Junior School Magazine - Edition 5 (June 2018)

T he G reat E scape Arne gripped her spear tightly and scanned the water for any signs of wild salmon. She looked further downstream and caught a glimpse of her fellow hunter, Freya, a girl from the enemy Lynx clan. She had had no luck either. Frustrated, Arne brushed her frizzy, auburn hair out of her eyes and her brow furrowed, deep in concentration. They were deep in the Scandinavian forest, not far from the Thunder Falls, where the rest of the Sea Eagle clan were waiting for their return. The water was eerily still, dozing beneath the heart of the afternoon sun. The playful chippering of the forest wrens, that had previously echoed from the canopy, had come to a deathly silence. They did not have much time. It had been already three moons, since Arne and her clan began this journey. Three moons, since Freya had arrived, having been ordered by her mage to warn the surrounding clans of the impending storm. She was a sorry sight, with raven-black, scruffy hair and a tattered jerkin. Arne got the sense, she, was not a particularly popular member of her clan. At first, the Sea Eagle clan did not believe her, but Arne, who had been taught magecraft by her grandfather remembered an old prophecy of her grandfathers – that she would have to brave a great red storm. The clan’s leader – Balthar, a very virtuous and stoic man, had resolved that the clan would journey from their camp beside the sea to the hills. There the Eagle spirit could protect them. Arne was asked to keep a watchful eye on Freya. After not making much progress, Balthar decided to camp in a cave inside the Thunder Falls, hoping the waterfall would provide an impenetrable wall of protection against the wrath of the storm. Freya insisted that they go hunt for more food. Arne reluctantly agreed, slipping away without telling Balthar. “Why do we have to rush back? The wind is calm,” Freya retorted indignantly. She then darted off, between the towering trees whose branches stood arm in arm in anticipation of what was to come. “Hey! Come back!” She was met with a supervised scream. In that moment, everything shifted. Freya had fallen into the water, which suddenly picked up, and was carrying her further and further away. The sky had turned an ominous crimson colour. The wind howled hauntingly. The trees started shaking vigorously. Arne felt the dust whipping against her skin. She shielded her eyes and spotted Freya, only a few paces away. She had caught onto a tree branch as the currents pushed against her. “Here, take this,” she shouted over the shrieking winds. She reached out with her flint spear. She managed to grab on. With one big heave she pulled Freya out and onto the bank. They both clamoured to an overhanging rock as the storm continued its devastating pillage. They heard the CRACK of trees being uprooted. Desperately. Arne clutched her grandfather’s amber amulet around her neck and prayed to the Eagle spirit to keep them safe. Almost instantaneously, the dust slowed to a halt and settled, as though the earth had resisted the storm. Arne slowly opened her eyes, and saw the amulet glowing under the film of red dust. Freya looked unrecognisable. “I don’t know why you tried to save me, since we’re supposed to be enemies. I’m sorry I ran off,” Freya said remorsefully. “If we were truly enemies, we would not have stood a chance against the storm. You saved our clan.” Arne gave her a tight squeeze, and they inspected the damage done by the storm. Arne knew that somehow the amulet and Eagle spirit had protected them. After washing off the remnants of the storm, they made their way back to the clan.

A nna T homas Y ear 6W

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JSM Edition 5