Meanwhile, a few miles from the Woodwalk tree, eastward, in a small meadow stood a fifteen year old boy, fighting off murybadgers. These tiny rodents knew only one thing, revenge. Silko had been blamed for the death of one of their own, for he landed on the lifeless body of the man who crushed the creature dead.
They made sure he was cornered at the top of a small rock right in the middle of the meadow. Tiny though they were, these creatures where extremely dangerous, especially when their green fur turned red. This usually meant something fatal was about to happen.
He swung the cudgel he had snatched from a tree, smacking them back to the ground. There was no upside to this, no escape, and judging by the way he was limping he had a feeling he was never going to walk as before again.
"Get back!" He berated, smashing one so hard he killed it.
The murybadgers stopped looking at the lifeless body of their kin, one of them nose-poked it checking if it was still alive but there was no response. This was not good, and Silko saw that.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...."
It was too late for explanations. Their fur had turned from red to flaming fire and in one accord there charged at him. Frozen because of the guilt and fire transition he dropped his cudgel. They overpowered him, jumping on his body bringing him down to the ground, nibbling his skin ruthlessly as he cried out in pain.
"Get off. Get off me!" He yelled, "help! Help...me.."
His consciousness was slowly fading, his skin overheating, there seemed to be no hope for him. This is it, he thought, I'm sorry father, I couldn't protect them. Slowly closing his eyes the only thing between him and death was a thin ray of light hitting his iris. Before he passed out he heard a clicking sound, the bitting and tearing of his skin was gradually stopping and his body temperature slowly dropped returning to his normal state. Without any warning he felt sudden cold which led to his immediate loss of consciousness.
#
Gavanda sat close to the peak of the mountain the locals of the forbidden valleys called Yumlima, which meant when translated, the hunchback mountain. It stood ten thousand meters above the ground with its peak bent two thousand meters downward towards the east thus resembling a mountain with a hunchback. Up until that moment when she came to, Aurelia believed the locals of the valleys were either cannibals or unintelligent creatures... according to the old men.
She sprung up as soon as she woke, screaming her brother's name with worried eyes. Calming down, she notice where she laid.
"Where am I?"
Her eyes surveyed the area. It seemed to be an empty room filled with pots and bowls made of clay and wood, some staffs leaning on the wall, and a fireplace sheltering a huge round pot giving off a sweet aroma. She laid on a hammock of silk and wool. The aroma made her platelet feel like it was in heaven, and next to the bed, on a stool was a bowl of Origamee soup with a loaf of bread. She looked around once more then reached out for the bowl, but before she could take a slurp the voice of a man startled her.
"You're finally awake!" He smiled as he walked in.
She almost dropped the bowl. The sight of the man was something she had never seen before, in the eighteen years of her living she had seen only three skin colour and none of them included the one before her eyes.
"You're, you're.."
"Green, I know" he chuckled checking her temperature, "and I thought the first thing people notice about me was my hair."
His grey hair extended as braids down to his knee. Not only was it grey, it also had faint blue and fire red strands beautifying his appearance. Aurelia was too stunned to speak, even though he had an odd color, he looked ethereal, like an old man sent from the heavens.
"Who, are you?" She asked as she watched him stir the contents of the pot, "where am I?"
"You my lady, are in Churañì, land of the Chura people."
The Chura people? The moment she heard that she gasped and her heartbeat elevated. Without letting him say another word she sprung off the bed heading for the exit. Stories about the Chura people, were like chants back in Gavanda, they even made songs about them. How they capture people not from their clan and tear them limb from limb, eating the flesh of fellow humans raw, crushing their bones and drinking the powder. How they were monstrous looking creatures, ugly and disgusting, ruthless and evil. Children eaters, if one were to ever encounter them then one should run with all his might or one is as good as dead.
As soon as she walked out that exit, what she saw was an entirely alternate version of the tales she was taught to believe. Her eyes met a world colourful and lavish, a world that sat fifty meters above the ground in a city of eight distinctively large trees. There were huts and wooden structures built on branches and some attached on the trunks of the trees, bridges linking one tree to the other and vines with which children and teenagers swung from tree to tree.
The Eldowud tree being the largest stood as king at the center of these eight trees and because of its unique threefold intertwined trunks, houses and stairs were built within it. The Woodwalk, Brusel, Laok and the Eteral trees gave the places beauty with their colourful vines and leaves. She could hear children laughing, see adults smiling and cheering joyfully, something her villagers were not accustomed to. Aurelia was mesmerized.
"The beauty shines, doesn't it?" The man smiled. He stood next to her looking up, "far from your expectations I suppose?"
She looked at him feeling a sting of guilt and shame.
"What is your name my lady?"
"A... Aurelia, daughter of Jeróma."
The man smiled.
"That's a beautiful name" he walked back inside beckoning her to follow, "they call me Dradock."
"It was you" she replied sitting on the bed, "you were the person I saw before I fainted. You saved my life?"
He nodded gracefully. "Eat up and rest, your body needs to make up for the two days you were asleep."
Two days?! She looked at him surprised. "I was asleep for two DAYS?!"
He chuckled walking towards the door. "Well almost two days. Look, the sun is returning home."
Two days? She thought, what about Silko? Is he alright? Is he alive? I have to find him.
"I can't stay here" she said rising, "I need to go find my brother."
"Silko you mean?"
Her eyes stared at him in shock, "how do you know my brother's name?"
"You kept muttering it in your sleep while I washed the blood off your head. He must be very special to you."
She sighed sitting back down. "He's my brother. He believes it is his responsibility to take care of us...I mean, me. Always has the world on his shoulders " she chuckled, "just like father did. I just want to make sure he's alright and safe."
"Hmm, family. I too had a brother once." He wandered off shortly staring at the sky, then he returned to reality, "it's too late to go out now. Rest, tomorrow you shall go in search of him along with capable aid."
"Thank you." She replied, "may I ask you something Dradock?"
"Of course."
"Why go out of your way for a stranger?"
Dradock chuckled, making Aurelia even more confused about the situation.
"Does one need a reason to do a good deed?" He replied, "besides, you, are more than you think you are Aurelia, daughter of Jeróma. Good night, my lady."
With that he left her presence, posting a guard at her door.