Elinora Stargazer's page

Linna knelt in the hard packed dirt of the village square trying to work free of the rope tying her hands together. Sonja was next to her. The entire village had been rounded up and bound. These not-men were stronger than humans could possibly be. They had come in the night and rounded everyone up. They knew just where to go and who to look for. None escaped. She watched Izmayel as he stood there dressed in robes like the rest giving out orders and felt the cold prickle of nausea. Everyone in her vilage was going to die and it was all her fault. She'd been so stupid. Thinking that he was actually interested in her. And she'd foolishly told him everything he needed to know.
"What are they doing?" she whispered to Sonja. Sonja knew just about everything. Hopefully she could shed some light on their current situation.
"You see that?" Sonja pointed out the large red jewel sitting on the altar the not-men had dragged out of the village temple. "That's a soul-trapping gem. One that big has to be meant for a lot of souls. I think they mean to put all of us inside that and give it to whatever evil god they serve."
Linna looked at her in horror. "There must be something we can do to stop this."
Sonja shook her head sadly. "They're too strong for us, child. It's hopeless."
Linna stared at the jewel as her hands finally worked free from the ropes.
"There's no such thing as hopeless," she said stubbornly.
As the not-men began to intone the first words of the ritual to pull the souls from the villagers, Linna broke free and made a mad dash, not away as they'd expected, but towards the altar. She scooped up a rock and used it to smash the gem as Izmayel drove his spear into her back.
"You failed," she whispered, smiling, as her life drained away. She hadn't been able to save the lives of her fellow villagers, but at least she had been able to set their souls free to go to the halls of the gods as they ought. But not her soul. Her soul was drawn into the small gem on the hilt of the spear, trapped.

The trader's name was Izmayel. And he was persistent, she'd grant him that. He'd shown up to pester her every day for a week. She tried to be standoffish, but it wasn't easy. He was actually nice to her. It was hard not to talk to him. And he was interested in hearing about her, about her life here in this village, about the people who lived here. And he wasn't bad looking either. She wondered if this was what it was like to be courted. No. She was being silly again. Izmayel would be gone soon and there was no point in getting attached.

It was her seventeenth summer. Two years since her father and brother had been murdered. The anger that had swirled around the village that summer had eventually given way to fear, as it always did. Olek now ruled with an iron fist, his every whim obeyed without question, and his son was worse, taking whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. Magda was dead. She had died in childbirth because she wasn't allowed to have a Healer with her. Linna hated to even think it, but it was a mercy really. Magda's life had become a nightmare and at least now she was free and hopefully at peace. The gods had better have found a really nice place for her, Linna thought defiantly. Even Sonja would have been shocked at her presumption if she'd said such a thing aloud. She and Sonja were entirely shunned. People would rather risk death than bring the wrath of Olek down on their entire family. It was a good thing that Linna knew how to hunt or they would likely have starved by now.

There was a stranger in the village. A trader supposedly from somewhere far away. He was only tolerated here because he brought treasures that amused the chief. For now. She had seen him from a distance, wandering around the village trying to talk to people. But everyone was too afraid to speak to a stranger. They barely spoke to each other anymore and always with fearful glances wondering who might overhear. Linna was carrying a heavy basket back to the house. It was covered of course. She didn't want anyone to suspect where or how she was getting her food.
"Would you like some help with that?" a voice asked from behind her.
She spun around, startled. It had been so long since anyone other than Sonja had spoken to her.
"Oh. It's you," she said realizing that it was the stranger who had addressed her. "Look, you don't know the customs around here. Or the politics obviously. You really don't want to be talking to me. The chief doesn't like my sort and if he knows that you were talking to me, then he might decide that you're the wrong sort too. You know, the sort that doesn't cower and do whatever he says. That sort of thing really bothers him."
She walked away, satisfied that she had at least tried to keep the idiot from getting himself killed over nothing.
"Perhaps another time?" he called after her, sounding amused.
"I wouldn't count on it," she snapped back.

There was an air of desperation in the village, a combination of fear and anger. Olek Veriksson refused to punish his son for his crimes. He just laughed and said that the strong should be allowed to take from the weak. Yorri was still barely hanging on to life. It had been a week and he hadn't regained consciousness yet. Magda looked like a grey shadow. She had been so pretty and happy. And now she wouldn't look anyone in the eye and flinched away from the slightest sound. Linna hated Baldur Oleksson with a fury she hadn't known herself capable of. She would have tried to kill him if she could have gotten close enough. She had almost had a clear shot yesterday, but there had been too many other people around who kept getting in the way. She knew that this wasn't what Yorri had intended when he taught her how to hunt, and that it was a violation of everything she believed as a Healer, but the man deserved to die. No, dying wasn't enough. He deserved to suffer. For a very, very long time. She would lie awake at night and think of all the ways that she could cause him pain. It was probably a blessing that she never got the chance. Her hatred for him didn't grow any less, but her temper did eventually grow colder. She stopped contemplating torture. Most of the time. Yorri never regained consciousness. He died a month after the attack.

Linna's arms ached from stirring. She hated soap-making with a passion, but that didn't stop it from having to be done. She heard the sound of a loud commotion coming from the square and took off running, the cauldron of soap forgotten. She'd been doing this long enough now to know the sound of trouble, and trouble usually meant that someone needed to be stitched up after.
There were people milling around and a woman wailing. Linna shoved her way through the crowd, shocked to discover that the wailing woman was her mother. Yorri. Yorri was lying on the ground bleeding. And Papa. There was no helping Papa. Where was Magda? Linna didn't see her anywhere, but she didn't have time to waste on questions. Yorri might still be saved if she acted quickly. She ran and knelt down beside him, cutting away his tunic quickly so she could see the extent of the wound. There was a long, nasty gash down his side. Some sort of blade had scraped along his ribs, chipping a couple of them. He had a big bruise on his head too and he wasn't conscious. That wasn't good. He was partway to the land of the dead already. Well, he wasn't going there today if she had anything to say about it. She pulled out a flask of the clear liquor Sonja distilled. Sonja had told her that pouring this into a wound as an offering to the gods would appease them so they wouldn't send disease. She poured carefully, totally oblivious to what was going on around her.
"I need an iron heated red hot," she demanded. "This is too big to stitch closed. I'll have to burn it. Don't just stand there! Go and get it!"
She held the wound closed pressing down hard to keep any more blood from flowing out. After what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes someone handed her a red-hot sword blade. She placed a small strip of leather in Yorri's mouth to keep him from biting through his tongue and before she had time to think about what she was doing used the hot blade to burn the wound closed. Tears ran freely down her cheeks. When she was done she set the blade carefully on the ground and got to work applying salve and bandages to the wound. It worried her more than a little that Yorri hadn't woken up for that.
"What's going on here?" Sonja said in her loud, clear voice as she walked into the square. Torm the blacksmith (oh, that's who must have given me the sword) answered. "Baldur Oleksson came here with his friends and stole Magda Svensdotter away from her own wedding. Yorri Thorviksson tried to fight them, but there were three of them and one of him. He looks like he's mostly dead now. Likely won't live long. Thorvik Thorviksson tried to help his son and Baldur Oleksson killed him for it."
"Gods preserve us," Sonja gasped.

Linna pushed her white-blonde hair out of her eyes as she worked to regather the basket of herbs. No matter how hard she worked to keep her hair tied back out of the way it was always falling in her face. She heard the giggles of the boys who had pushed her over and gritted her teeth. Being a healer was hard work. She didn't have time to be doing tasks over and over just because some lazy boys weren't being given anything better to fill their time with than playing stupid pranks. She grimaced a little. Listen to me, she thought. I'm starting to sound like Mama. She shook her head and finished her task.
She walked through the village on her way to Sonja's house. She passed her brother Yorri standing around with some of his friends. Normally he at least smiled and said hello, but this time he just looked down at his feet and ignored her. She knew he was feeling guilty because he was getting married tomorrow and she couldn't be there. It was only for family. But ignoring her only made her feel worse. She sighed. Not that that would ever occur to Yorri.
A little further away she saw her brother's betrothed, Magda Svensdotter, in the middle of a group of girls giggling about something. She looked happy. That helped actually. It was hard sometimes not to feel jealous. She was fifteen summers old, only a year younger than Magda. But no one would ever come courting her. She had known that when she became the apprentice to the village Healer, but it still stung sometimes. At least her brother would be happy. Magda was a pretty girl and she had been sweet on Yorri for years. Content that at least something in the world was going the way it ought to, Linna continued on her way.

Linna stood before the longhouse her stomach churning. She'd never been inside before. It was only for important adult business. Sonja put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright, Linna. You don't have to do this, you know."
Linna took a deep breath and stood up straighter. "Yes, I do," she said, determined.
"Very well. If you're certain."
They went inside. The building was packed with people. Olek Veriksson sat on a massive carved chair set on a platform so he could properly scowl down at everyone who came before him. Sonja kept a tight hold on Linna as she shoved her way to the front of the hall.
"Chief Olek!" Sonja called out in a loud voice.
Olek frowned. His dislike of Sonja was well known. "What are you doing in here, Healer," he growled.
Sonja continued undaunted. "Elinora Thorviksdotter has petitioned me for apprenticeship and I have accepted. As is the custom of our people I have come to have this entered into the Book."
Olek's frown deepened into a glower as he saw Linna standing beside Sonja. "Is this true, Elinora Thorviksdotter?" he asked menacingly.
"Yes, sir," she said, standing straight and proud, not letting an ounce of fear show.
"And what do you have to say about this Thorvik Thorviksson?"
Her father stepped forward, lines of sadness etched on his face. She was surprised to realize that he looked...old.
"She is a stubborn and willful child, my lord. We have done our best to teach her the proper way to behave, but she continues to defy her family's wishes. It is with deep regret that I must have her name removed from our family. She is no daughter of mine."
Linna looked at the floor, her eyes burning with unshed tears. She had known it was coming, but somehow she'd hoped that they would relent. That her family wouldn't really cast her out. But she had heard the words for herself, here in front of everyone. It hurt more than she had expected.
"Very well." Olek sounded less cranky now. "This girl is no longer to be known as Elinora Thorviksdotter. But what should she be called instead? Mudcrawler perhaps? Or Moontouched?"
"Might as well call her Stargazer," her mother said in her most shrill, critical sounding voice, "since she's always looking up at the sky like a sun-touched sheep instead of paying attention to what she'd supposed to be doing down here."
Olek Veriksson laughed. "A sun-touched sheep. That's good. Elinora Stargazer it is then. Put it in the book. She's all yours now, Sonja."
Linna was careful not to breathe a sigh of relief until they were outside. What her mother had said had sounded cruel on the outside, but it wasn't. The name she had been given was much better than any that the chief would have thought of on his own. It wasn't much, but it told her that in some small way her family at least cared about her a tiny little bit.

"Are you sure you know what you're saying, girl?" her father said in a thundering voice, scowling down at her. "This is a very serious matter. Not something to be done on a childish whim."
Linna nodded. She had on what Yorri always referred to as her stubborn face. It bothered him sometimes. He knew in his heart that he was a coward, much too scared to ever truly challenge the accepted way of things. He'd wanted to when he was younger, but in the end he just hadn't had the gumption to follow through. Linna was different. She'd stand up to the whole world if she had to. Even more important, she'd stand up to Mama.
"I'm sure," Linna said. "I want to be a Healer. I don't care what the chief says. People need medicines to help them when they get sick and someone who knows what they're doing to set broken bones and stitch up wounds. It's not weakness. It's just facts."
Mama slapped her hard. "How dare you! You're just a little chit of a girl and you think you know better than the village chief?! I won't abide talk like that in my house, missy!"
Yorri winced. This wasn't going to end well.
Linna closed her eyes tightly to keep from crying. That slap had hurt. She opened her eyes and looked at her mother calmly. "Olek Veriksson is a man same as any other and just as prone to making mistakes. We have to obey his laws. There's no law yet demanding that we share all of his opinions. Healers are an important part of this village's continued survival. Eventually even he will see that. Or his successor will. Sonja Johansdotter has agreed to take me on as an apprentice and I'm going to do this whether you like it or not."
"Elinora," her father said in his rumbling voice, "you're still a child. Only eleven summers old. You can't possibly understand what this is going to mean for the rest of your life." He ran his hand through his hair, sighing sadly. "Elinora, we can't support you in this. Our position here isn't so secure that we can afford to be seen going against the village chief."
"What are you saying?"
"He's saying that if you do this then we will be forced to disown you. Is that what you want?" Mama glared at her.
Linna looked down. She was near tears. We all knew it. But just when it seemed like she was going to break down her lip stopped quivering and she looked up again. "Some things are more important than what I want," she said stubbornly.

Yorri and Linna climbed over the rocks that circled the meadow.

"We are gonna get in so much trouble for this," Linna said fearfully.
"Don't be such a baby," Yorri said with much more bravado than he felt. "Come on!"
They watched carefully to make sure that no one was watching them before Yorri unwrapped the bundle he had been carrying. It was a bow and arrows. Specifically it was his old set. It was too small for him now, but it was the perfect size for teaching Linna.
"You know what Mama would say about this. She'd say it wasn't proper."
"Well I don't care if it's proper or not," Yorri said hotly. "There's been rumors of raids all year and I think you should know how to defend yourself."
At the vastly superior age of eleven he was convinced he knew better than any adult what was right, and his little sister did nothing to contradict that belief.
"Alright, Linna, let's get started." He carefully showed her how to hold the bow and how to shoot it. He told her to pay attention to the wind too. He set up some practice shots for her. She missed the first few of course, but then she started to get the hang of it. Not expert or anything, but she was coming awfully near the targets for a raw beginner. He swallowed hard. He wasn't so sure about this anymore. It had seemed like a game before. It never occurred to him she might actually have a talent for it. If anyone from their tribe found out they were both dead meat.
"That's enough for now," he said roughly. Linna looked disappointed. She had actually been smiling and enjoying herself. She didn't get to do that often. "We don't want to risk getting caught," he added.

She tripped on a rock again. But at least she managed not to spill her bucket of berries. Mama would be very cross if she didn't come back with berries. It was starting to get dark. Most of the berry bushes had been picked clean and it had taken her all day just to fill one bucket. Mama would say she should have gotten there faster. She'd tried, but her legs were still short and she couldn't run as fast as the older girls. Most of the other girls her age weren't asked to do things like collecting berries. It was supposed to be too hard. She was torn between being proud to be able to do a big girl job and jealous of the other girls who got to stay near the village and play. She looked up. The first stars were just starting to come out. The air was thin and cool here even in the middle of summer. She liked living so close to the sky. Sometimes it seemed like she could reach up and touch the stars if she only stretched high enough. She didn't think she would like living in the valley at all. The mountains were better.
She was standing there and looking up at the stars when her mama found her.
"Elinora!" she snapped in that you-are-in-so-much-trouble-right-now tone. "What are you doing? Look at you! Dawdling again. You need to get your head out of the clouds and back down to earth where it belongs! Did you even get any berries at all, you lazy girl?"
"Here, Mama," she said, holding up her bucket. "I got berries. A whole bucket, just like you told me to." She watched her mama carefully, her blue eyes wide with apprehension. Mama was not always the most reasonable person.
"And took all day about it too! Your brother has been back for hours. All he caught was a few lousy squirrels, so there isn't a very big supper tonight. Honestly, I don't know what I did to deserve two such lazy children," she fussed as she marched Linna back to their house. Yorri made faces at her while she tried not to laugh through the end of Mama's scolding. Papa was busy with something, she wasn't sure what, but every so often she would hear him mutter a naughty word. It looked like he was making a bow, but it must be a very special one to have so many carvings on it.