Princess Piki - Part III

Princess Piki

Part III

The freezing cries echoed, all was swallowed by mist, those who stood there were quailing in fear. From within the forest, whatever was coming their way, could be heard as clear as water breaking the dead silence of a cave. The hooves trailing the paths, the moaning, the howls... even the most mighty-hearted shrank in awe. Then, once more, silence fell. A chill grabbed Lutzar's men by their neck and they swallowed it dry, as one swallows a three-weeks bread, scratching the throat all the way down to the stomach. Twigs breaking here and there, leafs being lifted from the ground and a steady hoarse wheezing. The men grabbed the hilt of their swords still attached to the sheaths, their hands trembled and fear made their weapons heavier. Silence was broken by a cry in agony as a dark beast leaped and tore the flesh of a unhappy fool. It did not take long for another to die in a gruesome way, and the air was filled with screams of terror and anguish followed by gurgling sounds of people suffocating in their own blood. Now all knew why the forest of Lürnothil was deprived of any settlings in a radius of at least fifty miles in all directions. This ancient forest was inhabited by an ancient evil left behind, hideous creatures named Bwyrgil.

Niniär was terrified, all that madness took over the reins of night. Glowing eyes came towards her, claws ripped the mist and a monstrous head piered from within the blurry fog. She turned pale and unmoved but she knew that she could not tarry there, fear was a delay, a swift and deadly delay followed by unbearable pain and an horrible death. She came to her senses and broke the chains that freezed her mind and hastened towards wherever safe harbour she could find. To perilous ways her legs carried her. The ground was filled with rocks and thorny roots, in the gloom of night there were many traps for wandering feet. She fled to where the sun rises, leaving behind Lake Unir and entering the land of Weiyth, a vast untamed land, almost two hundred miles wide, where the wild oxen graze near the great Urodum river that runs in haste and anger. To whatever direction she went, she would never find anyone,  and this was in a time before King Arävar rulership, thus, there were too few towns, by this time there was only the Hojkur¹ and the nobles that ruled in it. The nearest place with any folk was the Hojky of Gilnimb, three hundred and eighteen miles southwest of Weiyth.

Niniär heard the neigh of an horse, like her, this stunning animal was running in fear leaving behind its master to be the meal of a ravenous Bwyrgil. She was used to deal with such magnificent animals and so she stopped him and with her gentle voice almost in melody, eased the creature. The horse was brown from snout to hoof, a long mane as black as coal and in its forehead white fur resembling a four-pointed star. In many battles it had fought and conquered, and after its final troubling night, time came to give rest to the creature. Niniär took care of the horse and fetched food for both. For three days and nights they bonded, and at the dawn of the fourth day, they rode together to meet the lake Gladtló which was fed by the river Urodum. Niniär took comfort in the company of her new friend and she became fond of him, but her heart foreboded that the days ahead would be as perilous as uncertain.

To be continued...

¹ Hojky (Sing.) or Hojkur (Plur.) is the small economical and self-sustaining area where a great hall is placed and the people that work in the fields around it or have anykind of jobs to support the community, live in it along with the noble that rules over the entire Hojky. It so happens that some Hojkur have a fortified fence around the great hall and also some houses and barns around the hall which gave birth to the first villages, and in the time of King Arävar's kingship some of these became the first towns.


Arith Härger


║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║█║║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║█║Cσρуяιgнт © 2014™