Skrifaði þessa örsögu núna bara í kvöld til þess að leika mér aðeins með enskan ritstíl.
———-
Dawning of a new world
The two men stared into the dark night, their minds lost in thoughts. They didn’t utter a word to each other – their words had all been spent during their voyage to the north. All possible topics had been discussed twice already, there was no need to recite eveything for the third time.
They were both clothed in similar raiments – knee high pants and shirts which had become yellow from the sweat the two men had produced every day and had dried each night. The climate had changed dramatically in the two weeks that had passed since they left their home and they were slowly starting to experience the true nature of the cold moon they had so often seen during the warm summer nights in Lareth. The sound of cattle came from down below, followed by a lamb’s cry.
The bigger man sighed and moved his head in a repeated circular motion in an attempt to relieve the stress off his shoulders, exposing the strong muscles that surrounded his thick neck. The night had been a long one and at last the first rays of the sun were breaking up from the horizon. From their ship’s starboard the two men could see the faint light of several lanterns that had been hung on the nose of the following ships. The big man uttered the first words since the start of the shift, much to the smaller man’s surprise:
“This is the dawning of the sixteenth day, the day which was supposed to mark the end of our journey,” he said. The smaller man nodded without uttering a word. „To imagine that you gathered so many followers and on top of that convinced them to follow us on this journey. I hope your so called “prophecy” turns out as it should or you will see a fate worse than death. I will personally see to that,” he added, emphasizing on his last statement.
The smaller man didn’t say anything, there was no need to do so. Threats such as these were a daily bread for him, but nevertheless he had managed to keep his followers to this day.
Of course, there was no coincidence, luck or skill behind the feat. Their king had disappeared along with his two sons, and the queen was found murdered in her sleep, all during the duke counsil’s annual meeting. The dukes tried to take an advantage of the situation by hiding the incident from the public in order to seize control over the country. Things did not go as planned, however, for information on the kings disappearance quickly spread outside the palace walls and was soon known to even the most ignorant people. Two weeks after the disappearance the king had not yet come forth and the public cried out for a new ruler. The duke council debated among them selves who they should pick for the task, but their greed drowned any attempts of settlement and eventually they declared war on each other.
All able-bodied men were called into military service for their respective dukes where they were forced to fight their fellow countrymen, and in some cases, their own relatives. Commoners dying for the cause of their own lord was daily bread, the fear of being killed by their own peers being the only reason they kept fighting. Kill or be killed.
And then he appeared. Despite his small stature, Darthing had no problem convincing the most stubborn brutes to join his cause. Claiming that he had been sent by the gods themselves, he told a group of people that a new life waited for them in the north, across the sea. Showing anyone who doubted him a spheric object, he quickly convinced fourteen families to steal several ships at Kael and using them to sail with their livestock over the sea in an attempt to start a fresh life.
He had planned everything for them, into smallest detail, telling them that he had visions that “prophesized” their scuccess. And he was true, indeed, everything he said turned out as it was supposed to do. His followers questioned his abilities to forsee the future, however, and still remained sceptic throughout the voyage.
Darthing gave them his “last prophecy” as they were loading their ships in preperation for the journey. “We will sail north, and though the wind will not be in our favour, we will reach our destination on the sixteenth day of our journey,” he said to the crowd. “The gods have promised us fertile soil and favourable weather.“ And he uttered no more.
And there they were on the dawning of the sixteenth day, his followers still sceptic. Soon, all would become clear. The top of the sun peeked out of the horizon, luminating the world with its warm rays. The big man left Darthing’s side and walked towards the nose of the ship. He peered his eyes as he watched north, seemingly hoping to see something materialize from the horizon. And it did. Although still far away, small mountain peaks could be discerned in the distance. A smile started to form on the big man’s face and he let out a good laugh. Cheers could be heard from the other ships.
Darthing, seemingly satisfied with the results, headed back to his small cabin. On a small table lay something packed in cloth. Darthing picked it up, examining the bundle carefully before he started to remove the wrapping. From under the dirty cloth appeared a dark sphere, and inside it swirled a dark smoke or mist. It looked unnatural, like something that didn’t belong to the world in which it lay. And yet the small man looked at it as if he had kept it all of his life. He rubbed the spheres sides and the smoke inside swirled even faster than ever.
“We have arrived, my mistress,” he whispered. “The plan is proceeding as expected. They suspect nothing.”
The sphere did not react to his whispers, but he did indeed get a response to his words. Good, a cold voice said in Darthing’s head, sending shivers throughout his body.
On the deck, the big man and a few of his peers prepared the ship for landing. “Prepare for the dawning of a new world,” the big man said as he looked towards the ever-nearing mountains in the north.