The Iron Forest: Ancestor's Legacy

Two months of winter showed signs of losing its battle to spring as gray skies opened to a long-forgotten sun. She felt the breeze flow through her hair, tossing it like the young grass shoots surrounding her.

“They’re waiting for you, Princess Sana,” Rajin announced, coming to her side.

She nodded and walked with her friend to the town entrance. “I want to thank you for taking care of Victor for me. It proves you are a man of pure heart.”

That made Rajin smile.

For the past couple of months, he and Victor bonded a lasting friendship. Sky-Brother, Rajin called him. The man who fell from the sky told him of a world long since dead, while Rajin returned the favor with sharing Shankur tales and legends passed down through the ages. Sana enjoyed watching Victor learn about her culture and learn the use of a bow and sword. She enjoyed his stories, too.

“We will march to the Great Valley after the next full moon. I apologize for not joining you and Victor, but Chief Batan wants me to lead the armies until you return.”

“My uncle made a wise decision. Ancestors protect you,” she said, wrapping her arms around him in a warm embrace. A small part of her prayed it was not the last.

Rajin gestured to a pair of palace guards, the same ones that helped Victor pick flowers before the winter set in. It was obvious they never forgot that day, judging by how they decorated their armor with stems of lavender. They saluted and pulled open the palace door to a crowd of villagers from many tribes. Sana was amazed so many gathered despite the cold nip in the outside air.

“I look forward to seeing you both again soon,” Rajin said, struggling to speak through quivering lips.

Turning away, Sana saw villagers gathered around Chief Batan and a few elders who dared the lingering cold. At his side, Victor stood ready, with a new sword. Rajin’s leather trousers fitted well under a wolf skin jerkin. They all became her new family, and Dirasha, her new home. And that’s where the fear set in, remembering the last time she left the ones she loved and the place she lived. But seeing their faces and hearing their words of encouragement made her desire for revenge against the Chotukhan more apparent.

Sana position herself in the center of the crowd next to Victor, feeling proud of the man that was now a Shankur. Anshu was there by his side with a somber look. She felt for the man that dedicated the last months to teaching Victor her language and being a good friend.

One at a time, men and women presented themselves with a bow or embrace to pay homage to the future queen and as a gesture of good fortune. Some offered food and spirits to take on the journey, while others gave wisdom and prayers.

The clan leaders came last, starting with a Shankur elder from Dirasha. “Princess Sana, please accept this gift of our sacred sigil. May the eagle give you guidance and foresight.” He tied a steel broach adorned with several white feathers to her braids.

Her aunt and uncle were the last to approach. She gave a thankful nod to the Dirasha elder and turned to Chief Batan and Lady Turesi. Although her uncle, he was the leader of the Shankur tribes and deserved the proper protocol. Sana pressed her spear to her chest and bowed, but the chief lifted her upright.

“Sana,” he said with a loving smile, “from this day forward, you bow to no one.”

The chief and his wife dropped to both knees and leaned forward with his head held low. Every villager, elder, mother, and warrior did the same.

She turned to Victor, noticing he also took a knee. She cleared her throat of emotion. “It’s time to go.”

They departed the village to a round of cheers. Groups of children followed, but not past the towers guarding the entrance. Snow crunched below their feet where patches had yet to melt, and the wind blew stronger once beyond the mountain pass.

Sana looked back at the village, disappearing into the distance. A small part of her wanted to run back and beg the elders to let her stay. The rest of her wanted to see Gathal fall with King Shunlin burning at a stake next to his priestess, Lady Karmera.

They followed the road east toward the Grand Valley, keeping watch for any Chotukhan scouts or raiding parties. Winter was a safer time to travel since the harsh cold prevented large groups of soldiers from straying too far from vital resources of food and water. But the season will soon change and bring back the added dangers.

Dusk was falling over the northern mountains, the bitter cold returning quickly. Sana and Victor found a shallow cave dug into the side of a steep ridge to stop for the night. A fire set and a dinner of honey bread with dried venison brought about the end to their first day of travel.

“How far is the Iron Forest?” Victor asked, chewing on a tough piece of meat.

“Several days by road. But we are going through the Outlands instead.”

That perked Victor’s attention. “The Outlands? Isn’t that the place full of machines bent on killing everyone they see?”

“Yes, but the Reapers are not looking for me—the Chotukhan are. They fear what lies beyond Gaia’s wall. If we stick to the roads, they’re sure to find us. In the Outlands, we can pass around Gathal unnoticed.”

“What makes you think they are still after you?”

“It’s not them, it’s their king.”

Victor paused. “King Shunlin, right?”

Sana nodded, not wanting to get into the conversation about her past, but since Victor agreed to go along with her to the Iron Forest, he deserved to know everything.

“It is he that wants me to return, willing or not.”

“Why not just find himself another queen? If he’s the Chotukhan king, I’m sure there are plenty of women available to choose from. In my time, we called it divorce.” He used the English word for ending a marriage, but Sana understood what he meant.

“It’s not that simple.” She grinned a little. “I stabbed the king and set him on fire during our wedding night.”

He blinked. “That’s… not very romantic.”

She thought about what she said and how it sounded. Horrible as the experience was, the way it came out would have sounded humorous to another person. She snorted. “No, I suppose it’s not.”

“So, if you kill the king, then that still makes you, their queen?”

“That’s correct. He has no heir or anyone to pass on the crown.” She sighed at the thought. “Then the lineage passes to me.”

“I can tell you don’t like the idea of being a queen or a princess. Where I’m from, royalty is quite a privilege.”

Sana shook her head. “Before they crowned me, I was a slave. To King Shunlin, being his wife would have been no different. But you’re right. I don’t like the idea. Not even being a princess, as I am by birthright. If it were my choice, I’d rather have a simpler life as a warrior, hunting and living among the forest. Where the only arguments are handled with a spear, not squabbling in the court.” She turned toward the cave entrance, imagining the mountains and trees obscured by a moonless night. “Someday, I want to travel beyond the Outlands and see what the world has to offer.”

“Perhaps one day you will get your chance,” Victor said, stoking the fire and sending sparks dancing into the cave ceiling.

“Do you know what’s out there?” Sana asked, curious and desiring another of his stories.

“I did once. But that has all changed. There used to be cities that spread farther than one could see. Now it is just raw wilderness. To be honest, I prefer the way things are—simple and pure.”

Sana smiled at that. “I wish I could have been there.”

Victor frowned. “No, you don’t. We… I mean, humans were destroying the world. Food was scarce and the air would choke a person to death. People fought over anything and everything they could get their hands on. Those who didn’t starve lived lavish lives without a care.”

“I’m sorry Victor,” Sana said, seeing his distress.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault,” he said, stoking the fire again. “It was a long time ago in a different world and a different life.”

Sana looked at Victor with a sense of pity. She understood all too well what it’s like to lose oneself, only to begin anew. “My mother said there’s a bright side to everything, no matter how bad it gets.”

“And what would the bright side of all this be?”

She smiled. “You’ve begun a new story, and it hasn’t ended yet.”

*****

Sana and Victor followed the road till the sun set high in what was once a cloudless sky, now turned gray from an upcoming storm. Far in the distance, a mountain pass broke to reveal the beginning of the Great Valley. They then veered north through a forest at the base of Eagle Mountain. The towering pike, capped with late season snow, scraped the thick layer of clouds. Upward they climbed, through flocked balsam firs and over granite ledges.

Victor’s chest heaved from a mixture of high altitude and freezing air. He struggled to keep with Sana’s pace, who had a lifetime’s worth of practice conquering what nature threw at them. One step—one hand hold at a time. He pushed forward, muscles refusing to accept the demands he called for.

Wind howled down a ridge, carrying ice and snow across their path. Sana paused behind a stone boulder that gave a small slice of refuge. She reached in her pack and pulled out a long hemp rope. “Tie this around your waist,” she shouted over the wind. A frosting of ice and snow covered her bearskin cloak.

Victor struggled with a knot, fingers turning numb. He peeked around the boulder. The rock ledge working around and through the mountain ridge seemed thin… and was covered in ice. “I don’t like this idea. We should find another way around.”

She tied the other end of the rope around her waist and moved Victor aside to take the lead. “Just stay close and do as I do. And for Ancestors’ sakes, don’t let go of the rocks.”

Victor walked out onto the ledge, keeping his back pressed against the granite. He leaned forward and saw nothing but a never-ending precipice. Small rocks fell beneath his feet, falling in an apparent slow motion. He jerked back and gasped.

“And whatever you do, don’t look down.”

“Right. Now you tell me.”

Wind bellowed down on them. Crystals of ice peppered Victor’s face, which grew numb from the extreme cold. His heart thumped with every step, not knowing if his footing fell on solid rock or ice. The ledge turned slippery as the wind became stronger. He glanced ahead and saw a ridge covered in white.

He could tell that Sana fared no better. Her lighter frame struggled against a wind that tried its best to dislodge them. He could feel the tether pull and slack with her fight to move forward.

“It’s no good, Sana. We have to find another way.”

She halted. “This is the only way through the pass. If we go around, it will take days.”

“I would rather live a few more days than die in seconds.”

Victor feared Sana’s stubbornness overtook her wisdom since she pushed forward, hanging on to the wall with all her might. He had to follow thanks to the rope. If she fell, it was up to him to become an anchor, doubling his fear.

His foot slipped on the icy ledge. One leg slid off into the abyss while the other prevented a quick death. His heart dropped—hands gripping the granite wall.

The tether pulled tight.

“Sana, there’s too much ice. We have to go back!” Victor shouted.

She wasn’t listening. He knew she wanted to avoid the roads, but this path seemed more treacherous than the Chotukhan.

Victor heard a crunch before the rope pulled tight against his back with all of Sana’s weight. The ledge broke free from the mountainside, sending her down into the abyss. Her screech echoed through the chasm, sending a small avalanche of snow just ahead.

“Sana!”

Her grunts of trying to regain a hold of the rock carried through the howling wind. The rope popped as another section of hemp parted.

“Sana!” Victor fell back to the ledge with a limp rope tied around his waist. He gasped, scurrying toward the edge… where he found a single hand gripping the rock. Victor reached and grabbed Sana’s wrist, dragging her to safety.

“Thank you.”

“Are you ready to head back now?”

Sana nodded, panting. “We will take the road.”