The Scavengers of Fihensh

।। अंतः अस्ति प्रारंभः।।

The glowing script is believed to be taken from a tombstone. Curved in an enigmatic script, the epitaph is believed to be over three and half millennia old, both the meaning of the words and art known as ‘Runes’ are lost to time. The study done on this particular runes are inconclusive and the attempt to replicate it had been disastrous, some researchers have deduced that they are missing some crucial factors.The stone is kept in the Citadel innermost vault.

Seventeen years ago

The wind moved like a wraith across the dark side of desolate plains of Fihensh.

The air was thin, biting, laced with the scent of ozone and something ancient, something primal loose on the plain. There was only the sound of the caravan moving slowly and the murmuring of people inside. The moon, a pale gold, moved slowly across the sky with a patience only know to gods.

Life clung to the edges, huddled around geothermal vents of this desolate place of ice and ash. With the vent releasing heat and warmth, there the fragile blooms of Violia were in full boom defiant of both the cold and the sun or lack of it. The blue flowers stood tall against the monochrome landscape filled with snow and ash. The sun, a sickly dim white disc in the perpetually dark sky, offered no warmth and even less illumination. It hung heavy, a lifeless orb mocking the earth with its presence.

Nine souls huddled within the confines of the caravan, their breath misting in the frigid air. Four men, their faces etched with the lines of a thousand sunrises, three women whose eyes held the resilience of those who had faced countless hardships and wisdom of age, one young girl, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and wonder and a suckling child who somehow had survived this desolate place with no one to look after it.

Life was hard for those who didn’t have enough to pay the Gauger in Fihensh. The day of Remembrance was almost upon them. When they had to pay the tribute either in gold or blood. They had crossed the border, venturing deep into forbidden territory, in a desperate gamble for a fortune in a legendary spice called ‘the tears of Nyx.’ The petals of the tears of Nyx are believed to be imbued with healing properties that could mend the most grievous of wounds of both body and soul. And it was one of the rarest spices sought by nobility of all nine great houses. It is found only in the dark side of the planet at the heart of the eternal twilight. It was a gamble which could keep them safe till the next day of remembrance.

The old woman sat hunched over a writing table at the back of the caravan. The hearth with the smouldering rock from the vents glowed beside her. It will need to be replenished soon. Her eyes were tired. Her hands, gnarled and weathered, traced some intricate patterns on the paper, as she whispered something to herself. The light from quartz crystal at the top of caravan illuminating her features.

******

Shivi, clung to her grandmother’s cloak. She could make out some of the words and it seems the old woman was balancing tribute of the tribe.

‘Maa-sa, it’s still crying. Even after drinking all the milk from Buri.’ she said in a small voice looking at the child in the basket made of bones. The bones had sharp edges to them, like tiny teeth of baby eel. The old woman sighed, a deep, weary sound, and gently extracted the child from the bone basket which was patted with soft clothes. The thing seems to like the basket,it calms him, but he has started to cry again.

‘Child,’ she said, ‘he is one of us now. Once nameless, he is now of the Garo. And we of the Garo do not give a name to something so lightly, once given, he is bound to us by the golden thread and so are we to him. Buri has a big heart for a small goat. And she seems to like him.’

The brown goat bleated at the mention of her name. Sivi loved Buri, but Buri could be annoying at times, never taking her side. Buri somehow got close to the thing. Which was one of her several annoyances with the child.

Sivi wished she could trust this creature in her grandmother’s arms. It had a pale skin, unlike the brown skin of her tribe.Its hair was the color of wheat. The points of its ears were so sharp that they seemed to catch the light, casting as shadows on the caravan walls. And its eyes - one blue, the other reddish brown. It was hard for Shivi to admit to herself that she was scared of the thing. She overheard the others talking about it when they came upon it. Some of them had suggested to let it die. And she remembered how the old women had stood tall in their defiance and scorned the men.

’What kind of name is ‘Kasik’?′ she whispered. ‘It doesn’t make sense. It sounds like the name of those pompous dwarfs of the sand dunes.’

The old woman chuckled, a low rumble in her chest. “Kasik, child, means ‘strong as stone’ in the olden tongue of Garo. A fitting name for someone who survived against all odds against him. It’s a name meant for a worrier. He is small but resilient”

Shivi frowned. She could make out the meaning of the word but not accurately. She has been learning under the tutelage of her grandmother. And the thing wasn’t strong from what she had seen. It had been blue and ugly when they found it, like some tiny monster from the old woman’s tale. She knew if she said that the old woman would tug her ears.

“But he’s so... fragile. Maybe like...a tiny stone not the big one’s. He cries all the time. He looks like one of those from above”she said.

“Even a tiny stone could cause great pain. And he cries because that’s what children do” the old woman explained, gently stroking the child’s head. “He cries for his mother, for the warmth of her bosom. But he is strong, Shivi. He clung to life with ferocity of a survivor. He will grow strong, just like his name’s sake.” Grandmother said ignoring the other half of her questions.

Shivi looked at the child, his tiny fists clenched, his brow furrowed in a silent cry. Shivi couldn’t imagine anyone who wanted to hold this thing. “But what happened to his family? They...” she whispered softly, fear creeping back into her voice.

The old woman’s eyes clouded. “Hush child...this lot are suspicious on their own, you don’t need to bring their attention to the child. And some things are best left unsaid. But know this, he is not alone. We will care for him, as we would our own. He is one of Garo now”

Perhaps her grandmother was right. Perhaps Kasik would find strength in their care. But the memory of the empty eyes of the other travelers, the chilling silence that had fallen upon their camp, still haunted her. This journey, once a promise of fortune, now felt like a curse.

The group stopped near the way point with visible vent and started to make camp. The other made their camp away from them. Shivi felt a sudden panic inside her heart. Would they abandon her and her grandmother in this place to die? But that was silly the Garo didn’t leave one of their own behind.

One of the women from the other camp brought them food . Mary, her face drawn and pale, placed the bowls of soup, filled with spiced water and a few meager vegetables floating in it and a piece of bread on the ground with a hesitant touch. “For Maa-sa,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

The old woman, her eyes sharp, regarded Mary with a steady gaze. “Thank you...child, Is something amiss?”

Mary hesitated, her gaze darting around nervously. “The others... they’re whispering. About the child. And I believe there is a small merit to their concerns. They fear...we fear it will bring ill fortune.”

The old woman’s gaze hardened. “Let them whisper but remember this child. Fear...my child, is a mind killer, it destroys reason and compassion. Don’t let their fear and suspicion blind you to the needs of an innocent soul. And remember, the teaching of Garo”

Shivi and her grandmother eat in silence without saying a word to one another.Mary nodded quickly, her doubts evident on her face. Confrontation was not one of her ways “Yes, Maa-sa. I will. And we are also low on the ration, that is making the man more grumpy.”

“We are close to our destination. The moon will cover the sun in a few hours. And we would find what we have come for.”

She glanced at Shivi, who was watching this exchange with wide, curious eyes. Shivi could make out the dim sun in the cold sky . Only a few people knew about their mission. Shivi wasn’t one of them.

Shivi and her grandmother eat in silence without saying a word to one another. Mary gathered the empty bowls, her footsteps light as she hurried back to her own camp. Giving a slight bow to Shivi and her grandmother.

“That was an insult to us both.” Shivi said,in frustration. Grandmother cocked her one eyebrow at Shivi and said

“... insult to both of us? You have just begun to learn the way of our people and it seems I didn’t teach you the lesson of humility. There is a lot you need to learn before you become the next Pathika of our tribe. And it was a lot under the circumstances.” Shivi blushed with embarrassment.

She has been learning for a year to become the next Paathika for her people. After washing her hand grandmother picked up the child and started gently rocking the baby in hand. Shivi saw a simmering light at the corner of her eye, not for the first time today. The moment she looked at the spot where the light had appeared there was nothing. What an odd way the light from the quartz crystals are behaving this day she thought to herself. ” Why don’t you tell him a story that might help, Maa-sa” Shivi said to her grandmother.

Grandmother looked at Shivi with a knowing smile. Grandmother seemed to think for a few moments and came to a decision,” Then she said,“Once upon a time there lived an Elven Princess, named Nyx. She was said to be the most beautiful woman of that age. This was before the age of Pralaya, when humans used to live in harmony with nature and the gods. When the day and night had an understanding and a pact, to let each other rule for while before claiming the world as their own for a while. One day as the princess was standing on her balcony she saw the Sun God as he rode his fiery chariot from the east to the west in the sky. It was Love at first sight. She was warned by her father, the Elven king and other wise elfs of the kingdom, it will have dire consequences for those bound to earth to love divine beings, most especially Surya, the Sun God whose power is supremely intense. However, the princess cannot be persuaded otherwise, her love and devotion for Surya started to grow day by day. But to the delight of the princess, Surya also shared an affection for the princess, who watched him every day from dawn to dusk.

“But Surya had a wife? Was the princess a witch?” Shivi asked in confusion.

“It’s not that kind of story. Now hush,” grandmother replied and continued the story”though like yourself some believed, the princess had used sorcery against the sun god. But the truth was that Surya couldn’t resist the princess’s charm and devotion towards him.One day Surya left the heavens and came down to Earth to be with Nyx and became a mortal for a while. In the beginning he enjoyed his time in the world as a mortal, which was forbidden to him as a God. After a few months, Surya began to see the pain and suffering that comes with the mortal body and it became too much for him. And soon he grew tired of life as a mortal and longs to return to his heavenly abode. Come summer, Surya’s power becomes so intense that he must leave for the heavens or risk destroying everything he has grown to love. When the princess tried to follow Surya, he stopped and looked back at her for a moment, the princess was burned to ashes and her entire kingdom became desolate, hundreds of thousands of people died in that instant, by the sun god supremely intense. Surya turned to All mother, the goddess of all creation for help and told her what he had done. The Goddess knew Nyx had loved Surya with all her heart, so she granted her another life and power to cure all illness, from her ashes arose a single tree with the purest of white flowers and with blazing orange hearts. A symbol that Surya always remained in her heart. All mother punished Surya for his carelessness and set him far away from the planet and put a ring of asteroids around him. And set Raavi, her dwarf son as the second Sun God in the sky to watch over his brother and his prison. Raavi and Surya shared a rivalry common among siblings. And this was the moment he has been waiting for his whole life. Surya’s older sister Shashi, the moon Goddess was moved by his love for a mortal. So once a year Shashi, the gold moon, stands in front of Surya blocking him from the view of her younger brother, the Sun God Raavi for a few hours. So that Surya could spend this time as a mortal with Nyx. Only during this time when the Surya leaves his prison and visits Nyx, then and only then the blossoms of Nyx bloom and are so fragrant because they had been kissed by Surya. The flower however, still can’t bear the rays of the Sun God, Surya and at the first stroke of dawn, at the sight of the rays, they shed like tears of pain, spreading their sweetest fragrance, reminding us of the lingering love that Nyx pledges to the Sun even after she has died. And that’s why, the flower only blooms for a few hours on the dark side of the planet which is the Domain of Surya. And why, there are fewer elves in the world because most of their people were burnt by the sun gods. And among those who survived a few are blessed with the Surya’s golden thread.”

The thing....Kasik had dozed off. He somehow looked peaceful in sleep. Shivi had some doubts and questions about the story itself. But she knew it was not the way of her grandmother. She will not get any answers now. Once she has considered all aspects of the story then she will get answers to her questions. That was her grandmother’s way. Sivi got close to grandmother and put her head on grandmother’s shoulder.

Sivi woke up with the sounds of screams and something else. A low, guttural growl, echoing through the desolate landscape. Shivi’s blood ran cold. The old woman, entering the tent narrowed eyes and hair disheveled, grabbed a flint and steel from her belt. “You are awake? come child,” she hissed, her voice low and urgent and as she thrust the child in Shivi’s from his basket. “And keep him quiet.”

Shivi, trembling, obeyed, clutching the child close. As the growls grew louder, the old woman led them towards a small, hidden cave they had discovered earlier. It had lines of geothermal vents all around it making it highly unstable. Inside, the air was thick and damp, but it offered some semblance of shelter. The world seems to hold its breath like it too was scared . She could make out each sound. Shivi had a sudden false impression of a smell. The air seems a carry fragrance...death should not have such a pleasant smell.

She remembered another day like this filled with the screams of the loved ones. Shivi’s scar on her shoulder started to thrum with a familiar pain. In order to distract herself from the screams, she turned her gaze inside the cave. The cave wasn’t so big. Shivi could make out a tiny pinprick of light at roof so the cave. Were they tiny flowers, reflecting light oddly.

The growls intensified, and Shivi could make out several vague monstrous shapes that emerged from the swirling snow. Shivi could only make out their glowing red eyes and razor-sharp claws dragging a basket made of bones. They disappeared as suddenly as they arrived.

A chilling silence descended on the caravan, broken only by the rasping breaths of the dying . The men, hardened by a thousand sunrises, now lay frozen, their faces contorted in agony and fear. The women, their resilience shattered, succumbed to the frigid embrace of death, their eyes glazed over.

The source of this sudden, brutal end was invisible, a silent, insidious enemy. It had crept into their midst, a whisper on the wind, a chilling touch that stole life with chilling efficiency.

Shivi, huddled within her grandmother’s embrace, watched in horror as her world crumbled around her. The warmth of the stones, once a beacon of hope, now seemed a cruel mockery of their impending doom, extinguished into the cold. Tears started to stream down her face, blurring the horrific scene in front of her.

The old woman, her face etched with grief, held Shivi close. ” Grandmother, where is Buri ?” Shivi said

“It is not your fault, child,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “This... this was not meant for us.”

Kasik, nestled in the old woman’s arms, gurgled, oblivious to the tragedy unfolding around him. His eyes, one blue, the other red, seemed to hold a strange, unsettling calm.