YKSI SOTURI

By: Chris Reazin

2

CHAPTER 1

“Oryen! Oreyn wake up!” I cracked open my eyes to see

the panicked countenance of my father at the foot of my

bed. “Ready yourself, one of our scouts spotted a group of

nomads heading our way from the south.” he said to me. I

hastily jumped out of bed and took up my claymore.

“Hurry up Oreyn! We haven’t much time! Meet me at the

south side of the village in five minutes!” my father

exclaimed. After putting on my armor I walked outside of my

house on the north side of the village. It looked like

today was another white-out. I was beginning to grow tired

of this place. Our village was always involved in some sort

of quarrel leading to war. The people had become dull and

stone cold.

As I ran towards the south side of the village I

noticed all of the women and children shuffling into the

town hall, east of my house. They most likely knew they

wouldn’t be safe there but it’s the most protected

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construct in our village so they had no choice. The snow

covered buildings towering around me, isolating this

village. I quickly ran to rendezvous with my father and the

other warriors in my village, noticing there are many more

inexperienced warriors here this time. It appears we’re

getting desperate. For a moment there is a deadly quiet as

I stood staring into the edge of the forest, waiting for

the enemy to arrive. Tiny beads of sweat began to drip from

my nose. Even after all the battles I’ve fought in, war

remains one of the most frightening things to me; you could

feel the tension in the air.

Finally we saw them emerge from the woods, wearing

bear pelt armor and dripping in war paint, their eyes full

of animosity.

“These animals are ruthless, Oreyn, have no mercy.” my

father said to me.

Hearing footsteps behind me, I turned around to see

Roope, my friend and one of the most skilled warriors in

our village, approach wearing his fallen father’s plate

armor and carrying a battle axe. He walked to my side and

gave me a slight nod.

Breaking the silence, these barbarians let out an ear-

piercing, bloodthirsty roar. You could see the terror

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written on our warriors faces. Taking a readied stance,

sword ahead of me, these nomads begin to charge, followed

by our men. As we met you could hear the bone cracking

impact of the bodies smashing into each other. I let out a

battle cry and plunged my sword at the man charging me. He

dashed to the right dodging my sword while cleaving me off

of my feet with his battle axe. Dazed on the ground I

looked up to see the blade of his axe intercepted. I turn

to see Roope standing by my side, unleashing a violent

slash beheading the man.

“Stay on your feet, Oreyn, these men are agile” he

said to me. I returned to my feet, noticing the once white

snow tattered with red. Everywhere I looked I could see

lifeless bodies falling to the ground, mutilated by the

weapons of these savages. Fury consumed me as I made a

charge at these men. Blindly swinging, I felt the impact of

my blade against their bodies and the splattering of blood

on my skin. Just as there appeared to be no hope, a loud

and eerie sound of a horn permeates the air. The barbarians

immediately stopped fighting and retreated back into the

forest. I noticed the common look of confusion amongst the

survivors.

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“Men,” my father said, wiping the blood and sweat off

of his face, “Lets not trust that these men won’t be back.

Keep ready.”

Roope and I walked over to examine the bloodied

battlefield.

“Don’t you find it at all odd that these men

that had a clear advantage over us would retreat mid-

fight?” Roope whispered while we were collecting the

fallen.

“I suppose so, but I’m not concerned as to why they

left, I’m just glad they’re gone for now,” I replied. We

all knew that if they came back we would not be able to

survive. Our village has become significantly weaker over

the years that these men have been persistently attacking

us, particularly with the death of Roope’s father, Jaska.

Jaska was the greatest warrior our village has ever known.

He gave his life in battle to protect us. He would not be

forgotten.

We arrived back to the town hall to warn the people of

the ever-looming presence of this nomadic clan. As we

entered my mother ran to greet my father and I. Our village

leader and war-chief, Stendarr, continued to tell the

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people of what happened out there, and the strange noise

which caused the enemy to retreat. I was very uneasy about

the attack. Any second now they could strike us off guard.

After our town meeting, Sulkasiipi, Roope’s sister,

ran up to me.

“I was so worried about you Oreyn! What happened to

you?” she yelled.

“Nothing to worry about, just a few cuts and bruises,

I’ll be better by morning” I replied. Roope and I continued

to walk towards my house, just across the village.

“I think my sister is in love with you, Oreyn” Roope

said while letting out a slight chuckle

“Is that so?” I asked with a grin.

“Yes that’s so! Are you blind? She’s obsessed with

you; she won’t stop talking about you. It’s rather annoying

really” he replied

“She is not obsessed with me. Besides, she’s your

sister; you know I couldn’t like her” I said. I didn’t know

what I thought of Sulkasiipi.

“She is my best friend’s sister” I kept telling

myself.

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Roope and I parted ways and I finally arrived back at

my house. I walked inside to see my parents standing

waiting for me.

“Oreyn, we don’t know how much longer we can stay

here. This village is quickly deteriorating. You saw what

happened out there, and it can only get worse from here on

out” my mother said.

“What? So we’re just supposed to leave? These people

will be massacred for sure if we leave!” I replied.

“This is a dying fight, Oreyn. No matter how much we

try to resist they will eventually defeat us. There is a

sister village across the sea that we will be moving to.

We’ll leave when this white-out finally lets up” she said

sternly.

“You can’t be serious! What about the people here?

What about Roope and Sulkasiipi?” I asked.

“Anybody who wishes to come with us is welcome to

join. Your father and I have made our decision, and you’ll

have to deal with it.” I could feel my face burning up with

anger. My parents cannot just simply leave these people

here. They’ll be killed within a month for sure. My parents

continued to try and comfort me but it wasn’t working. How

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can I leave my whole life behind me? This village was my

family, I couldn’t let them die.

“You guys are just cowards” I said to them. To which

they simply walked away. Angrily, I walked up the stairs to

my bedroom while thinking how pathetic my parents are for

abandoning everybody out of nothing but fear.

After a short nap, though I did not sleep much, I got

up to go tell Roope about my parents’ decision. I walked

over to his house and knocked on the door. Sulkasiipi

opened to greet me.

“Oh, Oreyn hi!” she said.

“Hey I don’t mean to bother you, is Roope here?” I

asked.

“Yes he is, please come in” she replied with a smile.

I entered the house as she ran upstairs to get Roope. After

an oddly quiet moment, Roope walked down the stairs.

“Oreyn, my sister said you needed me?”

“Yes, I have some bad news” I replied.

“Well what is it then?”

“My parents have decided to move to a sister village

across the sea. They’re making me go with them. I don’t

have a choice to stay” I said.

“What? Why?” he said in a distressed voice.

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“They say our village is hopeless. That’s what they told me

anyways. They said anybody who wants to leave with us is

welcome; we have room on our boat” I replied.

“So you just expect me to leave these people behind

because you’re leaving?” he asked.

“No, but as much as I don’t want to leave, my parents

have a point. If these people have any intelligence they’ll

leave if they hear of another attack. It’s their own fault

if they die” I said.

“I can’t believe you would say that! Just give me some

time, Oreyn. I’ll think it over tonight. Now go home and

get some sleep. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”

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CHAPTER 2

After a sleepless night the morning finally came. I

could not shut my mind off. The realization that I’m

leaving my whole world behind began to hit me. I turned

around and looked out my window, noticing how the village

looks even more desolate than it looked before. I heard a

gentle knock on the door to my room followed by the

peculiar creak of the door opening.

“Oreyn, its almost mid-day, aren’t you going to come down?”

my mother asked.

“Just leave me alone” I replied. She walked into my

room, came to my side and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Listen, I know this is hard for you but it’s

something we have to do” she said. I shrugged her hand off

and turned away.

“It’s not something we have to do!” I exclaimed, “we

don’t have to leave! We can stay here and fight.”

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11

“You don’t understand Oreyn, staying to fight is

pointless. The elders all know that if those men come back

again there will be no chance. Unfortunately the people

here are too stubborn to believe that” she said.

“Well if the elders know there isn’t a chance why

don’t they leave too?” I asked.

“The elders here have no reason to leave; they’ve

reached their full potential. They want to die fighting for

our ancestors. But you have untapped potential Oryen! You

are the reason we’re leaving” my mom replied.

“What about my friends here? I can’t just leave them

behind!” I yelled.

“If they have any sense they’ll leave with us. Now get

up and get dressed, you can’t stay in your room all day”

she said as she stood up.

“Coward” I muttered. She walked out of the room and

slammed the door behind her.

I got up, got dressed, and walked outside of my house.

The whiteout is finally starting to fade away. I’m

frustrated to notice people carrying on in ignorance if

what could happen. It’s as if the attack yesterday never

happened. I looked ahead to see Roope sitting outside of

the town hall on a bench with an uneasy look on his face.

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12

“Its final, Roope, I’m leaving mid-day tomorrow. Have

you decided if you are going to stay or not?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it. My mom heard about it

from your parents. She told me the smart thing to do would

be to go with you guys across to the other village. But I’m

all my mom has left besides my sister. I don’t know how I

could just abandon them” he said.

“Well if your mom understands what’s going on why

doesn’t she leave with us as well?” I replied

. “I asked her the same thing. She told me that there

was no point to her leaving and that she wanted to stay so

she could visit my father’s grave in her last moments” he

said as tears began to fill his eyes.

“You don’t have to come with us. If you think it would

be best to stay here with your mom then that’s what you

have to do” I replied.

“No,” he said, “I have to carry out my mom’s wishes.

She wants me to go with you so I can have the life my

father couldn’t have. Listen, I need time to think alone

ok?” Tears began to run down Roope’s face.

“I’ll leave you to it then. If you need someone to

talk to all you have to do is ask.” He dropped his head and

began to stare at the ground. It was truly disturbing to

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see someone as strong as Roope so depressed and hurt. I

thought I should go see Sulkasiipi and see how she was

holding up with all of this. I walked to her house and

knocked on the door. Roope’s mother opened the door with

tears in her eyes.

“Oh, Oreyn, nice to see you. Please come in” she told

me, trying to hold the tears back.

“Roope told me about everything, I know” I said.

“You guys will look out for each other won’t you?” she

asked while beginning to cry.

“I don’t think anyone needs to look after your son” I

replied. She smiled while wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Yes, well he takes after his father.” It was easy to

tell she was trying to make things appear better than they

were.

“So, all that aside, any specific reason you’re here?”

she asked.

“Yes, I thought I should talk to Sulkasiipi about

Roope leaving and everything that’s going on” I said.

“Oh, she’s upstairs in her room. Feel free to go up

and see her” she replied. I nodded and proceeded upstairs.

I knocked on the door to her room.

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“Come in!” she yelled. I opened the door and walked in

the room. She was huddled over a table in the corner with a

concentrated look on her face.

“Oreyn! I didn’t expect to see you! What are you doing

here?” she said excitedly.

“I thought I would come and see how you were holding

up” I replied.

“Oh I’m doing alright, its sad to see you go. I

really will miss you” she said with a rather depressed look

on her face. She got up from the table and walked over

towards with me with her fist clenched. She then took my

hand and placed something in it. It was a necklace made of

leather and bear’s teeth, it was perfect.

“You-You made this for me?” I said, stumbling over my

words.

“Yes, I’ve been working on it all week. I knew you

would like it” she replied. I couldn’t hold my tears back

anymore. If she stays here she’ll die.

“It’s ok; we’ll see each other again. The way those

men retreated, I doubt they’ll ever come back” she said

with a smile.

“Sulkasiipi, you don’t understand” before I could

finish she took put her hands in mine and looked at me with

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15

her piercing blue eyes. She slowly came closer and closer.

I tried to finish what I was going to say but was at a loss

of words.

“It’s ok” she said quietly as our lips met for the

first time.

“You better get home now, its getting late” she said

with a smirk. I stepped back, almost tripping over the

floor

“Yeah ok. I’ll see you tomorrow then” I replied. With

a slight grin she gently pushed me out of the door. I

stumbled out of her room, walked down the stairs, and ran

out the door. I couldn’t help but smile. I also had a

feeling of uneasiness knowing that after tomorrow I may

never see her again. I didn’t feel like going home so I

went on a walk in the woods, the deadwood trees looming

over me like tomorrow’s departure. I had a lot on my mind.

Maybe I’m overreacting to this situation and it’s not as

bad as the elders say. But then again, I’ve never seen the

elders act this way. They’re usually open to talk about

anything but ever since the attack they’ve been unusually

quiet. As if they know something we don’t.

After a short walk the sun began to set and daylight

was fading in the woods. I walked back home while still

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contemplating this situation. I could barely step into my

house before I hear my mother yelling at me.

“Oreyn! Where have you been?” she said.

“I told you I was going out” I replied. She gave me the

look she always gives when she’s angry.

“I’ve had a long day I’m just going to go upstairs

and sleep” I said. Without a reply she walked away into the

kitchen with a disappointed look on her face. I walked up

to my room and collapsed on my bed, which seemed unusually

uncomfortable. It will be difficult to sleep but I’ll have

to try.

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CHAPTER 3

The sun began to rise over the horizon on the dawn of

my last day here as I sat gazing out of my window. The

village coated in an icy, white blanket. Just across from

my house, the village seer, Kippo, emerged from his home as

he did everyday to pray at the fountain. Kippo is the

religious leader of our village. Most people believe he’s

crazy but he has become a father figure to me. He taught me

how to fight and act while my father was away. I clothed

myself and hurried out the door to catch up with Kippo.

“Oreyn, what are you doing up so early?” he said as I

walked up behind him.

“I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been rather anxious about the

move today” I replied.

“Yes, I know about the move. Oreyn, I feel a very bad

omen about your departure today. Do not test the gods.”

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“Do you think I want to leave? If it were my choice I

would stay here stay but I have no word in the matter” I

said in a stern voice.

After a short walk we had arrived at the fountain.

“I’m just warning you, I have a very uneasy feeling

about your trip. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to meditate

on the day ahead of me.” I nodded my head and walked back

to my house.

Kippo always had a way of leaving me utterly suspended

and confused, perhaps its part of his teaching method. I

walked in the front door of my house to see my mother

sitting at the table in the kitchen.

“What were you doing out so early?” she asked with a

surprised look.

“I was out talking with Kippo at the fountain” I said.

“You know I don’t like you talking with him, he gives

me a bad feeling” she replied.

“You’ve never taken the time to talk with him, mom.

Maybe if you tried you might think differently. He told me

he sensed a bad omen about our departure today” I said.

“Listen, Kippo is aged and isn’t quite there. The bad

weather is beginning to lighten up so we’ll be fine” she

said with a sigh.

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“Whatever you say . . .” I muttered. I walked upstairs

to catch a few more hours of sleep before the day. After a

short nap my dad came knocking on my door

“Get up!” he yelled, “We’re going to go over to Roope

and his mother’s house to discuss the trip out of here.”

My mother, father, and I walked over to their house

and discussed some of the minor details of the trip and

assured Roope’s mother he would be safe. After discussing

the logistics we ate and went our separate ways. I returned

home to pack up all of my belongings. Chances are I won’t

be coming back here again. I then looked over at the

necklace Sulkasiipi gave me and was reminded once more of

all that I’m losing. The frustration is too much so to get

my mind off of things I took up my sword and went into the

back to practice on the wooden practice dummy my father

made. After about thirty minutes of hacking away at the

stupid thing my mother came out and told me to get inside

and clean up. We leave for the sister village in only one

hour. At this point I was ready to just get it over with

and move on. I was tired of this dragging on and on.

I gathered my things and went to the docks to drop off

my stuff on the boat. The boat was unusually small for

traveling across the sea, making me even more nervous about

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what Kippo had said to me this morning. Just then, Roope

came beside me and threw his things onto the boat

“You ready for this?” he asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I said with a sigh, “what

about you?”

“I’m doing alright, just ready to get this over with”

he said with a frown. We then both walked to the fountain

at the town center for the town meeting addressing our

departure. Upon arrival I notice tears in my mother and

father’s eyes, a rather shocking sight. I don’t think I had

ever seen my dad cry.

The whole town gathers around Jaska, our village

leader.

“Today we want to bid a farewell to some of the most

prized members of our community. The Skorvild family, as

well as Roope Ogrim, are leaving us to live in our sister

village across the sea for personal reasons” he said.

“Yeah, personal reasons . . . sure” I muttered.

“Come on Oreyn, just listen and then we can go” Roope

whispered while elbowing me in the side.

“. . . In conclusion, we will miss all of you, have a

safe journey!” Jaska said. I rolled my eyes, walked to the

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boat, and waited for Roope and my parents to say their

goodbyes.

Finally they walked down the dock and climbed aboard.

“Ok boys, lets get your sleeping quarters set up. You

two will sleep down in the storage room. Oreyn, your mother

and I will sleep in the cabin on deck” he said in a stern

voice. We nodded and followed him down to the storage room.

There was dust and cobwebs everywhere, along with a dead

rat in the corner of the room. My dad began to clean the

dust off of things.

“Ok we’ll hang hammocks for you two using the support

beams” he muttered to himself. We finished hanging them up

and went back on deck to once again wave farewell to our

past. My dad cut the rope and we began to drift out to sea.

I looked back at the shore to see the people waving. I

looked closer and saw Sulkasiipi looking back at me with a

smile that made me feel like everything was going to be ok.

I waved at her and with a tear falling from her eye she

waved back.

“Are you ok Oreyn?” Roope asked me.

“Yeah, I’m fine” I replied.

At last the shore was no longer visible in the slight

mist.

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“Alright, we’re going to set up in our cabin. Food and

supplies are in the storage room with you guys if you need

anything” my dad said with a shaking voice. He and my mom

then left while Roope and I stood on the deck in complete

silence, deafening silence that lasted for only a moment,

thought it seemed like hours.

“Let’s go down and find something to eat” I said.

Roope nodded and followed me down to our room. I opened one

of the crates and pulled out a loaf of bread and split it

with Roope.

“What do you think this new village will be like?” he

asked.

“I don’t know. I heard it’s a lot bigger and safer

than ours” I replied.

“Perhaps the girls there will be better than our

village as well” he said with a grin.

“I guess we’ll find out” I replied with a laugh. My

smile quickly died as I kept thinking of Sulkasiipi. I

couldn’t help but think of what the worst could be. If

those beasts attack again I could never see her again.

After trying to sleep for around three hours the boat

began to shake violently. Roope woke up and turned to me

with a terrified look on his face. We rushed up and opened

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the hatch to the deck. The thunder was roaring while the

rain fell like a barrage of tiny arrows. The wind was

taking us off course and violently rocking our boat from

side to side. My father was standing at the door to his

cabin holding onto the frame of the door.

“Get back down to the storage room! I’ve got this

under control!” he yelled. I quickly closed the hatch and

made my way back to the storage room, being slammed from

wall to wall. Roope hadn’t said a word, his face looked

petrified.

“Lets at least try and get some sleep, we’ll be fine”

I said. Just then the boat thrashed me and Roope to the

floor, my head hitting one of the beams on the way down. I

looked at Roope as my vision started to go black. He had

been flung into the wall and was unconscious. I tried to

yell to him but couldn’t find words. Finally, everything

went black.

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CHAPTER 4

A chilling breeze ran down my spine as I opened my

eyes. The whole room seemed to be at a tilt. I stood up

with a slight tremble and went over to Roope to see how he

was doing. He was lying unconscious in the middle of the

room.

“Roope wake up!” I yelled while shaking him,“come on

Roope wake up!”

He grunted and twitched as he opened his eyes.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I’m not quite sure, I think we crashed into shore” I

replied.

“Well lets get up there and check it out” he said

with a nod, simply shaking off the crash. We dashed to the

ladder out of the storage room. As Roope opened the hatch

to the deck a blinding light beamed through into my eyes.

After a few seconds I regained my vision and stood up on

deck. My suspicion was correct, we had shipwrecked on a

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25

rocky shore. As I was inspecting the damage, I noticed

distinct gashes and cuts in the wood. As I looked closer I

saw blood splattered on the wood of the deck. My heart

seemed to jump out of my chest as my mind ran the worst

possible scenarios through my head. I pushed Roope out of

the way and ran into the cabin on deck. I opened the door

to find the bed turned over and the room completely

ravaged.

“What happened? Where did they go?” Roope said as he

ran into the room.

“I don’t know!” I exclaimed. My heart began to race. I

couldn’t afford to lose my parents. Roope and I both began

to realize that we were blown far off course due to the

storm.

“Someone has been here. Somebody took them!” I said.

My blood boiled at the thought of what Kippo said back at

the village.

“Oreyn, lets just calm down and get some supplies

ready. Then we can set out to find your parents” Roope

replied with a calming voice. Roope has always helped me

keep my head on straight.

“Well hurry up then, we’ll go searching today and

return here for the night”

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26

I said with a sigh. He nodded and ran down to the storage

room to prepare.

I knew that whatever took my parents is out there,

wherever we are. I couldn’t help but think that they were

murdered. I tried to convince myself that it would be ok,

but I knew that ultimately things were only going to get

worse. Roope came back up from the storage room and handed

me my claymore. We looked at each other, and without words

we set off to find my parents. All we had to follow was the

occasional fading footprint in the snow.

It was deadly quiet as we walked inland on this

seemingly barren island. The wind howling as we walked

through snowy evergreen forests.

“Did you hear that?” Roope whispered.

“Hear what?” I replied.

“Never mind” he said with a sigh. It was easy to see

that Roope was becoming nervous about this. As we continued

to search, the footprints became fainter and fainter,

eventually vanishing. A loud crack emanated from the woods,

breaking the silence.

“You heard that . . . right?” Roope said nervously.

“Yeah, it’s probably nothing. Come on, let’s keep

going.” I replied. Roope’s uneasiness began to rub off on

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27

me. It could have been anything from a rabbit to a bear

that made that sound. We stopped and listened for a moment

and just as we began to walk again a loud roar pierced my

ears. Roope hastily turned around with wide eyes.

“Oreyn turn around!” he exclaimed. I looked behind me

to see a monstrous bear hurling towards me. My hands were

shaking as I attempted to pull my claymore out of the

sheath. The hilt was caught on a loose leather strap. The

beast was just upon me as my sword came unsheathed. The

bear let out another ferocious growl and slammed me into

the ground. A sharp pain ran down my left arm where the

bear had hit.

“Oreyn!” Roope yelled. He pulled out his broad sword

and charged the bear. He jumped and plunged the blade of

his sword into the bear’s neck. It mauled Roope to the

ground and began to toss around trying to get the sword

out. Roope and I crawled back while the beast began to

roar. After a moment the bear fell to the ground with a

whimper. I stood up and walked over to it, blade in hand. I

took my sword and pierced its heart to put it out of its

misery. With one last thrust of my blade the beast was

dead. The pain in my arm was growing worse by the second.

“Are you ok?” Roope asked.

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28

“Yeah I should be fine” I replied.

“Let’s go back to the boat. We can make you a cast for

your arm there” he said.

I nodded and we turned around, heading back to the boat for

the night.

While on the way back I kept thinking of possible

explanations for my parents vanishing. A tear fell from my

eye while thinking they could be dead. Finally we arrived

back to the ship, just as the sun began to set on the

horizon. We climbed aboard and went into the cabin. Roope

tore a strip of the sheets off the bed and made a cast.

“Stay here, I’m going to go out and get some wood for

a fire” Roope said.

I nodded and put the cast on my arm. Sitting alone with my

thoughts was an agonizing experience. I couldn’t let my

mind be at ease. After around half an hour Roope returned

with a bundle of sticks and logs. I jumped off the deck and

we set up the fire. After a few attempts, the fire was lit

and we went down into the storage room to get some food. We

sat down by the fire just as the sun had set.

“Oreyn, don’t worry about your parents, we’ll find

them” Roope said gently.

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29

“I’m not worried about whether we’ll find them or not”

I replied, “I’m worried that they’ve been murdered!”

“Calm down, we’ll go looking for them tomorrow. Just

don’t think about it and get some sleep. We’ll get up early

and find them” he replied. We set out the fire and went

into the storage room of the ship. I laid out one of the

bed rolls we brought and laid down. The scenario of my

parents’ murder kept running through my head. I thought I

would never get to sleep.

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30

CHAPTER 5

The sun rose quicker than I had thought as I was

laying freezing in the storage room. The sun’s radiant

beams pierced through a missing board in the ship’s hull.

Seconds later, Roope ran down from the deck.

“Let’s get a move on Oreyn. We’re not coming back here

again” Roope said softly. I nodded and rose out of my

hammock. After packing up I emerged from the storage room

to something I hadn’t seen in quite a while. The sun was

glistening outside bringing warmth I hadn’t felt in far too

long.

“Looks like this will be a great day to go looking for

your parents Oreyn, I’m sure we’ll find them” he said. We

began our journey and for once I felt good about the day. I

knew we could find my parents with the weather on our side.

The thick of the woods grew more and more as we walked

further into its seemingly ethereal grasp.

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“Look there! There are markings in the snow!” Roope

exclaimed. I looked down at the snow and saw a slight

indentation in a path running farther into the woods. It

looked as if somebody had been dragging something across

the snow.

“Come on, let’s follow it” I said. As we began to

follow this trail farther, the indentation grew deeper and

deeper.

“Should we continue to follow this Oreyn? It may be a

waste of time” Roope said.

“It’s the only sign we have to find my parents, we

have to follow it” I replied. We continued until far in the

distance I spotted a bulging in the snow.

“Roope, do you see that ahead?” I asked.

“No” he replied, “what is it?” My heart began to sink

in my chest.

“Come on, let’s go” I said.

I began to run towards this bulge, with Roope confused

behind me. As I drew closer it started to look more like

what I had feared, people.

I finally reached it and began to brush the snow off.

“No, no, no” I muttered under my breath as I swept the

snow off.

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32

I reached in and felt a hand, just as I had feared. My

heart began to race as I uncovered the last layer of snow.

I unveiled the snow to see the lifeless countenance of my

father, and next to him, my mother. It was as if someone

had cut open my chest and ripped my heart out.

“No!” I started to yell as tears poured out of my

eyes, “no!” Roope caught up and saw my parents. He fell to

his knees next to me and put his hand on my back. My

parents were all I had left besides Roope.

Anger and sorrow pulsed through my veins. I was angry

at how selfish and bitter I had become towards my parents.

The last memories they had of me were of me being a

disappointment. It was too much to handle, I couldn’t take

it anymore.

“We have to find whoever did this to my parents!” I

exclaimed.

I examined the bodies closer to see a small dagger in my

father’s back with what appeared to be a banner attached to

it. The banner was tattered and red with the word

“Skaal’drak” written on it.

“Skaal’drak?” I said.

“Wait, that word sounds familiar” Roope replied with a

puzzled look on his face.

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33

“There was a myth floating around our tribe, Drosiini,

that past exiles had formed a tribe in rebellion to ours

called ‘Skaal’. Perhaps this Skaal’drak has some sort of

tie with the Skaal.”

“That doesn’t matter to me right now Roope, all I know

is that I must avenge my parents’ deaths” I said.

“That’s a deathwish Oreyn!” Roope exclaimed.

“What else am I supposed to do? I’m doing this with or

without your help” I replied. He sighed and nodded his

head.

“Hey!” a mysterious voice emanated from the woods.

Roope and I shot up to our feet. I could feel the hairs on

my arms sticking straight up.

“Back away from them!” this man yelled as he emerged

from the veil of the trees.

He looked to be six feet tall with long, frayed brown hair

and a beard to match. In his hands was an enormous war

hammer, bigger than any I had ever seen. He pushed Roope

and I out of the way and examined my parents’ bodies.

“Just as I had thought” he muttered.

“You know who the Skaal’drak are?” I asked. He stood

to his feet and looked me straight in the eye with a

terrifying countenance.

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34

“Yes, I know them. A bunch of filthy murderers if you

ask me” he said.

“Who are they?” Roope asked.

“It all started with the Drosiini tribe. The Drosiini

exiled large numbers of people for not meeting up to their

‘holy’ standard. Us exiles decided to band together to take

revenge. We made this island our home and called ourselves

the Skaal. Our plan was to annihilate the Drosiini and take

control. However, there was a violent power struggle

between our two tribe’s two strongest warriors, Burim and

Urok. After what seemed to be a bloodbath over the issue,

our tribe split in half, the Skaal’drak occupy the northern

part of this island while the Skaal’tharom occupy the

south. As I am sure you have guessed, the Skaal’tharom is

my home tribe.”

“So you know where the Skaal’drak are located?” I

asked.

“Yes, what business do you have to be meddling in

Skaal’drak affairs?” he replied.

“These are my parents. They murdered my parents” I

said.

“Terribly sorry to hear that kid,” he said with a

chuckle, “but we have more serious issues to deal with.”

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35

“All I ask is that you tell me where they are” I

replied.

“Fine, I’ll take you to our camp so you can meet with

Burim. He will tell you where to find them” he said. Roope

and I nodded and followed him farther into the woods until

we reached a clearing.

“Here we are” he declared. The camp was nothing

special, several tents placed on an outer circle with a

wooden lodge in the center, probably used for war plans.

The man escorting us knocked on the door to the lodge.

“Come in!” He opened the door and gently shoved Roope

and I inside. The room smelled of smoke and roasted boar

meat. There was a large table in the center of the room

with eight chairs surrounding it, Burim sitting at the

head.

“And who are you?” he asked.

“My name is Oreyn,” I said, “and this is Roope.”

“Well Oreyn and Roope, what business do you have with

me?”

“My family and I crashed here yesterday, Roope and I

just found my parents dead by the hand of the Skaal’drak” I

said.

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36

He rose up from his chair and drew closer to us with a

rather condescending look in his eye.

“So let me guess, you want to take revenge?” he asked.

“Yes, it’s my only option” I said.

“Well, I suppose we can show you where their camp is

located. You will have to stay here for the night. Tomorrow

we will take you as far as we can. It’s not safe for us to

wander in their territory at night” he said. Roope and I

glanced at each other and then looked at Burim and nodded.

“Who was it that brought you here?” he asked.

“I’m afraid we never got his name” I said.

“He’s waiting just outside the door” Roope replied.

“Come in!” Burim yelled. The door opened with a creak

and the man who found us in the woods stepped in with an

uneasy look.

“Yes Burim?” the man said.

“These boys have plans to confront the Skaal’drak

tomorrow. They will stay with us tonight. Direct them to

your tent. That is where they shall sleep” Burim said.

“Come this way” the man said to us with a heavy sigh.

He stumbled out of the lodge and began to lead us to his

tent.

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37

“My name is Lumdrig by the way,” he said, “I still

think you’re crazy to even dare encroach on the

Skaal’drak’s land. They are the most ruthless and violent

tribe around these parts.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s just something that

I have to do” I replied.

We arrived at his tent, directly behind the lodge. He

lifted the bear pelt door and pushed us inside.

“Get to sleep boys; you have a long day ahead of you

tomorrow. Perhaps even your last” he said with a rather

evil snicker. Roope and I unrolled our bedrolls and settled

in for the night with my heart in complete anxiety.

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38

CHAPTER 6

“Get up!” I opened my eyes and shot up to see one of

the Skaal’tharom warriors standing in the entry of the

tent.

“Get ready, we must leave before dawn breaks” he said.

I elbowed Roope and stood up. I went outside of the tent

and threw some snow on my face to wake myself up, Roope

just behind me.

“We must leave quickly, I will take you as far as I

can, and you will be on your own from then on” he said in a

hushed tone. Roope and I nodded and followed him out of the

camp. There was nothing but the faint blue light of the

night sky and the silhouette of the trees in our sight.

“My name is Silvas by the way, I’m the Skaal’tharom

scout. I’ve been through these woods hundreds of times, so

don’t worry I’m not getting us lost.”

“Oh, thanks for showing us to their camp,” I replied

timidly, “I’m Oreyn, and this is Roope.”

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39

“I know who you are. You shouldn’t be meddling in

Skaal’drak affairs, you know” he said.

“Yes I know, but it’s all I have left to do. I don’t

care if I die anymore” I said.

“Whatever you say” he muttered, “we’re almost there,

just a few more miles.” Silvas kept on scratching his arm

and grunting.

“You ok?” I asked.

“I’m fine, thanks” he said with a smile. By this time

I had noticed Roope beginning to grow more and more quiet.

I could tell he did not want to be doing this.

“Are you ok Roope?” I asked. He glanced over at me and

gave me a nod. A very unusual reply from Roope, he is

usually rather outspoken.

“Roope, thank you for helping me, I know it must be

hard on you” I said.

“No, I know how you’re feeling. After my father died I

would have done the same thing if I had the opportunity” he

replied. I knew not to linger on the subject too much

longer. The once faint blue light was beginning to grow

stronger as we walked.

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40

“Here we are, this is as far as I can take you,”

Silvas said, “follow the path of broken tree limbs to find

the enclave just above the Skaal’drak camp.”

“Thank you Silvas” I replied. He nodded at me and then

began to run back to his camp. I looked around searching

for a broken branch.

“Here it is” I said. Roope and I began to follow the

path of broken limbs. At times it felt as if we were

wandering in circles, all of the trees looked identical

with no end in sight. The idea of my parents being gone

forever finally began to come to surface. I had been too

busy to think about it until now. This realization was once

more tearing away at me. However, it reaffirmed my intents

in finding the Skaal’drak.

Finally we reached the enclave Silvas had spoken of.

We looked over to see the Skaal’drak camp, with banners

high in the air. The camp was nearly twice as large as the

Skaal’tharom camp. It consisted of several outer circles of

smaller tents with a wooden wall running around the entire

thing about six feet tall. In the center was a rather

extravagant tent in which I assumed Urok lived. As I looked

closer a man emerged from the center tent. He was dressed

in bear pelt armor with long black hair and was holding a

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41

giant war-axe that looked like it could snap me in half

without skipping a beat.

“Um . . . Oreyn are you sure about this?” Roope asked.

At this point I was beginning to have second thoughts on

how great of a plan this was, but it is too late to turn

back now.

“Let’s just wait here for a while until there is an

opening. Then we can sneak into the camp and find out more

about these people” I whispered. Roope and I sat behind a

fallen pine tree for hours waiting for the opportune

moment. The man we saw must have been their war-chief Urok.

I knew Roope and I could not defeat him by brute strength.

Stealth was our only chance.

“What is it looking like?” Roope asked. I looked over

the tree and saw the men congregating at the entrance to

the camp.

“It looks like they might be leaving. It looks like

some sort of hunting group. Urok is with them. I think this

is our chance” I said. Roope looked at me with a nervous

countenance and nodded.

We waited for another few minutes until they were long

gone from the camp.

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42

“Ok, we don’t know when they’ll be back so we have to

be quick,” I whispered, “look for any papers or anything

that would give us more information on these people.”

“Alright, let’s just get this over with” Roope

replied. We jumped over the tree and ran down into the camp

through the entrance of the wall. The women and children

were still in the camp so we could not be heard or seen. We

snuck behind the tents until we were in the center circle,

with the war-chief’s tent in the middle. We stood behind a

tent waiting for an opening to run inside. We could hear

the muttering of the people as we stood silently without

motion. We waited for another five minutes until we were

sure nobody was around. I nudged Roope and ran to the tent,

Roope just behind me.

“We made it” I said with a sigh.

“Let’s be quick, they could be back soon” Roope

whispered. The tent was nearly as large as my house back

home and made of some sort of thick material. There were

animal heads hanging from the walls and a circular table in

the center. There was what looked to be some sort of plan

or map on the table. I hurried over to look closer.

“Roope, look at this” I said. He came over and took

the paper from me.

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43

“This looks to be a map of the entire region” he

replied. The map was centered on the island we were on as

well as the bordering coasts.

“Look!” Roope shouted.

“Quiet,” I whispered, “what is it?”

“They’ve marked the Drosiini tribe locations. This is

our home!” he said while pointing in the upper right hand

corner of the map. I looked closer and sure enough it was

our old home. I looked closer and saw some sort of path

drawn from the Skaal’drak camp to Roope and I’s home.

“What is this?” I asked. He took it from me and put it

closer to his eyes.

“This is a boat path,” he whispered, “these people

were the ones attacking us! And from the looks of this they

plan on doing it again.”

“Well whatever it means we need to get out of here

soon” I said. Just then a large group of voices sounded

from outside. We waited another minute and the voices only

grew louder. Roope peaked out of the tent and shot back

inside.

“They’re back!” he yelled, “they’re heading this way.”

“Ok we have to make a run for it. On my signal, run” I

said. Sweat poured from my brow and my hands began to shake

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44

uncontrollably. I folded up the map and put it in my

pocket.

We readied ourselves at the door to the tent.

“Go!” I yelled. Roope and I shot out of the tent and

ran with a dash.

“Intruders!” a bloodthirsty voice screamed. I glanced

behind me to see several of these warriors charging us.

“Don’t let them escape!” they yelled. My heart was

pounding as if it were ready to explode. The exit was just

ahead, but there was a man standing in front of it.

“Roope!” I screamed. I looked over and saw Roope pull

his claymore off of his back. He let out an ear-piercing

yell and drove the sword through the Skaal’drak guard’s

chest. He immediately let go and jumped over the man’s

body, I followed just behind him. We continued to run for

what seemed to be miles until we had finally lost them in

the woods. Roope was shivering like never before.

“That was too close, we’re not doing that again” he

said while gasping for air.

I swallowed and nodded my head. We spent forever searching

the woods for the broken branch path. Finally we found it

and started to walk back to the Skaal’tharom camp.

“At least we got that map” I said.

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45

“Yeah” Roope replied.

I saw the banners of the Skaal’tharom ahead and felt safe

again for once.

CHAPTER 7

We arrived in the camp and immediately went to warn

Burim.

“They caught us,” I said gasping for breath, “they’re

chasing after us!”

“You fools! You’ve led them straight to us!” Burim

yelled. He then whistled and two of the Skaal’tharom

warriors entered.

“These two have led the Skaal’drak right to us. Throw

them into the prison and prepare the rest of the warriors

for battle!”

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46

“Wait!” I yelled. Burim simply turned away and the

guards pulled us out of the tent. They took us to a cave

about half a mile away from the camp.

“Let us go!” Roope yelled to one of the guards. The

guard pulled a small club off of his belt and hit Roope

over the head. His head dropped and his body went limp.

“No!” I screamed while struggling to escape from their

grasp. I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head and

everything went black.

I awoke to see nothing but the faint light of a torch.

I slowly regained my vision and my surroundings came to

clarity. I could hear the faint sound of screaming echoing

throughout the cave. They had put me in a metal cage,

completely isolated. Rock cave walls surrounded me with one

opening that looked like it was connected to the rest of

the system. As I stood up, the rattle of my cage sent rats

scurrying on the floor. Footsteps echoed closer and a man

entered the room.

“I see you’re finally up, scoundrel” the prison guard

said. The guard was not heavily armed, only a sword and

linen clothing. I could see keys hanging from his belt. If

I could get a hold of those I could escape and find Roope.

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47

They stripped me of all my weapons. I was left with nothing

but my clothing.

“You and your friend are to be executed for

jeopardizing everything we’ve worked for on this island,”

the guard said, “Roope will go first, then you. The

executioner should be here anytime.” Panic began to take

effect on me. Just then I remembered that I kept my

father’s dagger on the inside of my boot. Even with a

weapon, the chances of escape seemed impossible.

“Filthy pests” the guard muttered as he tried to step

on the rats. I reached down into my boot, unlatched the

dagger and slipped it up my sleeve. He was standing just

outside my cage to the right. He started to walk away. I

threw my arm out of a gap in the cage and grabbed his neck,

pulling him back to my cage. I pulled the dagger out of my

sleeve and drove it into his back with all my power. He let

out a scream of agony and fell to the ground. I doubt any

of the other guards noticed given the constant grueling

screaming. I crouched down and took the keys off the

guard’s belt. I tried several different keys until I found

the one to unlock my cage. The cage door opened with a

creek as I slipped out.

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48

I walked out of the opening to see what looked to be

the main chamber of the prison. The whole cave system was

lit by torches scattered across the wall. There were piles

of bodies littering the cave floor and people screaming in

their cages. It appeared these people aren’t as civilized

as I had thought.

“This way” I heard coming from one of the corridors.

Walking into the main chamber came three men, one of which

was carrying a massive axe. I recognized this was probably

the executioner. I waited briefly to see which direction

they went, as to find Roope. The men took the southernmost

corridor. I snuck out of the cell room and followed them at

a distance, dagger in hand. It was near impossible to see

where they were going, the cave was only lit by a few

torches. I snuck a little closer and saw them turning into

a cell room.

“Wake up!” the executioner yelled. I heard the rattle

of the cage. I ran to the entrance of the room and took a

brief look. There, Roope stood blindfolded in the middle of

the room, with the executioner readying his weapon. There

was not a hint of fear in Roope’s face. I knew he feared no

death.

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49

“Ready, boy?” the executioner said with a smirk. Roope

remained silent, without a quiver on his lips. He then

dropped to his knees and tilted his head down. I took three

deep breaths and ran in.

“Intruder!” one of the men yelled. The executioner

turned from Roope and looked at me. Without a second

thought I dashed towards him and drove my dagger into his

neck, ripping it open. I quickly cut the ropes off of

Roope’s wrists. He ripped off his blindfold and picked up

the executioner’s axe while I held off the other two men.

They were armed with massive clubs and leather armor. I

took a swing with my dagger at one of the men. He evaded

it, grabbed my hand and with a sharp twist of his arm,

broke my wrist. I dropped my dagger and fell backwards as

he smashed his club into my ribcage. Roope jumped back from

the other man and took a massive cleave with the axe,

beheading the man who disarmed me.

“Get up Oreyn!” he yelled. He turned to help me up

while the other man was disorientated.

“No!” I screamed. Roope fell to the ground; face

first. In his back was my father’s dagger. There, behind

him, stood the guard. I shot up and tackled him into the

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50

cave wall. I grabbed his head and slammed it into the

jagged rock wall with all of my might.

He struggled only for a moment, and then dropped to the

ground, lifeless. I ran over to Roope, lying in the middle

of the chamber.

“Get up!” I screamed. I pulled the dagger out of his

back and wiped it off with my shirt. I hated myself for

letting Roope get wrapped up in all of this. I had lost

everybody important to me, and hope of making off of this

island was gone. I pounded my fist into Roope’s chest,

tears blurring my vision.

“What’s going on down here?” a guard yelled. I stood

up and ran out of the chamber. My heart began to pound as I

tried to navigate what seemed to be a labyrinth,

turn after turn met with a dead end. I stopped for a moment

to feel the direction of the airflow. The cold air rushed

down my back. I turned around and saw the passage in which

the guards had come down. Being my only way out, I waited

until the guards had gone to check my cell. As soon as they

were out of sight, I made a dash for the exit.

“He’s escaping!” yelled one of the guards. I was

running as fast as I could, sweat pouring down me. Ahead I

could see the white light of the entrance to the cave. I

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51

finally reached the exit, the cold air I had grown to hate

never felt better. Taking only a moment to catch my breath,

I continued to sprint away from the cave. I arrived at a

place which seemed to be safe, a clearing in the woods

where the snow seemed not to fall, a place unusually

tranquil in such an entropic island.

My thoughts began to hover around Roope’s death. I

might as well have killed Roope myself, something I could

never live with. Even if I were to escape this island, what

am I supposed to tell his family? What am I supposed to

tell Sulkasiipi? Everything around me seemed to go in slow

motion as I became lost in my own mind. I hadn’t even

thought of Sulkasiipi since I arrived at this island, she

is all that I have left, but she will hate me. She loved

her brother, and I killed him. Perhaps my life has caused

more pain than anything else. Carrying on and trying to

escape this place seemed almost pointless now.

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52

CHAPTER 8

This grove I had found in the forest gave me time to

think things over. I hadn’t taken the time to process what

was going on since I arrived on this island. Back and forth

I went contemplating giving up or carrying on, though I did

not have much to live for anymore. Sulkasiipi was the only

reason I could think of to keep going, but it was good

enough. The sun began to set with a peculiar purple glow

painting the trees surrounding me. For a moment, if only

one, I felt peace. The trees stood tall and wide, nearly

blocking out the sky above me. The wind did not seem to

pierce this thick grove, giving me relief from the

elements. While caught in a surreal world, I was quickly

shocked back into reality as I realized I had no shelter to

sleep in for the night. I hurried over to an evergreen tree

and tore some of its branches off to use as a sort of

insulation.

“This will have to do” I muttered.

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53

It was not safe to light a fire, as it could be seen

by any patrolling warriors, so I dropped down on the pile

of evergreen branches and closed my eyes. The image of

Roope’s dying face flashed into my mind. My heart started

pounding and I opened up my eyes, the sight was more than I

could take right now. Roope was the most loyal, strong, and

courageous person I knew. His blood is on my hands, I will

never forget that. At last I fell asleep, waking up every

so often as the biting cold ran down my back.

I awoke to see the sun glimmering through the trees. I

stood up and cleared my throat. Things seemed bleak; I did

not know where to go, what to do, or how to get off of this

place. Then I remembered the Skaal’drak boat docks. If I

could somehow find my way back to their camp, perhaps I

could sneak onto a boat leaving here. The map we had found

showed that the boats took a direct route to a promontory

piece of land directly south of my village. Unfortunately

the guards had taken our map when they disarmed us. I

gathered my things and left the grove, feeling exposed once

more. At least the weather was giving me opportunity to

travel. The skies were clear and blue with the sun beating

down, melting the snow away. I had been walking for quite

some time with no changes in my surroundings until ahead I

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54

saw what appeared to be another cave entrance. As I came

closer to it, I noticed a putrid smell emanating out of

this opening. My curiosity had the best of me so I went in

to investigate. I went in farther and farther, until I

could not see ahead of me. I took one more step, except my

foot did not touch the ground. My foot seemed to fall

through the ground, the rest of my body following behind

it. I fell what felt like ten feet and hit the ground with

a crunch.

My vision blurred for a moment when I hit the ground.

There was a faint orange light glowing a little ways away.

It was a torch lit and hanging on the wall. I stood up and

brushed off. Shivers ran up my spine when I looked down to

see a pile of human bones. The hairs on my arm stood

straight up as I jumped off of them. Thoughts of who could

have done this plagued my mind. I heard a low muttering

echo throughout the cave. A light seemed to appear out of

nowhere, the sound of footsteps with it. I crouched down

behind the pile of bones and waited for it to pass. I

looked closer to see a man draped in tattered black robes,

with a book in his right hand. He turned away and walked

down some sort of hallway. I waited a few minutes and then

ran over to where he had emerged. I felt around the cave

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wall until I felt something unusual. It was a long piece of

black cloth draped over the wall. I pushed on it and found

there was nothing behind it. I walked through into a pitch

black passage way, my hands now becoming my sight.

Up ahead I could see light on the cave wall. I began

to move a little faster and as I grew closer the smell

became far worse than it had been at the entrance. I turned

the corner and arrived at a room lit by two torches. There

were Skaal’drak tapestries hanging on the walls and an

altar in the center of the room. On the altar there laid a

rotting corpse with some of its limbs removed. I nearly

threw up at the sight. I pulled my shirt over my nose and

walked closer to examine the corpse.

“I see we have a visitor” a low, scratchy voice said.

A cold chill came over me as I turned around. There stood a

man, completely emaciated, with a long black beard spotted

with grey and his hood draping over his eyes.

“It has been quite some time since the living tread

down here” he said.

“I’m sorry, I-I’ll just leave now” I replied.

“Do you know where you are son?” he asked with a grin.

I shook my head.

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“This is where the Skaal’drak takes their dead” he said

with a laugh. I began to shake as he drew closer to me.

“I’ll get out of your way then” I replied nervously.

“What’s your name, boy?”

“O-Oreyn” I said. He walked over to a table and placed

his book on it. I tried to see what the book was but I was

too far away.

“Oreyn you say? I knew an Oreyn back at my old

village. Those Drosiini scum cast me out without warning!”

he yelled. He walked over to me and took his hood off, his

eyes almost completely black. His gaze widened when he

looked at me.

“You!” he yelled. He then took a jagged knife off of

the table in the room and ran at me. I grabbed his arm

holding the dagger and shoved him into the wall behind him.

He grunted as I tried to run away. A sharp pain ran up my

right leg as I collapsed to the floor. I looked down and

saw the old knife in my calf with blood pouring out. I

pulled the dagger out of my leg with excruciating pain and

threw it at the man. He stopped where he was and fell to

the ground, gasping for air. The dagger had pierced his

throat, giving him a slow death. He began to mutter things

in a low droning voice until finally, he stopped moving. I

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stood up, walked over to his body and cut off a piece of

his robe to wrap my leg. I turned and took the book off of

the table. The book title read “Divination of the Dead.”

“Necromancy” I whispered. He must have been a

necromancer. I recalled several years ago an exile of our

village was thrown out for the practice of necromancy, this

must have been him. I doubted the Skaal’drak acknowledged

these doings, though I doubt they would care.

I must have been getting closer to the Skaal’drak. If

there was a way I could get the Skaal’tharom to aid me,

escape might be possible. I couldn’t let my friends and

family die in vein. I couldn’t think of how to acquire

their help, or how to find them. After being in that grove,

I completely lost my direction. First things first, I had

to get out of this horrid place. That necromancer had to

have been able to get in and out somehow. I started to

search the cave, looking in every corridor. I found nothing

but dead bodies, littering the cave floor. I quickly began

to realize this man might not have had a way out at all. I

went back into the room with the altar and took the table

and moved it out into the main chamber. I placed it just

beneath the hole I had fallen through and stood on it.

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After several failed attempts, I managed to grasp the ledge

of the hole. I pulled myself up and brushed off.

Fresh air had never smelled so good. I had made it out

of that wretched place, but now faced the task of finding

the Skaal’drak. I took a moment to sit outside of the cave

to collect my thoughts. As I began to day dream I could see

the glimmer in Sulkasiipi’s eyes when she looked at me, the

smile that could make me invincible. Roope would most

likely laugh at me for thinking that. I felt happy for a

little while as I thought of my life before the crash. My

smile quickly dispersed as I remembered what Kippo had

warned me of. If my parents had heeded his words, none of

this would have happened. Perhaps the Skaal’drak would have

slaughtered our village, but at least we wouldn’t die

alone. After a few more moments, I stood up, ready to find

the Skaal’drak and my only way off this place.

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CHAPTER 9

There was still plenty of daylight left as I continued

my attempts to find the Skaal’drak. While walking through

the forest, I noticed a series of broken branches that

looked very familiar. I had found the path we made running

from the Skaal’tharom camp to the Skaal’drak camp. Perhaps

I could try and make amends with the Skaal’tharom. Their

assistance might be the only way I can do this. However;

showing my face there runs the risk of being killed on

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sight. I decided to visit the Skaal’tharom, it seems to be

my only chance. I might be able to persuade Burim.

Ahead I could see their banners waving in the air.

There were bloodstains in the snow around the camp and a

few corpses. As I drew closer I could see these bodies were

that of the Skaal’drak. I ran to the cabin in the center of

the camp and opened the door. Burim sat at his table with

his head resting on his hand. He looked up at me as I shut

the door behind me and shot up out of his chair.

“You!” he yelled.

“Wait” I replied.

“How dare you show your face here! Thanks to you the

Skaal’drak found us. We managed to fend them off, but at

the expense of my warriors’ lives!”

“Just listen for a minute” I said, “it was never my

intention to lead them to your camp, Burim. But I know that

the Skaal’drak are planning an attack on a village on the

coast west of the mainland. I can show you the way to their

camp, this may be the best time to strike.”

“And why should I help you? You killed two of my

guards yourself!” he exclaimed.

“I know, and if we fail, you can have my head” I

replied. Burim sat down with a puzzled look on his face. “I

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lost my parents and my best friend to these savages, and

they will suffer for that.”

“If I do this, it is not for you. It is for the

Skaal’tharom. We have tried to maintain peace on this

island, forsaking our old bloodthirsty lifestyle” he said.

“I will be happy to help destroy the Skaal’drak,

Burim” I replied.

“Fine, it is done then. I will ready my men, we leave

in one hour!” he yelled. Burim went outside of the tent and

called for all of the men in the camp. Around forty men

congregated around him.

“Today, warriors, we strike back at the Skaal’drak!

For too long we have let their aggressions go unhindered.

Oreyn claims to know where the Skaal’drak are located, and

if his claims are false we will spill his blood. Now ready

yourselves, we leave in one hour!” Burim announced. After

everyone had left to arm up, he pulled me aside.

“Here, take these,” he said as he placed a claymore

and chainmail in my hands, “better not be any tricks, boy.”

I shook my head and put on my armor.

“Now go wait in the scout’s tent” he said. People spit

on me as I walked to the tent.

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“Filthy scoundrel!” one of the women yelled. I entered

the tent and sat down, mentally preparing for battle. This

was it, if we defeat them, I can get off of this island and

end my village’s suffering. I put my hand on my neck,

holding the necklace Sulkasiipi had given me. It reminded

me of all I had to lose, all I had to live for. One of the

Skaal’tharom men entered the tent.

“The warriors are meeting for a war strategy. For now,

you are one of us,” he said as he threw me a Skaal’tharom

tabard, “put that on and let’s go.”

I got up and left the tent, following the warrior to a

place just outside of the camp. There was a giant circle of

men surrounding one of the war-chiefs.

“These men are strong and ruthless. Get in the way of

their steel and consider yourself dead. However, one thing

these men lack; mobility. There thick leather armor

disables their quickness, but is much more effective than

our chainmail. Speed is key; there are gaps in their armor

near the shoulder and the neck. Wait for the opportune

moment, and then strike. Oreyn will lead the way to their

camp, we will wait in the woods a mile away from the camp

while Silvas runs ahead to scope things out. Everyone

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understand?” the war-chief said. The men let out a roaring

battle cry.

“Alright Oreyn, lead the way” he said.

“Let’s go!” I yelled. I showed them to the path Silvas

and I had made. Just then I remembered Silvas knew of this

path, he was the one who led Roope and I. Why hadn’t he

told the Skaal’tharom? He had remained almost speechless

since I came back to their camp. I nudged Burim, who was

walking next to me.

“Silvas knew of this path, Burim, had he not told

you?” I whispered.

“I haven’t heard anything about this path. Silvas has

been acting odd as of recent months” he replied. There was

a very concerned look on his face. We must be thinking the

same thing.

“You don’t think he has ties with the Skaal’drak, do

you?” I asked.

“I would like to believe he has remained loyal to the

Skaal’tharom, but that might not be the case. A traitor

would better explain how the Skaal’drak found us,” he said,

“the Skaal’drak brands their advocates with their battle

insignia. Perhaps we should check Silvas for this anamoly.”

It had been nearly an hour already into our journey.

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“Alright then, lets make this quick” I said.

“Everybody stop, take a few minutes to relax!” he

yelled. Silvas sat alone on a fallen tree, secluded from

the rest of the group. Burim nudged me and we walked over

to him. He looked up at us with an uneasy look on his face.

“What do you want?” he asked. Burim grabbed him and

pulled up his sleeve. There, on his arm, was the Skaal’drak

insignia burned into his skin. He pushed Burim off of him

and began running into the woods. Burim quickly pulled out

his bow, and with unbelievable precision, shot Silvas in

the back. He fell to the ground and tried to crawl away,

but couldn’t make it. Burim and I waked over to his body.

“I hate to do this, Silvas was at one time a very

loyal and beneficial scout. But traitors cannot be

tolerated,” he said, “I’m sorry we so quickly blamed you,

Oreyn.”

“I would have done the same thing” I replied. We then

walked back to where the men were waiting.

“Alright you lazy scoundrels, that’s enough! We’re

only another hour’s journey to the Skaal’drak!” he yelled.

“Where is Silvas?” a few of the warriors asked.

“It doesn’t matter, we’re following Oreyn” Burim

replied.

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We continued to walk, nothing but the sound of iron

clapping iron. Meeting the Skaal’tharom and watching their

lives, I had a different understanding of how the Drosiini

worked. Perhaps I was wrong in thinking my tribe was all

good. These people seemed honorable; they weren’t the

savages like my people had thought.

“We’re almost there” I told them. There was smoke

ahead streaming into the sky. We had finally arrived.

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CHAPTER 10

The Skaal’drak had gathered around a giant fire in the

middle of their camp. They seemed to be performing pre-

battle rituals.

“We’ll attack on your signal” I told Burim. He nodded

and turned back to look at the men. There was not a hint of

fear in their eyes, a rather encouraging sight.

“I don’t see Urok anywhere” Burim said with a puzzled

look. I scanned over the group of people and didn’t see him

either.

“Well, we can’t wait around much longer. We have to

strike soon while they are vulnerable” I whispered. I

wasn’t sure if this plan would work or not, but I’ve come

this far and can’t turn back now. We waited a couple more

minutes with Urok still missing.

“Alright men, this is it. We will split up into two

groups, I will lead one and Oreyn will lead the other”

Burim said.

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“What? I am?” I asked. A couple of the men chuckled

“If Oreyn has made it through what he tells me he has,

he is stronger than most of you” Burim said. The warriors

quickly changed from smiles to rather serious, seemingly

angry looks.

“Alright well if you guys are done; let’s take this

island for ourselves.”

We then split up the men into two groups and quickly

talked about our strategy. Burim would lead the frontward

attack, and I would lead a smaller group around through the

woods to flank them. It all sounded good in theory. But I

knew of the brute force the Skaal’drak had. Looking at the

boat in the docks, I felt closer to home than. I then

assembled my group and directed them a little ways down the

tree line surrounding the camp. Burim would wave a

Skaal’tharom banner when it was time to attack.

Minutes passed by with dead silence and a thick

tension in the air. All I could hear were the faint

mutterings of the Skaal’drak. At last Burim raised the

banner and we began to charge. The Skaal’drak was caught

off guard and began to yell to warn others. All of their

attention had been directed to Burim’s group, they hadn’t

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even noticed me. My men and I snuck around the outside of

the camp and rushed them.

“Behind us!” one of them yelled. They had become

scattered as my group charged them. Though they were

disorganized, they had brute force which outmatched ours. I

could see limbs just lying on the ground in what seemed to

be sea of blood. However, their forces were weakening with

every swing. Blood was painting the white snow a bright

red, an all too familiar sight. I remembered what these

people had done to me, infusing my blood with hatred. I

swung blindly into the crowd of people, feeling no pain.

After a few minutes, we had killed the initial group of

Skaal’drak and began to search the camp. There were a few

stragglers here and there that tried to resist, but they

were quickly overcome by our numbers. The screams of women

and children echoed throughout the camp, a truly horrific

sound. I began to search the tents for more of the

warriors. I could hear voices coming from the tent just

next to me. I snuck over and went inside. There in the tent

was a man, a woman, and two children. The man shot up and

tried to stab me with a small knife he had. I easily

disarmed him and brought him to his knees.

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“Please, you can take me, just don’t hurt my family!”

he yelled. I looked over to see his wife and kids

terrorized with tears running down their faces.

“So be it” I muttered. I drove my sword through the

man’s heart. I could see the life drain out of him as his

wife jumped to his side.

I left the tent and dropped my weapon in the snow,

realizing the monster I had become. Hatred had frozen my

heart. I looked around and saw these people being mutilated

by the Skaal’tharom, and it’s my doing. Not even the women

or children were left to live.

“Oreyn, get up!” Burim yelled. I turned and saw him

running over to me.

“What’s wrong with you? Our men are being killed and

you’re just sitting here!” he exclaimed. All around me

people were dying, and this is how it has been my whole

life. This war-fueled society I had been surrounded with

has distorted my view of the world. Whenever there has been

a problem in my life, it has been solved through some sort

of violence. I won’t take this unjust murder any more.

I ran over to the docks where the boat was harbored.

Burim followed after me.

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“Where do you think you’re going?” he yelled.

“I’m leaving!” I replied.

“You can’t just leave us now, Oreyn! This was your

plan, this is your doing!”

“Look!” I said pointing to the tents, “the battle has

already been won, there is no way they can defeat us. I’ve

done my job now I’m getting out of here.”

“Coward” he said. I paused for a moment. That was one

of the last things I said to my parents before they died.

Seeing all that has happened on this island, I understood

why my parents wanted to send me to a safe place.

“You’ve had your victory, what else do you want from

me? Look at what you’re doing. You’re killing innocent

people for nothing but greed!” I said. He simply growled

and walked away.

At last I had done it; my escape from the island is

only feet away from me. This place had shown me the cold

reality of the world. I felt no remorse in leaving it.

I climbed aboard the boat and cut the ropes with my

father’s dagger, waiting for the tide to come in and wash

me away. At last, the island, my parents, and Roope were

all behind me.

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CHAPTER 11

I cut the ropes holding the boat to the dock and

jumped on board. It was almost a surreal feeling to be

leaving this island. These past few days have been the

hardest times in my life, and will likely remain the

hardest. I turned back to look at the island one last time.

Nothing could make me happier but to say goodbye to that

hell as it slowly floated away. I got caught up in the

moment and nearly forgot I have to get this boat to the

village. I remembered from the map Roope and I had found

the direction I needed to go. I turned away from the island

and began my journey home.

The boat was nearly the same size of the boat my

family and I took. There was some wood rot and a few

missing planks here and there, but it looked in good enough

shape to sail. I had hardly eaten anything since we crashed

here so I immediately went downstairs in the boat to look

for something. The lower floor had many hammocks tied to

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the supports and some spider’s webs running across the

ceiling. I pushed through the webs and walked to the end of

the room where a few barrels sat. Just then I heard several

knocks on the deck.

“It was just the wind knocking something over” I told

myself.

I cracked open the barrel to the disappointing sight of

emptiness. My home isn’t too far away so I will have to

wait until I get there.

The hairs on my arm stood straight up as I heard the

sound of breathing. I turned around to see a man standing

about five feet away from me. He stood six foot tall with a

war hammer on his back, leather armor, and a Skaal’tharom

tabard. I looked closer and to my surprise, it was Burim

standing there.

“I can’t let you leave, Oreyn” he said.

“What?” I asked.

“If you get home alive your tribe will know of our

location. I can’t let that happen” he said as he pulled the

hammer off of his back. Terrified I pulled the dagger out

of my boot and ran at him. He simply grabbed my arm and

threw me to the ground with a laugh. The dagger flew out of

my hand and landed on the stairs behind him.

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“Just face it Oreyn, this is the end. You’ve done your

job now there is no need for you” he said to me with a smug

look. I tried to get up but he kicked me back into the wall

leaving me disorientated.

“You have no idea do you?” he asked.

I simply stared at him and said nothing.

“I saw your boat crash here, I waited for it. We had

no idea where the Skaal’drak was located. After I went

aboard to see who you were I knew that given the right

motive, you would do anything to find them. So I framed the

Skaal’drak for your parents’ deaths. Sure enough, you did

everything I needed you to. And here you stand having

massacred all these people in vain” he said with a grin.

“Stop it!” I yelled.

“Oh I see I hit a soft spot. Lest I forget your friend

Roope, he knew what I was doing the whole time.”

“What?” I yelled. I stood up and ran for my dagger. He

grabbed me and threw me into one of the wooden beams in the

hull. The wind was knocked out of me and fell to the ground

gasping for air.

“I knew Roope and his family from before I was exiled;

I knew how close knit of a family they were. After seeing

him lying unconscious on the boat floor, I took him outside

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and woke him up. I told him that if he would help you find

the Skaal’drak, I would spare his family when I raided the

Drosiini” he said. I could not believe him at first, but

then I began to think. This would explain why Roope had

been acting strange and quiet on the island. Though I was

confused, some things started to make sense now. I felt

betrayed, even though I knew Roope had no other option. He

loved his family more than anything.

“Please, I did everything you wanted me to, just let

me go home” I said.

“You look just like your parents did, filthy cowards.

They begged for me to spare them, like animals!” he

exclaimed.

I felt anger I had never felt before. I’ll die trying if I

have to.

“You’ll pay for what you did!” I yelled. He laughed

and pulled the war hammer off of his back, raising it into

the air above me. My anger had given me the strength to

dart out of the way as his hammer smashed into the floor. I

ran behind him, picked up my dagger, and ripped open one of

his legs. He let out an ear piercing roar as I ran upstairs

onto the deck, blade in hand. He followed just behind me

with steps that shook the whole boat.

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“There’s nowhere you can hide!” he yelled. I ran into

the captain’s room on the top deck and began to barricade

the door with tables and chairs in the room. I could hear

him approach the door while breathing heavily. His hammer

smashed through the door, splintering wood in every

direction. After a few more swings the door was completely

destroyed and I had cornered myself in this room. He let

out a massive swing heading right for me. I dropped to the

ground and ran out of the room behind him.

I knew I couldn’t run for too much longer, eventually

he would corner me. I had to think of a way to take him

down. I ran back downstairs into the hull to wait for him.

I just need one good stab with my dagger to take him down.

He came down the stairs and saw me hiding behind the

barrels. He ran at me and cleaved his hammer into me. As I

tried to get out of the way, the hammer smashed into my

right arm, instantly snapping it. Excruciating pain ran

down my arm. I switched my dagger into my left hand and

slashed into his side hitting an unarmored spot just above

the hip. He quacked and continued to chase after me. The

adrenaline rush seemed to make him immortal. His whole

right leg was stained red from all of the blood.

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I tripped on one of the stairs and fell into the

floor, leaving myself completely vulnerable. I got up and

ran up to the deck just before his hammer blew threw the

ground. I recalled seeing loose rope on the deck and

immediately went searching for it. I found the pile of rope

just outside the decimated captain’s room. Burim ran onto

the deck with a furious look, yearning to kill me. I waited

inside the captain’s room once again. If I could get him to

swing his hammer into the wall I might have a chance. I

fell to the ground pretending to be completely fatigued.

“I knew I’d wear you out eventually” he said as he

walked into the room. He brought his hammer towards the sky

and swung it down. I rolled to the left, dodging it. It

smashed right through the wooden floor. I shot up and threw

the rope around his neck while he was trying to free the

hammer. I ran behind him, grabbed the other end of the rope

with my left hand, locked my right arm, kicked his legs

out, and began to pull as hard as I could. He tumbled

straight backwards right on top of me, nearly smashing me.

Though I felt like he was going to rip my arms off, I kept

pulling. The pain in my right arm was becoming unbearable,

but I had to push through. His struggling continued for

awhile, causing me to lose all feeling in my arms.

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Eventually he stopped. I pulled out the dagger once more

and drove it into his heart.

A great feeling of relief came over me. However, as my

adrenaline began to dwindle, the pain was intensified. I

ripped off some of Burims shirt to tie up my wounds, the

pain becoming too much to bear. But I could not give up

now, I had almost made it. With the Skaal’drak defeated and

the Skaal’tharom’s head cut off, I could warn the Drosiini

and our trials would be finished.

I never wanted to fight again, after all I had seen

out here, the very thought made me sick. Just ahead I could

see familiar shores, about a mile south of my village. I

couldn’t be happier to see them. I took Sulkasiipi’s

necklace off and looked it at, remembering what I was about

to return to. I directed the boat towards shore and jumped

off. Finally, my feet were on friendly land.

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CHAPTER 12

I began the trek home, unknowing of what I would find.

Memories penetrated my mind with every step as my thoughts

hovered over the island. I don’t know how I am going to

tell Sulkasiipi about Roope. Telling of what happened to my

village would be painful. But this was the end of our

suffering. Our oppressors had been silenced, and at last,

we could live peaceful lives.

I could see a break in the trees ahead. I had reached

the clearing only half a mile from the village. Smoke

billowed out of the smith’s shop as always. As I came

closer, a great relief came over me; the village looked

just as it did when I left. Except, there were no people

outside. The sun was high in the sky, an unusual time for

people to be inside. I was shocked as a loud burst of

voices sounded from the village. My heart started to pound

and I began to run to the village. The sound was coming

from the town hall. I approached the doors and opened them,

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the voices went silent. Everybody in the room turned to me

and seemed to stare almost right through me. Stendarr

looked at me with utter confusion.

“Hold on everybody, stay where you’re seated. I’ll be

back soon,” Stendarr announced. People began to mutter

amongst themselves while staring at me. I looked around the

room to see Sulkasiipi, sitting by her mother, smiling and

wiping the tears from her eyes as she looked at me. Just

then, Stendarr pushed me out of the door and took me to the

fountain just by the town hall.

“O-Oreyn, we thought you had died!” he exclaimed,

“Where is Roope and your parents?” My feelings of hope and

happiness quickly dwindled down into sorrow as my mind went

over the images of the deaths.

“They . . . didn’t make it,” I said quietly, my head

slightly dropping as I stared at the ground.

“What happened Oreyn? Please tell me.” he replied

calmly. I stood for a moment in silence, still seeing my

parents and Roope’s lifeless faces in my head.

“They were killed. On the island.” I said.

“What island?” he asked as his voice rose slightly.

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“The storm threw us into an island off of our shores,

about fifty miles away. Shouldn’t be a surprise to you as

to who killed them.”

“What is that supposed to me?” he asked, slightly

angered. My blood began to boil. He knew exactly who I was

talking about and still he and the elders let our village

walk in ignorance.

“The exiles,” I said, “The Skaal.”

“They . . . they were on this island?” he asked.

“Yes. They were. But you won’t have to worry about

them anymore. The Skaal are no longer a threat to the

Drosiini,” I replied abruptly, “The Skaal have been

decimated. I killed Burim myself, that bastard.”

“I-I’m sorry, Oreyn, I really am. Your parents and

Roope were a few of the most valorous people of our tribe.

They will never be forgotten.” He said. After a few more

minutes of conversation and explaining, Sulkasiipi emerged

from the town hall and began to walk towards us.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll tell the people.”

Stendarr said with an uneasy look.

As he walked off, Sulkasiipi ran to me and embraced

me, her head resting on my chest.

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“Oreyn, what happened?” she asked, tears falling from

her eyes.

“Our boat, it crashed into”-

“Wait, where is Roope?” she said, interrupting me. I

stared at her for a moment as tears began to fill my eyes.

The look in her eyes told me she knew what happened.

“Your brother . . . he passed away. He-he was killed.”

I said. Her cries became more intense, a heart-wrenching

sight.

“What? How? What happened?” she yelled.

“Shh,” I whispered, putting my hand on the back of her

head, “He died fighting for you, and for me. His life will

be remembered, a true man of valor.”

The cold air was biting on this morbid day as

Sulkasiipi and I stood alone by the fountain while she

cried on my shoulder.

“Your brother would not have wanted to die any other

way than defending his family.” I said.

“I know, I just . . . I wish I could have seen him one

last time” she replied, as more tears began to fall from

her eyes.

“Well, you still have me, and you always will.” I

said.

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“I know,” she said with a slight smile, wiping the

tears from her eyes, “It just feels like everything I used

to know is changing.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Over the past few days, people in the village have

grown cold. Nobody is looking out for each other like we

used to. Even Kippo has lost it.” She replied while

sniffling.

“What? What did Kippo do?” I said.

“Well, after Stendarr and the elders declared you guys

as dead, Kippo started to freak out, telling people he

predicted the death and that . . . and that your

disobedience is what caused it. He started to call himself

the Prophet of Death. The stress and tension of these

attacks has really changed people.” She replied. I was

shocked to hear that Kippo did something like that. The

Kippo I knew would never say anything like that.

“Well, these kinds of things can really bring the

worst out of people,” I said, “But you don’t have to worry

about those savages attacking again. They’re done with.”

Just then, the town hall doors flung open. The people

had been dismissed. I was immediately flooded with

greetings, and questions. I tried to answer them but I

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couldn’t focus with all of the noise. Just then, Stendarr

came barreling through the crowd.

“Move aside!” He yelled. He grabbed me by the arm and

pulled me aside once more. We walked a good distance away

from the crowd.

“Oreyn, you have saved our village, and potentially,

our whole tribe. And for that, I truly thank you.” He said.

“I did what I had to.” I replied briefly.

“I didn’t pull you aside just to thank you, I . . .

well look, I am growing old Oreyn. I don’t know how much

longer I can try and keep these people together. They don’t

respect me, and are hardly willing to listen to me. I told

them about the exiles, and now they are blaming me for

their attacks on our village.” He said.

“That doesn’t surprise me.” I replied.

“What I’m trying to say is . . . I need someone to take

over for me. And I think you would lead this village to

prosperity.” He said. I was shocked. Before my family left,

I was viewed as nothing more than an adolescent with a lack

of potential.

“What do you think?” He asked.

“I-I don’t know what to say. When are you stepping

down?” I said.

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85

“Well, in a couple years when my age gets the best of

me.” He said with a chuckle.

“Of course I will take over. But do know I would make

many changes. Our village is based purely on”-

“Whatever it takes, Oreyn,” he said with a grin, “as

long as the people are happy and safe, you can do whatever

you would like.”

“I am honored. I never thought I would hear a thing

like that.” I replied.

“Yes, well, I have to go and calm the mob now,” he

said while laughing, “Think about it some more. I know you

will make a great leader.”

I could not believe the situation I was in. At last

the opportunity had come, to change the way this village

works. To give our future generations the life I wished I

could have. No longer would we fight for territory, no

longer would our warriors and slave and sacrifice their

lives for the selfish desires of one. A true warrior fights

out of honor, not greed.

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