CHAPTER 05

Lÿarah, her father Igor, and her stepmother Agatha entered the family residence. A house located closer to the center of the village. A symbol of the importance men had held in that population years ago. Lÿarah saw, with sadness, the shadow he had become.

“Father, I see you have slightly improved,” the new leader said, sitting on the animal pelts and hides that lined the floor.

Agatha went to get something for them to drink after helping her husband sit down properly.

“Wait a moment. I will bring hot tea.”

“Thank you,” he said gratefully.

He lingered, looking at his daughter.

And he seemed quite happy with what he saw.

“I see you are in good health. Strong and brave. You make me proud, daughter.”

“Thank you, Father; I wouldn't be any of this without you teaching me since I was little.”

“I only did what I believed to be right. I already foresaw worse days ahead. I wanted you to be ready to face any hardship that arose in your life.”

“I always found your obsession with my training strange, but I am grateful for it.”

“Thank BahDehToh as well, my old friend, to whom I entrusted your care when my own strength failed me.”

“I am very grateful to the master too. You can believe that.”

Agatha returned with the tea and served them.

“You should come more often, Lÿarah; you would be more useful here than in the frozen forest. You know, I've always wanted to get along with you. I imagine female company here in this house would be very good for me, and for you too. Imagine how much I could teach you...”

“No, please, stepmother, do not take offense, but I do not want to learn to be like you, or like all the other women here. I only have one desire, to be myself; I don't want to learn to be anything else.”

“Of course, of course... I'm sorry, I didn't intend to offend you, especially with what happened just a moment ago. I just thought that...”

“I understand. I understand you, Agatha. But I cannot replace your daughter... I do not want to take her place, just as I don't think you need to take the place that once belonged to my late mother. And again, I don't want you to misunderstand me; I say this with a sincere heart.”

“No, you are frank and direct like your father. I respect your decision, but know that the invitation remains. I think your father would also be happy to keep you close.”

“I would indeed, but I cannot wish for that. Lÿarah has a great destiny ahead of her, something great that can no longer be postponed.”

“Why do you say that, my lord husband?”

“Because Lÿarah does not know everything she needs to know, and I think that now that her training is advanced, and she is even the new leader of our people, she ought to know.”

“And what, exactly, do I need to know?”

“Well, you already know that I am a foreigner, that I am not a native here, right?”

“Yes, I know that; I even heard it from the Shaman himself.”

“Right, I was like this boy you saved today.”

“The boy from the walled city?”

“The very same. In fact, my situation and his share many coincidences.”

“What do you mean?”

“I also fell from a ship like that one into the ice desert.”

“You? From the fortress-city? I always thought you were from the northern tribes...”

“No, I was like that boy: devoid of will, of life, of mettle. I was a mere pawn, almost an automaton subject to others' will. Then, one fine day, I defied death itself in search of something I didn't even know existed.”

“And what was that?”

“Freedom. It was for freedom that I defied my destiny.”

“So, you escaped... in one of those ships?”

“I did, exactly like that. I managed to get out, but with no destination, no plan, nothing in mind. Only screaming for freedom. And I was satisfied to die as a free man.”

“And what happened?”

“BahDehToh happened. He rescued me, tended to my wounds, and brought me to this settlement. Your mother, daughter of the old Shaman, took care of my wounds... well, you already know the rest.”

“And then you and she built a family, and I was born.”

“Yes. And BahDehToh trained me in the art of war and survival. I soon became the leader of the Nidhogg here from the southern tribes, and the eastern ones too.”

“With the position you achieved, you could have had many women...”

“At the time, I only wanted your mother.”

Lÿarah instinctively looked at Agatha, wanting to see her expression after hearing her husband's remark about his late wife.

“Agatha here knows the story. And she knows of the affection and love I have for the memories with your mother, but she is gone, and life moved on. In the same way that I did not want other women, I swore my fidelity solely to this one, who is my arms and legs when mine fail.”

“You have already done much for me and for our people, my lord husband. It is an honor to care for you.”

“I am happy to hear that, Agatha. And I fight every day to recover my vigor and be able to dedicate myself to caring for and protecting you as soon as I can.”

Agatha smiled at Igor's declaration of love, full of unspoken nuance.

“Anyway, it is not your mother we should be talking about. But you.”

“About me? But Father... tell me, tell me more about the heated city, tell me. I've always wanted to know more about them.”

“My homeland has many problems, starting with its people. They live a life of oppression, but also, without knowing it, they oppress the entire world. Including our people of the wastelands. I have always had a desire in my heart, but I never wanted to force you to fulfill it.”

“Then tell me, Father. What desire is this?”

“That you lead our people back to the Walled City. Which is ours, by right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Originally, the inhabitants of the wastelands were those who were exiled from the city. For centuries, we learned to tame the cold and this inhospitable land, but we have always dreamed of returning to our home, next to the great Yggdrasil. In its shadow.”

“But we never had the power necessary for that; after all, we spent all our energies solely to survive one day at a time. What threat would we be to the walled ones?”

“And what leads you to believe that today we can stand against them?”

“BahDehToh has perfected his technique. If we disseminate the shortcuts for magic executions that he developed among our warriors, we will have a real chance of winning.”

“Father... I'm sorry, but it's far too ambitious. We aren't even that many to stand against them, and they are stronger and better fed than we are, not to mention they will be fighting on their own turf, which is a massive advantage... What other trump card would we have besides BahDehToh's technique? I mean, that is 'if' our warriors master it.”

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You are our trump card.”

Igor turned to Agatha.

“Dear, fetch 'that' box, please.”

“Yes, my lord and husband.”

Lÿarah was annoyed every time by the explicit ceremonialism and hierarchical display of that patriarchal family nucleus, but she would ignore it for now. She was numb with curiosity.

“I avoided speaking of this earlier so as not to bias your decisions or even your training,” he said, taking a wooden box from his wife.

He opened the box and revealed its interior to Lÿarah. Inside was a rather extravagant garment that seemed to belong to some authority, given its pomp. The clothing was battered and torn in many places, but it lost none of its majesty.

Beside it was a necklace with a pendant bearing a symbol unknown to Lÿarah.

“These clothes... they look like they were made for a boy, for a youth.”

“I was wearing these clothes when I fled the city.”

“I don't understand... what does this mean?”

“That I was the heir. I should be sitting on the Throne of Exactness. Today, I should be the Mathematician.”

“Wait... Mathematician? Calm down, calm down... You mean 'The Mathematician'? The king of the walled city?”

“Yes. That is why I say you're our trump card. You are the legitimate heir to the throne. Your mere appearance will make their religion's foundations crumble. A religion that doesn't accept calculation errors, failures, or unpredictable things. Your mere existence calls into question the exactness and reliability of this concept.”

“I don't... I don't understand... I mean... I think I understand..., but I find it hard to believe... this was so sudden, so abrupt... I can't process all of this like this, so quickly.”

“I don't expect you to do it now, or even today, or tomorrow. Your training is not finished yet. This decision is yours; I cannot impose this selfish desire on you. I myself planned to return and reclaim what was mine by right, but as you see, my health had other plans.”

“I... I need to step outside for a bit... I... I... What do you expect of me... Is it too much, too big? Why would I risk our people's lives in such a desperate endeavor? Would it really be worth it?”

“Daughter. Calm down. Just breathe. You know the reason; you see it every day. Our land is barren, the cold harsher every year, and beasts that once stayed far from our dwellings now prowl our doors. How many years do we have ahead? Do you really think we will last another generation?”

Lÿarah fell silent for a few seconds. She knew her father was right. The incident with the dragons that day was absolute proof that his predictions were coming true.

Someone interrupted the conversation by knocking on the door. The knocks grew louder and more repetitive.

Agatha opened the door to the house's unheated room. One of the men from the village seemed quite in a rush to pass along a message.

“Speak, man, what brings you here?”

“Lady Agatha, my respects and greetings. A message from the Shaman to the new Leader. The foreign boy... He has awakened. Her presence is requested.”