter.

 

[MJ ._.]

"Then were coming after you, sir." Mitra said and they waited for the mage to go ahead.

After a while, Ben slowed down and tried to ride shoulder by shoulder with Stefan. "Where should we go from here?" He asked since a head of them, the path was unclear.

 

[Tonstad39]

Green Glen nodded before walking into a nearby longhouse. The longhouse contained many animal pelts for sleeping, several heavy stones for , a central bonfire pit & a weapons storage area for keeping stone daggers. The warriors were laying around near their sleeping pelts “Your holiness, we don’t have any offerings today” said one of the warriors acknowledging the Eternal mage’s presence ”It’s not about offerings” answered Green Glen stoically

“See that patch of Trees in the distance” Said Stefan pointing to some far away ceders “That’s the northeastern woods, we’re at least getting close!”

 

[MJ ._.]

"Whom do they send offerings to?" Asked Mitra in whisper. "That's not essential information at this time." Ember replied.

"Ok..." Ben ride beside Stefan for another while. "It the village behind the woods?" He asked.

 

[Tonstad39]

“We are arranging a negociation with Yansi about land & I need some security in case they try anything funny” said Green Glen “Are you mad, your holiness!” exclaimed a warrior “We have enough problems as it is with that traitor villaige a hundred paces away!” “Well that might be” said Green Glen “But there’s more than enough here to manage the beasts”

“More like in it, but you get the idea” Said stefan directing his horse toward the woods

 

[MJ ._.]

"Who are the traitors?" Mitra asked. She had been busy with Orm and didn't know much about relationships between Yansis and humans.

"I wonder... " Ben spoke as they arrived at the verge of the woods. "What if they mistake us as intruders and turn hostile?"

 

[Tonstad39]

Green Glen turned to Mitra and said “There is a villaige down the road from here by the ccliffside, but a hundred seasons ago Yansis seized control of it” “And they’re making us pay to use the road that goes by there!” added a warrior

“I don’t know” said Stefan “But here’s hoping they’re not cannibals“

 

[MJ ._.]

"A hundred years?!" Mitra was shocked. She couldn't believe that tribe people had kept quiet against their enemies for so long. But Ember could understand that fighting the stronger had the risk of being wiped out for people who lived by respect for nature and had kept it almost untouched. "It's hard to convince them after rooting for so long... but that makes them even more dangerous." She said.

"Damn... I hadn't thought of that... Watch my back..." Ben said and entered the woods slowly and cautiously.

 

[Tonstad39]

“Years?!” thought Green Glen turning over to Mitra as she was ranting before telepathizing “We don’t measure time in years, we measure them by the changing of the seasons as is our tradition. but to put it into years, i’d say-“ he stoped to calculate it “It would be roughly 26 years to put it in your terms, but that still makes them dangerous.” He then conjured thoughts into her mind as a means of getting her up to speed without boring the others “You have a generation of young people who have known nothing, but Yansi rule”

“Will do” Said Stefan slowing down to a Walk as they delved into the woods.

 

[MJ ._.]

Mirta felt the sage making connection to her mind since it felt like when Orm was forcing herself in her thoughts. But Orm was irritating and pushy while she felt no stress with Green Glen. "The kids will stay in their villages until they can make their decision.

"I can see them.... are they tents?" ben asked about a few white colors he had seen through branches not so faraway.

 

[Tonstad39]

“All kids grow up eventually and they will be inculcated into The dogma of beasts” Said Green Glen putting a new memory into her mind, It is of an initiation rite for preteen humans as seen from the perspective of a Quartz cube. The rite consisted of children as young as 11 drinking a sticky white fluid out of a chalice as their shoulders dripped in the blood of Fellow humans “While they learn rudimentary spellcasting, they also learn to revere the Yansi and live out destiny to be the servants of the Chosen people” He finished the sentance as the rite continued into a Yansi priest with a long cotton robe with Gold-tipped horns endowing them with distinctive Tatoos forever branding them as a breed of slaves “They gladly volunteer to be sold like horses and If this happed in recent times it would be easy, but alas in the prairie it has been going on for well over a thousand years depending on the villaige.”

One of those white colors was a large white scarf that dangled down from a branch “I don’t know’ said Stefan looking around cautiously

 

[MJ ._.]

"That's disgusting!" Mitra shook her head. Her face was pale. "I understand you... but still, I believe that urge for freedom and ambitions are part of each human's nature... people obey rules that are forced on them only because their greater goal is to survive... to have a peaceful life. They might learn to bow their heads but I'm sure they don't want to be branded as slaves." She took a deep breath and fell silence for few minutes. "Even if you fail to get to a conclusion with the Yansi, we still have the chance to cultivate seeds of equality in their bosoms..." Suddenly, she looked fiercely at Ember. "Why tribe don't use proper educating system?" She asked. He shrugged in reply. "Don't ask me; I've always live away from them." He answered. Mitra turned to the mage and his people. "It's been 25 years... you should start to advance step by step... those who live among Yansi should feel jealuse of you lives... if it happenes then you don't need to be worried about those who have been grown up by bofalomen."

Ben glared at the scarf for a moment. "Is it a warning? To keep us away? We use white to declare that we are going to surrender but these people have other customs... maybe it's only a singe to show the right way to their village." He said.

 

[Tonstad39]

“We aren’t exactly perfect either” Said Green glen verbally “Its a long held custom that we are tought by the mages or by the chief, besides there’s Human chiefs that worry about permanent buildings being disrespectful to nature.”

In truth, the scarf is a warrior interested in ensnaring prey and would usually suck intruding villaiges dry. Because the apparrant prey is so different, it hangs limp awaiting directions from the chief. “Maybe” said Stefan recalling a previous voyage “But maybe white is a color of death here, Like in Goryeok where sprit temples & other haunted areas aare marked with white”

 

[MJ ._.]

"The are right from many aspects..." Ember spoke, taking side with old mages. "But that's not the youth needs... and they are going to perish like this." Mitra objected him. He felt her emotions but couldn't agree with her perspective. "Humans should understand the importance of nature. Those who live like the Yansi will regret it in a few generations." He said. "Unfortunately, we don't have enough time to have every Jack and Jill understand it..." She replied.

"Ha... haunted?" Ben asked and looked around with widened eyes. "Isn't there any other rout to proceed? I really don't like to disturb the dead..." He said as froze in spot with pale face.

 

[Tonstad39]

One of the warriors looked at Ember weirdly thinking ‘Why is he talking like he isn’t human’ as another warrior spoke up to Mitra “We try to keep our space, but they have metal Armor whereas we have Dragon’s skin and buffalo leather for armor. They are smarter and stranger than any of us. These longhouses were built hundreds of seasons ago. We train here as a security force for the human tribes, but now we keep the beasts at bay or die trying!”

“I wouldn’t worry about it” said Stefan “If we do encounter the dead, i’m sure they’d understand once we explain ourselves”

 

[MJ ._.]

Ember flinched as heard of dragon skin. "They are more knowledgeable in some cases but not more intelligent. What they use today have been used by humans living on some other islands ages ago. Also, metal armor won't do them any good under burning sun or on loose ground and it's heavy so slows them down..." Mitra said. "Use the metal you take from them to arm your arrows... how much do you know of spells?" Ember asked.

"I dounbt if they are going to listen to us... but... whatever, let's go." Ben said and moved one step behind Stefan.

 

[Tonstad39]

“We don’t know spells” said the warrior before motioning to Green Glen “That’s the job of villaige mages like His holiness”

Stefan rode past the white “Scarf” toward the other white colored objects looking around for any spirits or undead ghouls.

 

[MJ ._.]

"Using that natural flow of power in the nature can be a great advantage against your opponent. Because to use the powers hidden in the world one should have a vast knowledge of their form, behavior and sources..." Ember said. "Spells and science are like that." Mitra added and he nodded in addition. "But those who intervene with the nature directly doesn't need to know the routs or reasons. They ask for it and gain it by connecting with the very soul of the nature... this is what I expect from mages... or have the world changed since that last time I visited tribes?" He explained more. "When was the last time?" Mitra asked him out of curiosity. "After the queen was sealed... before birth of your ancestors." He answered.

Ben followed after Stefan, trusting his skills as a spell caster. While they still were between the first and second white flag, he looked from one to the other and frowned. "They are weird... it's like they are heavier than scarfs... look, thhey don't sway in wind like other branches." He whispered to him trying to keep his voice calm.

 

[Tonstad39]

“The world has very much changed” said Green Glen “Newer generations of warriors came around who didn’t wish to practice two crafts at once on top of the rapid expansion of the Yansis and it simply became easier to have warriors specialize in combat while the mages and War Chiefs specialize in Magic & supernatural logistics.”

“I think they might be ghosts” he said aloud before conjuring black colored energy while chanting “potentia penes me spiritibus proferte opaca aethere” before spreading the energy around in the hope of seeing lost spirits attatched to worldly objects.

 

[MJ ._.]

"Oh... new generations seems to be lazy... back then humans had to survive against dragons... and dragons are surly stronger than Yansi." Ember spoke thoughtfully. "You know better, the great mage. After all that have been said, what action should we take?" Mitra asked.

Ben immediately drew holy signs on his forehead and chest to stay safe from ghosts and left the largest distance he could without losing Stefan between himself and them.

 

[Tonstad39]

“I think we need to liberate the villaige by steep cliff” said Green Glen “it’s a small step sure, but if we arr to save ourselves from tyrany, that would be a very good starting point!” “That’s a great idea, your holiness!” Exclaimed the warrior getting up off his sleeping pelt revealing himself to be of muscular build while standing at 5’11 “You have the spiritual power for it and we have the physical power, now all we need to do is alert the others.”

Stefan’s spll wouldn’t bring out ghosts, but it did ake the third scarf launch itself off the branch and onto Ben while shifting into another form capable of biting people.

 

[MJ ._.]

Mitra smiled widely as if was sure abut victory but Ember couldn't be that positive. "First is conquering and then safe guarding. We might win this fight but then they'll try to avenge by invading the cliff again or attacking other villages near farther borders. Do you have enough power prepared to stand in front of their probable invasion?" He asked.

Ben had a creepy feeling as if someone was watching him. As the rider felt scared the mount became uneasy. Ben had a hard time calming his horse and then looked for the source of fear. It was then when he saw a white thing that didn't look like a scarf anymore. "S... Stefan!" He yelled as ride his horse away from the creature.

 

[Tonstad39]

“We’ll have to go to the chief’s longhouse to see” said Green Glen stepping out of the wooden longhouse “The chief of the villaige lives in one of the longhouses and he of all people would know the most about our manpower than anyone else here!”

The scarf had become a raccoon that was clawing at Ben’s Neck as Stefan looked to see the commotion as his horse bucked as well “Oh my god, Beeeeeen!” He exclaimed as he was practically falling off his hourse as the other shifters became hideous beasts. Stefan couldn’t cast a spell as he was more contrated on staaying on as the Horse began to run away.