Logging, the wall, finding traces, ashes and dust
Alongside winter management, training the youngstock and logging were the primary focus for the second term. They did the majority of the work in providing the lumber for the woodworking crafts.
"Not much work like this in Jon I imagine." Thelus commented the first day they were out.
"No, not at all. We planted some trees near the house and barn, but there is nothing worth logging for miles and miles and it is flat as far as the eye can see."
The basic mechanics of the work wasn't particularly difficult, but the terrain made it challenging. Thelus started her working with the mature drafts and mules as she got used to the verbal commands and how to operate the jerk line, a single line that was split before the rein terrets on the hames and then connectes on either side of the bridle or bit. How it affected the animal depended on the handler's orientation or the drape of the line around or over the animal's body.
On Seltan they hooked up the dun mules to the flatbed wagon and gathered up tye five young animals amd strung them out behind the vehicle as they trekked across the valley, crunching through the snow. They clinbed into the trees and halted mid-morning. The dun mules were contained within construct stalls, which Sray felt absolutely useless for. There were eight others present, much more capable than she was and she was relegated to keeping a hold of the line of youngstock.
Thelus divided them up, a pair for each of the young horses and a trio for the team of young mules. Sray went with Thelus and they all separated to find the trees marked by the woodworkers for cutting. The woods were full of anxious whinnies for several minutes until the young animals settled into the task at hand. Every once in a while one would still call out again to check where the others were, sometimes getting a response, and other times not.
Sray was keenly aware that they were in the East end of the valley and somewhere further up the hill was the wall. Thelus was working on their second tree when he stopped and dropped the ax, leaning onto the handle and scrutinizing Sray. "Do you have somewhere you would rather be, Sray?"
"What?" She snapped to attention, "No, sir."
Thelus frowned back at her and then turned his gaze eastward, where Sray's focus had continually drifted towards. "Are you sure about that?" Thelus asked.
"Yes, sir." She replied quickly.
His thin brows raised slightly. "You will make trouble for all of us if you are not focused on that horse."
"I am sorry, sir, I will do better."
He watched her critically, his dark eyes narrow slits in his stony face. Finally, he picked up the ax and set it over his shoulder before motioning to the horse. "Drop the singletree and follow me."
She did as told and guided the horse behind Thelus as he strode purposefully ahead of her. It was a steady climb through the trees, and thankfully, the snow wasn't very deep. Sray noticed something strange as they continued, a ridge of snow in an unnatural line coupled with a gap in the trees.
Thelus stopped. "Sometimes you have to confront the distraction in order to get past it." He held out his empty hand. "I'll take the horse," he nodded towards the line, "go satisfy your curiosity."
She looked from his hand to the space beyond where they stood. He had known exactly what she was distracted by. "Thank you, Thelus." She didn't know what else to say and tried not to look too eager as she closed the distance to the ridge. When she got closer, she noticed the strange, barren gap between two ridges of snow that were banked up against the near-invisible barrier. It looked like someone had taken a two foot wide blade and cut into the snow down to the dirt and rock beneath. It was perfectly straight and completely unnatural. The line did undulate slightly, weaving around jutting boulders rather than integrating them into the structure.
The Engama side was cleared of trees twenty feet back from the wall, but the Klamon side took no such care. There were a dozen trees within her line of sight alone with branches that had grown to the construct and then bent at sharp angles to run parallel to it, up, down, or sideways depending on how it met the barrier. It was so tall she had to tilt her head back to see the edge. She tentatively placed her hand on the wall and felt into its strange nothingness. She tried to remember everything Illendis had said about assessing structures. It was undeniably the largest thing she had ever come across. It was sunk more than two feet into ghe ground, broader at its base and tapering upwards, but the wall felt like it extrnded forever in either direction. It was thick and moderately packed and she could tell it was the work of many hands. Each piece stitched into the other, the pattern varying slightly in each section. Not all pieces ran through the full thickness of the wall. Some were shallow, just an inch or two into the surface, patches perhaps to correct a defect. Others were deep, very few went completely across and she wondered how much of the original structure remained or if it had been slowly replaced over the years. The amount of time and manpower it would have taken to build was astounding. A whole army of Meim, she was sure.
She removed her hand and stepped back again, taking in the blue-tinged structure that stretched as far as she could see and comprehend in either direction. This thing was meant to keep Klamon out. It was conceived, designed and built to make sure any Klamon that came across it knew in no uncertain terms that they were not welcome, that this was Meim territory. It's perfectly smooth surface was unclimbable. The occasional tree on the east side was close enough to use to get over, but once down on the west side there would be no going back. The trees weren't close or tall enough.
She inhaled sharply through her nose, the cold air burning slightly and she shook her head, but couldn't quite shake the thought that she was on the wrong side of the wall.
"Satisfied?" He asked when she returned.
She reclaimed the horse's line. "Not really," she admitted, "but I doubt the Brotherhood would want me doing anything to it."
"They would just fix it again, anyway. A wasted effort." He turned back on his tracks. "Let us finish what we started then."
They managed to get back before Illendis' class started, but not before lunch was over in the hall. Thankfully Thelus' wife had something prepared.
Remstan Kem and Silfiya joined Sray on another day-long outing. She returned to the space where the pahlsonn had been the prior week. Carefully, she first checked and confirmed there was no trace of the animal in the area. From there she focused on exploring the area. In summer and fall it must have been full of a variety of berries and fruits in a higher concentration than seemed natural. She criss-crossed the ground, looking for some type of well-worn, and likely overgrown, path amidst the dormant plants and the fresh dusting of snow.
She covered nearly an acre before she found a depression covered in shrubs. Another time of year it would be a green tunnel and possibly invisible for the overgrowth.
I couldn't be halfway in. Even as a boy it didn't settle well with me to keep this all a secret. What good is being Meim if you can't use it? No, if I couldn't be full time among the Meim I might as well forsake the Brotherhood and everything that goes with it. -Thelus
I will be here until my body is nothing but ashes and dust. The spirit is tied to the flesh through birth and remains until it is burned freebod its bonds.