Humakt and the Wind
- by Reinier
Dobbelmann
As told to Veoslin
Oltorrson of the Voroni by
Enent the Raven, Humakti Spirit Companion
Now that you
are a devotee of Humakt, there are some things you should know about
him and the wind. Even though Orlanth and his family are no longer
our kin, Humakt has some wind powers still, only they are hidden.
As you already
know, Humakt was a son of Umath, and like Valind he made his home
in the north. The North Wind was feared because of its keen edge;
it was like the slicing cut of a riverside reed in your finger.
This wind brought tears to the eyes of the hardiest traveler, and
knew no mercy. You could be wearing the thickest furs or be sitting
in the warmest lodge but the North Wind would always find a gap
or a crack and it would cut you just enough to let you know that
it was still there, outside, waiting for you. I remember it from
my mountain training as a young initiate; caught outside in it I
was be in constant pain, feeling like I couldn't continue and knowing
I was dying from exposure but continuing anyway. It was the Wind
of the Warrior.
There were also
some that didn't fear the North Wind, but loved it because it blew
hard and steady, and did not vary. Even now Humakt's Wind is one
of the best for flying kites - if your kite is stout and your arms
strong. He does not turn on you like Gagarth or throw snow and ice
at you and try to blind you like Valind. The North Wind is clear
and constant, never clouded.
Sometimes the
North Wind is silent, sometimes it howls, and sometimes it makes
a keening sound so sharp and so high it is like a note that can't
be heard. Some say this is from a wound that Ikadz the Torturer
made when he stuck a barbed knife in Humakt from behind, and maybe
that's partly true. But the real reason is bigger, and is told only
to devotees. It's because Humakt keeps watch on the Vale of Death.
He stares into the void, and sometimes it stares back. Then the
pain is so great that only this North Wind song, given to him by
Chalana Arroy, can sustain him. But that is another story.
Humakt learned
a special lesson from Ikadz this way, even though that's not what
Ikadz intended. It is the lesson of pain. Humakt took away Ikadz's
Pain Dagger and made it his own weapon against the void, because
he knew that as long as he felt pain he was alert and alive, and
the Predark could not surprise him. He wants everyone to learn this
lesson, and that is why the North Wind is so cold and relentless.
Study these
things, and think about them yourself. Then, when you are ready
and you have passed my tests, I will tell you about the Brightnight
Storm, which is Rigsdal's. He learned it with the help of Rashoran
in the story of the Diamond Bullet. It is the Unmoving Storm, and
it is a great secret.
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