Maude sat at the banks of the Similyan and watched as its quick waters rushed southward. The rippling current lapped over rocks and spun in tiny whirlpools along the banks. It was a scene that she could have watched all day.
Leaning against the old willow beside her, Maude gazed down at her sketchbook. She had started by drawing the river–as she always did. Quickly, the doodles became stranger. She drew all the terrible and wonderful creatures from her uncle’s stories. A wardrake coiled in the corner of the page like a snake ready to strike. A sharp-toothed mermaid sat on a rocky shoreline while a four-winged raven flew overhead.
The pages of the book lay open as sunlight danced through the willow’s branches. Maude knew the warm days were coming to an end. So, she was more than happy to soak up the last of the warm weather. Soon, the dark season would fall upon the lands. The days would grow short and cold while the nights were dark and bitter.
Maude might have enjoyed the rest of her day on the riverbanks if a set of footsteps had not approached her. She turned to see her brother marching irritably through the tall grass. He stomped towards her as if the grass had personally insulted him.
“Caris,” Maude offered him a smile. “How’d your hunt go?”
He stopped walking as he drew closer to her and gave her a blank expression. “Does it look like it went well?”
She hesitated long enough that a reply wasn’t necessary.
“If it had gone well,” he crossed his arms. “I’d be carrying a stag or rabbits or…something. And what about you? I don’t remember Finlay asking you to take a nap by the water.”
She took a fortifying breath before responding. “I swept out the cottage, brought in water, and did all of our laundry.”
“Next time, you go hunt, and I’ll sit around by the water.”
Maude had nothing to say to that. She didn’t have a problem with hunting. What she did have a problem with was Caris’ unyielding ability to make every one of his struggles sound world-ending.
“Finlay will be back soon; you should probably make dinner.” It was his way of telling her that he wouldn’t be helping with cooking.
“Sure.” Maude stood up and placed her book into her satchel.
“And don’t make anything with radishes. I’m so sick of those.”
Maude walked past her brother and towards the little cottage. She hadn’t planned on making anything with radishes, but now she felt a sudden craving for them.
Later that evening, as dinner was just finishing, Maude stepped outside the old cottage for a bit of fresh air. Cooking over the hearth’s fire made the cottage sweaty and thick with hot air. She was relieved the moment she stepped out into the chilly night.
For a moment, Maude stood in silence, gazing up at the heavens above. Stars twinkled in the endless black abyss. She smiled back at them.
As she watched the stars, Maude heard the familiar sound of footsteps approaching. She turned to find her uncle, Finlay, returning from his day out on the water. Caris walked behind him, carrying some of his fishing supplies.
“Maude,” Finlay beamed at his niece. “I could smell your cooking from down by the river.”
She smiled in return. “It’s only stew,” she explained. “I’m afraid we are running low on meat again.”
Finlay glanced back toward Caris, who narrowed his eyes at Maude.
“There’s been nothing to hunt. It’s like the animals have all headed south,” he insisted.
“Perhaps Maude and I will go out on a hunt tomorrow,” Finlay replied diplomatically. “And then you can try your hand at netting us some fish?”
Caris let out a long breath; his irritation was palpable. Maude was certain that an argument was about to begin at any second. However, before Caris or Finlay could say another word, a bright flash of light shot through the sky.
Maude stared towards the northern skies. “What was that?”
Another flash of light shot through the skies. It shot southward, crackling through the atmosphere like lightning. Only, it wasn’t lightning. The vein-like pulses of light were a vivid shade of purple.
“Fin,” Maude stepped closer to her uncle.
“What is that?” Caris asked.
“I don’t know,” Finlay replied so quietly that Maude had a hard time hearing him.
She gazed up at the cloudless skies, feeling a shiver cross her body. It wasn’t lightning or anything else that she could easily explain. The light was like nothing she had ever seen before.
“Maybe it’s just a storm that’s approaching,” Finlay offered after a moment of silence.
Dinner was a quiet affair.
No one spoke about what they had seen outside. Caris appeared to be displeased with the stew–after all, there were radishes in it. Finlay ate in silence. The fire raged in its hearth, filling the cottage with the sound of crackling embers. Maude desperately wanted to ask about what just happened, but Finlay’s stony silence kept her question at bay.
That evening, Maude fell asleep quickly. Her night was filled with images that felt more like an omen than a dream. Nightmares about giant serpents and talking trees plagued her mind. She dreamed of a giant volcano and a monster made of pure darkness.
It was early the next morning when Maude woke to the sound of Finlay boiling water for his tea. He was never particularly quiet in the morning. Since the cottage was small, it was often his morning routine that roused her. Wood was added to the hearth. Pots and pans clattered together. Tea cups were rummaged through until he found his favorite.
Maude rose slowly from her sleeping mat and walked into the main room of the old cottage. It was still dark outside. The only light was from the fire. It illuminated the room in a soft golden glow. Despite the warmth, her dreams had left her feeling cold and a bit nauseous.
“I hope you slept well,” Finlay said before she had a chance to fully awake. “How does a hunt sound?”
Her uncle was always in a good mood in the morning. He smiled as he sipped his tea, waiting for a response.
Maude nodded as she took a seat by the fire. “It sounds lovely,” she yawned. “But Caris did say that there hadn’t been any animals.”
“Well,” Finlay let out a sigh. “I suppose we’ll have to see for ourselves.”
The first hit of suns rise was on the horizon. In less than an hour, both suns would be in full, illuminating the land with golden rays. Until then, the fields of the Riverlands were dim and grayish, not yet painted by the gods.
Maude walked silently through the tall grass as Finlay led the way into the scattered forest. Despite trying to focus on the task at hand, her mind drifted back to her dreams.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course, but you know the rules about hunting. We must be quiet if we want something other than vegetable stew tonight.”
“Right,” she nodded. “I just…I feel like I should mention my dreams. They were…unusual. I dreamed of a volcano erupting and a terrible monster.”
Finlay only turned and smirked at her. “Maude, you must stop reading those wild stories. At least not before bed.”
“No,” she stopped walking. “It wasn’t like a story. It was real.”
“I’m sure it felt that way. Dreams are quite fantastical things,” he acknowledged. “Let’s keep moving, I’d like to make it up to the southern ridge so we have a better view of the prairie.”
Maude reluctantly followed. She cursed herself silently for sounding too much like a child. She wanted Finlay to believe her, but dreams were just that, dreams. Despite this, Maude knew there was something different about the one she had last night. It had something to do with the violet skies.
As Finlay and Maude made their way through the grass and up towards the hilltop, the first sun was beginning to share its light with them. The horizon was aglow with soft pinks and purples. The fears that nighttime brought were chased away as the sun began to show its face.
At a clearing, atop the ridgeline, Maude began to hear a chorus of quiet voices. At first, she was sure it was just her imagination, but soon it became impossible to ignore.
“Fin,” she said. “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“The talking.”
“Talking? All I hear is you.”
Maude rolled her eyes. “No, listen.”
“The light is coming,” said one voice.
“Good, I was worried the suns would be gone,” replied another.
“Gone? Nothing can destroy the light.”
“Dria Thal might.”
After that, there were too many voices at once for Maude to make much out.
“Don’t you hear them?” Maude frantically asked Finlay.
Finlay said with a tired sigh. “If you don’t want to hunt, that is fine, but I need to get us some meat. Alright?”
“No, Fin,” she pleaded. “Can’t you hear those voices? They are talking about the light–the suns.” She squinted out at the horizon.
“I don’t hear anything.” He turned and took a long look at Maude.
The second sun was just rising above the horizon—its light magnified the colors of dawn. The tall grass turned gold in the sunshine. The distant edge of the forest could finally be seen as something more than just an ominous cluster of darkness. Despite the beauty of dawn, Maude’s eyes were drawn to her hands. She clutched her quiver, feeling foolish for insisting that something strange had happened.
Why couldn’t Fin hear the voices?
“Are you feeling alright?” Finlay asked.
In the background of the conversation, Maude could still hear voices talking. “I’m fine. I just…” she trailed off as her eyes looked northwards.
Just above the horizon was a giant cloud of dark smoke. It was so large that it appeared to be blocking out the sunslight from the northern lands. Maude stared in awe and shock.
“Is…is that a wildfire?” Maude asked, recalling a time when the prairies around the Similyan had caught fire after a lightning storm.
Finlay looked in the direction that Maude had been looking. His face paled at the sight. “That doesn’t look like a wildfire.” It was the first time Finlay admitted to something being off.
Maude and Finlay returned to their cottage mid-morning. Finlay had practically run most of the way back, leaving Maude to feel out of breath by the time they made it. Caris was outside, readying the fishing raft.
He looked up as they approached. A knowing smile crossed his face as he placed his hands on his hips.
“What did I tell you about the game? They’ve all headed south.”
“Have you looked north?” Finlay asked his nephew.
“What? For stag?”
“No, right now.”
Caris turned his head northward. For a moment, all three of them stared at the blossoming cloud of smoke.
“Is it a wildfire?” Caris asked.
“That’s what I thought,” Maude admitted. However, paired with the strange voices and the dark dreams, she had a feeling it wasn’t a wildfire.
“I’m not sure,” said Finlay. “But it doesn’t look like any wildfire that I’ve seen before.”
“Did you come all the way back to the cottage to have me look at some clouds?” Caris looked between Maude and Finlay.
“I don’t have a very good feeling about that,” Finlay explained. “I’m going to go into town to speak to someone who knows about that sort of thing.”
“Wildfires?”
“Messages from the sky.”
Caris rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re going back to that Bard woman?”
Finlay nodded. “Tisha knows the sky like no one else. Bards understand things that Meiren, like us, can’t. Why not use her wisdom?”
“I can think of a few reasons,” Caris bit out under his breath.
“It could be a wildfire,” Finlay admitted. “Even so, wildfires can be dangerous. I want to know what Tisha and other members of Henoble think is happening.”
Maude nodded. She wanted to know as well. However, she was far more curious about the voices she had heard than the rising column of smoke. She hoped that Tisha might have more than just one answer.
As Finlay readied himself for a trip to town, Caris and Maude sat together on the banks of the river. Fishing and hunting would have to wait. With both Maude and Finlay worried about the smoke, they felt it was more important to go to town.
“So, if it’s not a wildfire, then what is it?” Caris asked Maude.
“I don’t know. But I had these dreams last night that felt…”
“Dreams? You’re basing your fear of this wildfire on some dreams?”
“I dreamt that a volcano erupted and there were...monsters,” she thought of the giant serpents she had seen.
Caris rolled his eyes. Maude wanted to tell him about the weird voices she had heard as well, but she didn’t. He had an easy enough time teasing her about simple things. She didn’t want to give his insults more ammunition.
“You know that Finlay is only worried because you’re worried.”
Maude looked over at him. “No, he said it was strange, too.”
“Only after you did.”
Maude said nothing.
“And let me guess, you just happened to see that smoke after you failed to track down a stag?” He looked over at her with ice in his eyes. “I told you that there was no game, but neither of you believed me. You had to use a distant wildfire as an excuse to get out of it.”
Maude wasn’t sure what to say to that. “No,” she began. “I...I saw it, and I thought of my dreams...and I…”
Caris stood up and walked towards the cottage. “Fin,” he shouted. “Are we leaving or not?”
Chapter Two: Not Just a Ripple
I've been putting this off for far too long. Binge reading time!
Love when the plants started talking!
I also feel like you gave the characters each distinct enough dialogue so they felt like they had their own personality, while also feeling close enough to make it obvious that they are family and spend a lot of time with one another.
Excited to read more.