Give, and hold nothing back.
“Keep close to the mountain, it will lead you to Meadori which is just past a tiny stream. Don’t go looking for a body of water, the stream is but a narrow one, one you could easily miss and have your boots soaked if you aren’t looking where you step. It’s barely knee-deep but once you cross it, that’s Meadori.”
Tyrce advised, then, “Sure you don’t want to borrow two horses?”
“We’re sure, thank you. Jovin likes to keep his feet on the ground,” Gen smiled, pulling tight the drawstrings of his pack. They’d replenished their supplies at Gunth, thanks to Tyrce. The warrior had also found them two staffs that would aid them in crossing the mountain range - Gen had lost his during the wolves incident.
“I’m used to getting around by foot, you get a sense of the land and it makes running away easier too,” Jovin replied with the closest to a chuckle Gen had heard. He was referring to their escape from the wolves.
Tyrce nodded, “The slopes of Malaban are too steep for the horses anyway, you’d have to release them at the foothills,” he said while stroking the neck of his horse, “How’s your ankle by the way?”
“It’s good as new thanks to a remedy from home,” Gen smiled.
Soon it was time to leave Gunth behind and move ahead on their quest. Their stay at Gunth had been brief but it opened their eyes to the extent and impact of the Galvigon incursion. The destruction of the notion of peace in the hearts of the people had been the greater evil. Two decades of disquiet, of anguish had left the population languishing from within.
“Peace be with you,” Gen turned around after walking a few steps. It was genuine and prayerful.
That despite the drudgery Tyrce was to return to, he’d have behind his breastplate a heart that was still and whole. Or rather, a heart that remained waiting and seeking for the stillness and wholeness that was to come.
Tyrce nodded, and smiled. As Gen and Jovin drew away from the city of red-topped roofs and cavalry, their warrior friend stood among the dancing dove butterflies. And perhaps that was the spot of peace in everyday worth holding on to, while the sound of singing swords fade into the red walls.
“Do you think the eagle will come back?” Gen asked as they treaded onward to Meadori with heavy backpacks full of rations.
“Only when it needs to,” Jovin reasoned.
“Well, we could always use some help.”
“Sometimes help doesn’t come...And in hindsight you’ll understand why. Things happen or don't happen for a reason,” Jovin replied, then marched ahead. His tone didn’t let on much; it was neither morose nor hopeful, he seemed to be simply stating a fact.
Gen was puzzled for a moment, then it dawned on him that the eagle never came when Jovin and his family were hunted by the wolves.
There was a certain sophisticated naivety to Gen, that though he’d experienced much for his age, there was that sense of overlooking, of looking for more, for better. His understanding of the world couldn’t compare to his veteran, drifting friend who has seen and lived through almost all the world could serve on its platter. Yet, and perhaps, it was in the lack of seeing it all that affixed Gen with vision.
Hindsight and vision - inseparable as two sides of a coin, had since found themselves in a pair of unlikely but destined friends.
As they walked on, the greensward was rather lacklustre. The party of snowdrops and speedwells were well behind them. Here, colours were few save for a non-conforming wildflower.
It went on for a day or two and in the chilly nights they camped amidst the mountain mist under the starry cloak of midnight. Jovin was good at reading the weather signs and he was pretty sure it wouldn’t rain so they didn’t worry about shelter. Gen learned from him how to start a fire with dry sticks. His matches had been soaked during the heavy rain when his bag sat in the puddle of water that had collected in the rock overhang.
In the morning they wiped the dew from their faces and continued following the mountain. The range seemed to go on indefinitely. Gen was sure it ended at the edge of the land - but where that was he’d have to go on another adventure to know. To the far North; one day he’ll get there and stand looking over the edge. Jovin could come along too, if he wanted.
As adventurous as he was feeling at the moment, there was still a quest at hand. Gen surveyed the verdant landscape for signs of a stream, but the grass was so dense that all that was ahead seemed to melt upon itself as green ribbons waltzing with no end. Jovin attuned his searching ears, picking out the sound of rushing water from the rushing wind.
Soon, there was a twinkle of a faraway trickle. The duo kept their eyes to the ground instead of ahead and when they finally chanced upon the narrow stream, they couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh.
It was exactly as Tyrce said. A little baby stream flowing ever so slowly. Its source was an indistinct crack in the mountain slope. It wasn’t mighty or great but still it was a beautiful boundary that brought with it fresh life.
A wild deer could be seen sipping at its clear waters in the distance. Flowers of every colour blossomed and bloomed by the banks and beyond.
Gen and Jovin stepped over the little stream almost too dramatically, but their hearts were full, knowing that when they set their soles to the earth on the other side they were one step closer to hope.
Meadori had no borders. Where the meadows grew and expanded, so did the village. Where they wilted and bowed to the wind, so did Meadori.
“Leia would love these,” Gen sighed as they gingerly stepped among the tender flowers that grow in clumps as high as the top of their boots.
“Leia?”
“My younger sister. She loved making flower crowns. These rare alpine flowers, they’d make her so happy.”
“We can pick some on our way back and take them back to her,” Jovin suggested, still looking straight ahead. Perhaps some of Gen’s vision had already begun to rub off on him, as with his hindsight on Gen, and they were slowly getting in step. Gen could only smile, swing wide his arm, and give him a friendly pat on the back.
There was then a slight rustle in the grass that grew increasingly louder. But the source remained hidden. Something big (in sound), yet small in size, was heading their way.
They watched wide-eyed as the grass before them swayed from side to side haphazardly. A little pocket here, a little pocket there, accompanied by slight panting. Even Jovin was thrown off guard by such a mystifying creature - it didn’t seem dangerous, but the way it bounded towards them was certainly cause for nerves.
The tension broke when ‘it’ leaped upon Gen and caused him to fall backwards into the grass.
Gen burst out in laughter as the snow-white puppy licked his face enthusiastically while he tried to still the energetic creature with his hands.
It was a pleasant change to be greeted by a friendly something; though there was hardly anything that could be worse than an arrow to their feet that almost killed them.
“Mighty! What have you got there, boy?” They heard the voice before they saw him.
A young lad in faded khaki green clothes jogged on over, grass crunching and swishing about him.
“Hey…” he began unsurely, crouching down as the dog ran into his arms.
Gen got up off the grass. “Hi, I’m Gen and this is Jovin. We’re heading to Meadori. Are you from there?”
“Yes,” he replied, “I’m Fredin. C’mon, I’ll show you the way.”
They walked on for a bit with Mighty leading the way before Fredin spoke again.
“You’re looking for a place to settle?”
“Oh, no, we’re crossing the mountain range. We heard the easiest pass is near Meadori. We would appreciate a mountain guide too, or we could follow anyone heading to the East Lands for business.”
“Oh...weather conditions on the mountain are bad in these months, very unpredictable. A snowstorm could occur at any moment, it’s too dangerous. I suggest you wait till next month, no one would be willing to risk the journey, not even for business.”
Gen looked to Jovin in alarm. There was an unspoken understanding that they couldn’t delay the journey any longer.
“Uh, it’s kind of urgent…” Gen began tentatively.
“It’s about the crops,” Fredin suddenly stopped and turned around. When Gen and Jovin looked confused, he explained further, “Crops in the West Lands are dying out. The fertility of the land is at its lowest in years and it’s not because of climate conditions either. I figured you were heading East for better food prospects.”
Indeed, food supplies were dwindling. The boys remembered what Will had said about Lusiah and how pine nuts and berries no longer grow there. Tyrce had also briefly mentioned the diminishing supply while sneaking them some from the stores.
As they moved further north into the meadow, they passed tilled land. But the harvests were little. “We cultivate grains and trade them for meat and milk with Baumanneur across the mountain,” Fredin explained, “But the recent shortage has really put a strain on our food system. I’m afraid we could enter into a famine in the near future. For now, my family makes up for the shortage because we have excess and plenty. But I don’t know how long that can last, a few years at most. Ma says we have to take care of our family first. We’ll give, but we aren’t touching the three-year supply that’s for our own consumption.”
Gen remained silent. Not because he was being impolite, his mind was occupied and seeking a solution to their current problem: crossing the mountain as soon as possible (and without a guide at that) when all advice encouraged otherwise.
“Do you face the same problem back home?” Fredin’s voice jolted him out of his thoughts.
Home. That was what this quest was about and more.
“The darkness is causing this.”
Gen then explained what had happened to Luvitron and Sommer in the North, and Derri.
“But where does the darkness come from? It has to originate somewhere,” Fredin asked. It was strange for a question so obvious and so pressing to be asked only now, so far into the quest and so far into the lands. Those they’d met before had been concerned about how to outrun it but nobody had asked about its source. Without nipping it at its root, there was the possibility that it could return, even stronger.
“It came from the North, then swooped down West and now it’s headed East,” Jovin replied, merely propagating the narrative passed on by the elders of Kelv.
Not a word from Gen; his mind was once again contemplating something and his gaze was fixed on the flowers they brushed. As they ambled on and wooden houses appeared in the distance, a frown grew upon his face. It was grim even as it was full of conviction.
“No. The darkness has always existed. We humans feed it, give it dwelling, and now it devours us,” Gen stopped in his tracks, “We’re trying to escape what we created.”
“What do you mean?” Fredin asked.
“We carry on in our wicked ways and neglect the conscience given to us. We ignore the light and only when its existence is threatened do we scramble for salvation,” Gen replied. Doubt, indifference, selfishness, and pride; he’d encountered them all on his journey through the villages, towns, and cities. And he was thoroughly certain that these evil desires and ways had a place in him too - unwelcome guests, yes, but a weary and powerless host they had the good fortune of meeting. There had to be a way out of this, for good, though any human intervention would prove futile.
They reached the first wooden house in the meadow and an old couple waved to them from the porch. Meadori was vastly different from the neighbouring city of Gunth. Here, there were no walls, no artillery, no defenses, and the people were spread far and wide. But there was still a unity in the seemingly feeble connections of the village folk.
“A map of the mountain route is all we can offer, travelling friends,” Fredin admitted as they shuffled into one of the wooden houses. This house was bigger than any of the rest they’d seen. It was Fredin’s house.
“Thank you for your kindness.”
Their host searched through a pile of papers atop a wooden cabinet and pulled one out from near the bottom. He briefly scanned it before bringing it to the table and setting it down. Fredin proceeded to explain the key parts of the mountain route - the spurs, the bends, the waymarks, the perilous sites to avoid.
“The journey usually already takes days because of the cold and uneven road. But with these conditions, it could possibly take weeks. I’ve crossed Malaban three times myself but I must say it takes a certain fortitude to make it across, unscathed.”
Though Gen appreciated the kind warnings, it wasn’t exactly helping them with their frame of mind. Who knew the mighty Malaban mountain range was to be such a forbidding obstacle, bearing in mind they’d have to climb Mount Hallow too. He looked out the window to the east, at the wall of rocky grey turning white at the peaks, at the flurries building up. As an inhabitant of the far West, sunshine and warmth had been all he knew, snow was something else. The prospect of more than harsh wintry conditions coupled with his stark inexperience was enough reason to cause uneasy chills down his spine. For Jovin, snow was an entirely new frontier as well.
To continue on the quest would definitely require more than fortitude. For when the strength and resilience of man runs dry, one can only look to divine intervention. Yes, much like help from the Eagle.
Fredin stood to pour them some warm flower tea, leaving Gen and Jovin to shiver in their seats thinking about the Malaban mission.
As he stared out the window of the alcove where the stove was, he saw the same elderly couple from before toiling miserably at their barren field, back bent and knees shaking. He shuddered to imagine the day when they would have a mere two sprouts left on their plate, empty stomachs growling painfully as their gaunt bodies sink into their seats. The light in their eyes slowly retreating, and not because they’d aged gracefully to end.
All this while his family guarded an untouchable three-year hope.
“This generosity and giving that Ma spoke of has a limit. Can’t there be more to it?” Fredin asked aloud, not to anyone in particular.
“Yes,” Gen answered, “I think you mean selflessness, sacrifice.”
“Love,” Jovin concluded.
Fredin turned and looked right at them. Love. Yes, he did love his family. And he was sure his family loved him too. But he knew the love that Gen and Jovin spoke about weren’t about those things. It was more than those things. It had no limit.
“Our friend Will taught us that,” Gen explained, “It’s not just about being kind to those who treat us well, giving when we have enough to spare to those who need it, deserve it. It’s being kind even to those who may never admit their need, who may never be grateful. It’s about giving up our rights sometimes, for the greater call.”
There was a flash in the ice blue of Fredin’s eyes, a sliver of something, an awakening of sorts. Then Mighty scurried in and yapped enthusiastically at their feet.
“I would like to meet Will one day,” he smiled and the atmosphere was light. They’d taken Will and his Pa’s legacy to the North and ignited another flame. Soon, there will be beacons of love sprouting up in all directions all over the MidLands, because one flame burning bright only ignites another.
After serving them tea, Fredin pulled away an old cloth covering a trunk. In it was all his mountain-crossing equipment and memories.
“This is a special canteen that keeps water from freezing on the mountain,” said Fredin, handing it to Gen. Their host then retrieved a few more items from the trunk, including some ropes and scarves. They were more than just survival items, they were goodwill and compassion. Gen was grateful for all the help they had received since he began this quest, and all the friends he’d made just in the West Lands. The world never seemed bigger, nor friendlier than it did now.
Gen and Jovin offered their services in return for the kindness received. They helped in the fields and storehouses during their four-day stay and met many of the meadow folk. Their languid faces and enervated bodies only told of the insidious effects of the darkness. But their demeanor remained resignedly hopeful as they tilled the land and waited upon the seedlings to sprout, though they rarely did, not in these days and times. Fredin’s family had had the good fortune of bountiful harvests for the past few years, so they suffered little, for now.
Each time a gust of frigid wind blew down from the East, Gen looked to the white wilderness that was the mountain range, and was greeted by the jagged and rolling peaks that stretched far and beyond.
When it was time to carry on, Gen and Jovin trudged slow and heavy towards their next challenge as Fredin, with Mighty by his leg, waved goodbye from the farthest they could go. He’d promised to continue giving and sharing as his family had been doing. But he was determined that no one would starve under his watch and means. He was determined to do more and give more, till Gen and Jovin returned with the eternal light of Tirips and beyond.
Clutching the straps of their full rucksacks and straightening their stance, they stood breathing in the bitter air, which would only prove increasingly bitter. As their scarves whipped around their faces, their knuckles began to feel frosty.
Onward. The mighty Malaban Mountain Range loomed ahead. Gen had a feeling Fredin had named his puppy after it. They traced the path from the opening of the col to beyond where it disappeared behind a thick white cloud and willed themselves to disappear behind it too.
Face claim for Fredin: Logan Lerman
Author’s note: A conversation-heavy chapter. Fredin and Mighty remind me of Tintin and Snowy hehe.
Kinda shot myself in the foot for putting Love in chapter 4. Because love is the greatest, it becomes more challenging to explain and exemplify the other fruits of the spirit, in this case: kindness. So I sought to identify and highlight the differences between love and kindness and how we need to take a step further from kindness to reach the level of love. Initially, I was blank as to what kindness encompasses. I thought about SKM and their message of consideration and graciousness. I read about kindness in Ephesians and my study bible explained it to be the spirit of generosity and giving.
Hold me to my word, the next chapter is gonna be ePIC
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