Thursday, January 22, 2015

Exile's End: Day 19

Word Count: 114,003

Summary of Events:
Chapter 37:
Thårijn got into a debate with Æliyäu over whether or not they should journey faster, and why or why not, and additionally Æliyäu told Thårijn that in his estimation it was going to take them several years to reach Kænjiøs — which was a disheartening revelation to Thårijn.
Chapter 38:
The Iøsenräl continued to journey, making good progress and not having run into any danger, but then a ground tremor was felt and things were unsettled a little. Bæjern and Villäm then really had the realization that they were really, truly, wholly, ultimately free, and it moved them to such joy they sang.

Excerpt of the Day:
"Sunlight was shining down on them now as they rode, having just started off again after their quick, light, cold lunch — as Thårijn refused to let them dwell on the meal, as it was wasting precious time in his mind — the forest was aglow with yellow mostly, but also some oranges and reds, a few greens —mostly the conifers — brown of old dead leaves on the ground, and even the various shades of the berries which the children were running around gathering — as they were going slow enough the children wouldn't really be left behind.
Suddenly Cælebrin stopped dead: and so did every other animal. Æliyäu stood stiff in his stirrups. Cælebrin's ears were pointing back — as if he were listening to Æliyäu — with an alertness unlike Æliyäu had ever seen. Then a tremor rippled through that Æliyäu felt too strong to be just Cælebrin shaking.
It didn't take long for the tremor to pass, but behind him Æliyäu heard much chaos and turned Cælebrin around. Some horses had bolted and were bucking, a small group of cattle had stampeded, and many of the horses were unsettled. He wasn't the only one who'd felt the tremor.
"What was that?" young Ätheröd — a friend of Thårijn's  — asked.
"The ground quaked," Æliyäu replied.
"Was it an earthquake?" Äthelröd asked. "Like Nättenbägen?"
The image of the destruction of Nätthulegråttä from his dream flashed into Æliyäu's mind. Could a mountain really be destroyed? He knew a mountain could be hewn by picks and hammers, for that was how metals were mined out of the rocks. But could an entire mountain be rent asunder? He knew not. But he had dreamt it. Unless Göd had done it.
"I know not," Æliyäu finally replied.
Some men had rounded up the bolted livestock and others were steadying and settling horses — if not catching them — some mothers had fled out to collect their children from where they'd stopped as they'd been berry picking, other children ran crying in terror to their parents, the whole group was shaken by the, well, shaking of the ground.
"How did the animals know it was coming?" Äthelröd asked.
"Göd has gifted animals with some greater abilities in perception than we possess," Æliyäu replied. "And I think they heard it coming."
"Heard it?" Äthelröd asked.
"Yes," Æliyäu replied.
"But there was no sound," Äthelröd said. "I just felt the tremor, I heard nothing."
"The ground oft shakes following explosions," Æliyäu replied.
"Explosions?"Äthelröd asked.
"Yes," Æliyäu replied. "You know that mixtures of some substances can create explosions."
"Yes, but no explosion shakes the ground like that," Äthelröd said.
"If you make it big enough it will," Æliyäu said.
"Why do you talk of explosions?" Äthelröd asked. "It could only have been the quaking of the earth in those tremors like we cannot understand."
"I think Nätthulegråttä was sundered," Æliyäu replied."

Nättenbägen: naht-ehn-bag-ehn

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