Savages of the Sacred Salvage
Another journey of days, so soon after the last, and again because of Chameek is really starting to seem like too much, and as you trudge along you wonder privately--and out loud--whether this is worth it.
"He's our only son, what can we do?" Bainto asks with a shrug, although you can tell the long walk in the hot sun is sapping his strength.
Veltan's tribe, where Akema is, is like yours within the outskirts of the God Maze, but getting there by the long walk around the Maze seemed more sensible than navigating its interior of crazy, twisting streets and nonsensical walls built by the Bright Gods for unknown purposes. From here, the views of the soaring towers with their crystal panes glowing in the sunlight are simply beautiful, not eerie and uncomfortable in their vastness and echoing emptiness.
About halfway there, you meet five travelers coming down the road, escorting with them a lovely young woman that you recognize instantly; Akema herself.
She recognizes you too of course, but seems not to want to bring up Chameek in company. She looks like she's been crying, and you stop, confused, to ask what's going on.
"Ah, it's been a bloody mess..." complains one of the travelers.
As he goes on to relate the tale, you realize that he meant that literally. It seems a very intense, slightly ridiculous man arrived the other day and rudely interrupted a wedding recital by creating a spectacle. "That must be Chameek!" you whisper excitedly to Bainto.
"So this madman knocks the nephew of the chief unconscious, swearing that he's in love with Akema. He then grabs a fish from the drying rack and saws Veltan's head off with its fins....it was crazy! I didn't even know that was possible."
"Uh. Maybe we shouldn't mention that that's Chameek..." you whisper again to your husband.
"So, sometime tomorrow he'll be facing the harshest punishment possible, whoever he is," the man continues.
Akema lets out a sudden sob and buries her face in her hands, and you rush to comfort her. Even before she and Chameek formed their unfortunate obsession with each other, you had known her from infancy from the the trading trips with Bainto to speak with her father's craftsman and herders, and you couldn't help but think of her a bit like the daughter you never had.
The man shrugs. "She's been doing that sudden crying thing a lot. It's all very intense and a bit ridiculous. But anyway, there's no one for her to marry now, so we're taking her back to her father."
One of the other travelers casts a regretful glance over her shoulder. "I just wish we could've found someone else to take care of this. Emotions are running pretty high and I would've preferred to stay there on guard duty, at least until the prisoner is dealt with. For all we know his parents will come along and try to bust him out, or something stupid like that."
"Well it's not like people are just going to show up out of nowhere that know the way back to the girl's original tribe or where her father lives. We're stuck with this."
You're ignoring all of this, as your mind is fighting hard to form its next idea.
"He's our only son, what can we do?" Bainto asks with a shrug, although you can tell the long walk in the hot sun is sapping his strength.
Veltan's tribe, where Akema is, is like yours within the outskirts of the God Maze, but getting there by the long walk around the Maze seemed more sensible than navigating its interior of crazy, twisting streets and nonsensical walls built by the Bright Gods for unknown purposes. From here, the views of the soaring towers with their crystal panes glowing in the sunlight are simply beautiful, not eerie and uncomfortable in their vastness and echoing emptiness.
About halfway there, you meet five travelers coming down the road, escorting with them a lovely young woman that you recognize instantly; Akema herself.
She recognizes you too of course, but seems not to want to bring up Chameek in company. She looks like she's been crying, and you stop, confused, to ask what's going on.
"Ah, it's been a bloody mess..." complains one of the travelers.
As he goes on to relate the tale, you realize that he meant that literally. It seems a very intense, slightly ridiculous man arrived the other day and rudely interrupted a wedding recital by creating a spectacle. "That must be Chameek!" you whisper excitedly to Bainto.
"So this madman knocks the nephew of the chief unconscious, swearing that he's in love with Akema. He then grabs a fish from the drying rack and saws Veltan's head off with its fins....it was crazy! I didn't even know that was possible."
"Uh. Maybe we shouldn't mention that that's Chameek..." you whisper again to your husband.
"So, sometime tomorrow he'll be facing the harshest punishment possible, whoever he is," the man continues.
Akema lets out a sudden sob and buries her face in her hands, and you rush to comfort her. Even before she and Chameek formed their unfortunate obsession with each other, you had known her from infancy from the the trading trips with Bainto to speak with her father's craftsman and herders, and you couldn't help but think of her a bit like the daughter you never had.
The man shrugs. "She's been doing that sudden crying thing a lot. It's all very intense and a bit ridiculous. But anyway, there's no one for her to marry now, so we're taking her back to her father."
One of the other travelers casts a regretful glance over her shoulder. "I just wish we could've found someone else to take care of this. Emotions are running pretty high and I would've preferred to stay there on guard duty, at least until the prisoner is dealt with. For all we know his parents will come along and try to bust him out, or something stupid like that."
"Well it's not like people are just going to show up out of nowhere that know the way back to the girl's original tribe or where her father lives. We're stuck with this."
You're ignoring all of this, as your mind is fighting hard to form its next idea.