Chapter 2. So Below

Satha lost track of how long she pored over the Pools given what time was for what she had become. While countless lives played out among them, she found herself drawn to the Pool holding the hunters. She knew it was the fluidity of their movements while they hunted which hypnotized her more than anything else about them. Occasionally, her tiny, winged companion who she affectionately dubbed Egbert, trotted by before galloping off into the sky to conduct his own duties corralling fugitive Shards.

*

Gibral burst from a patch of exposed earth which disfigured massive mountains of rolling green foliage. As resilient as their origin, the first Gibralans rose from the midnight black rocks shortly after the ground above them grew just as bare. Early life was made up of pulling precious stones from that same source which they fashioned into tools needed for the journey. For a time, Gibral expanded through this process; uncovering more fully-grown Gibralans at the heart of great stones. It was a peaceful existence marked by arduous labour that was only interrupted by the emergence of an unforeseen horror.

Unbeknownst to the eternally toiling Gibralans, predators probed their borders. Monsters relegated to myth in most existences drove the diligent workers to bolster their defenses. Those who took up the task of identifying Gibral’s threats worked hand in hand with those who faced them. They called themselves the Horde and the Hunters respectively in honour of these newfound duties. None of it had been enough when they encountered the stone snake.

Days of the combined efforts of the Horde and its Hunters finally slew the beast that saw them as prey. By then, the serpent had littered the settlement with stone statues who would never turn back to flesh after standing in its petrifying stare. Worse yet was how they knew almost instinctively that the creature’s presence signalled major changes for Gibral.

Those who survived soon realized that they no longer unearthed new Gibralans in the giant rocks. With their numbers diminished, Gibral’s survival depended on growing their forces. It did not take long for them to understand how they would do this.

Childbirth and child rearing were now as sacred to Gibral as the land it was erected upon. Gibralans were now born from the union of two on the outskirts of all their ancestors knew. Tradition saw them continue digging their homes out of the dirt and black rocks that appeared present wherever they went.

Operating outside the realm of their forefathers required minor adjustments on their part. Mothers brought their offspring into the world singlehandedly while their partner stood vigilant against it. Who knew what could be lurking in the wild? It was when the child’s cries were heard that the guardian was now tasked with taking greater care of the recovering mother and growing child. When the family felt themselves prepared to tackle Gibral they would rejoin society though they maintained their initial abode.

As a result, all Gibralan children started training in self-defense the moment they showed a speck of motor control up until they fell their own monster. Although what everyone overcame was not always physical, they all bore the scars of their triumph. Those who excelled were recognized as Hunters. They wore the remains of their prize as a trophy affixed to their clothing or shaped them into weapons which were handed down their lines.

Satha watches losses plague the people of Gibral as intently as she observes their triumphs. Long after the serpent struck, there was a band of boys dreaming of more than those before. Together they dared to uncover the unimaginable with no regard for the cost. Their rebellious spirit stirred the fringes of her memory she could not quite reach.

The boys’ dreams transformed into tragedy so suddenly it was a wonder if they knew what had happened. Those too afraid to leave the beaten path must have felt comforted in the choices they had made. For the group’s sole survivor, lifelong guilt would have to serve as penance.

*

Wrapped in thick black furs, a couple plodded through thigh-high snow. Two moons had passed since they skated past Gibral’s outline under the nose of the Hunters. He was thankful that not much had changed in their routines since his childhood.

He was the only one who could dispute the longheld belief that the outlying houses were the furthest that Gibralans had ever gone. His partner paused, drinking in Gibral for the final time.

“Are you sure?” She asked him, awestruck with how small her world truly was.

Hearths belching hearty flames fought the frost menacing every doorstep and windowsill cast from Gibral’s black rock. Conversations whose speakers must have thought them confidential were whittled into no more than garbled whispers sneaking out from under the eaves. Wayward breezes whisked those words to where the two stood as if calling them back home. Giving her hand an encouraging squeeze, the man leads her to the place he had tried so hard to bury in his past.

Since his late friends he had rarely spoken to anyone and spent most of his time as removed from it all as he could manage in Gibral. He had never thought that he would return here, especially with the mother of his children. The howling cavern had haunted his dreams since he first heard of it from one of the friends it ended up consuming.

Manhood for him had come at the cost of every one of his close friends who accompanied him and more than a pound of his own flesh. Enormous obsidian claws guilty of mangling his torso were strung into a necklace which gleamed wickedly in the flickering orange lights ringing Gibral. Guilt willed his exhausted body back to the settlement before he collapsed under the weight of his experience.

Consciousness came in bursts of indecipherable sounds inevitably fading back into black. Next he awoke with a wince while his wounds were poked and prodded in awe.

“Gaoh.” an attendant breathed shakily once noticing him awake. “What wonders have you seen?” the man leaned closer and asked in a hushed tone. “How did you survive?” The man asked intently.

Gaoh heard someone else say something as they approached them but could not understand what was being said. He was slipping back into unconsciousness fueled by the fatigue of his travels.

“Gaoh!” Someone exclaimed as he passed out again.

He expected to awake to a barrage of questions but was met with silence. How could there be none when he held so many himself? Gaoh was actually there yet so much remained unanswered about what had happened. Why was it him who survived? He was not the strongest, smartest, or most swift, but here he was. At least one of the boy’s families must blame him for their deaths because he certainly blamed himself. Instead, Gaoh received tearful thanks for returning a memento from each person left behind. Everyone appeared too impressed with his survival to pry into his shame until he met Kro.

She was younger than him with bright brown eyes alight with mischief she tried her best to conceal. Dark brown hair fell past her shoulders in thick braids with the faint scent of fresh peaches. Although petite, Kro held an enormous presence Gaoh could never manage to ignore. That weakness was made clear to him by his response to her upon his return.

Before then, Kro had already been made an outcast. She earned her name from a tale told endlessly about a giant flying animal seen above Gibral. The Horde and its Hunters dismissed the story as little more than a girl’s fever dream of what they called the Kro.

Gaoh smiled fondly at memories of her being teased by the other children while he could barely breathe when he saw her. Though they had come further than any Gibralan admitted to even dreaming of, Kro’s faith in him appeared to not waver. She held his hand as firmly now as she had when they walked the streets of Gibral together. Instead, it seemed her curiosity grew as her perspective of the world did.

Her life had been visions of the blackened crag dotted by spontaneous outcroppings of vibrant grass and wildflowers from the late Spring into Summer. Winter sent everything green scuttling for protection from the unforgiving cold wherever it was offered. Here there was more than gnarled limbs frozen black; there was still some colour peeking through the fresh powder dusting every surface. It was all like Gaoh had told her it was going to be.

Moons ago he answered her questions about what happened when he left Gibral. They were lying among the trees in the wee hours of the morning looking up at the sky with their fingertips barely brushing. His dark eyes sparkled as he finally revealed his grand adventures which ended in epic misfortune.

Gaoh and his companions had felt trapped where their predecessors found comfort. They believed their future was more than Gibral, at least in the way it existed until then. Together, Gaoh and the others constructed the first map showing outside of Gibral as more than a dark spot. A worn piece of parchment he retrieved from the folds of his clothing and presented it to her.

Kro traced the lines with her finger to parts unknown while he spoke. He explained how he and his friends began by exploring every inch of Gibral; recording all they saw. True to form, she recognized some of the sites marked out from around town like Orek’s tavern at the center.

As they aged and joined the hunts themselves, the scope of their exploits expanded. They snuck away from hunting parties to discover whatever they could outside the confines of Gibral. Drawings and details of what had been seen were shared with the group once they found an opportunity to meet. It was the combination of those efforts which was represented by this map according to Gaoh.

When a day finally came that all the brave adventurers were assigned to the same squad for a hunt, the boys took it as a sign to strike out on a new adventure. Some of the boys had stumbled upon a sight in prior excursions they wished to explore beside the others. Their destination was a cavernous mouth whose guttural groans shook any who were unlucky enough to cross its path. Gaoh could not recall a time they had been so collectively excited as they were on that day.

Weighed down with additional supplies to satisfy their extracurriculars, the boys arrived at the screaming den. This was the furthest edge to the Northeast of Gibral that they had marked out on their map. The fissure swallowed them whole with only Gaoh managing to pick himself from its teeth.

Kro heard the cavity’s screech before it came into view — tearing her from her thoughts of the past. Instinctively, she stopped in her tracks and tensed, anticipating an attack. Gaoh noticed her frantically looking around and urged her forward with a tug of her hand. A gaping hole arose as they escaped the trees into an unnatural, small clearing — threatening to devour them. It wailed hungrily as she grappled with the reality of the map and Gaoh’s stories. This was where he had marked on the parchment with bloodstains. It was where he had met Death.

She was sure that the animals giving the area a wide berth sensed the same foreboding presence that she did though she still stood so far away. If not for Gaoh, she would have never come anywhere near this place either. They paused and he began unloading their supplies in the shadow of a tall tree. Gaoh kissed her, drew his axe from his belt and entered the cave to ensure it was empty.

Minutes felt like an eternity as she awaited his return in relative silence. Gaoh emerged as she began wondering whether the cavern had finally finished what it had begun so long ago. Gathering up their belongings again, he ushered Kro into their new home.

The air inside the cave was warm and oppressive as if they were within something massive wrapped in a deep slumber. Jagged rocks jutting from the ground and roof like misaligned teeth in a massive jaw did nothing to help that mental image. She still allowed Gaoh to lead her to the back of the cave where the teeth were almost nonexistent and the space opened up.

“Is it suitable?” He asked nervously.

Kro smiled sweetly and nodded. Emboldened by her, he sets to unpacking their things. Gaoh arranged additional furs he had brought along into a makeshift nest which he helped her into before continuing.

“Stay warm.” He kissed her forehead softly and gently touched her plump stomach.

“Bring us food.” She commanded with a pout as her fingers tenderly touched his cheek.

“As you wish, my goddess,” he responded mockingly with a bow. “But first, I must fashion you a fire in case our home loses its warmth.” Gaoh kissed her fingertips. “I do not recall it being this way when I was last here.” He thought aloud.

Gaoh organized some of the firewood he had brought with him from Gibral so they would not suffer a frigid night. It was a miracle in and of itself that he had kept so much of the wood dry under the miserable conditions outside.

“It is unfortunate that I cannot do more to help you when your battle is so much more difficult than mine.” He commented sincerely once he started the flame.

“Why does it take a woman giving birth to a man’s child for him to acknowledge the difficulties that women face?” Kro teased. “Now, leave me to it unless you’re feeding me.”

She stifled a laugh.

“I thought we came here to get away from such conventions.” Gaoh stood at the cave’s entrance in mock pain. “I will tend to you as much as I can when I’m not hunting or preparing our meals.” he swore to her with a hand over his heart. “It is the least that you deserve for choosing to share this burden with me.” Gaoh said with the earnesty that had won her over.

She watches him go to and fro in preparation of their space. While Kro had adored him since their youth, she knew that she truly loved him now. Gaoh had absolutely kept his word to her; they had left their little world to start their own.

Every morning he roused her when he left to find breakfast and collect water for her bath. Gaoh fed and washed her before helping her back into the nest of bundled furs. When he joined her after every meal, Kro marvelled at how he always managed to be warmer while venturing out for three meals daily. He would kiss her deeply after some time and stand sentry at the cave’s mouth briefly before seeking out new prey. Each and every day passed so blissfully until the day they awaited finally came.

Kro roused him one morning with a face dripping sweat and fear. The final stages of her battle to bring their child into the world was upon them with unbridled ferocity. She had tried her best to bear it all alone but this pain was beyond imagining. Hours had passed with the baby struggling to find its way out in an awkward position. As soon as he awoke, she grabbed his hand and squeezed with all her strength as she let out a feral scream.

Gaoh bit back his suffering thanks to the knowledge that hers must be many times worse. Her screams were drowning their home’s howl as if it too held its breath. Who knew how long had passed by the time the fatigued woman collapsed into her long standing nest.

“Water…” she weakly requested from her hesitant partner. “I will be fine.” She faintly smiled.

Promising to be quick with a soft kiss, the man hurried away to fulfill her request. Kro harshly exhaled once she knew he was really gone from the vicinity. Even though this was her first pregnancy, she knew instinctively that something was horribly wrong. The woman touched the warm stickiness between her thighs to find thick blood and laughed bitterly at her fortune. Like Gaoh’s friends, she too might have arrived only to find Death.

Determined not to leave Gaoh alone again, Kro would do her utmost to bring the child into the world. She tried to fix the baby’s position before she bore down and pushed as hard as she could. Gaoh would be back soon and she did not have much time if she was bleeding as quickly as it seemed.

The child came out in shades of blue and purple, silenced by the umbilical cord wrapped around her upper body. Still bleeding, Kro frantically fumbled with a small knife to release her daughter’s suffocating bindings. She severed the cord at the girl’s neck and across her delicate chest, attempting to coax life into the small body. The baby’s cries comforted her enough to give into her overpowering exhaustion.

“Take care of your father in my place, sweet child.” Kro feebly kissed her daughter’s forehead while drifting off.

Gaoh returned to the wails of his newborn with the water that Kro had requested. She did it. Kro had birthed their child and won her battle singlehandedly. He sped inside to the two resting in the nest where he had left them earlier. Kro looked like she was asleep with their little one cradled against her. Happiness had almost taken him over before he realized that she was not breathing. The man froze a few steps away from his family. His voice hitched in his throat,

“Kro…” He croaked as he approached, trembling.

The baby stirred beneath the bundle. Gaoh tenderly extricated the child from her mother’s hold as the tears began to fall.

“Kro.” He sobbed softly, holding his daughter close.