Yet now my mindset was far different. Perhaps I would catch up to Running Bear before he caught up to the invaders, perhaps not. Perhaps we would be successful in rescuing the villagers, perhaps not. Perhaps we would even die in the attempt.
It did not matter. These things were beyond my control. I had a job to perform. It may be successful, it might not. But performing my role in it was what was demanded of me.
As I ran I wondered what the eagle had seen in me. Had he judged me, for good or ill? Did I meet with his approval?
I doubted my actions in speaking with Wise Owl would meet his approval. I had dismissed out of hand the words of the old man simply because they were indicative of a different consciousness than my own.
Wise Owl spoke of the traditions of his people with reverence. I never considered the traditions of my own people. What we did was simply the way things were. Wise Owl considered the impact of his own actions on other people whereas we considered only ourselves.
Yet were we wrong to do so? Living the way we had allowed the small Lahana nation to not merely survive but prosper in a hostile world. We were surrounded by enemies on all sides. The Ogres had long desired to invade and take our lands for their own. The orcs had made their attempts as well.
It was only through rigid adherence to our ways that we had kept our nation strong. We were indeed a rigid and violent people, always ready to fight if that was what was needed.
Yet there were moments of beauty as well. I thought back to the concert where I had first become betrothed.
As was the custom, we wore powdered wigs, tight breeches, and silk cravats. We arrived in carriages carefully selected to show our wealth and powder. Mine, of course, was among the finest as befit one of the oldest families in all of Lahana, a family of counselors to the king, a family of Dukes and Barons.
I was proud of the matched set of greys that pulled it. As the others arrived, I waited. It would not do to be among the first to arrive. Rank was important not only to have but to show. The higher rank we had, the later we took our seats in the great concert hall so that those seated before could bask in our magnificence as we arrived.
Yet it was not just for show. Concerts provided an opportunity to mingle, to make alliances with other families and sometimes to seal those arrangements through marriage.
My father had long sought to join together with the Tolaradane family. Together, we could stand against even the king should the need arise. We would be the most powerful alliance in the land.
On this night the opportunity presented itself. The Tolaradane family had just been blessed with another child. This time it was a daughter. As was normal in Lahanish circles, rumors swirled over the parentage of the child but Jahquile Tolaradane had legitimized her, claiming his wife was ever faithful, a claim that led to much mirth among the more knowledgeable.
Regardless, the birth of Maricia gave my father the opportunity he was looking for. By the intermission, I had been betrothed to her, cementing an alliance that would last as long as we lived. It did not matter to Jahquile, my father or myself that I was more than three decades older than she or what thoughts we had on the matter. It only mattered that this was what our parents saw as their path to yet greater power.
Idly I wondered how Wise Owl would reconcile that commitment with the one he said I had made to Spring Salmon. Of course, that would not matter if I could not find her.
Just as that thought occurred to me, ahead I saw what looked to be Running Bear. It was true, the eagle had guided me to the right path.
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