Dawn of Twilights Past

Chapter III

Valia stirred in her sleep. She slowly rolled over, clear blue eyes peeking from underneath the blanket towards Karish and the delicious smell of honey and lemon. It was an aphrodisiac to her senses. Saeran, close by, slowly sat up, laid the blanket delicately across her lap and briskly tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. She wanted the honey and lemon scent that filled her subconscious mind and nose with longing.

Karish stirred the dying embers of the fire, “Come on over, sleepyheads, and have some food for first light.”

Valia and Saeran wandered leisurely over to the fire and sat down, relaxed. Saeran lightly picked up a roasted nut and placed it in her mouth, savoring the nutty warm cooked flavor, simultaneously picking up her travel cup to fill with hot honey lemon tea still brewing on a rock over the fire. Valia, waiting for Saeran to finish, picked up a piece of bread and placed it on the rock next to the tea. She liked her bread and tea hot. Light conversation and laughter filled the air. The day was beautiful, and lingering memories of yesterday’s happenings were all but forgotten for the moment.

Following a light meal and conversation, each woman, with purpose, walked over to check her mount for injuries from the previous day’s flight. They needed to make sure all was in order; no cracked hooves, sore joints, bruised legs or cuts. Following the fuss, each animal received a good rubdown. They would be saddled when it was time to leave. After the mounts were taken care of, personal needs followed, washing, filling water skins and packing personal gear. Finished, they wandered back to the fire and sat down around what was left to relax and wait for midday. If they left any sooner they would have a good chance of running into a hunting mountain cat.

“Saeran, remember that mountain cat on the other side of the lake two years ago, sleeping on the bank, it was easily the size of a horse,” said Karish.

“That sounds about right. The paws looked like they could have easily engulfed a whole man’s body; its claws, just as long as a man’s arm and almost as thick,” Saeran continued on with the description.

Valia, not to be outdone, “You know, there is no defense against something that large and that aggressive. The only guaranteed defense against that cat was what we did, avoid it all together.”

“We were never in harm’s way. The cat normally hunts from dusk till dawn and sleeps during the day. This one was sleeping,” Karish came back, a relaxed look on her face and a sparkle in her eye as she continued to contemplate the creature’s capabilities. The cat was solid muscle, moving with a black fluidness that belayed its size, capable of killing a horse and rider in seconds, highly aggressive and very protective, a virtual killing machine created by nature.

“Hey, guys, I’m heading over to Merak and the Low Pass to check out the trails. Be back in a couple,” Karish continued.

“No problem, we’ll be here when you get back,” mumbled Saeran, relaxing in the grass next to the fire, sipping what was left of the tea.

Karish got up and started her walk down the river to the natural stone bridge created centuries ago by white-foam tipped water speeding underneath the stone about half a click away. Karish arrived at the stone path and noted there would be no problems getting the horses across. She crossed and trekked back up the other side of the river. The landscape was astounding, especially this time of year. Emerald-colored leaves hung off every branch; sun-painted flowers flashed crimson, amber, and cobalt as far as the eye could see.

A sharp, short climb later up the far side of the hill overlooking Merak and Low Pass, Karish could see the whole mountain range for miles in almost every direction except the one from which she came. In the distance, roughly half a day’s ride away, she could see crystal clear, aqua blue pristine waters of the Mountain Lake. Looking lower down the mountainside towards Low Pass, trees lining each side of the trail, the path was shadowed by vertical rock cliffs, a shorter route only by half a day and not half the sightseeing potential. Karish took one last look, turned around and headed back; she was satisfied with what she had found.

Reaching camp, “Ah…hum…” Karish cleared her throat, “would anyone like a bath?” Valia and Saeran smiled at each other deviously, “Let’s get these beasts saddled then, we leave in half an hour.”

With a flourish of movement they were moving. Paladine almost knocked Saeran over in greeting. She teasingly rubbed his forehead and shoved him away. He danced back, then forward again, with a toss of his head for round number two. Karish watched all this with humor. Who would have ever thought Saeran was human. Karish saddled Whispering Wind as quickly as possible with her nickering and prancing around like a pony in a new-mown field of hay. Karish placed her hand on her neck trying to get her to settle down long enough to mount. Valia, expertly working with Gray Ghost, slowly rubbed her hand down his neck to his flanks. He suddenly shimmered liquid quicksilver in satisfaction. He was saddled and mounted moments later, without ever having twitched a muscle.

Half an hour later Karish turned and headed in the direction of the trail. They covered the distance between the camp and the stone bridge quickly. The mounts eyed the bridge warily but quickly crossed. Heading up the backside of the river to Marek Pass, the afternoon sun warmed the air around them. Cloaks were quickly stripped off and disposed of behind saddlebags to supply some respite from the building heat of the day.

Slowly they climbed up the narrow winding path. Trees lined each side of the trail, affording some relief from the direct sunlight. One horse at a time, Karish followed by Saeran then Valia, they crested the hill. They could see the path for miles, parallel to the top edge of the mountain then plummeting back down just to resurface miles later. Their eyes took in the scene quickly, amazement written on their faces at the sheer beauty. They could see Mountain Lake off in the distance, the far side surrounded by forest with trails snaking out from the lake to basin edge. The horses moved with calculated care, avoiding all loose gravel and edges, and moving quickly down the path. It would take half a day’s ride to reach their campsite. If they were caught wandering the trails at night, it would mean a quick death by falling or predators.

Karish sat back, relaxed, giving Whispering Wind her head. The animal would be able to transverse difficult terrain better without control. They traveled half the day, winding left, right, and then back up the next turn of the trail, horses laboring to reach the top. Each turn brought a fresh new sight to the nature and diversity of life. Hollows that hadn’t seen sunlight in years grew mushrooms of all colors and sizes; mid-mountain valleys that were thick with lush green grass and scrub brush; grazing wildlife for as far as the eye could see, followed by high plateaus scrubbed free of any life years ago.

They had just topped another hill, the umpteenth one that day, when Whispering Wind slowed, stopped, and pawed the earth nervously. She would go no further. Valia’s and Saeran’s mounts stopped behind, snorting lightly in response to Whispering Wind’s anxieties. Karish looked over at Valia, the only one amongst them who had the capability to figure out what was making the mounts nervous.

Valia sent her senses out. She felt the warmth of earth, the movement of life, the sound of plants growing; there was no reason for Whispering Wind to be nervous. She pressed her senses further out to make sure there were no ambushes or hidden dangers further up the path.

Valia looked up, “Nothing, she should not be nervous.”

“Come, girl, there is nothing out there,” whispered Karish to her mount, gently pressing with her knees. Whispering Wind craned her neck around, looked Karish flat in the face, as much as to say, “Fine, I’ll go, but watch,” and worked her way back up the trail.
“I don’t understand either, Whispering Wind. There is nothing out here but birds, mice, and nature,” Karish continued to talk to Whispering Wind as they traveled up the trail, trying to make both herself and the horse feel better.

Valia suddenly stopped, sensing something out of place, something that had not been there moments before, a feather light touch of cold creeping in on her senses. “It’s not right,” stuttered Valia, shivering in the mid-afternoon heat. Saeran turned in her saddle upon hearing Valia’s statement.

“What’s not right, Valia?” asked Saeran.
Karish, not hearing anything immediately behind her, turned to find both women stopped. “What’s up? Why have you stopped? Our destination lies just over those hills.”

“Valia senses something,” said Saeran backing Paladine up a few steps to get closer to Valia. She reached over and touched Valia’s arm. Valia blinked, looked over at Saeran, a disturbed look in her eyes, “It’s back.”

Abruptly, Whispering Wind, Paladine and Gray Ghost, sensing the same blackened cold, bolted. Moving at breakneck speed in moments, they recklessly barreled down the narrow winding path, buffeting wind trying to hurl each woman from her horse. Rock chips flew into the air from sharp hooves beating the ground in a frenzy of movement to escape some unseen enemy.

Whispering Wind, lungs bellowing, eyes rolling in terror, crashed through low-lying scrub brush, making her own path, terrified beyond reasoning. Suddenly Whispering Wind cut sharply into a low-lying stone ledge, slamming Karish’s leg between horseflesh and rock. Searing pain shot through Karish’s leg. Pain and wind blurring her eyes, she held on for dear life. One mistake would mean death. Wiping tears from her eyes with her hand, she strained to see the trail ahead, instinctively knowing the path to the lake basin was up the trail and around the next bend. It would be a sharp corner and dangerous to take at her current speed. It would be a whole lot less dangerous if she could calm her mount down into some semblance of reasoning instead of the blind fear she ran on at the moment. Rider and horse thundered up the hill and around the bend.

With one last-ditch effort, Karish slammed the reins into Whispering Wind’s left shoulder, leaned to the left and brought about her mount’s head. Turning at the last second onto the trail and into the basin, she was going to stop that horse even if it required running her up to her neck in water. Whispering Wind, seeing the lake ahead and her futility of trying to escape the black presence through fleeing, stopped on the spot, turned, and prepared for a fight.

Saeran, close behind, arm upraised to ward off sharp shards of stone flying at her face from Whispering Wind’s hooves, lowered her body as far as she possibly could into the saddle behind her mount’s neck, holding the reins tightly in her right hand. Paladine cut through the same brush as Whispering Wind, total disregard for any existing path and tossing Saeran half out of the saddle. Deftly catching the saddle horn with amazing speed, Saeran pulled herself back up into the saddle through willpower alone. Blood slowly appeared on her face where a branch had sliced its way through her delicate skin like a knife. She never felt the pain through the adrenaline rush.

Suddenly Karish and Whispering Wind disappeared from the trail. Saeran, literally catching the tail end of Karish’s mount, knew she had managed to turn Whispering Wind down another trail towards the lake. How ingenious of her, there was no place to go except into water. Paladine, seeing this, cut down the same trail, screeching to a halt seconds after turning down the path, almost tossing Saeran over his head. Whispering Wind stood facing him, just feet away, sweat beads rolling off her chest, eyes white, prepared to fight. Karish’s mount had stopped just down the trail right in the middle of the path. Saeran turned Paladine’s head to the left, clicked her tongue lightly and moved around to the other side of Karish and Whispering Wind, wondering what had happened to Valia and Gray Ghost.

Valia, bringing up the rear, pale white, struggling to stay mounted, placed her hands directly to Gray Ghost’s neck. She had stopped feeling the encroachment of cold black fingers in the recess of her mind a short while back. Whatever it had been, was gone yet again. Her hands turned silver gray, the same color as Gray Ghost, suddenly melding with the horse’s neck. Through her hands she sent reassuring thoughts to her mount, “The danger is gone, be calm my old friend.” Gray Ghost immediately understood the danger he was protecting his mistress from was gone. He slowed to a trot then a walk. In moments they rounded the bend and turned onto the trail leading to the lake. Her companions were standing there transfixed, amazement written all over their faces. “What?” was all she said, in a mocking kind of I told you I could take care of myself voice.

Yet again, for the second time in as many days, their mounts had panicked at some unseen danger. All they knew is they would have to find out what the danger was and remove it before it killed them directly or indirectly. The sun, setting on the far rim of the mountain lake, cast light-colored shadows across the land and water. Soon it would be too dark to see. They would need to take care of their mounts and set up camp before nightfall.

Karish dismounted right where she sat on the trail. “No more horse for me today,” she said wryly, looking over at her two companions, who quickly followed her lead. She scanned Whispering Wind for injuries. Satisfied with what she found, she started limping towards the lake and their new campsite, pulling Whispering Wind behind her.

A short time later they exited the trail onto an open field; grass butting up against the water’s edge, the sweet smell of wild flowers, pine trees and crystalline water permeating the breeze rolling off the lake. Just prior to reaching the lake, Karish pulled up short. Her leg hurt, but there would be no permanent damage. She was ready to stop and this patch of grass looked just as good as any other within the basin. Karish grabbed a small bag from her saddle and pulled out a handful of oats for each horse, receiving an appreciative nicker in response. Half an hour later they watched all three animals saunter their way down to the lake to drink deeply of the crystal clear, invigorating, blue liquid.

Turning around, Karish started gathering stones for the fire. When she had finally collected enough, she started layering the stones, one by one, gently on top of each other creating a miniature courtyard. Finished, she laid two more stones no thicker than her pinky finger to the side. Once Saeran returned with the wood, she would stoke the fire and place the stones over to heat water for tea and the after-dusk meal.

Just opposite of where Karish was sitting, Valia reached over their pile of personal items and pulled out the three water flasks, all empty. She headed for the water. Upon reaching the water’s edge, she just stopped and reminisced about the cold, black unknown. She shivered inside. What was it? Why was it so elusive? Where did it come from? What was it hunting? She continued to stare blankly over the deep blue water of the night-darkened lake, questions coming like so many stars in the sky.

When she had finished filling the bags, she hefted two over one shoulder and one over the other. Filled, they were very heavy. She headed back towards the fire off in the distance. Karish and Saeran looked up, their faces framed golden in the flame, eyes already asking questions before they ever said a word. The fire flared brightly in the night; orange, yellow and red tongues flicking hungrily up the dry wood and grass for its lifeblood.

Valia sat down, picked up her traveling cup, pulled out the wine and shot down one full cup. She then poured another and shot it down with as much gusto as the first. Filling the cup a third time, she capped the flask and handed it over to Saeran to fill her own cup.

“Now I’m ready to talk,” said Valia, slowly leaning her back against Gray Ghost’s saddle, the wine moving slowly through her blood and making her feel heady. She slowly looked down, flicked a stone out from under her foot, looked up and continued. “I felt the darkness as a black encroachment on my mind, it felt so cold to my senses. I felt it before our horses did. That cold feeling disappeared just as quickly as last time, though, and I don’t have any more answers than I had before. I don‘t know if this is an animal or not, if it is just moving the same direction we are or actually hunting us. It felt like an aberration from hell.”

Saeran looked over at Valia, “And I was worried about thieves!!”

Karish had kept silent through the whole epilogue, thoughts running through her mind like water through a sieve. How do you protect against something you can’t see? She knew the answer before the question was ever out: You don’t, you run, you hide, you pray it never finds you, only if you knew what IT was. “I agree. We have to figure out what it is, but I get this feeling if we continue east and that creature, or whatever it is, continues on its current path as well, destiny will eventually bring us together. I say we handle it then, I don’t believe we should try to hunt it down now. We don’t know enough about it yet.”

“Can we change the subject, I’m getting tired,” asked Valia.

“Sure. Let’s make something to eat, I’m hungry,” said Karish looking at Valia, concern etched into every line of her face.

Karish pulled out the container for the water and placed it on the stone over the fire. She pulled out another container for making stew. Filling both containers with water about halfway up, Karish crushed tea leaves into one and proceeded to fill the other with beef, tubers found earlier that day, nuts, and a couple of pieces of fruit for a slightly sweet flavor. Sitting back, they waited. The meal cooked quickly and filled the air with a mouth-watering aroma. Each woman grabbed her share, consuming the meal with gusto until not a drop was left.

“Now that that’s done, I would like to take first watch. Valia, Saeran and I will split your watch. I know you’re exhausted from this and we need you fresh tomorrow. We don’t know what IT is and we have to be able to sense it and outrun it without breaking our neck or our horses’ necks in this mountainous terrain.”

“Best thing I’ve heard all night,” stated Saeran, looking intently at Valia and thinking this is almost as good as rear guard and split shift, guard and a half!

Valia, staring intently into the fire, looked as if she hadn’t heard a single word spoken. Following a few odd moments of silence, Valia looked up and smiled. She was fine.