Page 8 of Fog of War
We approached in silence among a mixed group of venandi, but only the first twelve of us were admitted, the rest waved back by guards in black armor with glowing white stripes along their limbs.
As long as I didn't look back at the crowd of hundreds of silent venandi, I could imagine that we were alone with the champions, thousands of years ago. War gods preparing the site of a clan war before the start of battle. They were fearsome, stalwart, and so...beautiful.They wore simple loin cloths and a pair of sleeves that wrapped around their shoulders and tied at the waist, exposing their plated chests and thighs. They lookedlike Mongolian wrestlers in a way. Powerful. Committed. So wholly inhuman that a tremor of hesitation made my knees weak. I was a lamb and they were wolves.
We started in a line at one group of three, and I immediately caught onto the ceremony. Each person with a pot of powder was dabbing it onto the champions for luck. Some left more or less powder, or chose different places to paint different symbols. They ran their knuckles and fingers across bare, athletic skin and I swallowed hard. Each person chose only one of the three to paint, so I did the same.
The first trio bowed their heads as I approached, something they hadn't done with the other venandi. I pushed my headdress aside so I could see more clearly and smiled. All three champions had lime green eyes that followed me even as others painted their skin. I chose the one in the middle and dabbed my fingers in my pot of powder as Leopha sprinkled her purple powder over the female champion’s head like fairy dust and moved on.
"The Tetradi clan welcomes you,anima vira.Do you choose me?" he asked. He was emerald green by the light of the mountain's prismatic aura.
I blinked, pushing my glasses up with the back of my hand so I wouldn't dirty them. "Oh, um. Yes."
He smirked, letting his mandibles chitter like a rattlesnake. "The Muru grace us."
"Where would you like my paint?" I asked, holding up my glowing pink fingers for him to see. His grew brighter, a sign that a venandi was emotional or extremely focused. Either way, I didn't like it and wanted to get the job done. Such unwavering focus made me nervous. Was I “cute” or stupid? Was I insulting him or doing something wrong? I didn’t want to be humored. I wanted someone to tell me why he was looking at me like that.
"Bless my groin plates with your fertility,anima vira.”
I bit my lip. No one else had painted a groin plate. I looked down the row of champions as people moved on from painting the Tetradi, a knot building in my chest.
What a presumptuous jer–
"You are here as a guest of Satoris, correct?" he asked, eyes caressing my arms and hands, my neck. His chest vibrated and the others standing with him looked up with confusion. It felt like he wastouchingme, and it freaked me out. I'd never heard a venandi make a noise like that, and out here in the dark on a battlefield it just... made my hair stand straight up. I resisted the urge to shrink away and dabbed my fingers against the top of his groin plate, as far north of the border as possible.
"Good luck," I hiccupped, turning away. Leopha caught my arm before I could march right out of the field, and I instantly felt safer with my arm tucked into her waist.
"Hey, I know you technically get to choose whoever, but Leonide could use some Muru luck," she whispered, nodding to the next group.
The Satoris trio looked no less intimidating than the Tetradi, but my shoulders relaxed at the sight of Leonide's flustered mandibles. He kept his eyes from straying towards the other champions, but flexed his fists to control the urge. I staunchly shoved the Tetradi jerk out of my thoughts and smiled at him.
"You're going to do great," I told him. He huffed a little smile but bowed his head with more deference than in the daylight.
"The Muru grace us," he murmured, stealing a glance at a tall, proud woman in the last clan to his left. He squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled slowly, steadying himself. I took a hefty lump of powder from my pot and drew a heart on his chest. It was a common symbol in the union now, so he knew it was a signof love. Then I filled it in with pink for good measure. He sighed a little easier. "Thank you, Gabbie."
"This is Augora and Gavenidus," Leopha said, introducing me to the other Satoris champions. They both nodded their heads.
"The Muru grace us," Augora greeted. She was severe but not abrasive in her tone. Simply far away and distracted.
"Thank you,anima vira,"Gavenidus said. He sounded younger than the other two, his gold coloring a little brighter.
"What does that mean?" I asked, dabbing my fingers again. "A merchant said that to me too." I decided they should all have hearts so I could tell they were my team. I swiped one onto Augora's chest after only a moment's hesitation, remembering that venandi women didn't have breasts like human women and that it was okay for me to touch her there just then.
"Oh, um..." From the way his mandibles tightened to his face, I suspected he was blushing. "It's an honorable title for... for being our good luck charm," Gavenidus explained. He leaned in, not quite as tall as the others. "You're the only human that's ever come to a Festival of Souls. Thanks for being on our team, by the way."
I blinked at him as he stood up straight again, then drew the last heart on his chest. "You're very welcome. I'm honored to be here."
Augora glanced at Gavenidus with a huff of her slitted nostrils. "It means 'lover's soul'. It's how we address the Muru when we pray."
I nearly dropped my pot."Oh.Oh boy."
"We know you're not a Muru. But here?" Augora looked up at the sky with bright eyes. "It feels like maybe you could be."
I hugged my pot to my chest. The extra pink that dusted my front was nothing compared to the glowing colors I was already covered in. My gut reaction was to deny being a Muru,but these champions were about to jump into a harrowing battle that would decide the rest of their lives. How could I deny them as much luck as I could possibly give them? If it made Gavenidus feel more confident, then he could call me whatever he wanted.
I waved him down as I took off my headdress (it was heavy anyway) and painted my lips. He bent for me, and I planted a lip print on his upper cheek. His mandibles fluttered in shock, and Augora had to stop him before he slapped his palm over the mark and smeared it.
"Thank you,anima vira,”he breathed.
Leopha slid powder over one of her brother's spires and they butted heads with affection.
