LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE STATE OF THINGS - SECTION -16

FIERY COMET

At sunrise Fradel was nudged awake by Fiery Comet.  After washing his hands and face once more and helping himself to some dry rations, Fradel begrudgingly mounted Fiery Comet, expecting the worst.  Surprisingly, this time around, the stallion's pace was more moderate and only picked up speed once again, after a short noon recess.

With Fiery Comet's consistently high velocity, the odd and changing times of day they traveled and the short cuts the steed took through untamed wilderness, Fradel was unable to precisely determine the length of time or the distance they had covered.  Only the changing of the seasons, the brisker temperatures and the thinning air of higher altitudes gave Fradel the abstract notion that four months had elapsed since he had undertaken this long, arduous trek.

Endowed with good health to begin with, the trials of this journey had left their indelible mark on Fradel, transforming the once weak, pampered individual that he once was, into one now stronger, tougher, more resilient and rugged.  His bearing and appearance also attested to this change.

FRADEL RIDING THE FIERY COMET

 In the beginning he had tried to maintain his civilized appearance and form by constant trimming of his hair and beard and by refusing to give in to the barbaric practices the wilds of nature had repeatedly inflicted upon him.  Obsessively clean, Fradel frequently showered in the rainstorms or bathed in the rivulets and pools they encountered.  But gradually, being of a practical mind, he had condescended to roughing it in the wild.

 In a relatively short time, he had adjusted to sleeping under a blanket of stars and bearing the increasingly severe, bone-chilling night temperatures.  Putting into using his extensive knowledge of botany, he supplemented his rations from the start with sustenance of wild roots, nuts, fruits and berries.  To add variety, he had even taught himself to snare a small game, which Fiery Comet obligingly herded into his makeshift traps.

 Like a kindred spirit to the original settlers of this land, Fradel became quite adept at skinning, cleaning and then cooking these small animals over an open fire.  Sometimes, as he was washing his meals, Fradel would gaze at his reflection in a still pond, noting his long beard and disheveled hair, and laugh boisterously.

03- FRADEL ROUGHING IT

 “Ha!  If those pompous, literate friends of mine could see me now!  Would they say such lofty things about the dignity of natural man?  They would be horrified!  Yet, I've never felt better, more alive, in my life.”

Sometimes, at the conclusion of his bathing, he would spread himself on the dry grass carpet of the riverbank and bask under the golden rays of the autumn sun as he let his adventurous spirit soar into the sky.  With a trembling heart he envisioned how, one day, he would gain the necessary skill and perhaps become as accomplished a fighter as his sworn brother, Nevetsecnuac.

 "Beware, then, all you wicked men!" he would shake his fist into the air.  His optimistic nature resisted any notion of a dismal fate for either himself or Nevetsecnuac.  He saw, parading before his mind's eye, Nevetsecnuac at the (head) lead of a great army of a million men, sweeping across the land, vanquishing all opposition and ridding this stricken, teetering nation of the pernicious, parasitic, bureaucratic vermin that were picking its bones.  Subsequently, lasting peace, stability, justice, then the rule of law and order would be restored to Wenjenkun under the wise and benevolent rule of Emperor Nevetsecnuac Alric Therran Valamir. 

"I will serve you faithfully, my Prince, until my dying day." he would sit up, fist over heart, and renew his vow.

By then a bond of mutual respect had developed between the scholar and the stallion, though Fiery Comet's stubborn will had, at times, tried Fradel's patience. Because the snow came earlier to the high altitudes and they were, by now, well out of reach of any serious danger, Fiery Comet abandoned the mountainous slopes and opted in favor of following the more level topography of the valley.  From time to time as the opportunity presented itself, and always guided by the stallion’s intuition, they took a reprieve at remote inns that infrequently crossed their path.

Still, at other times, Fiery Comet was alerted to some danger and refused to stop, breaking into a day-long gallop to bypass these establishments entirely.

These all too frequent periods between inns always spelled renewed hardship for Fradel, when his rations would be depleted, and he would be constrained to improvise and forage for sustenance as he had learned to do before.  He bore these difficulties without complaint, as he had learned for himself how true Nevetsecnuac's council regarding this horse had been.

NEVETSECNUAC

 

(END OF SECTION 16)