THE NORTHERN MEN

"Mindaza, come here."

Sulaya called her daughter.

"Yes mother" Mindaza answered as she ran upstairs. Sulaya pointed to the area of the north, and she said, "Look over there, and tell me what you can see."

Mindaza turned her gaze and looked to the north. Far from beyond her eyes, she could see that the mainland was clearer, with the largest mountains, vast land, and plain trees than she had ever expected, and the coast stretched forever to the south. Offshore, they were in a crescent formation, as their ships were going to be near.

"It's so beautiful, mother; I never imagined this kind of huge island. Unlike Sulaya Island, it also has plain trees, but only one small mountain compared to this land," Mindaza told her mother, as she was amazed by this new place.

"This land is full of my memories; I learned how to fight for freedom and for the love I chose. Killing people is a sin for us as hunters, but we have no choice but to fight for peace," Sulaya told her daughter. She recalls everything she thought was right before. Until she gives up when she finds out that she's bearing an innocent child in her womb. And that was Mindaza.

"Why? What happened in the past, mother?"

"You will know when we reach the shore", Sulaya said. Then she turned her gaze at the hunters. Others were preparing themselves, the other was resting, while the others managed to the fewer oars.

"Whatever happens, stay for what is right from wrong. Keep this." Sulaya removed her necklace and placed it on her daughter's neck.

"What is this mother?" Mindaza asked as she held the black stone attached to the necklace.

"That necklace save me many times. Our grandmother named it "Stone Heart". I hope it can save you also, and give you the best of luck", Sulaya told her.

"But how would I know if this thing gives me the best of luck?" Mindaza asked her mother.

"Just remember all of those words that I keep reminding you of, the stone heart connected to it." Sulaya explained to her daughter.

"Alright, I will never forget that," Mindaza answered softly. Later on, a loud explosion occurred in the sky. The explosion was followed by two more, which seemed to be a signal in the distance. Then they heard a pounding drum and loud and raucous screams, and those were all men's voices.

"Who are they?" Mindaza asked.

"The enemy," Sulaya said quietly.

"The men of the North again," Ganadara said. She suddenly stood on Mindaza's back while she focused her gaze at the shore where the northern men stood by.

"Is that who Khallel spoke of?"

"That is who Khallel warned of" Sulaya said quietly. Far from them, they also identified the smoking area where the northern men's are. They also built a camp near the hills. Patronizing by some of them everywhere.

"Do you think the King should be the first to know this?" Sulaya asked her daughter.

"Yes, he is the leader, he needs a companion."

"A companion for what?" Sulaya asked her.

"A faithful warrior, to save his Island, to save his people"

Sulaya felt proud as a mother of Mindaza. She smiled watching her daughter, being a strong woman like her before.

"The people you have seen in the distance. They are the enemies of your blood, Mindaza."

"Have we fought them before?" Mindaza asks because she was intrigued by what she was seeing and hearing at the moment. With her legs encircled by the chilly mast pole, she found it simple to stand on the cross.

"I have heard about "Kabang Warriors", but I thought that was just a story. I know I have not fought them, but, Mother, you are all geared up like a warrior woman, and all the islanders treat you with respect. And what are these spiral hunters anyway? Are you the leader here?"

When Sulaya looked at her, Mindaza saw the sadness behind her humour. She felt that there is something heaviness that her mother was hiding from her, something that was unacceptable.

"For now, at least you will be aware that we are not simple islanders, Mindaza."

"What do you mean, Mother?" Mindaza asked for clarification.

"We are spiral hunters; we fight for peace; we fight to live in our own way with no one having to be a "leader". We are not warriors who like to kill just to survive, for power and money. We are called upon when needed."

"But who is in need now?" Mindaza looked at the fleet that was creeping noticeably closer.

"The king", Sulaya told her.

"Are we going to attack them?"

"Yes, we can" Ganadara said as she drank a glass that was made of bamboo stalks with a strong taste of grape wine. Her sword was placed on his waist and his hands were wrapped in thick gloves.

Mindaza scanned the fleet with her gaze. Eight people are in the cabin, thirty people are strolling along the shore, and two groups of guys are seated across from each other at a table and eating. And behind that headland, there are still more.

"These rats are still alive. I will never forget what they did to my face," Ganadara said.

Mindaza realized there's a scar on her face which she thinks was first made in her childhood, but now, she knows it was because of her fights.

"Mother, there are ships that are coming from the headland of Gentonas" Mindaza said.

"How many ships did you see?" Sulaya asked.

"Thirty" Mindaza said at once.

"Do you still think we should attack them?" Sulaya asked her daughter.

The wind fluctuated, sending the sail flapping against the single mast.Mindaza shook her head and said, "We can't, mother."

"Is it what your heart tells you?" Sulaya's eyes were sharp.

"I want to, but I'm afraid" Mindaza said.

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid to lose to any one of us, I don't want to see anyone being hurt" Mindaza told her mother.

"You have my true blood of Spiral hunters, good girl!" Sulaya said.

Then she hears another voice... "Back to the oars! Ganadara, steer for the south. Khallel beat the time for the oarsmen. Let them see what we got!"

Khallel thumped the hilt of his sword on the hull, quickening his pace, so other hunters proved true to his name and surged across the water. The crew responded with a will but, after half an hour, age began to tell and a rasping gasp accompanied each stroke of the oars.

"Keep moving fast!" Sulaya encouraged as Khallel guided them past a group of skerries, where the sea broke in silver spray against the dark-green rock.

Mindaza watched as the starboard oars nearly skiffed the outer rocks and the backwash rocked the ship, throwing spindrift onto the crew. A clutch of seals watched through round brown eyes.

"Mindaza" Sulaya spoke above the regular gasps, "get back aloft and keep watch to the northward. Inform me of everything the men do"

The Norse fleet was more distant than before, their sails merging with the darkening sky. Mindaza lost count of their numbers as the ships changed formation to round a prominent headland.

"We're going to head south," Sulaya ordered. Where there is a sheltered bay where the northern men won't land.

In these far-reaching latitudes, the darkness came gradually. The daylight steadily diminished as the sun descended below the horizon, turning pink in the west, and then a breathtakingly beautiful sunset of crimson and gold.

Following that, the only light sources were the rising oar blades and the faint phosphorescence of waves smashing on distant skerries. After some time, stars began to appear, adding to the sky's mystique.

The next moment, there was a deep voices of thousands of men snarling over the ocean's surf and surge, a unique sound. The whole group of spiral hunters heard it.

"What was that noise?" Mindaza asked her mother as she looked at the island with the group of men.

"It's a chant" Sulaya said.

"What's the meaning of it?"

"It's a song of a warrior, with a deep meaning, a proposal for something when they share a gift." Sulaya said.

"Maybe it's not their plan to invade us, am I right?"

Mindaza wanted to confirm with her mother. She felt something terrible in her heart as much as she was concerned.

"I hope so" her mother replied.