I awoke to the sounds of despair and shaking, brought out of a deep sleep in the middle of the early morning, the time right before the sun rises. Grisht, looking meek and subservient, was the one doing the shaking, and his normally dirty face is covered in tear tracks running all the way down and over his bare chest. Seeing him so distraught, I immediately jump out of bed, concerned that Krisht is ill, only to see her standing outside my door flap.
"What's going on? Why is the sorrow so thick I can almost see it?" I ask briskly, pulling on my shirt and placing my weapons in their spots. Krisht only shakes her head and guides me out of the hut and toward the elders cabin. Feeling slightly ill, I follow her, listening to the quiet sobs of other goblins, both male and female, unable to tune out the heartache.
Krisht steps inside the cabin first and I follow, confused at first as to what I am seeing. When I finally make it out, I swallow thickly and lean heavily against the wall. A healer passes me by on her way to the failing elder, and I pause her for a moment.
"Please, I may be human, but I can tell she is very important to everyone in the village. I have high quality potions; will they do anything for her?" I pull one out of the pouch at my waist and show it to the healer, only for her to smile sadly, close my hand around it, and shake her head, the beads in her hair clanking slightly as she continues on her way to Laika.
Laika whispers something softly to the healer and motions feebly toward me, and my dread increases tenfold. The healer, however, nods and motions me over, whispering in my ear, "She wishes to talk with you, but you must agree to it first. It is a magical connection. She says it is of the utmost importance, and if you agree, you need only take her hand and place it to your breast." She points to her own chest, right over the sternum.
Without hesitation, I place her hand gently against the bare skin of my chest and blink, sure that I'm dreaming. The vision is of a glade that seems very like the starters glade where you choose gender and class, and I wonder if there isn't some connection. I look around and notice a young female goblin with blue skin, covered from shoulder to ankle in a gauzy white dress that flutters in an unfelt wind.
"You're Laika, aren't you? You just look younger because you're dying." Immediately, I wish I could take the words back, but Laika laughs, the sound joyous and untouched by age.
"Do not feet, young one. I take no offense. It's true that I am dying, and I need you to find the next high elder. I know you noticed the pattern in the cabin of how we sat, and I ask you to find the next in line. She will be young, carefree, and gifted with the mark of nature; a birthmark in the shape of a deer's hoof somewhere on her body. It must be you who finds her, though, for she does not yet know to fear humans. I task you with finding this young one before days end so that I might pass my power and last breath onto her." The vision starts to fade and I struggle to remain, trying to get more information. "Before the sky swallows the sun, young Malachai, I must have my successor or this village will die."
The vision pops almost like a bubble and I realize that her hand has gone limp in my lap, and the other goblins start to almost panic before the healer tell them she's just asleep. Standing up, I make my way to Krisht and lead her off, trying to find a secluded area to tell her what the elder wants me to do.
"I need to find a young, green female; about eight to ten years old or so. A young child who isn't afraid of humans. Laika says she's to be the next high elder, but I must find her before sunset, or this village will die. I need you to go around and look for all of the girls aged eight to twelve, just to be safe, then bring them to the village square. Be fast, please."
Thankfully, Krisht accepts and before eight that morning, all of the young, green females have been gathered together in the village square. I go up to each of them and ask a simple question to start; I only have two to ask. "Are you afraid of me?" Over half of the girls nod yes and Krisht directs them to step away, back with their families and out of the group who shook their heads no. "Do you have a deer hoof birthmark on your body?" Is my second question. Three girls step forward and I'm left with a conundrum, since only one of them can be high elder.
I decide to take all three of them back to the cabin with me to let Laika decide for herself since time is running short and I only have a couple more hours left before sunset. I place a hand from each of the girls on my bare skin, one on each shoulder, and one on the back of my neck, before placing Laika's gnarled hand over my own chest.
Three gasps of astonishment sound behind me as I enter the vision glade again. Laika comes forward and draws each of the girls forward away from me. She speaks to each one separately and finally chooses the youngest of the three. The youngest is brought to me and Laika smiles, a hand resting gently on the childs shoulder.
"Her name is Layna and she is to be the next high elder. The others have been given the knowledge that they shall receive their chosen fields and live content lives, so there are no hard feelings. Now, take my heir, and her friends, and tell my people what I cannot. Tell them, and remind them that our culture does not weep for the dead. It rejoices the life one has lived instead." I nod and the vision fades and pops again.
I notice Layna leaning over the high elder Laika, her face inches away from the older goblins. Within seconds, Laika's breath stops, and Layna sits straight, eyes closed and breathing deep as if in a trance. She opens her eyes and smiles, a trace of Laika's wisdom flitting across the grass green depths before disappearing.
"Hear me: I am Layna, and I am high elder now. The old has passed, the new has come. Be joyful and know that the cycle continues unbroken, and the wheel turns again. Death into life, old into new, end into beginning. We remain strong and healthy and now we must return to the earth and sky what is rightfully theirs." She directs the remaining goblins to pick up Laika's limp form. It takes a while, but finally a pyre is built in the village center and Laika is laid upon it gently.
"As the fire burns merrily for Laika, so must our hearts. We must fill them with light and life, not shadow and death, for Laika is not dead so long as we hold her, alive and bright, in our hearts. Any tokens you wish to lay on the pyre before I light it, bring forth now." She motions to the pyre wood and people start bringing small tokens forward, a child brings forward a sky blue ribbon, a young woman brings a pouch of herbs, and Krisht brings a beaded skirt and lays it beside Laika's body, fighting the tears that shine in her eyes. Finally, I bring forward one of my best arrows, unable to think of anything else to add.
"Now that the gifts are given, let us release our beloved from her earthly body so that she may be free of this world. I ask that Malachai light the pyre. He who has brought change and new life to this village should be the one to usher in this new era for our people." She brings me the torch she has been carrying and smiles into my eyes, gifting me with a ghostly vision of a patchwork goblin shining and beautiful in her eyes, beautiful even by human standards.
I smile shakily and accept the torch, saying a few words of my own to myself. Wherever she is, let her be happy and free of the pain I know she was in. Carefully, I place the flame to the dry brush and tinder at the bottom of the pyre and step back, watching the flames burn higher and higher. The rest of the villagers start to hum, a surprisingly on tune humming that brings tears to my eyes and makes me remember the people who were left behind when I was shoved into this game that didn't feel like a game anymore.
I back up and slowly head toward my hut, deciding I'll ask Layna for a chance to go into the human town to buy and sell some things for the village. For now, I just want to sleep all night. I check in with the healer assigned to my hut and make sure she knows I'm okay, then head to bed, covering up in some of the furs, turning on an alarm for nine o'clock in the morning, and immediately passing out.
Comments (0)
See all