Disclaimer:
All
rights held by the author. No allowance is given for those wishing to
gain financially by selling part of,
or the whole work of fiction in the following pages. 12
February 2001.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It
has taken me three years to write this story and therefore there have
been many who have been a big help in the duration of the timespan and
they stick out from the flock because they helped, challenged and encouraged
me to write a better story and I think in the end it became more their
story than mine. But this is all good, for this tale is better for it.
I would like to thank Delwyn Doherty who typed the first 20 or so pages
from hand written text, which made it easier for me. Also for all the
encouragement and challenges.
I would like to thank Kristy Drake for the brilliant ideas and encouragement.
Where would I be without you.
I
would like to thank my sister Jackie, and Sonya Struginski for teaching
me to appreciate the diversity and uniqueness of the female character.
This
book is dedicated to Delwyn, Kristy, Jackie and Sonya
and all the other Godly women in my life.
1.
THE COUNSEL OF ELDERS
It was the cold season. Rain drizzled outside amongst the tall trees
and the domesticated wild dogs howled because of the chill. They shook
off their wet coats only to have them soaked again by the downpour cascading
off the branches.
A
meeting of Elders was underway in Chief Hatu's hut. The elders had gathered
for an important ceremony. A young boy named Cora was to embark upon
a journey to the Other side. There was a great luscious forest that
hardly any Amaleketh ever entered for fear of his life. It was from
this forest that he was to bring back a claw from the Great Bear, which
his people worshipped as a god. This journey would take him many days.
The Elders wondered if he was capable of such an important task, for
the quest was very important to them. They did not however realise how
important it was to the young boy.
As the elders talked
amongst themselves Cora's mind wandered elsewhere. He thought about
how the other people in his tribe would treat him once he came back
from the journey. Would they treat him with honour due a chief or would
they revolt against his leadings? He would just have to wait and see.
There was no doubt within Cora of his success. The only negative aspect
to this whole ordeal was that it would take so long.
The discussion continued
with concerns being raised. If the Great Bear did not give Cora the
single claw, it would mean that they were no longer protected by the
god and the god's of the other tribe's would help them destroy Cora's
tribe. They lived in great fear of their god. Despite the fear, they
still placed food offerings for him at the statue.
Cora's father Mathias
had carved the statue of the Great Bear from oak wood, a tree that was
scarce in their region and revered highly by his people.
The statue of the Great Bear that stood in the centre of the huts was
quiet a menacing figure. All those that walked past, cast their eyes
to the ground as they did. It had eyes that were formed of two rubies
the size of a big toe of a full grown male Amaleketh. The teeth were
carved pieces of bone taken from the jaw of a lion - this was to show
the people that the Great Bear was even stronger than the lion. In the
right paw of the Bear were inscribed hieroglyphs, which meant "The Destroyer,
Eater of Children and God of the Amalkeths."
The Amalkeths are Cora's
people, small handsome creatures with little button eyes and long dark
hair tied back with leather laces. From far away they appear as children
because of their height but close up their countenance has a beautiful
resonation of sun darkened skin pigment and sharp features. The adults
have hard looking faces. Their physic is vigorous, being conditioned
to the rough terrain of their homeland. The children spend most of their
time learning the skills of their parents so that they also when grown
up are able to function in their environment and society to the best
of their capabilities.
The male child at the
age of thirteen years before taking a spouse, must embark on a journey
- for at thirteen a man-child is considered ready for a mate, that is
to be married. Cora had his thoughts on becoming chief and thus the
trial that he would undergo would be far harsher than any other boy
his age.
Outside the drizzle had come to a halt. Inside the council had finally
decided it was okay for Cora to go on the Journey. He was told to set
himself aside for a time of purification - that is to be made holy and
clean to be worthy of the journey. If he were to break any of the rules
and was found unworthy by the restrictions and guidelines of the council,
he would have to wait for another cold season to appear before the council,
to request another attempt, were Cora to fail. Cora knew that he must
not fail. If he was to forfeit, it would mean that Cora's family would
be for a season placed outside the tribe as a sign of impurity and a
sign of punishment for Cora's failure. This of course was not the same
treatment all other thirteen year old Amalkeths who wanted to take part
in the Journey received. Though the punishment for failure was high,
the reward for success was greater. If Cora successfully finished the
Journey, he would upon his return become chief for the next ten years
and rule over his tribe receiving great gifts of wealth. Hence the reward
was far greater than punishment.
With all this in mind
Cora thanked the elders and went outside the hut into the dark night
pondering upon what he had heard. His appearance at the kennels roused
his pup. Cora untied the mutt and continued strutting out of the encampment
with the pup following at a distance. The boy was headed for the river
which was the only source of water for the tribe in the five mile radius
of its encampment.
It ran about a mile from the village to the East.
2. A MEETING OF FRIENDS
The
sound of rushing waters grew louder as Cora with Shank by his side drew
closer to their destination - a clear spot in the thicket of the underbrush
among the trees on the bank.
"Have you any idea how
long I have been here?" A voice called out, full of frustration. "A
moment longer and I would have left."
"It would have been
your loss, Junice," Cora remarked, as a young Amalkethistess stepped
out from behind the trunk of a large spruce.
"Hello! Shank. How have
you been darling?" Junnice said, bending over she patted the puppy's
mane. With a hint of disappointment she continued. "Have you been feeding
him well, Cora?"
"You know sometimes
I wonder if you would rather like to marry Shank instead of me."
"Don't be silly," Junnice
laughed, her concern for the pup quickly disappearing from her voice.
"Am I being silly? You
haven't even said 'hello!"
"Hello," came a reply
and as a set of white teeth formed into a smile in the dark backdrop
of the wet canopy of trees, vines and wild berries. "Sometimes I wonder
if I should have picked you to be my husband... "
"What do you mean? 'You'
picked me. You know very well it was I... Who chose you... To marry
me and not the other way around," Cora replied emphasising the sentence
to add weight to what he was saying.
"I was only joking Cor,"
Junnice said quietly. "Sometimes I can't tell if you are joking or not,
and your
word's hurt me."
"Ur.. Ur... I am sorry,"
she said and reaching out she took a hold of his hand with her cold
and clammy hands.
"Okay, so what happened?"
Bernice asked as she stepped out from behind the same tree that Junnice
had hidden behind earlier. Bernice was Junnice's twin but the similarity
was shadowed by the darkness of the night. She was present to chaperone
her sister. "But before you do, come let us sit down," she continued
as she led the way to where the sisters had placed a blanket made of
hyena hides. Bernice then lit a candle made from beeswax and perfumed
with wild flowers. The candle having been lit, the similarities of the
twins became apparent. The woman- child both had long dark hair though
Bernice wore hers in braids and Junnice kept hers straight and untied.
They wore similar clothes. Black hide garments made from the skin of
deer that were abundant in these regions. Shirts painted in vibrant
colours but they wore skirts that were black and moccasins that also
had been dyed black.
"So what happened?"
Bernice asked again when they were comfortably settled in the clearing
of the vines. She fidgeted anxiously. The light from the candle threw
a dark shadow across her fair rounded face with its smooth skin and
eyes.
Despite the chill of
the night they were quiet warm, body heat creating an atmosphere of
warmth and friendship. Bernice fidgeted.
"Well... They agreed
to let me go," Cora replied with a tone that was so much like his father's
long prayers before meals. The tone was soft yet reverential.
"Oh that is wonderful,
Cor!" Junnice exclaimed and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I am so proud
of you."
"Um thanks... Father
was very pleased as well..."
"Hold on," continued
Junnice excitedly fumbling with her hip-pouch. From within she retrieved
an emerald the size of Cora's thumb with a hide thong woven through
the middle - a task that she had forever taken to achieve. The hole
had taken a vast amount of delicate work but Hadires had been able to
carve a hole through the stone by rubbing it continually with a sharpened
piece of diamond. As she placed it around his neck the emerald pebble
lit up as it became illuminated by the flame of the candle - its rich
aromatic perfume lay heavily upon the still night air.
"Where did you get it?"
Cora asked excited.
"It is Papa's gift to
you for our marriage."
"It is beautiful. Thank
you," he smiled.
"We knew you would be
excepted, so Papa thought it would be an appropriate time for you to
receive the present," added Bernice, not wanting to be left out of the
conversation. "It suits you Cora. Don't you think Junnice?"
"He does look beautiful
wearing it..." remarked Junnice slyly.
"Hey?!" Cora exclaimed
showing distress at the playful comment. He did become rather touchy
when his manly hood was called to question.
"Lighten up, Cora dear.
We are only joking," scolded Bernice, then turned to her twin. "We must
go back. Papa said not to be late, also Cora has to be up early in the
morning to prepare for the purification ritual.
3. A GREAT UNDERTAKING
The
morning of the purification was warmed by the sun as it cascaded through
the tall trees upon all those gathered by the river. There were fifty
souls altogether, dressed in their finest.
Jewels and precious
metals sparkled in the sunlight, creating a rather splendid sight of
shimmering colours and shapes. They stood together in a small semicircle
on the riverbank awaiting the formalities to begin.
Cora stood between his
father and mother, knee deep in the water, their feet placed upon a
bleached hide that separated them from the smooth pebbles of the river
bed. Mathias, Cora's father held in his hand a shelled out gourd - which
was being used to bath his son.
"Make us proud, son,"
Mathias whispered near Cora's right ear. His mother wrapped him in a
towel of white goose down -tears of joy and anxiety mixed together,
rolled down her cheeks- to show he was clean.
The current chief of the tribe called them out of the water.
"You are now to go to
the shelter prepared by the men of our tribe. Stay there a month. You
are not to leave the shelter or talk to those attending to your needs.
You are to eat all that is provided for you. You will be given a blanket
and a hide mat that is to be used for your prayers to be written upon
as you call upon the Great Bear to provide you with strength. You must
not falter in your prayers but keep a constant list of your prayer request
and hold strongly to the teaching's of your parent's, for until you
come out of the shelter you are still under your parents guidance. When
you come out you must walk forth as a man and no longer continue behaving
as a man-child." Cora nodded in agreement The chief waved his sceptre
and a warrior stepped forth and taking the jewelled rod from the hand
of the chief, with a flash and a sparkle of colour as the sun shone
upon the jewels, he struck Cora on the side of the head and knocked
him out.
As Cora fell to the
ground, blood trickled out of his head.
"Clean him up and place
shackles on his feet and place him inside the shelter," the chief muttered
coldly. "See to it that he is guarded at all time's and make sure that
Junnice does not come near the shelter at any time."
Junnice who had been
watching the procession from her father's side burst into tears. Her
twin tried to comfort her but to no avail. She began crying so loud
that the chief closed the procession and all went back to their home,
except for Cora, who for a month would be placed within a four foot
square thatched shelter with wooden support beams, alone, as part of
the ritual.
4. THE PURIFICATION
Every
morning the young children would come and surround the shelter and shout
names and throw sticks and stones at the hut - which they had carefully
gathered from the river bank.
They would also make
remarks like. "Hey Cora does it smell in there, do you still want to
go on the journey."
"Someone stole your
puppy."
"Junnice is going
to be married to Gad." (Gad was Cora's baby brother.)
"Your mother has
lost her jewels (which meant that she was now considered very ugly)."
They also said many
other things that good children don't say. Cora with his ankles in shackles
was unable to do anything but to put up with all the insults and abuse.
The young girls would come in the afternoon and continue the onslaught
of revilement. This went on for the duration of the forty day's he spent
inside the shelter.
The food was just as
bad. Sometimes it was still alive, or it seemed as if somebody had vomited
it on the plate. It would smell and taste disgusting. Often, he would
not eat it and then the person who prepared the meal would enter and
beat him. So he would always end up having to eat whether through tears
of pain and hurt or the closing of his eye's and the holding of his
nose.
He was able to bare
all this discomfort and shame but what he found most excruciatingly
difficult was not being able to see or talk to Junnice. Sometimes he
would see her through a hole in the thatched wall, walking in the distance
and his heart would feel as if it was being wrenched out of his little
brazened chest. He could not call out to her or he would be beaten severely.
Some days he would cry himself to sleep because of longing, longing
for Junnice, for his parents and for his baby brother Gad.
Often in these
weak states the Great Bear would appear in the form of a handsome Amalketh.
He would say kind things to him, offering greatness and power beyond
his imagination. Promises of wealth if he would just bare the pain,
then he would leave and Cora would go back to feeling alone and empty
inside.
5.
AFTER THE PAIN
On
the dawn of the fortieth day at the crowing of the rooster (though there
were many other male hens in the pans, only one actually ever crowed
having won and established himself as the head over the other's), Cora
was led out of the dwelling place in a pathetic state. His hand's placed
on his head to shadow his dark beady eye's, which were not accustomed
to the light not having seen the world outside the prison since first
he had been put there, except for glimpses through the hole in the wall.
The tribe's people stepped
out of their huts and placed themselves in a unified line before the
statue of the Great Bear. Because of Cora's weakened state, as he had
been unable to exercise and had also gained much weight, he looked like
a pig that had been fattened for a feast - he struggled to stay upright.
The guard had to support his weight so that Cora could stand up. So
weak was Cora that a hide chair had been brought for him to sit upon.
His parent's who for
the duration of the forty days had not laid eyes on him were quiet distraught
over his sore state. His mother broke down in tears. Mathias just barely
held back from crying. He held his wife for as much support as she clung
to him from fainting with emotional turmoil and despair having seen
the state of her beloved son before them. Cora who by now having become
hardened by his chosen ordeal just grinned menacing at the statue. "I
will get you for this," he thought. "No matter what it cost's me." Junnice
who had watched as Cora had been paraded before the gathered crowd watched
him from a distance as she stood with her parents and sibling, not wanting
to believe that this grotesque figure in front of her was indeed her
beloved. She hoped that she was still asleep and was having a bad dream
that she often had. Try with all she might, she was unable to make her
feet walk the six metre distance to his side. Just as well, for Cora
would not have noticed her in his state his mind fully focused on administering
revenge.
The whole tribe could
feel the heat of Cora's hostility and no one except the guard came near
him. Whenever his eye's looked in the direction of those gathered, they
would quickly turn their eyes elsewhere to avoid eye contact with him
by staring down or looking away. There was much fear in those that were
present for there had not been such a ritual for the leadership of the
tribe for ten years since their present Chief Hatu had been ordained.
There suddenly came a hush among the crowd as Hatu stepped out
of his hut. His two personal bodyguards came and stood by his side as
he continued forth to the sight of the statue and stood by its left
paw. He looked shocked as he caught sight of Cora, than he remembered
his ritual. He quickly forced the image out of sight. He felt sorry
for the boy. Stepping forward he placed the jewelled sceptre in Cora's
hands. The young boy sat looking at it. Then all of a sudden he seemed
to gain back all his strength. Standing upright he pounced upon the
chief. He struck the young silver manned Amaleketh. Who faced with the
onslaught of abrupt violence fell to the ground under the blows of the
swinging sceptre which struck him several times before his guards were
able to forcefully disarm Cora and sedate him with a hard blow to his
head.
It took four weeks for
Cora to work-off his weight. During this period of time he was not allowed
any food. When thirst burnt his lips he would receive a ration of water
to wet his dry lips. The fast sometimes got quiet impossible to bare,
and when that happened Cora would think of the wonderful ways he could
prepare the rats in the empty shelter so the gnawing hunger would subside
only for a few moments, or the many different ways he would revenge
himself.
6. FLOWERS FOR A DEITY
The
sky was clear. Rain had just stopped and the songbirds came out once
again to sing to the dawn rising to the North. It was the last week
of the spring season. With summer and its usual intense hot weather
around the corner the animals were out bathing in the early morning
warmth. Seeds that had fallen to the ground now had fought their way
out from under the dead leaves and the moist humid soil.
A carpet of bright lime
green shoots had entered the world and began their destiny of growth
to a full fledged tree that would supply in the years to come the people
with shade, firewood and seeds which with time would fall to the ground
and another sapling would start the whole process all over again.
Junnice was busy picking
flowers when she noticed the wolf approaching to her left. She had been
out since the break of dawn. It was her turn to pick flowers as part
of the offering for the statue. Picking flowers for a piece of wood
was not Junnice's idea of fun, she would rather be preparing breakfast
with her mother and Bernice. As part of the chores of the five thirteen
year-old girls of her tribe each week one of the group would have to
pick flowers for the Great Bear to quench its fury against their people.
It was all a waste of time to Junnice who regarded the whole process
as meaningless. "What would a piece of wood do with flowers?" she thought.
With a large bunch of flowers in her left-hand and regardless
of what she felt, she continued with the menial task of flower picking.
There was by now a wide variety in the bunch along with a varied assortment
of colours. With flowers in hand her she sang a well-known love-song.
"I
will sing of my love,
You are beautiful,
So beautiful.
Your eye's are dark as the night,
And pure as sunlight.
Men fear your warrior heart,
Women tell stories of your deeds,
to their children."
The
song for the moment took her mind off the task at hand. Placing the
bunch of flowers on the tall grass she began swinging her slender arms
around, her legs joined in as she pranced around to a drum beat only
she could hear. New words of praise fell from her lips.
"I
will sing to my love,
You are beautiful.
So beautiful.
Your hair is as long,
as the branches of the weeping willow,
And black as the crow.
Old men want you to be their son,
Old women sing of you to their grandchildren."
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