Princess Piki Part IV

Princess Piki Part IV


Upon arriving to the banks of the Lake Gladtló, where trees sink their feet in the deep waters, Niniär sat on the earthless ground made only out of roots that stretched far down below into the mirrored Lake. Sadness was a cruel companion, but she had her horse by her side and both rode northeast to meet the waterfalls of the river Urodum which fed the lake. As they went upwards, the lake was left behind in the valley. Wan the moon came, reflecting upon Niniär's skin, and down below the waters of the lake were so clear that mirrored the sky in all its splendor, it was unclear which one was the real roof of the world. Swans flew over it and landed on the stars. The sound of the cascade falling down into the lake broke the silent night. The roaring waters fled from the mountains in such a hurry and devastating strength that Niniär and her horse had to hasten their pace due north to find a narrower space and built their path into the other side. The crossover wasn't far off, it was where two rivers met and became one single earth's vein. Attached to Urodum was one of the streams of the widest and largest rivers of Nárlond, the Telssian River. It was here where both met, that Niniär and her horse went through. The water was only a few inches above the waist. After arriving to the other side, the two companions followed the single stream of Urodum that ran southeast to disembogue in the great inland sea of Fhör. It was an hard journey of at least one hundred and sixty miles. They constantly stopped to rest and gather food, always southwards along the eastern side of the river, for its western side broke in two and passed too close to dangerous marshes shrouded in mist, as far as the eye could see. A four day's journey to encounter the uncertain presence of anyone living near the coastal region of Fhör.

Niniär and her horse weren't hindered during their journey towards the inland sea of Fhör. They had been blessed with bright days along their road, and the chirping of birds soften their mood. Deep and in secret, Niniär's mind wandered, always doubtful and filled with uncertainty for what might be found at the road's end. The continuous pace of the horse through grass and the sound it made, cradled Niniär, but she woke up from her daydreaming as the sound changed. The ground also had changed, it was rocky, filled with dust and a redish-brown soil. From the south, sweeping across the land, a salty fragrance and the sound of surf endlessly rolling upon the beaches. Only forty miles to gallop till they could set their feet in the northern cliffs of Fhör that stretched eastwards for at least seventy miles, then breaking and sinking in a vast woodland and rising once more for another fifty miles. Of such likeness were these, reminiscent of great walls made out of clay. The waves bashing against the cliffs were like the stirring voices of thunders. The sea below reflected the sun and the beaches with golden sand glimmered. The view might be pleasant to the eye and comforting to the heart, but the rocky southern slopes near the waters of the inland sea of Fhör hid fiends of savage fury, covered with shiny scales, and the sun was deadly in the barren lands around it.

A new dawn was breaking, the grey light behind the clouds. The wind was flowing and rain from above shuffling the dirt in the ground, turning it into mud. An heavy rain fell akin to the waters of Fhör, surging, breaking and grinding. Shedding from the high heavens it tore the path that Niniär and her horse left behind, blending it with the rest of the landscape. Leaping from the soil, fragrant scents, and poor Niniär unguarded did not hear nor heeded the strange shadows coming her way, coming out of the bushes like black phantoms, winding their way in her direction. Beneath the horse's hooves the ground sunked in a muddy puddle, and the earth itself enfolded the horse and Niniär.

To be continued...


Arith Härger

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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


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Princess Piki Part II

Princess Piki

Part II

The song of birds echoing in Fárion's high moors pierced the misty morning, as Niniär rode north to meet the edge of the woodland of Oroth, the farthest away from home she ever went. There she took joy in the banks of one of the streams of the river Kyrai, to the west of the Red forest in a place where strange trees grew. Of such trees there was no likeness in the country of Nárlond, these could only be found beyond the borders of Uldr and Wejnor to the far north where the country ended, into a nameless land that belonged to nature's wild grasp. It seemed that these trees reposed after much toil during their youth, they were ever juvenile, with the colors of fire and the autumn afternoon sky when night approaches, silver bark and often wore darker stripes, and seldom did they grew more than thirty three feet tall. There she sat on the mossy rocks, dipping her feet in the water. All stood still and in silence as the endless East awoke in anger. She stood waiting, for she felt a strange menace coiling towards her. Fierce it grew along with the grey monstrous clouds. Above her the roaring wind and the rolling thunder, and the clouds took shapes of hideous beasts, gloom gathered and she stood alone in darkness. A grim voice could be herd in the distance, approaching, it brought hate and dismay in its speech, the closer it got, the better could she understand. It became clear, it was calling for her... niniär... Niniär... Niniär!

She awoke from the nightmare, as her eyes pierced the fog and the world began to take shape, she knew now where she was, trapped in the hoary woodland of Lürnothil along with the hateful King Dárius and his horde by the banks of the lake Unir. Fires were flickering here and there, warriors wandering, busy, cruel and ill-looking, horses neighed under the ghostly-pale night. Reality was no better than her previous nightmare, and Dárius stood there with the light of the moon reflected on his face giving him a terrifying guise. It was his grim voice she herd on the dream and still was he shouting her name demanding that she woke up.

Dárius was a figure reminiscent of the sunless sky during the harsh winter falling upon the forests leaving them leafless and dark, and the cold grey stones under a frozen lake were the mirror of his heart. In all his evilness and brilliant schemes, he planed to give Niniär to Lutzar, the son of the Noble of Kûd who was no other than Dárius' older brother, and as Dárius had no sons nor daughters, Lutzar was a prince in the making.
Before he could settle this arrangement, Dárius had other plans in mind, since his main goal was to seize the wealth of all the peoples of Nárlond, he had to strike right into the strongest, bravest, wealthier regions to better control all the others who were too weak to protect themselves. He knew well where to strike..
The people of the North was his main concern, those who lived in the plains of Uldr, and the clans that lived in the mountainous regions of Wejnor, where the thirteen most powerful clans ruled over the others, but to enter those regions he had to pass through the Varghöss and the Wutnar clans, allies bond by marriage, trading and centuries of battles together against common foes. Dárius had to gain the favour of the council of Harkudr, the only city in the mountainous regions, which remained neutral to the conflicts of the northern clans and was the place of gathering of all the chieftains of each clan to settle their disputes in the Hall of Judges.

Years before, Dárius had already managed to keep the Varghöss clan at bay, by bribing the Kjärmun, the worst enemy clan of both the Varghöss and the Wutnar, it was they who killed Hallor the chieftain of the Varghöss and also his wife during a supposedly meeting of truce in the Varg's own great hall, and their only son was lost, escaped into Heimr to the east and was probably eaten by wolves, as he was only a child of eight winters old. 
As the years passed, Dárius invented a war against the Duirnir kingdom to the North-East of Nárlond, and as the northern clans were the ones closer to this kingdom, all of them were mustered and sent to war. Three years of a long meaningless war. The clans were broken, scattered, most warriors were still lost in Duirnir, others forlorn in those unknown lands. Time had come for Dárius to go into the North, meet the Wutnar in the Wolf's Mouth, the Khuz mountain, which held the underground city of the same name, filled with a wealth that even Dárius in his greedy mind couldn't think of, conquering the Wutnar, the way was opened to reach all the other clans of the North. Dárius made up his mind, he was ready to march towards the north and leave his nephew Lutzar in charge of the southern armies that would stay behind.

Lutzar was much pleased with the situation, being in charge of an whole army, a beautiful woman to take as wife and all he had to do was to sit and wait as his uncle brought the Northern wealth, an heirloom of his future kingship. Sit and wait was indeed what Lutzar did best, as he became round by doing it so often, but his greedy joy wouldn't take long, after his uncle departed and step by step Lutzar came towards Niniär to take her as wife as she lay trembling in fear, the tide of events changed dramatically.

The moon perished and a weeping wind started to come from within the forest, then dead silence fell. Out of the depths unfurling fogs floated and all was drowned with mist. The shape of trees with twisted arms in the gloom filled with dread the hearts of men. Fear clutched the souls of the host encamped by the lake. Fires fainted, no word spoken, ere they could grasp the hilt of their swords, a great howl, forlorn and lonely, came from the darkness, but it wasn't from a wolf. The echo of the howl was like a frozen cry that came from the burning depths. In the mist, shapes of wolves were running towards the men and into the lake, careless, not afraid to drown, for the wolves that was a better fate than to fell prey to the things that were gathering in the woods. None that stood there knew why the forests of Lürnothil were so abandoned and why the nearest towns were at least sixty miles away from the forest in all directions, but they would soon know why. Out of the fathomless valleys deep within the forests, looming forth came they, the only thing that could put fear in the hearts of wolves... Lo! They are coming!...

To be continued...

Arith Härger

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Princess Piki - Part I

Princess Piki

Part I

Of myths and legends is the history of a nation built. The lore preserved in memory and passed down by speech as the younger generations around the oak tree listen to the Elders. Such myths were once true events that with the passage of time and the lack of magic in our daily lifes, leaves doubt in mortals' hearts, as age grows, it will be utterly filled with emptiness.
The tale of our beloved queen Niniär is of such likeness, and indeed she was loved by many before her shimmering glance struck King Arävar's heart.

Niniär Anon Rabødja was her name, the granddaughter of Eimir the noble of Vengoso in the western costal region, south of the Tankuí falls. She was a beautiful child with a very naive look, her hair was of the color of dried blood and the smelting copper, glittering brown eyes, piercing with gentleness in everyone's hearts. She could often be found wandering off, barefoot, dancing among the tall grass and when not doing so, she sat on the edge of the forest naming every plant and wild creature she could set her eyes upon. She always woke up with the sun and would lie down with the stars. As often as the light of the day covered the land, she was the joy of all those who lived in the region and heard her merriment. But such mirth would not last very long, for the King of that time was no other than the greedy King Dárius the ruthless and he and his squint-eyed southern nobles gazed upon every land that smelt like richness. Eimir whose glory waxed as times darkened, was one of the first nobles to fell prey to the ambicious hand of Dárius. Such lands had rich soils and Eimir and his people produced wine, linnen, wool and cattle, but the real wealth of the land was neither of these in Dárius mind, it was in fact what the roots of the near mountains held, Silver and Gold.
Emir, dauntless but old, lived in bitter disappointment and grief for his two daughters were as greedy as King Dárius and had already married two of the southern nobles, one of his sons was already dead, fighting against the constant invasions from the south, and all that was left of Emir's family was his other two sons who work hard everyday but were not peerless warriors like their deceased brother. His house was falling apart but the only joy he had was in his granddaughter Niniär the daughter of Ajmir, it was she that always lifted Emir's spirit. In the last days of his House, regardless of the evil which was emerging in the south, he spent his days watching Niniär grow as she became a beautiful woman. She sat astride the horse wearing a pale-green gossamer dress, her reddish lips were soft and often wore a hint of a smile, she was indeed her grandfather's joy, but the inevitable was coming to his door, even admonished by his armsman, Emir would not listen, all he cared about was having the love of his granddaughter.
From the endless houseless hills to the south the sky was veiled with smoke and flame, a sign of the baleful haunting of the southern nobles and King Dárius, under the shadows of the mountains to the east of Emir's lands, came they at last and would not depart till they got what they came there for, the underground wealth of Emir. Some sort of misconception was clearly at work that day, thought Emir, but the greedy mind of Dárius could only think of the Silver and Gold concealed from him in the depths of the mountains, even after Emir told him countless times that his only wealth left was his granddaughter Niniär. Thus, Dárius told Emir that he came there to take Emir's wealth, and if Niniär was indeed the old man's only richness, so it would be she that he would take. He gave her a cursory glance and she was filled with uneasiness, her hands were bound and she sat on the horse and grimaced with pain. Swiftly she was taken from Emir's sight and his lands were pillaged and burnt. Emir died soon after, filled with grief, for his only joy was taken away from him.
Niniär rode with the horde of Dárius to the southeastern dreary forests of Lürnothil. In the air wheeling, the ruinous ravens were croaking, in the border of the woods the wolves howled and from among the darkness of the trees a cold keen wind blew. The sun was swallowed by the gloomy night. What would become of Niniär? The world at her feet was torn asunder and her joy too was taken away from her, she was now descending upon the murky endless aisles of fate...

To be continued...

Arith Härger


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Cσρуяιgнт © 2014™

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