The water flowed calmly, the reflections of the setting sun broken by the waves caused by the rafts as they passed. Next to me, Heike was nursing the infant, sitting with her back against a sack of flour. Berth was dozing on my mother’s lap, who was stroking his head while looking ahead at the riverbank. Wallia was sitting behind, lost in his thoughts as he had been since we returned from the hunt, avoiding everyone’s gaze. We had all tried to console him, but it seemed he had built a wall that kept everyone out, there was nothing of himself to reach.

I looked towards the shore, waiting to see the docks where we would land. The river was large, but not so much that more than three or four rafts could navigate it together, so a long line had formed starting with the raft where the dragon was. From one side of the river to the other, there were only trees upon trees and a few animals drinking.

“That thing has slowed us down so much,” sighed my wife, pointing to the raft at the front.

“Let’s hope we arrive before sunset. It’ll be dangerous to travel with it in the dark” I commented.

Gunnar was a few rafts away, standing at the front of his boat. He too was impatiently scanning the horizon, standing to see further and spot the landing area. Not all clans arrived by river, but for us and others it was the only way to get there without leaving the day before, which would have forced us to miss the hunt for the banquet.

“There it is!” shouted Fridurik, who had climbed atop the pile on his raft and could see further than his father.

In the distance, we saw the smoke from the large bonfires rising from the trees, and shortly after, the people guiding the rafts plunged their long wooden poles into the water. Pushing on the riverbed, they moved towards the right bank of the river to a point where it created a deep bend. There, the watercourse overflowed its banks when it was full, flooding a large area of the forest.

One by one, starting with the raft carrying the dragon, the rafts began to enter the flooded forest. Fortunately for Gunnar the central part of the flooded zone, that perhaps those in the service of the Wise Men cleared in the dry season, was now wide enough to allow the boat to pass.

Soon the trees covered the setting sun, and we were enveloped in twilight. The tree trunks rose from the water tall and straight, covered in fragrant moss and resin. The croaking of frogs and the buzzing of insects filled the still air, interspersed with the sounds of animals of various sizes entering or leaving the water.

After a while, the first torches appeared, then the docks where several rafts were already moored, and the first figures, too far and dark to distinguish their features, followed our movements.

As the raft carrying the beast moved forward, Gunnar gave the command to start docking at a long empty pier. The rafts, almost all together, changed direction and cautiously approached the dock one after the other. At that point, I stood up with some difficulty.

“Come on, let me help you up,” I said to my wife, offering her my good arm.

“With your wounds? I’ll do it myself,” she replied.

“You just had a baby.”

“None of us are in good condition. Swallow your pride and let others help you,” said my mother, getting help to stand from one of the men guiding the raft.

Feeling stung, I gave way to my mother and Berth, who got off onto the dock, and to the same guide who also helped Heike, still holding the baby, to stand. When we were all on the dock, Magnerich arrived with his brothers and began unloading the raft.

I was about to leave when I noticed Wallia still sitting on the raft, staring at the water with a vacant look.

“Come on, Wallia, get off,” I said to him.

The boy didn’t respond, as if he hadn’t even heard me. I went back onto the raft and shook him. Only then did he come to, and look me in the face.

“We have to go,” I told him.

The boy hesitated for a moment, then got up and, under the gaze of the men who tried to avoid looking at him too obviously, got off the raft, and my grandmother took his hand. I also got off, and we headed towards the feast.

The docks ran irregularly around the trees, much like the paths on dry land. Some stones protruded from the water’s surface, showing signs of carving, although I had never seen them when the ground was dry to say what they looked like in their entirety.

Suddenly, I felt familiar little hands grab my leg, and looking down saw Berth clinging to my pants, though he continued to look towards the forest with apprehension. I followed his gaze until I saw the feral eyes watching me from the darkness, the only distinguishable feature of a face so black it blended with the night.

The Guardians were men from every clan and tribe, serving only the Wise Men. They were consecrated as children and then sent into the forest, where they disappeared, and no one saw them again. Unlike other phratries, such as the trackers or the men who maintained the sanctuary, they cut all ties with their clans, serving only and exclusively the Wise Men. 

No one knew who or what they were, nor what happened to the children when they were taken. Some said they were transformed by ancient magic that made them more beast than man, and if anyone tried to approach, they would flee. The only time they could be seen fleetingly was when entering the Wise Men’s territory, and only because they, or whoever commanded them, wanted it.

We walked for a while before finally reaching solid ground, although it was a generous definition given how much my shoes sank when I stepped off the dock. Some rafts had been moved, and at that moment, several men were trying to pull the dragon that had plagued our journey out of the water.

People were pulling hard, but it seemed it would be much more difficult to get it out of the water than it had been to put it in. Gunnar was shouting orders to everyone and personally pulling the rope in the center. Despite this, it didn’t seem like it would be pulled out anytime soon, so I turned and continued on my way to the actual gathering place.

The path was marked by the recent passage of many people and carts, and soon in the distance, we heard the indistinct murmur of a large crowd. The closer we got, the louder the sound became, until the first people from other clans appeared, mostly young couples who fled as soon as they realized our presence.

Finally, we emerged from the forest, finding ourselves in front of the immense festive crowd of the tribe. The men of the various clans mingled with each other, partly negotiating agreements and marriages, partly reuniting with relatives they hadn’t seen in a long time, and partly just having fun. To my right, two groups of men were playing tug-of-war while the crowd around them cheered for one group or the other. Not far from me, a man with a thick gray beard was animatedly talking to a much younger man, presenting what I presumed was his daughter or granddaughter with broad, emphatic gestures. Further ahead, a large bonfire was lit around which some old men, who suffered more from the cold, were huddling. One of them had gathered a group of children who seemed captivated by whatever story or legend he was telling.

Another old man, however, caught my attention when he came towards us. He had a thick white beard and one eye was milky white, but the other eye was lively and focused on my wife.

“What a lovely surprise you’ve brought me, my daughter,” said Angilbert, with a big smile peeking out from his beard.

“Hi, Dadà,” said my wife, returning his smile with a bit more teeth.

Father and daughter hugged, disturbing the infant who started to cry.

“May your forehead be kissed by many summer suns,” I greeted him, hoping the blessing would bring him more luck than it had brought Landulf.

“May your family be fruitful,” he said with an amused smile, before looking back towards the babe. “Though it doesn’t seem like you need a blessing.”

Despite myself, I found myself sharing the man’s joy for the new grandchild.

“Yes, you’re right.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?” asked the old man.

“It’s a boy. We named him Alrik,” replied Heike, rocking the baby to calm him.

“You named him after my father then. Thank you,” he said, addressing me.

“Heike has told me a lot about her grandfather, we had decided long ago to give our son his name if it was a boy,” I told him.

“And where is Berth? I don’t see him.”

“He should be with my mother and Wallia,” I said.

I turned to call him and at that moment I realized that neither he nor my mother were with us. I looked around, even going back to see if they were still in the forest, but I only saw clan members carrying our food with the others.

“I’d better go look for them,” I said. “Stay together and find a place to sit.”

“Why? There shouldn’t be any problems if he’s with your mother, and it seems you’ve hurt yourself quite a bit during the hunt. Tell me how things are going.”

“Dad… it’s better if he goes,” said my wife.

“Why? What happened?” asked Angilbert, alarmed.

“I’ll explain, but it’s better if he goes,” she replied, taking her father by the arm.

While Heike led her father back to the bonfire, I delved deeper into the crowd, where people from my clan were already starting to mingle.

Since I told my mother about Aghiard’s death, it seemed like something was wrong, but the person I was most worried about was Wallia. Despite my efforts, he had always been shunned by the clan because of the circumstances of his birth, and his father had always been his anchor and role model. I couldn’t even imagine how broken he was at that moment, and although she was my mother, I feared that the control of a frail old woman wouldn’t be enough.

While I was searching, however, someone else found me.

“Hildy! It’s so good to see you,” greeted a cheerful voice.

I turned just in time to see Bertrada hugging me.

“Berta, please, I’m injured,” I said, pushing my sister away with my good arm.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t notice,” she apologized.

“Where is Haerveu?” I asked, seeing that she was alone.

“He’s participating in the tug-of-war and the children are cheering,” she said, indicating them with a nod and letting a lock of brown hair escape, which she tucked back under her hairnet. “But I can ask you the same question. Where are the others?”

“Heike is with her father. I was going to look for our mother, my son, and Wallia. Aghiard…” I hesitated for a moment, feeling my chest tighten. My thoughts jumbled together as I tried to find a way to say what I had to say, but I didn’t have time because Berta’s gaze was immediately drawn beyond my shoulder.

“In the name of the gods, what is that?”

I turned and saw that everyone around me had done the same. Even my sister’s husband, along with his companions and opponents, stopped to look in bewilderment towards the forest.

The sled with the dragon on it emerged from the forest in all its majesty. Men swarmed all around to move it, and at the center of it all, Gunnar stood, observing the enraptured crowd with a triumphant air.