Gathering Darkness by Oskar Soderberg

Author:Oskar Soderberg
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789198826159
Publisher: Oskar Soderberg

TWENTY-THREE

EMERYN

Under normal conditions, the Third Circle housed about half of Jordfaste’s growers and most of the geomancers. This was where one would find the Kin’s schools, governing bodies, and the guild headquarters necessary to keep a kingdom running.

Emeryn and Heylien rode through in silence, only stopping to replenish their stores of provisions and water. No one minded or demanded payment. There was too much food and water to bring with them, and the growers could make more food when they arrived at their new home. No one went to bed with an empty stomach in the Kinship.

At first, Emeryn stopped a few of the Kin, but since they didn’t learn anything new, and everyone questioned Heylien's unusual presence, they then mostly kept to themselves and pointed their horses to the northeast.

Their next stop was Jorden, the capital of the Kin and the home of the Fourth Circle. The roads were packed with Kin heading east, but by the time they were on a dedicated road to Jorden, the two found themselves utterly alone.

As they traveled and slept, Emeryn wondered if her old home would be deserted as well, or if her family still remained. What would the Fourth Circle have to say about the Kin’s migration?

As it turned out, Jorden teemed with life. No one had left yet, as far as Emeryn could tell, when she rode into the compound. They called it the capital of The Kinship of Jordfaste, but in reality, it wasn’t more than a handful of sizeable buildings spread out across a plot of land about the size of the keep in Fyrie.

Groves of trees with powerful limbs bore fruits of all sizes, shapes, and colors. The sound of birdsong carried from every direction, and small animals scurried back and forth in the tall grass. The coming fall didn’t touch this place, and neither would winter.

Emeryn noticed the bustle as the Kin loaded up their wagons. They didn't appear to be a hurry like the residents of the other circles. No oxen waited to be strapped to the wagons. There was still time.

A sense of overwhelming nostalgia washed over Emeryn as they rode in on the road that would take them to the square in the center of Jorden. She’d climbed every tree in the community as a child, knew every branch, every leaf. She ran her hand down her bare left shoulder. She wouldn’t be climbing anything now.

Heylien gave off a low whistle and reached up from his saddle to pluck a ripe pear from an overhanging tree limb. "The growers keep the place alive like this?"

"It’s her touch," Emeryn said. "Taera."

He stopped himself from taking a bite out of the fruit, eyed it, and then threw it to the side. "She’s really here, then?"

"Never actually met her, very few do, but she’s around here somewhere."

"In one of the buildings?" Heylien asked.

A woman came into view as they entered the square, one Emeryn would recognize anywhere. She sat up straight and answered Heylien, "Doubt she’d just be sitting in a building, but who knows? Access to her is restricted to a select few.

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