Chapter 2 His Na Is Soren
The ebb and flow of water gently rocked back and forth to the rhythm of waves. The sll of the sea lingered all around and I couldn’t help but believe that I was on a boat.
I leaned into the rocking. It felt pleasant, calm, and soothing, like it would lull to sleep forever.
Was I asleep?
I tried to sit up but couldn’t. I tried to open my eyes but couldn’t. I tried to open my mouth to call out but couldn’t.
‘Hello...?’ I attempted to reach out through the mindlink but was only rewarded with the hollow echo of my voice in the void.
I must have been alone.
Relaxed, I thought, if I was alone, even if I was dreaming, I had to be safe.
All I wanted was to rock in that gentle rhythm until the end of ti. I felt safe and protected in that space, surrounded by warmth and the constant lapping of water, like waves against a boat.
Words ca to . Like a muffled whisper, they softly brushed against my ears but I couldn’t make sense of them. I just knew they weren’t mine.
Suddenly, the gentle, rocking ocean vanished and I ca crashing down to earth. Fog surrounded my senses and I was trudging through thick chowder, trying to find my way back to so normalcy. I had to wake up.
The words around got louder and more clear, like the more I struggled against the thick, chowdery fog, the closer I got to those voices.
The first voice I latched onto was deep, composed and soothing. His tone was dominating and authoritative but fresh and familiar. It made feel safe again.
“Do so investigation on her,” he ordered.
A younger voice spoke next. “Yes, of course, Soren.”
The speaker was respectful, but he wasn’t nearly as pleasant as the previous man.
“Ask the healer to co to my room, as well,” the first voice continued and I took another set towards consciousness. I wished he would speak again, and again.
Soren... was that the na of the first man, the one whose voice I wanted to hear?
It was a rather unusual na. I liked it. The na alone was enough to send a pleasant shudder through .
Whenever I heard his voice, the thick fogginess receded and I was more connected to the world and to myself. When his voice was gone, I felt like I was floundering around blindly.
There was a mont of silence and I was getting dragged back into the fog. I tried to open my mouth and call out to them but I couldn’t control my own body. The fog sward in my head and around my senses.
“What is it?” Soren’s soothing voice asked, tugging on again.
“Well, why do you think she is here?” the younger voice asked, his tone hesitant.
Was he talking about ?
“No one should know about this place. We aren’t on a map and without a guide that already knows the way, few people can find their way here even with perfect weather, let alone in a sandstorm...” the younger one said.
“So? She isn’t exactly strong. She’s young and doesn’t look like she’s in the best health,” Soren countered.
They were talking about ! He wanted to know how I’d survived the desert and made it to this village. The Moon Goddess had guided .
‘Wake up!’ I scread into the echoing void. This was awful.
How long had I been here like this?
Again, I was swirling through the fog, trying to find my way back to myself. The longer the silence dragged on, the heavier and denser the fog beca. My mind was slipping into darkness. I couldn’t see through it no matter how hard I tried.
I wasn’t even sure if I was connected to my body at all. Did I still have arms and legs? Did I have a mouth? I knew I had ears because I could hear them talking but everything else... it was missing.
Was I a ghost?
A hand on my arm, I felt that! But where was his voice now?
I tried to see through the fog. I wanted to know who was there. Who was talking about and did I need to get away from them?
Were they dangerous? Would they send back?
Desperately, I needed to hear the first voice again. I wanted to feel that soothing and safety deep in my bones. He would ground . With his voice, I’d be able to cut through the fog and see what was happening.
The younger voice didn’t press, and Soren stayed silent.
“My apologies, Soren. I shouldn’t have asked that question,” the younger man said. “It’s just that there have been regional wars. They don’t impact us directly, but the outside always seems to be closing in on us. None of us want that. I know you don’t, either.”
Regional wars? That sounded familiar, and it didn’t. I could barely string a thought together as the fog closed in on like a coffin.
“We work hard to stay away from the outside world and to stay out of all their issues,” the young man continued. “It would be a sha if we invited that trouble in, no matter how pretty.”
I heard a soft, low growl from Soren. Even his growl was enough to help cut through the dense fog. I felt like it was getting thinner, and if I could just hold onto that sound, I’d make it back to myself.
“We have to be vigilant. We don’t want another spy getting in. And what better way for the other packs to get a spy past our security? None of us would expect such a pretty face to be treacherous,” the young man added.
Soren grunted. Still, he didn’t speak, as much as I willed it with my mind.
I didn’t even know this Soren guy but I felt he was soone I could rely on.
Maybe I needed to get to know him. Having a friend or ally with power and authority would be... most beneficial.
The young man’s words rang in my ears, “We don’t want to let in a spy.”
Who were these people that the packs would want to spy on them?
I wasn’t a spy, was I?
Suddenly, my thoughts clicked into clarity and the denseness of the fog cleared. I was still wandering through a misty world but it wasn’t as dark or numb as before.
Was I in danger?
These n, whoever they were, thought I was a spy. Would I get a chance to explain myself? Would they help if they knew the truth?
I couldn’t even rember where I was!
Most importantly, I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t in a lot of pain. I could still rember it was almost unbearable before. Now, it was numb, almost pleasantly numb, or it would be pleasant if I could just see who was talking while still being this numb and pain free!
All these thoughts raced through my mind and panic rose in my chest. I still wasn’t strong enough to get up and run away. Besides, where else would I go, back to the desert? I nearly died the last ti. I needed a better plan than that if I was going to survive!
Then another strange thought occurred to . What if I hadn’t survived? What if I was already dead and this was so weird afterlife thing?
I couldn’t feel my body. I couldn’t control myself. My mories felt so far away. Maybe I really was dead!
My mind and thoughts got so jumbled and ssy.
The voices I’d been clinging to started to drift away. They were muffled, like they were talking through a pillow, and I couldn’t focus enough to hold onto them.
After a few minutes, I couldn’t hear anything at all.
A dark, unsettling coldness filled . I was completely alone. They’d left alone, trapped in this foggy place. I had no way out.
This wasn’t good. If only I could force myself to...
I focused all my energy on opening my eyes and sitting up but I just couldn’t do it! I was still too lost in that fog to connect back to myself.
Slam!
A door slamd and I started. My entire body jerked.
Relief swept through . No, I wasn’t dead. I hadn’t suffered through that painful ordeal in the sun and wind just to die.
I tried to recall the last coherent mory I had. I’d struggled through the sandstorm and ca to a town. Was that what the younger man had been talking about? Was this so unmapped spot in the desert?
After that... things got fuzzy. It’d been so hot and cold at the sa ti and the sun was setting. I rembered trying to find a warm place to stay for the night but after that, there was nothing.
I kept rembering flickers of warmth and comfort. Soone had been there with , giving strength, making feel safe and..fortable again. I didn’t know who it was or what had happened.
Apparently, I hadn’t died. That was a starting point, at least.
A new voice broke through the fog. It was a female voice.
“Soren, I went to grab Lee. Who’s injured this ti?” she asked.
So, there was another woman in this place. Perhaps, she could understand my situation and would be more willing to help compared to others. I felt myself relaxing in her presence, feeling less threatened.
She kept speaking but I wasn’t even trying to listen anymore because sothing new struck my senses. It was a scent, warm and calming.
I recognized the scent...it was with for a while when I was in darkness.
It filled my nose and then raced through my whole body. From the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes, every fiber of my being was calm and soothed by the warm scent of cedar and amber.
I sighed, inhaling more of that familiar deliciousness. It slled so, so good. The fog in my mind vanished, and so did all my panic, worries, and doubts.
Given the chance, I would totally sink into that luscious scent and float away with it.
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