Islana and Ch’Truta - Part 6

Jp with mdman and Cindy

Ch’Truta’s face turned dour, almost hopeless. The future was uncertain for him, since losing contact with the swamp spirits.

He shook his head while saying. “I…am not certain. I have lost contact with the spirits. When I tried a different way to contact them, things went askew. I still do not remember the vision, but I dread it.”

He sighed, looked over at the vision of Islana, and it calmed him. “Not knowing is worrisome, but your presence is calming.”

Ch’Truta has questions. Not about the physical world, but the spirit world. The world of the gods. Of course, Uctilo’rhu was very much a physical presence. He had felt it and heard the screams of his victims. He had also caught a glimpse of him once devouring a sacrifice Ch’Truta and his brood left for him. But, Ch’Truta’s main connection was through the spirits.

“I cannot help but believe,” Ch’Truta confessed, glancing downward, “that I have failed somewhere and am being punished. I am not certain if I will even be accepted back.”

"I don't see how you could have failed. You did as was shown in your vision." Islana thoughtfully responded. "I think you are just too far away to communicate with those spirits that guide you. This area is foreign to them."

That was her belief, anyway. She really didn't know, for her the Sisters were always there, but that was different. "Do you want to try to return home when it's over?" She still wasn't sure if he did. "If not you are welcome to come to Gra'akast. The people will know that you helped fight in the war, that will help with acceptance." Or so she hoped, it was unknown territory.

Riding along, Ch’Truta reflected upon Islana’s words. This world was foreign to him. At times, he felt as an outsider. Even the other broods of the swamp often gave Ch’Truta the impression he was not one of them.

He turned to the brilliant green eyes that seemed to melt him. “At this point, I do not want to return to the swamp without you.”

Islana smiled gently, "Maybe, we can travel there at some point then, together." She couldn't just go live in the swamp, that wasn't a possibility. "Tell me about it, the swamp that is." She had told him so much about herself but didn't know much about his home, other than what he had already mentioned.

Ch’Truta glanced about him at the scenery. I was actually becoming more pleasant to the eyes than the incessant sand of the desert. Even though the desert presented its own dangers, it was nothing like the swamp.

“The swamp has is a place were death looms at every turn. Between the plants, the creatures, the air, and water themselves,” he paused trying to collect what he was trying to say, then continued, “each could bring death in any given moment. Not to mention, Uctilo’rhu, who walked the swamp, seeking to feast on someone offered as a sacrifice or just one without luck.”

It was a hard life, but it was the only life he had known, until following the leading of the spirits and leaving the swamp to join the horde. They had led him specifically to her. And then, nothing.

Ch’Truta shook his head once more not comprehending how things have turned out. He lost contact with them. As an outsider, he was unworthy to be with Islana. But she welcomed him. He grinned at the feeling that brought.

Ch’Truta reigned in M’Hana and motioned for her to stop. He turned M’Hana, so that Ch’Truta was by her side, but also facing Islana.

The swamp sounded forboden. Death around every corner. Sacrifices. Deadly creatures, and plants. "There is a place in Helias, called the Forbidden Lands, the stories make it sound very much like your swamp. I have never been there." Islana explained, it was the closest she had to an idea of what it was like, but it might have all been stories.

She spotted Ch'Truta's motion and stopped the Skelep herself. Wondering why the man had stopped.