Read Online Rising From the Ashes: The Chronicles of Caymin by Caren J. Werlinger - Free Book Online

apprentices were already gathered. Ash had not spoken to them since the night of the full moon, and she eyed them curiously.
    Diarmit hurried over and spooned a large portion of stew into a bowl. The others followed. A platter of freshly baked loaves sat on a table long enough for all of them to be seated on benches on either side. Ash stood and waited until Enat was seated with a bowl before taking a seat herself.
    She raised her spoon to her mouth, glad now that Enat had insisted she learn how to use it, but paused as she sniffed. “Deer?”
    Enat nodded. “Yes.”
    After the lesson of the morning, a few of the others paused their eating.
    “Did you hunt?” Ash asked.
    Ivar frowned. “Aye, we hunted.”
    “Why?” Gai asked from down the table. “Don’t badgers hunt?”
    Ash looked at her bowl and did not respond.
    “You told me you ate meat,” Enat reminded her. “We have honored the spirit of this deer, giving thanks for his sacrifice in order that many may eat. We’ll make use of every bit of him, so that his death is not a waste. When we die, our bodies will likewise go to replenishing the life of the earth. So ’tis for all living things.”
    The eating gradually resumed, and Ash ate silently. In her mind, she thanked the deer again for his sacrifice. She had never thought about this when she and the dogs scavenged meat from the village. The hunting was already done, and she was doing what she had to to live, but she had never killed. She had stolen eggs. She supposed the birds she’d stolen from considered that killing. She wondered if she would ever be asked to kill, and she wondered how she would respond.

    Ash’s mouth gaped as she stared at the map Ivar had laid out on the table. It was drawn on a large animal skin and depicted a land completely surrounded by water.
    “You are saying if I walk far enough in any direction, I will reach the endless water?” Ash found this impossible to comprehend. She and Enat had walked for many days but, looking at where their forest was drawn on the map, were still nowhere near the edges of the land. How far would she have to walk to get there?
    “Éire is an island,” Ivar said. “So, yes. If you walk far enough, you will meet the sea. That is how invaders come to our island from other lands. But they are not the only threat.” He pointed again to the map. “A hundred winters and more ago, we had only four main kingdoms: Uladh in the north, Laigin in the east, Munster in the south and Connacht in the west. But over those hundred winters, clans have been fighting for land, and the four kingdoms are now broken into many smaller ones. Our forest sits on a boundary between kingdoms. This is why you must all know how to fight.”
    “Only to defend,” said Neela. “Defend our forest, and those who are weak and cannot defend themselves.”
    “If we know magic, why do we have to fight?” Ash asked.
    “Are you afraid to fight?” Gai challenged her.
    He had bragged many times of being taught fighting skills by his father’s warriors when he was young. Ash knew that Cíana and some of the others already had been taught some of these skills.
    “I do not know,” Ash replied. “I have never fought. Do humans know how to do anything but fight?”
    Cíana hid a smile. Ivar stepped forward and said, “You’re right, Ash. We should avoid fighting whenever we can. But our island has been invaded by many tribes from other lands – from the north, from the east.” He pointed on the map. “When they come, they come to kill. This forest is protected with enchantments to keep non-magic folk from finding it. Most would encounter fog and mist and wander about lost on the boundaries until they gave up. But some of the invaders have their own magicians, and they sense the power of this forest. They might lead the invaders in and allow them to do harm. We must be prepared to protect our home. The forest cares for us, and we must care for it.”
    Though Ivar’s reasons