World of Ranicke Bk. 03 Ch. 02

A voice came from the center of the brightness, "Where am I? Who am I? What am I?" The voice was almost emotionless yet there were hints of loss and pain. The voice started asking other questions but they made no sense. All there was to see was an endless ocean of a golden light. Finally the voice spoke one last time, "Who are you? Can you tell me what and where I am?"

The young boy bolted upright in his bed and was heavily sweating. His body was shivering though he was coated in sweat from that damn dream. It had started when he was just a hatchling and came and went through the years. Now that he was close to his minority it seemed to be getting stronger. The voice had never asked who he was before and that terrified him a great deal.

As he stumbled out of bed and over to a side table that had a large pitcher of water and a bowl for washing in. He splashed some water on his face and the downy feathers covering his head and felt some relief. The water was cool which felt good against his sweaty skin. Once he was done with that he poured a glass of water and quickly drank it down to slake his thirst.

He stopped to look in the mirror and his eyes were haunted and terrified at the same time. His father had taken him to the Augers and mystics concerning the dreams. They had all taken a look and were unable to say much more than it was real, the voice that was. Why it was talking to him he wasn't sure but there was some sort of connection between the two of them.

His father hadn't been all that pleased about not getting an answer and had even gutted one Auger that had angered him. As the Auger lay dying it gave a cackling laugh. "You are cursed to see your empire fall apart evil man. All that you have wrought will be laid low before you die and all because you think you are better than the fates and gods and goddesses." He was still cackling as the breath left his broken body.

His father had ordered the body be taken to the jungle and left for the predators after removing the eyes and manhood. By removing the eyes it was thought that the wronged spirit couldn't see their way back. By emasculating the corpse it was thought to render the spirit impotent and unable to cause problems from the afterlife. All the boy had gotten out of watching his father was revulsion at the act. Augers and Mystics were sacrosanct and to lay hand on one was a curse of its own. To kill one as his father had was a second and much stronger curse.

He had to wonder if this was the work of the curse, bringing the bodiless voices to him. It kept asking the same thing over and over. It would change once in a while when it would speak in a different language. He assumed that it was much the same though. What was he supposed to do with it or about it? What did it mean? He knew his father was cursed since he hadn't had any children since killing the Auger.

That and things just seemed to happen around him such as his heavy throne chair breaking when he sat in it for a critical ceremony to welcome the rains. Small pieces of his empire were starting to split off and as soon as he quashed one rebellion another started. This was making his father angry, angry enough to make rash decisions and declarations. His father had always been a hard man but in his own way a just man. Now he was ruthless and saw nothing but enemies trying to take him down.

Now that he had calmed down some he crawled back into bed and hoped that the dream wouldn't come again.

~~~

Everyone could only stare at the smoldering remains of the funeral pyre for Jim. The others were still burning but Jim's was almost down to ashes. Several of the shamans staggered from the sudden surge of energy and then the removal of the energy. Nang shuddered slightly and was glad when Dan wrapped his arms around her and supported her.

Moran looked at the senior Shaman and Nang. It was obvious both were exhausted and needed to be taken to bed. "Dan take the Mystic to her caravan and tuck her in. I will ensure some warm fortified drinks are brought." He looked over at Thomas. "Call for several carry chairs and take the shamans who collapsed to their caravans or tents. Ensure they are tucked in as well and drinks will be brought."

"Yes Chief." Both said. Dan picked Nang up and turned to carry her back to the caravan. As he started walking their girls followed behind since they were concerned as well. Thomas went for help with the chairs and soon the shamans were taken away as well. He followed the senior shaman to the main caravan of his and ensured he was tucked in as well.

Farion and Saulo took the littles back to the tent since it was starting to get late and they needed to go to bed. They had just reached the tent when Ana and Allie came over. "Come on girls, I will take you to the privacy tents and then we will tuck you in." Ana collected them and led them off to the tents. One thing she did like was the paths were all lighted by the power stones. Other than the fire in the kitchen they didn't have to deal with any sort of sooty or resinous odor hanging around. That and they didn't have to worry about fire nearly as much.

Eventually they had all the littles tucked in and Allie and Ana were curled up amongst them. Both boys had settled down next to the girls and wrapped their arms around them for comfort. Eventually everyone was asleep. They were asleep enough that when the adults came in they didn't wake.

Soon the entire camp was relatively silent as others went and fell asleep as well. The sound of crickets and other insects lulled them to sleep and everyone slept soundly for the first time since the attack.

~~~

In the adults tent the three women had settled down with something to drink. It had some alcohol in it since they all felt they needed some, well except for Sheeha. Now that she was pregnant she had mellowed a great deal. All of them were discussing the meaning of the Bear Totem appearing in Jim's funeral pyre.

Sheeha was sitting behind Nasha and was giving her hair and back a good brushing as she listened. Nasha finally spoke. "Did we actually see that? I have never seen or heard of anything like that before. Do you think the Shaman or Mystic has any idea of why he showed up?" She wasn't going to get her hopes up that it might mean Jim was alive.

Sorrel took a sip of her drink and as she was thinking her tail and ears twitched some. "I don't know but whatever happened took a toll on them. Even if they know they might not be able to tell us or we might have to wait till they wake up." She wanted to know what it meant as badly as the others.

Nora was nibbling on one claw as she was listening. "Well he was most definitely seriously pissed off. I can't think of the last time I heard of a spirit animal appearing. It honestly has me concerned. What if it means that it still isn't over? What if whoever they are might be back?" That was her concern.

Nasha shuddered at that idea. "I hope not. What they have done is bad enough. I can't even imagine what they might end up doing next time if they did." Her relative was sitting there as well though she wasn't saying anything. To be honest she was still very traumatized by what had happened. "I do want to know what happened to Yimmy though."

Sheeha purred lightly while giving Nasha a good hug. "All done Nasha now for your turn." She moved over to the other Inu and gently started working on her hair and back. "I wish Yimmy was around so he could see our baby when he is born. I wish he could be there when I introduce him to the Pride and Chief Piquel." Her ears lowered as she was talking and she had to pause for a moment as she was grooming the other lady.

Sorrel gave Sheeha a sad smile. "I know hun and I wish he was here as well and not just for that." As she was talking she was playing with her mating necklace. "I talked to father and we are officially in a period of mourning for the next six months. We won't, or shouldn't, have to worry about any random tribe member trying to mate with us. I appreciate that since I am not going to even consider any other male getting any of Yim's property. Mind you if he is dead and doesn't come back and you do find someone you wish to mate with nobody will have a problem with it. That we will deal with down the road."

Nasha sighed. "Somehow I am not worried about that for a few years at all. I don't know if any other man can fill my heart the way Yimmy did." Keirei started fussing so Nasha picked her up and started nursing her.

They continued talking about the meaning of the spirit animal showing up. They also discussed how they wanted to handle the kids and jobs now that Jim was gone. It was a long discussion and everyone was tired when they finally went to bed.

~~~

The tech was staring at the monitors in front of him and was not happy. He had been tasked with testing some blood and tissue samples and seeing if who they belonged to could be identified. The samples were from several crime scenes over the years. What was bothering him was he had one sample from 2000, another from 2014 or so and another from 2024.

That didn't bother him since he had seen similar results before. What bothered him was the sample from 2024 was showing to be from a younger person than the one from 2014. The one from 2000 was from a younger person than the other two. The problem was they were out of order. There was simply no way the sample from 2000 could be from an older individual than the one from 2014 and 2024. Well unless he was a time traveler and they didn't exist.

He finally correlated all the data and sent it over the encrypted network to his senior with a note explaining that he had a feeling the samples had been labeled wrong. Once he was done he shut down his workstation and ensured everything was turned off and left for the night. His job was done.

As he was walking out to his vehicle the results were really bothering him. He knew that till he had some sort of answer it would be an itch in the back of his mind. The worst part was the telomeres were what was giving the approximate age of the person. Those didn't lie in any way since they shortened with each cell division. His wife was going to be seriously annoyed with his grumpy attitude but sometimes it just happened.

~~~

The tribe had ended up staying at the ceremonial location for close to two weeks while the worst of the injured either grew stronger or were released from life. Dan hadn't understood that at first till he had considered it and talked to Moran. If a tribe member was too ill it was their choice to remove the strain from the tribe or their family. They would take the long sleep and once gone treated as were all others if not more respect for their decision. There were three more pyres before the two groups separated.

Dan was looking over the camp area and had to sigh. They had performed the ceremonial dance and party but it had been quiet since the attack had been so recent. Even now at two weeks the mood of both groups was quiet and reticent. He really hoped that once they moved on to the next stopping area things would improve. "Nang, Sorrel it looks like everything on the caravan's are secured. Sorrel would you mind checking Nang's caravan with me just to make sure?"

Nang was also in the process of giving the caravan one last check inside to ensure everything was secured for the move. From what she had seen they didn't actually move al that fast but the terrain was still bumpy at times. Since securing things didn't take that long she didn't see any reason not to take care of it. "Looks good in here Dan, everything is secured and the clean clothes have been stowed."

Dan nodded and walked over and helped her out before giving her a good hug and kiss. "Sorrel is going to take a look to ensure the tent and external items are secured. I am going to make sure the girls are ready for the move."

Nang wrapped her arms around Dan's neck and returned the kiss. "I think someone just wants to go and play with the kids and avoid work." She smirked at him as she leaned against his chest. "Go have fun Dan and I will watch the caravan for us."

He growled at her. "Darn woman I am trying to be serious and take care of our girls and you are making jokes. I will get even with you later or else..." He was laughing as he goosed her and jumped back before moving towards the other caravan.

As he approached Pam came over to him and gave him a light hug. "We are almost done with the artist's tent and I decided to check in and see how Sorrel and company are doing. They need all the help they can get with all the kids."

Dan returned the hug and gave her a quick glance and she seemed to be doing well. She was looking more energetic and content. "Well having a dozen or more kids can have a few drawbacks. I know for a fact that having two girls is hard enough at times but a dozen boys and girls? Jim must have been a masochist."

Since Allie had been approaching he had made sure she heard that and her eyes narrowed and kicked his leg. "And fathers are meanies. Just for that you don't get your morning hug." She stuck her tongue at him and stomped off.

Sheeha snickered at the interaction. "Warrior Dan you shouldn't tease like that. It is just mean." She was holding one of Jim's babies as she was talking. Her abdomen was still as flat as it had ever been since she wasn't going to be showing for another month or so.

Dan snickered and reached over and tickled her ears. "Nah, if I didn't tease them they would give me worried looks. I did that once just to see what they would do and they finally went to Nang and asked what was wrong." He scratched his beard and gave a wry grin. "When I told Nang it was a test to see what they would do I ended up on the couch for a week. For some reason none of them found it funny."

They all snickered and he continued towards Jim's caravan and pitched in with the final packing after getting a morning hug from Ana and Allie. By the time they were done the vast majority of the tribe had packed up as well. Since he and Nang had discussed it he went and searched out Nasha and her sister-in-law. This caravan was already packed to the rafters and adding two more was going to strain it.

Dan finally found Nasha as she was helping Deliah pack up her things. "Morning Nasha Nang asked me to come and speak to the two of you. I am not sure what the thoughts on this are but she wanted to know if Deliah and her little boy would like to ride on our caravan, or at least Deliah since Jim's caravan is already packed."

Nasha looked at him and then Deliah and shrugged. "It would be up to her but I have to admit that it would help the crowding problem. Some of the older kids are going to be helping in the other caravans as well." She made a wry face. "To be honest we almost need a trailer caravan to pack some of the stuff in or even better a second caravan."

Dan snorted at her. "I had never thought of Jim as a patriarch of a family before. I have to admit he was doing a darn good job but it just doesn't seem like him." He stroked both Inu's ears in the way that he had learned was comforting for them. "I have to go but if you would like to ride with even part of the time Deliah simply go to our caravan and let Nang know." With a goodbye wave he left and headed towards the warrior's caravan to find out what he was going to be doing.

~~~

The boy had actually slept decently the last few days and was feeling more positive. Whatever the voice was it had been quiet though he knew it wouldn't remain that way. It was the curse caused by his father. Till he could figure out how to break the curse he was just going to have to live with it. With that in mind he had tossed himself into his studies. As a side benefit his father approved of it and that gave him a few more perks such as better food.

He had also been spending time in the library early in the morning and late at night. He did not want his father or his main advisors finding out what he was searching for. If they did it would end badly for him since at the very least his father would have the skin and tissue whipped from his back. When he was done his bones would be all that was left to see. At worst he would be flayed alive and his skin hung from the rafters of the great hall.

How he wished he had an adviser or guardian he could trust. There was no way he could trust anyone from here. It simply wasn't possible since his father and his warlocks had fingers everywhere. What he needed was someone that had no ties to this country. Someone who couldn't be corrupted or twisted by his father or his minions, someone who he could actually trust.

When he walked into his room he looked at his slave. "Draw a bath for me and get my bed clothes and bed ready. I am going to sleep once I am out." That was another institution his father started that he hated. He also hated that he had to act harsh towards them when they messed up even slightly.

With a sigh he settled in a chair to wait for the hot water to be drawn. When it sounded like the water was mostly drawn he stripped out of his cloths and left them in the chair for the slave. His pouch was hung on a hook next to his bed. It was keyed only to him and nobody else. When the slave came out and informed him the bath was ready he dismissed him and secured the door to his rooms before going into the bathing room.

Once in the hot water he leaned back and relaxed since his muscles were aching. In addition to his normal training his father had added some personal weapons training as well. At least the master he had chosen was hard but not harsh or brutal. Some felt the best training method was teaching through pain. His master felt differently. He would use pain if he really screwed up or to make a point but only then.

Eventually he climbed out and toweled off. After pulling on the night shorts he walked out to the bed and contemplated the pouch. There was one section he really wanted to read but frankly he was beat. He knew that as soon as he laid his head down he was a goner as far as sleep went. With a sigh he took a good drink of water and crawled into bed. As he had expected as soon as his head hit the pillow he was asleep.

Almost immediately the dream started again but it was different somehow.

"Where am I? Tell me that at least. Tell me where I am so I can hopefully find my way home." The voice sounded more tired and lost and the glowing sea of light was starting to dim. "At least name me so I know who and what I am. For all I know I am simply a thought or figment of someone's imagination. With a name I can at least have something to take with me when I am gone. Give me that."

The boy sighed since he really didn't know what to say or do for the voice. Should he tell the truth? Should he Name it? He simply didn't know and since he had just started researching dreams and visions. None of what he had found so far had mentioned anything about being able to interact with a vision.

"Please anything, just say anything. Even if false just say something." The voice was whispering to him. The light was starting to dim even more as the voice was speaking.

The boy could tell that the voice was running out of time. He had to make a decision now about if he was going to do anything or let it fade. As he was thinking an idea occurred to him, maybe this was the god's way of giving him and the people a second chance. A way to earn forgiveness if he tried hard enough to help whatever the voice was. "I don't know where you are or what this place is. I will name you though. The name I give you is Theik-Lekal which means Voice of Sorrow in my language."

There was a burst of light and faintly he heard the voice. "Thank you for naming me and relieving me of this terrible longing. Thank you." The voice faded before the light burst happened again and everything faded.