Summer Month: 1 
Night 
Earthquake Moon: 
Also
Jaro stared down at the village with a sense of dread and relief.
She’d woken up with the sun barely rising above the horizon and a cold wind blowing the ashes of the fire into her face. Her entire body felt sore. Whether from the riding, sword fighting the night before, or the cold hard ground she slept on, she couldn’t tell, but she felt like sleeping again. She felt like lying down and dreaming a little longer, maybe forever… but she knew she needed to get up.
The sky was heavy with light gray clouds and the scent of rain. Part of her shivered from the cold and another from the memory of the last storm she’d witnessed.
The last storm her family had seen before they were slaughtered.
She squeezed her eyes together and looked away from the fire. She should think about that.
She’d quickly packed everything after taking a sip from a nearby stream and cleaned her wounds. Jaro didn’t have any bandages for her arm anymore, but as long as she didn’t strain it, the wound wouldn’t open again. Hopefully.
While she’d been putting on Storms saddle, she realized she had no coin. Even if she did find a village, she wouldn’t be able to buy any provisions. At least till she remembered that she had a second well-bred and trained mare. Just thinking about selling Wolf made Jaro’s chest hurt, but she needed to survive. She needed to avenge her family.
She moved the quickly dwindling bundle of wood and Asterix’s ax to Storms saddle before finally mounting her horse and continuing her journey to the south.
The sun had just passed its highest point when she finally found a trail. It was well worn and looked like it’d been recently used, as there were quite a few horse and wagon tracks heading to the east. Jaro followed them as quickly as possible. Paths always lead to something, especially ones used as much as this one.
After an hour of watching the clouds slowly darken and grow heavier she heard the creaking of a wagon and heavy footsteps of horses common from her left, and seconds later the wagon appeared, joining the trail she was on and leaving a much smaller one.
The wagon was an old one, the metal was starting to rust, the wheels were crooked and the wood was rotting. The two people on the wagon didn’t look to good either. Their heads were low and their cloaks looked worn and dirty. Probably a lot like Jaro’s own cloak. The two horses pulling the wagon looked a bit better off, but it was obvious they were older steeds with much less strength than they used to have.
“Vantrus!” she called out.
I’d been a long time since she’d last used the word; it was meant to greet strangers, and no one in her old village was a stranger anymore.
The taller of the two people looked over his shoulder at her. He looked so sad. Under his eyes were heavy bags, his beard was unkempt and he had dirt smeared all over his face.
“Ventrus…” his voice was quiet and sounded much older than it should have.
“I’m looking for a village, does this path lead to one?” she didn’t like disturbing these people, they looked as if they just wanted to be alone and forgotten…
“Aye. Another hours ride. But I wouldn’t go.”
“Why?”
“Southerners. They came to our village two days with the head of Solkan Kletchar’Crah and his two sons, our village protectors. They’re saying that the north belongs to them now. That the Kletchars are all gone” the mans voice grew weaker with every word.
Jaro wanted to say that they weren’t gone. She had survived and she would avenge her brothers, but she couldn’t. Valek had made her promise to stay safe.
“I- I heard that something had happened to the Kletchars… I didn’t… is it true? Was it really Solkan?”
“Aye. I knew the man my whole life. One of his boys was only sixteen” the old man released a shaky sigh.
“But just because the southerners killed the Kletchar’s doesn’t mean the north belongs to them! We still have the Nestveks and Kastans! Even the Haleraks could fight” the Kletchar clan may have been the largest clan, but that didn’t mean the other three were weak.
“My wife thought that same thing. The southerners promised that if those clans didn’t bow to them, they would be killed as well.”
“Northerners don’t bow.”
“Northerners survive. If we must bow to survive, then we must bow” the second person finally spoke. Jaro couldn’t see her face, but the voice seemed to belong to a young woman.
“We’re fighters and warriors. I would never bow to a Southerner who hides behind his armor.”
“That’s what my mother said. Then they hanged her” Jaro felt the blood drain from her face.
“I hadn’t realized-”
“It doesn’t matter. You cannot change the words you have spoken, just as you cannot bring back those who have died. You can only look forward…” the woman’s voice wasn’t weak like her father’s, though it sounded cracked and scratchy.
“Why are you looking for a village? Why aren’t you in your own?” the man spoke again.
She was quiet for a little.
“I need provisions. Food, waterskin, new cloak. Anything that can help me survive” she replied.
“Why? Why not just stay in your old village, with your family? Now that the southerners are here… they’re trying to push their ways on us. My wife was the first woman to be hanged for asking questions, but she’s far from the last. Men defending their wives and daughters have been hanged with them. You being alone in these times is a terrible idea” Jaro could tell that it hurt the man every time he spoke of his wife, yet besides sympathy, she felt determination.
She didn’t just need to avenge her family. She needed to free her people too. Kletchars were sworn to protect their villages and the whole north.
“I have no where else to go… my family is dead and my village isn’t safe. I’m going to travel till I find somewhere to stay, and to do that, I need food and water. Doesn’t matter how dangerous it is to venture into your village” it already felt like Jaro had said too much, but these were northerners. If they realized who she was, she could trust them.
Jaro stared down at the village with a sense of dread and relief.
She’d woken up with the sun barely rising above the horizon and a cold wind blowing the ashes of the fire into her face. Her entire body felt sore. Whether from the riding, sword fighting the night before, or the cold hard ground she slept on, she couldn’t tell, but she felt like sleeping again. She felt like lying down and dreaming a little longer, maybe forever… but she knew she needed to get up.
The sky was heavy with light gray clouds and the scent of rain. Part of her shivered from the cold and another from the memory of the last storm she’d witnessed.
The last storm her family had seen before they were slaughtered.
She squeezed her eyes together and looked away from the fire. She should think about that.
She’d quickly packed everything after taking a sip from a nearby stream and cleaned her wounds. Jaro didn’t have any bandages for her arm anymore, but as long as she didn’t strain it, the wound wouldn’t open again. Hopefully.
While she’d been putting on Storms saddle, she realized she had no coin. Even if she did find a village, she wouldn’t be able to buy any provisions. At least till she remembered that she had a second well-bred and trained mare. Just thinking about selling Wolf made Jaro’s chest hurt, but she needed to survive. She needed to avenge her family.
She moved the quickly dwindling bundle of wood and Asterix’s ax to Storms saddle before finally mounting her horse and continuing her journey to the south.
The sun had just passed its highest point when she finally found a trail. It was well worn and looked like it’d been recently used, as there were quite a few horse and wagon tracks heading to the east. Jaro followed them as quickly as possible. Paths always lead to something, especially ones used as much as this one.
After an hour of watching the clouds slowly darken and grow heavier she heard the creaking of a wagon and heavy footsteps of horses common from her left, and seconds later the wagon appeared, joining the trail she was on and leaving a much smaller one.
The wagon was an old one, the metal was starting to rust, the wheels were crooked and the wood was rotting. The two people on the wagon didn’t look to good either. Their heads were low and their cloaks looked worn and dirty. Probably a lot like Jaro’s own cloak. The two horses pulling the wagon looked a bit better off, but it was obvious they were older steeds with much less strength than they used to have.
“Vantrus!” she called out.
I’d been a long time since she’d last used the word; it was meant to greet strangers, and no one in her old village was a stranger anymore.
The taller of the two people looked over his shoulder at her. He looked so sad. Under his eyes were heavy bags, his beard was unkempt and he had dirt smeared all over his face.
“Ventrus…” his voice was quiet and sounded much older than it should have.
“I’m looking for a village, does this path lead to one?” she didn’t like disturbing these people, they looked as if they just wanted to be alone and forgotten…
“Aye. Another hours ride. But I wouldn’t go.”
“Why?”
“Southerners. They came to our village two days with the head of Solkan Kletchar’Crah and his two sons, our village protectors. They’re saying that the north belongs to them now. That the Kletchars are all gone” the mans voice grew weaker with every word.
Jaro wanted to say that they weren’t gone. She had survived and she would avenge her brothers, but she couldn’t. Valek had made her promise to stay safe.
“I- I heard that something had happened to the Kletchars… I didn’t… is it true? Was it really Solkan?”
“Aye. I knew the man my whole life. One of his boys was only sixteen” the old man released a shaky sigh.
“But just because the southerners killed the Kletchar’s doesn’t mean the north belongs to them! We still have the Nestveks and Kastans! Even the Haleraks could fight” the Kletchar clan may have been the largest clan, but that didn’t mean the other three were weak.
“My wife thought that same thing. The southerners promised that if those clans didn’t bow to them, they would be killed as well.”
“Northerners don’t bow.”
“Northerners survive. If we must bow to survive, then we must bow” the second person finally spoke. Jaro couldn’t see her face, but the voice seemed to belong to a young woman.
“We’re fighters and warriors. I would never bow to a Southerner who hides behind his armor.”
“That’s what my mother said. Then they hanged her” Jaro felt the blood drain from her face.
“I hadn’t realized-”
“It doesn’t matter. You cannot change the words you have spoken, just as you cannot bring back those who have died. You can only look forward…” the woman’s voice wasn’t weak like her father’s, though it sounded cracked and scratchy.
“Why are you looking for a village? Why aren’t you in your own?” the man spoke again.
She was quiet for a little.
“I need provisions. Food, waterskin, new cloak. Anything that can help me survive” she replied.
“Why? Why not just stay in your old village, with your family? Now that the southerners are here… they’re trying to push their ways on us. My wife was the first woman to be hanged for asking questions, but she’s far from the last. Men defending their wives and daughters have been hanged with them. You being alone in these times is a terrible idea” Jaro could tell that it hurt the man every time he spoke of his wife, yet besides sympathy, she felt determination.
She didn’t just need to avenge her family. She needed to free her people too. Kletchars were sworn to protect their villages and the whole north.
“I have no where else to go… my family is dead and my village isn’t safe. I’m going to travel till I find somewhere to stay, and to do that, I need food and water. Doesn’t matter how dangerous it is to venture into your village” it already felt like Jaro had said too much, but these were northerners. If they realized who she was, she could trust them.
