Neomilia

A sneak peak into chapter 1

Vidjes regret

Despite the whispers in the wind, among animals, of the trees. Despite that the forest knew about a strangeness that ate life, despite all that – Vidje never once thought it would come to this.

If only he had raised the alarm. Now he felt into his core, it was to late. And the pain in his stomach told him it had been a long time since he had eaten and his brain was sluggish and his heart was burning. Burning with worry for his anxious sister Tuva, burning with worry for Fam, thin as a sapling, burning with worry for them all, because bad things were about to come.

The strange one

A breeze cooled his forehead and fat flies landed on his neck as he stared into nothing. He had not sounded the alarm about the whispers, even though the Elders were gathered in the ring of oaks for council. The thought of the Elders brought back the dizziness, for he had only stared. His voice was lost and words bumping into each other and not wanting to form.

Few were the times the Elders gathered for council, and those times were immortalized in sagas, so that they would never forget. Stories of when a bysing had settled on the edge of the food fields and was about to poison the village with horrible visions. Stories of when a sickness had taken over half the village. Councils were held when the fate of the village was in danger. Yet he had not raised the alarm.

The pit in his stomach told him he knew why: he was the one who made strange objects, he was the one at the edge of things, and if he had spoken, if he had taken the courage, they would have given him those long looks and shook their heads. It had always been like that and he hadn’t thought that it mattered. Not until now.