Zion: Light of the New Moon, Ch 1.3 Doen
Zion - Light of the New Moon Chapter 1.3
Doen A First Taste
Rust's relationship with Narissa improves. Taggart's relationship with Zachary improves. Zeke is the focus-point of this post so Zachary will not be narrating.
The fox was not particularly pleased with the mount provided to him by the city dwellers; he knew that the feral horse was nowhere close to a prized steed. Everyone in the caravan saw him as a Wild Lander, though, unlike his fellow guide Jasper, Zeke was one of the faithful. Even as he sat upon the horse, slowly trotting alongside the caravan headed to Zion, he couldn't help but ask himself if he should have considered himself a faithful in the past-tense, or if perhaps he still held to many of the tenants a follower of Tah'aveen might have subscribed.
Zeke had suffered at the hands of the priesthood of Myrh... but that was years in the past. He had been tortured... beaten... raped... he smiled slightly to himself... it was mostly non-consensual, at least. The final decision to flee came only when he had been selected as a sacrifice... he was to be killed. It was then, and only then that his fear of dying overcame his fear of the unknown... at that point, like any coward, he went with the obvious answer and fled.
The fox fled into the Wild Lands, an inhospitable, deadly place that just as surely could have been as much of a death sentence as his sacrification ritual... the main difference, however, was that there wouldn't be a chance for him to live through the ritual-- however small, that option was possible in the Wild Lands. After so many years beyond the walls of a Temple City, Zeke surprised himself by the fact that he'd been able to live so long... but every time he wondered just how he'd managed it, he realized he knew the answer. Zeke rolled the necklace around in his paw even while gripping the reins of his horse; the beads were well-worn, used to the fox's habit. They brought him comfort.
It had been years since Zeke was last in Myrh and he had no plans to ever return. Since the time of his departure, the fox had spent almost all of his time on the run; the priests of Myrh did not take kindly to anyone knowing their secrets, and Zeke knew many of them. He wasn't about to whisper a word of the secrets-- with so many ears willing to listen he knew he would be the center of attention in no time... and his number one rule had always been to avoid attention. No... he wasn't about to tell any of the Myrrhenese secrets, but the priests had no way of knowing that.
Zeke used the sound of the horse's hooves on the cobbled pathway to create a metronome of sorts, allowing his thoughts to move at an even pace. He was surrounded by faithful once again... and traveling to, of all places, Zion. The fox had always wanted to go to Zion-- he'd heard the stories since his youth of a city of faith where the priests served the people and not the other way around. He'd heard of its splendor, and its righteousness, and its benevolence. Before taking to the Wild Lands, Zeke had thought it would be the only place where he'd truly be safe.
When Zeke had first escaped the clergy in Myrh he thought to go to Zion in the hopes that he'd be able to have audience with the priests. He hoped priests there would hear his pleas and investigate the goings on in the City of the Waning Light... perhaps he'd be able to save countless more from the predations of the Sickle Moon priesthood. After a number of years and traveling to several other Temple Cities, Zeke had all but dismissed the thought as the idle fancy of a naive kit. No matter where he went it seemed like the Priests were more interested in power than in their followers. Zeke wondered why considering Zion an end to his journey suddenly started making sense again-- he knew there'd be priests there.
Priests frightened Zeke... their words... their demeanor... he had spent enough time with the Priests of Myrh to know that every holy man and woman in service to Tah'aveen had their own agenda... their own goals... their own needs and desires-- nobody and nothing would get in their way. Zeke had long-since promised himself that he would stay as far away from priests and priestess as possible. Why then was it that he had helped look after Brother Zachary? It was a question weighing heavily on his mind.
The rabbit seemed different from the other priests the fox had come to know. Brother Zachary didn't have that same 'holier than thou' air... he wasn't as distant or otherworldly. The rabbit smiled and laughed about things others found humorous-- he didn't grin smugly or with hidden agenda when someone was hurting or in pain. Brother Zachary seemed to treat everyone as equals. The rabbit didn't just pretend to pay attention when people spoke; he really seemed to listen. More surprisingly, however, was when Zeke watched him warn everyone else away from the Snap-Jaws and present himself to danger for the sake of the entire caravan. To Zeke, the gesture seemed so very much unlike what he had come to expect of a priest... which must have explained why the fox did what he did.
It had been years since Zeke had last shared any length of time in a room with a priest... even longer since he had allowed himself to be touched by one. Yet, as he sat in the wagon beside the unconscious rabbit, all Zeke could think about was how Zachary was not like any of the priests he had ever met. It seemed strange to watch the unmoving, unresponsive body of the unconscious priest... so at peace... so tranquil... so not trying to kill him. The young fox smiled as he thought back to that.
Zeke had stayed in the wagon with Zachary, providing poultices and herbal remedies he'd been provided by Jasper. The fox had no real skill with healing, but apparently the rat was an accomplished healer, and knew enough about the Wild Lands to provide Zeke with everything he needed to tend to the rabbit. Jasper sometimes spent a few hours in the wagon with him, showing him the best way to apply ointment and poultices, but the rat was usually too busy working as a guide.
Taggart, the upbeat assistant to one of the merchant kings of the caravan was also a useful set of spare paws for looking after the priest and, once Brother Zachary was awake, Zeke left the rabbit's care in Taggart's capable paws-- no matter how different Brother Zachary seemed, Zeke was just not ready to be near a priest in an awakened. Taking the coward's quick path out the back of the wagon, Zeke made his escape... and had been atop the traveling mount ever since.
The fox wasn't at all surprised that Taggart and the rabbit remained in the back of the wagon long after Zeke left. It didn't take a psychic or Diviner to see that the dog was fond of the young rabbit... if the situation had been different and Zachary hadn't been a priest, Zeke could almost have seen himself interested in opening himself up to the thought of-- but, no... the fox had been hurt enough in his life... abandoned enough... run out on enough... he was with the caravan, but he realized he couldn't be a part of it. The people with whom he was traveling were ones who might hold his life in their hands, but there was no way he could let them near his heart.
Zeke heard the sounds of the approaching mount before Jasper spoke, "He's awake?"
"Yea." the fox acknowledged. There were many reasons he liked talking with Jasper. One of which was because the rat always kept the discussions simple and pertinent.
"I guess the Goddess was with him that time. Good thing we weren't in Myrh." Jasper offered plainly, and kicked his mount forward, trotting off ahead. The second reason Zeke got along so well with the rat is because Jasper was one other soul in the empire that knew what he knew-- like Zeke, Jasper had escaped Myrh, disgusted once he realized that the fertility rituals included sacrifices of living worshipers. Sometimes the fox wondered how Jasper was able to keep hold of his faith knowing what he knew, but Zeke didn't wonder enough to actually ask.
The fox gave his mount a light kick as well, urging it forward at a slightly faster pace. Zeke knew that Jasper was enjoying the newfound safety in the Wild Lands thanks to the silver staff carried by the caravan; he found it a little disconcerting himself. Regardless, the fact that a non-priest was using it to good effect raised Zeke's spirits-- it proved that other faithful were able to gain protection from the Wild Lands without having to be part of the clergy. Though Zeke hadn't had the chance to observe "Hearthsinger" up close, the rumors abounded through the caravan that she was doing a fine job of protecting them in Brother Zachary's stead.
"Hey!" came a call as Zeke passed a finely-crafted, masterfully decorated traveling wagon. Glancing to the speaker, the fox quickly recognized the ferret who called to him. Dillan Flinn's fur was the same color as every other ferret Zeke had ever met, but few wore their 'mask' better than the merchant. The fox slowed his horse so that he could trot beside the wagon, ears up. He didn't bother responding to the call, but Dillan continued on as if he had, "How's the riding going?" the ferret asked in a friendly manner.
"Fine." Zeke responded. Closed-ended questions were safe enough to answer, he figured.
"Not sore or anything?" the ferret inquired.
"No." the fox stated. In truth, he was not used to riding so much and he was a little stiff, but, like any kind of discomfort, Zeke knew it would pass.
"I have some extra room in here if you like." Dillan patted the carriage door, "I've been hoping to talk to one of you eventually."
Zeke had no idea what 'one of you' was supposed to mean, but he chose to interpret it as a caravan guide.
"Ask Jasper." the fox suggested, and quickly trotted on ahead. He felt uncomfortable, as if the ferret's eyes were still on him as he outpaced the carraige. After a few minutes, Zeke saw an opening between wagons and cautiously cut between them, moving over to the west side of the line of transports.
From his new vantage, Zeke was able to see the slight left turn of the Doenian Highway as the caravan veered westward; the front of the wagon train was in view. The fox watched the leaders of the train, seeing Narissa mounted atop a white, boxed litter; the sedan chair was carried by two oxen laborers who apparently had little trouble holding her up. The staff, still in her grasp, was raised well above head-height, easy for those following her to see. Zeke couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. He had seen numerous priests use everything from litters to rickshaws, but the way the performer made a spectacle of its use was almost comical.
The smile slowly disappeared from his muzzle when he saw the enormous shape of Lord Rust walking beside the raised chair. From the rumors Zeke had heard, Lord Rust had once been a priest. Whether his dismissal from service was a good thing or a bad thing, Zeke didn't know, but one thing he was certain about was that priests meant trouble... so ex-priests probably did too. He watched from horseback a good distance away as the echida and the tigress spoke. Their conversation seemed to be of a casual nature, and, at one point, Lord Rust took one of Narissa's paws and gave the back of it an almost courtly kiss. The fox slowly began to grow less uncomfortable with the situation; as long as eyes were somewhere other than him he'd be fine.
The whole even almost seemed funny; he was surrounded by faithful, in the middle of a caravan with perhaps a dozen priests; he had spent almost two days looking after an unconscious rabbit who also happened to be a member of the clergy; he was on his way to Zion. Out of all of the seemingly impossible modifiers taking place on his trip, Zeke wasn't sure which was the most outrageous. In the end, he settled on the situation itself being simply to unbelievable to accept and chalked it up to everything being an insane, fevered dream.
He toyed with the idea that he was probably on the ground somewhere, unconscious and dying of infection. "At least if this isn't a dream," he said, looking to the necklace in his grasp, "almost anything that might happen will be better than dying of fever." A new smile on his muzzle, Zeke sat a little straighter on his saddle, even laughing to himself. There was still a long way to go and a lot could still happen.
* * * * *
The Doenian Group has completed Chapter 1.
Thanks to some quick thinking (and some good rolls) on behalf of their priest, the Doenian Caravan managed to get through their Story Arc without any real injuries.
Zachary did suffer from one point of Major Fatigue, but it is removed with the end of the Event Arc.
Please watch for upcoming contribution opportunities as Chapter 2 will soon begin. Congratulations to the Doenian party for surviving Chapter 1!