The Passing of the Gods by David C. Smith

Author:David C. Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: epic fantasy, historical fantasy, fantasy, war, epic
ISBN: 9781434442901
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2013-10-22T16:00:00+00:00

PART FOUR

THE STORM

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The old farmer, whose name was Essor, had felt quite guilty at discovering Assia wounded by the side of the road. He now realized that that night, before passing her by, he should have directed the young woman toward his farmhouse; and yet the uncertainty of the moment, the natural mistrust of strangers, had caused him to hesitate—and thus, his immense sorrow and regret, his personal guilt at realizing that he had contributed to the crimes done against her.

When Essor returned with Assia, his wife took care to comfort him when he told her the story. “On,” she reminded him, “sees all things, and surely there was some larger purpose even for this, and for her coming to our hearth under these circumstances.” Having faith, believing where most would have scorned, Essor had taken his wife Halis’s words to heart, and he did the best he could with the outcome of a situation he might have prevented.

Assia slept through her first day with them, ate the meal they gave her that evening, and sat quietly by their fire. The old couple did not inquire after her to any great extent and asked only her name and where she had come from; neither did Assia volunteer much more information than that. Harmed in body and bruised in spirit, her logical reaction to their solicitude was that which she had learned to expect from apparently reasonable people: given time, they would reveal themselves, show themselves to be no better than most of the men and women whom Assia had ever met in her life.

During the second day, as she recuperated from her assault and began to feel improved, Assia offered to help Halis with the work around the farmhouse. The old woman, knowing that this young one had come from the cities and therefore knew almost nothing of farm work, asked Assia to help clean soot from the hearth, wash dishes, and clean clothes. And, in the manner of two women tentatively opening their hearts to each other, Halis shared with Assia some of her own background and thoughts, and Assia confessed to Halis more of her own life and what she had suffered over the years.

She was somewhat surprised that the farm woman did not judge her or condemn her for her life; indeed, Halis revealed to Assia, “I believe that everything that is, is for a reason. I don’t know everything, so how can I pretend to decide what’s good and what’s bad? Only the god knows things such as that.” Assia was intrigued by the solid simplicity of this expression of faith, but she did not ask Halis to pursue her philosophy further.

That evening, after the three of them had eaten a meal of soup and bread and eggs, they relaxed, each to some chores. Halis mended clothes and Essor repaired tools and Assia helpfully made tapers for the coming winter from beeswax. The conversation, after a time, led to the old couple mentioning how their

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