The Wolves of Gryning: Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Tanda and Nashil
Tanda felt exhausted. Never before had he spent this much time away from home. He was aware that he may have had to leave one day, but never for the reasons it happened. Even in his wildest dreams he'd never thought about Hollow being destroyed. Attacked? Maybe. He couldn't remember their kingdom having much trouble with anyone else, even when Molokhn had been terrorizing the North; but attack was always a possibility. That his home would be completely destroyed? No, there was no way that could have happened.
And yet here he was. The wandering around had made him weary, but the thought that he had no home to return to compounded his weariness. Tanda knew that he wasn't alone in it. His fellow foxes felt much the same, and he saw that it weighed heavily on the wolf Nashil too. She'd spent a lot of time talking with Besegrare the past few days, hoping for some sort of relief. But relief from what? Her home's destruction, or guilt over surviving?
The fox started up conversation with her.
"You look a little tired," he said.
"Does it show?" she asked.
"Aye, it shows on all of us. Don't I look just as bad?"
"I guess we've all seen better days."
She smiled weakly, and looked straight ahead, into the depths of the Foxwoods. A proliferation of trunks seemed to grow around them as they began the steady march back home.
"This used to be my home," Tanda said. "The Foxwoods. I'd never been this far down before, though. I mean, I used to be a prince. Prince of all foxes, and I'd never so much as left Hollow to see the rest of our kingdom."
"What was it like?" Nashil asked.
"Being a prince? I guess I never thought much of it."
"No. Hollow. What was it like?"
"Oh, that." He thought about it before continuing, his eyes wandering up into the treetops, while his mind wandered elsewhere. He conjured up images of his home and the size of it, the look of it, the smell of it. He pictured its underground chambers and the tunnels that ran into the earth, the smell of sap and stone everywhere.
"It was huge," he said, simply.
"Come on, surely that's not all you can say about it?" Nashil blinked. "Is it hard for you to remember? I try not to think about Inthil, but I can't help it. I remember everything. I remember the the way the streets felt, the bump of the cobblestones beneath our boots, and the way they got slick with morning mist, which came rolling in from off the bay. I remember the scent of fish that lingered at the docks, or the smell of smoke that hung heavy in the workyards. I remember bells... Bells that pealed on the hour, every hour. Their song was sweet. Those bells were given to us by the bats in Sonder, many years ago, as a token of friendship and trust. I'll never hear those bells again."
She grew quiet, and looked away.
"I'm sorry. I can't stop thinking about it."
"I remember," Tanda said. "I do remember my home. Do you want to hear?"
"Please, if you can. Anything to distract me."
"As I mentioned, it was huge. But most of it was underground. We foxes don't mind that, see? And just like in Sonder we prefer the shelter of the earth itself, and don't mind living in darkness. The courts themselves are housed within the trunk of a great tree - hollow on the inside, hence the name. Imagine one of these trees here, but a hundred times bigger. A thousand times... By ashes, I'm not quite sure how big it really is. But it's huge, and my home was inside its trunk, quite near the treetops and leaves.
"The rest of my people lived beneath it. The trees roots are huge, and create a vast network of tunnels underground. Their smoothed wooden curves make great arching passageways, and we lined the floors with yet more wood, carved from the surrounding trees in the Foxwoods. All of our chambers and banquet halls and store rooms were in that network of tunnels, and a great many foxes lived there. Only my family's chambers were aboveground, in the trunk. Those chambers, and the courts."
"You didn't mind living underground?" Nashil asked.
"No. Most of us didn't. But many of our visitors have a hard time getting used to it when first they arrive."
Nashil smiled, her bright eyes twinkling, and then she laughed. Tanda understood why so many of the others had been falling for her. She was remarkably beautiful on her own, but her laugh was sweet like honey, and indescribably pure. He felt himself fluster listening to her, then rubbed his head.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Did I say something?"
"No, no. I'm sorry for laughing. You did a wonderful job describing it, and for that I thank you."
"Then I'm confused. Why laugh?"
"It did take getting used to," she said. "It definitely wasn't to my liking, the first time I visited. But I grew to love the place myself."
"You mean to say you've been?"
"My, but did you forget? I'm a courier. I've been just about anyplace you can name this side of the Wide Sea. I'm no stranger to Hollow, though I never carried any messages to the king."
"How about to me? It's not possible I've met you before?"
"No, I'm afraid not. I'm very grateful that I do what I do... It's not just anybeast that can become a courier, and I'm blessed that I can fulfill the role. Despite all of that I am still something of a commoner, and I only deliver messages for common folk. There'd never have been an opportunity for me to deliver anything to someone like you."
"I'll consider it a relief. I'd hate to think I'd have forgotten you."
"Worry no more. And again, thank you for describing. Hollow really was a lovely place, and I hate to think I won't ever see it again. Don't you miss it?"
"Terribly."
They walked without speaking, letting their stormy minds overcome themselves. Tanda felt his hands clench tight and he would drop his gaze. His muscles tensed all over and his fur stood all on end up his arms. He tugged swiftly at his cloak to pop his hood up over his head, and the fabric fell loose and bunching over and between his ears. They marched several miles and then stopped to rest. Tanda stayed beside Nashil while they sat, and they shared a flagon of water between themselves. Tanda struck up the conversation again as though no time had passed.
"They set fire to it," he said. His voice was hushed and low, as if it were directed at no one at all. Nashil noticed his hands opening and closing and saw him struggling with tears.
"They torched the tree, setting the entire court ablaze," he said, "But they didn't stop there. They surrounded the entrances and exits and barricaded them all shut. They must've found a way to pump oil into the tunnels. I wasn't there when it happened - probably the only reason why I, or any of my followers, are alive - but it was easy to see what had happened. The trunk had been burned to a black and crumbling husk, the courts destroyed. I pried open an entrance and found them huddled around the doors, as though they'd been trying to get out. Their bodies were black, except where the flesh had been burned clean through to the bone, and there you could see flashes of gleaming white. Not all of them were dead; but none of them survived for long. It was as if exposure to the outside world had hastened the speed of their suffering, and they died rapidly. Inside Hollow, the tunnels had all been scorched, and heaps of burning flesh and clothes lay all over. Some of the tunnels had been completely flooded with oil, and some of them had not burnt out yet. None of us stayed for long. We searched for survivors for two days, and then spent two more cleaning out any things we might want or need. There were precious few supplies of any kind left unharmed. But now there is nothing left behind, nothing but a black stump of destruction, a bitter reminder of the carnage that my kind suffered. And at the hands of one of you, one of the wolves. I don't know who this beast is or what he wants, but his evil is unforgivable."
Tanda whipped a knife out of his pocket and began to trim his sharp claws into nail points.
"I know what it's like to see your entire life burned before you. You wolves love to worship the Flame, but sometimes fire brings nothing but death. Sometime's fire is just fire. And all that's left behind is the feeling that I should have been there. That was my people's suffering - so why didn't I suffer it too? I am no kin of theirs anymore, nor am I their prince. I should have burned up with them, but I didn't. So now I'm alone. Prince of nothing. Brother of no one."
"There are other foxes here," Nashil said. "What about those who survived with you? Who will lead them?"
"Someone. I don't know who. Your king promised to help me rebuild Hollow, but I don't even know if I want that. I suppose the others will need someplace to go back to. We can't all stay at Gryning forever."
"Don't worry about that now."
Nashil held Tanda and said nothing else. The conversation had already exhausted itself, and the time for words had long since passed. So singular had been the purpose of the wolves that nobeast had paid him any attention, though his tragedy had been great. He wept for a time in her arms, and then wept again. When all his tears had abated his sadness had not departed, but he felt like he had just fought a battle with it, and had won. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and he breathed new life.
"You're very kind," Tanda said. "But please forget you saw me like this."
"Is it so unbecoming for a prince to cry? Don't fight what you feel. The sad and stoic look didn't work for you anyways."
"You're wise, too. I guess I see why so many of them like you."
"Don't tell me you're about to profess your love too! It feels like it's a new beast every day."
"No, not I. But I don't think I'd want to stand in the king's way either. It may not be my place to say, but he does seem to be intruding somewhat. I didn't think he was someone you were interested in."
"It's hard to resist a king. And I'm a wolf after all, aren't I? He's not just any king, he's my king! It's making things rather complicated. I suppose in some sense it feels like my duty to go along with whatever he wants."
"Don't fight what you feel. Didn't you just say that to me? Sounds like the best advice you can take to that situation."
"You're a clever one, aren't you?" Nashil took his hand in hers. "Come on, it's almost time to march again. You can walk with me the rest of the day. With any luck we've only got a few more days till we reach Gryning."
She pulled him to his feet and dragged him forward down the trail, the other beasts left behind as they struggled back into boots and resumed the march.