The Most Terrible Day (Song of Len the Wanderer, Snippet 4)

A lighter sort of story fragment from the Dustsong Cycle

(Read Chronicle of Len, Snippet 3)

Len’s cheeks were hot. When he found words again, they came out cold. “Well, I sure didn’t bring you here to yammer all day. Maybe you should be the one to leave, Sceg.”

As children, they’d often teased each other playfully. Neither of us is kidding now. Somewhere along the way, things between them had stopped growing the way they should.

But that wasn’t my doing. After all, no matter what his brother said, Len respected the Wright. He listened to their parents most of the time, too. Len was older than Sceg and deserved some respect himself. For some reason, though, the Wright liked Sceg better.

Sceg, who was so full of himself. Sceg, who was oblivious to the hurt Len felt. If not for his brother, Len could live at peace with himself.

He's in my way. The last bit of control slipped from Len’s grasp. He shoved his brother.

Sceg stumbled backward. He held on to his crook with one hand but nearly fell on the uneven ground.

The brothers gave each other startled looks. Len’s heart was pounding. He blinked in the sunny glare reflected off the mountain haze.

Then, with an enraged bellow, Len rammed Sceg like a maddened crag-goat. Sceg made a clumsy effort to block his brother with his crook, which only angered Len further. This time, he knocked Sceg into the grass.

Sceg had dropped his crook and let it lie as he clambered to his feet. Len saw the same fire in his brother’s face, now, that he felt in his own. Sceg threw himself at Len. Their collision knocked the breath clear out of Len’s lungs.

The brothers wrestled in a fierce, awkward way. They staggered to and fro, grunting. Neither gained the upper hand for more than an instant. Len couldn’t focus his eyes. But he could tell they were moving dangerously close to the cliff at the edge of the meadow.

I’m getting tired. How long had they continued their furious, pitiful tussle? Before he could wear himself out entirely, he mustered all his might and tried to force Sceg to the ground.

The surge of strength caught his brother by surprise. The next thing Len knew, Sceg hung off the side of the mountain, over a sheer drop. It was a long way to the brush-covered ledge below. Len strained to hold his brother by the legs, to keep him from tumbling into the air.

Tears and sweat streamed together down Len’s cheeks. “Just tell me honest,” he gasped, “why the Wright loves you more.” Sceg made no reply except for a dry, wheezing sob.

Len hauled him back to the safety of the grass and helped him to his feet. He noticed Sceg’s sluggish, shaky movements and placed himself between his brother and the cliff. Not that I’m in much better shape.

Then Sceg said something. He had to repeat it a couple of times before his voice broke through his difficult breathing. “Serpents take you, Len. You’re only dust to me.”

Without thought or hesitation, Len pulled his digging stone from his belt and clobbered his brother across the face. Sceg tumbled backward to the earth. A sickly crack sounded, and Sceg made a little cry.

What just happened?

After Sceg lay still and silent for a long moment, Len moved forward carefully. The digging stone had left a nasty cut on his brother’s forehead. But that doesn’t explain all this blood. Then Len saw: the back of his brother’s head had landed hard on a small, pointy rock.

Sceg’s yellowish green eyes blinked wide and fearful. Len collapsed to his knees in horror. He was covered in sweat, yet his blood ran cold. What am I supposed to do?

Panic grew in his mind. “What’s going on?” he asked Sceg. “Speak to me!” For good measure, he added, “I’m a fool—I know it.” Nothing but a fool. What have I done? He hadn’t meant for this. That doesn’t count for anything, though, does it?

At last, his brother said something. Len leaned closer to hear.

“Sleep,” Sceg mumbled. “Rest awhile.” Then all the tension in his features melted. His whole body relaxed, as if in sleep. Except, his eyes stared at the sky without blinking.

Len wept. He wailed, and he begged. He demanded the unseen-folk help him. And he cried for the Wright. The lord of the skies liked Sceg the best, didn’t he? “If you love him so much, then mend him! Put the breath and blood of life back in him!” Surely he could bring Len’s brother back somehow.

There was no reply. No help arrived, nor any hopeful sign. Len screamed at the Fangs like a beast till he was exhausted.

Finally, he stood and looked around. His knees and legs hurt terribly. How long have I been here? The sheep had scattered without a trace, but the sun told him it was only a little past noon.

What now? It was the same earthly realm all around him. Yet something had changed. The world felt different. My life is ruined.

For sure, Len couldn’t go back home to face Mother and Father. He didn’t want to stay anywhere near the sky-realm, either. The Wright would be angry and ready to take out his wrath on Len. After this most terrible day, the only choice he had left was to flee to the low country—the valley below the mountain.

What will I need? My cloak. A water pouch or three. Food. My— Belatedly, he realized he was still gripping his digging stone. He raised his hand to throw it away. But at the last instant, he paused.

I have to hide Sceg. To keep the critters from getting his body.

Len stuck the stone blade back in his belt. After Sceg was buried, Len could slip into the hollow and gather the few things he needed. After dark. While Father and Mother sleep. Then he’d make his way downward, Wright help him. Except he won’t help me. Nobody will.

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Note from the Author

Revising Len’s story for a different audience has proven to be both slower and more fun than I thought. Even as I’ve tamped down the descriptions of violence here, it’s become less about chopping material and more about phrasing things differently. All that said, I’m already finding it easier to leave a phrase here or a sentence there on the cutting-room floor.

Thank y’all for bearing witness to this experiment! This was the last of the Chronicle snippets available to all paid members. To keep reading this lighter version of the story, you can upgrade to a Founder-level subscriber in your subscription settings. Between now and the end of February 2024, use this link to get 10% off (for an annual price of $36). The book version, The Legend of Len the Wanderer, will be available this spring. The Chronicles of the Vaporous Realms will finish the stories of Len, Kaelii, and Egwae this year, and more, while the regular paid/complimentary snippets will only finish Delfii’s Song and begin Kaelii’s.

Happy reading!