Michael01
Coven of the Worm
This is part of the second chapter of a WIP. Go ahead and give it the works, please. Content, grammar, punctuation, characterization, etc., and let me know if you find it interesting. I know there are some problem spots, since this is the first draft but I can't pinpoint them all. I don't know how much background you'll need first, but I'll give a brief summary: Q'La was cursed and her brother was kidnapped by an evil creature when she was twelve, and she is often shunned by her peers because of this. Her magic also is not always reliable because of the curse. In this chapter, her Coven has just survived a fierce battle against magical enemies. And just in case it isn't clear in the text, there is a difference between Witches and War Witches. For instance, D'She uses a wand and Q'La fights with a sword.
Father's Heart
D'She remained on the roof.
"Q'La? Are you wounded?" he said.
"Yes."
"Then I will tend to you now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Before we can leave in the morning, we need to clean up and send for the villagers. I know you are proud, but must you remain awake all night and endure pain?"
Q'La turned her head and said, "It is not that."
"I have healed you before. I am not afraid."
Q'La might have smiled then if she thought she could. She had not smiled since before the Maugs took Jun. Except maybe on rare occasions with Xe when they were young and in training. Xe was the closest friend she had made in her life, and once she thought he might have been more than that.
"I know," she said.
She waited in silence as D'She approached her. He stopped a few paces away and raised his wand to begin the healing.
The first Spirit Talker that tried to heal her battle wounds had died. Since then, the priests would not chance more than sealing the wound and guarding it against infection, and they refused to lay hands on her. Scars from even minor wounds decorated her body because of this.
"You will need to mend or replace your Gi," said D'She.
Q'La could not forget that nine shadow monkeys had focused their attacks on her during the battle. Nor could she dismiss the image of the muozi's grin when it stalked D'She.
When the High Priest finished his incantations, Q'La said, "Hun Lo Me, I know the enemy targeted the priests. That is natural. But I do not understand why so many familiars abandoned their targets for me."
"They may have feared the curse would prevent them from achieving their objective," said D'She. "It seems they were right if they did."
Although it made sense, Q'La could not relate the idea to the actions of the pale Witch—when it had looked at her. She told D'She what she had seen then.
The High Priest looked away. He seemed nervous.
Q'La thought that D'She must not have seen it.
"This I do not like," he said. "It implies something I cannot believe."
"That the others like Deu might be right about the curse?"
"Perhaps. But they will think so regardless. Do not tell anyone else what you have told me."
Q'La nodded.
D'She said, "Come. I have more wounded to tend, Deu among them, and we must gather in the village circle before sunrise."
~*~
Q'La cleaned her weapons as she waited near the fire pit in the village circle.
The sun had climbed nearly a quarter of the sky and the few surviving villagers had returned from a hidden sanctuary in the jungle.
She watched as the priests of Yagove combined spells to build a gate to their home village. She knew that gate spells were complex and required more energy than most Witches had available.
Teleport spells had a more limited effect. The longest distance Q'La had traveled this way was about one hundred hand spans—except for the one misfire that had placed her in the middle of danger—which was the maximum distance for most War Witches. Some Witches have achieved twice or even three times that distance.
But Yagove village was leagues away from Shanang. Without a gate, the return home would take a week on foot. No one had ever traveled that far by teleporting, as far as Q'La knew.
Soon she would have the opportunity to bathe and eat a proper meal. She might have to see the sword makers first, but that should not take long.
Then there were other things she wanted to do before eating.
When the Priests had finished, a blue disc of light hovered over the ground near the fire pit. The Covenors formed a line to await their turns and Q'La filed in behind them.
D'She stopped her after the others had gone.
"Remember what I said to you before."
"Yes, Hun Lo Me," said Q'La. If she told anyone else about the muozi, it would be Xe. Otherwise she would obey the decree of her High Priest.
"Be sure to acquire a new sword before returning to your hut. I expect you to have it painted and attuned by tomorrow night."
Q'La bowed her head and said, "It will be done."
D'She bowed to release her and she passed through the glowing portal.
Q'La ignored the momentary discomfort that comes from gate travel as she stepped into a clearing outside of Yagove.
This was the space that the Coven used for ritual. There was another clearing like this south of the village, which was for the common Jutsu.
All the villages had a Coven by the same name that was designated and trained for tribal defense, and the Elders could summon them at any time. But defense was not the only purpose of the Jutsue and the People formed theirs as well.
Every Clan built armed forces based on the ritual units, which they called "Primary" and "Secondary." The commander was always the High Hand, although the High Priest facilitated ritual and combat within the Coven. In some Clans, the High Hand and the High Priest was the same person—but this was unusual. There were thirteen Primaries, composed of the Clan Elder Coven and the other twelve Tribal Elder Covens.
Some villages were large and had as many as three or four ritual circles. Most, like Yagove, had two.
The Priests came through the portal behind Q'La and it disappeared.
Q'La noticed then that only eight Covenors had returned from the battle. The Priests would need to refill the empty spaces before nightfall, since they may be required to fight again at a moment's notice.
Her body ached despite the healing. The stream by her hut seemed more inviting now.
Q'La bowed to the Priests and began to walk toward the sword makers' pavilion when they dismissed her.
Yagove, like the village she had grown up in, specialized in forging swords. Forgers were a special kind of War Witch that focused their Art on making weapons. The pavilion was outside of the village proper, to the west.
The memory of the village of Wudan, where the Clan Elders lived, made her frown.
She felt the heat from the pavilion nearly two hundred paces away. Three Forgers hammered new weapons while half a dozen apprentices scurried about on various errands.
Q'La approached Boroqu, the senior Forger, and tried to get his attention as he leaned a new sword on the weapon rack.
Boroqu scowled when he saw her.
"Find one that you like and go," he said.
When Q'La bowed, he waved a hand in dismissal.
"I do not like it when my Art is tainted," said Boroqu. Then he returned to his work.
Q'La tried to ignore him and began to search the rack for a suitable weapon.
The one she picked was shorter than Dark Huntress was, but the wide curves and the spurs by the pommel seemed to call to her.
Carefully, she slipped the new blade into the sheath on her back. The sheath was too long and only the end of the hilt extended above the opening. Q'La would adjust it later, after she attuned to the sword and gave it a name.
Then she walked quietly out of the pavilion and traveled around the north side of Yagove to avoid contact with others. She planned to go to the village later, to visit her family and Xe, but for now she did not want to see anyone.
Q'La hoped to find her father today and that he would finally speak to her after all these years. Her heart ached for him and Jun and her memories of their love.
Her hut was not in the village because everyone feared the curse. She had to travel through the jungle nearly half a league to reach it.
The hut was smaller than most, which had to accommodate as many as five or six people. It was circular, built with strong tsunga branches and covered with leaves of the same plant. The roof was flat and made with the same material. The People used a mixture of viscous fluids for waterproofing.
They also used magic in the construction of their homes, and protected them with shields when they were complete.
Xe had shielded this hut with extra care, since it was so far outside the stronger protections of the village.
Dema Xe was the High Priest for Yagove's only common Coven, which they called "Lost in the Goddess." All the communal Jutsue had individual names like this.
Q'La normally reached her hut in less time than she did now, but she was exhausted and knew that she would not rest until after Moon Song.
She entered her home and began to undress, removing her weapons first.
Then she carried her Gi outside and stretched out each piece on a large rock beside the stream. When this was done, she began to pound on the garments with a hand-sized stone to clean them.
Q'La continued this activity for about a Mark, which the People reckoned by the position of the sun during the day—or the stars at night. Afterward, she carefully folded the Gi and carried it back into the hut.
She bathed in the cool water of the stream then and changed into normal tribal clothing before beginning the task of attuning to her new weapon.
Her stomach rumbled and she recalled that she had not eaten since the previous day.
I will eat later, she told herself.
Q'La stepped outside again into the hot sun, bringing the sword and her painting skins with her.
It was nearly midday already as she began the attuning ritual. She stood in the center of a small clearing and extended the blade before her, both hands grasping the hilt. Then she traced a clockwise circle in the air around her while softly droning the name of her goddess.
"Ju'Xai Ju, Ju'Xai Ju, Ju'Xai Ju . . ."
Q'La began to exercise with the sword. As she moved, she said the words, "I name you Evening Star. You are mine; I am yours; we . . . are one."
She continued to dance and chant within the imaginary circle for a time.
When she stopped, she sat down and placed the sword across her knees.
Q'La reached for her painting skins and arrayed them before her. One skin contained water and the rest held the paints, which she dabbed onto a large, flat stone. She would apply the paints with a brush made of a thin branch with a small bundle of animal hair tied to one end.
To prevent the paint from chipping, Q'La would use a combination of spells and a clear fluid that herbalists derived from special plants. She did not know what plant the fluid came from, but she was not an herbalist so it did not matter to her. Q'La was only concerned with enchanting and attuning her weapon.
The blade she covered in black, which took some time to accomplish and she realized that she would need to bathe again when she finished. Then she painted a star between the spurs near the hilt.
To complete the first part of the ritual, Q'La said a prayer and afterward banished the circle.
Father's Heart
D'She remained on the roof.
"Q'La? Are you wounded?" he said.
"Yes."
"Then I will tend to you now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Before we can leave in the morning, we need to clean up and send for the villagers. I know you are proud, but must you remain awake all night and endure pain?"
Q'La turned her head and said, "It is not that."
"I have healed you before. I am not afraid."
Q'La might have smiled then if she thought she could. She had not smiled since before the Maugs took Jun. Except maybe on rare occasions with Xe when they were young and in training. Xe was the closest friend she had made in her life, and once she thought he might have been more than that.
"I know," she said.
She waited in silence as D'She approached her. He stopped a few paces away and raised his wand to begin the healing.
The first Spirit Talker that tried to heal her battle wounds had died. Since then, the priests would not chance more than sealing the wound and guarding it against infection, and they refused to lay hands on her. Scars from even minor wounds decorated her body because of this.
"You will need to mend or replace your Gi," said D'She.
Q'La could not forget that nine shadow monkeys had focused their attacks on her during the battle. Nor could she dismiss the image of the muozi's grin when it stalked D'She.
When the High Priest finished his incantations, Q'La said, "Hun Lo Me, I know the enemy targeted the priests. That is natural. But I do not understand why so many familiars abandoned their targets for me."
"They may have feared the curse would prevent them from achieving their objective," said D'She. "It seems they were right if they did."
Although it made sense, Q'La could not relate the idea to the actions of the pale Witch—when it had looked at her. She told D'She what she had seen then.
The High Priest looked away. He seemed nervous.
Q'La thought that D'She must not have seen it.
"This I do not like," he said. "It implies something I cannot believe."
"That the others like Deu might be right about the curse?"
"Perhaps. But they will think so regardless. Do not tell anyone else what you have told me."
Q'La nodded.
D'She said, "Come. I have more wounded to tend, Deu among them, and we must gather in the village circle before sunrise."
~*~
Q'La cleaned her weapons as she waited near the fire pit in the village circle.
The sun had climbed nearly a quarter of the sky and the few surviving villagers had returned from a hidden sanctuary in the jungle.
She watched as the priests of Yagove combined spells to build a gate to their home village. She knew that gate spells were complex and required more energy than most Witches had available.
Teleport spells had a more limited effect. The longest distance Q'La had traveled this way was about one hundred hand spans—except for the one misfire that had placed her in the middle of danger—which was the maximum distance for most War Witches. Some Witches have achieved twice or even three times that distance.
But Yagove village was leagues away from Shanang. Without a gate, the return home would take a week on foot. No one had ever traveled that far by teleporting, as far as Q'La knew.
Soon she would have the opportunity to bathe and eat a proper meal. She might have to see the sword makers first, but that should not take long.
Then there were other things she wanted to do before eating.
When the Priests had finished, a blue disc of light hovered over the ground near the fire pit. The Covenors formed a line to await their turns and Q'La filed in behind them.
D'She stopped her after the others had gone.
"Remember what I said to you before."
"Yes, Hun Lo Me," said Q'La. If she told anyone else about the muozi, it would be Xe. Otherwise she would obey the decree of her High Priest.
"Be sure to acquire a new sword before returning to your hut. I expect you to have it painted and attuned by tomorrow night."
Q'La bowed her head and said, "It will be done."
D'She bowed to release her and she passed through the glowing portal.
Q'La ignored the momentary discomfort that comes from gate travel as she stepped into a clearing outside of Yagove.
This was the space that the Coven used for ritual. There was another clearing like this south of the village, which was for the common Jutsu.
All the villages had a Coven by the same name that was designated and trained for tribal defense, and the Elders could summon them at any time. But defense was not the only purpose of the Jutsue and the People formed theirs as well.
Every Clan built armed forces based on the ritual units, which they called "Primary" and "Secondary." The commander was always the High Hand, although the High Priest facilitated ritual and combat within the Coven. In some Clans, the High Hand and the High Priest was the same person—but this was unusual. There were thirteen Primaries, composed of the Clan Elder Coven and the other twelve Tribal Elder Covens.
Some villages were large and had as many as three or four ritual circles. Most, like Yagove, had two.
The Priests came through the portal behind Q'La and it disappeared.
Q'La noticed then that only eight Covenors had returned from the battle. The Priests would need to refill the empty spaces before nightfall, since they may be required to fight again at a moment's notice.
Her body ached despite the healing. The stream by her hut seemed more inviting now.
Q'La bowed to the Priests and began to walk toward the sword makers' pavilion when they dismissed her.
Yagove, like the village she had grown up in, specialized in forging swords. Forgers were a special kind of War Witch that focused their Art on making weapons. The pavilion was outside of the village proper, to the west.
The memory of the village of Wudan, where the Clan Elders lived, made her frown.
She felt the heat from the pavilion nearly two hundred paces away. Three Forgers hammered new weapons while half a dozen apprentices scurried about on various errands.
Q'La approached Boroqu, the senior Forger, and tried to get his attention as he leaned a new sword on the weapon rack.
Boroqu scowled when he saw her.
"Find one that you like and go," he said.
When Q'La bowed, he waved a hand in dismissal.
"I do not like it when my Art is tainted," said Boroqu. Then he returned to his work.
Q'La tried to ignore him and began to search the rack for a suitable weapon.
The one she picked was shorter than Dark Huntress was, but the wide curves and the spurs by the pommel seemed to call to her.
Carefully, she slipped the new blade into the sheath on her back. The sheath was too long and only the end of the hilt extended above the opening. Q'La would adjust it later, after she attuned to the sword and gave it a name.
Then she walked quietly out of the pavilion and traveled around the north side of Yagove to avoid contact with others. She planned to go to the village later, to visit her family and Xe, but for now she did not want to see anyone.
Q'La hoped to find her father today and that he would finally speak to her after all these years. Her heart ached for him and Jun and her memories of their love.
Her hut was not in the village because everyone feared the curse. She had to travel through the jungle nearly half a league to reach it.
The hut was smaller than most, which had to accommodate as many as five or six people. It was circular, built with strong tsunga branches and covered with leaves of the same plant. The roof was flat and made with the same material. The People used a mixture of viscous fluids for waterproofing.
They also used magic in the construction of their homes, and protected them with shields when they were complete.
Xe had shielded this hut with extra care, since it was so far outside the stronger protections of the village.
Dema Xe was the High Priest for Yagove's only common Coven, which they called "Lost in the Goddess." All the communal Jutsue had individual names like this.
Q'La normally reached her hut in less time than she did now, but she was exhausted and knew that she would not rest until after Moon Song.
She entered her home and began to undress, removing her weapons first.
Then she carried her Gi outside and stretched out each piece on a large rock beside the stream. When this was done, she began to pound on the garments with a hand-sized stone to clean them.
Q'La continued this activity for about a Mark, which the People reckoned by the position of the sun during the day—or the stars at night. Afterward, she carefully folded the Gi and carried it back into the hut.
She bathed in the cool water of the stream then and changed into normal tribal clothing before beginning the task of attuning to her new weapon.
Her stomach rumbled and she recalled that she had not eaten since the previous day.
I will eat later, she told herself.
Q'La stepped outside again into the hot sun, bringing the sword and her painting skins with her.
It was nearly midday already as she began the attuning ritual. She stood in the center of a small clearing and extended the blade before her, both hands grasping the hilt. Then she traced a clockwise circle in the air around her while softly droning the name of her goddess.
"Ju'Xai Ju, Ju'Xai Ju, Ju'Xai Ju . . ."
Q'La began to exercise with the sword. As she moved, she said the words, "I name you Evening Star. You are mine; I am yours; we . . . are one."
She continued to dance and chant within the imaginary circle for a time.
When she stopped, she sat down and placed the sword across her knees.
Q'La reached for her painting skins and arrayed them before her. One skin contained water and the rest held the paints, which she dabbed onto a large, flat stone. She would apply the paints with a brush made of a thin branch with a small bundle of animal hair tied to one end.
To prevent the paint from chipping, Q'La would use a combination of spells and a clear fluid that herbalists derived from special plants. She did not know what plant the fluid came from, but she was not an herbalist so it did not matter to her. Q'La was only concerned with enchanting and attuning her weapon.
The blade she covered in black, which took some time to accomplish and she realized that she would need to bathe again when she finished. Then she painted a star between the spurs near the hilt.
To complete the first part of the ritual, Q'La said a prayer and afterward banished the circle.
