Light of Epertase 01: Legends Reborn (7 page)

The weather in the mountains was brutal, though not nearly as brutal as the loneliness that accompanied it. Rasi had been a prisoner on Shadows Peak for seven long years. The country of Epertase wasn’t on his mind much anymore, as most of his focus was on survival. His only comfort came each night before he drifted to sleep as he remembered his beautiful wife and used her smile to lead the way to his dream world.

The suns were hot and muggy that time of year and Rasi cursed his long hair. If he had his way, he’d hack off his locks altogether, but he knew better. As miserable as his mane made him in the summers, he was thankful for every strand during the harsh winters.

He was hungry, but then again, he was always hungry. Some mornings he considered ignoring his rumbling stomach to wallow in self-pity, to wonder why he still fought. On those mornings, like this one, he had to summon all of his strength just to leave his cave. He moaned and stretched his kinks away. His mouth was as dry as cotton. He squeezed leftover berries into a hollowed-out river stone. Their taste on what was left of his mangled tongue was one of the few pleasures he had.

Rasi scanned the dimly lit cave, wondering about his next meal. He hadn’t eaten the day before, as his hunting was lazy and the only game he came across, he scared away with clumsiness. He could have fished, he supposed, but it was late and he often used his aching stomach to keep him sharp.

Why do I even bother?

Rasi thought about returning to Epertase and sacrificing himself to King Elijah’s sick torture, but those thoughts accompanied him most mornings. After all, the pain dealt would let him feel something again other than the numbness that now consumed him. He decided as he had each day before that the very act of staying alive went against Elijah’s every desire for his death. That was reason enough for him to keep going. Besides, maybe one day Elijah would travel too far into the woods unaccompanied and if he did, Rasi would be there. Though he knew those dreams of vengeance weren’t likely to be realized, he used them to keep warm on many a winter night.

A guttural growl at the mouth of the cave interrupted his morning drink. A shadow blocked out the morning suns. He lowered his cup.
No sudden movements
, he told himself. He turned his head. Standing at the cave’s mouth was a mound of pissed-off grizzly.

The bear roared almost shaking the walls.

Move on, bear!
Rasi begged.
Save yourself.

The grizzly slobbered as he again roared his defiance. Rasi thought about retreating into the darker recesses of the cave, hopefully saving the bear a lot of pain, but the creature’s hungry intentions assured he wouldn’t get far. His tentacles flared out. Retreating wasn’t what they wanted. They wanted meat. Deep down inside, Rasi wanted the same.

The bear thudded down to all fours and stalked forward. His hungry drool hung from his snout as he bared his teeth.

Rasi snarled, baring his teeth as well.

The bear rose on its hind legs again. His claws glimmered in the suns. Then he closed the gap like lightning. Rasi glanced at his sword, which leaned against the farthest wall.
I gotta learn to keep that closer.

The bear was upon him. Rasi dove to the side as the creature’s massive paw clipped his hip, spinning him across the floor. Pain screamed up his side and down to his foot. Blood sprayed the cave wall, the smell of which seemingly driving the grizzly into a blind rage.

Rasi stopped on the dirt floor next to his sword. He sighed, relieved, and reached for the blade.

Before he could grasp it, the creature barreled in. Rasi narrowly moved away. The predator slammed face-first against the wall, momentarily stunning itself. His momentum sent Rasi’s sword sliding out of reach. The bear spun around, dazed but relentless, like the born killer it was.

Rasi leaped forward like a killer himself. The bear swatted with his front claw but Rasi’s instinctive tentacles wrapped the creature’s arm, stopping it mid-swing. His other tentacles enveloped its massive torso, slamming Rasi flush against its chest.

The bear stumbled back more out of astonishment than because of Rasi’s relatively gnat-like weight. It snapped its teeth at Rasi’s neck, but he was just out of reach. Its breath was hot and stunk of rotten meat. Rasi pressed his feet against the bear’s chest, pushed off, and bounced into the air. His straps anchored him against his foe and he whipped around to the creature’s back. With both hands, he dug his fingers into the beast’s mighty fur.

The bear thrashed to the side. Rasi held tight like one would a bucking wild horse. The bear plopped back onto all fours while Rasi held firm. One of Rasi’s straps wrapped around the bear’s head and covered its eyes. The bear thrashed throughout the cave.

Rasi drew back and pounded his fists against the back of the creature’s thick skull, likely hurting his own hand more than the beast. The creature rose again with a frustrated roar.

Rasi’s uncontrollable straps must have sensed the futility of their attack and released the creature. Rasi fell to his back with a terrified realization.
What are you doing?
he screamed in his head.

The bear twirled around in a berserker rage. Rasi’s eyes bulged. He scrambled backward along the cave floor until his back struck the wall. The bear pounced. Rasi looked to his side for somewhere to escape. Instead of escape, he saw something better. Within a horse-length of his vulnerable body, the bear made a crucial mistake. It hesitated and rose to its hind legs for one more intimidating, satisfied roar. Rasi dropped to his side and outstretched his arm. The sword’s hilt was salvation in his hand.

The bear stepped forward. Rasi turned, pressing his back against the cave. He shoved the sword’s hilt firmly into the crevice of where the floor met the wall at his left side. His straps, sensing his plan, lunged for the beast’s powerful hind legs. They tightened. The bear tried to take another step but his legs tangled in their grip.

The grizzly fell forward. Rasi closed his eyes.

A torturous howl filled the cave. A blanket of hairy muscle landed on top of him, stiff at first and then relaxed like a glob of flesh.

Rasi couldn’t move or breathe beneath the creature’s weight. He chuckled at the irony of dying, not by the bear’s vicious claws or deadly teeth, but at the prospect of smothering beneath it. His straps tugged and pushed and strained at the mound of dead meat. The weight shifted slightly, enough that Rasi was able to squeeze and scoot from beneath until he was free. His heart beat like it was about to explode. His hands quivered with excitement. He stood motionless, staring at his kill.

Saves me a hunt, I suppose.

The meat was tough and gritty but that didn’t keep him from filling his gut just the same. As his adrenaline subsided, even his throbbing hip couldn’t take away the euphoria of his full stomach.

But before the flavor had even faded, the brutal truth of Rasi’s lonely existence left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He would go on to fill his belly with meat that day and the next. Any longer and he’d have trouble keeping the meat from spoiling. He was acutely aware not to make that mistake as he had once before. The lonely hours of vomiting and uncontrollable shitting assured of that.

He looked around. The morning had just begun.

Maybe a swim today. That’ll pass the time.

The bright blue sky was broken only by sporadic puffs of cotton clouds and the two suns that beat down on The Great Plains. The oceans of magnificent green grass swayed in the wind like a mighty wave. The most legendary Epertasian artists had toiled their entire lives trying to create landscapes to rival such beauty, mostly without success.

It couldn’t be a more fitting day for Princess Alina’s seventeenth birthday. She celebrated by arranging a picnic with her future husband, Blair. As they rode across the edge of the plains toward the forest of Concore, she stared at him. His face was soft and feminine, more suited for paintings than for war, and though he was the most stunningly pretty man she had ever known, that was not her reason for loving him. She loved him for his kind heart and gentle ways and her belief that he would make an honorable king for her people.

They picked up their pace. The breeze strengthened, blowing her long, dark hair into her face. She imagined how she would one day lop it all off and if the people disliked a “boy’s haircut” on their princess, well, they would have to adjust.

She dug her heels into her mare’s side and shouted, “Race you to the tree line,” as she pulled away. Even pushing his steed to its limit, he was unable to catch her as Alina’s mare Allusia was a fine mare, to be sure.

“No fair,” he whined. “I have all of the supplies on my back.”

She laughed off his complaints as she approached the forest edge. A farmer and his wife led a bare-backed donkey toward Thasula, no doubt for supplies. The couple bowed as she and Blair passed.

“G’ morning your highness … Sir,” the old woman said. She tried to lift her head but her arthritic hunchback prevented her from looking at their faces for more than a glance.

Alina replied, “Good morning, my friends,” and sat up a little straighter.

Blair was soft and polite when he spoke. “Have a nice day in town,” he said.

The farmers nodded and thanked him before continuing on.

“Where do you want to have our picnic, my love?” Blair asked.

“By the mountain falls,” she replied. She saw his confusion and added, “Near Shadows Peak?” He nodded that he remembered, though he probably didn’t.

The two lovers traveled into the tree line and onto a path of matted leaves and broken twigs until they were deep within the forest. Much of the morning crept past before they saw sunlight again and the mountain pass ahead.

“It can be rocky and dangerous for horses,” she said. “We should leave them here to graze.” Blair nodded his agreement and the two lovers dismounted.

Alina caressed Allusia’s snout and whispered for her to stay close. Blair snatched her hand.

The forest opened into vast mountains that appeared to touch the clouds. A narrow, man-made path in the rocky terrain surprised Alina and she caught a questioning glance from Blair.

She snapped, “How was I supposed to know there would be a path? It wasn’t here before.”

He grinned and asked if she wanted him to fetch the horses, to which she replied that she didn’t.

The path led up a rocky climb. At its top, Blair stood with his mouth agape at the scenery.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Alina asked with a smile even though her words were drowned by the roar of the rapids.

The violent, rushing water thundered past, racing along the base of Shadows Peak before disappearing in the distance. Mating coppafish sprang into the air in a futile attempt to fight the current and return to their spawn.

This is a fine place for a picnic,
she said in her mind.

That it is, my love,
he answered back.

He dug into his bag and retrieved a green-and-blue plaid blanket that he spread onto the rocks. He removed his sword from his waist and laid it at the bottom of the blanket to hold it down against the growing breeze. With his bag of picnic supplies at the head, he plopped down on the covered rock.

She held a sandwich of bread and squashed grapes out for him, but he answered,
No, thank you
, in his mind and removed a leftover leg of lamb from his pack.

After dinner, they cuddled while watching the suns float across the sky. The serenity won the battle with Alina’s eyelids and she acquiesced to dreamland.

A
lina startled herself awake with a terrible realization. “By the gods,” she shouted and jumped to her feet. Blair didn’t stir so she shook him violently. “Blair, wake up.”

The sky glowed a muted orange, marking the setting of the suns. She knew as all Epertasians did that predators filled the forest at night. Her heart quickened.

Blair stretched and groaned before he too realized the lateness and bounced to his feet. “Stay calm,” he yelled over the beating rapids. “We’ll be fine. We just need to keep close to each other and keep our eyes open.” He tied his sword back around his waist.