Aliandra: nymph: Book 1 The Nymph chronicles (2 page)

Chapter 3

Ali woke as dawn spread slowly across the sky and hunger gnawed at her belly. A few dragonflies followed her as she rose and returned to the encampment. Men were seated around their fires as Ali passed by looking out for a familiar face. A huge brawny man approached her.

"I'm Trak. You hungry?"

Ali nodded and he turned and walked away. Ali followed Trak to a fire with a large pot hanging over it. Trak picked up a big bowl and ladled stew into it. He handed her the bowl and a loaf of bread.

"Here. Eat. It's fresh. Caught the deer yesterday."

Ali gorged herself on the rich stew. She didn't slow until she was wiping up the last of the gravy with a big hunk of bread. All the while Trak silently watched the fire.

"Trak, you don't talk much like Donny and Kitch do."

"Nope."

"You shy?"

"Nope." Trak prodded the embers.

"Thanks for the food. I guess I was hungrier than I thought".

Trak grunted acknowledgement. Ali and Trak sat in companionable silence until the encampment started to bustle with activity. Trak stood.

"We will leave now. The others will break camp and follow. Your steed is this way."

Trak led Ali to her saddled steed. She tightened the girth, mounted and waited for Trak to do the same. They set off through the forest on a well-worn path.

"How long until we reach the lodges?" asked Ali

"Four hours."

After an hour, the sound of racing hooves approached from behind. Donny and Kitch were riding hell for leather through the forest.

"Hey Trak. You didn't wake us" called out Kitch as he pulled up alongside.

"You fellas needed your beauty rest" replied Trak with a smirk.

"My, aren't you chatty today. You been talking her ear off, my brother?" responded Donny.

"Yep" said Trak with smug look..

"Trak has been very good company" Ali defended.

"Trak has been know to go months without saying a word" chimed in Kitch. "Did your animal find you?"

"Yes, a dragonfly. Is it rude to ask what your animals are?"

"Only the person concerned should reveal their animal. My animal is a hawk" said Kitch.

"Beaver" said Donny.

"Bison" said Trak.

"Trak, does that mean you are earth element?" asked Ali

"Yep. I sense you are earth element too"

"Can I be earth and water together?"

"It's unusual but possible" replied Donny

"I guess that makes me mud then. Well, here's mud in your eye" shouted Ali as she kicked her steed forward into a gallop. The four rode fast while the path was wide then pulled up to steady trot as the trees grew denser.

"How does the connection with our spirit animals affect us?" quizzed Ali

"It is a two way connection, Ali. The animal chooses us because it recognizes something of itself in us. In turn, the nature of the animal increasingly rubs off on us. We take on traits of our animals. I don't know anyone who had an insect before so I can't rightly tell you the full impact of that. I know the dragonfly has four major stages in its life cycle. Dragonflies are also fast and tough, they are the ancients among the insect world" responded Donny.

"Donny knows plenty about the forest and its animals. He is the dude to ask" piped in Kitch.

"Only because I have been around much longer than you, little brother" responded Donny.

"How long?" asked Ali

"My brother Donny is over a thousand years old. Trak is a bit older than that. I am the baby brother" said Kitch.

"Over a thousand years?" said Ali in awe.

"We are immortals. Time means little to us. It is more important to gather information because information is power. Power is often the main concern of immortals in the hierarchies. When we know and understand ourselves that self-knowledge can guide and protect us. Understanding our spirit animals and our genealogy is essential to our development and that self-knowledge. Our tribal family is less concerned with hierarchy in our ranks and more concerned with caring for our environment because we are deeply connected to our land. It is only in your god family that you may trust to keep you and your secrets are safe. This is why tonight's ceremony is important to you so that you become officially connected to your branch of god family. Other god branches know we tribal gods protect our own, especially our females. That alone will help keep you safer from attack. Tribal gods formed a coalition, so we are now many, varied and a force to be reckoned with" responded Donny.

"Can I expect to be attacked? Why would anyone bother when I am so unimportant in the scheme of things?"

"Many of the ruling gods are corrupt, volatile and violent. They are used to instant obedience and instant gratification. They carry grudges for millennia, they kill children they believe are threats to their power. They are spoilt beyond reason and so too their children. They have no honor or mercy for those weaker than they. If the Tribal God Coalition had not formed we would have been exterminated by the larger god families. The most dysfunctional, corrupt and power-hungry god families are the Greeks and Egyptians. You will not enter those god realms without protection. There is a meeting before the ceremony that will decide your level of protection when you enter college" asserted Donny.

"I will be there as your faithful shadow too, Ali" said Kitch.

"You will need to study, little brother" said Trak

"Trak is right. I think Trak and I will be assigned as your guardians" said Donny.

"Won't that attract more attention to me? Make me more of a target?" asked Ali

"We will see what the council decides" responded Donny.

The rest of the ride to the lodges had Ali and Trak cantering on the path, while Kitch and Donny rode into the forest and jumped their steeds over low brush and fallen logs. The four riders arrived at the lodges by mid-morning. People in traditional tribal dress were busy with preparations for the ceremony and the feast.

Chapter 4

An elder woman approached the group as they dismounted.

"My name is Radi. I welcome you to the main lodges. The boys will look after your steed. Follow me, we have much to do to prepare." said Radi as she turned and walked away. The men led away the steeds to the corals at the edge of the village.

"Yes, ma'am" said Ali as she tipped her hat.

"We have a hot bath being filled for you and some clean tribal clothes that will fit. You ever had beauty treatments?" asked Radi

"No, ma'am" responded Ali

"You just sit back and relax and we will do all the work. It is your special day" whispered Radi with a smile. Radi led Ali to a large lodge. "This is the main women's lodge. The bath is ready, get undressed and climb in. We will leave you to soak a while, then a few of the elder ladies will come in to assist" stated Radi.

Ali shed her dusty boots and clothes and climbed into the tub of hot water
. Bliss
Ten minutes later a group of ladies entered carrying soap bars, scrubbing brushes and bottles of various shapes and sizes. Ali was asked to lift her foot up and when she did the old lady called the others to look at her foot.

"Don't worry Ali, she was about to scrub the old skin from your foot but there is none" explained Radi.

"I reckon my skin changed when I swam last night. It got real smooth and soaked up a lot of water, like it was parched. There sure was some tough old skin on my heels before that" replied Ali.

"We will wash you hair with this shampoo we made special for you, then wash you down with soap, no scrubbing, and add oils to your hair and bathwater  " said Radi. When the bath finished, Ali was wrapped in a thick towel while the women combed and plaited her hair in an intricate weave. Then they dressed her in a plain buckskin shift dress and moccasins.

"You will eat and then rest before tonight. Your great-mother has arrived and is busy talking with the chiefs. Follow me, I will take you to your lodge and bring food to you" said Radi. The lodge was near the centre of the village and had been prepared with blankets and sleeping mats. Radi signaled to a group of young women and they returned with a big bowl of stew and bread. Three of the young women sat down quietly while Ali began to eat.

"I will rejoin the preparations. The girls will keep you company while you rest. They don't speak your language well but I am sure you will find a way to communicate. Their names are Kappeh, Pamu and Toko. They are wood nymphs from a far tribe come to visit and welcome you" said Radi with a smile. When Radi left the women waited then one stood and checked the door. She turned, smiled and gave a thumbs up. Ali watched as Kappeh approached and put her finger to her lips in a gesture of silence. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small disk then put it to Ali's temple. Information flooded in from the disk.

"You have our language from this knowledge disk. You will get the rest of the languages and information about tribal cultures tonight. We will speak quietly to not arouse suspicion that we broke protocol. The men love their protocol too much. We could not wait to meet our fair island sister. Even if they knew they would forgive us, they forgive us much" said Toko.

"You are so lucky to be adopted into this tribe; so many strong, handsome men to choose from when you are ready to mate" Kappeh said with a sigh.

"You are all mated already?"  asked Ali.

"Yes, there are too few females. We were assigned a mate before our first keening" explained Toko. "Our tribe does sister exchange, so one of our brothers chooses a mate and we are assigned to one of his wife's brothers. We could decline, choose another brother or delay the mating until we feel ready; but it is our way. Our mates treat us well and we usually grow to love them. You will be highly sought after by the most powerful men because you are free to choose your mate without restriction"

"I have chosen to go through my first keening without a mate. Mortals do not marry until they are much older and I think I want to choose wisely" responded Ali.

"Choose a mate wisely?" said Pamu in a shocked tone "No, no, no! Choose passionately. Choose excitedly. Choose a man who challenges you. Choose the man who makes you melt at his touch and fill you with need; but never, never wisely! If a man loves you he will treat you well. After any man spends a keening with a nymph he will assuredly love you and never want to be parted." The three women nodded in agreement. "What are mortals concerned about in choosing a mate? All that concerns mortals does not concern us. No, choose a powerful god; but one that is willing to fight or to lay down his life for you if necessary. That is considered a true man of worth in our realm".

"I want a faithful mate. One that respects me." said Ali

"This is why you need us to explain your powers over men. We, nymphs, have our own powers" advised Toko. "We are related most closely to ancient elves. It is said that when the god Chaos saw the exquisite elven queen and her royal handmaidens he was so struck by their beauty he approached and told them they would be his wives. The elves declined and fled, so he turned his power against them, they were cursed to suffer until they came to his bed. The newly-made nymphs hid in the forest, but when the violent keening struck one by one the nymphs went to the bed of Chaos, except the queen. The Great Father heard of this travesty and he sent his healing to the nymphs. That is why we suffer the keening and we are all affected differently. The Great Father gave us the gift of the heart-meld so that our mates would be connected to us and love us beyond measure. This gift takes what was an ugly, corrupt and violent thing and turned it back into a loving and beautiful experience. The way love was meant to be. We also retain something similar to elven powers over nature. It depends on your element as to the type of power".

"Our reputation has been sullied by corrupt men. Many scorn and deride nymphs" advised Pamu. "Nymphomania is an unwelcome label that has risen from when men have captured nymphs who refused to mate with them. A nymph may choose who she heart-melds with but when the keening takes place and she is near men her scent will drive them to fight off the other men and mate with her. As with Chaos, she will eventually accept the mating to relieve the pain symptoms during the keening. If we choose not to mate we must separate from the community and endure the pain. We imprint with our first mate and become their perfect lover because our bodies adapt perfectly to them. Nymphs are sought after as mates by the gods because of our beauty and powers. This is why many goddesses are also nymphs. Our keening scent is repulsive to fertile women and addictively alluring to fertile men. We have advised your great-mother and helped set up your keening accommodation in Peyton".

"It is said the islander tribes accepted nymphs among them without the violence. There were also small islands set aside for keening nymphs. That may be why so many nymphs remained on islands. I think the mortal stories of sirens that lure men to their deaths are really of  keening nymphs. Mortals and elves do not have the stamina to survive mating with a keening nymph. Giants, forget it. It is said the needing period of female vampires is only two days and nights. So, if your keening period is much longer, you cannot choose a vampire even though they too are immortals. Wyr-kind are much weaker than vampires, except for dragon-kind. Demons are fallen dark angels that have been perverted by evil and cruelly tortured. As immortals the strongest of light or dark angel-kind are a possibility. The only other choices you have as a mate is a god or powerful demi-god." stated Kappeh.

"That is all nice in theory but I ain't beautiful like you. I am flat-chested, freckled, scrawny and have hair like straw that takes hours to tame" complained Ali.

"You will blossom, just as we did. You will have your choice of suitors. Have faith in yourself and your powers" stated Toko.

"That is real nice of you to say" said Ali.

"But?" asked Pamu

"When I go to college I want to work hard on my creative design area of expertise. I can't ignore that to chase a husband and there will be plenty of nymphs there who are more beautiful than me. The only way I am going to improve my situation is through hard work and I can earn useful powers and build a business. I just don't want to rely on marriage to dictate my social position" said Ali

"You design? What do you design?" asked Kappeh

"Jewelry and trinkets mostly. I have a knack of tuning into the person and designing something they will cherish. I have applied to spend my first year with Hephaestus as his apprentice, so I can learn about making weapons and armor, if he accepts me. Grandma also said it might be possible to spend some time with elven smiths to learn their metal-working techniques. I need to learn how to make the things I design so I can know the limits of design. There is no use designing something that cannot be made. So, even if I blossom, I do not want the male attention yet. I choose to learn and grow first. I will choose a mate when I am ready not before" insisted Ali.

"It is right for you to have that choice. Maybe we can help you with that too. Nymphs have the power to enhance their natural beauty but we also have developed the power to dial it down and conceal ourselves. I have a veil that nymphs may use to pass through crowds unnoticed. When you wear the veil it becomes invisible but its effect is noticeable. To men you will become like part of the furniture; women will be happy to befriend you because you are not seen as a sexual threat. That should suit your business ambitions well. I will give it to you as a gift from our tribe. When you meet the right man you may remove the veil and reveal your true self" announced Kappeh.

"I will treasure your gift. My deepest thanks" said Ali.

The rest of the afternoon the nymphs showed Ali a book with famous artifacts from different immortal cultures; including tribal, nymph, Olympian, Norse and elven cultures.

"I hear the drums have started. Keep the book; it is my small gift to you. We must leave you now and take our places. An elder will come to get you for your ceremony soon" said Toko.

After the nymphs left, Ali found some pencils and paper put aside for her. She sketched the nymphs as they had sat around her then added bracelets twining up their arms and designs onto their dresses using nymph cultural designs from the book. Finally on Kappeh she added an elegant twining crown. When she took stock of her design she recalled the nymphs never mentioned who they were married to and thought that she would soon find out. Radi swung open the flap of her lodge and signaled for Ali to follow her.
Here we go
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