Ka'nir'niq

Kanirniq was a trading outpost upon the very fringe of the Tundra, within sight of but well beyond the borders of the Northern Forest. It sat atop the protection of a distant hill, among an outcropping of tall trees and jumbled stones which ringed about the circumference of it on nearly all sides. In our language, the name means "ice grips the trees" and in the harshness of winter, Kanirniq was often an impenetrable fortress of thick ice which had layered itself many times upon the sheltering ring of trees and stone.

Kanirniq was not a fort; it was not a town, or a village, or a settlement. It was a simply a frontier trading post upon the very fringes of the borderlands; and the owners traded among those they wished. It was not often said that the hosts of Kanirniq were inhospitable; yet neither was it unheard of. It was theirs; they owned it, they did as they pleased with it.

Within the walls of Kanirniq a wide assortment of things were available to be had by means of trade. there was always a hot kettle, warm bread, and potent drink; there were baths, and simple pallets made up of fur cast upon thick mats of dry sweetgrass. There was trading and wagering, and games both of skill and chance; and sometimes, but not at all times, there were slaves to be had for enjoyment among these other things.

Within the walls of Kanirniq, my winter pack waited for me; I would reach it within the next passing hand. My decision had been made; I would hunt upon the polar ice this season, and if she had survived I would take her by force.

If she does not, or I do not; it would no longer be a concern. Life is exquisitely simple in its own permanent way; there is no known beginning or end of perceived time. We are never aware of them ourselves; there is only the here and now, as we live and breathe in this moment.

Refreshing myself from natural basin of stones beneath the spattering trickle of a cold spring I washed my face and hands then splashed the chilling water upon my hair before raking rough fingers through it. I watched Nuqi as she snuffled and snorted among the fallen leaves searching out some hidden morsel or another. It surprised me not in the least when at last, from among a cloister of stones and limbs gathered along its path, she emerged victoriously with hissing, squealing and helplessly thrashing, burrowing urt whose nest she had discovered. With a toss of her hear and a snap of her teeth, the game ended; and a meal was had.

Life requires no complex schemes, it is simply lived; until it is ended.

Lifting my pack from the ground I slipped it around my arms and settled it upon the width of my shoulders. Taking up my spear I scanned the horizon within the Forest for the next landmark; and finding it, I again sat my feet in motion toward the wide expanse of the Tundra with the coming of Autumn.

I walked all of the day and throughout most of the night before stopping again. I moved cautiously along intersecting game trails, pausing here and there for sips of water and small portions of salty dried fish. broken pieces of bread, or a handful of tart and tangy berries.

I would allow myself time to enjoy a few ahns of sleep in the depths of the night. Nuqi and I would curl ourselves against each other, and sleep nearly in the open not far from the prints along the path of a well known trail; and at first light, we were gone. So the days passed uneventfully, filled only with trekking, and short rests for eating or sleeping as we left the Forest together.