The passage: Endless trail

Shanti sat up, the cloak dropping off slightly to half of her body.

The prophecy had said 'from Huie comes a successor, brave and worthy, willing and purified -- and surge to put an end to Girinshi and Santi Siuin. Their doom'. Reborn in Hansabti, the chosen, one with water and spirit and Meresh will conquer and not be conquered.

Niesh was the one that told her this. He put pieces by pieces together, telling her history and predicting the future -- no, repeated the prophecy of the gods.

He knew so much of the clan of Huie and the surrounding attributes and wars that ranged from decades and decades falling to centuries and millennia. He told them like they were written at the back of his hands. It was a part of him. It flowed like the very blood in his veins.

After she heard him say there were dark days ahead of them, she felt the impulse to ask more questions. But his reaction contradicted hers as he turned to face the other side, giving her his back. She asked nonetheless, "Was there success in this story?"

Niesh knew she was full of questions, and he wasn't ready to answer some of them. He was usually selective of the ones to answer and the ones to ignore. And this question, he could only play his way around it.

Without turning to face her, he replied, "It is a prophecy. It comes in bits and pieces. In as much as I want to tell you whether it ends well or not, I am in no position to tell. I won't forge predictions that are not true. I am not a seer." He paused, and as an afterthought, "The way of Meresh is pure and untainted. I can not taint a cloth as white as snow."

The sigh that followed told Shanti that there would be no further explanation. Please go back to sleep. We have dark days ahead of us.

She stared at him for a while before resting her head on the bag she used as a pillow, rolling the cloak up to her neck again. What an unfair call to a girl whose life was as simple as the Lily floating at sea.

~~~~~~~

.

The next morning was a dewy one.

Niesh opened his eyes, everywhere was fogged.

He looked at the side where Shanti had laid the previous night, she wasn't there. He sat up involuntarily and scanned the area.

Tump!

He looked behind himself and saw her dusting her arms and crouching to light a fire. Close to her feet laid a smoked squirrel whose hands and legs were facing the sky. Niesh guessed Shanti must have smoked it up right from the time she sensed its presence.

Beside the squirrel laid two large ripe mangoes. So she went for food searching this morning while I slept like a pig? And I thought I was the watchman.

He stood up. She was still having difficulty with striking the stones together to light a fire. "Should I help?" He asked.

She didn't say anything, but instead, continued steadfastly at her task.

Niesh rolled his eyes, stretched out his hand and said. "Flambe deiu heud". His eyes lighted and the fire sparked up, almost burning Shanti who briskly moved away.

She threw him a look, he shrugged and faced the stream.

He thought of going for a bath. But before he could proceed, she beat him to it

"Watch the breakfast. Am going into the stream." She threw him one of those eye cutting look like daggers piercing Into his soul before disappearing with the dew.

They set out on their horses towards their next destination, the Alvadar (the isle of Mere). They were silent, only the hooves of the horses and the nearby sounds of moving animals in the bush were heard.

They trailed for hours and hours before halting.

"I thought you said it led west?". Shanti asked looking around the bushy area ahead.

"It does". Niesh frowned.

She turned her head slightly to face him, devoid of expression. "We have been trailing for hours, this is out of the question".

"It really does lead west". He furrowed his brows and jumped off the horse. Placing his hands on the ground, he sensed the paths ahead. There were three. One led to Soue (the one in the center), the other to Dende (the one by the right) and the third to Shantui (the one by the left).

He stood up and mounted his horse. Facing the front trail, he said, "We go to Soue. It's the way that leads to Mounto before Alvadar". He grinned, the side of his face that carried a scar that started from his left ear to the side of his nose wrinkled itself. "It probably will take more hours, or a day". He kicked his horse and forged ahead.

Shanti followed.

Alvadar was a kingdom ran by the Girinshis -- the most fearsome of the entire Girinshi clan. They made a kingdom where other subordinates come to report. She heard their leader was stone-cold blood sucker with a big belly. Walking into the kingdom was like walking into the Lion's den, only appearing to be devoured.

But they were on a mission; to find a woman called Tabeshi who was the key to many of their journey ahead.