Yodaka slowed down to a walking pace as he approached the entrance of the Barn. He could see the sour expression of disapproval on Jounka’s face as he got closer to his two brothers, who had used the distraction of their brother to also assume their huge Djinn forms
Yodaka approached his two brothers at the Barn entrance
Their senses heightened due to the transformation, both Blacken and Jounka stood up and stared open mouthed at their brother
“I smell mother!!” Said Jounka
“He’s right, so do I, what’s going on Yodaka”
Yodaka looked from one to the other
“Explain” said Jounka in a deep, teeth barred, almost growl
“You met mother, didn’t you” said Blacken
There was an awkward pause and Yodaka replied with a simple “yes”
“Where is she?” demanded Jounka
“Gone”
Jounka went to continue but was cut off by his brother
“Let’s talk in side, as the crowd is getting bigger” said Yodaka as he started towards the Barn doors
The Brothers walk side by side and entered the large main hall of the Barn. The Barn was already full to the rafters, literally, as some of the youngsters now sat up in the rafters watching the goings on from above. To the far right, at the back of the hall, Tigera had set up shop in her usual spot and was surrounded by at least 20 or 30 youngsters. No doubt she was telling them the Clan stories and histories Yodaka looked over to his sister, even after all these years her features still looked like that of a fledgling, one who has just passed from youngster but not quite an adult. Her delicate long pointed face surrounded by her predominantly red hair distinguished her amongst the Clan and she was always easy to find in a crowd Their eye’s locked Now, being blessed by the goddess, Yodaka, his brothers and sister had various degrees of the Ka.
The Ka can only be best described as an ability to talk in each other’s heads, like telepathy and much more as it also uses a combination of facial expressions, body movements and feelings which can give a far more fulfilling experience than just speech They spoke to each other, from across the hall with the Ka
“I see you, My Lord”
“I see you my Sister and no formal titles today please, I am just your brother remember” “Your face tells one story and your heart another” observed Tigera Yodaka did not respond.
Tigera continued to talk to the youngsters, again, something the Ka allowed you to do was to carry on two, or more, conversations at the same time
“My senses are the best amongst us and from here, I can smell her”
“Say her name”
“No”
“Why not”
“It hurts too much” said Tigera
“We all have missed her you know” replied her brother
“Yes and I was there Yodaka”
“So was I”
“No, not like I was, we were connected with the Ka when it happened, you know this, I felt everything, the blows, the cuts the bleeding. I felt her life slip away like it was my own”
Tigera shook her head as tears began to form in her eyes and she turned her attention to the youngsters Yodaka reached out across the void, “she said you had been resisting her and even you cannot deny the will of the Goddess.”
There was no response
“Let’s not argue little sister, we will discuss this later”
Yodaka continued down the left hand side of the Barn and caught up with his brothers. From an outsider’s view, Yodaka had only stopped and paused for a second, even if the conversation with his sister had taken a few minutes, another effect of the Ka.
“I suppose it’s time we put our plan in action” said Blacken
“Yes, have runners gather the chosen and meet us in the council chamber” said Yodaka, a little distracted. Blacken and Jounka looked at each other as they had sensed that Yodaka and Tigera had spoken in Ka but they said nothing.
At the back of the Barn amongst the warren of rooms there was a room slightly larger which had become the Council of Nine chamber. Here when the Clan met, the council members held discussions and heard the usual catalogue of disputes, mostly boundary related or betrothal issues and the like. Today would be different, thought Yodaka as the three brothers entered the chamber. The other six members where already there and partaking in some fresh rabbit that had been delivered for the council. All rose to their feet and the usual greetings where exchanged. The other council members did not need the Ka to know all was not right with their Lord and a quick glance at his brothers confirmed it. Something was not right.
Yodaka looked to his brothers, more for support rather than permission to speak on their behalf.
“Once again we meet here at the Great Barn and it is a pleasure to see familiar faces I have not seen for some seasons now. Having just walked through the great hall it looks like this will be the biggest gathering of the Clan since the Great Journey back when the long tooth still roamed the land”
“Yes indeed” said Abba
“And have you seen the number of youngsters this time, the Clan has been busy!” And they all laughed, “And some more than others!” said Beta and they laughed harder and looked over at poor Yorith
“How many is it now” said Abba, “six, seven?”
“Nine” said Yorith
Abba nearly collapsed on the floor as tears ran down his face and his stomach began to hurt from all the laughing
Yodaka let the banter carry on for a few more minutes before sitting at the head of the group, which was now the unofficial sign that the meeting was to now begin.
He took a breath
“My esteemed friends, council of the nine, elders of the Clan and Kin companions. I have news to relay to you that you may not find as palatable as this delicious rabbit”,
There is never good timing in anything and this was no exception as in strode three members of the Clan, barely into adulthood, which sent the council into uproar. No one disturbs the council in session Balanor was well known to everyone, coming from one of the larger families in the Clan. They could trace their ancestry back beyond the Hoard Invasion. Balanor had a good disposition, known for his kindness, patience and even wisdom beyond his youth
Dede was in fact Abba’s grandson, a rather large youth who unfortunately had gotten himself into more trouble than anyone cared to remember. Mischievous he may be, however, he had a heart as big as the Barn and the youngsters loved him very much.
Finally, there was Scappa. Possibly a step too far, thought Blacken, when he saw them all enter. Scappa’ s family was a remnant from the Hoard, Yodaka had granted asylum to a number of families after all was settled. They lived on the outskirts of the Boughs and made ends meet by scavenging for scraps and some said even stealing etc
“Dede, what is the meaning of this! Why are you with That!” spat Abba, indicating Scappa
‘We have been summoned grandfather”
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The beginning of the end
How long had it been since the ancient warrior had first seen this view? Yodaka stood at the top of the hill looking back down towards the Great Barn. The Barn had been derelict since anyone could remember and sat near the end of a large field at the bottom of the slope he now stood atop. It must have been impressive in its day with the main hall a vast cavern that could easily accommodate four large houses. At the back end of the Barn was a small warren of rooms, of various sizes, which were probably used for storage, housing farm animals and offices. Now they were used by the Clan as sleeping areas’ and the Elders Council meetings during the Gathering. As he looked at the Barn it brought back many memories, some good and some bad but always evoked a feeling of pride, as this was their Barn and everyone knew it to be so. Yodaka’s gaze now drifted over to the right of the Barn, towards the Green Forest, as he saw members of the Clan weaving their way through the trees and out into the field. They walked in single file, as was the Clan way, using well worn trails in the overgrown field which snaked round towards the front of the Barn. To his left stood the Great Hedge, some distance away, which ran down the side of the field and disappeared into the distance as far as you could see. Where the hedge met the slope and made its way upwards, there was a gap large enough for three or four of the Clan to pass through abreast. He again watched as a steady stream of the Clan came through the gap, some stealing a glance up towards him and nudging their young ones forward to stop them staring and gawping up at their Clan chief. In the far off distance behind the Barn he could also make out the Clan coming towards the Barn in a steady stream. Yes, this gathering would be the biggest anyone could remember. He had been standing watching everyone arrive for some time now, the sun had already moved half way across the sky and was just beginning to start its decent into the blackness. At the front of the Barn there seemed to be a small bottle neck developing, which was strange considering that one of the enormous doors was fully open, in fact nearly falling of its hinge. He looked closer and soon discovered the reason for the slow entry into the Barn. There on either side of the entrance stood his two brothers, Jounka and Blacken, living legends to the Clan, immortalised in stories and used to keep young ones in line if they misbehaved. “Blacken will steal you away in the middle of the night if you don’t go to sleep”, “Jounka can swallow a young one whole, if they are bad” that sort of thing. As the Clan filed past them, they slowed and dipped to show their respect to the two warriors. He must admit, they looked very impressive and slightly intimidating, standing either side of the entrance. Jounka was almost as big as Yodaka and had over the years put a little bit of weight on his midriff, however Yodaka thought that even with this Jounka might be able to take him in a straight up fight, of course, he would never admit that to him or anyone. There are only three other Clan members that have ever seen Jounka in battle, being it was so long ago, the thought of it still sends shivers down his back, the red mist in his eyes as he hacked at The Hoard, cutting down dozens at a time, fighting his way through their defensive line like it was not there. On many occasions he had kept a safe distance just in case he had been caught in the blood lust whirlwind. Jounka’s demeanor was always dark with his stern face and seemingly sour mood, however, Yodaka knew this to be a front, as Jounka had a heart as big as a Barn. Now his other brother was a bit of an enigma, Blacken “the Ghost” “Night Crawler” “Shade.” Even as youngsters he was always distant and really only associated with their mother and baby sister Tigera. Blacken was the smallest of the brothers and famous for his unexplainable ability to suddenly appear beside you without warning. Extremely supple, agile and strong even when he walked down the path, it looked like he was floating. During the battle of the Great Hedge, Jounka had done his usual thing and cut through the Hoard’s front line, deep into their ranks. I had followed him in, however as we stopped, we found ourselves completely surrounded with what appeared to be no gaps in their line. When suddenly I felt something brush past my back and Blacken appeared at my side. To this day I don’t know how he managed it and he never talks about it. Now that was a battle to remember.
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