Chapter 1 - The Windswept Valley

A heavy silence seemed to hang over the dulcet night, like the calm before a storm, the deep breath before the plunge. Manda pushed her way through the thick grass, keeping her eyes on the outcrop of rock in the distance. The sun had set hours before, and now every soft gust of wind through the valley made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.

Behind her, the young boy whimpered in fear, clutching her hand tighter. Manda pushed aside another swathe of grass, and roughly pulled him forwards, keeping him in pace with her.

She took a breath, settling herself. “What were you doing so far outside the village limits? You knew the sun was setting, stupid boy.”

The boy sniffled. “I wanted to see the spaceship.”

“Why? It’s just a lump of metal. There’s nothing special about it.”

“It’s not! It’s not!” the boy shouted.

Manda cursed under her breath, pulling the struggling boy close to her. she leant down, pulling him in front of her so she could still see the rock over his shoulder.

Always watch the rocks. If you lose sight of the rocks in the valley, you’ll never find them again. Whatever moves the grass at night, it’s not just the wind. That’s when it’s hunting.

“Don’t shout, you idiot! Don’t you know about the stories?” she hissed.

The boy wiped the tears out of his eyes, but they were still defiant. Almost piercing. “It doesn’t hunt at night. There is no it. If you can’t see it, it’s not real.”

“Just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it’s not real. Others could have seen it.”

The boy’s stare didn’t waver. Manda stood, looking down at him. The boy was ghostly pale, and Manda assumed it was just fear, or the miasma of night clouding her senses. But his eyes were so focused, it couldn’t be fear. Manda was pale for her village, but even she could hide amongst the woods without being spotted. This boy, his skin was almost white. She had seen him, almost lit up against the trees as she moved towards the village. In fact, her curiosity had pulled her off the hunting path, and into the undergrowth. It was her fault she was stuck in the Windswept Valley, this late. 

She pushed the thought away, continuing to move towards the rock. Another gentle gust of wind came through the trees, and Manda shivered. The grass moved in waves, shadows and faint reflections of moonlight rippling in synchronisation.

Something in the distance caught her eye. One of the waves parted, and the grass seemed to shudder. It was splitting slowly, a ripple in the smooth green ocean, moving towards them.

Manda suppressed the fear, rising through her chest. She pulled at the boy, making for the rock.

I don’t have time. Don’t turn and look, don’t turn and look. Just keep moving.

The boy didn’t pull, but kept pace beside her. Manda sped up slightly, and felt a slight relief as the ground began to rise under her feet. The outcrop was getting closer and closer, and as the grass began to fall away to rock she let go of the boy, speeding into a run.

She leapt, her foot landing solidly against the side. She grabbed the lip, finding a handhold with practiced precision and swung herself onto the rock. She spun, pulling the rough rope from around her shoulder and tossing one end down into the grass.

“Here! grab onto the rope, and-”

The rope swung against the side of the rock. The young boy had vanished.

He was right behind me. I know, I was holding his hand. Where is he?!

She scoured the grass, still rustling quietly in the night. Suddenly, she saw the ripple in the grass.

It’s so close. How did it get so close?

Suddenly, she felt a change. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she felt goosebumps rise on her arms. The ripple in the grass stopped.

Another breeze came across the valley, but it suddenly faded. The grass fell still, and the sounds from around them suddenly vanished.

Manda gripped the rock. It’s so quiet. What’s going on?

The ripple in the grass suddenly blew outwards. The grass moved outwards like the nexus of a sudden storm, a single beat of force spilling outwards over the grass, like a ripple on a silent pond. Manda felt a tingle as the strange rush passed over her.

What the…

Several metres away, another rustle suddenly shot away, the grass violently parting in a thrash of speed.

The grass parted, and the pale boy emerged. He glanced around, before noticing Manda clutching the rock, her knuckles white.

“It was a lizard.”

“W…what?”

The boy looked confused before. “The ‘it’. The ‘it’ you were talking about. It was a big lizard.”

Manda stared at him. Still, the boy seemed calm, focused. There wasn’t any fear in what he had said. He sounded like he was describing seeing a bird in the sky, or a fish in the stream.

The boy grabbed the rope, and with a heave, tried to pull himself up. His tiny arms tried to hoist himself up, but he fell with a small grunt. Manda grasped the rope with both hands.

“Hold the rope.”

The boy looked up at her, before pulling himself to his feet and grabbing the rope again. Manda lifted it away from the rock and with some effort, hoisted him up to the rock lip. He climbed up to the outcrop.

Manda stared at him. “How old are you?”

The boy rubbed his hands. “Five.”

“How did you know what… it was?”

The boy looked at her. “The Pulse. It showed me it was a big lizard.”

“How big?”

The boy thought for a bit, before glancing at Manda’s body. “It was bigger than you.”

“How much bigger?”

“Two yous.”

Manda sat back, before looking up. “We aren’t far from the village. We just need to follow the rocky wastes upwards, and we’ll be in range of the torches. The sentries will see us then.”

The boy nodded.

“I’m really sleepy.”

“What?”

“Daddy told me, whenever I use The Pulse, I have to sleep. I’m sleepy.”

“I… fine.” Manda hesitantly picked up the boy. She felt his muscles loosen, and his head droop onto her shoulder. She rested his legs under her arms, and began slowly climbing the steep, rocky hill towards home.

***

“Manda, you’ve been too reckless lately.”

Manda rolled her eyes. “I know… I got sidetracked. It won’t happen again.”

The sentry looked at her. “You’re only fifteen years old. What would have happened if you had taken the path through Windswept Valley? ‘It’ could have gotten you.” He raised his burning torch, illuminating a small fallen log in their path.

“No, it…” Manda hesitated, “no, it would have been fine.”

“This time.” The sentry glanced at the boy, asleep on Manda’s back. Manda said nothing, but carefully climbed over the fallen log.

Manda had heard the talk before. Many of the sentries surrounding Iron Village knew her; she preferred to hunt in the evenings when the light was low, and more than once she had no choice but to make her way back to the village in darkness.

The sentry used his blazing torch to light up the thin forest. The moonlight was waning, and Manda could barely make out the last of the rocky hillside she had climbed behind. The last of the trees parted, and the huge pillars came into view, layers of windows lit up with torchlight.

Iron Village was in a prime hunting location. Many of the tribes in the area were nomadic , following the herds across the plains and tracking the migrations of the forest dwellers. But decades ago, Manda’s tribe had come across huge stone monoliths, carved out of rock, filled with layers of spacious halls protected from the wind. It already had well-worn paths, easily marking out huge bands of hunting land, and was only several minutes from the river, coursing towards the vast waterfall into the plains below.

As word of the find had spread the population of the village had increased, but there was ever more space, stone steps leading to halls ever higher with more space. At the top, you could see the whole wood, deep into the plains, see the river meander into the distance. Manda had never seen its source, but on clear days she could see, right on the horizon forest, cliffs and water seemingly vanish into a wall of grey fog, like a silent unmoving tsunami. She had wanted to go there one day, but hunting was far more important. She didn’t have time to chase some dream, not when her village needed her.

The trees abruptly fell away, onto a perfectly smooth stone plateau. Manda felt herself relax slightly, the controlled tension she kept in the forests falling away with sight of home. Several other sentries nodded a greeting, giving Manda a perplexed look. Many of them had had to lead her home themselves.

“What is with this boy?” the sentry asked her.

“Him? I found him wandering through the forests to the west. I was tracking deer and found him. He said he was looking for the spaceship.”

The sentry chuckled. “Spaceship?”

Manda sighed. “It’s nothing, something the kids started calling it. There’s a lump of moss-covered metal in the western forests, by the side of the long dugout. I visited the site with Junipa once, she said the dugout was actually the crash site, where it hit the earth.”

“Where do you kids get these ideas?”

Manda nodded a greeting to the sentries at the entrance to the largest monolith. “Don’t lump me in with those idiots. It’s just an ore deposit that’s come to the surface.”

“And this child?” The sentry stopped, “Why did you bring him back here?”

Manda turned to face him, and shrugged. “It was a child, wandering alone in the wilderness. It would have been cruel to leave him to die. Far crueller than I am. Anyway…” she hesitated.

“What is it?”

“Its… it’s nothing. Something I have to speak to the elder about.”

The sentry smiled. “Alright. But, it’s far too late. Don’t disturb him until the morning.”

Manda repositioned the boy on the back. “That’s fine. Thanks for walking me back.”

“Don’t worry about it.” The sentry smiled and turned, pacing back towards the forest.

The first hall was huge, its ceiling reaching several metres above her head. Inside, families had cordoned off small areas for their homes with animal skins stretched across wooden frames, weaved branches of wicker and leather and draped cloths, flickering shadows moving across them as small fires burnt down to embers softly lit the darkness. Compared to the stark, almost bleak expanses of straight carved rock, stretching into the darkness, the soft warmth of the homes, mixed with smells of stew, wood smoke and burning oil.

Soft voices, mixed with deep breathing of those already asleep mixed with the crackling of the last of the fires, and Manda felt the last of the tension left over from the hunt fade away, fatigue tugging at her limbs.

Manda’s family had been one of the first to occupy Iron Village, and her parents occupied one of the spacious areas on the ground floor. However, upon her adolescence, she had elected for a small home, higher up in the monolith, where she could strive for independence. It was unorthodox, and sometimes lonely, but as Manda passed her parent’s home, she thanked her luck that she had.

It’s far too late for me to explain this. At least, until I see the elder.

She reached the end of the end of the hall, and an unadorned doorway led to stone steps, leading upwards. As she climbed, she passed several more floors, each with its own unique allocation of homes, sounds and smells. Several sentries nodded greetings, and Manda smiled back, trying to pass them surreptitiously before they could ask about the child.

Finally, she reached the fifth floor. Manda silently counted the tentflaps, until she came across her own. She pulled it back, to reveal a single futon, rough lamb wool stiched with leather and topped with furs, and a small leather rug covering the cold stone floor. The wall only came up to her midriff; her home was one of the few situated under an expansive window, staring out into the night. A small unlit fireplace, marked out with large flat stones sat below the sill, and a cool breeze gently washed in from the darkness, rippling the tentflap behind her.

She laid the child down on the futon and, grabbing one of the furs and wrapping it around her, sat down heavily on the rug. 

This is so strange… what was with that sudden wind? what is 'The Pulse'?

She glanced at the child’s pale face as she leant her back against the futon.

 Who in the world are you?

She felt her eyelids flutter, and rested her head against the futon. Another breeze rolled in from the forest as she let sleep take her.