Chapter 6: The Old Man in the Woods

The rain had ceased and a canvas covered him by the time he next knew the world. Before the opening of his eyes, sound came to him, and he heard the lapping waves of a calmer sea, the rush of a light breeze, and the crackling of a small fire. For many minutes he remained thus, until he heard a voice speaking to him. Its sound was familiar, but his mind would not let him recognize the speaker, nor understand their words.

With a great effort Brandyé rolled to his side, and discovered that it was damp sand upon which he was lying, for his nose dug into it and breathed it in before he knew it. He spluttered and snorted, raising himself and trying to blow his nose with his hands. If nothing else this brought him fully to his senses, and as he opened his eyes and looked about him, he saw Khana was sitting on a log beside him, a small fire burning before him.

“Alive you are,” he said, and Brandyé was this time able to focus and understand his words. “Your passing I feared.”

Brandyé tried to speak, but his throat was cracked and dry, […]

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Chapter 5: The Raid on Voènarà

It was some weeks before Brandyé had healed from the latàhní’s wounds, in which time he was allowed to rest and perform only minimal duties in Khana’s home. Khana, despite his injured leg, appeared unbothered by any pain, and limped quite contentedly here and there until his was able to better bear weight upon it. Brandyé was quite struck by the man’s resilience, for so it had been on Tahn-khafawō after the attack. No further sounds had been heard that night, whether by Andèlin’s vigilance or good fortune, but come the morning Brandyé had slept little, and was still in great pain.

Khana, however, was bright and sharp at first light, and managed to drag the latàhní’s carcass through the forest and over the plains, ensuring always that Brandyé was well and with him. For his part, Brandyé had begun to feel faint and feverish, though thanks to Khana’s remedy his wounds had not become infected. How Khana was able to descend the cliff stairs to the boat bearing the weighty carcass Brandyé was unsure, but somehow they found themselves in the open sea once more, having passed under the great rock arch at the lowest tide. Khana had […]

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Chapter 4: On the Lonely Island

Rumor of Brandyé’s defiance of Abula Kharta, and how Khana had bought him from their lord, spread rapidly, and it was not long before Brandyé was the subject of much gossip and whispering, which was a thing he was only too familiar with. Khana himself fell under the scrutiny of the Cosari, for while the purchase of a servant was entirely legitimate, to rob their lord of the subject of his wrath was seen as terribly unwise, and it was wondered how much wealth Khana had parted with in order to do so.

Neither of the two were much perturbed by this however, for Khana was a commander and captain of no small reputation and thus able to distance himself from the common folk’s tongue-wagging, and Brandyé of course bore it with sadness and resignation that he would likely never be truly accepted anywhere in all of Erâth. Rather, the bond between the two strengthened, though Brandyé remained manifestly his servant, and had many daily chores and orders to be carried out. Even this, however, did not greatly bother him, for he discovered that it gave to him a satisfaction – a sense of purpose, as it were – and he found […]

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