Rogue Legacy by Jeffrey L. Kohanek (classic reads .txt) đź“–
- Author: Jeffrey L. Kohanek
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“Wait here,” Gar said quietly as he strolled into the tall grass, toward the herd.
Wuli blew hard on the torch, making multiple attempts before he was able to extinguish it. Tiri grabbed Lyra by the elbow and pulled her away from the Tantarri warrior. When they had moved a dozen paces, Tiri stopped and looked toward Gar and the incredible vista surrounding him.
“What is it?” Lyra asked.
“This place…is so beautiful. It lifts my heart,” Tiri said.
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Lyra agreed. “But what of it?”
Tiri glanced toward Gar again. “I feel…inspired. I want to…I want to kiss him.”
Gar stopped immediately, frozen stiff at perhaps one hundred paces from where Tiri and Lyra stood.
“Well, I already told you what I thought. You’re a fool for not kissing him already.” Lyra snorted as she thought about it. “He’s enthralled with you, Tiri. I’m shocked he hasn’t made a move on you himself.”
Gar turned to face them. His mouth moved, but they heard nothing.
“We can’t hear you,” Lyra shouted, flinching at the way her voice reverberated. The herd of horses stopped eating, raising their heads, their ears upright and alert.
Lyra looked up at the tall arching overhang above that formed a perfect curve to the cliff wall behind her and reminded her of the formation above the city of stone, identical in shape, but facing the opposite direction.
She turned to find Gar running toward them.
“Hush!” he said in a loud whisper as he approached. “You’ll frighten the herd.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it would be so loud.”
He slowed to a stop a few strides from the girls. His eyes were focused on Tiri, a hunger burning within them. He moved close to her and put one arm about her waist, pulling her close as he whispered.
“I heard every word.” He stared into her eyes, his expression intense. “I’ve been wanting to do this since the moment I first saw you.”
He bent and pressed his lips against hers. Tiri’s body stiffened, visibly relaxing as her arms wrapped about his shoulders. Lyra smiled but looked away, sensing that she was intruding on something private. She considered Gar’s words and wondered at how he could hear them so well from such a distance. Glancing up at the overhang, she was struck by the volume of her own voice when she had shouted. There was something unique about the acoustics. She felt a surge of excitement as an idea formed in her head.
Lyra cleared her throat and took a deep breath. A wordless aria sprang to life, her voice ringing deep notes, true and clear. The horses in the distance stopped grazing again, standing alert and unmoving. The kiss ended and Gar released Tiri, with one arm still about her as he stared at Lyra.
Everything felt perfect. The notes coming from Lyra’s voice. The way the sound reverberated, amplified from the surrounding shell. The fact that Gar and Tiri were together. The rainbow above, the lush land below. Perfection.
Led by the white stallion, the herd strolled across the field, drawn toward Lyra by some invisible tether. When the horses drew close, Gar stepped toward the stallion, moving slowly as he met the majestic beast less than ten paces from where Lyra stood. Tentatively, he placed his palm against the stallion’s neck. The horse shifted slightly but did not flee. Gar gripped a handful of mane and leapt, swinging his leg over the horse’s back. The stallion shuffled its feet, nodded, and snorted, but did not rear or bolt.
Throughout this process, Lyra continued to sing, afraid of how the horses might react if she stopped. Movement caught her attention, and she turned to find the eight warriors they had left on the ledge. With dropped jaws and starry eyes, they stared at Gar atop the horse.
“What are you waiting for?” Gar asked. “Climb on a horse, but make no sudden movements.”
Wuli and the other Tantarri crossed the open space and approached the herd. Similar to the stallion, none fled, and they displayed only the slightest hint of nervous behavior. Only once every warrior sat atop a horse, did Lyra stop singing. She bit her lip, concerned that the herd might bolt, but they remained calm, placid.
“Tiri,” Gar held his arm toward her. “Climb up behind me.”
Tiri approached the horse and took Gar’s hand, leaping and throwing a leg over the stallion’s back as he pulled her up.
“Wuli, please help Tali onto your horse.” Gar said, sounding confident.
Lyra approached the chestnut mare that Wuli had chosen, took his hand, and climbed atop the mount.
“Let’s return to the clan and share the news. The Tantarri are now forever changed.”
Gar nudged the stallion, and the horse broke into a trot, heading toward the tunnel with the herd following closely behind.
Lyra moved to the edge of the terrace and put her hands on the low wall as she stared at the city below. People moved about in the open areas, going in and out of the dark openings of the stone buildings. An old woman filled a pitcher in the fountain of the plaza below, while a group of children played in the fountain of the far plaza. The sounds of laughter drifted up to where Lyra stood, and she found herself smiling at their innocent joy.
“This is a wondrous sight,” Tiri noted.
Lyra nodded. “Yes. I believe that we have witnessed something special. These people were nomads, moving about from place to place, their wagons the only home they had ever known…until now.”
“Gar said that the last load of goods is on its way up,” Tiri turned toward Lyra. “He plans to burn what remains of the wagons tonight. He thinks it necessary to convince the older clan members that this is their new home…that the Tantarri will never leave.”
“Burning the wagons would make his point.”
Lyra’s mind drifted back to the moment they rode the wild horses into the Tantarri camp. Stunned faces greeted them, soon evolving to cheers. Some proclaimed that Gar was the greatest leader the Tantarri had ever seen. Some claimed he was the best that the world had ever known. Sitting atop the glorious white horse, he certainly looked the part.
When he announced that he had found the Tantarri a new home, some members had resisted, iterating that the Tantarri had no home and were meant to follow the Path of the Butterfly. Gar agreed, but stated that even butterflies transform, their nature changing as they evolve from a caterpillar, to a cocoon, to a butterfly.
“For generations, the Tantarri were that caterpillar, moving up and down the coast and feeding off the land alongside the Outlanders.” The stallion shifted, strolling the area as Gar spoke to his people from its back with Tiri seated behind him. “Three years ago, events caused us to change, and the Tantarri went into our cocoon to await the next form. Today is the day we emerge, today is the day we truly become the butterfly. We have a home, private and unknown to the Outlanders. In addition to a city of our own, I have found Viridian.”
The crowd stirred, clan members exchanging glances and excited whispers.
“Yes. The very home of the Spirit of Nature. It was there that I befriended this majestic animal.” He patted the horse on the neck. “It is there that we can plant crops to grow the food we need to survive.”
The mention of Viridian quieted the dissenters. Gar then dismounted, as did the others. The horses shuffled off to eat, but did not flee.
The subsequent two days were long and laborious. With the wagons unable to make it far into the canyon, the Tantarri disconnected the Oxen and tied packs to them, leading the beasts of burden up the narrow trail in single file while clan members carried smaller, lighter items.
Parts of the wagons were removed, dismantled to reuse as tables, benches, and shelves to augment their city of stone. Within a day, the city seemed more a home than a cold, dark cave.
Movement pulled Lyra from her reverie. She leaned forward to look down at the rooftop plaza directly below the terrace where she and Tiri now stood. Tantarri warriors carried wagon axles, with wheels still attached, toward the fire pit at the center of the plaza. They piled them atop one another, the only pieces of the wagons that had not been rebuilt into something else.
“We celebrate tonight.” Hearing the voice behind her, Lyra turned to find Gar standing at the far end of the terrace. “A feast of thanks for our new home…for our new lives here in Mondomi.”
He waved them over. Lyra turned toward Tiri and shrugged before crossing the terrace.
“Mondomi?” Tiri asked as she approached Gar, who met Tiri and wrapped his arms about her
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