21

Rebellion?

The two weeks went quickly. Almost every day, Saber and his new friend went out on the boat and gathered the old man's catches. He said that these two or so weeks of the year were the busiest for three reasons: it was trading time, which happened four times a year. Two, the fish were the most numerous, as it was their mating season; and three, it was time for the Nai's Gathering Day, which they really didn't have a name for. But it was the same. A group of the elders, as this peaceful town had no warriors and did not need them, took the demanded payment to the edge of town, where the representatives from the six or so towns all met. Some were Nai, and some, Leyati said, were a reptile race. Saber was very much intrigued by this, and wanted to see one, but he did not go. He had had quite enough Lunattacks for a long, long time.

Saber has asked what happened during trading time, and the Nai told him it was like a giant flea market. Saber had had to ask what that meant, and Leyati explained. The people from the surrounding villages met in Leyati's town, and displayed their wares. The last two days of Saber's agreed time there had been helping him set up his booth. He was told this took place for two weeks, all day for those two weeks. At night, the booths were locked up and people went back home, or to where they were staying, then came back. Food, clothing, tools, fighting equipment, all manner of things were traded there.

During those long days on the boat, sometimes it was nice out, sometimes rainy and cold, sometimes humid and chilly. But the jumpsuit he had been given kept him warm, and Leyati's attic was comfortable. He talked a lot with Leyati, mostly about the Lunattacks. "Why do you do as they tell you to?" Saber had asked.

The man raised a brow. "You should know more 'n anyone, youngster. They've got power that could bring this entire village to its knees, with just a few of 'em."

"But they're not demons, they're mortal! You can hurt them!"

Leyati sighed. "I know. But there's somewhere along thirty of 'em in that fortress of theirs, and...we just don't have anything to fight 'em with."

Saber thought for a while as they sailed for their next reap to check. "How many villages, including this
one, are there around here?"

"Seven." Leyati was looking at the boy thoughtfully.

"Hmm...and they all have about how many people?"

"I'd say anywhere from about three hundred to a thousand. I think Salterville has that many. They're the reptiles."

"That's plenty! That's enough to fight these guys! Why do we all have to do what they say? They don't need it, they don't do anything to earn it. I mean in my village that's food that could feed people and metals and metals that we could use! I mean, with our four villages, and your seven, and the Berbil Village too, I bet could help-"

"Berbils? You actually saw them? I thought they were just a legend, the mechanical bears."

"Bears? I never heard of them. They're little people, but still if we all maybe fought at the same time, and there are the Unicorn Guardians who know magic, and who know how many other villages on Fourth Earth?"

Leyati never gave him a reply to this, but neither did he argue. He only looked at Saber for a minute, as if reassessing him, then went back to his work.

After a moment, Saber did too, but he was thinking. In the little disks' moving pictures, he had seen the feline warriors fight many enemies. Mostly the Lunattacks and the beast-people, but he had seen them fight someone else, too. one that did not seem to be a part of a group, rather the leader. He was taller than any of them, and dressed in a kilt and a cape, with a fearsome-looking battle helmet. Was he the lord of the Lunattacks? If so, then even he could be fought; he had seen it.

The boy stayed a little time after the required two weeks to help Leyati sell his wares. He wanted to see the great sale. It was even bigger than Leyati had made it out to be, as dozens of traders from the seven or so villages came to trade their goods. Saber enjoyed the first two days or so of it, and was surprised on the third day as Leyati approached him with a smile and an item wrapped in rough cloth. "Y' did good these past two weeks, youngster," he said. "And this year I've got a bigger catch than ever. It may not be much, but I wanted to give y' this."

Saber curiously took the item, and with Leyati's admonition to be careful, unwrapped it. His eyes widened in an expression of pleased surprise. In the cloth was a long, sharp dagger with a hilt of some kind of extremely hard wood and a double blade that branched off into two points before tapering once more at the top. It was a good, strong weapon. "I-is this for me?" he asked.

Leyati chuckled and handed him the leather sheath that went with it. "Yep, it's for you. I figure y' could use it on your journey. Y' till have a long way to go, young fella."

After a moment of awe, Saber felt a rush of pride. Would his father have trusted him and his abilities enough to give him something like that? He did not think so. He knew his father loved him more than anything but he just did not understand. A wide grin spread across Saber's face, and without thinking embraced his new friend.

Leyati seemed surprised, and a little uncomfortable, but he chuckled and returned the embrace, patting the boy heavily on the shoulder. "I'll miss y', kid," he said. "I've traveled a bit in my time, maybe if I can someday, I'll come and see your village in the east."

Saber beamed. "That's be great! You can meet my mama and papa, and Drii, my little brother."

"Its a deal, then." The old Nai held out his hand, and remembering, Saber grasped it, and they shook on it.

The next morning, Saber was on his way. Leyati had said he could stay on a while if he wanted, but did not think the boy would take him up on the offer. He was an adventurer, a traveler, and he knew the boy wouldn't stay in one place too long unless it was his home. Maybe not even then.

And so, with a wave of thanks and friendship, Saber left the boundaries on the Nai Village. He had an old sturdy duffel that Leyati had had in his attic, and it contained his journal pages, a good amount of fresh parchment, a few of the strange small writing sticks that Leyati had given him, and supplies. The old Nai had given him enough food for a week or so, and an old first aid kit he had found in the attic. Dressed in thick leather boots and the jumpsuit, and with his dagger and a metal waterskin set firmly on his belt, Saber set off once more.

Leyati watched the boy until he could no longer see him, and waved once more. Then he returned to his home. The trading was not yet over, after all, and there was work to be done. No time to miss the young human. He had never had a son of his own, and at his age did not think he would. It made him happy to know he had passed on his knowledge, and stories to someone who would use them.

The young traveler passed through two more towns before he was again on his own. One had been a small Nai town, and he had passed it in a day, stopping only once for a small meal. The other had been a town of the reptile creatures he had seen at the trading area in Leyati's village, and had been fascinated by. He had never seen man-lizards before. They were pretty quiet for the most part, and very tall. but somehow they were not intimidating. He stayed the night at a small inn, in exchange for doing some chores around the place. His hosts were friendly enough, and in the morning, as dawn broke over the sea, he started off again,

The sun rising and setting was something that Saber wished he could see every day on the ocean, and the only thing he;d enjoyed on his journey after the desert. If the sky was clear, and he looked out over the vast waters, he would watch the great fiery ball rise, or set over the blue horizon. In some places the sea curved enough for him to see both, others only the sunsets occurred over the waters.

He would watch the water turn brilliant orange as the sun dipped, waves reflecting a purer white light, the valleys between the waves a deep red. At one point, the whole sea would look to be aflame, and it was then that Saber thought he could watch it forever. He had never seen such a thing of beauty in his life, as one who lives surrounded by trees never would.

This would be the last time he would see this sight on his journey, as the ocean once again turned away from where he had to go. But that was all right. He had the strange metal waterskin, lighter than his other one, and it carried a good amount of water. He figured he would run into a river or a stream that he could follow at some point, and he was not worried.

He did come across a small river that ran the way he needed to travel, and over the days, he began to leave the beach behind. He kept the metal waterskin...a canteen, the old Nai had called it...empty until he needed to fill it. He took the water fresh from the river instead. He had wondered at first how something so light could hold water, but an amused Leyati had shown him that it did, and was stronger than anything made of leather could be. Saber had been amazed. There was so much in this world that fascinated him; he wondered how his people ever could have stayed so long in that one valley that now seemed so little to him.

And so Saber walked. As he went on, the river narrowed down into a wide stream, and cut across his path. The boy easily crossed it, filling the canteen and drinking a good deal before leaving it completely. The weather was getting colder, and before too long, even the thick jumpsuit could not keep out the cold wind. His hands and face were exposed to the wind as he left the stream and headed once more into woods whose trees were shedding their leaves. Saber's boots crunched brilliant red, gold, and orange leaves underfoot as he steadily headed east, where the Cats' Lair and his belongings were. He had fashioned another headband that kept the hair from his eyes, but did little to warm his head.

As the weeks passed once again, Saber passed through many small villages. Sometimes he stayed a while, and worked to earn board and supplies for his journey. In one of these towns, he had assisted a blacksmith for a few days, and had enjoyed that. It was always warm in his shop, and watching him bend the very metal into the shapes he wanted was fascinating. In this town, he had gotten some gloves and a warm hat with the coins he received for his work.

One of the towns was Nai, a couple were the reptile people...and one was even Erthrin! They called themselves human as well, although they looked exactly like Saber's people. They had the lightest fur on their bodies, the slightly feral-looking faces, and as he told them about his own village, and they compared similarities and differences, he discovered they also had the natural filters that could be dropped in the throat in the nasal passages. Saber hated the way that felt and rarely used them, but he had the ability.

He also learned that they, too, had to offer up a good deal of their food and gold to the Lunattacks each moon-time...and again Saber felt indignation, anger that they were being manipulated. He had stayed on there a week or so, having been told by those there that it was the last town for miles. So many miles that none of them had ever gone far enough to reach another town to the east. There might not even be one.

However, while he was there, he talked with the inhabitants he had made friends with. He asked them why they had to do as the Lunattacks told them to. They had not known whether they were mortal or not, but they listened to the boy's tale with great interest. It was a large town, larger than any he had yet seen. He had told them that there could not be more than thirty of the Lunattacks living in their fortress and they agreed. For the size of their town, all of the Lunattacks came on gathering day.

With each day that passed, Saber grew more and more convinced that being forced to bend to the will of the demonic-looking creatures and their master, whoever he was, was wrong. He thought of the Nai and all the people there, and his own people, and all the other villages he had passed. He had talked there, too, although in places he only stayed a night or so he did not think they had taken him very seriously. But in others he had made friends - and he had gotten them thinking.

An old man in this last village had even told Saber a story of a dark-skinned woman from the south who had led an army of hundreds against the being that commanded the Lunattacks. He did not know this being's name but knew that he had been on Fourth Earth since its first cycle, before it was even known as Second Earth. Saber had listened in awe as he told of the great battle, and clenched a fist in the air as the old man told of what the woman had said to the immortal being before attacking, of the fight that lasted all day, and ended with the courageous woman's death. He told this story that had been passed on by survivors of that great battle decades ago. So, people had tried to resist them before, and almost succeeded! If an army of hundreds had nearly succeeded, what could a thousand or ore do? Leyati had said that the biggest village in his area had that many people. If four hundred were capable of fighting, that was four hundred just in one town!

The humans of that town had gotten to thinking about the boy's words and they were thinking that maybe he was right.

Now Saber wanted to get home more than ever. He had so much to tell his family, and his people, and he wanted to talk to his father. He wanted to convince his people to start fighting back. Saber had experienced freedom beyond what any in his valley could: he had gone beyond the borders of the valley and explored far away lands. He decided that he liked freedom. And he decided that it was worth almost any price. The dark skinned woman from the south had known this; Saber was just now learning it.

As the last of the autumn leaves fell from the bare branches, Saber set off alone once more, again with a full load of supplies. As he walked into the bitter wind, gloves on and hat pulled low, he realized something, the same thing he;d realized in Leyati's town. When he left his village, he had had trouble with his light clothing and the few supplies he had taken. He had tired early. But now, he carried a full duffel bag of supplies, twice what he had taken from home, and wore heavy clothing from head to foot. And he had walked through the day stopping only once to eat without getting tired.

He grinned. He had gotten stronger over the months. He wondered if Iyen would be able to do this. Probably not.

The sun was setting much earlier than when he'd started this journey, and away from the towns it soon became too dark, not to mention cold, to go any further. Saber built a fire in a small clearing, and had supper by its light and warmth. Pushing up dirt and leaves, he built a shelter that was more like a nest, to block the wind, and lay down upwind of the blaze. With the little dirt wall blocking the wind, and the fire beside him, he was plenty warm enough that night as he wrote his journal and closed his eyes to sleep. He felt as if he had just passed a major phase in his journey as he drifted off to sleep on the blaze-warmed ground, and dreamt of home.

Part 22: Winter

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