30
Sep
This is the first in a short #FridayFlash serial based in The Four Part Land. Events that take place here will have a large impact in upcoming TFPL novels.
Ice flowed out from the western mountains, a glacier that had existed for so long that no one could date its origin. Nor could they date those of the people who lived upon it, the Fferedig Ddynion, a culture so apart that it did not interact with those around them. Instead, they preferred to stay behind their barrier of dead and wasted lands that cut them off from Tri-Hauwcerton and the other greater kingdoms, confident and complete in who they are.
Only a few explorers had returned from that icy land, and spoken of what they knew of the Fferedig Ddynion, and so those of Bedwar Barthu Dirio regarded them as little more than a curiosity, a place that was of mild interest and no import, and that could safely be ignored. Perhaps they had been right, once upon a time, but now things were different, and a new man lead the tribes of the Fferedig Ddynion. He named himself Annwyd Arwedda, chosen at his fifteenth birthday, and it suited him well, for he was a creature of both the cold of hate and the fire of anger. He was a man of stature no greater than any other, but a will as cold and pure as crystalline ice, and a resentment built of a heat strange in such a westerly man. He saw the plenty and the wealth and the comfortable living of those to the east, and wished that for himself. A home that he did not need to build every night, a fire, an abundance of food, these he craved far more than any great treasure, and he vowed he would gather these adornments to him.
Annwyd Arwedda stormed across the packed snow, breath freezing against his face as he threw aside the flap of the tent and stepped inside. The Elders of the Fferedig Ddynion thought to stop him, to make him stay here and live as he always did. That was why they had called him to the meeting tent at this late hour, and why he stormed with rage. And so he threw the tent aside, and saw them formed in a sitting circle, and he glared, refusing to sit and standing with arms crossed, waiting for one of them to speak forth. Bwrw Eira Ddyn, the unspoken leader of this gathering of equals, waited for Annwyd to sit, and gestured for him to do so when he did not. Seeing as nothing would transpire with him still afoot, Annwyd took his place in the circle, arms still folded in defiance.
“It is good of you to join us, and we are sorry to have called you from your wife, but others amongst us felt we should speak to you this night.” Bwrw Eira Ddyn spoke with a firm voice, age only tingeing the edges. “You wish to move our people to a warmer land, a land of greater plenty, is that not so?
“I would only take of them those that would go.” Annwyd knew well that if enough of the young went, the old would have to follow, for without the young, the old could not hunt enough food.
“You speak one, and act two. You would have us all go, down to a valley where the land is warmer and men grow plants in the ground, and you would coerce those who do not by taking their food and their shelter. Is this not so?”
Annwyd growled. “I do what I think is best.”
“We had noted that amongst your actions. You proclaim it rather loudly, even without being asked. You have thought through the disruption this would cause, the possibilities of our people being ill-suited to a journey of this kind?”
“We journey from here to the north sky, and we do it well! What could a simple walk have for us that a mountain cannot contain? It is well within our grasp!”
“And when ice and tundra give way to battered earth and bloody rock, you know enough to hunt, do you? To feast, to forage, to find shelter, amidst a new land? And you will teach those of us who need to know these skills before we depart?”
“Yes, I do. I have spent years living along the edge of those lands, then pushing deeper. I am not a fool that discards his home for nought but a whim. I already teach some of those who would go. Others will learn from them, and from me.”
“And you have the agreement of those of our new land? They will accept our arrival with equanimity and grace, and leave us room and time to adapt?”
“I work the same miracles as you, Bwrw. None! Do you wish more than to toss questions at me like spears at a mark, or do you have no substance hiding beneath that thicket of hair?”
Bwrw Eira Ddyn waved at Annwyd, as if he was of no matter. “Go, go then. You are clearly determined. We will debate what shall actually happen after you leave. You will be informed in the morning.”
Annwyd Arwedda rose a furious man, and stalked to his tent, spine rigid with stung pride. He would not sleep this night, his mind caught in a web of all the things that might be, could be, may be. He would wait at the entrance to his home, and when the soft tread of a messenger arrived, spring to his feet and fling it open, speaking only one word: “Well?”
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Deanna Schrayer on 10.01.2010
Fantastic set up for what seems a promising series. Your description of the charged atmosphere is very well told.
I look forward to more!
Sam on 10.01.2010
A gret set-up piece. I’m really looking forward to reading how this story unfolds.
DJ Young on 10.02.2010
You have such a natural affinity for fantasy, for creating a mythos that, like other fantasy series, relies on world-building, culture-building, keeping us some place familiar, while knowing we’ve gone through a shadowy looking glass. You’ve built a whole history in a single page. Amazing. Great start.
Adam Byatt on 10.02.2010
You have created in interesting world that I now want to know more about. Look forward to reading more.
Adam B @revhappiness
Mari Juniper on 10.02.2010
A stormy MC indeed! I’m curious to know more. 🙂
The Four Part Land on 10.02.2010
http://www.thefourpartland.com/home_fferedig.php is a little bit from the front page that gives more background on this particular group.
When I sat down and designed The Four Part Land, about 6 years ago, this area on the map was a giant blank spot saying ‘Wasteland’. Then I decided to drop this story into the setting, and rework that area from a blank wasteland into a high plateau of tundra and frozen life. Of course, what I neglected to do was think how this story would impact the main timeline of TFPL before I wrote it.
@DJ What I tend to do is borrow bits and pieces from history, or from people I know in real life. In this case, I poached a little from the Mongolians, but by and large they’re made up out of my own head.
The language, like all things in Bedwar Barthu Dirio, the original TFPL continent, is Welsh.
@Adam, et al. On the front page of the website there’s a whole series of background pages about the setting, which more or less sets the stage for the stories that unfold in Tarranau and Chloddio.
As for more of Annwyd Arwedda, he’ll be reappearing next friday.
Vandamir on 10.03.2010
I love seeing another part of this world. Reminds me of Alaska – the villages were very insular. I’m curious about next week’s story and how the people who follow Annwyd Arwedda adjust to being farmers and not nomads. I think they’ll find the grass is always greener (in this case, literally).
Aidan Fritz on 10.03.2010
I found myself thinking that it sounded somewhat gaelic… I wasn’t too far off if you were thinking welsh. I like the back and forth of the dialogues.
The Four Part Land on 10.06.2010
@Vand As far as I remember, this particular place isn’t based on anywhere in the real world, just pulled from what I remember of the high plateaus and tundra and steppes. There’s a little bit more to go before they become farmers, but the transition is… interesting.
@Aidan Welsh is one of the Gaelic languages. I also use Cornish and Manx in here a little. Sadly, those are the dead branches of that tree. Died recently, both of them.
I think the dialogues here are some of the better ones I’ve written. I’d usually say dialogue is one of my weak points as a writer.
Steve Green on 10.31.2010
A very nice start James, the atmosphere, and dialogue in the tent were very skilfully written.
The Four Part Land on 11.03.2010
For whatever reason, the dialogue in this story is something that appeals to me more than dialogue I’ve written in many other places. Maybe it was Annwyd, maybe it was the Elders, but I find it better here than in other places. Of course, I could just be wrong.