For Glory or Gold

Rising Waters

Torin looked out the second story window of her family home. The rushing waters had risen to the porch below. Her long fingers resting on the window sill as she peered out.

"Gather your things from your room!" Osha, her mother, yelled out as she heard her come running up the stairs.

Glancing around the spare room she was in, her light brown hair swaying as she moved. Her brother, Lars, had taken over the living room with their parents, and she chose to be alone. Pulling her jacket back on, trying to hide the runes that continued to cover her pale skin. Their soft metallic sheen making them easier to notice. She had been taught to keep them hidden.

As she stepped from her room, a small black cat was hot on her trail, following her into the kitchen. She stepped out of the kitchen and through the back door. The beautiful mountainside, that their home had been built into the side of, lead off of it. You wouldn't know the rushing river had made its way to their doorstep, looking out over the lush green of the forest that was mere paces from their door. The mountain almost called to Torin, begging her to go higher yet.

Clearing her head, she turned back into the house and grabbed a cup of dried grains and jerky and tossed it out to feed the stray pets. The lower homes had been under water for a while and the stray cats had moved to the forest, so she felt it was only right to help them while they learned to find food. As the food hit the floor many small animals came running.

"I won't be able to do this much longer, little ones." Torin spoke out to the cats and other small animals that had arrived for their easy meal. She rested her slender body against the porch as she watched them look for the bit that had been thrown. Her arms crossed softly across her chest. 

The sound of the rushing waters filled her ears as she looked about. Knowing that they have to would leave soon, as her mom had told her they would go to a relative’s house. Everything in Torin told her not to go, living on the flatlands of Qorta was not something she felt called to. Pulled from deep thought by the loud screeching of a large bird overhead, she glanced about. The young Harpy was in flight nearby, likely looking for food of her own. Looking up she saw her soar deep into the forest and disappear with another loud scream. 

"Torin Azael! Did you not hear me!?" Osha came out the back door, slamming the screen door behind her.

"Yes, ma. I already gathered my things and Nels." She reached down and scratched at the neck of her small cat. As she did, Lars came running out behind their mother.

"Ma, I can't find my favorite shirt!" He had a large bag in his arms with several shirt sleeves hanging out of it.

"I'll be right there, dear." Osha turned back toward her daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder, the smile she gave Torin showed pain and understanding. She knew her daughter did not want to make the trip.

Fenrick, her father, had told them to be ready to leave in a few days and to have their things packed. Torin had packed up the few things she would need,unlike the rest of her family. Torin made her way back through the house. Glancing through the rooms as she walked back to the small room she had called her own. There was a small bed with a heavy wool blanket on it from her mom. A travel pack sat packed and ready at the door, only the essentials would go. A change of clothes and some supplies. She didn’t know where she was headed, but she was old enough to choose to not go to Qorta.

She landed on the bed with a flopping sound, releasing a deep sigh. All of her friends from the village had left already, they were the highest house and the last to leave. All she wanted was to go back to a few months ago, when the biggest concern was not falling over as she chased Harpy down the mountainside or getting scratched from cat as she taught her to ride on her shoulder. When the meteor fell from the sky, everything changed. Torin swore she could almost hear the cries of the forest at the chaos in the land. 

Remembering the first home to disappear under the raging waters, it was only a month ago. The village of Vinla was a bustling and busy town, with many coming to trade for the fine ore they mined. Many blacksmiths had set up shop in their town. Now the mines were flooded, the fiery forges were doused by the waters. The familiar mines and caves that Torin would work alongside her father in, were submerged in water, flooded. She took time to recall the times she had been asked to help, as her small frame allowed her to fit into areas that others could not.

Harpy's loud screech rang through the quiet air, as the only other sound was the rushing water. The water was still climbing, and she knew it would not be long before their home was under too. Rising from her bed, she walked to the window that looked out the front of the house. The stones her father and her had laid that took you to their front door were barely submerged. The back half of their house was built into the cliff face, so there were no back doors on the first floor. She stared at the water for a moment and realized it was rising faster than she first thought. A moment ago the first few pavers were under the water, and now almost all 15 were under. She watched as the water rushed pass their house and continued to climb it's way toward the top. 

Pulling herself away from the window, as she knew watching it would make her more melancholy then she already was. Walking into the kitchen, she began to assemble a meal for dinner. Her father was in the living room firing up the wood stove and so she put together a simple pot of soup that would use up their perishable foods. She set the heavy iron pot on the stove and smiled to her father. His gruff beard hid most of his worry, but she could see in his eyes the burden he carried.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and forced a smile. "Looks good, Torin." He lifted the lid and scoped out what was all in the pot. "Corn chowder?" He looked back to his eldest child.

"Something like that. There was some chicken we needed to eat and a lot of veggies that needed used. This should keep for several days too." She smiled as he replaced the lid. "Dad?"

"Hmm?" He hummed back to her as he bent down to repack a bag he had rifled through.

"Tell me the story of La'Octa." Torin said as she handed him a few towels that were on the floor.

"Torin..." he paused looking up to her. Her bright smile always melted his heart. She knew the story well, but her dad was a master story teller and it always helped to make things better.

"Pleeaase?" She pleaded with him, kneeling on the floor opposite him. 

"Fine." He put the objects from his hands in the bag and zipped it closed.

"YES!" She shouted as she made herself comfortable on the floor in the living room. 

"What's going on?" Lars came running into the living room. He was the younger of the two children.

"Dad's telling the story of La'Octa." She spoke out excitedly as she pulled a blanket over to her side. Lars pounced on the makeshift bed he had made and rested his elbows beneath him, his head in his hands. All their eyes were on their dad, like they were small children again.

"Alright," Fenrick began, "the story of La'Octa! Back before the floods and meteor, back before the tides of chaos and the great war, there was a civilization that was built in the trees. They would spend their days communing with the animals of the forest." Fenrick had moved so he was sitting on a chair in the corner, near the wood-stove. Osha had made her way in and was checking on the soup Torin had just put down. Smiling at her children as she sat on the edge of the bed Lars was laying on. "They had become so enthralled with their communications, that they lost site of the outside world. Because of their dedication, the forest began to bless their children with gifts." 

Nel came over and curled up on Torin’s lap, and she absently began to pet her as she continued to listen to her father. "It was through this blessing, that the great La'Octa was born! Her birth is said to have caused the great war. Because her giftings were so sought after, that many tried to hunt her down. The village in the trees was burned down and the forest with it." Torin could almost see what her father was describing. "The Henti guards searched high and low for the great La'Octa, but it is said that the great forest protects her. When the war quieted and the tides of chaos slowed, rumor rose from the forest of the birth of La'Octa's son. A first born that did not carry her claim to the forest. He was sent out into the world to learn what he could and tell those of the forest all he had found. But La'Octa's son did not want to return to his mother any longer, for he had found love." My father's face shifted as I watched a smile come upon his face. "The son of La'Octa found love in a beautiful woman, daughter of the mountains. So he went back and bid his mother farewell. But La'Octa warned him, that one day he would bare a child that the forest would claim and she would call upon them." 

The story had changed slightly from the last time Torin heard it, she crinkled her brow in confusion. Some of this was new, her dad had never told of a son before. She fixed her gaze upon her father, but in turn he fixed his gaze upon her. "La'Octa's son told his mother 'Let it be unto me as the forest wills.' With that, they parted ways never to see each other again. Many years later, La'Octa's son gave her a granddaughter. A child that the forest was calling back. In her youth the forest tried to claim her, and in her adolescents she tried to respond. Her body marked for greatness, like the great La'Octa's!"

Fenrick and Torin were staring at each other, a moment of fear rushing over her. Lars had begun to ask questions, which their father answered slowly. Torin felt questions rise up in her, personal questions. Was he telling she was the heir to La’Octa? 

"That's enough Lars, come let's eat out back tonight." Their mom rose from her seat and began to move the pot from the stove. "Lars please get bowls and spoons and take them out back. Torin, why don't you and your father wash up?"

"Yes, ma." She said without looking away from her father. He offered his hand to help her up and they walked out back to the well to wash up. 

"Papa," the childhood name for her father rolling off her tongue like she was ten years old again.

"Yes, my dearest?" my father responded as he pumped the handle to the well.

"Umm..." She ran her hands under the cool water and then stopped. "Am I La'Octa's Granddaughter?"

Her father stopped what he was doing at the well and smiled tenderly to her. The concern he bore heavy in his eyes. "My child," he began, "there is much to tell you". He washed his hands and guided her back to the family, "but that can wait until after dinner."

They sat down at the small table outside their home and tried to pretend like there was not a raging river trying to engulf their home. Fenrick and Lars joked back and forth while Osha and Torin laughed together. They watched them pretend to play jokes on each other and Osha and Torin talked about Nel. As if she could hear their discussion and was jealous, Harpy gave a loud cry from the sky several hundred feet away in the forest. 

"Has she always been around, Ma?" Torin asked, her sapphire blue eyes staring off in the direction of the screech. 

"Ever since we moved in." Osha smiled at her daughter and then sat behind her as she started to braid her long brown tresses. 

"She's an amazing bird," Torin began as she split blades of grass in her hands, trying not to move while her mom did up her hair.

"That she is." Osha said casually.

"Her wingspan is huge!" Torin spread her arms out wide and listened as her mom laughed.

"I saw her carry off with a groundhog a few days ago!" Lars rushed over and put in his two cents.

"Right! She's even eyed up the cats a few times." Torin looked out beyond the yard to the few cats that were lounging in the little bit of shade left. "I really worry about them." She gave out a heavy sigh, "I worry about all of them, the cats, Harpy, even the animals we don't see." 

"Don't worry, dear." Osha tied off her braid with a piece of twine, "Harpy will go where she should and so will the others." Her mom's mouth came close to her ear, "I'm sure she'll follow you if you ask." 

Torin felt her face heat up and her eyes widened, she’d not thought of asking the bird to go with her. She spun quickly to see her mother smiling at her, there was this sense that her parents knew much more then they were telling her.

Torin helped her brother clean up from the meal and her mother set the leftovers aside in a cool box to try to keep them. Torin finished up her duties around the home and made her way back to her room. The moon rising to her place in the sky and shown her reflection on the waters below. The water had reached their door, and in the silence of the evening hour, they could hear it trickle into their home.

"We'll be leaving in the morning." Fenrick's voice rang through her room, causing her to spin around abruptly.

"I know..." She looked around her small room and then flopped on her bed. "Pa, I don't know if I can go with you."

"I know dear one." Her father sat on the bed beside her. "I owe you an apology, Torin." 

She turned her head to examine her father, why did he need to apologize?

"I should not have left you to learn on your own." He looked to the floor and then began to fidget with his hands in his lap. "The questions you must have about your runes, why the animals draw to you, why you can feel what you do."

Torin’s deep breaths could be heard clearly in the confines of the small room. The look on her face said everything to her father.

"Don't look so surprised, Torin. I'm your father, I know you better than you think.” He smiled to his eldest child, " Tomorrow, the forest will send an ambassador for you, it's time you answered your calling." He lifted his hands to hold hers, "I have answered that call for you many times, and told them you were not ready. I am sorry for that. It was not right of me to keep you away from what you were called for."

Torin nodded to her father, accepting what he was saying as if her soul knew it to be truth. "I was a child then." She tried to reassure him.

"The forest will take you to La'Octa," her father's eyes became distant, "you must keep your relation to her a secret." He turned toward his daughter, "Your safety and hers will depend on it."

"But my ambassador..." She started but her father cut her off.

"Will know only what the elements have told them. Many of the runic children from the forest were killed because their ambassador betrayed them." His hand went to her arm, "Keep them covered as much as possible. Only reveal them to someone you would trust with your life." 

Tears began to brim in her eyes as she looked to her father, tears present in his eyes as well. This was their goodbye. Tomorrow would come quickly and they would not have the time they have now. She leapt into his arms, giving him the strongest hug she could muster. 

"I will make you proud, father." Torin whispered in his ear.

"You already have, dear one." He whispered back.