The Roots of the Mountains - Story Book
The Roots of the Mountains
William Morris
The Roots of the Mountains
The Road Beyond Peace
Apple sweetness clung to the sword.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Road Beyond Peace
In Burgdale, branches sagged over clear water, and every open door breathed bread, smoke, and safety.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Road Beyond Peace
Face of God knew each hammer note from Iron Face's smithy, each bend where the river flashed.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Road Beyond Peace
Still, his thumb kept rubbing the sword hilt smooth whenever mountain shadows crossed the orchards.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Road Beyond Peace
At supper, his gaze stayed on the black window beyond the fire.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Road Beyond Peace
Narrow is the Dale and the World is wide.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Road Beyond Peace
Iron Face looked at the untouched bowl, then at his son's packed cloak.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Road Beyond Peace
No warning followed; only the hammer stopped.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Road Beyond Peace
Before dawn, Face of God crossed the last orchard with dew soaking his boots and home smoke thinning behind him.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Road Beyond Peace
The wide road smelled of wet pine.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Road Beyond Peace
Under those pines, peace lost sight of him.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
Wet pine became cold stone beneath his sliding boots.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
A scarlet stranger drove Face of God backward, weapon high, cliff wind clawing at their cloaks.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
Folk Might's next step would have sent him over.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
Sunbeam struck her brother's arm aside.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
Steel rang once. Then silence opened.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
At Mountain Hall, wolf hangings leaned above a fire that painted her red-wheat hair gold.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
Across the flames, Face of God met Sunbeam's eyes, and his cup stopped halfway to his mouth.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
She unfolded a hide map and placed one finger on Burgdale.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
The room seemed suddenly smaller.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
Her plain hood had crossed his market, measuring the heir who longed beyond peace.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
Her raised palm sent him home.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
Spring would decide the rest.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Scarlet Warrior
Snow soon erased his returning tracks.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
Snow turned red beneath tangled winter branches.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
Face of God found a murdered woodsman, two daughters struggling, and horn-scaled raiders dragging them toward the dark.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
His blade met theirs before thought could settle.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
One silver arm-ring rolled across the snow.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
It matched no craft in Burgdale.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
The road no longer promised escape; it carried strangers toward his sleeping valley.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
Spring brought an arrow quivering in the Maiden Ward, with Sunbeam's directions bound beneath its feathers.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
He followed Surefoot past empty Mountain Hall and through a wolf-carved cleft where daylight narrowed to a blade.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
Then Shadowy Vale opened below.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
Roofs crowded the hollow, smoke rose from chimneys, and children ran beneath armed watchers.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
The secret had breathing faces.
The Roots of the Mountains
Blood in the Wood
Surefoot raced down toward them, and Face of God followed with the blood-bright arm-ring clenched in his hand.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Wound of Silver Dale
The silver ring struck Sunbeam's map with a small, hard sound.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Wound of Silver Dale
Around it, the Children of the Wolf gathered in Shadowy Vale's low firelight, scarred hands resting on older weapons.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Wound of Silver Dale
Sunbeam turned the hide and uncovered Silver Dale, drawn wide with vineyards, orchards, and a hearth at its center.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Wound of Silver Dale
Her finger crossed black marks where the Dusky Men had killed defenders and chained families in their own fields.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Wound of Silver Dale
No one around the map moved.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Wound of Silver Dale
Silver Dale lives beneath its chains.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Wound of Silver Dale
Face of God's hand opened above the map, then settled over the road linking the captive valley to Burgdale.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Wound of Silver Dale
Sunbeam placed a bronze ring in his palm.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Wound of Silver Dale
Their fingers closed around it together.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Wound of Silver Dale
The bronze warmed in his palm, and every road on the hide now ended at another family's door.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Wound of Silver Dale
Beyond the fire, war horns answered.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
War horns became smith hammers as Face of God entered Burgdale before sunrise.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
Orchard mist wet his cloak, but the silver arm-ring on his belt clicked against Sunbeam's bronze token.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
Iron Face met him at the forge door, soot still dark on both hands.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
Face of God laid the enemy ring beside a Burgdale sickle.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
The same metal gleamed on each.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
At the gate assembly, he spread Sunbeam's map where farmers usually weighed grain.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
He showed chained fields, the raiders' road, and the narrow pass that could hide an answering force.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
Murmurs died beneath the forge bell.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
Iron Face lifted the strange ring, looked at his son's travel-worn face, and set the ring before the people.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
Weapons rose around the map.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
The restless heir did not look toward the road.
The Roots of the Mountains
The War Leader
This time, the road looked to him.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
Raised weapons became wet branches above his first patrol.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
Face of God found Dusky Men dragging a bound woman, her bare feet leaving dark streaks.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
A captor cut her down while fleeing.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
Her severed rope lay beside her hand.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
Gaunt fugitives watched from brush, gripping stolen tools as if every welcome concealed another chain.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
Face of God lowered his sword first.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
Burgdale has no thralls.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
No one stepped forward.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
He waited until a scarred man placed his broken shackle between those open hands.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
Forty-one fugitives reached Burgdale beneath drawn swords, then saw flowers scattered along the guarded road.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
Door after door opened.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
Bread steamed in trembling hands while children slept under clean wool.
The Roots of the Mountains
No Thralls in Burgdale
By dusk, the broken shackle hung above the gate assembly, and more hands were reaching for weapons.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
Those hands filled Burgdale's market when Sunbeam and Folk Might arrived beneath the red-jawed banner.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
Face of God met Sunbeam between flowers, their joined hands low while the crowd studied the exiles.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
Iron Face welcomed them, but the council door remained closed.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
Inside, enemy markers crowded the road to Burgdale.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
Face of God traced a hidden strike through Shadowy Vale toward Silver Dale, and no one spoke.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
Outside, the Woodland Carles unfurled an old banner.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
The same red jaws faced the wolf warriors.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
Folk Might touched the faded cloth, his mouth loosening as divided kindred recognized each other.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
The council doors opened.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
Families entered Shadowy Vale with carts and tools, while archers and spearmen turned toward the barren pass.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
Face of God saw no wandering road, only homes standing behind the army.
The Roots of the Mountains
One Ancient Kindred
At dawn, one banner moved east.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
Eastward, the red jaws slipped through the Shivering Flood and across barren stone without a drumbeat.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
Above Silver Dale, Face of God lay among wet leaves while dawn brightened vineyards below.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
No campfire smoke betrayed the host.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
In Silverstead's market, twenty bound prisoners knelt naked beside a pyre while priests raised broad blades.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
Face of God's breath fogged one leaf.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
Bow May crawled along the ridge with the Woodland Carles, her fingers reading each bowstring in the dark.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
Below, the first blade began to fall.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
Her raised hand dropped.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
Arrows pinned sleeves, throats, and blade arms before steel touched a prisoner.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
Not one blade reached flesh.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
The prisoners stared upward, then ran as the hillside released a second black wave.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
Across the southern road, allied spears lowered.
The Roots of the Mountains
Arrows at Dawn
Silver Dale's morning shattered into war.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Burning Pyre
War swallowed the morning in smoke, horn scales, and the hard knock of shields.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Burning Pyre
Face of God held the woodland slope until empty quivers forced the archers into close combat.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Burning Pyre
Bow May fought through blood darkening her sleeve, her jaw fixed toward Silverstead's market.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Burning Pyre
Enemy ranks kept rising from the fields.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Burning Pyre
Folk Might's scarlet cloak vanished inside them.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Burning Pyre
Face of God drove after it, striking through bodies until the sacrificial pyre towered above him.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Burning Pyre
Allied hands touched flame to the wood.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Burning Pyre
Orange fire climbed through the smoke.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Burning Pyre
The Dusky Men broke around it, but the Mote House stairs still bristled with locked shields.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Burning Pyre
Face of God raised his scorched sword toward them.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Burning Pyre
The last door waited above the fire.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
Above the fire, Face of God and Folk Might stormed the twin stairs together.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
At the doors, both attacks struck as one.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
The last shields folded inward.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
Inside the Mote House, old wolf chieftains lay dishonored beneath dust and dried blood.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
Folk Might sank to his knees.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
Victory made no sound there.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
Then Sunbeam crossed the ruined hall.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
Face of God dropped his weapon, and soot marked both faces when their foreheads touched.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
Clean wood caught in the holy hearth.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
A wolf banner lifted through smoke.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
Beyond the doors, freed families walked toward Silver Dale's abandoned homes.
The Roots of the Mountains
The Hearth Rekindled
Firelight followed their returning feet.
The Roots of the Mountains
Home at Midsummer
Firelight became midsummer stars when Face of God reached the Maiden Ward outside Burgdale.
The Roots of the Mountains
Home at Midsummer
Sunbeam waited beside the pale stone, red-wheat hair loose in warm night.
The Roots of the Mountains
Home at Midsummer
Their eyes met, and both crossed the meadow.
The Roots of the Mountains
Home at Midsummer
Burgdale's windows were lamps beside an open road, not walls against the world.
The Roots of the Mountains
Home at Midsummer
Iron Face looked from Sunbeam's hand to his son's scarred knuckles.
The Roots of the Mountains
Home at Midsummer
His heavy hand covered both.
The Roots of the Mountains
Home at Midsummer
Cheers shook apple scent from the rafters.
The Roots of the Mountains
Home at Midsummer
Face of God looked through the open doors toward dark mountains, then back to Sunbeam.
The Roots of the Mountains
Home at Midsummer
Her fingers closed around his.
The Roots of the Mountains
Home at Midsummer
Outside, the road remained wide, while inside, apple sweetness warmed the hand that had once gripped a sword.
The Roots of the Mountains
The End
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