Journey Into the Unknown1_4

1

The sky was blue, the red sun still gleamed in the west, and in the east, the moon, thin as a thin crescent, glistened. The snow glistened and shimmered with the colors of the rainbow, a bitter frost enveloped the entire planet; here, on the peaks of the White Eternity, it was perhaps the coldest. The two travelers negotiated snowdrifts; a week had passed since they left the caves in the Gray Hare Valley, their home. On the map of the white mountains, they looked like ants, but in reality, they were not so small. The first of them, wrapped in wolf skin, wearing rabbit-skin boots and a hat replaced by a wolf's head, forged the trail. He was 200 cm tall, his face was frozen and red, but beautiful and delicate, his high cheekbones giving it an expression of seriousness and stubbornness. The second, only a head shorter than the first, wrapped himself in a bearskin, also wearing boots and a hat. His face was full of desperation and determination. Although similar to the first, it wasn't quite as pretty. Here, his cheekbones were even more prominent, looking as if the skin had been stretched to its breaking point.

How much longer would they have to wander before they found what they were persistently seeking?

They were accustomed to the frost that surrounded them; here in the mountains where they lived, it was always cold, sometimes less, sometimes more, but always just cold. They lived on hunted game and fish from the lake and the ocean not far from their village, as well as aquatic vegetation; they knew no other food. On this planet, in their world, there was nothing but rocks, snow, and frost. Spring and summer were very short, manifesting themselves in melting snow and new snowfall. Sometimes, instead of snow, rain fell, but that was very rare, and in the migration of animals. Fresh grass rarely grew, though there were warmer summers.

The travelers were searching for their father, who had set off hunting two full moons ago and had disappeared without a trace. The boys knew where to head: south, where the highest peak was, a very difficult peak to climb, but full of nests with young birds. This was where their father would go to find food for the last months of winter, before the animals roaming near their valley appeared, heading in a direction unknown to the Frostoids.

"Dero, perhaps we should rest a bit," the smaller one asked; his legs were shorter, making it harder for him to overcome the snowdrifts. "I'm tired and hungry.

" "We just rested, you know we have to hurry, I can feel it.

" "I know, I'm sorry," his brother replied sadly.

The younger son followed Dero silently, hungry, always hungry, and only out of necessity had he embarked on this journey. Food was scarce in the village, and his father had vanished. Only the old witch, the boys' great-great-grandmother, sensed something was amiss. Even though she could see where and who they were, she was having trouble seeing them. Someone or something was obscuring her vision. Her steely, all-seeing eyes saw only darkness as she tried to check on her grandson. Even her telepathic abilities failed her, she encountered fierce resistance, and neither spells nor secret potions helped. So she sent her great-great-grandsons and students to search. The girls, Dero and Zon's older sisters, Merga and Kora, were also expected to go on the journey. However, Merga was expecting a child, while Kora had suffered a misfortune on the hunt and now lay dying.

Zon walked slowly, recalling the incident.

White Rock hid behind the icy mountains; its enormous body could feed half the village, and its white hides would make a wonderful gift for the child about to be born, and its enormous tusks would make excellent hunting weapons. The entire family set up a magnificent ambush, surrounding the animal and aiming their spears at it. However, they didn't foresee one thing: White Rock might be a female with young. Her white fur concealed her condition, and the gods, taking revenge for the Frostoids' desire to kill the future mother, guided her with their huge paws so that, terrified and screaming to escape unscathed, she ran straight for Kora, who was nearly trampled to death. The snow she was embedded in saved her from death. Now all the witches in the village tried to plead with the gods not to take Kora.

"Do you think she will live?" Zon broke the silence that had lasted for a long time.

"If the gods have mercy, you know that you cannot touch an unborn life; it is sacred, and we have violated it.

" "But there was nothing visible yet, how could we have known? Only after the hunt was the cub found in her belly.

" "You don't know enough yet; our great-great-grandmother should have known this when choosing the animal to kill when she spoke with the spirits the day before the hunt." However, Bera's vision was obscured again and she didn't notice. Let's hope the gods accept the sacrifice of these cubs as an atonement." Dero pondered. "

You know, Zon, I think someone has greater magical power than Bero, and they're the ones who's confusing it. This needs to be explained, come quickly."

It was getting dark, and the moon provided little light, so they were forced to look for a place to rest. Finally, they reached a small valley covered in snow and pulled out the shovels they'd acquired from a shovelfish while fishing. The shovelfish was a fish that fed on aquatic plants, which it dug up with shovels placed in its mouth like teeth. They dug a hole in the snow; they had no way to light a fire to warm themselves—there wasn't a speck of bare wall or wood to use. They had to make do with a piece of dried meat, bitten by snow, and a hole that kept the wind out. In case of a snowdrift, they hammered thick, hollow sticks into the roof to help them along the way. These sticks were protected from snow-clogging by special plugs made of cartilage, and their purpose was to let air into the holes.

"Dero, it's still a long way off, do you see anything?" Dero sat cross-legged and placed his index fingers on his temples, closed his steely eyes, sat for a moment in concentration, then suddenly shouted, "Help me, Zon, this is terrible." Terrified, Zon grabbed his brother's shoulders and summoned the last of his strength to focus. What he saw was terrifying. Behind the gray fog was a man tied to a stake, covered in blood, his chest bare. They couldn't see anything else. Someone was fighting with them to blur their vision, and finally they collapsed.

"What was that?" "

I don't know, but I didn't like it. The only pleasant impression I had was that it was warm there, and from what I could see, the man wasn't in any room.

" "You're right, Dero, I had the same impression, and that man was probably our father, or so I thought.

" "Yes, I think so, but then where could he be? There's no place on the glacier that would be that warm."

"I don't know, actually, the Frostoids from our village didn't travel any further than the top of the Nest, and our father was supposed to be there too, but what's beyond that, and is there anything beyond that?"

"That's a good question. If there is something beyond that, then we have to go there to find our father. But there's a problem.

" "What's the problem? That's our mission, the one Bera assigned us.

" "Yes, but firstly, there are only two of us, and the force that prevented us from seeing anything more is stronger. Secondly, we don't have as much food, but that's less of a problem, we can get it. Thirdly, where are we supposed to go? "

"In that case, we're going to bed now and we'll move on at dawn. " "Well, smartass, someone's looking for you, but don't worry, we won't let them find you. " "What are you talking about, you scarecrows? What do you want from me?" "We want your knowledge, and we'll get it, ha ha ha ha!"

2

Before dawn, the brothers gathered their luggage, ate a piece of meat and snow, and set off again. Today was worse; the wind made the climb difficult, and snow blew in their faces, reducing visibility. They guided themselves by feel. They had been walking for several hours when the mountain suddenly appeared before them, the summit of which housed the Nest. Now it was time to climb, but the wind was getting stronger, and even though it was only midday, they couldn't begin climbing today.

"Wait here while I look for a place to stay."

"Oh no, Dero, I'm coming with you, or we'll get lost.

" "Yes, I think you're right, let's go."

They went a little to the left, Dero leading the way and tripped over something sticking out slightly in the snow.

"Look, Zon, there's wood here."

"Aha, let's find a good spot, maybe we can warm up."

They hadn't gone far when they spotted a cave. They cautiously slipped inside. There was no sign of any animal, nor was it particularly warm, which meant the cave was uninhabited. An animal would have excreted its heat, but the cave wasn't deep enough for any larger creature to take shelter.

"Let's leave our packs and bring that wood over here.

" "Wait, Dero, someone's been here. I can feel some wood under my touch. Give me a tinderbox to light it." He picked up one of the branches at his feet and lit it.

Sure enough, there was dry wood on the right side of the cave. They built a fire, gathering snow into a pot for seaweed tea and another for a nutritious soup made from the remaining supplies.

"I think we'll have to spend a few days here and get some food for the rest of our journey. We're going to have to do more than just climb, as we thought, but also travel further. Tonight we'll have to contact Grandma Deno and tell her what we already know and that we need to move on.

" "Why, Dero, do you want to contact her and not my great-great-grandmother?

" "Because it's easier for me to establish communication with her, and besides, Bera will probably be sitting next to our sister; she can't be disturbed, and Deno doesn't have healing powers; she only knows how to use telepathy, so she has more strength for that. You should pay more attention during our grandparents' lessons; this lack of attention makes it impossible to know what you're actually capable of.

" "Is it that important? Everyone in our family has supernatural abilities, so mine will also emerge when needed."

Zon didn't even know how useful his abilities would be right now; he didn't realize the immense power that lay dormant within him. Dero, fed and warm, sat down by the fire and tried to concentrate, but the heat lulled him into a doze. After a while, Zon asked,

"Dero, how are you doing?"

"Oh, I think I dozed off, I'm terribly sleepy."

He straightened himself and concentrated:

"No, that won't work, help me."

They held hands and their thoughts began to wander, trying to reach the tribe. Finally, they heard a voice in their minds, an old, tired, and sad voice. They understood: their sister had lost the battle with the gods, she was gone. Both boys looked at each other in despair and closed their eyes again. Soon, the séance was over. Sadness seeped into every part of their bodies, and they both cried. The Frostoids were closely bound by blood; when a family member died, everyone mourned for a long time, and the boys, on top of that, couldn't accompany Kora on her final journey. According to the ritual, the deceased's body was to be wrapped in her finest cloak, with stones tied to her hands and feet. The spirits of the stones were to protect her on the journey to the other world. It was then laid to rest at the bottom of the ocean, where a procession consisting of the entire community escorted it. The deceased was led to a cliff and

, accompanied by the sound of drums, fifes, and singing, thrown into the ocean. The journey from their village to the ocean took three days and three nights, so the eldest and children always stayed behind in the village on such occasions. Zon and Dero discussed all this, wondering whether the eldest member of their family, Bera, would go with the procession and offer prayers, or whether their great-grandmother, Deno, or Oka's mother's mother would do the same. This was the duty of the eldest witch in the family, but Bera was so old that she moved with great difficulty. If necessary, and she had to go further, someone would simply carry her.

The brothers talked for a long time, reminiscing about their childhood, all the mischief they had with their sister, how they had teased her, pulled her braid, played tricks on her, fought with snowballs or slid down hills together, their first hunts and fishing trips together. They didn't even notice when it became completely dark. They ate the rest of their soup and went to bed, stoking the fire so that the flames would keep them warm for a while longer.

3,4

blizzard raged outside, but they were forced to go hunting. They had no food left in their packs, and a several-day climb to the top of the Nest awaited them. While delicious fresh chick meat and precious eggs awaited them there, they also needed something to eat until then. To avoid getting lost in the blizzard, they drove one of the branches they had found into the ice and tied a blanket to it, which they used as a blanket while sleeping.

They had been wandering for quite a while and were just beginning to lose hope of catching anything when the wind suddenly died down, and a huge spearman stood about a hundred paces ahead. They glanced at each other, knowing what to do. Zon circled the animal, Dero approached to within thirty paces, and in an instant, he and his brother had thrown the spear at the disoriented foe. The spearman had long, thin tusks, each with a very sharp tip, and a huge head, in the center of which was a huge, round nose with two holes, and above it, two small, round eyes, spaced a short distance apart. Below the nose was a small mouth. The fur was long and wiped the ice from the snow. The spearman had a lot of fat, which was very necessary in such a cold. The animal fell instantly, the weapon piercing arteries on both sides. They began cutting with the tusks.

"Well, we have an additional weapon; we'll just have to file them down so they're not so thick, because then it's difficult to throw," Zon said happily.

"Yes, take this," Dero handed him the severed hooves. "We'll need to make glue. You never know what might come in handy later on, since we don't even know where to look for Father. We also need to tan the hide, melt the fat, and smoke the meat. When we get back to the cave, I'll go look for wood, and you'll start digging the smoking hole.

" "It won't be easy, the ice is thick here, but we could look for a depression or a hole in the rock.

" "Yes, I think so, there's no other way. In that case, we'll wait. You'll prepare the meat first, and then you'll leave, so there's always someone in the cave to watch over the meat; you never know what animal will smell the blood.

" "Speaking of blood, we'll make a stew with it today with the leftovers, right?" Zon's eyes lit up at the thought. Such a stew was his favorite dish, and it made him feel very strong and ready for new challenges.

They did as they were told. While Dero searched for wood for the smokehouse, Zon cleaned the hooves and melted them into glue. He separated the meat into pieces for smoking and drying or boiling. What they were to cook was to be the beginning of their journey into the unknown. When his older brother arrived, he went out to find a depression in the rock to prepare for the smokehouse. He didn't need to go far, which pleased him greatly, because once everything was prepared, it would be easier to keep an eye on the smoke. Right next to the cave exit, he found a depression, cleared the snow, laid out spears to provide a place to place the meat, and returned to the cave to retrieve the wood he'd brought earlier and show his brother what he'd done.

"We need to think about how to keep this meat from blowing away.

" "I was thinking of tying it with sinews.

" "That's what we'll do, but if some animal tries to steal it at night, it'll be better if we take turns keeping watch until it's ready."

The older brother began the vigil. It was already getting dark, and like every evening, the frost was getting even colder. They were to change after midnight, when the moon was already very high.

The younger brother hadn't gone to bed yet, but had cooked a stew and brought it to Der to eat and warm himself before watching over the smoking hole. His duties also included keeping an eye on the smoke, so Zon also brought wood. Zon wanted to finish dressing some of the cut hide before bed, although it wasn't a quick job; it had to be rubbed steadily against the underside of the cloth with a flat stone. These hides were to be packed away later for the journey. When it was quite dark, he went to check on his brother and went to bed. At midnight, Dero woke Zon to change him. He said he was just putting wood in the smokehouse and should move it occasionally to create more smoke, and then he went to bed. In the morning, they changed again; this time Dero took the skins to be dressed to keep them occupied. Before leaving, they quickly reheated last night's stew and ate. Zon decided to take a nap. After he'd slept, he went to gather some more wood and see if his brother needed it. Dero was flipping the meat over.

"Do you need anything?

" "I could use some warm tea; I'm a bit cold from sitting all this time, and this hole doesn't provide much warmth.

" "Well, maybe not much warmth, but you already smell deliciously of smoked meat.

" "Come on, just don't eat me, but seriously, it's a good thing you cut that meat into such thin pieces, or rather, slices, because at this rate, we'll be able to continue our journey the

day after tomorrow." "In that case, I'll go make that tea and prepare something to eat. Oh, I cleaned out the intestines; they might come in handy on the way, and I'll start on the bones right away; I'll make climbing needles out of them; there have to be plenty of them so we don't have to worry about running out."

The days passed in constant work. Many such days passed before they could finally set off again, for the weather was unfavorable for further travel. So, although the meat was ready, they had to postpone their departure, once again because a strong wind had sprung up and they had to stay in the cave. Eventually, however, the weather calmed down enough for them to set off.

Early in the morning, as soon as they saw the wind had died down and the snow had stopped falling, they gathered everything: all the tools they'd made from animal bones, meat and hides, and everything they'd brought from home, and set off again. The pack was much larger than when they'd left the village, but back then they couldn't even afford to take significant amounts of food with them. Any longer, and they'd be starving, unless they managed to catch something under the ice. They also had to remember that they didn't know how long the journey ahead lay ahead. They only knew that their father was still alive and that they had to hurry to free him, for they sensed his captivity very clearly, and Dero saw it in his mind. They didn't contact the village during this time; they wanted to wait until they reached the summit and had something to convey. They knew the tribe wasn't worried about them; if they were, one of the witches would try to contact them telepathically.

They divided their packs evenly, to be fair, and set off. At first, the going was quite easy, though the snow was fresh and not very heavy. At the end of the day, they took a short break for a meal. They were supposed to spend the night on the trail, but when they saw the promise of a clear night in the sky, they decided to rest for a while and move on. They didn't want to delay any longer, and so several days were lost because of the wind.

The moon illuminated their path, its entire round face reflecting its light off the snow, allowing them to move quite quickly, as fast as the deep white powder allowed. But towards morning, they had to give up; they were exhausted, and a truly difficult section awaited them; a steep slope was beginning. They placed their packs on the snow and began looking for a quiet nook. To their right, a few steps ahead, was a depression in the rock; they picked up their packs and headed in that direction. The depression wasn't large, just large enough for both of them to sit down and lean against the cold rock. Not far away, they could see a small grove. Spring lingered here for a while, giving the forest a foothold for its roots and allowing it to grow undisturbed. They left their bundles and, without a word, headed toward the grove in search of brushwood.

"The gods are watching over us," Dero said, placing the wood in front of the alcove.

"I think I have to agree with you. I have a whole bunch too. Let's have some hot tea, shall we?"

After lighting a fire, they gathered snow into a cauldron and, waiting for it to melt and boil, prepared breakfast. While the water boiled and they made a green drink, they settled down to rest. Eventually, they both fell asleep. They didn't sleep long; when they woke, the sun was still low. They gathered their belongings, tied themselves with ropes, and began climbing the steep rocks. It wasn't easy, as the rocks were slippery with ice. Dero was the first to insert a needle, made especially for this purpose by his brother, with one hand, and placed his foot on it. Then he inserted another needle to give himself something to pull himself up on and rest his feet on, with Zon following behind. Unfortunately, these needles were doomed unless they returned this way before the thaw, then they could collect them, as they always did when they went bird hunting or to collect eggs in the Nest. This time, however, they had gone much further, and probably, when they returned, the needles would be gone; as the ice melted, they would fall and hide somewhere in the recesses of the rocks. Zon was a little worried that they might run out of needles, even though he had made quite a few and had a bundle of those he'd brought with him from home. They climbed rather arduously; the sun had set long ago, their strength was fading, and finally their older brother ordered a rest. To their right, they found a small ledge; they could only stand on it, and very close together at that; otherwise, they wouldn't have fit. It was good for them, though; they ate cooked meat standing up and stuffed themselves with snow. They stayed for a while and decided to move on.

After a strenuous climb, they reached their destination around noon. A beautiful sight met their eyes. In the depression, like a huge hole, not deep but wide, were numerous nests hidden in the green grass. It was incredibly warm. The brothers threw off their coats and inhaled the fragrant air. Huge birds flew above the valley, guarding their families. They couldn't just casually approach the nests; they needed a technique to prevent the birds from attacking. First, they decided to rest and undress.

"You know, Dero, it's incredible that it was so cold just a moment ago. It's very warm and green here, even flowers grow here, and you can take off your coats.

" "Yes, but be careful, because these birds fly very low and are alert."

They both remained in their warm down trousers, but at the top they had left only thin shirts made of bird skins, plucked of feathers. For now, they didn't want to eat; they craved fresh eggs, and they looked longingly at the circling birds.

"Come on, Zon, we'll outsmart our little ones, but we'll take our packages with us, because we have to keep going anyway, so we have to get through this cauldron."

They gathered their belongings and crawled down the slope. Fortunately, it wasn't steep, just a slight incline. They slowly moved between the nests, reaching out where no one was sitting on the eggs and taking them. They also took the chicks, whose heads they immediately wrung. They packed everything into deep pockets. Fortunately, the eggs had very thick shells and weren't easy to break, and the pockets were deep and wide, with special strap fasteners, so there was no risk of their treasures falling out. However, the further they went, the worse it got. The pockets were stuffed to the brim, forcing them to stand up. Fortunately, they emerged at a point where the next nest wall wasn't very far; they ran over it very quickly. They climbed to the top and were shocked. A magnificent view stretched before them; from this side, it wasn't as steep as before, and more peaks were visible beyond. Whenever their father took them here, they would only gather eggs and chicks from the very shore on the other side and return; they never ventured to the other side. It was said in the village that those who decided to cross the valley and continue on to see more never returned. That's why the village knew nothing of the world beyond, except that beyond there were only rocks, rocks that weren't covered in ice. Indeed, the peaks they could see were covered in greenery, though the highest peak they saw was covered in a blanket of snow. They sat down on the rocks and retrieved their catch, placing their packs, previously slung on their backs, next to them. They had a few needles left; with one of them, they drilled holes in the eggs and drank their contents. The rest of the eggs had to be nestled comfortably between the skins. If they were lucky and didn't drink the rest of the eggs along the way, chicks would hatch after a while, and they could be fed for a while until they grew up and killed before they learned to fly. This was what they always did when they took eggs home, but now the chicks were to be killed immediately after hatching. They were eaten whole, including the entrails and very brittle bones. The Frostoids, as their tribe was called, had very strong teeth, like those of carnivorous animals.

After the meal, they decided to set up camp nearby. They should contact their great-great-grandmother and get a good rest before the unknown. They didn't know how to go about it; there was no cave nearby, nor snow in which to dig a hole. There was bare earth, or rather rock. They descended even lower, where trees grew.

"Perhaps we could tie the trees together with the rope we used for climbing and throw the skins through it; at least we'd have some shelter?" – Zon suggested.

– You know, that's actually a good idea, but the skins are probably too small?

– Let's try connecting them using these veins. – Zon took the veins and fur from the packages of a recently hunted javelina.

"Oh, and we can raise them with our walking sticks," Dero suggested.

Thanks to these ideas, they had a quite substantial tent.

"We'll just have to build a fire outside so our house doesn't burn down.

" "Yes, and we have to eat the eggs, because we don't have any skins left to cover them anyway.

" "Well, we're having scrambled eggs for dinner. Now I'll go gather some wood for the fire, and in the meantime, you pluck those chicks. When I get back, we'll contact Bero." Dero left, leaving his brother, proud of his idea.

Zon sat thoughtfully on a rock, his steely eyes clouded over; they always did when his thoughts were elsewhere. His eyes were slanted, rising towards his nose; the nose was small and had only one nostril. His mouth formed a beak, his chin was flat and covered with golden bristles, a color also shared by his tightly curled hair, which reached down to his well-built shoulders. Besides, everyone in the village was well-built, broad-shouldered, and tall, gaining muscle through daily hard work. Zon thought about home.