The winged group lands next to the burial site. I’m not sure if it is a coincidence or a show of respect, but I’m grateful nonetheless. After the attack we had last night, we’re in no condition to fight but we would if someone or something insulted us by standing on the graves of our loved ones.
One of the armed winged-men begins to draw his sword but is immediately stopped by the younger of the two winged-women with rainbow-like sparks. She places a hand over his and then steps forward from the group. I am surprised by the man’s actions and turn to look at Ragnar. I’m even more surprised to see his axe in his free hand. I didn’t even hear him unsheathe it. I look at my tribe and notice Tumak, and the rest of the tribe, are also armed.
The events of the previous night have set them on edge but we don’t need another day of bloodshed.
I give them the signal to lower their weapons. They hesitate at first, but eventually Ragnar obeys my command and so do the others. As usual, Tumak is the last one to follow my orders. I return my gaze to the visitors and notice for the first time that they are lightly dressed.
Surely that cloth isn’t capable of keeping them warm. And why do they walk or fly around bare feet?
I notice that the feet of the young winged-woman, doesn’t crunch the snow but melts it as she makes her way towards me. When she gets close enough, she asks, “Who are you? And why are you here?” Her tone isn’t hostile but neither is it kind.
At least she can talk. Maybe I can make her sympathise with us. “I’m Sif, Chief of this tribe. What about you? What do they call you?”
“I am A’el, Princess of the Fairies. I don’t remember my fiancé telling me about sheltering refugees. When did you and your fellow creatures arrive?”
Creatures? Does she mean to insult us?In any case, I hope her future husband is not from the tribe of those black-eyed humans. “We arrived yesterday by sea in search of a new home,” I say, trying to gain some sympathy from her. Her face betrayed neither her thoughts nor emotions. I pressed on. “We travelled many days and nights, and not all of us were fortunate to see this land, nor this day.”
The fairy princess looked at the grave site and with remorse she said, “I am greatly sorry for the loss of your fellow creatures. It wasn’t too long ago when we were burying our loved ones. Death is a tragic thing. Were they ill?”
“No. They were killed defending the tribe.”
“What creatures of Kelor did this to weary travellers?”
Weary travellers! She finally gives us some sympathy. “Forgive me, Princess A’el but no creatures, myth or otherwise, are capable of killing a group of Vikings.”
She looked puzzled and asked, “So then, they were killed by wild beasts? All 32 of them?”
I was amazed at how quickly she had summed up our dead with one glance of our burial ground.
Wait! Wild beasts? Didn’t I just say that….... Oh I see.
“Princess. What do you and your people call Creatures?”
She gave me another puzzling look as she asked, “People! What do you mean by people, Chief Sif?”
“You! You and your tribe. Your tribe is made of people,” I say to her.
“Ooh. I think I understand. My tribe, as you call it, are a group of creatures. We, in Kelor, refer to each other as creatures. Each creature belongs to a specific group.”
“Sorry, but what is this Kelor you speak of?”
She gave a light laugh before answering. “Kelor is the land on which you stand, Great Chief. It is a continent inhabited by fairies, werewolves, elves, vampires and humans like yourselves.”
The only thing that made sense was the name of the land and the group called humans. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the rest of the things she had said. I decided to find out more about the other groups later.
“Humans? There are…..” I was about to say people but I thought better of it; fearing that it might offend her. “There are other humans like us in Kelor?”
“Why yes, they are.”
The joy of this news quickly died away as I recalled the event that occurred the previous night. “These humans. They wouldn’t happen to have black eyes and a habit of screeching would they?”
This time, it was not only the fairy princess but her entire tribe that laughed at me. “Why would humans screech like sickly bats? I don’t know where you are from but I can assure you, the humans on Kelor are well behaved and are capable of speaking perfectly well.”
“And what colour are their eyes?”
“They have many. I’ve even met some with different colours in each eye.” Just then one of the fairies flew towards the princess and whispered in her ear. She nodded and said, “Thank you, Naisha”. Turning to me she said, “I’m sorry but I have to be on my way. Why don’t you come with us to our castle and witness a special event.”
“I appreciate the offer, Princess A’el, but my people need me here.”
“Oh yes of course, how silly of me. Please, mourn and when you are ready head for those mountains to the east. If anyone asks who you are, tell them that you are guests of the Fairy Queen.” She begun to rapidly flap her wings and her tribe did the same. The sound grew louder and louder until they were steadily rising off the ground.
“I hope to see you soon and I wish you and your creatures well, Chief Sif.”
“May the great chiefs watch over you and your tribe, Princess A’el.”
We watched them fly away until the snow clouds hid their bodies from our sight. I turned and urged my brother towards the burial site. The ceremony carried on without any other interruptions. Once we were done, Tumak called for a council meeting.