Carantathraiel — Roleplayer Guild

The tribes people stood around uncomfortably around the mysterious man and his bizarre skull. Enoch had left, Mithi and Aarav following her, and Pandu tightened his grip on his weapon, anticipating an attack that never came. Instead, the figure in the middle of them vanished, causing many of the I'niks to cry out in fear and shock, raising their weapons at once to defend themselves from an oncoming attack that – once again – didn't come.

Instead, there were cries of alarm from Mithi and Aarav as the man re-materialized before them. Or, Enoch, who hardly flinched. The man had come out of a large animal skull, which fell from the sky, with no sign of a headless body. The fact that he could move so fast no one could see him didn't surprise her. Which may be related to what he's told me, Enoch thought to herself. I feel like I should be afraid. Or shocked. Or anything. But she simply slowed to a halt, glaring at him in the sunlight.

She narrowed her emerald eyes as the man spoke to her about time running out, and more when he said he needed her. For what? Enoch wasn't exactly into decapitating unnatural dragons. Aarav in Mithi both moved when the man unsheathed his weapon; Mithi backwards in fear, and Aarav forward in bravery, while Enoch just kept glaring as he plunged it into the sand. He spoke again, insisting that Enoch make her own choice in a weeks time. A week? That was all she had to decide to go with this man or keep her life? Aarav scoffed beside her, and Enoch rolled her eyes again, feeling the deep desire to shove him face first in the dirt.

“Keep your apologies.” She said acidly, moving her feet again. She gave the man and his sword a wide berth, circling around to move past him and continue for the village. “We're finished. Go back to your skull.”

✧

Enoch locked herself away in her hut all day. This writer uses the term 'locked' loosely, as there's no option to lock a doorway covered only by leather. She hid herself inside, quiet and alone, ignoring anyone who stood outside her hut and called to her. Aarav paced around her hut for hours. Pandu came twice, speaking softly through the leather flap over her door to ask if she was alright. 

But how could anyone be alright? To have some Gods-be-Damned stranger fall from the sky an announce that you don't belong? That the blood of some God ran through your veins? What God? Certainly none of their own. Pandu couldn't even defend her. Did he believe the stranger? 

Alone, Enoch didn't eat or sleep until the next day. After being up all night toiling over her options, the pros and cons of leaving, the probability that she'd been sired by a star-walker, and what possibilities would be open to her now, Enoch emerged. Her eyes were red, her stomach empty, and her mood soiled. She went to the fire and took a seat, wordlessly grabbing a share of meat to tear into. She still refused to speak with anyone. At this point, everyone but Aarav had given up on drawing her out.

The next day, the second day, Enoch went to Pandu. Ignoring the obviously anxious Aarav who lurked and spied on her from a distance, she knelt before the elder, her head bowed low. “What do I do?” She asked him quietly. “Is there a chance this stranger is right? Am I not one of you?”
Pandu smiled, his old face wrinkling deeply. “You were one of us the moment you took breath, Enoch.” He reassured her, putting his hand on her head.
“Was my father a traveler?” Enoch's green eyes rose. “Or … was he...”
“A God?” Pandu smiled again. “If he was, he hid it well. He looked like a regular man. He wooed your mother like anyone else would have. Like some of us tried.” The man chuckled. “He didn't arrive in a hail of thunder, or by appearing on the wind. He walked across the desert. He was starved and dry. He smiled and he laughed. He made your mother laugh. Even when he walked back across the desert, your mother's smile never faded. We thought she would be heart broken. Or angry about having to raise you n your own. But it was like she kept a secret from us all. Something that made her heart happy.”

✧

On the third day, more of her kin came to her, asking Enoch what she would decide. Aarav told her to stay. Mithi kept quiet, too afraid to attempt to persuade her from one way or the other. A few of the tribes people told her to go. More told her to stay. Enoch thought she would be relieved and glad to hear so many people ask her not to leave them, but it made her feel heavier with dread. It was a feeling she didn't understand. 

Even Wnous, the elder woman, gave her opinion. Enoch was helping her with a few chores in her hut when the woman croaked at her. Enoch glanced up at her as she bent over the woman's leather sandals, her needle repairing the aged leather. She put on the same strained smile she'd been giving everyone else, Wnous smiled, and Enoch bent back to work. Then Wnous croaked again, and Enoch realized she wasn't croaking, she was speaking. “Go.” She said. Enoch stopped repairing the shoe and sat upright, her weight on her heels.
“Go?”
Wnous nodded, grinning toothlessly. Her gnarled hand gestured upward to the ceiling of her hut, but Enoch knew she meant the skies. 
“So even you have heard?” Enoch's mood plummeted further. She'd spent extra time with Wnous in hopes that no one would pester her.
Again, Wnous nodded. “You … have a chance … to dance … with the Gods.” She said, struggling to get the words out. 
Enoch put on a smile Wnous couldn't see to attempt to mask the tears that burned her eyes. Wnous didn't speak again as Enoch went back to work, her fingers slow as she pierced the leather.

Aarav met her her outside Wnous's hut, catching Enoch's wrist in his hand. “Come with me,” He pleaded, leading her to Enoch's hut. “I'm going to convince you to stay.”
He tried. Hard. For a few minutes during their sweating and gasping, Enoch forgot about the shadow that hung over her head and weighed down her heart. For a long minute, she was happy, lost in Aarav's kisses, in the scent of his skin, in the sound of his efforts. But when they lay beside one another, sweat glistening over their naked bodies, Enoch slipped away again, her eyes on the ceiling of her hut as she wondered what it would be like to leave. Aarav would never forgive her. He loved her. And Enoch … well, she loved him, too. But not enough to marry him. Enoch had always wanted to leave the village and explore. Aarav wanted children. 
“You're going to go.”
Enoch turned her head and met Aarav's dark gaze. “What?”
“You're going to go.” He repeated. Enoch could hear the pain behind his words.
“I haven't decided,”
“Yes you have.” Aarav sat up and leaned on his elbow, resting his hand on Enoch's bare stomach. “You're already gone. Since the man came, you haven't been here. Your mind is with the Gods, and you're wondering how we will survive without you.” Enoch pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. “Truth is, we were fine for generations before you. We will live for generations more, with or without you.” He lowered his head and kissed Enoch's frown. “I want you. To give me strong sons and beautiful daughters. But I don't need you.” Enoch glared at him, slightly insulted. He kept her quiet with a caress on her cheek. “This Non-God said he needed you. You are meant to be someone very important. More important than you could ever be as my mate.” Aarav smiled, though Enoch could see the effort behind it. “So you're going to go. I am making your decision for you.”
Enoch stared up at his face for a long moment before she gripped the nape of his neck and pulled him downward, inviting another round.

✧

She crept from her hut in the in the middle of the night. Crouching in the doorway, Enoch listened for sounds of life throughout the camp. Everyone was asleep. Enoch felt her heart thud loudly in her chest. She was going to do it. She was going to leave. Not with a fanfare or celebration feast, but with the shadows in the dead of night. Cowardly, but Enoch couldn't face all the goodbyes. She had the courage now to leave. Too many sad faces and her resolve would crumble. 

Just as quietly, she ducked back into her hut to gather what clothes she had, and her trusted bone axe. She tied her clothing into a leather pouch, then hooked the handle of her weapon through it. Rising to her feet, Enoch raised her head and her gaze fell upon the war axe that was proudly displayed on the wall, where it had been for her whole life. I'm leaving, she thought softly. A man came, and told me that my father was a God. Is that true? Not that Enoch expected her mother to answer. Her gaze fell for a moment while she wallowed in foolish disappointment. I'll remember my roots. I'll be grateful for every breath. 

Enoch bowed her head in farewell to her mother's axe, and turned to exit her home for good. Only, as she crouched near the door, she found she couldn't leave again. For a few heartbeats, she sat frozen in the door, before her head turned and her eyes landed on the axe again. I can't leave it, she realized. Its all I really have of my mother. I can't …  
Frowning, feeling oddly guilty, she rose again and approached the axe. She had to take it. But she couldn't carry such a bright thing around in the dead of night. It would reflect too much moonlight. So, searching around for a moment, Enoch pulled the leather off her bed and pulled down the large war axe, careful not to touch it. It shined so brightly, even after all these years of neglect, and Enoch feared smudging it with fingerprints. Not only was this the only thing she had that belonged to her mother, it was also the only thing that tied her to her father. It seemed a poor idea to leave it behind. 

With the war axe covered, Enoch gathered her pack again and went out for the last time. She crept to the outside of her village and walked around it, avoiding crossing anyone's line of sight as she went. She was nearly out when she heard someone clear their throat. Frightened, she whirled around, her emerald gaze falling upon Pandu. He stared at her, his eyes bright in the moonlight. “I knew you would sneak away.” Enoch swallowed, feeling guilty. “You really are just like your father.”
“I...” Enoch started, but she silenced herself. What could she say to that? “What was he like?”
Pandu shook his head, and whispered back. “That is a question for your dragon-slayer.” Enoch felt her stomach twist in disappointment. “But...” Her eyes went to Pandu's again. “Your mother adored him. Whether it was his strength, or his kindness, I will not know. Perhaps he was simply a great lover, but,” Pandu grinned as Enoch blushed in the darkness. “I don't believe it was just that. He cared deeply for those who loved him. Just as you do.” He waved his hand, shooing her. “Now go, God's Daughter. Go fulfill your destiny. And do not forget your family.”

Enoch stared at him in the sunlight, her eyes burning with unshed tears. She nodded her head, and turned her back to Pandu as she strolled in the direction of the skull. Her feet felt heavy as she went, her steps sinking further in the sand.  By the time she came across the sword that jutted out of the desert like a beacon, Enoch felt displaced. Right now, she belonged to neither world. She was simply a lost woman, standing before a stranger's sword. With a sad sigh, she reached out and lay her fingers on the hilt of the weapon.
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