Sahta, First Child
By G. Deyke
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About this ebook
Lady Katira, the necromancer, is ill.
Why, no one knows; but she will not wake. They say she lost herself. They say that nothing living can go after her, because it would lose itself just as she did; and they say that nothing dead would be able to find her.
But Sahta has the protection of the dead: she was the first child born to her city since the passing of the gray bane, and she brought hope to the world – and the dead – by her very birth. She was given their protection in honor of that hope. Now she hopes it will be enough to keep her safe, as she goes to find the necromancer herself.
She will journey into a world built of the memories of the dead, taking with her only a dead dog to guide the way back home. She must find Lady Katira. And she must find the heart of a witch, who is an enemy of the dead, but who has promised to help her in exchange for this favor.
She is Sahta, first child. She started as nothing more than a hope; but in the end, she will become a hero.
G. Deyke
G. Deyke is an indie author of games, novels, short stories, flash fiction, and the occasional poem. They will write anything from humor to horror to fairy tales, but have a particular penchant for speculative fiction: especially (though not exclusively) fantasy. They currently reside in a small village in southern Germany. Due to a tragic imbalance of their machismo-to-sense ratio, G. Deyke can never refuse a ridiculous challenge.
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Sahta, First Child - G. Deyke
Sahta, First Child
by G. Deyke
Copyright 2012-2013 G. Deyke
Smashwords Edition
Cover art by Anne Fletcher
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Contents
Chapter 1 – Sahta, First Child
Chapter 2 – Lady Katira
Chapter 3 – The Man
Chapter 4 – The First
Chapter 5 – The Second
Chapter 6 – The Third
Chapter 7 – The Bone-Man
Chapter 8 – The Witch
Chapter 9 – The Portal
Chapter 10 – The Hill
Chapter 11 – Advice
Chapter 12 – The Path
Chapter 13 – The Maiden
Chapter 14 – The Mother
Chapter 15 – The Crone
Chapter 16 – The Flutist
Chapter 17 – The Lord
Chapter 18 – The Heart
Chapter 19 – The End
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Chapter 1
Sahta, First Child
Once there was a girl named Sahta. She was courageous and strong of heart and could not bear to see anyone in pain; but what decided the course of her life was only that she was the first.
She was born when the first dragon flew overhead; and the Princess herself stopped by to see her, when she came; and when her mother found that she could name the little girl, she was as happy as a mother can be. And her father was happy too, and the midwife, and everyone who lived in their street – and in the next street, and in the entire city. Sahta had a name, and that name was Sahta, and she was the first child the city had had since the plague passed. And because she had a name, because she was Sahta, they no longer hoped that the plague was over and that the Princess had saved them, but they knew it; and so all the city rejoiced, and the dead and the living alike danced in the street and laughed and called her name: Sahta! Sahta! Sahta, first child!
She knew nothing of this, of course. She was only a baby, gurgling and crying, just like any other. And she learned nothing of it – until one night when, a child, she ran away from her father's arms, because the night was so warm and the moon so full and she didn't want to go to bed, she wasn't tired! And because she was light enough to swing over walls and fast enough to dart into alleys unseen, she ran away through the city and he could not catch her.
She ran for a long time, her bare feet slapping against warm stone, drawn on by the night's breeze and by the sight of the stars scattered throughout the sky. She stopped when she couldn't run anymore for the stitch in her side. She didn't want to go to bed yet – the night was so beautiful! – but her side hurt, and she was tired, and she would walk back now. But she'd left her father behind long ago, and she didn't know the way back home. The street was dark and empty. For a short while she wandered about, searching for something she knew; then she sat down with her head against her knees and cried.
She was sitting on a step, on a market street, with merchants' abandoned tents all around her. One stall, alone, was still tended: its owner had gone out for a while, and had asked a friend to watch over the wares until he returned to clean up. He was a ghost, and his friend too; but so many people were, here, that this did not spare them from thieves.
The friend – a kindly man, on the whole – heard the child crying, and he called her over. Come here, child,
he said, come here, that's it, don't cry. What's wrong? Lost your way, have you? Don't cry now.
She came over, glad that there was someone there, that she wasn't quite alone. She nodded and she wiped her tears away with her sleeve and she tried to swallow her sobs. The tears didn't quite stop, and the best she could do with her sobs was turn them into hiccups, but it was enough that she could listen.
Come now, don't cry,
said the man, and patted her head as well as he could, stopping his hand before it went too far through her head. It was a strange feeling, like a tingling in her scalp, and she laughed a bit through her tears. That feels funny,
she said.
That's it,
said the man. That's right. Don't cry. Now what's gotten you so upset?
That brought the tears back. I don't know how to get home,
she hiccuped.
There, now, we'll find your home. All right? Don't cry. Now what's your name, child? Where do you live?
She shook her head, not knowing how to answer the second question, but to the first she said: Sahta.
Now the man threw back his head and laughed, a big laugh from the bottom of his belly. You are Sahta, child? And to think I just met you on the street – just like that – and you're Sahta! Well, I know where your home is, little one, and I'll take you there just as soon as I can – but first – oh, you're Sahta! And I didn't know!
She looked at him, confused.
You don't know who you are, do you! Well! Perhaps your parents were waiting until you were a little older – but why wait? You should know. You must know. You are Sahta! You are the first child!
What first child?
Oh, this world was very sick for a very long time, child. A very long time indeed. Surely you've heard of the plague – the gray bane – all this world was dying.
She nodded. Father said he and Mother lived by the river. Because there were fish, sometimes. And water. But they kept losing themselves, he said.
Yes – they lost themselves, and so did the fish, and so did the water. All the world lost itself! But the Princess came from another world and saved us –
Mother said the Princess came to see me when I was a baby!
"Of course she did. Because you were the first, Sahta. You were the first baby this city had after the sickness passed, and because of you we knew it was over, and we were safe. We all know your name, Sahta, all the dead, and likely all the living as well."
But I didn't do anything.
"Oh, we don't hold you as a hero – only as a hope. But you are a hope. You are Sahta! First child! You are Sahta. And I didn't know you – but that cannot happen again. You see, I am friendly enough, and I like children, and I would have helped you even if you were someone else – but there are others – I have a friend, you see – he owns this stall, you know! But he doesn't like it when people, well, when people bother him. And with Lady Katira gone, what's to stop him from hurting you?"
She looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Oh, he's not that bad, really – he's just a little, well, you see, he's just a little strange. He doesn't always believe we're back. It's back. The world. The veil, the other side, everything. There is no one gladder of your existence than he is, I'll have you know, but if he didn't know it was you – why – if you came here after the stall was closed – no, no, we'll have to do something about it."
But –
she said. What –
"Come here! Listen, child, this is a city ruled by a necromancer – it has been that way all along, since long before the gray plague came – and