Book 1 Chapter 12: Night Musings

Vero wondered how long he had been asleep. He stretched and felt no pain. There was no sign of any healers nearby and he looked out the castle window. It was dark but the fire lit the area enough for him to make out that it was snowing outside. At least one day. That’s how long he had slept. He noticed a roll next to his bed and he gratefully chewed on it as he wondered what to do.

He silently prayed that he would figure out what had happened to him and just what Ylva and the master were hiding from him. It somewhat made him feel like a little kid again and he wasn’t sure he liked that.

Vero felt something in his heart tell him to get up and he headed for the door. He yawned and chided himself. He had been asleep for who knew how long and then some. He shouldn’t be this tired. He noticed a jar of water near the door and drank some before heading out. He rubbed his eyes and looked around.

The place was eerily quiet. He walked in one direction, wondering what he was doing and then decided to head towards the kitchen. As he walked, his knees and legs began to feel heavy and he heard his stomach grumble. That roll really hadn’t been enough sustenance after ‘hibernation’. After thinking this, his ears began to pick up sounds, footsteps to be precise. He paused and payed attention to the sounds. He felt they were familiar and relaxed. As he approached the footsteps, he spotted Ylva in the dim light. She paused and looked at him, no emotions on her features.

“Vero?” Vero heard and noticed the white fur and hair illuminated by the candlelight. She shifted in surprise but that was only briefly. Her normal stance regained composure. And yet… there was this simple smile on har face. It was as if she was pleased to see him.

“Ylva? What are you doing up at this hour?” he asked, feeling sleepy.

“I could ask the same of you lad,” she said and he shrugged.

“I don’t know… I felt like I was supposed to come out here. And then I found you,” he replied. He kept his steady gaze on her, waiting for her to respond. She bit her lip, unnerved by something. Her pause stretched and soon his nerves began to frazzle. Eventually she motioned to a nearby window that had a sill large enough to sit at. He struggled to follow her lead, but managed without any help. As he sat down, his stomach rumbled. A small smile touched the corners of her mouth and she pulled out some meat in a bundle.

“Here, eat,” she nearly commanded. He didn’t need convincing, and hungrily devoured it. As he ate she began to speak.

“It’s a rather long story as for why I am up, so you might fall asleep again,” she warned and he shrugged as it didn’t bother him. He was just grateful for the food and that she would be willing to share more about herself. This felt like a step in the right direction and his work was paying off.

“Let’s say that after what happened yesterday, I’ve been reading a lot about the black wolf and the religion that the priests want me to take part in,” she said. He looked up from his meal and felt concern. The only other thing the master had stressed to him before bringing her here was that she wasn’t to take part in the religion of the black wolf god. At least, not how it was taught by the church. She had a furrowed brow and he waited, hoping she would speak her mind.

“There are many words they use that confuse me,” she finally said at length. As she spake, she pulled out a sack from behind her back and he noted the papers that seemed written on. Vero rubbed at his eyes to drive the sleep out. He focused back on the documents and heard her huff a sort of laugh. He should tell her to keep these things in the library but he didn’t have the energy to verbally fight her. If she insisted on taking these around with her, she could do it. Both physically and verbally.

“I’d ask you what they mean, but it seems you are a bit tired right now,” she remarked. Vero looked at her, surprised by her show of concern.

“Well, sure, but that’s never stopped you before…” he ventured. She frowned, not angrily or intensely, but just frowned. Eventually she pulled out one paper and handed it to Vero. In the dim light he noted that her handwriting was fairly good and he could read the words with ease. However, some were foreign even to him.

“Which books did you grab these from?” he asked.

“Some old ones that go back to when the black wolf was with us in his life and what he had written.”

“But that’s in the old tongue. You can read that?” Vero asked, surprised. How had she learned that language. She didn’t strike him as the studious type. And who even read that sort of stuff anymore? He saw her roll her eyes in the dim light.

“My old master taught me. He told me that knowing what was said and what is being said is an important skill to any soldier but I… never thought I would be learning about religion,” Ylva replied.

“Well it is important to the politics around here,” Vero commented and Ylva nodded in agreement.“But Master won’t like this…”

“So he too has some qualms about the religion,” Ylva said thoughtfully. She paused and seemed to contemplate a few things. Vero rubbed at his eyes again and shook off the creeping exhaustion. “As for why I am out here. I couldn’t sleep. Not since I found something that I am trying to figure out how to deal with,” she said softly. Vero looked at her, wanting to know more. She hesitated and then sighed. She began to unfolded the tales of the black wolf that she had read from the ancient books. A man deeply tied with the creator of the world, but only as a speaker for him. His feats seemed impressive.

Or they would have been more so, but Vero felt his eyes drift as he listened. Sitting and chatting while tired seemed to be a perfect recipe for drifting to sleep. He shook himself several times. This wasn’t what he had learned or gleaned from anyone. Not the Master’s father. Nor the clergy of the religion that came with their rituals that the royals dutifully followed.

She stopped when he was beginning to feel his eyes stay closed for more than an obvious moment and he looked up at her asking for her to continue but she shook her head.

“Tomorrow Vero, we’ll continue the story and I’ll start teaching you the old language so you can read it yourself,” she said with a kind smile. He nodded in a tired manner as she stood up. He slid off slowly and stumbled as he tried to stand. He thought he heard her chuckle as she caught him, then he realized that she had picked him up and carried him to the room he had been staying in. He refused to have her tuck him in, though her persistence was even more confusing. She gently rubbed some of his hair back and stroked his furry ears in a soothing manner. He closed his eyes as he heard her close the door behind her.

In his dreams he was surrounded by lush forests on mountains that made the sea of green rise up around him. Vero looked with a start as he saw men of all shapes and sizes following behind him. He raised his feet and then picked up some noise. He held his hand to let the others know to stop and then another Yowlume appeared from the thickets off to the side. She looked intently in his direction and he felt to go talk to her. Then the dream shifted to a new scene. There were seven distinctly different people with him and the ground showed carnage. He knelt down and touched the ground and sensed a great evil intent buried inside. Then a flash of light obscured his vision.

Vero rose with a start. What was all that? He looked about and realized it was a bit late. He scampered out of bed, hastily dressed and groomed himself before heading to where Ylva would be. IF he was awake, he needed to serve her and instruct her. He still had no idea how long he had been out of it. He only hoped she had kept up with her studies as he wanted to hear more about the stories.

She was nearing the end of her training when he found her and Vero inwardly flinched. Due to sleeping in, he didn’t have time for a warm up. He quickly headed to the weapons and grabbed a dagger. He needed to have something light during the warm up, but also in case she came after him, he wanted something to defended himself.

He started out and then hastily returned and grabbed a small buckler. He situated it and then hastily began his stretches before starting a jog. He fingered the dagger subconsciously and kept his senses alert as he headed towards the training grounds. He could hear the Ulrika’s laugh and the other’s shouts as he neared. He shook his head. The Ulrika was in a good mood.