Discovery: Part 2

Once the initial shock wore off, Ivan quickly grew comfortable enough with Vikingr to press him for more information. He followed the Viking like a puppy, entranced by everything that issued from his mouth. Vikingr walked as he talked of people and nations, taking enormous strides that the boy could hardly keep up with.

Ivan wasn't exactly paying attention to such trivial things as the scenery. He just assumed that they were making a loose circle around the village. It took him nearly an hour to become aware that they were traveling farther and farther from home.

"Where are we going?" he asked suddenly.

The Viking furrowed his brow. "I'm taking you to Novgorod. Didn't I say so already?"

Ivan snapped out of a trance he hadn't realized he was in. Vikingr seemed like a miraculous figure, someone who knew the secrets of the universe. Ivan had been following him blindly, but he had to assert his priorities.

"But what about my family?"

"Eh, humans. You would have had to leave them anyway."

"You don't understand," pleaded Ivan. "They're like us!"

At this the Viking paused, thinking. "I wonder what they could represent…" he muttered, almost to himself. Then he spoke to Ivan. "You know what? It doesn't matter. You're my territory now, and you're coming with me."

"But…"

"Look, child, I know you're worried. But I could teach you a way to make sure they are all right."

Ivan wasn't reassured in the slightest, but he decided to go along with Vikingr. Perhaps he would learn something useful. Vikingr took his silence as acceptance. "All right!" he said. "First, close your eyes."

Ivan did so.

The Viking chuckled. "Open them, boy! This isn't black magic or Eastern meditation. Just think of your family. Concentrate on whoever is in it. Try to feel where they are."

Ivan scowled at the trick, but tried to do what Vikingr said. First, he thought of Katya. He remembered how she always tried to imitate Mother. How she teased but never meant it. The way she insisted on cutting her hair.

He began to miss his sister even more than he had before, but felt nothing especially unusual.

Then Natalia. Ivan imagined her constant cheerfulness. The feeling of her small hand in his. That funny crooked smile she had, with one corner of her mouth higher than the other. Still nothing.

Finally, he thought of Mother. He had always seen her as something immense, immovable. As unaffected as a mountain. But she had been acting so strange lately, so distant and disillusioned. She had sent him away without batting an eyelash. Where was the Mama who told him stories and always made sure he was all right?

Ivan reached for her, tried to sense her location with his mind. And then he felt something. It was like a current running through him, an invisible energy he hadn't known existed. It was in the world around him, present in each tree and blade of grass. He seemed to hear rivers rushing with each beat of his heart.

The feeling clarified, and spilled over into vision. Even though Vikingr had told him not to, Ivan closed his eyes. He felt an invisible bond that linked Katya, Natalia, and himself. Together, they formed a glowing formation on the inside of Ivan's eyelids. This circle of energy spread over the people of Rus like a net. Every human was a pinpoint of energy, a tiny light against the darkness. But someone was missing.

Ivan searched for Mother, and found her to be outside the circle. Her light was dim, flickering, no brighter than a human's. Ivan knew without a doubt that something was terribly wrong back at the clearing, and Ivan would forever blame himself if he didn't investigate.

He opened his eyes, breaking the pattern. Ivan didn't have time to appreciate the vision, only respond to its significance.

He had no idea that it was the first and last time he would be so in tune with his country.

Vikingr smiled at him, unaware of what Ivan had seen. "Congratulations, boy! You're-"

Without words or explanations, Ivan turned and ran in the direction of home. Vikingr would probably follow within a second, but Ivan didn't care. With every step, his conviction grew. He had to get to Mother before it was too late.

The forest melted around him, trees blending into each other. Birds scattered at his every footstep. The only sounds Ivan could hear were his own breathing and the beating of his heart.

He sprinted faster and faster, only aware of his purpose. Without knowing it, Ivan slipped onto the Hidden Road, that strange dimension his kind used to travel within their territories.

He did not feel any change, any sensation but desperation and speed. Yet, only several minutes into a journey that should have taken hours, Ivan found himself near home.

Shocked, he stopped for a second, grabbing a branch to avoid pitching forward. He looked behind him to check if Vikingr was following him. There was no sign of the huge man anywhere. Then Ivan tore into the clearing.

It was as if the day before had never happened, as if he had never left. Mother sat in the same place, on the same log, but her head lolled limply to one side. Natalia crouched beside her on the ground, holding her hand.

Katya came up to meet Ivan, grabbing him by the shoulders. Instead of fear, her face showed a deep sort of sadness that came from swallowing misfortune.

"What's wrong?" Ivan panted. "What happened to Mother?"

"She won't move. She won't speak. I think she's… dying."

Ivan was enraged by what seemed to be casual acceptance. "How could that happen? Our land is whole, our people are alive, our-"

Katya blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Ivan had no time to explain his revelation. Instead, he ran to Mother and kneeled in front of her in the same posture as the day before. If he answered her question, she would live. If he told her what she was, she would stand up and forget everything that had happened.

"We're nations!" he blurted, words coming out in a rush. "We're the land and the people and the animals and the spirit of this place."

This made her raise her head to look up at Ivan. There was a hint of surprise on her face, but it quickly changed to the same sort of resignation Ivan had seen from Katya. "No," she said weakly. "Not we."

"Then who is?" The question came from Natalia, who had been listening.

Mother gestured to all three of her children.

Suddenly, Ivan understood. His mother was a creature of the past, a symbol who hid from everything she personified. Ivan and his sisters were the future of the Rus.

When his mother's answer finally came, it wasn't much of a surprise. "You."

Then her head pitched forward and she spoke no more.

Ivan and Katya froze at the finality of it. Natalia was the first to react.

"Mama!" she wailed like the lost child she was. "Wake up!"

She shook Mother's arm, growing more and more frantic, but there was no response. Katya gently took her by the hand and led her away.

Then, just to make sure, she checked for a pulse. Katya drew back her hand instantly, horror written all over her face. A strangled whimper escaped her throat. "Look…" she whispered.

And Ivan did.

Right before their eyes, something strange was happening to Mother's body. Her face looked unusually colorless, even for a dead person, and her dress was somehow falling through her skin. When Ivan looked at what remained of his mother's face, he could see clear through to the tree behind her.

Mother was there, and then she wasn't.

Thanks for reading! Please review if you liked it :)