Answering the call

A juathuur fanfic by Ømega

The four dark robed assassins stood in a square facing a man dressed in a tunic and hose which where a strange shade of blue. He wore a long cloak that dragged along the ground when he walked, shown by the tattered edge, which was smeared with hardened mud. There was a hood that covered his head and cast his face in the deepest of shadows. The cloak was another, lighter shade of blue. The surrounding trees – for they stood in a small clearing in a mighty forest – were silent, or rather the creatures which lived among the trees and on them and even inside the trees were silent, seeming to sense the tension and danger in the encounter between the men. The sun was high in the sky, shinning rays of light down on the men, throwing parts of their clothing into shadow while other parts were highlighted to the point where they were a light grey, but in the case of the man in blue, there was no change in the tone of his clothing. He seemed to be absorbing the light, if that was indeed possible.

A movement from one of the assassins broke the stillness as his sandaled feet pushed of from the leaf-strewn ground with a small rustling noise and he sprang high in the air. The man in blue tilted his head back, tracking the leaping man’s flight. He raised his arm and shattered the silence with a bellowing cry.

“SE NE!”

The flying man disappeared without a sound, his clothes falling slowly to settle among the leaves and growths in the underbrush. The three remaining assassins became less sure of themselves then, glancing at each other. They advanced as one, making soft rustling noises. The man in blue drew in a breath then yelled,

“FA FOI HUU DO!”

Nothing happened. The assassins grinned to each other. It seemed the man’s magic had run out at last. They began to move faster, craving the kill to come. Their grins faded when they noticed the roots beginning to thrust out of the ground and began to climb towards the assassins. They screamed as the roots latched onto them and began to burrow beneath their skin. The man in blue calmly watched as the men slowly died. A wind rose, pushing back the man’s hood. The dying assassins saw the tattoo which swirled from one cheek, over the eyebrows and down onto the other cheek in perfect symmetry.

“W-who are you?” One of the dying assassins managed to say.

“I am Harii, follower of the way of the word.” The man in blue replied. “I am Juathuur.”

The assassins jerked backwards in unison as the roots reached their vital organs. The following silence lasted for a split second when the forest erupted with noise. The animals rushed around excitedly, sensing that the danger had disappeared. A small pure white scroll floated gently down to land on Harii’s outstretched hand. It unravelled and he quickly scanned the writing. Harii nodded and quickly left the clearing.

‘So Meidar is calling me back to the raft?’ he thought, ‘maybe she has finally decided to give me a squad? The only way to find out is to return to the raft. Now where could it be?’ He pondered this as he set a brisk pace towards the coast. ‘Ah! I remember hearing that Thuunei elder telling me about picking up Llae’lur’s daughter from that island. Hmm, that’s not too far from her, only a couple islands to the south.’ Harii pushed his canoe out into the water and climbed in, picking up his long-handled paddle and moving out of the bay, keeping the falling sun on his right.

The sea was calm. Blueness stretched from horizon to horizon, occasionally broken by white foam as a wave became too top heavy and broke. This is the Eji Sea, endless miles of water, islands breaking the blueness with splotches of green. Harii paddled his small brown canoe down the face of one wave and up another. A band of orange had appeared on the horizon – the burnt country – and Harii paddled towards it. The sea became rough in a circle around him but was still calm further away. Harii jumped up as a huge serpent burst out of the water and rose hundreds of feet into the air. The serpent opened its horrific maw and roared at the small figure in the canoe. Harii focused momentarily and then whispered,

“LLUU TI”

The sea serpent reared back and screamed an ear-piercing scream as it slowly began to decay, its skin slipping away from its body as dust. Harii sat down, gripped his paddle a little harder and moved quickly into the spray falling from the serpent’s decaying body. When the blueness opened up in front of him he saw a large boat bobbing up and down on the waves. He could barely make out small figures leaning against the railings, waving their arms and pointing.

The small canoe bumped against the high side of the huge boat and a rope ladder was lowered. Harii climbed up and jumped over the railing. An elderly woman came out of a low wooden doorway and walked towards Harii. Harii strode forward and embraced her.

“It’s been too long Harii; thanks for responding so quickly to my call, but, how did you find us?” the elderly woman asked, looking puzzled.

“ It wasn’t hard when I heard that Faerun Llae’lur’s girl was coming to the raft Meidar. I still remember that island we dropped his wife and kid off at. Did they have trouble taking her away from her mother?” Harii replied.

“Not too much because we sent her uncle to pick her up, look here they come now.”

They moved over to the other side of the deck to see another small canoe approaching. There seemed to be two figures inside. Another rope ladder was unrolled down to the pair. They scampered up the rope; it was now clear that one was a young girl with white hair and the customary tattoo of the Juathuur. The man was the girl’s uncle, Arrval. Harii had hardly ever seen him since his early childhood, before he left the raft. Harii watched as a swarm of danei surrounded the poor girl. Harii grinned and let another Vethanei lead him away to his quarters to await whatever task Meidar was to set him.