How I Ended Up With a Follower
I have been blind since I was 13.
I was excited to be a Seer at first. There was prestige there. Mystery. Fascination. That evaporated in the agony of the heavy price paid for that 'sight'.
My world went dark and I only knew the morning by the rooster crow and the warmth of the sun on my face. I had to relearn Everything without the benefit of my eyes.
Ten years later when my tribe was wiped out and the warband treated my mentor and myself like spoils of war, I knew them by their smell, by the accent of their words and the heavy falls of their boots. I knew when my mentor had crossed a line and earned their wrath after no amount of hallucinogenic herbs could get her to speak their future. I could smell her blood in the air, practically taste it on my tongue. I was shoved against her, felt the slipperiness of her blood over my hands. Hot tears crawled across my cheeks and fell to mingle with her gaping wound. Useless.
"Tell them," she gasped to me. Her hands were like claws as they sought mine, bidding me dig down into her guts to read their fortunes there. She lead me, guided me, using her dying form with drugged detachment. Her words were whispered, intertwined with the unheard whisper of the stars.
My jaw stretched open and my head fell back, seeming impossibly wide as I laughed like the depths of Hell opening up. I could not see their commander with my eyes, but I felt his presence and 'looked' at him. My mentor's voice and mine twined together eerily and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stir as though a cold breeze blew through the tent.
"You tarried too long in seeking us, in getting us to speak. Your future holds only Death now and it comes on the wingtips of the man you have sought to escape. You will Die and all your efforts will be for naught." My head fell back again and another unnatural laugh crawled from my throat.
I could hear the distant thunder of hoof beats preceded by a runner's footfalls.
"Commander! The enemy is upon us! We have to fight! Now!"
There was frantic sounds of movement and the tent was left empty except for my and my dying mentor.
"Get lost, Damiana. Before they can find you. Let the stars guide you from here." She took a deep breath and sighed a long sigh... and then I heard nothing else stir from her chest.
More tears leaked from my blind eyes. Useless. But I heard the unmistakable sounds of battle and the stars pulsed overhead. I felt like I could almost see them. Almost.
They drew me upwards like a marionette. I could feel the rhythm of hoof beats like drums, the wails and sighs of the wounded and fighting like songs. Tents were on fire and their heat guided me.
I raised my arms and just... danced.
Where the stars told me to twirl, I did. Where they bade my dip, I bowed low. Fire made a path on either side and guided my steps. At one point I saw a glimmer, a star, seen by mine own blind eyes. I reached out, grabbed it, took it in hand.
Holding this star I spun, dancing to the song of battle, to star song and the lyrics of the universe that screamed their notes through my veins.
And then the song began to ebb and pain took its place. The screaming lyrics of the universe were now truly screaming in my bones and their vastness was crushing. I began to buckle under the weight of it.
I don't remember much more besides pain and finally fitful sleep. When I awoke it was to songbirds and the smell of petrichor, the coolness of shade and a parched throat.
And the presence of another being near me. I scrambled to stand and hit my head. Explicatives tore from my lips. I felt the person grab my hand as they spoke.
"Mistress of the Martial Arts, for saving my life, I pledge to follow you for the rest of my days. Would you consent to teach me how to fight?"
Too fucking early for this nonsense. I laughed at the absurdity and then regretted it, pulling my hands from his and pressing them gently against my head. "Fuck, I'm so hung over. Do you have any water?"
I heard him move, but he said nothing. I tilted my head, but he remained silent. And my head hurt, so I was grumpy. "Well?" I said, a bit more rudely than intended.
"I'm pointing at it," he said, with equal heat.
I smiled with feigned excitement amd sarcasm and waved my hand before my face. "You must be more blind than I am! Or did you think I was just blinking?" Fuck, my head was throbbing. I heard his shock.
"So you're a blind drunken master?! By the gods, please, teach me!" At least he was finally passing me water. I laughed a loud belly laugh and sucked down water as though I might never get another drop. "Nah, I don't know anything about martial arts. I was just dancing to the tune of the stars."
I heard him shift as his voice rose. It hurt my head.
"Do you mean to tell me... that you were not only blind, but high as hell when you decided to waltz through a battlefield and TAKE ME WITH?! WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!!" His hands grasped my shoulders and he shook me. I was already in pain from the hangover, but the shouting and the shaking really made it worse.
I shoved under his left arm, bent down, grabbed his left ankle and pulled. He lost his balance and went down hard and I felt no shame in bending him as far as he could bow. For good measure I grabbed his other leg as well, putting my weight on his chest by virtue of his bent frame.
"I may not know martial arts, but wrestling suits me well, as I have to maintain contact with my opponent." I glanced back to hear more and noted the brightness of something glimmering in my darkened vision. I hadn't seen so much as a spark since I went blind, but it was if a star had illuminated my night sky. I had to discover what it was, but for now, I could appease this man.
"I am a Seer, my faithful companion, and taking hallucinogenic herbs so that I may heed the wisdom of the stars is just something you're going to have to get used to." I eased up and let him breathe.
"You may call me Damiana. Damiana Dances-through-flames."
