Maginaugh, Book One of The Fair and Fey

Maginaugh

Book I of The Fair and Fey

By J. Ellyne

Smashwords 3rd Edition

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Copyright 2012

By J. Ellyne

Part I: Meeting the Neighbors

Chapter 1: Confrontation

The bow of Mindoregh’s small ship churned up froth as it cut swiftly through the white caps of Southern Lake. Mindoregh stood on a small wooden platform, leaning out over the bow, the wind in her hair. She was wearing a simple, low –cut, short white dress, with shoulder straps, the hem rippling in the stiff breeze. The fading orange of the sunset gleamed off her auburn hair and smooth skin.

It had taken three days to get to the southern end of the lake at a leisurely pace. It would take all night and most of the next day to make it back to Maginaugh, even at full speed. Her mind was full of questions about what she had seen.

The southerners’ shelters consisted of pieces of bark, lashed with rawhide lacing to poles, sharpened at both ends, bent and stuck into the ground. They were naked. The weapons they carried were crude wooden clubs and pointed sticks. Both men and women were big, muscular, and taller than her people. All, including the children, were dirty, unkempt, and undernourished looking. Their hair was matted and tangled, not combed neatly as her people, the Magin, did.

When Mindoregh spotted the southerners earlier this morning, she realized they must have seen her ship at the same time. One of them spotted her ship and raised an alarm. She watched as they flocked to the shore, shaking their fists. Mindoregh thought it likely they had never seen anything like her ship before. She thought, It must seem like a magical being to them with supernatural powers. They began to jump up and down, shouting in a primitive guttural language. She saw their faces contorted in anger. Because her ship was close to shore, she could make out some of the words they shouted at her: Ung! Nerg! Duhg Ba!

She understood their language immediately, using an ability shared among all the Magin people. She was able to read their minds and thereby could learn their language instantly. She knew they augmented their few spoken words with gestures, facial expressions and body language. What they were actually saying was, Look. An evil water monster comes to attack us. We should try to kill it or it might kill and eat us.

One of them was brave enough to charge out into the water. He hurled his spear at her. She dodged it and shouted to Fensenn, her helmsman, Turn us around and get us away from here, quickly.

Yes my queen, he replied as he spun the wheel, making the ship come about.

She didn’t want to meet these people or have a confrontation with them. She wanted to hurry back to the island and tell her people they were not alone in this new world; these newly discovered neighbors seemed dangerous. She might even advocate to the Council moving their small village off Maginaugh Island, somewhere far away from these hostile southern savages. She thought, Why did we have to explore the southern end of this lake? Now I know it was a mistake.

For the first three days, she had enjoyed this trip. Her husband, Janno, was with her. He made beautiful love to her every night as the ship rolled through the waves. Now she wanted to get back home as soon as possible to give her urgent news to her Council.

She turned and looked back across the deck of the ship. The mainsail, larger in area than the deck, was filled with wind. At the rear of the ship, Fennsen was at the wheel. He was the most skilled sailor among the Magin. Mindoregh was glad he was her helmsman on this trip.

Mindoregh was thankful for the abilities she and her people had. She was in a hurry to get back, so she summoned the wind to blow at near gale force out of the southeast. She focused her mind on the sentient being she thought of as the Spirit of the Wind and asked it, prayed to it, to blow harder. She knew this ability to invoke the wind was not always reliable and she was relieved it was working well today.

Mindoregh’s children, Sashegh and Fewallo, stood aft near Fennsen, chatting with him. She walked back to them and asked Fennsen, How much longer until we are home?

He looked out over the water at the fading sunset and said, We are making good speed my queen. Thanks to your command of the wind, the trip home will be shorter. We will not make land tonight, however. Who will take the first watch?

I will. I am too anxious about getting home to sleep right now.

He hadn’t planned on her taking a watch duty, but he knew Mindoregh’s determination to do all things she asked of any of her people, so he wasn’t too surprised. He tied down the wheel and furled the sail to half-mast.

The watch duty for the night is yours to assign, he said. I am going down below to sleep. Have the last watch wake me at first light as usual. We should be home sometime around midday tomorrow.

She watched him go below deck with her children, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Her husband came up after a while and joined her on deck. He studied the worried look on her face and said, You seem troubled love. What’s the matter? I thought you would be looking forward to getting back to our little island and our friends.

Of course I am. What I’m worried about are those southerners we saw. I didn’t like the looks of them.

We knew there was a good possibility there might be others here, he countered. They are just primitive native people. Certainly they cannot be any threat to us. They are too far away and have no means of traveling except on foot. How would they find us, even if they tried?

She shook her head. How hard would it be for them to walk north along the shore until they get to the top of the lake? When they arrive they will be able to see our island from the shore. They would see our towers on the high cliffs.

So? What would they do? They do not appear to have boats.

They could ride logs and paddle with their hands for the short distance across the lake from the mainland. They could walk across the lake after the water freezes into solid ice. We are not safe anymore. I sense it deep within me.

She didn’t know exactly what it was she feared. She had never witnessed violent behavior. Killing was something she had never seen. Janno was quite a bit older. She remembered him telling her he had done a lot of traveling before they came to this worl and settled on the island. He had been to places where it was commonplace to see people fight, even kill each other. Maybe it is the memory of Janno’s tales of killing, that has me feeling so scared, she thought.

Well, I am going to bed now, said Janno. You can discuss this with your Council when we return. I will tell Fewallo to come up in two hours and relieve you. Then you can lay with me and I will comfort you, he said with a smile.

Returning his smile she said, That sounds nice.

She leaned over, gave him a warm kiss and said, Good night my love.

~~~

Sashegh woke early the next morning. It was her turn to serve the meal, so she got up out of bed and went straight to the galley. She lit a fire in the wood stove and put water on to boil for tea. Then she sliced bread and cheese onto five plates, adding dried fruit on the side. When the tea was ready, she set the table and rang a bell, announcing breakfast was served. She took breakfast and tea up to Fennsen, who was now at the helm.

She watched as Fennsen unfurled the sail and hoisted it up the mast. It was a warm morning and she admired his bare chest, watching his muscles ripple as he worked.

He saw her looking at him, not at his face but his body. He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time and thought, I always felt her mother was the greatest beauty among all the Magin women, but Sashegh is becoming even more beautiful. I have never seen hair like hers, so radiantly golden. Her eyes are so brightly blue it’s startling when she looks at me. And when did her body develop such nice curves, seemingly overnight? She has always had nice long legs but now the curve of her hips and breasts add to the total sum, taking my breath away as no woman ever has before. He tried to push such inappropriate thoughts from his mind, realizing she was the queen’s daughter and still only a girl.

He smiled and said, Good morning Princess Sashegh. Did you sleep well last night?

Very well, thank you, Master Fennsen. Are we almost home?

The wind died down a bit overnight but was strong enough that we made fair speed. I can tell, from the position of the morning star compared to yesterday morning, we have gone slightly off course during the night.

Sashegh could see he was performing mental calculations. He swung the wheel to starboard, making a minor course correction, and then turned back to her.

We will be home before midday, Princess. Are you anxious to get back?

Please just call me Sashegh, not ‘Princess’. No, I’m not anxious to get home. I was enjoying the trip. I have never been on an adventure this far from Maginaugh. Do you mind if I have my breakfast up here on deck with you?

Sashegh knew she was becoming a young woman and was practicing the art of flirting with Fennsen. She had worn the thinnest of nightgowns this morning; one she knew was translucent as she stood on Fennsen’s left side with the morning sunlight coming through it. She was glad her breasts were already nicely developed and arched them proudly as she handed Fennsen his plate.

As you please, Miss Sashegh, he replied.

Just Sashegh, she insisted, touching his arm. You are a very good sailor, Fennsen. Were you also the helmsman on our voyage to this world?

Oh, no, certainly not, replied Fennsen, turning red with embarrassment. It was Skarbin, the Master Helmsman who brought us to the island of Maginaugh. I was born after our ship crashed. I am not capable of piloting the large ship in which our people came. It was a much different type of vessel than this small one. I learned what modest sailing skill I have from my father. He is the shipbuilder responsible for overseeing the building of these little wooden ships we have now.

I too was born not long after our settlement was established. So you are not much older than me.

I suppose not, Fennsen admitted. But I am a man and you are only a girl.

Sashegh bristled at this, turning red with anger at being called a girl. Soon I will be a mature woman. I saw how you looked at my body. I know you can see it is the body of a woman.

Fennsen was spared having to reply to this by Mindoregh’s appearance on deck. Mindoregh had quickly finished her cheese and bread and told Janno she wanted to go up to watch for the first sign of Maginaugh. She waved to Fennsen and Sashegh, and then took a seat on a wooden bench fastened to the deck. She sat in silence, gazing intently to the north. Sashegh left Fennsen’s side and went to sit with her.

Shortly before noon, Fennsen, who had the keenest eyes, announced, There she is, Maginaugh Island.

In a few moments Mindoregh could see what he had seen. There on the northern horizon was a line of tiny, dark, greenish-black bumps rising from the water. She watched the bumps converge slowly into an almost solid land mass extending from the eastern shore to the western shore of Southern Lake. She saw the two places where the northern shore was broken by narrow stretches of water. Between these two narrow passages she saw the small bump that was the island of Maginaugh.

As her ship drew nearer to Maginaugh, Mindoregh could see limestone bluffs rising from the middle of the island. She called down to Janno and Fewallo. Come up and see. We are home!

As they got even closer, she could begin to see the twin watchtowers of their principal village structure. Mindoregh’s heart soared as it always did when she saw these towers from out on the lake. Maginaugh had come to mean so much to her in the few years they had been here. She loved her island home and the structure they called Suonaugh, which meant ‘gathering place’ in her language. Tomorrow she would convene a meeting of her Council at Suonaugh.

~~~

After Ur finished watching Mindoregh’s boat disappear over the northern horizon, he found Muh and Dook, his advisors and took them to his shelter.

We meet now, Ur said.

Ur was one of the tallest men among his people and very muscular. He expected Muh and Dook to do whatever he asked of them because he was the village chief, a position earned through violence and intimidation. Ur felt contempt for them mixed with a need for their advice. Dook was short and a bit overweight. Ur remembered how he had bought his place as Ur’s advisor by giving him a nice collection of bone knives handed down to him by his father. Muh was medium height, thin and not muscular. Ur knew Muh was the smartest person in the village, which is how he got his place as Ur’s other advisor.

We will take a war party north, hunt down the water monster, and kill it, Ur said to them.

The relationship between the three men had always been uneasy. Ur had little respect for either of them. He occasionally needed to rely on Muh’s superior intelligence but disdained his physical inferiority. Muh was one of the weakest men in Ur’s village. Even some of the women were stronger. He despised Dook because of his lack of intelligence. Ur thought him a witless fool. He honored the bargain he struck with Dook, for now, but his patience with Dook’s stupidity often ran thin.

Dook and Muh deferred to Ur politely, nodding their heads as if they agreed with him. But Dook had the temerity to ask, What if the water monster kills us?

Ur did not answer right away. He glared at Dook for a long time until he saw him cower. He spat out the words, Dook is a fat fool! Nothing can kill Ur. Do not worry. I will not take you with me. You would bring shame on us, running away like a girl.

Ur reached out as he said this and slapped Dook on the side of the head. Dook stiffened and seemed ready to strike back. Muh hastily intervened. He grabbed Dook’s arm, gave him a hard look, and said, Yes, mighty Ur will kill the water monster. We must do it now or the monster might come back tonight to kill and eat us. We will follow Ur and kill the water monster.

This statement soothed Ur and distracted Dook. The fight was avoided. Ur communicated his plan to them, using grunts and gestures along with the few words he spoke.

Tomorrow morning I will select a party of young, strong, swift warriors and we will run north until we find the evil water monster. Then we will slay it. It went north on the water, so we will run along the shore until we see it again. Then, when it comes ashore, we will kill it.

In the first light of dawn the next morning, Ur was running north along the beach, leading a band of thirty young men of the village. He set a fast pace and continued to run silently until midday. He planned to stop two times each day to rest briefly, drink water from the lake and eat some of the dried meat they had stolen in their last raid. He ran after the water monster in the same way he and his men hunted or went to war against other villages, using speed as a weapon.

While he ran, he thought back on the years they had spent migrating north up the river to Southern Lake. They encountered many other villages on the way and had conquered them all. He never avoided a fight, because he relied on the villages he conquered for food. His people didn’t know how to make good weapons and were not good hunters. He relied on superior strength and numbers to win battles with those he conquered.

He thought back on the battles, smiling at the memories. He and his warriors would come running into the others’ village suddenly at night. They killed any of the men who didn’t run away and took the women prisoners. Then they picked through their belongings, stealing everything of any value, most of all any food they could find. Finally, they would rape the women and take the best ones with them as slaves back to his village. The female slaves were always used hard and never survived long.

On this warm summer day Ur and his men were naked as they ran along the beach. Like many of his men, Ur wore a leather belt to carry his best bone knife and some dried meat, recently stolen from another village. Ur’s people had no idea how to dry meat, but Ur perceived its value as nourishment that would not spoil quickly. He took most of it away from his men and hid it for just such an occasion as this, a long trip where there would not be much opportunity to hunt.

He also carried a wooden club fashioned from a tree root. He ordered those who carried long straight tree branches carved sharp at one end, to be used as spears, to run at the front of the group. This way, if they came upon any strangers, the spears could be thrown at them.

Ur traveled fifty miles before he stopped the first night. The next day they didn’t make as much distance because at midmorning they came upon a large thicket of raspberry bushes and spent an hour picking and feasting. Ur usually made women do the berry picking but there were no women with him and the men were hungry from running.

On the third day the shoreline became rocky and Ur led the men inland a short distance until he found a deer path headed north. He took his men single file along the narrow path. Ur could tell the path was following the shoreline. He would occasionally catch a glimpse of the lake. He kept looking for the water monster.

That afternoon he saw a human footprint in the soft dirt of the path and got excited. There will be food and maybe women tonight and probably some good new weapons, he thought. Ur announced the good news to his men. A man went down this path ahead of us not too long ago, probably returning to his camp. They will not know we are here. We can follow the trail and surprise them. We will kill the men, take their food and weapons, and have a good time with their women tonight.

~~~

Nanong followed a river southwest from the temporary camp he and his companions set up on the beach, unaware of Ur and his men. He fished with a hook made of bone on a thin line made with small animal sinew. He baited the hook with worms and had very good luck. When he returned to the camp, 14 good sized trout hung from his belt.

He looked forward to the delicious feast Vavana would prepare with these fish. His mouth watered as he thought of how, with help from the other women, she would first filet the fish with a very sharp flint knife, then place the filets in a birch bark basket with some cracked seagull eggs and shake until they were well coated. She would then put them into another basket filled with corn meal and shake them some more. Next the fish would be placed on hot flat stones over the top of a wood fire and cooked to a golden brown. Hanging from a stick stuck into the ground would be another birch bark basket suspended over the fire, filled with boiling water and dried wild rice preserved in maple syrup. Nanong was thankful to have a mate who was such a wonderful cook.

It was good to be a Pewa, Nanong reflected, thinking about their village far north from this camp. He was proud of his people. They were good hunters and controlled all the hunting and fishing around Northern Lake. They didn’t attack other groups; they only fought if others attacked. ‘Pewas’ was the word they called themselves meaning, the people. Nanong had his mate Vavana, four other young men, and their mates with him on this adventure.

While Vavana and the other women cooked the evening meal, Nanong went to the beach to check their five birch bark canoes. He inspected the seams and saw they were dry inside, the pine pitch seals still keeping out the water. He noted the women had removed the wild rice, corn meal, and beans from the boats, no doubt putting the food in the lean-tos they had made for sleeping tonight.

Nanong was an adventurer and was enjoying himself. He liked trips of no particular purpose other than curiosity. He was glad he had managed to convince his friends to join him by making it sound exciting and fun.

It was fun too, paddling their canoes together, fishing, and exploring strange lands they had never seen before. They dined on fish and wild rice on days when the fishing was good. When there were no fish, the women made a flat corn bread and served it with beans and wild rice.

After dinner Nanong took Vavana to their lean-to and made love to her with great energy and stamina. They could hear the sounds of lovemaking coming from the other lean-tos as they coupled. After they made love Nanong said, You are my mate forever, Vavana. I will have no other woman but you.

He was lying on top of her, still inside her, not quite soft yet. He lifted his chest off hers, looking down at her breasts. She looked up at his face and body, admiring him.

He is beautiful, she thought. His cheekbones are high. His long hair is shiny and soft as it falls on my breasts. His eyes sparkle with desire as he looks at me. His arms and chest are well muscled but slim rather than bulky. She caressed his buttocks thinking, These are tight and smooth. I love to feel him flexing them as he makes love to me.

Oh Nanong, I have loved you ever since the night we met at the year-end gathering. When we made love that first night I knew I would be yours forever. My father gave me to you, and I promised I would never be with another man. I meant it. I promise it to you again now.

Vavana, you are so beautiful. Your breasts are so full. Your legs are strong but soft as I lay here between them. To be inside you is the greatest pleasure in life. I look into your sparkling eyes and I see love shining in them.

She wrapped her legs around him as she felt him harden again. She felt him start to move inside her again and she moved with him.

~~~

Ur and his men hid in the bushes outside the Pewa camp, as Vavana put the fish on the hot stones. He motioned to his men to hide, be quiet, and wait for darkness. It drove his men crazy to smell the fish cooking but they knew they dared not disobey Ur. Ur smiled as he looked at the Pewas gathering around their cooking fire and thought, How easy this is going to be. What fools they are, to travel away from their homeland with such a small party. There are only five men and we have 30. We will make short work of this tonight and then we will have their women.

He watched while the Pewas ate their dinner and talked for a while. They were dressed in light summer clothes. Both men and women wore similar deerskin vests and leggings.

He could tell their clothing was obviously for protection in the woods, rather than warmth. It didn’t prevent him from getting a good look at the women. He saw Vavana and admired her body. Her vest tied in front but did not hide much of her breasts. Her leggings protected her thighs and calves but did not cover the dark curly hair between her legs. Ur desired her.

Finally he saw the Pewas go off in pairs to their lean-tos. There was a new quarter moon. He waited until it sank below the trees. Then he leaped out from the bushes and ran toward the camp, signaling his men to follow.

They came running, holding their spears pointed out in front of them and their clubs poised to strike. It looked to Ur as if they had not posted a guard. This encouraged him. He ran even faster. In his haste he wasn’t stealthy. His right foot came down on a stick, causing it to make a small snapping sound.

~~~

Nanong was on guard duty. He was hiding in some bushes near his lean-to, but away from the campfire. He wanted to make sure anything out there would not see him first. When the moon sank below the trees, he planned to wake one of the other men to take over for him and he would go lay with Vavana in their lean-to.

He didn’t expect any trouble. They hadn’t seen any sign of people in this area except for the odd structure he had seen on the island a long way to the north. He thought, The worst that might happen is if a hungry bear or wolves were to come into the camp looking for food. If they do, we will have nice furs as an outcome.

He heard the snap of the stick and did not pause to see what it was. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he knew there was danger. He reacted instinctively. He put his hands to his mouth and made a bird call, a convincing imitation of a seagull’s screech. As he looked in the direction of the snapping sound, he could see faint light from the dying campfire flickering off the bodies of men running toward his camp. There are so many of them, Nanong thought. This is very bad.

He had a bow and a quiver full of arrows with him. Like all Pewa bows his was long, strong and had lots of spring. It was strung with the tough intestines of small wildcats. The wooden arrows used bird feathers for guidance and flint for arrowheads. Nanong kneeled in a firing position on one knee with an arrow sighted at the closest man. He shot. The arrow struck his mark in the chest. The man went down screaming.

Nanong saw their leader stop running and stare dumbly at the man on the ground. All the attackers stopped running, frozen in uncertainty. Nanong quickly took another arrow from his quiver and put it in his bow. He sighted on the man standing next to Ur and shot. The arrow pierced the man’s throat, entering the front and coming out the back. Blood bubbled out of the man’s mouth and he fell, first to his knees, then face down in the dirt.

Ur yelled out a fierce war cry, Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh! He charged again, motioning his men to follow.

Vavana was first to emerge with her bow and a quiver full of arrows. She was attuned to Nanong’s voice and had instantly awakened to his call of alarm. She looked where she knew he would be, and saw him in the shadows, notching his second arrow. She heard the whistle of the feathers as the arrow flew, heard it strike its mark and heard Ur shouting his war cry. She called out to the others, Wake up! Enemies attack us!

Just as Ur began his second charge, the other couples were also waking and coming out with their bows and arrows. When they saw Ur’s men charging with their spears and clubs, each Pewa took aim at one of the men and shot. Ten arrows flew and seven of Ur’s men fell in the deadly hail of flint, wood, and feathers.

Again the attack faltered slightly. Nanong knew they were still badly outnumbered. Ur’s men redirected their charge, spreading out. Groups of four or five attacked each of the pairs of archers, while two attacked Vavana.

Two other men kept coming at Nanong. The latter two had gotten very close. One had a spear and the other a club. Nanong managed to get off one more hurried shot, hitting the man with the club in the thigh. The man with the spear kept coming. He was about to run Nanong through when Nanong dodged sideways at the last second and rolled into the bushes. He dropped his bow and his quiver fell off his shoulder.

The Pewas’ camp was on a small sandy beach, surrounded by young pines and thick clusters of cedar bushes. Nanong was now in the middle of one of these clusters. The branches were rough and scratched his arms as he quietly made his way through them.

The wooden spear had struck the rock where Nanong had been. The jolt of the impact stunned the man for a second. When he looked around, he could not see Nanong who was keeping low, crawling through the bushes, watching the battle, his vest and leggings protecting his skin.

Nanong watched as the man grabbed his broken spear and charged into the bushes beating at them with the stick. Nanong’s hand went to his waist and he found he still had his flint knife in its deerskin sheath. The man entered a particularly dense thicket, slowing him down, the branches scratching and tearing at his skin. When he got to the middle of the thicket, Nanong sprang up from behind him and slit his throat.

The man spun around, his eyes wide in shock. He opened his mouth to say something but no sound came out except a bubbling from deep inside. His throat was slashed, a long gash ripped open in the skin, blood pouring out, running down onto his chest. He made as if to swing the remains of his spear at Nanong but before he could, he lost consciousness and fell to the ground, dead.

Nanong crawled back toward the lean-tos and peeked out of the bushes. He saw Vavana and the others were not doing well. Only two of the Pewa men had gotten off another arrow, dropping two more of Ur’s men. As he watched, his friends were overrun by their attackers.

Nanong saw all four of the men and two of the women being run through with spears. Vavana and the other two remaining women were clubbed in the head and it was over too fast, before Nanong could do anything to help.

He saw all his friends and his mate lying motionless on the ground with Ur and his men standing over them. He counted