No One Cares About My Name.

Depressed and Anguished
2003-11-01 08:16:45 (UTC)

Fiction

Prelude
I merely sat in attendance, astonished and more. No lexis
escaped my lips ? I do not imagine I could have moved my
mouth had I attempted. I was no more than a child, an
imprudent lad who crept out one eve and observed what there
was to perceive beyond the next hilltop. I did not enjoy
what I discovered.
Corpses lay strewn where felled in the dale below where I
stared. There had transpired a combat there, and I had
arrived to see singly the repercussion. Crimson blood
tainted the soil beneath, and dying men attempted a clamber
for the culverts while their enemies eradicated them by
their own leisureliness. Where were they to go in any case?
An assembly of prisoners labored to deposit the carcasses
in those trenches, so they could later be covered with loam.
I gazed at this vista for a moment only, and then retched.
Recurrently. I had, in no approach, witnessed such mass
slaughter previously. I had, incontestably enough, laid
eyes upon a dead body, but not so butchered. I rushed back
home; it was comparatively early, so I managed to progress
inside and to bed before anyone realized I had been absent.
I did not notify anyone of the bloodbath ? it would be of
no utilization in sight of the verity that I did not
understand anything of the war or who was fighting. I was
dubious if the men who were executing the mutilated were to
us mild or not.
The following day did not begin suitably. There were rumors
drifting in that the combatants would be incoming the next
day. No one, however, knew if they were attempting to
assist or harm us. We were but a diminutive, impecunious
parish and we did not know how to fight ? not well, in any
case. There were sporadic brawls about agricultural
affairs, but they were always resolved and elapsed soon after.
Everyone was rather somber ? even my siblings, who were
always jovial and overexcited. I was, additionally,
however, so I was in no position to protest. We nonetheless
worked; my task was to weed my mother?s garden. I did not
demur ? it was not convoluted and the area smelled
superlative. The soothing zephyr carried the aroma of the
flora into our quarters, and even I agreed that it was pleasant.
I was midway into inspecting the garden for untamed plants
when I heard the initial shout. I did not discern whom it
had belonged to, but it was sufficient enough to remit a
frisson down my back. I rushed through the garden gate and
into the house; my mother was already collecting possessions
for us to take. My father recovered an old rusted axe, and
ran out the entry without saying goodbye. He was an
enormous man, and the axe only bequeathed to his appearance
of a very menacing man.
?Go gather your brothers and sisters, Niko,? my mother
commanded me. I scurried outside and yelled for them. They
came running, many gasping for air. I had three brothers
and two sisters, and we all returned to my mother. She
scarcely gave us a fleeting look before thrusting packs into
our arms. We held onto them securely and we were soon
hurrying down the conical dirt streets with everyone else.
I was a middle child, second eldest boy, but I brought up
the rear to be sure none fell behind.
The focal quandary with our homes ? I see now what I never
had before ? was that they had roofs of thatched wood. We
had never contemplated that in war, fire would be used; we
did afterwards, however, when it was too late. There was
nowhere to go and nothing could be done to protect us.
My mother led us out of the village and into the wood. She
crouched down and we gathered near her. ?My children,? she
said, trepidation in her amorous voice. ?You must run now.
Do you know where your Uncle Navver lives?? Nearly
everyone concurred. ?Go there then, and warn him. He will
lead you to safety.?
?Mother,? responded my younger sister, Jarie. ?Why are you
not coming along?? I had been wondering the comparable
factor, and was relieved she had inquired, for it meant I
did not have to.
She smiled affectionately at her, and then took a firm
expression. ?Because, Dear, I must wait for your father.
When we can, we will seek you out again. Be careful my
brood, do not stray before you reach Navver?s.? She arose.
?Go, now,? she said, then turned and walked away hastily,
without perusal. I believe now that if she had glanced
back, she would have come with us. Many times, I have
wished she had.
?Come on then,? the oldest boy, Hiur, said. He guided us,
carving a subtle trail through the forest. We all followed
obediently, as he was the oldest, it was an understood tenet
that he would be the leader. I again brought up the end,
glimpsing back regularly as the reverberating noises of
steel upon steel and screams began to diminish.


Chapter One
My uncle was an older man, whose beard and hair had
long-since developed into a silvery gray color we were all
so fond of. I reserved his reflection in my mind as we
trekked through the opaque wood. We knew the route; of
course, for we had often enough visited him and played with
our cousins.
I was vexed, as was atypical for me ? I whom always kept my
wits. Conversely, I had known in advance regarding the
warriors, and had presaged none. I had, at one instance,
deliberated my impulses were better than that. I could
intuit the common apprehension from my brothers, as well.
The girls were purely frightened, not anxious ? the males
would be the ones riveting in battle, however, if the
occasion came to be.
Customarily, I do not hint at any disadvantage in females,
for I deem it ungentlemanly, but I have admittedly observed
it a few times in my existence, where women incline to be
candidly defenseless. Men lean toward concealing it until
in the company of a woman, in truth, so as not to appear so.
Please, do not put me in a penitent light because of that
consciousness on my behalf. I am reasonably certain you
have had the occasion to detect, as well.
When we arrived at Uncle Navver?s residence, we found it
silent. We could hear naught, inside nor out. The house
was derelict, plundered later, likely. I looked to Hiur, as
I had some qualms as to what had ensued to cause my uncle to
abscond so quickly. He concurred with a slight inclination
of the head, and we ushered the others inside.
In Uncle?s domicile, there were passageways and rooms,
concealed from the eyes of anyone who did not realize they
were there. We formerly occupied ourselves in them as
children, so we disappeared into a spacious, underground
storage room, which was vacant.
I recognized, as I am sure my brother did also, that we
could not dwell there. We would run out of what little
victuals my mother had given us and people were assured to
come by and burn the house. We would have to track my
uncle, if there were any signs of him. My father had
trained the boys in the exercise of tracking adroitness, so
we knew if there were any obtainable signs, we could trail
him to security.
Hiur and I traced our way throughout the dwelling, seizing
up anything that would assist us. Upon finishing, every one
of us had a dagger of some sort. How much use it would be,
we did not know. We could not know until the instant when
we required them. The girls did not know how to fight ?
they had only used knives when preparing food, and the boys
had not the time to edify them. I did not articulate this
consternation to anyone, but I knew Hiur ruminated it as
even I. We were in a critical situation, and we could not
tell the others.




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