The treachery of the Kensen

1

Bjorn slept fitfully that night, worried about Mika and what had become of him, as well as for himself and what he would encounter with no guide. But, he trusted Mika that he would be safe enough, if he kept his wits about him and declared he would progress slowly and cautiously, not knowing anything of the great grass sea. By mornings light, as the gray began to fade and light sifted down through the canopy of giant grasses, he brewed tea and felt better, ready to press on. He set off south, following the trail, as Mika had instructed him to do, keeping an eye out for dangers, but growing more excited with each step.2

In less than an hour of tramping along, he caught the scent of fire and presumed there would be people ahead, other travelers like him. Perhaps they would allow him to travel with them, he decided. Maybe they would even be going to the same gathering he and Mika had been going towards when Mika was called away to suddenly and unexpectedly. He hurried to meet the travelers, keeping in mind that he must also be cautious. But, as he moved towards the scent of smoke, he saw no one. The smoke drifted over him and he wondered if a village was near, as this must certainly be the smoke of more than one camp fire. Puzzled he pressed on. But, before long he was confronted by animals scurrying off in the other direction, paying no attention to him and rushing away towards the west and north. He tried to reach out to them, using the technique he was beginning to learn, but could gather nothing. Once and a while he would catch a vagrant thought, usually one crying out to run from undisclosed danger lurking in the grass. But, Mika was ahead somewhere and Bjorn was more determined, now, than ever to find him, and he continued to the South, nearly running now.3

The smoke continued to grow thicker, passing over him as he traveled. There must be a fire of some size, he decided. But, how could that be. Mika had told him of the great creeping vine which snaked through the Sampo grasslands and its natural purpose of extinguishing fires before they got out of hand and threatened the inhabitants of the grasslands. According to Mika the vine sweated a form of sap, when it was heated, which put out fires. The people of the lakes and the builders of the Sudren fleet used the vine to build the galleons because of the way it turned armor hard when it was fired and cooled. He had seen the vine reaching off in a hundred different angles all along the travel through the grass sea. It had been as small as his little finger, to lengths which were nearly as tall as he was with a mighty circumference. Surely, no fire could continue with such a magnificent fail safe system intact through out the grass sea. Still as the animals continued to flea past him, joined now by wolves and wild dogs, cats and frantic deer, and all manner of beasts he had seldom or never seen before, he knew it must be tragically so, but how?4

The smoke was drifting above his head and was no danger, as there was plenty of air beneath the canopy of grasses and he felt little worry, but Bjorn was becoming more and more concerned with Mika. He rushed on through the grass, now paying no attention to whether he stayed on the pathway, heading towards something in the distance that sounded like the cries of many people. Animals rushed off the other direction and finally a child, a young girl, with horrified eyes, dressed in dirty rags. Bjorn tried to stop her to find out what was happening, but she dodged him and ran on. Other children and some adults were running away as well and he tried to hail them, but with no results. So he continued on, now becoming distressed as he saw the panicked rush of animals and humanity desperately fleeing. Finally, just ahead of the hills he came to a clearing and saw a most horrifying sight.5

It was no wonder the people and animals were running. The fields were burning. Flames tore through the grasses towering over the people, crowning in the grain clusters high above, the grain exploding with the heat spread the fire still further and the grass stalks fell into the inferno, causing a maelstrom like some horrible hot breath of a dragon. Ahead, though, he saw a large village and people who were fighting to save their homes of woven grass by pouring water on them in buckets fetched from central wells. Others were frantically beating at flames and hacking down the stalks of grass closest to the village with sickles and scythes. Bjorn forgot about his fear now and all about Mika as well as his nature to help came to the surface. He grabbed up a scythe and began to tear at the grass with the other men and women. His practice at harvest in the north lands made him an expert and he ripped down the heavy grasses with ease. The thick, almost tree like stalks were another story. Men with axes chopped these down. Bjorn pulled his war axe and intermittently switched from the scythe to the axe as he cleared the ground. The smoke began to drift down on the people as the taller grasses fell away and they hacked and choked and fought for breath, but continued. Bjorn did the same, ignoring his own shortness of breath and the ever growing dizziness as he focused on only one thing, fighting the fire. It seemed as though he was at it for hours, but it was working. The people were succeeding in saving their village. The fire passed on around them, leaving in its wake a smoldering ruin stretching off into the hills as far as the eye could see. 6

The sight was something from the worst nightmare, with blackened ground, gray overhanging clouds of smoke slowly drifting off, away from patches of flame still burning at the root work of the plants and brackish water in exposed pools and meandering streams. Bjorn dropped beside a hut and fell into an exhausted sleep.7

He didn’t know how long he slept, but he was suddenly awakened by a gentle shaking and a familiar voice. He opened his eyes to see Mika standing over him. And, beside him was Korok. At first he felt it must have been some sort of dream, since Korok had been no where about when he and Mika had set out. But, as his wits collected about him, he realized they were truly there and he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and struggled to rise.8

“No need to get up just yet, Bjorn. Sit and rest. The people wanted me to thank you for your help in saving their village. They have gone off to dig out stores of food and to gather their weapons, those that survived this holocaust that is.” Bjorn could only nod and wave a hand.9

“Brother, the Kenson did this. They have destroyed thousands of miles of the grasslands and killed many people. They used the fire to drive the animals into traps and killed them as well. They even stripped the bark from the vines and destroyed the roots of the vines to make certain they could not grow back. Many of my people were trapped as well, at our gathering, so many died because of the treachery of the Kenson.”10

Bjorn shook his head and sighed out, “Why?” He took a cup of water offered to him and drank as Mika explained what has happened the day before. 11

“We were near the gathering of the Jud and the Eek were meeting at their annual gathering only a few miles away, near the river banks. The Kensen knew this was happening, and they stripped the vines near the water and out into the grasslands for hundreds of miles, using their slaves to do the work and making others build the armored vessels to replace the ones they had lost in the war with the Sudren. When they take to the seas this time they won’t be as easy to destroy, as they will have armored ships as the Sudren have. But, all that was only one product of their plan. They knew the flames would grow out of control and kill many people. They also knew the fires would drive the animals out of the grasslands. Their intention was to trap and kill as many as possible and use the meat to feed their army and their people. With so many tribes in rebellion and so many mercenaries waiting to ambush their trade convoys they solved all their problems at one time. Now, even the mercenaries have begun to go to their side for pay and the promise of a share of the spoils when they defeat the Sudren and the Nartac armies and navy on the inland sea.”12

“But, Mika, where did you go?” Bjorn questioned. “Why did you leave me alone in the grasslands?” 13

“I had to go and help the teachers and those initiates who had could enter into the fire, the wind and the water. We fought to bring the fire under control from inside, we called the water up into the clouds and caused storms to extinguish the flame and we called upon the wind to blow to the south, forcing the flames back onto already burned out soil. We fought all last night and all of today, but finally we stopped the progress of the fire. If only there had been more of us. But, the Kensen planned this carefully. When the teachers took the initiates away from the gathering into the hills for the ceremony they attacked. They fired the grasslands and they set up a perimeter killing anyone who came on it. The panicked people and animals had no chance. They mowed them down like a grass land harvest. How many are dead, I have no clue. Thousands certainly, perhaps even millions.” Mika drew up his kit and stood. He helped Bjorn to his feet and laid an arm on both Korok and Bjorn’s. 14

Brothers I am going to do something I’ve never done before. Don’t be afraid, just allow your minds to join with mine and don’t fear. We cannot take the time to travel on foot back to the north. I will carry us all, on the web. Do not worry or it will fail. Do you understand? He looked into Korok’s eyes, wondering if the giant would be able to take this all in. He needn’t have worried, for nothing worried Korok. The giant simply nodded and urged him to hurry. Bjorn closed his eyes and let his mind ensnare with Mika’s. He felt Korok in the void as well and then there was a powerful rush charging through his body. 15

In a few seconds he felt himself moving along at a speed he had never known could be possible. It wasn’t as though he was in his body anymore but rather that it was a single collection of energies and the elements that made up all their bodies moving in some river. So, this was what Mika meant by the flow. No wonder all the people who learned the Karoke wanted to become initiates. He had never known so much freedom and the feeling of hurling along like a leaf before a gale was exhilarating. But, as much as he enjoyed the experience, he knew this was deadly serious business. They had to get back to the northlands and warn the people of the impending danger. He only hoped they would be able to reach the inland seas in time.16