Miro's Ildra

On a green, large plain with rolling hills, extending as far as the eye could see, with only few trees, the little settlement lied quietly. Campfires lit up the small settlement, as the children and their families went to bed hungry, the animals they relied on to survive migrated, and to add to their misery, the mines all but dried up leaving the people with no tools which they needed to hunt the little that remained. Elders talked of moving again, but no one could survive a new move.

Sleeping quietly in his workshop was Laegest. Too short and not agile enough, Laegest never did hunt, rather he picked up his father’s hammer and worked as a smith. He was a good smith, and he knew how to smith spears- and that was all that was needed of him.

Never a religious man, he dedicated his life to making spears so he could feed himself. But due to the recent animal migration and the poor luck of the settlement in the last year, he spent more and more nights hungry. But as fate would have it, on one night, no more special then the countless ones before it, he had a dream. In the dream, a voice that commanded respect and yet still had love in it spoke to Laegest, seeming to know everything about him as if the voice was one with his own but it was not. The golden voice of the divines told Laegest how he will save his people and help bring forth a new age for the Ildra. The voice instructed Laegest to collect bones, gold and iron, and upon his completion to drink a chalice of wine and go to sleep. As the sun rose over the far away hills and mountains, Laegest awoke and set off to collect the needed materials that the voice instructed him. He did not know why, he had his doubts, and believed that it was all a dream but something in him forced him to collect the materials.

The gold was easy to find, as his many years of hard work had paid off, so he had some in his workshop. The bones, however were far more difficult to gather. He had no access to animal bones nearby and Laegest would never dig up graves of dead tribesmen and women, and thus he had to travel to gather his materials. He convinced two hunters to join him on an expedition to track down and hunt an animal. Laegest and his two hunter companions departed at noon, and travelled along a river. They wandered for half a day before finding a bear. The hunters were experienced and hunted many bears in their past. They had the wind on their side as they were downwind, and the bear was unable to smell them. Knowing this, the hunters used their chance before the wind turned and the bear detected them. They charged the bear with spears in their hands and after a short but very exhaustive skirmish with the bear they were able to take him down, with only minor bruises and scratches from falling on the ground. They skinned the beast, and began to pack it up and return home.

They returned home at dusk and the settlement rejoiced seeing that they brought home some food. Everyone sat down around the campfire but Laegest had bigger concerns. He brought the bones into the workshop he called home, hung the bones still dripping blood on the hooks over the table and quickly and silently he departed for the home of the elders. Laegest still needed to find the wine and the elders are the only ones who had access to it. The main door was right next to the main campfire where everyone was sitting and enjoying their meals so he had to find another entrance. He saw there was no smoke coming out of the chimney and he hurriedly climbed down, after searching the home after locating the wine he realised that he never figured out a way to leave the home, and just when he thought of climbing out the chimney he heard that the someone approaching the house, and by the sound of it, it was the elders, returning home after a meal. It was still dark in the house and he quickly dashed across the room and hid under a bed. There he remained for hours waiting for the elders to fall asleep, but they just sat there, sipping on some beer and discussing the plan to solve the food crisis. After downing their beers the elders went to bed, and soon thereafter Laegest heard snoring, slowly and silently he crept up from under the beds and sneaked his way to his workshop.

Sitting down at his desk he carefully poured some of the wine in his chalice and went to put it on the table, only to realise his table was soaked in blood, he put the chalice down and went to grab an old rag to clean it up. Approaching the table he realised his mistake, as he saw some blood dripping into the wine. He couldn’t afford to grab more so he drank it and went to bed. Drifting quickly to sleep it was not long till the voice spoke to him again, it told him that once he had acquired the iron, he was to smith a horn made of the materials he had gathered during the day. After he smiths the horn, the voice shall take control of him to do the ritual to bring the horn power. The voice had a more powerful pull and charm, it was like it possessed Laegest with every word that it spoke. It spoke to him for what felt like 20 minutes, but as soon as the voice said it’s last word Laegest awoke. It had been hours.

He quickly grabbed some coal and started up his forge. After a full day’s work, the horn had been completed and as soon as it was done, he lost consciousness, and the voice spoke to him again, it told him that it had taken control of his body to finish the horn and do the ritual and yet again what felt like 10 minutes, upon waking up he realised it had been hours, but the horn sat on his table, completed.

He took it to some hunters and requested to go on a hunt with them, they refused him at first but then he heard the voice again and it told him, to request again, and as he did the hunters stood frozen for a second before gasping and quickly accepting his offer, and just like that they had departed. Soon enough they were in territory uninhabited by man and saw animal tracks and the voice was heard again, it just said to blow the horn. Laegest obliged and just like that, they were able to see all the animals in the bushes and those hiding; the animals were now lit with divine light, and they quickly went to work, hunting them one by one. By the time they returned they had hunted a dozen animals and upon telling their fellow settlers, everyone departed to bring all the dead animals back to the settlement. The elders took Laegest aside and asked him about the horn, they said that the hunters that were with him spoke of a magical horn, and the elders were interested in it. Laegest obliged them and answered all of their questions, and from that day he was regarded as a hero. His horn was used to feed the people for many years to come and Laegest himself was never forgotten.