Saladin

Early Dark Age - Dostoyvisk, Old Russia

You possess a kind of inner force that seeks to guide you toward your Life's Task-what you are meant to accomplish in the time that you have to live. In childhood this force was clear to you. It directed you toward activities and subjects that fit your natural inclinations, that sparked a curiosity that was deep and primal. In the intervening years, the force tends to fade in and out as you listen more to parents and peers, to the daily anxieties that wear away at you. This can be the source of your unhappiness-your lack of connection to who you are and what makes you-

He immediately glanced around the small clearing as the overpowering smell of roasting venison, paired up with spices and juniper, was wafting into his space. He closed the book, and stood up.

Must be coming back from our cabin. He deduced, striding back in the direction of the village. He weaved around the forest trees, the cold didn't bother him so much anymore.

The settlement came into view, just down the cliff in a small valley below. He climbed down the steep forest floor and made his way over to the closest cabin.

Jolder was outside, chopping wood on the newly provided block with her axe, splitting logs clean in two. There was a campfire with four other logs surrounding it, he let his book rest on the one he frequented.

"Saladin!" Jolder smiled as he approached. "Perun was wondering when you were going to help out around here."

"Clearly you were too." He grinned right back at her. "I'm guessing she's inside with whatever is behind that smell, right?"

Jolder nodded, leaving the axe embedded in the stump. "Yep. She just got back with the hunters." She picked up the two split pieces and tossed them underneath the small cover next to the front door. "Supposedly, one of them came across a bear. They were injured, but the bear took their game instead."

Saladin frowned. "Did Perun get it?"

"No." Jolder shook her head. "Radegast went to do that, though. He actually left just a few minutes ago."

He nodded, staring back at the closed door. Picking a fight with Perun is a lost cause… "I guess I've got nothing better to do in the meantime. I'll go help him out."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Jolder grinned. "I'll watch your book… in the fire that is."

Saladin began walking away. "You do that and I'll throw you off the mountain." He snickered as he glanced back at the dirty blonde.

"Hey! Not funny!"

It is to me. He chuckled to himself, entering the village, though calling it that may have been an overstatement. There was only really a small collection of five cabins surrounding a lodge in the center, though the lightless referred to it as the great hall.

Saladin went straight to the lodge itself, Radegast must be there, or must've been there first, at the least.

"Good afternoon, Saladin!" A large, barrel chested man came out of the first cabin he passed by. His thick Russian accent was as close to the stereotype as it could get. "Lovely weather out today, no?"

"Afternoon, Makarov." He greeted back, stopping in his tracks. "Good weather indeed, hopefully there isn't a blizzard coming anytime soon."

"Oh, I hope not. That would not be ideal." Makarov ran a hand through his thick, bushy beard. "Oh! How do you four like the house, by the way?"

Saladin smiled. "Far better than sleeping in a cave."

Makarov burst out into a fit of laughter. "You always have the best one liners, Saladin!" the Russian turned back inside. "I have to get back to this deer, but I just wanted to say hi. See you around, Saladin!"

"You too, Makarov." He waved at the burly man as he stepped inside his cabin, closing the door behind him.

Saladin resumed his pace, and came by the next homestead. Standing outside, almost waiting for him, was a tall blonde woman wearing furs and a deep blue dress, her golden-spun hair was braided down past her shoulders. "Hello, Saladin." she waved at him.

He stopped in front of her. "Hi, Kristina. How are you?"

"I'm well." she smiled at him. "How about you? Do you like the book I gave you?"

He nodded. "I've barely just scratched the cover, admittedly, but I have to say it's pretty interesting stuff so far."

"That's good." she nodded. "That was my father's favorite, you know. He always had a fascination for those kinds of things; reading was his hobby."

"I appreciate the gift," he said, stepping closer. "By the way, have you seen Radegast? Apparently he's taking on a bear."

Kristina's pale face turned further white. "Oh no, is that the bear that wounded Ivan? It's dangerous, isn't it? He said it was huge, like a mountain."

"Maybe. But we've got to deal with it. Can't have it wandering into the village."

The blonde shook her head. "I suppose… I saw him go up the hill, into the trees." she pointed to his left. "Perhaps down by the creek?"

"Perhaps." Saladin grinned. "Thank you, Kristina."

The blonde's cheeks dusted a light pink. "Be safe, Saladin. Please."

"I will." He didn't know why she worried, I'm not exactly normal.

With that, he left off, following Radegast's trail of fresh, newly stomped footsteps. He followed the prints up the hill and out of the village, soon leaving behind the smell of roasting venison.

He did find Radegast only a few minutes away, standing by what he assumed Kristina had referred to as the creek, but Saladin only saw rapids. Rushing water flowing in blue and white crashed against the rocks as it traveled down deeper into the canal. His friend was standing by the shallow side, further up the river.

As Saladin approached, it appeared Radegast had been looking quite closely at the ground, but he broke his gaze away once Saladin was closer. "Ah, Saladin." he smiled. "Did Perun send you to look after me?"

"No." Saladin shook his head. "I was curious what you were up to. Heard you were going after a bear?"

Radegast nodded. "That I am, though I may be slightly lost." he glanced back down at the huge paw prints in the snow. It was leading across the river. "Unless of course, our furry friend had crossed the rapids."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Saladin glanced to the other side, it was a rather steep slope leading further into the forest, but he could plainly see a set of fresh prints, as well as a trail of blood. "Didn't Perun say they like to stand in the water? Catch fish swimming upstream?"

"Yeah something like that…" Radegast trailed off, walking further away from the edge. "You coming?"

He simply nodded. Radegast immediately began running towards the edge of the water, and he jumped off the ridge, taking off into the air as he conjured the light around his legs, lifting him high above until he reached the other side of the river, landing onto the forest floor with ease. "Come on!"

Saladin gave himself a running start, jumping and focusing his Light. He soared high above the running rapids, even reaching the standing height of some of the trees. The wind rushed past his ears excitedly as he descended, landing on his feet with a loud thump!

"Never gets old." Radegast grinned.

Saladin nodded in agreement. "Flying has its perks."

Radegast continued looking along the forest floor, and they quickly picked up on the trail of blood, must be the game that Jolder mentioned. Elk? The thick line of blood lined up with the direction of the paw prints, which confirmed his theory.

However, Saladin chose to keep his eyes on the trees while his friend kept watching the trail. Radegast wasn't a seasoned tracker like Perun, but Saladin knew that wouldn't stop the man from skimming what experience he could get off of the blonde.

The two men set into a comfortable rhythm; Radegast followed the trail, while Saladin kept close, watching the trees for the supposed Mountain of the Forest.

Radegast was the first to break it, though. "What do you think of the place?"

"Place? What place?"

His friend gave him a sideways glance. "The village." Radegast simply grinned at his expense. "You didn't think I meant the woods did you?"

Saladin shook his head. "No, but…" he cut himself off, deciding to not bother addressing his friend's joke. "It's in a great location. Very secluded. Not to mention that the people are good, too. And the food…"

"Oh the food!" Radegast echoed, patting his stomach. "That lamb stew we had the other night? Probably the best meal I've ever had."

"Don't let Perun hear you say that."

His friend waved his hand unconcernedly. "What's she gonna do to me? Yell?"

Saladin snickered. "I think she's got a soft spot for you." Immediately, an idea clicked in his head. "Honestly, I think you argue with her far more than Jolder and I. Talk about a married couple, hmmm?"

"Now that's something you shouldn't mention in front of her." Radegast shook his head. "I asked because… I wanted to get your opinion on whether or not it's a good place to stay."

Stay? Where'd this come from? Saladin locked eyes with his friend, who looked to be studying his expression.

They never really thought of sticking to one place for too long. Their presence tended to attract opposition from other Lightbearers, or they'd be thrown out by the Lightless themselves, who didn't want anything to do with the Risen.

There was always another target, usually, at least. Now though, it occurred to Saladin that despite their nomadic lifestyle… he and his friends didn't really want to leave. Not this time.

"It's only been a few weeks, I know." Radegast continued, filling the silent gap that Saladin had left behind. "But I feel as if… now, we really have something to fight for. What's the point in going after every single Warlord, if we don't have something to build? To protect?"

It's not like the Lightless were grateful for us disposing the Warlords; bringing sorrow and destruction. They still hated us, just like they hated the Warlords.

These people though… they've been nothing but kind to us… even going so far as to build us our own shelter… Saladin laughed to himself at the revelation.

"What is it?" Radegast asked.

Saladin shook his head. "Just… that cabin is probably the closest thing we've ever had to a home. It just occurred to me, that was all."

"Hmm… Yeah, now that you mention it…" Radegast paused, staring off into the trees. "It is."

What are we fighting for? What is the point of what we're doing? The answers never came to him. Slowly, he found himself beginning to see Radegast's point; maybe they should stay. Help these people build, become more. Create a shining beacon in this dark land.

Saladin smiled at the thought. "I'm game if you are."

Radegast smiled back at him, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Knew I could count on you, my friend."

SNAP!

Both of them shot their gazes over in the direction of what sounded like a branch being stepped on. Saladin nearly forgot about his Light as he laid eyes on the largest bear he'd ever seen.

A shining brown coat, as big as a small boulder, and with a snout so bloodied from it's most recent catch, it stared them down with menacing black eyes.

"How do you want to do this?" Radegast asked him, still keeping his eyes ahead on the bear as it stalked forward.

"How about that thing that Jolder taught us?" Saladin glanced back at his friend. "Could be good practice."

Radegast nodded. "Alright. On three."

The bear stood up on its hind legs, standing to an enormous height of nearly twelve feet. It slammed back into the ground and began charging them. "GRRRAGH!"

"One." Radegast started counting down, getting ready to sprint. Saladin did the same.

The bear must've been nearly twenty feet away, but it was closing in fast. "Two."

As it got closer, Radegast yelled. "Three!"

Saladin set right into a dead sprint forward towards the bear, building up momentum in his knees and arms, he channeled his Arc Light into his right shoulder, and right as the bear was about to collide with them, opening his massive jaw, he pointed his shoulder towards it.

CRUNCH!

The bear's head blew backward, the force sending off the ground and landing just a few feet away. It's nose and muzzle were shattered. Dead.

"Do bears fly?" Radegast smiled as he approached the body of the once mighty beast of the forest. "Hell of a lot bigger than the others we've come across, though." he knelt down and wrapped his arms around it.

Saladin nearly laughed as the mass of the dead animal almost engulfed his view of Radegast, who proceeded to stand up on his legs. "Let's get Mama Bear back to little old Perun."

"Good idea." Saladin nodded, barely seeing Radegast's beard underneath all the fat and fur. "But how are we going to get this thing across the river?"

Saladin didn't say anything.

While he could barely see the face of his friend, he could clearly tell that Radegast was not a happy camper at the moment. His friend's trousers and boots were soaking wet as he carried the corpse of the abnormally large bear down the hill into the clearing.

His friend's anger didn't stop the lightless from swarming him though, especially the children, who stared at the dead animal in pure awe. Despite his mood, Radegast couldn't resist. "Don't do this at home, kids."

Saladin watched on as the children fondled the bear's huge paws that dangled off the side, meanwhile an older, more elderly man approached them. One child looked at Saladin. "How did it die?"

"Blunt force trauma," he answered.

"Alright, children. Leave Radegast be, he is carrying a mighty animal as you can see, it is taking its toll on him." The old man cleared the children away.

Radegast grunted under the weight, and moved on back to their cabin, while the old man approached Saladin.

"Vladimir." Saladin smiled, and the old man grinned right back at him.

Vladimir held out his hand. "Saladin. I thank you and Radegast for ridding us of that bear. We will sleep safely because of you once again."

"Believe me when I say it's the least we could do." Saladin shook the old man's hand. Despite his advanced age, Vladimir still had quite the grip.

Familiar blonde hair appeared behind the old man, who turned to find it's owner waiting. "It is time I take my leave. Have a good evening, Saladin."

"You too, Vladimir." He watched the old man leave, hobbling back to the great hall. Saladin looked over at a patient Kristina, and saw the bundle in her hands.

The blonde smiled. "I'm glad you're safe."

"So am I." He grinned playfully. He gestured to the bundle in her hands. "Is that for me?"

Kristina looked down at her hands, then back up at his eyes. "Oh!" she giggled nervously, blushing. "Yes, of course." she handed the package out to him.

He took it, smiling as he saw it was another book, and a small pouch. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. "Thank you, Kristina."

She stepped closer. "My father used to read it to me… It's one of my favorites…" she stared into his eyes. He didn't say anything as Kristina reached up and kissed him on the corner of his lips, her lips brushing his scruffy beard.

Kristina pulled away slowly, stepping back. "Good night, Saladin." she winked at him before walking away back to her home.

Even as she left, he could still feel how warm her lips were on his skin. Like on autopilot, he made his way back to the cabin. Though he was quickly broken out of it upon arriving.

Radegast and Perun were arguing, and Saladin figured it was about the bear seeing as the blonde was pointing at the sizable dent in its face. All the while, Jolder was poking the fire with a stick, trying to ignore the shouting behind her.

Talk about a married couple…

"How could you go and just do this to such a noble animal?" Perun was furious, pointing at the bear's skull. "You and Saladin decided to ram it? Why? Instead of putting it down quickly, you just had to go and nail it with your shoulders."

Radegast shook his head, raising his hand up to Perun's nose. "I'm not about to get into some philosophical debate on how it should've died. You stick to animal rights and I'll stay with my thing."

"Oh, so when someone else uses philosophy, it's no game for you. But when it's the other way around, Radegast gets to preach however much he likes."

Saladin elected to sit by the fire with Jolder, setting his new book down on top of the other one.

"What's that?" Jolder raised an eyebrow. "The bear didn't have a treasure hoard, did it?"

He shook his head. "Kristina gave me a new book, that's all."

"Oh… nice…" Jolder nodded, her smile dimming. She looked back into the fire. "You're gonna have a library soon enough."

"Heh," he chuckled. "That would be the day."

Just then Perun was about to explode, but was stopped when Radegast laid a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Perun. Saladin and I are fine. I would really appreciate it if you stopped yelling at me so I can go change my trousers after I carried the bear through freezing rapids just to bring it back. Okay?"

The blonde calmed, and nodded with a confused frown. "...Okay…"

Radegast breezed by into the cabin. While Perun got to work on the bear, all was silent between the four of them. Saladin quickly picked up where he left off as he flipped open his book.

-what makes you unique. The first move toward mastery is always inward-learning who you really are and reconnecting with that innate force. Knowing it with clarity, you will find your way-

"Ah, that's much better." Radegast came out of the cabin wearing a fresh pair of trousers and new boots, likely given to him by Vladimir. He sat down on a stump opposite of Saladin, looking satisfied that he was no longer wearing soaked pants. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted."

Radegast continued. "I was talking with Saladin while we we're out looking for the bear. I think we should stay here."

Jolder frowned. Perun stood up, wiping her bloodied hands with a cloth as she walked over to the fire. Nobody spoke for what seemed like hours.

Finally, "What makes you say that?" Jolder broke the silence, sitting forward.

His friend stood up, and paced around the stump slowly. "Being hunted by Warlords… it gets tiring… and, if I'm being honest, I don't even remember the reason for why we're doing it…" he gestured back out to the small village behind them. "But here? I really think we have this opportunity to… build something, for once in our lives."

More silence followed, and Perun and Jolder shared glances. The former glanced at Saladin. "And what do you think, Saladin?"

All eyes turned on him right then. "Radegast is right…" he nodded. "How many times have we gotten rid of a Lightbearer, only for another to take their place?" he paused, allowing the question to sink into his comrades' minds. "If we stay here, though… we'll be trying something new, a fresh start for all of us."

Perun turned away to face the bear, and Jolder continued her silent vigil, staring into the fire. Saladin saw the flames dancing in her eyes. Radegast nodded his appreciation, to which Saladin smiled back.

The blonde came back into the firelight, wearing a calm smile. "I've got no objections." She placed a hand on Jolder's shoulder. "Jolder?"

Jolder shook her head, grinning as she looked up at Saladin. "I'm game."

"Yes!" Radegast pumped his fist like he was an excited child. All annoyances were forgotten in that moment as they all sat around the fire, Perun serving out portions of venison stew.

There wasn't any more fighting that night. All the four of them sang together as the moon rose high in the night sky, with all the time in the world.