Mashal, The Broddring Empire
October 10th, 7999 ACIt had rained in the night, a dark and viscious storm who's wind tore across roofs like the wings of a thousand dragons scraping overhead. The sky lit with charged light, flashing across the landscape and coming down on the earth with vengeance. To any spectator it might have appeared as if the sky had gone to war with the ground.
The worst had been the rain, pounding down as far as the eye could see, and washing away everything that wasn't nailed down. Many farmers forced themselves out of their homes to watch their fields and make sure the channels and other precautions they had set did their job. More than a few would be hastily replanting small sections that gave way. The more neighborly farmers opened their barns and sheds up to those who didn't have any, allowing their animals to mingle for the sake of keeping them dry instead of letting them get sick and cold.
The storm petered out late in the night, but before the sun rose. The village slumbered for a few more hours than usual, trying to make up for lost sleep. Even as the day went on the village came into motion slowly and with wide yawns being traded in the streets. Despite the weather, the storm moved quickly and was out of sight before the first rays of light. The day grew steadily hotter, and soon there would be no signs of the storm except for the bloated river to the east and the bridge whose western end was in the now-expanded river.
If anything, today was shaping up to be the slowest and most unexciting day in the town's history.
Galen Derricson
Something big was going to happen today. That was Gale's first thought when he awoke that night. Moments later he was wondering why, exactly, had he woken up in the middle of the night? As thunder cracked the sky, he decided that that must have been the reason. The sound of rain striking the ceiling also might have done it.
He was half a thought through deciding to roll over and continue sleeping when Freya popped into his mind. They hadn't finished her shelter! She was going to be soaked!
Thus explained the reason he was among those up and racing about the town in the middle of the night. In the end, he was soaked no matter how fast he ran, so he inevitably stopped running. Freya was allowed to sleep in the neighbors shed, which also played home to three cats and five sheep that night. The horse didn't seem thrilled at the arrangement, but neither did she wander into the fields, even when the doors were left open and the storm had passed.
Gale spent the morning back in bed, but even after the few hours he'd spent napping he was cold. His hands were at least, and his face and feet. The blanket around his shoulders did a fair enough job drying and warming the rest of him. It was long after the usual time he woke up everyday when he finally left the house, finding it empty and his parents likely busy.
For a moment he stood outside under the sun, trying to decide what he should do for the day. Then a horse whinnied from nearby and he started off to collect Freya. She couldn't stay in the neighbor's shed all day, and he needed to feed her and water her, and give her a blanket, just in case she was still cold too.
It didn't take long to do those things, and soon he was wondering what to do again. After a moment of thought he decided to go to the forge. The sun was quite warm that day, considering how cold and nasty it had been that night, but Gale would bet the forge would be much warmer.
He wasn't the only one to think so, and by the time he arrived many people had been shooed off and a ring of fires had spread out nearby while a few people huddled by the forge itself. The fires were mostly small campfires, but in a nearby field a taller fire had been made with thicker logs, hosting a larger group of people. Many had decided this was to be a lazy day, despite how rare those were. Most of the attendants were mothers, their children nearby playing together, others were those who could afford a day off or were too old to work.
Gale was one of those who could afford the day off, but something in him said this wouldn't be one of those days.
He approached the biggest fire, in the field, sure that if he wanted to rid himself of the lingering chill that fire would do it fastest. A large log had been rolled over, providing a few with a place to sit, and another was in the process of being moved closer to provide more seating. Gale wasn't concerned though, he didn't need a place to sit.
He wasn't just going to stand there all alone though, so he started glancing around to see if he could find any of his friends.
Emma
Skai