Chapter Two: The Chimeriad and the Poru Tribe

Despite their startled awakening in the middle of the night, they found themselves well rested when they got up in the morning. Blue sky and sunshine had replaced the storm clouds, and the smell of wet grass filled the air outside. They walked around the village to get a better idea of their surroundings. The houses were built in the same style as Olav's, with thick wooden walls and thatched roofs. All were square, of different sizes, except one round building in the middle of the village, which they later learned was an assembly hall. One slightly unnerving detail they had failed to notice the night before was that at both sides of each entrance stood two bear statues in aggressive poses. The village was bordered by a river, and small fields and rice paddies were scattered around the houses. A little further away, they could see woods that went up the mountainside.

As it was still early, there were not many people around, but the few that were looked at them with wide eyes and whispered to each other excitedly.

"I feel like a celebrity," Agria remarked.

"These people are not used to outsiders," Jiao commented, "and besides, we came to them in a time of need. They must be very grateful to see us."

"Speaking of which… Am I the only one who is still not quite sure what they need us for?"

"I don't think anyone here understood Oleg's jumbled speech, Presa," Wingul answered. "All we know is that it seems quite serious."

"We will have to ask Olav later for precisions."

But when they went back to their host's house, Olav was nowhere to be seen.

"Ma and Pa went out to tend to the fields," Oleg informed them. "Ma said to bring breakfast to my bro and his girl and eat at his house," he added, brandishing a large basket.

Oleg's brother lived in the smallest house of the village and, interestingly, the only one without any bear statue. The inside was stacked with books of all kinds, which elicited a small noise of appreciation from Presa. Its owner was a tall teenager with long hair tied in a ponytail. He introduced himself as Eleek, son of Olav, and invited them to sit down as Oleg unpacked the contents of the basket.

"You should're come yesterday, bro."

"I told you I was busy. I haven't finished my first draft yet."

Compared to his family, Eleek's accent was not as pronounced.

"My bro is trying to apply to… what's it called again?"

"A university," Eleek sighed. "You should try to remember what I tell you once in a while."

"He can read and write!" Oleg added proudly. "He wanna become a 'sai-en-teest'!"

"If that is the case, you should come to Khan Baliq. I shall introduce you to the best tutors."

"That would be an honor, Your Highness," Eleek bowed to him.

"Ha! Finally someone who speaks normally!"

"Agria, don't be rude."

"By the way, where's your girl? I thought she'd be here."

"She's not my girl!" Eleek's cheeks reddened a little. He called out loudly, "Nalr! Breakfast is ready!"

"You bet!" came the reply from behind a pile of books. A girl with dark skin and puffy pigtails emerged, rubbing her eyes.

"Nalr is tired," she complained. "But hungry," she added, eyeing the egg rolls with sudden interest.

"This is Nalr," Oleg said, "the girl I told you about yesterday. She can't speak our language, so Eleek is teaching her. Her mother could, but she only spoke to her in their weird tongue."

"'Could?' What happened to her?"

"She got ill," he said sympathetically. "So now Nalr is our responsibility."

"Let's eat!" the girl interrupted. "Nalr is hungry!"

They helped themselves to the breakfast Olga had kindly prepared for them. The food reminded Gaius a little of what he used to eat when he was young. His hometown had also been up in the mountains under similar climes, so the ingredients available to them were very much alike.

"It is delicious!" Nalr exclaimed.

It took him a moment to realize she had spoken in another language. The others' confused looks were the only indication she had not been understood by the majority, but it was when he saw Wingul's dumbfounded face that he understood. Long Dau. She had spoken Long Dau.

"What… What did you just say?" Wingul asked her, his voice shaking slightly.

Hearing him, the girl jumped up, surprise evident on her face, and started talking excitedly, too fast for Gaius to follow.

"Baiba! Yaio waem spun'ek tuya lemugoegun'!? Tete baes tian' imluya imun' bāi waiolud omdun'distiemud tun'!"

"Yaio… Bāi edin yaio?"

"You can understand her?" Oleg asked, impressed. "Wow, people from the capital are so smart."

Wingul ignored him and questioned the girl again about her origins. They let the two of them discuss in their mother tongue and enjoyed the rest of their breakfast answering Eleek's questions about the outside world.

"By the way," Agria asked during a lull in the conversation, voicing the question they were all wondering about, "what's the deal with all the bears?"

Even Wingul interrupted his conversation with Nalr to listen to Eleek's answer.

"People here worship bears," he explained. "In other places, you worship spirits, don't you? Here it is bears that are considered sacred. The villagers all believe that they will reincarnate into bears when they die."

"You speak as if you don't share that belief."

"It is merely a myth. I would never believe something so unscientific."

"Don't say that!" Oleg reproached, clearly upset. "You will anger the great bear goddess."

"Oleg, there is no bear goddess. They are just animals like dogs and chickens. There is nothing mystical about them."

"You say that because you're not dreamed yet. You'll see, your mind will change after that."

The topic was clearly a point of contention in their family.

"Bears are cute," Nalr interjected helpfully.

"That reminds me of my youth in the Kitarl clan," Jiao recalled fondly. "Some believed that spirits inhabited animals, while others argued that animals, monsters and spirits were unrelated species. I used to play with the wolf statuettes my mom had carved for me when I was born. She said they would bring good fortune…"

"I have a hard time imagining you as a little boy," Presa told him jokingly.

"Ha ha, well, even as a boy I was not exactly 'little,' you know," he laughed. Then, turning to Oleg, added, "I suppose the bear statues in your home have similar meanings?"

"Yes! The bears on the window invite fortune, and those at the entrance repel misfortune."

"What about that ugly ass head above the door?" Agria asked.

"It's to scare children into behaving," Eleek answered.

"Right! You were always so scared of that one," Oleg laughed. "You were like, 'Big brother, the mean bear is looking at me' and clinged to me all teary-eyed."

"That was ages ago!" Eleek protested, reddening.

Intrigued by their animated conversation, Nalr asked Wingul to translate, which he obliged. His surprise gone, he now seemed happy to have found one of the rare Long Dau speakers left in this world.

"I won't deny that bears are important to this valley's ecology, but that doesn't make them special. Howe's theory on spirits is a lot more compelling. You would see that too if you only took the time to learn to read, big brother."

"Bears are sacred," Oleg repeated obstinately. "That's why you must save them," he added, turning to Gaius with a serious expression.

"Could you perhaps re-explain what exactly you need us to do? I am afraid we did not understand everything."

"I knew it," Eleek groaned, hiding his face in his hands. "This is why we should have sent someone else. It's a miracle you managed to convince them to come. If only I could ride a wyvern…"

"Well you can explain now if you want," Oleg shrugged.

With a sigh, Eleek turned to Gaius and exposed the situation.

"An evil spirit seems to have taken residence in the forest. Well, the villagers think it's an evil spirit, or a witch or something like that. I don't believe in that stuff, but it's undeniable that something is out there and is causing harm to the wildlife. Many bears have been spotted injured, as if they'd been beaten up by something unnatural. Many are now too afraid to leave their dens, which is problematic considering we're right in the middle of mating season. This could have considerable impact on the valley's ecological balance if their population were to dwindle. My friend Dier, our best hunter, went into the woods to investigate, but he hasn't been back since. Whatever that thing is, it is a menace that must be stopped."

"This isn't the first time it happened either," Oleg added. "You were too young to remember, bro, but the same thing happened fifteen years ago. The demon fortunately didn't stay long back then, but the aftermath was terrible. It took two years for the bears to finally dare get out again. I remember dad saying the end of the world was approaching. And now it came back." He shuddered, horrified at the prospect.

"So, if I am getting this right, you want us to go to the forest and expel that evil spirit?"

"Yes! Please! I beg you, Gaius, Your Majesty, king most revered!" Oleg prostrated himself at his feet again.

"You don't have to do that every time."

"Y-Yes, Gaius, Your Majes—"

"Oleg, enough," Eleek interrupted, before addressing Gaius as well, "Our fate is in your hands, Your Highness."

"'Esun'." Nalr bowed her head as well. She had not followed the entire conversation, as Wingul had been too focused on listening to translate, but she understood the gravity of the situation.

"Do you know where the demon is located?" Wingul asked, switching immediately into strategist mode.

"We have a vague idea. Come out, we'll show you."

After getting directions from the brothers, it was decided that they would spend the day preparing for the hike through the woods and the battle to come. They would depart the next morning at dawn.

Jiao went to inspect the trail with Agria while Gaius gathered more information about the valley's situation. He spent the afternoon talking to villagers, even joining children in a game of 'Tag, you're bear!' which immediately made him very popular among the local youth. Although he had not known of their existence until recently, those people were part of his country and it was his duty to listen to their concerns and think of ways to improve their living conditions—after they were done with the menace immediately threatening their valley, anyway. At the very least, he would have to ask Jiao to send them a couple of younger wyverns, for old Aya's sake.

Meanwhile, Presa went back to Eleek's house to inspect his collection of books, and Wingul allowed himself a break from strategy planning to talk to Nalr some more. Gaius later learned from him that the girl's mother had been born in Long Dau nobility but had fled the court sixteen years ago when her husband betrayed the clan. She was then pregnant with Nalr, and later raised her on her own in the wilderness until they found the Poru village. Considering the timing, they deduced that Nalr's father had been one of the Long Dau men who had defected to Gaius after Lars Long Dau's death, although they were not sure of who he was and if he was still alive, as Nalr did not know her father's name. Even nearly ten years after the Dawn of Ajur, Gaius was still confronted with the direct repercussions of his rebellion. He promised Nalr to find out more about her father once they went back home.

After dinner, they all went to bed early in anticipation to the day to come.

"So, the big battle is near," Agria stated. "We're gonna kick that demon's ass!" She tried to sound excited, but Gaius noticed the hint of tension in her voice. She was putting up a strong front, but she must have been worried. Gaius himself did not feel completely at ease. An evil spirit that harmed anyone or anything that entered the forest was worrying in its own right. Despite preparing to the best of their abilities, they had no idea what they were actually up against.

"Tomorrow, we will find out whether the village's superstitions about evil spirits are true," Presa pondered aloud.

"Oh, I can bearly wait," Gaius replied humorously to dispel the tension. They all groaned in unison (though he was sure he could hear muffled giggles coming from Agria's side) and he felt Wingul's elbow jab him in the ribs. He nearly scolded him for this public display of familiarity, but he realized that no one had probably noticed, given how close they were next to each other. Olav's house was large by the village standards, but when you factored Jiao into the mix, space quickly became restricted.

That night, he dreamed he was a bear again, but this time he was not alone. Four bear cubs were huddling up against him, trembling, as a sinister laugh echoed through the valley.

Long Dau Translations:

"Baiba! Yaio waem spun'ek tuya lemugoegun'!? Tete baes tian' imluya imun' bāi waiolud omdun'distiemud tun'!" = "Wow! You can speak my language!? Mama was the only one who could understand me!"

"Yaio… Bāi edin yaio?" = "You... Who are you?"

"'Esun'." (short form of "Pulun'esun'") = "Please."

Can you recognize the new characters? :)