"Freitag's Kinder"

by MT Friday III

Pt. 1

As the moon slowly rose above the snow covered mountains, the air seemed so crisp it might shatter with even the smallest sound. Not even a gentle breeze stirred to disturb the serenity. Then, almost as if on cue, the haunting call of a lone wolf pierced the silence. Freitag shivered despite his long heavy cloak. It was not cold that had caused the shiver, but the memory of facing an entire pack with only an axe and dagger. Freitag fingered the scars on his left arm, tracing the old wounds with his fingertips as though he had never felt them before. He had been very young back then, very young and very foolish. Freitag started to smile as he thought upon his youth, but it quickly faded as he also remembered the consequences of some of those youthful impulses... impulses that had been nothing but pure folly.

Within his clan hunting and killing a bear was second in attaining honor and glory only to vanquishing a foe in combat. The shear volume of attention bestowed was such to inspire many a young fool to disaster. Freitag as a child had been enthralled by the elders' tales of brave and heroic figures who were the embodiment of honor and glory, and often dreamt of being those legendary heroes. Unfortunately like so many boys approaching manhood, Freitag's dreams became fantasies, the kind of fantasies that make all young men eager to grow up before their time. And like so many boys on the cusp of manhood he often let those fantasies outweigh common sense, lacking the patience and wisdom needed to truly understand the ideals he had come to worship. It would end up being a lesson he would learn as all young men seem to...the hard way.

No member of his clan had killed a bear in almost two generations. His grandfather had killed a bear when he was a very young man and had worn the claws and teeth as a necklace when Freitag was a child. Grandfather had always insisted that killing the bear had been done out of necessity, not because he had been hunting the bear. Grandfather had seemed more embarrassed than proud of this feat, refusing to tell his own tale to anyone not blood kin. According to Grandfather he had simply been seeking shelter from an unexpected winter storm when he and the bear crossed paths. When asked, Grandfather would tell the rest of the clan that the bear had been asleep for the winter when he stumbled upon the den, implying this gave him some kind of advantage over the monstrous predator. But everyone in the tribe knew even a bear awoke from slumber could be a very dangerous foe,  and continued to heap praise upon the old warrior until the day of his funeral pyre. Freitag had not understood his Grandfather's reluctance at the time, or his Grandfather's dire warnings to leave bear alone. With that thought of his grandfather, a smile crept to Freitag's face. He tried to imagine what the grizzled old warrior might say today, what kind of advice he might give about being a father. And with that last thought Freitag's smile again waned.

Freitag's jaw clenched as he attempted to show none of the emotions roiling within him. His eldest son was out there somewhere in the unforgiving and deadly cold. Dead or alive, Freitag had no way of knowing his son's fate. The boy had slipped off from home three days  earlier, just before a terrible storm hit the valley. The only thing Freitag was sure of was that he had to appear strong, even stoic at times, for his family's sake. His wife had resolved herself to crying, mothering their babes, and working her needle. She had refused to be consoled by Freitag, adding to his frustration, while telling their children that their brother was safe and would be home soon. But even the youngest of the babes knew something was wrong for they could see the worry and fear in their mother's eyes. She laid sleeping with the children now, as Freitag watched her chest rise and fall with the rhythmic breathing of sleep. He had not slept since this ordeal started, hoping to have heard something by now.

Part of Freitag wanted to run bursting from the family's lodge house into the freezing night to search for his wayward son. But another part of him knew that the rest of the family needed him more here, and that he could nothing until dawn anyways. This inner conflict had raged within Freitag all day like the fearsome ice storm that had blown through the valley and mountains, doing nothing for his surly disposition. As a result it appeared to the people around Freitag that he was more angry about his son disobeying him than concerned for the boy's safety. Freitag could not tell his family it was fear in his heart, not anger, for he knew first hand the dangers his son might be facing. Dangers that the very thought of would make any man's blood run cold, much less a man with a missing son. It was against all of this that Freitag had become a stone wall, fighting an ever rising tide of anxiety and fear.

"What a young dummkopf I had been", thought Freitag to himself, as his eyes watered from the cold air steaming through the open window. It had been his third season of hunting when he had done something very similar. Against his family's wishes, and more importantly against his Grandfather's warning, he had struck out one winter's morning to hunt and kill a bear. Having no prior experience hunting alone, young Freitag had no idea what hardships he was in for. Besides not bringing enough food and gear, Freitag did not have the winter wilderness survival skills an older and experienced hunter would have had. Worse, he had let his little brother tag along. He had tried to sneak out in the early morning hours without his mother seeing him leave, for she would have asked where he was going with all the hunting gear. But his little brother Rowen had also awoke early and had asked the same question. Freitag had tried to lie to Rowen, telling him he was running errands for father. But his little brother knew better and refused to go back into the lodge, threatening to tell if Freitag didn't bring him along. It would be a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life. When it was all said and done, Freitag had lost his brother to the killing cold, and nearly his left arm to a vicious pack of hungry wolves.

<<< to be continued>>>