LEGENDS OF DACOT (standard:adventure, 3143 words)
Author: poetrydiva	Added: Jul 20 2003	Views/Reads: 3532/2327	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
youll find out!! :P*

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

the crowd of children. 

"You there!" the man called" Boy, the one that smells like a horse!" the
man called out to the boy, "Do you want a name or not?!" 

Jumping with fright as he realized the man was talking to him, the boy
ran to the front and looked at the man not knowing what to expect. The 
boy begins to ask the man a something, but the man stops him. No words 
are ever spoken by the named. The mans dark seemingly unemotional  eyes 
 searched him from head to toe, as if trying to find something to name 
him after. 

The man couldn't seem to find anything to call this boy that smelled
like a horse. Then it dawned on the man, Horse! But not in this tongue, 
the man thought, having a sudden spurt of creativity he rarely 
experienced, the ancient tongue of Dacot. Smile on his face  the man 
said only one word. "Meirach! 

The boy, now known as Meirach, had his name at last. Giddy with pride
and love for his new name, completely oblivious to the meaning, he 
almost hugged the man. But was quickly carried off the platform and 
pushed away. Not wanting to cause a scene, Meirach ran home with a 
smile of unadulterated bliss. Waltzing into his father's small shack, 
which he called home he couldn't seem to stop dancing. Seeing the joy 
on his son's round face made the news of his wrongful naming even 
harder to tell the boy. 

" Well, son. What is it? What am I to call my boy now?" he asked the
boy, " Well, come on now, out with it!" the boy stopped dancing to the 
music he heard in his head. "Meirach. My name is Meirach," the boy said 
in a voice so full of pride it brought tears to his fathers eyes. 
"Well, that's a nice name, did they tell you what it meant?” Said 
Trieod, the boy's father. “No I didn't ask, I thought I would burst if 
I opened my mouth, do you know what it means?" the boy said with an 
inquisitive smile." No I don't, m' boy. But you had better get some 
sleep, supper'll be ready in the 'our" he said to his only son. 

Meirach walked to the bundle of hay he called a mattress. He hadn't even
realized how tired he was until his father had mentioned it. He was 
asleep before his head hit the fur on his pillow. He dreamt of his long 
dead mother. She was smiling, with the sun in her auburn hair and the 
breeze blowing her favorite blue-gray dress around her, she looked like 
a goddess. Then the winds got stronger and the breeze turned into a 
storm, his mother was swept away from him. He woke with tears in his 
dark eyes. He wiped them away before his father saw him crying; he 
wouldn't like that. 

He walked to the table that separated their mattresses and sat at his
chair. Waiting for his supper, he looked around the room. He saw things 
that had surrounded him his entire life. The loom his mother had used 
tossed off in the corner covered with dust. His fathers working tools, 
he was a trench-man, the shovel and spade. His own things; toys tossed 
aside over the years, a book of the holy teachings, his mother's locket 
given to her by her mother. Not having a daughter to give it to she 
gave it to him on her deathbed, pleading for him to take it and give it 
to his wife when the time came. A jolt of the table woke him from his 
daydreams. 

"Well then Meirach, here's your supper, you've got chores to do. The
block master was here earlier, says you didn't finish 'em." he said 
with a desperate glance. " I'm supposin' you've got a good reason, so 
I'm not goin' to ask. It had better not happen again, got it?” 

Meirach looked up from his small meal of salted potatoes and a strip of
dried chimtny root. He had completely forgotten about his chores! "Got 
it, da', I'm right on it," he said. Gulping the last sip of xatha from 
his goblet. He ran from the shack to the stables. 

On his way to the stables he danced and sang to himself.  The people
still out working or drinking xatha saw him and smiled and nodded, 
remembering their own naming. 

Suddenly tired Meirach stopped dancing and walked calmly still smiling
to the world. He chased some dogs away from a dead rat on the side of 
the road stopping to inspect the decaying animal as only a boy could. 
Remembering his work he rushed for the Stables. Turning the corner to 
the entrance he stopped to look in a shops window. Noticing it was a 
woman's undergarment shop he had chosen to look in on, he blushed 
furiously, glad no one had seen. 

Finally at the Stables, Meirach got to work scrubbing and feeding the
horses. Cleaning out the manure and chasing away the rats and hay mice 
that occupied the hay loft. Swearing to himself as he noticed a blister 
developing on his thumb, from the fork used to scoop the hay. 

It was almost morning when he finished so Meirach didn't bother to go
home. Falling asleep in the Stables next to Berta he had a peaceful 
slumber, stirring occasionally from the cold. Waking at dawn, to early 
to work on an empty stomach, he stumbled back to his home still groggy 
from his sleep. Walked through the door to find his father already gone 
to work. It seemed a bit odd to Meirach, considering he had stayed out 
all night. And that his father was never eager to go to the trenched 
that surrounded to gates of Dacot. 

Making himself a small bowl of leftover potatoes and chimtny root. He
sat down to eat and watched as a neighbor walked past the door. He 
looked about quickly and looked at the boy in such a way as to say 
follow me. Which Meirach did, not knowing what the man wanted. Looking 
around again to be sure no one was watching. 

“Thems took your Da‘,” the old man said, looking around again. ” the
quarta' mastah did. They was makin' a big racket thems was. 'Where is 
he? Where is the boy; the little street rat!' thems was yellin‘ all 
night. Couldn't hardly sleep from all the racket.”  The man said with a 
look of loath. ” Came an' asked me questions an' all that, but I 
wouldn't tell em' a thing. Course thems tried to bribe me an' all, but 
I wouldn't have none of it.” the balding old man said with a look of 
mirth on his darkly tanned face. 

“Where did they take em'?” Meirach asked. When the man didn't say
anything, he walked away, Frozen with shock. 

Fear began to shake Meirach as he realized that his father had saved
him. He knew he had to hide, but it there was still much daylight left. 
He went to look for his father. 

Walking through the back streets and alleyways, Meirach slowly made his
way through the city. Turning a corner into a crowded marketplace he 
almost bumped into a guard. Slipping away from the misshapen guard 
darting under the chimtny stall nearby. Moving quickly under the next 
only half hearing the angry cries of the guard. Already to the end of 
the line of stalls, he paused under the last one. Hunger tore at his 
stomach as he realized his lack of breakfast and now lunch was 
approaching rapidly. 

Driven by hunger he reached out from under the wooden stall and grabbed
the first thing he laid his hands on. Bringing his hand back he was 
stopped by a fat hand grabbing his. 

“What have we here?” the man at the stall said with little humor. “ well
lad? What have you to say? Stealing from my store are you?” 

By now the man had pulled Meirach from under the stall. Almost tearing
it off in the process in the  process in the opinion of the boy, who 
stood, eyes lowered, rubbing his arm. 

“I'm sorry, mister, really I am.” Meirach said, “Its just,  I'm so
hungry. I haven't eaten since last night, and my da's been taken 
away-”At this the man put his hand over the boys mouth. 

Looking around he pulled a string and the stall was closed. He pulled
Meirach into his small clay room behind the stall. Pushing him onto a 
broken old stool. 

“What do yah mean your da's been taken away?” The man said in a harsh
whisper. “ Who took ‘im?” 

Meirach let the fear of the man liquefy into need for comfort. Slowly he
began his short tale, being careful to leave the embarrassment of the 
shop window out. 

By now the man had a look of worry enveloping his large oval face. And
was looking through the cracks of the small boarded- up  windows. He 
began to pace the small room, while Meirach sat and watched not sure 
what to do. 

He looked around the room, nothing of any importance, a few pots, fruit
to replace the ones sold, a water jug, barrels of unknown content stood 
in the farther left hand corner next to the wooden door on the back 
wall, the curtain of a door at the front of the room leading to the 
fruit stall. 

A cough shook the boy from his thoughts, and he turned to the man and
started to say something but was once again hushed. 

“Not here, boy.” the man said. With a slightly irritated look on his
face. 

Meirach nodded his head, he didn't know who this man was but if he was
going to harm him he would've by then. 

The man grabbed Meirach's hand,” follow close, boy. I'll not be slowed.”
the man whispered through yellow teeth to the boy. 

They made their way out the door in the back of the room, down the alley
turning every which way. Until finally they reached a set of stairs 
going down, The man followed the stairs until they came to a long 
hallway, with many doors. Murmuring could be heard through the wooden 
doors, and an occasional shout, but none came into the hallway. 

They stopped at a wooden door not unlike the rest, but for a man
standing guard outside. He stepped forward as they approached, 
obviously waiting for a password unknown to Meirach. But the man 
must've known, for the man stepped aside and they went through. 

Meirach didn't know what to make of the room he was in. nothing
remarkable stood out to Meirach. A small table, laden with cheeses and 
fruits, sat in the middle with pillows surrounding it, in is the 
typical sophisticated way of the Nobles of Dacot. 

Looking at the man, who now sat behind the table, he stepped towards the
table. Coming to a halt when he saw the large beast in the corner 
behind the man. 

“Come, come. He wont hurt yah.” the man said with a jovial look on his
face. ”at least not until I tell 'im to.” at this the man laughed a 
hearty bellow of a laugh. ”Now, lets get to business. What of your da?” 


The boy gave a shrug. “ I don't know. I was lookin' for ‘im when your
hand snatched mine.” Meirach stood looking at the food with a longing 
look, hoping the man would notice. 

“ Well boy!, aint you gonna eat?!” the man said with a bemused look. “
there's plenty here for ya” he said as he stuffed a large soft-roll 
into his mouth. 

Meirach started, still  looking at the food. Wondering what to eat
first. Then he noticed something about the man and the food. The man 
was only eating soft-rolls and soup. 

The boy didn't know why so he asked,” why don't you eat anything else?”
the man gave him cursory glance, “ you know, why don't you eat the 
sweets or anything else” 

The man gave a hearty bellow of a laugh.” well my boy, don't you know
the sweets are for dessert, and as for the rest, cant you see I don't 
have much teeth left?” With that the man gave a wide grin, which made 
his face look like a Cheshire cat. 

Meirach took a look into the man's gaping mouth. And sure enough the man
didn't have some of his molars on both side and the bottom, and a 
bicuspid  on his lower right hand side. He nodded in acknowledgement 
and sat down. 

“ Well boy, I don't think I've met you 'fore, what's your name?” he
looked at the boy as if trying to read his mind. 

“ My name is Meirach. I just got it yesterday, at The Naming.” Meirach
said, as he stuffed a spoon full of something he had never tasted into 
his watering mouth. 

His eyes wide with surprise,he began to shovel the food into his mouth
like a person starved. the man just looked at him, a smile on his face. 
meirach went for some of the xatha in a large jug on the end of the 
table and gulped in seconds. 

He paused, seemingly full. So the man said," the names Bross, short for
Ambross but no one calls me that, got it?"  Bross gave Meirach a look 
that told of many beatings, if he were to forget.The boy barly looked 
up from the food to give a short nod. " and from now on your name is 
Weivv. got it?, they will be lookin' for a boy named Meirach. and we 
dont want them to find on now do we?"  the boy gave a small look of 
wonder at the man he now knew to be Bross. 

he had loved his new name, Meirach, some how it told of great wonders
and danger to come. but Bross was right, they would be looking for him. 
and he deffinatly didnt want them to find him. so he would be Weivv for 
now. "Weivv" gave a short nod of agreement to Bross. 


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