The Venetou

by Philip R Benge

  When the morning sun arose to awaken the villagers, they were greeted with the sight of eighteen of their neighbours laying dead upon the ground, their eyes staring soullessly up at them, and each with a hole drilled in one of their eyes. Panic immediately took a hold of the villagers and they went to their shaman once again to ask what they should do.

  “Do not worry for I will consult with our ancestors, they will know what we should do to drive these demons away from our land.” Was his firm reply and he walked over to the village spirit hut to speak with their ancestors, and for the next six hours the villagers waited anxiously outside to hear his answer. It was at an hour after midday that he reappeared to tell everyone what the ancestors had advised. He looked very pale and not a little tired, his voice when he spoke was not his normal one, it was deeper, more assertive.

  “It is good to be back amongst the living, even at such a time and for so short a period.” The strange voice boomed out across the village and making the panicking villagers even more fearful for their future.

  “When I was the shaman of the village demons never dared to attack us, for we ensured that the shrine of the ancestors was well tended, and so the spirits of the ancestors fought such creatures in the spirit world and kept them at bay. Now the shrine is overgrown and we, your ancestors are weak, for no food is left at our shrine” The deep voice boomed out angrily now, and the shaman turned to look at each of the people assembled there, his look filled with the contempt that he felt for those who had succeeded his generation.

  “However, I will tell you what you must do to defeat these terrible creatures. First the maidens of the village must tend to our shrine and leave food for us so that we might feed again. Your next act is to take the fight to the demons, and in doing so end their terrible reign of terror, and to this end I have formulated a plan of attack. The men of the village must drive six stakes into the ground, the site for the stakes is to be the square of the ancestors in the middle of our village. You must tie six of the warriors who brought this plague upon our land to the stakes, and then you must wait hidden within the nearest huts until the Demons come to feed upon them. The cowards who brought this evil upon you, they have said that only at that time will the demons become visible. It is at this point that you must then fall upon them and kill them, ensuring that none escape your weapons.”

  With these words the shaman sank to the ground visibly exhausted by his ordeal. He was carried to his hut by four of the warriors and laid out on his bed, moments later he was asleep.

  When six warriors had been chosen from those who had survived the journey, their wives burst into tears, however not one of the warriors complained, for they knew that it had to be done in order to save the village.

  Paragos, the headman of the village hung his head in shame as he looked across at the shrine of the ancestors, for as the village had learnt new modern ways to live, so the shrine had become less important to the people of the village. He looked across at his daughter Maribel, who was standing by the door of his house, she too looked guilty, for it was her duty as daughter of the headman, to attend to the shrine, picking some of her friends to assist her.

  “Maribel, collect six of you friends and tend to the shrine of the ancestors, clean it until it is spotless, lay flowers around it and burn incense to drive away any unfriendly spirits, your mother will supply you with the food when you are done.” Paragos ordered angrily and then he turned to his woman. “Lanyon, you must prepare a good supply of the food that the ancestors enjoy eating, have our neighbours help you in this task.” Paragos then turned to the young warriors standing close by him. “You men, you must see to the setting up of the stakes within the square of the ancestors, be sure to make the stakes strong, we will only get one chance at this, for the demons are not weak of mind, that affliction falls upon us.” Paragos whispered these last five words.

  The sun hung on the far hills as the six chosen warriors were led out on to the square of the ancestors. One of them, Cherian, was the oldest son of Paragos, the headman ensured that his face was set rigid as he watched as his son was tied to one of the stakes, no one could see the terrible pain afflicting his heart. His woman though was screaming, as were many other women as they saw their men led to the stakes and tied securely to them. They, the chosen ones, bore up well under this terrible ordeal, a single tear here, another there, they hoped that they would live to see the sun rise once again, but they knew that they would more than likely be amongst the ancestors, come the morning. Not one of them knew just what the demons fed upon, or they would never have gone willingly to the stake.

  **********

  The Venetou had been sleeping in their cave overlooking the sea, now they awoke, hungry and eager to feed, although it would another hour before the sun finally set. After washing at a nearby stream they headed for the village, frequently stopping to listen out for signs of any Bora who might be about. They arrived at the first of the huts without encountering any of the Bora, and just as the sun rested upon the distant horizon. From the centre of the village they could hear the wailing of the women, and so they carefully made their way there. Once there they smiled, for what they saw before them were offerings, ones that must be meant for them, similar to the ones the warriors had made to them during the latter days of the long voyage to this new land. However, they had arrived a little earlier than expected and they saw the warriors who were standing within the huts that bordered the square on three sides, the last side being left open so as to allow easy access for the ancestors. All these warriors were checking their weapons over to ensure that they were ready for the coming massacre of the demons. The alpha male had seen few weapons, except for their own stone knives, but he had seen the warriors use their bows against the wildlife of the southern continent, and with great success. He stopped his small tribe and signalled that they should move back to the outer ring of huts of the village. He suspected that the chosen ones were there to act as decoys and not as food, that when he and his small family shimmered into view and began to feed upon the offerings, the Bora would attack his family and in all likelihood kill them. The alpha male decided to punish the villagers for their act of defiance, and in a way that they would not forget, and so he decided to look for prey away from the warriors of the village. He had had learnt something that night, that these Bora were not as the other prey, these Bora were intelligent.

  **********

  After a long anxious night of waiting, Paragos watched as the sun reappeared in the eastern sky, the people of the village, the Trinovantes, tired and exhausted after a long and stress filled night returned to their own huts. It was now that they found the eleven bodies, word about the massacre soon got around the village, and screams filled the air when the families found their loved ones sprawled out upon the dirt floor. Today should have been filled with celebrations, and instead it was filled with the screams of those in mourning.

  Paragos had screamed in anger when he had first seen his dead villagers, and he swore vengeance, instead of resting up after their wasted night, he arranged his warriors in three groups of thirty warriors and he then told them what they must do.

  “Scour the countryside my brave warriors and find where these demons are resting during the day, when they are found send two of your fleetest of foot to find the other two groups. When all of our warriors are assembled near to their camp we will attack and kill each of them.” Paragos declared boldly.

  “How can we find these demons, Paragos, as soon as the sun rises they return to the spirit land to sleep, never once did our warriors see them on the long voyage home except at night.” Maliki said fearfully. His words struck a cord with his people who nodded their agreement.

  “We should leave our land and journey inland to the centre of this vast world, and far away from these terrible demons, let them feast on another tribe, I have spoken as I think, and what others of our people think.” Hyman, said. He was one of the elders and trusted by the villagers who at once took up his ca
ll to flee.

  “No my people, these demons do not live in the spirit world, they live here now, brought to our land by my son, we will go out and kill them, this land has been good to us, it is worth fighting for.” Paragos declared forcefully.

  The villagers thought over his words and finally agreed with him. Three groups of warriors went out and searched for the Venetou, but the sound of their searching alerted the Venetou, so that even when one group of warriors found their cave they were not seen. They had used their hypnotic powers and merged into the rocks at the rear of the cave. The frightened warriors led by Cherian did not dare to enter the darker part of the cave, instead they threw a lit torch to the darkest part, and the flickering flames just served to hide the Venetou all the more.

  That night the Venetou found the village guarded, but they still fed, now it was upon the guards who watched, for the Venetou knew how to hunt by stealth, they had been doing this very thing for millennia, the young did it as soon as they were old enough to walk.

  The morning sun brought with it the screams of the villagers when they found their dead people. It was because of this terrible punishment by the demons, retribution against their attempt to end the demons` reign of terror that the people demanded that they leave their ancient land. Paragos and the elders of the village took heed of the cries of their people and decided not to follow the advice of their ancestors. This advice was to fight the demons, instead they decided to take up the suggestion made by Hyman, and flee from their village, so great now was their fear of the Venetou.

  It was a little after midday when Paragos, the headman of the Trinovantes, led his people away from their homes but in doing so they entered the land of their neighbours, the Carvetii. Their relationship with the Carvetii had never been good, and so arriving before the small walled city of the Carvetii in the early morning of the next day, the Trinovantes were feeling rather anxious. Paragos stood looking up at the walls that encircled the city, He too was apprehensive as to the kind of reception his people would get. He could only hope that today the people of the Carvetii were in a charitable mood.

  Sleepy looking guards looked down upon him as he called out a greeting to the citizens of the city, asking for the leaders of the walled city. They had already been advised of the coming of the Trinovantes, and fearing that an attack was imminent, they were hastening to the walls of their small city. They soon arrived and climbed the stairs up to the walkway that ran around the walls. From this position they looked down upon the Trinovantes defiantly, protected as they were behind the strong mud brick walls of their city, and each of them holding their weapons in their hands.

  “Carvetii, I beg you to help us, our land is full of demons that enter our village each night and feed upon us, please take us in.” Paragos dropped down upon his knees after he said these words, hoping in this way to make the Carvetii feel pity for his people.

  Rhaider, headman of the Carvetii, was standing above the gateway that governed the entrance into his city, but he was out of sight of the Trinovantes. He was speaking with some of the elders of the tribe, there to give him their advice. “Do not let them in or their demons will be angry with us, and then they will enter our city and feed upon us every night. The bent old figure of Stagias advised fearfully.

  “How do we know that there are any demons, it might be a just a ploy to get within our strong walls, tonight they will fall upon us and murder us while we sleep.” Rhipp the small, advised equally fearfully.

  Rhaider not only listened to the elders of the city, but also to other citizens who had also been awakened by the commotion outside of their walls. They were standing below at the foot of the walls and they voiced similar fears, he thought about all that they had said and finally came to a decision, He then moved into view and looked upon the Trinovantes, and in a loud voice he called down to them.

  “Be gone Trinovantes, and take your demons with you.” He scoffed. “Stay in our land and we will kill you, be warned, you do not fool us with your stories.” Rhaider said to the terrified people sheltering beneath the brick walls.

  However, the Trinovantes did not leave the perceived safety beneath the city walls, instead they began to hunt the local animals and collect the local fruit and vegetables. They knew that the Carvetii would be angered by their actions, but what else was there to do, return to their huts and be feasted upon by the demons?

  Within the walled city, Rhaider and the elders decided that they would have to use force to rid themselves of their unwanted guests. They waited until the Trinovantes sat down to their evening meal, then the warriors of the Carvetii silently made their way out of the rear gateway of the city and quietly crept up on the unsuspecting Trinovantes, they then launched a murderous attack upon them.

  The sounds of battle from the Trinovantes encampment made even the Carvetii women and children hide in terror. Then the screams from the women and children of the Trinovantes erupted across the encampment, such was this noise that the Carvetii women fell to their knees and prayed to their god, pleading that he save them from a similar fate.

  The stone axes of the warriors sliced through the hide shields and struck bone, spears with sharp obsidian heads pushed into soft flesh. Soon the Trinovantes encampment was full of injured warriors, blood spurting from an injury, or with their skull caved in by an axe blow. Cries for help now vied with the screams of the women and children, but no one came to see to the injured, the warriors were too filled with the madness of battle to tend to the weak or wounded amongst them. Stone axes may be primitive but they make a terrific weapon, especially when driven against the head of an enemy, and it was a favourite weapon of Rhaider, an extremely powerfully built warrior chief. He strode though the Trinovantes swinging left and right, sometimes breaking a head open, other times breaking a rib or two, he was after Paragos. The two men had long been enemies ever since Paragos had stolen the sister of Rhaider as his bride, and now consumed by a terrible blood lust Rhaider decided to use the opportunity to kill the headman of the Trinovantes.

  The madness had come over Paragos as well when he saw his people slaughtered before his eyes, the Carvetii should have made them welcome, up to a point, as their god had long ago commanded. Paragos had just despatched a Carvetii warrior with a thrust of his spear, his victim falling at his feet and begging for mercy, Paragos laughed as he cut the warrior`s throat with his sharp knife, and then he looked for another victim. He saw Rhaider striding through the flames of the Trinovantes encampment, Paragos did not stop for a moment to consider the brute strength of his opponent, instead he called to him.

  “Rhaider, your sister sends her apologies, but she prefers the company of men to that of weaklings, come here and I will do you the favour of despatching you quickly.”

  Rhaider roared his anger at hearing his enemy make fun of him, and he strode past two pair of battling enemies, knocking all four men flying in his haste to meet with Paragos and commence battle, short though it would be he thought and laughed out loud. Rhaider was armed with a heavy stone axe mounted upon a strong wooden handle. Paragos was of a lighter and slimmer build, he preferred to use the bow when fighting from a distance, however, for close combat fighting he used a stabbing spear which would give him an advantage, if he could keep out of the reach of Rhaider`s strong swinging arm.

  Paragos jabbed his spear towards his enemy, who immediately jumped backwards out of reach while swinging his heavy axe at the shaft of the light spear in the hope of breaking it in two. Paragos though anticipated this move and he whipped his spear quickly away as the axe of Rhaider skimmed across the wooden shaft, the power behind the swing together with his anger temporarily unbalancing Rhaider, this grave error gave Paragos the opportunity of a lifetime. He jabbed his spear forward again and this time caught Rhaider in his stomach, the sharp obsidian spear head cutting easily through the light clothes of Rhaider and into the soft skin, he now twisted the blade to inflict as much damage as was possible.

  Rhaider almost dropped his heavy a
xe as the pain from his injury flashed through his body making him cry out, but the pain was not enough to dull his mind, and he swore to avenge this cruel wound.

  “I will skin you alive for that Paragos, you will be begging me to kill you before I am through with you.” Rhaider could feel his blood oozing out from the wound and he knew that he either had to finish this quickly, or retreat just as quickly. However, retreat was not a concept that he was familiar with, so he chose to attack and win through, and before his strength ebbed away through his terrible wound.

  Paragos merely smiled and feinted another jab, Rhaider pretended to retreat in fear, and for a moment Paragos was fooled. Rhaider brought his axe around, the sharp edge cutting through the air towards Paragos, he only just saw the axe coming towards him in time and stepped back, but not before the sharp edge of the axe sliced through his cheek. Blood seeped out from the wound and ran down his cheek, but he did not feel any pain, only rage at this monster battling to kill him.

  The main battle around the two men was quickly coming to a finish, the Carvetii had won, the Trinovantes having lost so many of their warriors to the Venetou were quickly defeated. Their warriors now lay at the feet of the victorious Carvetii, their bodies covered in blood, while their women and the children would soon be enslaved, and so the Trinovantes tribe would now cease to exist.