The Easterling

Prologue: YesterdayShe was too far away from the river. Ninuie knew this because she could barely feel the connection to Yantra-hai, the great river of Avalyne. If she were closer, she would be able to defend herself; but the enemy was wily, barring her from it. The river was her place of power, and as long as they remained separated she was diminished. Since the pursuit began, every effort to escape the forest and reach the shore had been in vain. The enemy was there at every turn. With no choice but to retreat into the shadows of Iolan's ancient woods, Ninuie could feel her withering link to the river, and it made her heart sink with dismay. Like a thread being pulled tighter and tighter, she knew it would not be long before it snapped completely and she would be defenceless. It was a stark contrast to the growing menace overpowering her senses as the enemy closed in on her. Their paws thundered across the ground until she could feel the vibration against the soles of her bare feet. They were experienced pack hunters and they outflanked her from the river and the forest, keeping her trapped between them. Helpless to escape, she knew with anguish they were converging on her position, and that when each group met there would be no place left to run. She would be helpless to stop them from taking her. In a moment of desperation, she considered returning to the Man, but sense prevailed. She refused to let her fear endanger him or their child. The enemy would not hesitate to kill them both to gain her subservience. She would not risk them for anything. The Man was an able warrior but he was no match for the servants of the Aeth, and she no longer possessed the ability to protect him. Near her breaking point, Ninuie continued her desperate flight across the woods while the midnight moon gazed upon her aloofly, indifferent to her plight. Branches clawed at her as she ran past the thick trees and tall shrubs. Around her, the pounding footsteps of the enemy were like a drumbeat in her ears, growing louder with their relentless persistence. Her terror was almost complete now, just like the screaming danger she could feel in every part of her soul. They were almost upon her, sooner, if her strength gave out first. Please help me, Water Wife! I am sorry for abandoning you and my sisters! For turning away from the river! The Celestial goddess chose not to answer. Ninuie uttered a frustrated cry of misery, but desperation made fools of everyone. For the love of the Man, she abandoned everything she knew—her goddess, her sisters and her covenant with Yantra-hai. They did not forget nor forgive the slight. Ironically, she left home this night to go to the river. Ninuie intended to find her sisters and put her affairs in order. She was going to tell them she was leaving with the Man and the Child. She was travelling with him to his land in the east to become his wife and to die a mortal, surrendering her place among their pantheon. It was the proper form so the goddess could appoint another in her place. The Aeth Lord's servants put an end to her good intentions. She knew of him of course, the seraf of the dark Celestial Mael, who broke the rules of the Five Realms by entering the Aeth where only the dead resided for all time. Straddling that terrible afterlife and the living world, Balfure harnessed the dark energies of one to become a god in the other. Why he wanted her, she did not know, but fear of his evil kept her from returning home to the Man and Child. She would risk no harm to them, whatever the cost to herself. She could no longer feel the river or its life pulsing through her and Ninuie knew that Yantra-hai had abandoned her at last. The void it left behind was so absolute that her fear of capture paled in comparison. She wept openly at the loss. Slowing down, she trudged across the blanket of rotting leaves, surrounded by thick, ancient trees, their branches reaching towards the sky in silent worship. Their leaves created a shroud of darkness Ninuie took comfort in, hoping it would keep her concealed. At least long enough for her to catch her breath. Despair and exhaustion broke her will to evade and when she reached a clearing, she raised her eyes to the moon and sank to her knees. She shuddered a little when her skin made contact with the damp foliage and the tears on her cheeks glistened beneath the moonlight. She could hear the Enemy closing in on her, hear their paws crush the leaves underfoot as they circled. Let them come, she thought to herself, let them take me. The Man and the Child are safe. Nothing else mattered.