Growth

It had been five years since Adaleine had gone to live with Se’Tama’s family. True to his word, she had learned so much about the world.

First, she had learned that Se’Tama, as well as his wife and daughter, we're vampyrs. That vampyrs were not all that different from other folk was the lesson immediately after. Through his other lessons, she had learned the languages of elves, dwarves, gnomes and even orcs. She found she enjoyed speaking orcish best as it always startled the men in the camp to hear her speak it. She found a particularly entertaining pastime in hurling orcish insults back and forth with an exceptionally large orc named Durg.

His wife, Melifer, was a beautiful woman with deep brown skin and long hair that was always braided with strands of gold and silver. Though vampyrs didn't need food, she taught Adaleine all about cooking exotic foods from lands she could barely pronounce, as well as dancing, knitting, and tending a garden.

Although Se’Tama and Melifer appeared human, their daughter, Kari’il was born an elf. As the story goes, the Black Wind came across a small elven village a few years ago. The entire village had been burned to the ground and the bodies of a dozen elves were piled in the center. Kari’il, still just a baby, was the only survivor, though she had been injured severely enough that her death was inevitable. No one there had the stomach to end the baby’s suffering and there were no healers with the party, so Melifer did the only thing she could.

Adaleine and Kari’il were inseparable. The two girls would laugh, dance and play every spare moment of the day. Though the two came from vastly different world’s, they had grown quite close.

It was the Summer following Adaleine’s twelfth birthday when Se’Tama called her and Kari’il to have a talk. The two girls sat in their customary positions as though they were preparing for another of his lessons. “My precious daughters,” SeTama said as he began to pace. “But, as I have taught you many time before, all things must change.”

It was true, his lessons were often on the change, and the importance of adapting to these changes.In the last five years, not only had the girls changed, but many of the men and women in the camp as well. Aren and Ferth had been married and were now expecting a child of their own. Igert had grown a beard and lost an arm. This hadn’t slowed him down any. He still led his men into battle, only now he held a massive shield that was once a heavy wooden door from some unknown fortress instead of his mace and shield.

“As is our law, when the first snow of winter falls, you will be expelled from my house. If you survive the winter, you will be welcomed next spring as women. There are no rules. Just survive. Do not expect any help. Everyone in the camp knows what is coming. The strength of the Black Wind lies in the strength of it’s people, only the strong will return. We will see to that.”

“Now go, You have much to prepare for.”

If anything, Se’Tama had understated the other residents unwillingness to aid the two girls. Unless they were sent on an official errand, most simply refused to speak to them, and those that did, didn’t part with anything lightly. They asked for exorbitant prices for basic goods and services. Some even claimed that they had forgotten how to perform their trade. The lengths to which they would go to avoid helping the girls was astounding.

It was not long before the girls decided to begin gathering supplies on their own. What they could not find in the wilderness, or laying about in the camp, they had resorted to stealing. At first, their efforts were clumsy and amateurish. They had been caught a few times, each time the stolen property was given back to its owner and the girls were sent off with a stern warning. In a few weeks time they had become quite skilled. They had not been caught in quite a while and they had become more brazen in their thefts.

This night’s mark was Vrut, the tanner. Adaleine had spotted the stack of hides amassed near his tent three day ago. Since then he had added half again as many. The hides and pelts would be vital for making shelter, clothing, and bedding to keep the winter cold at bay.

Things were going well. The girls each had their arms full of hides and were making their getaway when Kari’il stumbled over a guy line in the darkness. Although she kept her footing, the stake anchoring the line broke free of the dirt and the tent fell down around its occupants. The men inside were still awake and quickly exited the falling tent with wooden clubs in hand. Kari’il froze in shock. She never had a chance.

One of the men grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her in a immense bear-hug. The other ripped the hides from her hands and reached back with his club preparing to swing. “I’ll teach you, you thieving witch.” The club came down on the top of her head with thunderous force. Adaleine could see that she was dazed, even before the blood began to stream down her face.

As he reached back to strike again, Kari’il kicked and caught him squarely in the jaw. The man stumbled backwards. The blow seemed to enrage him more than hurt him. Dropping his club, he began to punch Kari’il furiously about her head and body.

“Stop!!” Adaleine screamed from the darkness. “You’ll kill her.” The men hadn’t noticed her yet and she had forgotten that she was still holding the other half of the stolen leathers. Hearing her scream, the men dropped Kari’il to the ground and began walking toward Adaleine. She turned to run, only to run into a solid mass after a few steps.

The force of the crash knocked the breath out of her and she fell to the ground. As Adaleine pulled the hides from her face, she saw Vrut, the hulking minotaur standing over her. Although he was known as the tanner, he was also known to have terrible fits of rage that had sent more than one man to the healer’s tent. Her mind raced with all the possibilities of what was about to happen. Would they kill the girls, or just beat them and string them up in the middle of camp?

Then the beating began. Despite her pleas for mercy, the beating continued. The pain slowly dulled to nothing, followed by a warmth that slowly built inside Adaleine’s chest. With every kick or punch that landed, the warmth grew. It grew until it burned her skin and she felt as though her body would burst.

The heat within her grew until it drowned out all other senses except the feeling of an energy in the distance. Like a light in the darkness, it grew stronger until it she could almost touch it. The energy was similar to the heat inside her, only the energy was an intense cold. In her mind she reached out and grabbed the cold with all of her strength. What happened next, she was not quite sure.

Adaleine came to her senses to see the bodies of Vrut and the two other men laying on the ground, unconscious. She rushed to Kari’il, grabbing her shoulders and attempting to wake her. Blood was caked in her hair and she slowly came to. Adaleine grabbed as many of the hides as she could with one arm and supported Kari’il with the other and the two girls ran into the darkness.