Immortals Of Byolla Bay

I asked her every question I could in the short walk to her house. I need to figure out what it is about her that I can’t shake. What was that electric jolt I felt? Why are her eyes the exact color of the sky back home?

Other females of this world have approached me and I have politely declined, though some I have had to be a little more firm with for them to get the picture. I have never been interested in anything here other than finding the one who was supposed to help lead us home, until I met her.

It is dangerous for me to be involved with a human because he could use the poor creature to find my family and I cannot let that happen. For their sake and mine, I have gone without the company of a woman. I had every intention to continue to do so until she ran into me, literally. There is something special about her that’s for sure, but what? Maybe I’m just giving into the loneliness I’ve had all these centuries past.

When I made it back to my temporary home, Mag was standing outside waiting on me, with her silky blonde hair blowing in the wind. She really was too beautiful for her own good and has had a much worse time than I about fending off suitors. Tomorrow will be no different. As soon as she walks in, no matter how hard she tries to cover her face, she will have the attention of every boy and their hormones in that whole school. Maybe that’s why she has been so cranky today?

“Where did you just wander off to?” She demanded. I opened my mouth to tell her about Kinsley, but then I suddenly remembered that there was something in the woods that frightened her enough that she ran screaming out of it.

“Come with me. I need to see something.” I walked past her and into the brush that Kinsley had barreled out of. She followed me complaining the whole way. I walked a little down the path looking and listening for anything.

“What are we looking for, Rikki?” She whispered. I shrugged my shoulders, which caused her to roll her eyes, “So you just wanted to aimlessly walk in the woods? Fine, be my guest, but I’m going back...” She trailed off as she walked behind a rather large tree on her way out.

When I reached her, she had her hand covering her mouth and was pointing at the ground. There in the dirt was a muddy boot print with red and black dust particles in it. The same boot prints he made in the dirt of our homeland right before the bastard banished us.

“Rikki...” Mag started to sob. “Let’s go. Quickly now, sister. It’s not safe to tarry as of now.” I tried to comfort her as we rushed back to inform my father and I kicked myself for unknowingly putting Kinsley in danger.

Father cursed loudly, “Do you know that this means he has known our damned location every time we have moved? All the while we thought to have had the upper hand when he has known our whereabouts each time we uprooted ourselves! This is madness! We can’t seek him out to fight, not with that oracle on his side and the magic she gave him. We would be slaughtered in a matter of minutes. He has never known how to fight fair, not even when we were allies for a short time.” He paced back and forth with heavy footsteps over the uneven floor boards in the living room.

“Are you telling us you have always known this monster, daddy?” Mag asked with an incredulous look on her face. Father turned his back to her, “Aye, darling. I did.” Mother put her arms around Mag, “It was ages ago, little one. However, I don’t think you or Rikki has ever heard the story.”

Father still had his back to us when he began, “When your mother and I were children, there were two clans instead of the four you three grew up knowing. Your great grandfather was our clan’s king. The two tribes got along cordially and peacefully for a time. When we were old enough to learn how to become soldiers and fight, all the boys from the two clans were brought together to train as one unit. We were all showing out, like boys do, when I noticed a boy a few years younger than I sitting on the sidelines. I walked over and introduced myself and he shyly replied that his name was Drakkar.”

My sister gasped at the name and my mouth dropped open. Father paused, making sure our outbursts were over before he continued.

“After the first day there were parents boasting about their boy’s abilities and other parents swearing their child was better. That’s when my grandfather started to see that the peace he had fought for all those years was soon to be shattered. He always had a knack for seeing destruction and mayhem before it happened. The next day we trained with bow and arrows. Drakkar was talented with a bow and split an older boy’s arrow in half that was lodged in the target carved into a tree stump. The older boy’s father yelled angrily stating that Drakkar had cheated somehow and demanded that his son get another try. A rematch was held and again, Drakkar split the older boy’s arrow in half. His precision was uncanny. The older boy’s father screamed with rage and angrily beat his son, but my grandfather stepped in, having seen enough. ’The best teaching comes from demonstration, not punishment. Show your boy the correct way to use a bow, instead of disciplining him for not learning how to use it on his own.″

Father turned to face us, “This sparked an outrage with the people and within a few days a visible four way split was seen amongst the people. No longer was the crowd gathered around the boys, but there were now four distinct sections on all four ends of the field. The two newly formed groups picked a king from amongst themselves. That night the kings held a heated meeting. Two kings agreed that the boys should be punished when they shame themselves, like losing to a younger opponent, where they will know that weakness is not acceptable. How else are the boys going to learn what it takes to be a leader? My grandfather and the other newly formed clan king disagreed. They both argued that children cannot learn unless they are shown the correct way and failure should be used as a learning experience, not a reason for punishment. The leaders were at an impasse and the meeting ended with the all the boys being separated back into their own clans. Drakkar was in one of the clans against my own so I never saw him again. Not until about 800 years later, that is.”

Mother slid over on the sectional where father could sit next to her. She patted his leg and urged him to continue. “By the time Gene was born, the clans had tangible boundaries separating their territories. Drakkar’s father was now the king of their clan and I was king of our own. A few years later, Drakkar’s father died and he took over the throne. It was good to see my old friend again. We laughed and drank the whole night. By morning, we had shook hands and parted ways on peaceful terms. I was on the path to restore the peace my grandfather had fought so hard to accomplish in his life. I did not see back then the psychopath that that he was. Everything was going amicably, until Mag grew into a beautiful young lady and caught the brute’s eye. The day he asked for her hand and I refused is when all this started children. I’m sorry I never told you before.”

We were all silent for a while, absorbing in all father had told us. I’d always known the four clans were at an unbalanced peace until Drakkar came and abducted Mag. That sent the clans into all out war, but I didn’t know the whole story. I doubt Mag even knew he asked for her hand, not that she would have agreed to such a preposterous proposal even if she was aware. Drakkar is old enough to be her great grandfather.

Mag stood up and hugged father, “Thank you for not giving me away to that mad man, daddy.” Father laughed, “I would have turned down any man asking for your hand. I’m not ready to see you completely grow up yet. I want you to stay my little girl forever.” I had to smile at that. Mag was the youngest of us and the most spoiled as well, not just from our parents, but also from my brother and I.

She is the only one who has fit into this world easier than the rest of us thankfully and takes the time to explain whatever fad this place comes out with next. The worst ones for us to learn were cars and cell phones. The phones Mag had mastered the first day, but our father still has a hard time learning his, especially since whenever he has it down pat the company comes out with an upgraded edition to replace it and he has to learn all over again.

Mag also adapted to the fashion trends that are apparently extremely important to humans. These clothes they wear show that this world is not at war with each other. None of the clothes Mag has made us wear are suitable for any type of battle. She follows these earthly trends every year like it’s the last thing she will ever do in her lifetime.

It is easy to fall into the false sense of security the peace here gives us, but the boot print filled with dust particles is a stand out reason of why I wish we had our weapons and armor from home here with us right now.