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Serenity thought this was bullshit. She didn’t believe in that kind of thing. Besides, there was nothing in Hruk’s story that indicated a supernatural cause. Just a series of very unfortunate accidents.
But how could she explain that to him?
She knew Hruk would not listen to reason. All the ukkur had a tendency for superstition, and Serenity doubted that Hruk would listen to the voice of reason. He had himself utterly convinced that he was cursed. But surely there was some way she could persuade him. She tried to think.
Meanwhile, Hruk continued with his tale.
Hruk didn’t know exactly why or how he was cursed, but the evidence was plain to see, and he planned to strike out on his own so that no harm would come to Throlf, his last remaining companion.
Throlf, however, would have none of it, and after much talking, the old ukkur convinced Hruk to stay.
It was a decision Hruk would come to regret.
For many moons, the two ukkur survived and even thrived in the wilderness. Throlf imparted all kinds of knowledge to Hruk. He taught him about the various plants of the forest. He taught him how to track different animals. And most of all, he taught him how to fight. Even though Throlf was getting on in cycles, he was a cunning warrior. Hruk was stronger, but he was never able to best Throlf in a fair fight because the older ukkur was wiser, more experienced, and devious. Their sparring matches honed Hruk’s skills until he became a formidable warrior.
Hruk treasured his friendship with the old ukkur.
Perhaps, Serenity thought, he had loved him like afather, but that word had no meaning to an ukkur—at least not for one of Hruk’s generation, grown in a laboratory.
But like all good things in Hruk’s life, his relationship with Throlf came to an end.
It was late in the winter, just before the spring thaw, and the two ukkur were tracking a squadron of nith whom they planned to kill and loot for supplies. The trail led across a half-frozen river. The cold water was rushing violently, fueled by the first snowmelt from the mountains. The current was much too strong for swimming. But there was a narrow bridge of ice stretching from one shore to the other.
They went for it, crossing one at a time.
They should have been more cautious, they should have known the ice could be unstable so late in the season. But they were overeager to kill their hated enemies, the nith.
Hruk made it across fine.
While Throlf was going across, the ice broke under his feet.
It didn’t make any sense. Hruk was heavier, and he had just stepped on the same spot, but the ice had held fast for him. It only broke when Throlf stepped there. Hruk took this to be further evidence of his unnatural curse.
As for Throlf, the old ukkur splashed into the frigid heart of the angry river and was swept away by the current.
Fearless, Hruk dove in after him. His only thought was to save his friend and mentor.
But the current was too strong. It wrestled Hruk’s body this way and that, sometimes tugging him beneath the surface, the next moment spitting him back out in a cresting wave of whitewater.
The cold was pure and intense. It leached the heat from his body in a flash. An excruciating, aching cold that bored into the marrow of his bones.
Hruk struggled against the current and the cold, but it was useless. He lost sight of Throlf, and not long after that, he lost consciousness as well.
When Hruk came to, it was night, and he was washed up on the snowy shore at a bend in the river. He shouldn’t have survived, yet there he was.
Throlf was nowhere to be seen.
After that, Hruk lived alone in the wilderness for many years. But every day was filled with guilt. The only reason he was able to survive was from the knowledge passed on to him from Throlf. Throlf who had died because of Hruk’s curse.
Later, he encountered the canyon tribe. He decided he would help them fight the nith, but he swore he would never allow himself to get too close to anyone in the tribe.
Then he saw Serenity, and all of that went to hell.
He had placed her life in danger, and by extension, he had endangered the entire tribe. It was now clear to him what he must do. He had to take his own life so that no one else would fall victim to his curse.
At last, Hruk fell silent.
Serenity didn’t say anything. She just looked at him with tears in her eyes, trying to think of how she could persuade this crazy, stupid, beautiful ukkur that he was wrong about everything.
