The Great Prophet Of Zao Chapter 6: in darkness there is only a voice
#6 of The Great Prophet Of Zao
The remains of a wounded army, settles in to a village while the forest around them is consumed in the orange glow of a sunset. A young hamster, reeling back from the death of his father rests his head so that he may have a sense of peace, but in the darkness of his dreams lays a new creature that does not have claws or sharp teeth but a simply, calm and collected voice.
I finally told the whole story to Peter and was able to somehow hold back my emotions. He looks to me with a face of pure sorrow. "I'm sorry about your father. He was a great hamster and without a doubt he will not be forgotten". I know that my uncle is trying to consult me but, it didn't help much from the pain I felt in my heart.
I look behind and notice that our entire group has finally poured through the path and into the clearing. Most of the wounded are getting looked over by some of the rabbits and hamsters. Having their bloodied bandages changed and their wounds checked for any signs of infection.
"Alright everyone, listen up" Capt. Palvet says as he finally catch his breath. "Georgos is under attack. The right side of the city has been lost. We need to cross the river to get to the other side of the city. Marco over there told us you have a couple boats that we can use".
The villagers stay quiet for a while until one of the hamsters step forward and say "yes, we have a couple small boats down by the river that we can use to get across". Capt. Palvet regains back to his usual straight face and say "alright then, does anybody know how to get out of the forest during the night"? The villagers stay quiet and no one steps forward to give him his answer.
Capt. Palvet size with annoyance and say "all right then I guess we're stuck here for the night. Under the law of Zao all must be willing to allow soldiers who are wounded or do not carry the capability to have their own tents, be allowed to stay in the houses of any citizen of Zao. Does anyone have a problem with this"? A rabbit steps forward and says "actually we might have enough tents for you".
Palvet looks at them with a surprised look and says "why do you have enough tents for almost 100 animals". "During winter a lot of hamsters don't have anything to grow on their farms, so many of them come to our village and cut down trees for some extra money".
Palvet nods in approval and with the chuckle he says "well I guess the gods are looking out for us". He turns back to his soldiers "All right then were leaving after we have something to eat in the morning. I want all guard dogs that are not wounded to come with me and we will start making patrol schedules in case of the enemy trying to sneak up on us. Then the guard dogs that are not on the first shift of patrol will work together to put up tents".
With that Capt. Palvet and 23 guard dogs move off towards the side to plan their patrol. Peter comes up to me with a genuine smile and say "I got some room at my place and I'm sure Jamie and Jess would love to see their cousin again". In response I nod and say "lead the way uncle". With that uncle Peter turned around and starts heading towards the center of the village.
This village was not planned in any sort of way so the houses are sporadically spread out. The area surrounding the houses is covered in dirt, except for a couple trees in between them. Their tools like wheel barrels, large two-animal saws and ladders are against almost every building. After all this was an entire village of wood cutters, except for a house here and there of herbalists.
We finally made it to the center of the village and I notice a shrine placed right in the middle. The shrine was dedicated to the goddess AUXANO. After all she was considered the goddess of nature. The shrine was 15 feet tall wooden trunk that has its bark cutoff and its body smoothed out. From the top all the way the bottom of the wooden trunk it is covered in the ancient language of the gods.
These wooden trunks were given to villages by the priests who made them in Kardai which is the capital of the Zao kingdom. There is where all holy relics and sacred shrines are made. That is where all noble electorate are chosen and in which city they are given to command. The noble electorate are the second most powerful animals throughout the Zau kingdom and when the prophet dies, are given the job to vote one amongst them to be the next prophet.
My uncle passes the shrine with a nod of respect towards AUXANO and whispers under his breath "For the mother and her children". I didn't pay much attention; probably because of the utter exhaustion I am feeling right now. I have already started losing feeling in my legs and my arms are far too heavy to lift, though the thought of seeing my twin cousins safe and sound, did bring a sort of ease to my mind.
"All right were here". I look up and notice Peter going up his front steps leading to the front door of his house. The log cabin was only one story tall and had a long cobblestone chimney coming off the left side. They have a window on each side of the main door and thanks to the uneven ground there are 3 wooden steps needed to reach the door.
Uncle Peter opens the door and steps through. I quickly follow behind because of the thought of a warm bed to sleep in is the only thing on my mind. I took my first step in and realize how dark it is. It wasn't because of the lack of windows to bring in sunlight, but the sun itself finally lowering the point of vanishing beyond the trees.
Uncle's log cabin was very simple. The entirety of the house was one room. On the left was a large wooden table with 4 chairs surrounding it. Behind the table was the opening of the large chimney. There was no wood in it but thanks to the scorch marks, you can tell it was well used. On the right side there is a large bucket that is used for baths. Behind it on the wall were all kinds of clothes being hung up. On the back wall there are three beds separated between two cabinets. There is a wooden window above each cabinet and the bed that is the farthest left had a shelf above it that held small wooden figurines that uncle carved up.
I look around to find Jamie lying on her stomach behind the wooden table. She was drawing on some paper with her chalk. She didn't pay much attention at uncle coming in or me walking to the door. "Marco" I look over and see Jess who was rummaging through one of the cabinets. She quickly run up to me and hugs me. This caught Jamie attention as she turns around to see me standing there with a fake smile. She jumped instantly to her feet and also ran up and hugs me with Jess.
I returned the favor and hugged them back. A sense of relief fills my heart to the happy thought that that they didn't get in the middle of this mess. After a while Jamie and Jess finally let go, while Peter grabs a candle and lights it. Thanks to the well-lit room, I can finally get a good look at my cousins.
My twin cousins both are half breeds thanks to my aunt being a German shepherd. My cousins though being 3 years younger than me are already a foot taller. They both have the much more center and well fit bodies of a dog then the rounder bodies of hamsters, though their heads are more hamster than dog except for their ears which are much larger and pointer than any hamsters. Being identical twins they both have the exact same color and pattern on their fur. Their hands, legs and bellies are a mixture of white and light brown. There was black fur going from their shoulders and a little bit lower down to their waist with the same color fur for their tail. Their muzzles are pure black that reached all the way up over their eyes, but the rest of their head was light brown, except for their ears which are a darker Brown.
Jamie is wearing a long light blue dress that reached to her knees. The top of her dress covered her shoulders and went down a couple inches along her hands. The bottom of her dress is decorated with white flowers. Jess is wearing a pair of long cotton dark brown pants with dirt all over the bottom, showing how much she loves the outdoors. She is also wearing a light brown long-sleeved shirt that shows lots of wear and tear
Jess looks over my shoulder and says "he Marco wears Sam? I can't wait to show her the wooden sword mom got me for my birthday last month". Jess looks down to my side and a wide expression of surprise crosses her face. "Marco when did you get a sword". I look down to my side and see my sword tightly held against my side thanks to the belt. "Can I please hold it, I always wanted to hold a real sword, but mom won't let me hold hers. Weight, does that mean Sam also has a real sword"?
My shoulders quickly sink to the thought that I have to explain the situation one more time. I'm far too tired to keep going through these emotions. So once again, I took deep breaths and "Girls leave Marco alone, he needs his rest. He's gone through far too much. Both of you come outside and I'll explain what's going on". I look behind and sew uncle standing in the doorway with a smile on his face but I can see sorrow slowly consuming his expression. I look at Jamie and Jess who have these questioning looks on their faces, but quickly oblige. Jess stops at the front door and turns around to look at me, "don't forget Marco, tomorrow morning that sword is mine". I happily nod to the demand and with a smile she walks out the door following her sister. Uncle goes to close the door but quickly turns to me and says "Marco you can go and grab Jesse's bed over on the right corner. My twin girls won't have much of a problem slipping in the same bed". He gave me a big smile and turns around slowly close the door behind him.
I walk over and sit on jesses bed. I pull out my sword and place it on the side of the bed against the cabinet. My eyes already unable to keep themselves open. The wound in my side is hurting slightly, but not enough that it could hinder my sleep. I laid my back onto the bed and let the cotton slowly consume me in its soft touch.
In a single day my whole world has been turned upside down. I can't go back home to my house. I can't go back and keep the farm going nor can I go back and sit under my tree watching the seasons pass by. No I can't allow myself to be consumed in my past. I can't change my past, I promise dad that I would protect mom and Sam. I don't know how I can help to stop these creatures from winning this war, but that doesn't mean I won't try.
I try to pull the covers up but I'm too exhausted to do anything and before I know it, my eyes slowly started to close. I try hard but they are far too heavy to keep open and with a deep sigh, I drift into the darkness.
"So I hamster this time... Huh, well that's quite a surprise". I suddenly open my eyes and look around. I'm surrounded in darkness. I don't feel anything beneath my feet but for some reason I'm not falling. I search around with my hands but I can't find anything in the darkness. It feels like I'm floating in a lake, but there's no water. I start to panic trying to find something to hold onto.
"Don't be scared". The male voice startled me and I quickly look around for the creature that spoke it. "Who said that" I say while frantically looking. "What do you mean? I'm right in front of you".
"But I can see you" I say becoming terrified by the lack of light. "You don't get it do you" the creature says with a calm collective voice. "How long is it going to take you to realize that the voice your hearing is coming from the inside of your head".
His last words lingered in my mind and I slowly started to understand what he is saying. He's right, the voice isn't coming from any direction. It just appears and disappears as if it wasn't there to begin with.
"The look on your face is telling me that, you just realized what I'm saying. I know, It's kind of creepy isn't, A creature that you cannot see but can only hear. Sounds like something your parents would make up so that you would not go running into the woods at night".
His words linger in my head like thin cuts of a knife slowly digging into my mind. Fear slowly starts to consume me and I get a feeling that if I move just an inch the creature will pop out of the darkness and kill me. "Oh don't worry, I'm not going to kill you". I look around in a surprised expression. "How did you..." "Know what you are thinking. It's a long story and sadly we don't have a lot of time".
Wait I'm asleep right now, this is just a dream. "If you believe that I'm merely something in your head that you conjured up from your traumatized experience of fighting a battle and losing your father.... Well that actually could be possible but since we're running out of time and I need to prove to you that I'm real. Do me a favor and try to find your sword". "What does that mean" I say while pondering what he said. "It means it's time to wake up. Marco it's time to wake up".
"Marco it's time to wake up". I slowly open my eyes to see Jess at the side of my bed, she stands there with a smile on her face. She turns and points to the large bucket and I see my clothes being hung behind them. "I made you a warm bath. Your clothes have been washed and cleaned".
She turns back to me with a big grin "Dad also wants me to tell you that were going to be leaving soon so you better hurry up, okay or else you won't be getting breakfast". With that Jess leaves the side of my bed and quickly starts heading to the door "I'm sorry I can't stay and talk, dad wants us to help the rest of the town get ready". Suddenly a thought crosses my mind and I quickly look down beside my bed. To my horrified expression there was no sword lying against the cabinet. I quickly turns just before she runs out the door and say "hey Jess". Jess admittedly stops and turns back to me "Marco you need something"? "Have you seen my sword". Jess immediately sprouts the biggest smile I've ever seen on her face "wait you have a sword, a real sword. Where is it, can I hold it." I sit there motionless not knowing how to react to what she said. Jess expression quickly changes to a surprised look and she asks "are you okay Marco. You look like you've seen the souls of the damned".
What the hell is going on, was that dream actually real? I look beside my bed once more and see no trace of my sword. I look back up to Jess who seems to be getting more worried as the time passes. I quickly realize that I terrifying and change my expression to a smile "sorry I had a really bad nightmare and I thought I had a sword". Jess stands there for a couple minutes pondering what I said, than simply just shrugs her shoulders. "Well next time you think you have a sword make sure it's real so you don't make me so excited for nothing" she says with a sarcastic voice. With that she quickly turns around and heads out the front door.
I slowly get out of bed while looking at my surroundings. The sun's rays already coming through the windows and I can hear a large amount of noise from outside. My entire body feels sore beyond belief. I look down to my side and notice that the bandage around my waist has been changed. Wait a minute, I moved my waist side to side. The wound at my site doesn't hurt. It couldn't have healed completely. The thought of taking off the bandage crosses my mind, but it's not doing any harm by being wrapped around my waist.
Uncle Peter probably changed my bandages last night while I was unconscious. I didn't know he knew how to properly bandage someone up. Wait a minute, didn't I fall asleep with all my clothes on. The thought bothered me for a second but I quickly realized that I didn't want to know the answer to that question, so I quickly head to the large bucket to wash off all the dirt and sweat I got from yesterday. The thought of the dream show and shivers up my spine and a sense of complete fear. I don't know what that dream was about but I have a bad feeling that it's not going away.