Hati

The night is darkening round me
The wild winds coldly blow;
But a tyrant spell has bound me
And I cannot, cannot go.

----

The village was celebrating. Wild, raucous laughter tumbled out from the brightly fire-lit doorways of the various shops and abodes. Hati could hardly fault them for all the noise; after all, the war against the neighboring villages had just ended after ten long years. Now, they had won rights to the other villages' land, and ended the war before they would completely run out of supplies.

Lights flickered in the bar, the biggest one in the village yet still dingy and, as of tonight, overcrowded. Someone merrily bellowed out the start of a drinking song a few tables over and the dragons around took up the lyrics, clanking their tankards together to the beat.

Hati’s mouth turned up ever so slightly as he continued sharpening his sword, a repetitive motion that had somehow become soothing to him. Once he deemed it satisfactory, he ran a talon along the edge of his blade. Red welled up from the thin cut. Nodding with satisfaction, he slipped his sword back into his sheath. It was a habit more than anything, now; a soldier was a dead soldier if caught with a blunt blade. He had learned that lesson once, and never again.

The sound of a pair of approaching boots snapped his head up. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a hooded skydancer slipping into the bar beside him. He waited. After some time, Hati leaned forward in his seat, tapping his talons on the wood of the table. "So what brings you here?" he asked conversationally, gaze forward.

The skydancer's voice was amused. "To celebrate, of course. What a joyous occasion indeed."

"For a reveler, you do not seem particularly inclined to join in with the rest," Hati replied, idly picking up his tankard, watching his reflection break apart as amber liquid swished around.

"Perhaps I wished to drink a bit first. "

"Beside me, when there are three other seats open elsewhere? You have not yet ordered a drink, and it has been ten minutes already. At least I've a tankard in front of me."

"Hmm. I must admit, you're certainly keenー”

“Comes with being a soldier, and all that,” Hati interrupted. “I’ve no patience to run around in circles. I repeat, what brings you here?”

Their voice turned serious. "The council has summoned you."

"Now?" Hati asked incredulously. "It is literally the dead of night. Whatever for?"

His companion shrugged. "That is up to the council to tell you. I am merely their messenger."

He groaned, looking at his tankard; he might as well finish the rest. He was basically drunk at this point, anyway. Hati set the tankard down, squinting at the coins he had in his pouch. When it was clear his eyesight wasn’t going to magically stop being blurry, he dumped a handful of coins onto the counter, praying it was enough.

Then he staggered outside, ignoring the polite, apologetic nod the skydancer gave to the barkeep for not ordering anything. A shiver overtook him at the bite of the cold air; his head was throbbing dully. Not a very pleasant feeling, but not enough to slur his words. If the council asked for him at this time, then it was their problem he was like this. "Go on, lead the way."

Along the way, the skydancer led him past the square, and he stopped for a moment. Tomorrow was the winter equinox, wasn’t it? When he was younger, the elders and council used to set up a huge circular array in the square every year during the equinox, offering sacrifices of food and game in order for continual blessings from the old gods.

Time passed so quickly. It was nostalgic; even through his hazy vision, he could see the clearly etched white chalk and scattered cinnabar on the raised platform. They hadn’t had the chance to do the ritual during the years of warfare, but the elders and council had probably used the supplies looted in preparation for tomorrow.

He turned back to see the skydancer waiting for him, something unreadable in their eyes. He offered a rueful shrug, plodding after them. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist looking. I’ve always loved the ritual, you know. It was a shame we couldn’t do it before.”

The council’s original building had actually been destroyed in a siege a year ago, so they had temporarily moved into one of the larger still-standing buildings in the village, an old warehouse once used to store grain.

Even after several admittedly sparse refurbishings, the council building’s humble origins showed. Whereas before the halls had been constructed of obsidian and marble especially to intimidate and invite respect, the ones present seemed flimsy and simple in comparison. Maybe it was just a matter of lack of building materials, though.

The skydancer led him through the huge, albeit hastily constructed, iron gates, and the clang that rang out as they slammed closed had never seemed more ominous. Hati sighed in relief as the warmer air hit him when they entered the building. The wide passageway to the main room echoed with their footsteps, and Hati stopped for a moment, bracing himself for whatever was to come.

“Whenever you’re ready. They’re waiting for you,” his companion said, nodding a farewell, before vanishing around a corner.

He pushed open the oak doors.

He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the torches flickering on the wall around him, and pressed a talon to his head, muffling a whine threatening to escape him when his head gave a sharp flare of pain. His alcohol tolerance had and would probably always be much too low, he acknowledged with a grimace. His battalion had teased him relentlessly for it.

“Esteemed warrior of our village, Hati, arrives,” a herald called out from the doorway and Hati bowed.

“May the Valaisti shine upon you, my lords,” he said, and though it was quiet, it reverbated in the silence of the huge chamber. This part of the building, at least, had been redone so thoroughly that one could hardly tell there had once been bags of grain stacked up into precariously tall piles here.

“Rise,” a different, lower voice intoned, and he looked up to the seven seats arranged in a semicircle. Of them, three were occupied, two by a coatl and snapper and a third hooded dragon upon the central seat. Hati frowned, confused. The council was rarely ever called without all its members present.

“If I may be so presumptuous as to ask, why have I been summoned?”

The voice that addressed him at first rang out from the hooded figure, rasping out a laugh, as if addressing some sort of joke to which Hati was not privy. Hati’s mouth tightened. “Before I answer your question,” the hooded figure said slowly, “do me the favor and answer one of mine.” The figure’s tone was not one of inquiry.

“Whatever my lord wishes.”

“What future do you imagine for the village?”

“IーI beg your pardon?” Hati asked, mind racing to try and figure out what was the expected answer of him, as well as why the question had been posed in the first place. “Is this a test?”

“Just answer,” the figure snapped. Hati couldn’t place themー couldn’t place any of them, actuallyー as he rapidly went through the list of council seats, because their faces weren’t clearly visible, even if his eyes weren’t blurry right now. Furthermore, he’d been away for years and hadn't bothered to catch up on the latest news; perhaps the lords he knew had been replaced by newer ones.

A gnarled scar slashed across the coatl’s face, and the snapper had a metallic implant in place of where his talon should've been. Both of them were wearing masks across the upper half of their faces, though, so he couldn’t tell anymore than that. The armor was nondescript as anything, just bits and pieces, enough to be armed but not enough to fight on a battlefield. There were no insignias except those of the council.

The hooded figure was hardly better. Their frame was hidden under a cloak, and from what peeked out he could see an arm guard of some sort. A dagger made of some dark material hung from a belt; the only reason he even noticed was because it had reflected the torchlight for a brief instant.

He snapped back to attention when the coatl shifted, armor clanking. Right, he couldn’t space out here. This was the council, the highest power in the village, and it was completely within their right to have his head for insolence or disobedience.

“Peace,” he blurted out, panicked, “I imagine peace for the village.”

“Oh?” the coatl leaned forward, mouth curling into a sharp grin. “Do elaborate?”

He took a moment to compose his words. If this was actually a test, he would have to emphasize his loyalty. “Well, I’veー we’ve been fighting for so long, but our victory gave us incredible power. The next few generations won’t have to worry about territory disputes, or lack of building space and hunting ground, because the victory has secured that for us. Hatchlings don’t need to be taught the mentality of survive-or-die, and dragons don’t need to be taught to kill. That desperation will no longer have a place here.”

“And what about you?” the snapper mused, tilting their head.

“My lordーme?”

“What will you contribute to the future of the village, esteemed warrior?”

Hati blanked. Truthfully, he’d never thought that far; the war had no time for idle musings and what-ifs. He had just focused on surviving another day, another night, an endless, monotonous cycle. For all that he knew, he could’ve been killed at any given moment.

“I…” he trailed off, about to say he didn’t know.

‘Hati, when the war is over, let’s protect the village so something like this never happens again!’

‘If the war is ever over... but go on.’

‘Hati, indulge me just this once, won’t you?’

‘That’s always what you say.'

Laughter filled the air in response.

“I’ll be a protector,” he said eventually. “I’ll prevent further violence, when it comes.”

A sneer twisted the snapper's mouth. “Further violence? Like you pointed out, our victory will guarantee no other dragons attack us. Why would we, then, need ‘protectors’?”

“Beastclans, my lord. They may take the chance to attack us, knowing that we have just won a war and are not at our full strength. But I’m sure I can find other employment, if it comes to that,” Hati said carefully.

The hooded figure was the one who moved this time, their gaze landing heavily on him. “Who would want to employ you in a village of peace?” they scoffed, “you, a warrior, with such bloodstained claws?”

He immediately bristled at the implicit accusation. “Every warrior who has fought for our village has killed. There is no time for hesitance on the battlefield, not when it could cost you your life. And I’m quite sure others would understand; how else would you win a war?”

“There is no time for hesitance on the battlefield, you said,” the hooded figure hissed out, barely above a whisper, and abruptly stood up, stalking towards Hati. “No time for hesitance? Ironic coming from a dragon who failed to protect a life by doing the very same. Protector, indeed. What a joke.”

“Forgive me, my lord, what do you mean?” Hati said, bewildered. “If this is aboutー”

“The battle at Snowfall Pass!” the hooded figure snarled out, and Hati understood.

“You presume?” he snarled back, old grief weighing him down, fighting against the sudden wave of pain from standing up after kneeling. “You have no right to even speak of it, who do you think you areー”

“Don’t I?” the figure said lowly, icy fury infused in their words, and yanked their hood back in one move. “Don’t I, little Managarmr? You killed my son with your negligence! And yet you think to look after others?”

It couldn't be. The figure was lying. But their faceー faces didn't lie, and Hati sensed no concealment spell at work.

“Hrodvitnir,” Hati breathed out, disbelieving. “But last I saw youー you went missing during the war!”

“It doesn’t matter whether I went missing or not,” the wildclaw said, teeth bared in an animalistic show of wrath. “When I came back, I heard you had survived. And then I asked what of my son and they said he was dead. You failed in your duty to him.”

Hati closed his eyes for a moment, shame and misery and remorse dredged up from the marrow of his bones. “I know,” he whispered, bowing his head in silent acknowledgement, the fight seeping out of him. “I know I failed, and for that, I am sorry. So, so, sorry.”

Hrodvitnir struck him on the cheek.

The pain welled up, a bruise already forming, and he pressed a cautious talon to his face. Hrodvitnir, if anything, grew more furious. “You think a mere apology can make up for his death? You wretched loisenen, I should have let you drown. Perhaps, then,” he sneered, “he would still be alive.”

Hati jerked his head up, eyes burning with anger. "As if I had killed him voluntarily!" he roared, forcing out the words through his daze. "You think I had a choice? It was a half-second instant, one I've regretted a million times! He was the one who wanted to go ahead with the ambush, I tried to persuade him the opposite. The council was the one ordering the ambush of us in the first placeー"

“I am ashamed,” Hrodvitnir said coolly, interrupting him, “to have even assumed you would acknowledge the blame that lies upon you.”

He blinked, caught off-guard with that statement, and then whirled on Hrodvitnir. “I carry his death with me every single day and youー”

“Me?”

Hati snarled in defiance, the barest show of teeth. “Well, then? How would you have me repent? The dead do not come back save for the vilest of magic.”

“Say,” Hrodvitnir mused, tone suddenly deceptively light. Hati shrank back warily, another growl on the tip of his tongue, but what Hrodvitnir said next effectively shut him up. “Didn’t you make a promise to him, when you two were sent off to war? Life and death companions? Well, then, quite simply, why are you still alive?

'Hati, if I die, make sure to live on for me, won’t you?'

'You aren't hiding any wounds, are you-?'

"Promise, Hati, please. Promise me."

'...Okay, okay.'

Hati's head throbbed, agonized. "I..."

And then he collapsed onto the floor.

----

The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow.
And the storm is fast descending
And yet I cannot go.

Clouds beyond clouds above me
Wastes beyond wastes below;
But nothing drear can move me;
I will not, cannot go.


poem is 'spellbound', by emily bronte



lore notes:
part 1.2: discovery & escape (foreshadowing ending?)
part 1.3: intermission (moooore foreshadowing)

part 2.1: first meeting + army enlistment
part 2.2: snowfall pass battle
part 2.3: intermission

part 3.1: beginning of descent + skoll meeting
part 3.2: battle, more madness
part 3.3: epilogue