Lovu

  “We should be far enough,” Topal said late in the day as they were reaching the northern boundaries of Lelpi.

  It had been the better part of a week since crossing the Highway. Other than the occasional run-in with wildlife, which Lovu was becoming more and more accustomed to, things were going as planned. They hiked during the day, camped out during the night, and continued their nightly conversations. Every so often, they’d run into small clusters of trees, but nothing close to the forests from before. Although the hills gradually settled from craggy hills into gentler rolling plains, the fauna hadn’t changed much.

  “For what, exactly?” Lovu asked, seeing nothing beyond empty grasslands.

  “To stop and get a better lay of the land,” she said, scanning the horizon. “I’ve been weaving us between settlements up until now, but I’d like to stop into one soon and see if I can’t see how people are holding up.”

  “That would explain how empty things have seemed,” he chuckled, mostly to hide the thoughts burning under the surface at the mention of her plan. “I was beginning to think my family ruled a land with no people.”

  “There’re small settlements everywhere, usually within a day or two of each other, but mostly it is empty,” she explained, although her eyes perked up as she spotted something. “I’ve spent plenty of time in the areas around Lavote, so I know a lot of the smaller villages around these parts. There’s a little place called Ifi out in that direction, just past the border. We’ll stop there to test the waters.”

  “Oh good,” he said, feeling his mask come up. “How long until then?”

  “Probably tomorrow night,” she said, turning to study his face. “You worried about it?”

  She is getting a bit too good at reading me…

  “I am,” he said reluctantly, letting the front fall. His hands drifted up to his face as his fingers traced the scab on his temple. Although his body had mostly recovered from Tama’s beating, its aftereffects wouldn’t completely vanish for a while. “No matter how violent it is out here in the wildlands, I must admit I have become comfortable in it. The idea of running into more people is…”

  “Scary, right?” Topal said, not expecting a real answer. “Don’t worry. You can stay out of town while I go check on things. I’ll only bring you in if the coast is clear.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it,” he said, but even that small relief wasn’t enough to quiet the unease brewing in his stomach. Instead of focusing on it, he decided to sate his curiosity. “What were you looking for just now?”

  “Oh, you’ll get a kick out of this,” Topal said as she continued marching ahead.

  Tucked into a wide valley between the rolling hills were three huge pillars of stone sticking out of the ground at odd angles. Even from far away, he could see the clear signs of symbols carved into their sides, although he couldn’t recognize any of them. A few dozen smaller pillars were also scattered nearby, but they were dwarfed by the ones at their center.

  Instead of stepping down into the valley, they traced along the outer rim, circling the pillars. At first, he guessed they were a few dozen feet tall, but the further they went, the more he realized just how wrong he had been. They were so large, they warped his perception of the whole valley, making miles seem like only a few hundred feet. After nearly twenty minutes of walking, it seemed like they had barely made any progress, almost like when their approach to the Yufe Foothills. He had seen the mountains on the horizon almost two full days before they reached them.

  The air seemed electrified, making his hair stand on end and his nerves tingle in anxious anticipation. Of what, he couldn’t guess, but something was meant to happen here.

  “What is this?” he asked after a while of silence.

  “Dunno,” she shrugged. “I thought you might’ve learned something about it in the Temple, but it looks like Advocates are just as clueless as the rest of us. People call it Kumam’s trident, but they usually steer clear.”

  “Why?” he asked, but the slowly building anxiety made it more than clear. This place was no good.

  “Apparently, you’re more likely to run into vit in the valley,” she said, looking up at it. “I heard a story about a Scar going all the way to the stones once and coming back with no skin.”

  “Should we be this close?” he said, frantically stepping down the opposite slope. It was still distant, but after hearing that, he knew no distance would be enough.

  “Relax,” she chuckled. “It’s only really dangerous if you go into the stones. I just wanted to see what you thought of it. Even though it’s named after Kumam, the energy here feels different from hers. That always confused me.”

  “Well, I know nothing about it and I would prefer to keep it that way,” he said, still staying downhill from her.

  “Fair enough, although that’s the other reason I brought us through here. Everyone feels that way, including me. Right now, that works to our benefit though. Nobody ever comes through here without a good reason.”

  “Very wise,” Lovu said, but he was done talking about the stones. Even as he set his eyes directly forward, he couldn’t help but feel them looming out at him from just beyond his sight.

  They quickly made their way to the opposite side and left the valley behind, although Lovu could feel the tip of the pillars staring into the back of his head. It only went away when they finally set down to camp for the night.

  Sure enough, Topal saw signs of Ifi the following day. Lovu had no clue what those signs were exactly, but she was confident they were close. So, the next time they came across an outcropping of the plain’s thin trees, she left him there to scout. This time, it took her very little time to return, although her face made it clear that it wasn’t for good reasons.

  “We should probably keep moving,” she said, gathering up the things she left behind.

  “Are Phakfi’s forces here?” he asked, unconsciously picking at the sleeves of his cloak.

  “Not anymore, but they passed through recently. Probably an off-shoot of the group we saw on the Highway.”

  “Are people hurt?” he asked, his hands settling as he rose to join her.

  “Dunno. Their gardens were trampled and there was some damage to the buildings, but people are still around. Hard to tell exactly what went down, but this fresh off of a fight, they’re gonna be on edge.”

  She was right, but all he could think about were the people in Ya’upuk. They were struggling but at least had some kind of security to fall back on.

  “I know we’ve talked about the famine before, but have people actually started… dying from it yet?”

  “No,” she said with a sigh. “Most people put away the majority of the food they can store for later in the year. Usually, they’d keep fattening their stores up until late fall, then use them to get through winter. Instead, people are dipping into them early. They’re fine for right now.”

  “But that won’t last forever.”

  “You still want to help after what happened in Kamvor? I figured you would have learned your lesson,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Everybody that sees us brings those fucks one step closer.”

  “I know…” After all, she was right. He couldn’t deny it and as much as he wanted to turn his eyes away, that wasn’t an option. “Can we?”

  Topal didn’t say anything at first, continuing to scrunch her eyes shut in thought. “We can go in and do the blessing you did before at night. I can talk to my friend here and see if she’ll cover for us.” Finally, she opened her eyes and leveled her gaze at him. “That enough?”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “If that is all we can safely do, then yes,” he said, Fam’e’s warmth flowing through him.

  “Good. Luckily, your hair has grown out enough to at least cover your tattoos and you look way less prissy than last time. Hopefully that will be enough to avoid some attention. Just…”

  “Don’t open my mouth?” he asked, finishing her thought and getting a quick nod in return. “I will hold my tongue as much as possible.”

  Topal’s warning severely undersold the damage. About two dozen buildings rested on top of a wide hill. Lovu could still see the earth churned up where the smaller army passed through – a deep scar cutting from well outside of the village through to the other side. While the buildings were still standing, the majority were little more than stone walls, the soot marks along their edges a shadow of the violence that tore them apart.

  Just like before, Topal snuck up first, met with their host to explain the situation, then signaled for Lovu to approach when the coast was clear. Luckily, the house she disappeared into was one of the few still largely untouched. It was harder to find a good place to hide in the open plains, so the sprint to safety was a bit longer than usual, but he made it with little difficulty.

  Their host was a young woman around their age with dark, wispy hair and sunken, sallow cheeks. It was hard to tell how much of that was her natural appearance and how much was due to the recent scarcity. One thing was obviously an older concern – her right arm was covered in feathers and ended in a clasped, three toed claw. It was Lovu’s first chance getting to see one of the Kumam grafts up close, but he knew better to stare.

  “This is Ya,” Topal said, gesturing to the woman. “Ya, this is the noble.”

  “Hm,” Ya grunted, her ghastly eyes boring holes into him. Lovu expected something to follow, but the silence just kept stretching on.

  “Thank you very much for giving us a place to rest,” he said, insistent on expressing his appreciation, but making sure to not say anything else past that for fear of committing an unknowable faux pas. That appeared to be enough as she nodded and walked toward the door, leaving the two alone in her house. It was small and there appeared to be no basement, so they hunkered down in the corner farthest from the windows and stayed as quiet as possible. The floor was made of packed dirt.

  “What’s the plan for the blessings?” Lovu asked, assuming she had discussed it with Ya before calling him in.

  “Same as before. Wait until sundown, do it as quickly as possible,” Topal said, laying down and staring at the thatched roof. “She’ll cover for us if anyone notices, but hopefully we don’t have to bother.”

  “What is she doing now?” he asked, anxious about the time they had to kill until they could start.

  “Talking to the village elder. She was insistent on getting his permission and letting him know about the whole thing, even if we kept it quiet from everyone else.”

  “I suppose that’s fair… Did you ask about how many of their crops survived?”

  “I did,” she said with a frown. “Practically all of their food was requisitioned by the army, even though most of it wasn’t fully ripe. Their stores were emptied too. The people who refused had their houses burned and pillaged.”

  “What?!” he said, before covering his mouth when he realized just how loud he had been. “Do they have any crops left?”

  “Some, but only the shit not worth the effort to harvest.”

  Lovu’s heart sank. Fam’e’s blessings were best applied to fields that had already been sown. They helped the plants grow better and stronger. It would have some lingering effects on future yields too, but nowhere near as much. Given the fact that he was already performing them under less than ideal circumstances, the further dip in efficacy made the whole process almost feel pointless.

  “Will they be able to plant another round of crops before winter?” he asked, trying to find a saving grace.

  “They just planted a round of fall vegetables a couple weeks ago. Those were the things not worth harvesting that I mentioned. They might be able to get another round planted if they move quick, but they’ll barely fruit before first frost.”

  “Have they received any other blessings recently?” he asked, but he already knew the answer. Earth that had already been blessed responded to new blessings far more readily. Even if it had been blessed years ago, that would still make his own ritual slightly more effective. That’s why the Temple’s writings emphasized the importance of regularly tending to the land.

  “Nope. The closest temple is in Wungwukung, the better part of a week from here. They charge for the blessing itself and for the time their Advocates need to travel. I doubt Ifi has ever had the free fuvre to swing that.”

  “Oh no…”

  “What? What the fuck does ‘oh no’ mean?” she asked, sitting up to glare at him.

  “It’s just… I don’t know how much I’ll really be able to do for them after all…” he said, briefly explaining everything working against them.

  “You didn’t think to mention that before I talked her into letting us go through this whole ordeal?!”

  “I don’t know how agriculture works!” he hissed in a hushed shout. “I have vague knowledge of harvest periods for staple crops like vewa, but we are well off of the normal timetables.”

  “Fuck,” Topal said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I was barely able to talk her into humoring this whole process. What am I going to say now?”

  While she was dealing with her own concerns, Lovu felt a bitter resentment building in his chest. The situation was far from ideal and the number one culprit of the current issue was Phakfi’s army and their blatant disregard for human life and dignity. But he couldn’t help but find someone else to shoulder the blame as well:

  His fellow Advocates.

  There was no good answer to the problems before him now. He was only one person and the country was in chaos. That much he could understand, but the fact that the situation had become so dire because they weren’t doing their jobs in the first place.

  If I could stay here for months – even just weeks – I could do enough small blessings to add up to a largescale ritual. That would probably be enough to safely get them through the winter. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but it would be stable. There’s no way for me to make up all of that work in such a short span of time. If I could just stay here…

  He wanted to tear his hair out as he stewed in that thought, until something clicked.

  “Wait a minute,” he said, turning to Topal as an idea started to form in his head. “The coins you have for Kumam. Are you able to perform her rituals without them?”

  “Not as far as I know,” she said, the gears behind her eyes churning alongside his own. “I mean… it’s possible, but I don’t know how well it would go.”

  “Quick,” he said, focusing his mind. “What are all of the steps you need to take to do the ritual that covers our tracks? Do you need materials other than the coin?”

  “This better be going somewhere. Normally, you start by lighting a bundle of dried yaylok – a flower that blooms at night – and shroud yourself in its smoke. Then you pray to Kumam, press her coin into the soles of your feet, and bury it in the ground.”

  “And the incantation? Can you tell me it in its entirety?” She had recited it in his presence several times over the past weeks, but he had tried to ignore the content as much as possible.

  “Mother of your cruel night, your children seek refuge in the cloak of deepest moonlight,” she said, still studying him. “Guide our feet to move unseen and lead our pursuers astray.”

  “Do you need to focus on anything when you say it?” he asked. When praying to Fam’e, you had to focus on your devotion and express your desire from the bottom of your heart. If you were disingenuous, she wouldn’t answer.

  Well, that isn’t the only reason she wouldn’t answer someone, but if I’m right, maybe that’s less important than I thought.

  “Not really…” Topal said, going quiet in thought. “As far as I know, you just… think about her and say the thing.”

  “Excellent,” he said as he stood up and did a couple of quick stretches. “I’m going to try something really quickly.”

  “Okay…”

  Taking a moment to still himself, he reflected on his night in the Vor estate. As much as he wanted to shut out those memories, he honed in on the only beautiful thing he witnessed – Kumam’s crescent moon reflected in the garden’s pond. For better or worse, she had granted them her blessings. It may not have made a difference in their escape, but he knew there was no malice in her actions. Shutting out every instinct ingrained in him as an Advocate, he opened his heart to his goddess’ wicked counterpart.

  I… I do not understand you, but it is clear to see that I have been naive. If you have love in your heart as your sister does, please overlook my doubt and accept my gratitude.

  Once he made that silent plea, he closed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of himself. “Mother of your cruel night, your children seek refuge in the cloak of deepest moonlight. Guide our feet to move unseen and lead our pursuers astray.”

  As he spoke the words, he felt a chill run down his back. It wasn’t unpleasant, more like a brisk breeze on a cool night. It wrapped itself around him, and he could feel it on his hands and feet most of all. Gracefully, he knelt down, keeping his entire focus on the goddess in their midst and lightly traced a crescent on the bottom of each foot. Topal hadn’t mentioned that detail, but it felt right in the moment. As he finished the motion, he felt the chill intensify before dissipating and leaving him feeling like he was wrapped in a cloak of her embrace.

  “Do you notice a difference?” he asked, turning to Topal, whose eyes were spread in surprise.

  “Yeah. You seem a little… I dunno. Harder to see? It’s not massive, but it’s definitely a change,” she said, clearly processing her own thoughts as she spoke. Despite her surprise, she stood up to walk around him and get a full view. Then, she pointed to the opposite corner of the room. “Walk over there.”

  He did as he was told and turned around to find her kneeling on the ground. Her eyes widened again as she waved him over. “C’mere. Your footprints are fainter.”

  Sure enough, she was right. The packed dirt floor left clear imprints everywhere they walked. He could still see the marks they left when entering the home and as he looked to see his newest path, they were still visible, but not as deep.

  “This is perfect!” he said, barely able to contain his excitement.

  “I mean… this is impressive, don’t get me wrong. I’ve never met someone capable of doing that without a coin, but how does that help us here?”

  “Because this means Kumam’s rituals work just like Fam’e’s. They’re stronger with the proper materials and ritual, but those aren’t necessary to gain her blessing,” he said, pacing back and forth as his excitement started to overtake him. Unfortunately, bitterness reared its head instead as he took the next logical steps. “I was taught that Fam’e would only grant her blessings to Advocates – those who had proved their devotion to her. That we had an obligation to protect her rituals and keep them secret, only for those who joined the temple. But, if Kumam can answer anybody’s prayers with blessings-”

  “Then anyone can perform the rituals?” Topal said, finally catching onto his plan.

  Lovu nodded emphatically. “I know how we can help Ifi.”