Terralena

By Victoria Wattiaux

When Lea’s family is murdered by Mertonan soldiers from the North, her misery is unleashed in a powerful force that causes the ground to quake. Unable to control her unusual gift, she wanders the woods alone, grieving for her lost people. When Lea discovers she is pregnant by the soldiers who raped her, she falls into deep despair.

Elmond is a mystic aligned with the wind and is far from home when the Mertonans attack the southern towns along the Helian Sea. A refugee family begs him to guide them north to Halen through the dangerous Brenan Woods. In the forest, they are under constant threat from renegade soldiers but find strength in their own solidarity, a protective spirit wandering in the woods, and the Ria, the life force that flows through all nature.

Only by aligning with the Ria, can Lea recover from her past and follow her own destiny, and only through its power, can she and the other mystics overcome the violent Mertonans to protect the creatures and forests of Terralena.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Victoria Wattiaux
• Release date: Dec 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781949085631

Book preview

Part I

The Brenan Woods

ONE

Casualties of War

The infants were the first to die, for their tiny bodies lacked reserves. In the destructive wake of the Mertonan army, the refugees had been pushed along the coast of the Helian Sea. They set up makeshift camps in the shadows of the pink stone buildings in the city of Phenoa, but the southern sun also pursued them, forcing the refugees to shift constantly in search of shade. Food was scarce, but lack of clean water was the greater threat. Overcrowding and inadequate latrines had contaminated the city’s supply, and already the little ones were dying from diarrhea and dehydration.

Elmond wandered the crowded streets with a sense of impending doom. Young, and far from his home in the North, he was not accustomed to the heat and teeming masses. He had been trained as a healer but now was overwhelmed by the suffering that surrounded him and his own powerlessness to help.

It was the dry season in the South, and a thin layer of dust covered everything, giving the refugees a ghostly appearance. A woman tried to fill her flask from the mud that had previously been a stream while her young child sat nearby, sucking on a stone to quench his thirst. Elmond took the vessel from the mother’s hands and filled it from his own canteen, but soon he was surrounded by other women, begging for help and clutching at his clothes. He managed to break free, but as he hurried away, a rock struck him in the back.

Soon there will be more violence, especially against northerners. I must leave Phenoa tomorrow. May the Ria guide me.…

A man with a fresh gash across his cheek appeared at Elmond’s side and pressed a purse into his hand. You are from the North, are you not? Guide us through the Brenan Woods to Halen, and we’ll pay you.

Although Elmond knew only a hundred words of the Brenan language, he understood the request. Pointing to the man’s wound, he asked, How?

A Mertonan soldier struck me with his sword while we were escaping from Balin.

Elmond noted there was no pus or redness, and knowing the blood flow to the face was plentiful, he felt assured the wound would heal without infection.

Beside the injured man, stood a tall woman with the deep brown skin of people from beyond the Helian Sea. In her arms she held a lethargic toddler, and a boy of about eight clung to her skirt. Fixing her dark eyes upon the northerner, she willed him to help her family.

Elmond touched the babe in her arms, who opened sunken eyes to stare at the stranger. A flicker of recognition passed between them, for both were spirits of the wind. However, Elmond closed his heart to the child, and hope drained from the tiny face.

I am sorry.... The journey is dangerous, Elmond apologized, returning the purse to its owner. As he retreated, the mother’s silent plea continued to haunt him, for they both knew her children would perish if the family remained in Phenoa.

Walking on, Elmond came upon another young woman, weeping over the dead baby in her arms. Nauseated from the stench, he leaned his forehead against a cool stone wall and fought down a rising panic. She must have carried the little body for days, unable to let it go.

In his mind, the woman with the dark eyes reappeared, calling for help. The summer before, Elmond had sworn the Healer’s Oath, and now the words echoed in his ears. I will render aid to all who request it.

Although powerless to save the masses, he was bound by Healer’s Oath to help this one desperate family, but when he turned back, they were gone.

Elmond could detect the energy of other creatures, thus his people referred to him a Searcher. The skill served him well in hunting, but he could also search for human souls. Closing his eyes again, he opened his mind but was met by a wave of despair. The background noise of the suffering hordes dampened the resonance of the individual woman he was seeking. He refocused on the child in her arms, whose misery combined with that of the mother and drew him onward.

Elmond turned a corner and found himself surrounded by a swarm of hot bodies, emitting the sulfurous sweat of fear. He flowed with the tumultuous human current until the path widened and he was swept onto a side street. There in the alley, he found the family sitting on the ground, huddled together in a patch of shade. When he appeared, the mother looked up to the sky and touched her forehead in gesture of gratitude to her gods, then she returned her attention to the child at her breast, who suckled weakly.

To her startled partner it seemed that the northerner had come from nowhere, and he scrambled to his feet to grasp the foreigner’s forearm.

Elmond returned the southern grip of greeting and communicated using the few Brenan words he knew, together with hand gestures. I guide you north. Journey is dangerous, but here they die. He finished by nodding toward the man’s family.

We’ll never forget your kindness! Our children and our children’s children will always be indebted to you, and your children, and your—

What is your name? Elmond interrupted, uncomfortable with the outpouring of gratitude.

Payden Duresco Ensra of Balin.

Elmond Raemos of Lorran, he said, pressing Payden’s hand in his, as was the custom in the North.

The father passed his purse to the foreigner, who took three coins before returning it.

I will buy clean water with these. Keep rest for boat tomorrow.

The woman had come forward to listen, and Elmond now addressed her. Hide earrings and ring. Maybe we will sell later. He touched his own earlobe and finger.

She nodded with understanding, but Elmond saw her mouth twitch and knew she was anxious.

Your name, please? he asked kindly.

Coranda Gria Ensra.

Your children?

They are Aruv and Neri.

Neri buried his face in his mother’s chest, but Aruv extended his arm. Despite being a child, his eyes were those of an adult, and his expressionless face appeared carved in bronze.

I wonder what this young one has suffered. Elmond grasped the thin arm and said respectfully, Aruv, I will protect your family.

I thank you. The boy touched his forehead, but his face remained impassive.

With the Ensras’ two canteens, Elmond went to find clean water. Once out of their sight, he dumped the remaining liquid, believing it was probably contaminated and the source of Neri’s illness.

Now he had three canteens, including his own, but knew they would not be enough for the journey ahead. Coranda was nursing, and Neri was already dehydrated. Furthermore, it would take them at least a week to reach the Oshun River where they could replenish their supply.

A woman and her daughter were approaching, each carrying a water vessel. Elmond offered to buy one, and when the mother learned his price, she tried to sell him both.

He refused, transferring the remaining liquid from the container he had purchased into the empty one hanging from the girl’s shoulder, though he still felt he was taking advantage of them. The Healer’s Oath states we should do no harm, but I’m aware of what the future holds for Phenoa. I’m forced to choose between two poor options and will never know if my decision has caused more damage or less.

Elmond entered a tavern, leaving behind the blinding southern sun for the cool darkness within. As his eyes adjusted to the shadows, he saw that the two customers were elderly men, and a middle-aged matron was serving them.

As a young man, Elmond was a rarity in Phenoa, as most of the males between fifteen and fifty had marched east to defend Balin. They had been joined by Phenoan women, who also bore arms or supported the soldiers by caring for the injured and preparing food.

To the west of Phenoa, the towns of Velona and Ashan had also sent troops. Together the novice armies had succeeded, not only in halting the Mertonans’ advance but in driving them back toward Touran. Balin was now in the hands of southern soldiers, though many had died, and soon the Mertonans would mount a second attack. However, fighters who defend their homeland are more fervent than foreign combatants under a distant despot.

In the tavern, the bartender and customers recognized Elmond as a northerner, first by his features and clothes, then by his manner and speech. He was taller than most southerners, and his hair was longer and lighter, tied back by a strip of leather. His garments were neutral, with brown pants and a tan tunic, and ironically, his drab clothing made him stand out among the vibrant colors of the Phenoans. His gaze was direct, like that of the Mertonans, who were also tall but had thick facial hair and spoke in commands. They rode horses, which were uncommon in the South and made the soldiers even more terrifying.

Elmond nodded to the men and politely addressed the bartender, Can I buy clean water?

He showed her the Ensras’ coins and the empty canteens, but she scornfully shook her head and demanded twice as much.

This is all I have, Elmond answered truthfully. He had already used half his funds to hire a boatman to ferry him across Phenoan Bay and now was also responsible for the fares of the family.

The bartender thought Elmond a fool to pay so much for water but held out her hand for the canteens.

I will help to fill them, he said respectfully, though they both knew his motive was to ensure the water came from a clean reservoir.

He followed the woman up a flight of stairs to the roof, where three wooden cisterns stood warping under the scorching sun. She walked past the first two and stopped by the third, holding out her hand for the canteens.

Elmond assumed the first two cisterns were empty and began to open the vessels one by one, passing each to the matron and accepting it back once full. When all four canteens hung heavily from his shoulder, he paid and thanked her, but she remained stubbornly mute.

Upon returning downstairs, another man had joined his compatriots in drinking.

I wish you well, Elmond said in parting, then quickly realized his error. These wizened men knew the future was bleak for them and their people.

"Where are your countrymen? the newcomer challenged. Has the North forgotten its pledge in the Treaty of Terralena?"

We are guilty…. Elmond replied without hesitation, and his admission hung heavily in the air.

We are guilty, he repeated. We promised, but we never did come. If I arrive alive in North, I will tell my people the South is suffering. The South has courage. Why do we not help them?

Elmond had spoken in broken Brenan, substituting Lorranian words for suffering and courage. He hoped they had understood, but there was only hostile silence.

Though, when he turned to leave, his accuser finally spoke. May you travel safely, my northern brother.

Four moon cycles before, Elmond had abandoned his hometown of Lorran after a failed love affair. He was able to catch up with a group of southern entertainers, who had performed in the midlands of Terralena during the summer. They had left Lorran in the early autumn to return to Brenan, and Elmond had joined them.

That winter, the Mertonan army had attacked the towns along the southern coast of the Helian Sea for refusing to pay tribute. The imperialistic city-state had long dominated the North, but the South had felt beyond its authority, both in assistance and reprisal. The town of Touran had been especially defiant and was the first to be invaded. It was rumored the assault had been a massacre and that there were no surviving citizens. The Mertonans had meant Touran to be a lesson to the other southern villages, but as the army moved west along the coast, it was met with more resistance rather than less.

When news of the fighting reached Elmond and his friends, they disbanded, each returning to his or her own village. Fortunately, none had been from Touran. His companions had urged him to go back to Lorran, but Elmond didn’t want to desert his friends. He had accompanied the last two performers to Phenoa, and they had parted ways that morning. His comrades had left him with money for the boat passage across Phenoa Bay, but more importantly, a map of the Brenan Woods.

When Elmond returned to the Ensra family, he found Payden had done well to secure food for the journey. He had bartered some of their belongings for six loaves of dense bread, two dozen traveling cakes, nuts, and dried fruit. All were high in energy and stored well. If they were careful with provisions and scavenged along the way, there should be enough food for a moon cycle. Elmond estimated their journey to Halen would take three times as long as his trip south from Lorran, when he and his friends were unencumbered by war and children.

He instructed Coranda and Payden to pack only one change of clothes, but the garments must be warm, for the nights would grow colder as they traveled north. He feared that fires would attract unwanted attention and thus decided they would eat their meals cold.

Elmond advised Coranda to sell her heavy copper pot to raise fare for the boat passage on the morrow. He insisted she bring a knife, not only to prepare food but one that would also serve as a weapon. Elmond carried both a bow and dagger, and he wanted Coranda and Payden to be well-armed when they entered the woods.

In the morning twilight, Elmond roused the family, and they warily made their way through the dark streets, careful not to tread on sleeping refugees. The night before, Payden and Coranda had given their guide their remaining coins, full fares for husband and wife, and half fares for each child. Elmond had not yet spoken to the boatman, Coent, about the radical change in the number of passengers but counted on the man’s greed to accept the new plan. When they arrived at the dock, Coent was nowhere to be seen, and Elmond told the family to wait by a fishing hut.

Coranda settled by the shack and began to nurse Neri but soon heard crying from inside. The weeping was that of a child and made her milk flow strongly. Still holding Neri to her breast, she stood, walked around to the entrance of the hut, and pulled back the ragged cloth covering. The sobbing within ceased, and although Coranda could see nothing, she felt misery radiating from the darkness. Returning to Payden, she placed Neri in his arms, and her husband watched with concern as she lit a small lantern, returned to the doorway, and entered.

A girl of about ten was sitting on the dirt floor beside a prostrate woman. Coranda knelt and held the lantern over the woman’s face but could not detect breathing. Suddenly, the eyelids flew open to reveal the fixed pupils of a dead person. Believing the movement had been caused by involuntary muscle spasms, Coranda reached to close the lids but quickly pulled her hand away as the woman’s chest began to rattle.

Air was sucked into the deflated lungs, and as the difficult last breath was released, her lips spoke the words, You will care for my daughter.…

Yes, I promise, the response came without thought from deep within Coranda, a pledge from one mother to another.

Now at peace, the woman closed her eyes and slipped easily away from the spent body.

When the orphan began to cry, Coranda embraced her and murmured soothingly, "Your mother will always be with you, and now I will also be your mother. What is the name of my new daughter?"

Willa. Her voice was barely audible, though Coranda understood.

Willa, I’ll be right back. I must arrange for your passage. She rose to go, but the orphan began to moan with yet another desertion.

Coranda knelt again, and looking into the child’s eyes, she promised, "Willa, I will always come back for you."

On the dock, Coranda saw the silhouettes of Elmond and Coent, bargaining against the violet sky, and her scalp began to tingle with distrust for the boatman. She sighed and turned to Payden, who still held Neri on his lap and was dribbling water into the child’s mouth.

There’s a young girl in there, and I promised her dying mother that I would care for her, Coranda informed him.

Her husband looked up to see a familiar fire in his wife’s eyes. My love, we cannot… Elmond is already having difficulty arranging our passage. It would be too dangerous to take three children into the Brenan Woods. We won’t have enough food.

Coranda waited for Payden to list his objections and then pressed, Go and tell Elmond.

He sighed and got to his feet, trying to pass Neri to his mother, but she refused to take him. Payden loved his wife and would do anything for her, but now he feared the northerner would lose patience and abandon them.

Coranda returned to the shack with Aruv, and together they knelt beside Willa. Taking the shawl from the mother’s body, Coranda wrapped it around the daughter’s thin shoulders. She then untied the dirty scarf from Willa’s neck and wound it through the cold hands of the dead woman. Now both mother and daughter had a possession of the other to carry on their journeys.

Your mother wants you to come with us, Coranda explained. She kissed the forehead of the dead woman, told Willa and Aruv to do the same, and then led the children away from the shack.

When they rounded the corner, the three men on the pier looked up at them, but Coranda ignored their stares and loaded packs on the backs of both youngsters. After lifting the heaviest bundle onto her own shoulders, she took each child by the hand and walked past the men to stand by the moored boat.

Payden had made the request at the very moment his wife had appeared with the orphan. He had misjudged the northerner, for like Coranda, Elmond couldn’t leave the girl behind if the dying mother had requested her protection. He also believed an older child would not be a hindrance, and when he saw the waif, he felt that she was meant to join them.

Coent was fretful that his sailing partner had never arrived. Elmond tried to reassure him, Do not worry for partner. I can handle boat.

Take the money, Elmond pressed the purse into his palm, and as he had predicted, the weight of the coins diminished the boatman’s doubts.

Nevertheless, his jaw tightened, and he demanded, I need a fare for the girl!

There is no more money...

Then she’ll have to stay behind, Coent retorted and folded his arms across his chest.

Elmond lost patience and placed a heavy hand on the man’s shoulder. We will take boat and go without you!

Coent had heard northerners could be unpredictable and ruthless if challenged. He loathed being pushed around but now felt trapped.

Elmond realized he had placed the man in a precarious position and now must provide him a way to save face.

He called to Coranda, whose back was turned, though she’d been listening. When she turned to face them, Elmond gestured to his earlobe, and she understood the request. Taking the earrings from her bodice, Coranda brought them to Elmond and then took Neri from Payden’s arms, so now the sailor faced two unencumbered men.

Coent, you are right to want fare for orphan. Take these. Elmond placed the delicate jewels in the rough palm.

Embedded in the soft gold were amber stones from beyond the Helian Sea. Recognizing their worth, the boatman pocketed them and acquiesced. The girl can come.

TWO

Unusual Winds

Payden was the first to board the small vessel, with Elmond passing him each pack and then each child. When Willa’s turn came, she struggled against him and demanded, Don’t leave my mother behind!

Gripping her gently but firmly, Elmond tried to reason with the child. Mother is with you. Her spirit wants you to come with us.

She continued to jab him with sharp elbows and knees until Coranda boarded the boat and spread her arms wide. When Willa understood that the woman would be leaving, she quieted and allowed Elmond to transfer her into the waiting embrace.

Coranda’s grip was like iron, but her voice was like velvet, Now you have two mothers, and a father…and brothers!

Aruv and Neri looked skeptically at the girl who had displaced them from Coranda’s arms. When Neri began to cry, Willa’s sobs grew louder, and even suppressed tears escaped the steady eyes of Aruv.

Come close, my children, encouraged the matriarch as she gathered them around her. Now with our new sister, we’ll begin our journey. Even though you’re young, you must have the strength of grown-ups. Elmond will take us North, where life will be better, and you’ll be happy children once again.

With Coent at the rudder and Elmond raising the sails, the boat slowly drifted away from the pier. An unusual wind began to blow from the South. It started as a light breeze but quickly grew stronger, pushing the vessel northwards. Coent became suspicious that the woman on board was a witch, and that she had engendered unnatural wind. However, it was Elmond who had raised the gale, for he was a mystic aligned with the wind. With a flick of his wrist, he now signaled to Coent to turn his malevolent gaze away from Coranda.

At midday they continued to make fine progress, and Elmond hoped to reach the northern part of the bay by early evening. However, as he watched Payden encouraging Neri to drink from a flask, his breath quickened. Although I paid for clean water, I doubt it’s pure enough for the bowels of a toddler.

He lifted Willa from Coranda’s lap and replaced the girl with Neri. You must nurse him, Elmond instructed the woman, indicating his own breast.

I’m not making much milk, she explained.

If you nurse more, you will make more milk. You must drink water. He took the flask from Payden and handed it to Coranda. You must drink all this water by tonight.

It’s too much for me. What about the children? We’ll be short, she protested.

Elmond had heard similar objections before, usually from women and especially from mothers. They would place the needs of others before their own, sometimes endangering themselves and ultimately their children.

Listen to my words, Coranda. Neri’s life is in danger. You must drink the water, and Neri must drink your milk.

She lowered her head in deference. Yes, Elmond. I will do as you say.

The interaction had made Payden uneasy. Why does a young man advise my wife on nursing? These matters should only be discussed among women relatives, but the war has broken our customs and robbed us of our families. If only Coranda’s words are true, and life will be better in Halen.

Under the afternoon sun, even though the wind was steady from behind, Elmond noticed Coent’s knuckles were white with tension as he clutched the rudder. The muscles in his neck were in knots, and the mystic wondered why the boatman was so nervous.

As his distrust for Coent deepened, he decided aloud, I will steer now, and you will rest.

"I’m