The Start of Time

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  The time passed quickly. We continued training until the sun started to go down.

  It seldom got very dark on Barsoom. The two moons were almost always in the night sky. It would be dark in the shadows of buildings, but out here in the open, there was plenty of moonlight so see fairly well.

  For our evening meal, we had water and fruit and a little dried meat for protein.

  Chapter 32 At the Place of Demons

  We awoke together at dawn.

  Everyone was a bit subdued and quiet. We all knew that today we would go to the spot where Aeyli and Alexia had lost their parents. We were on our way to confront demons. We packed the cart and harnessed Cassius.

  The girls planned to stay naked and leave their belts in the cart as we had yesterday, but I called them to me and said, “Before we go, come here for a moment.”

  They gathered around and I hugged each one, Belle first. I kissed her and said, “Belle, wear your belt. We have work to do.” I buckled her belt around her waist myself and then kissed her again.

  I did the same with Rani, and then with Sashar.

  I took Alexia in my arms and kissed her and buckled on her belt saying, “We have work to do. When it’s done, we’ll celebrate together.

  When I came to Aeyli, I held her in my arms tightly and said, “Princess, I’m with you. We have work to do today. I’ll buckle your belt myself and I won’t leave your side. I came through the shrine so that I could be with you, and to be with you for this thing today. I love you.”

  I buckled the belt around her waist and kissed her again and she hugged me tightly and smiled.

  I took the bokken from the cart and inspected each girl and attached their swords to their belts, making sure that everything was in order as I inspected my troops. I checked each knife and each small water bag. Then I made a show of checking breasts and butts and crotches, giving each one a little kiss between the legs. The girls giggled and suggested that I needed to inspect them further.

  It lightened the mood, and a few minutes later we began our march. As we walked, I held Aeyli’s hand and kept her beside me. There wasn’t a lot of talk, but the mood wasn’t as somber as it could have been. There were plenty of smiles and Sashar did what she could to keep things happy, even if we were not light-hearted.

  After a few hours of near silence, Aeyli suddenly stopped. We were at the place. There was no discoloration or visible indicator that I could see. Everyone stopped, but no one seemed to know what to do.

  I said, “Everyone, wait here for a moment. Sashar, come with me.”

  I picked the tiny girl up and put her on my back and ran fast away to a spot where we could talk in private. I covered a hundred yards in long leaps in a matter of a few seconds.

  I set Sashar down on her feet and said, “Sashar, what do I need to do? Tell me about the feelings that Aeyli and Alexia have here. Is there some ritual or talking to dead ancestors or anything like that we need to let them do?”

  Sashar said, “Wow, you can run really fast, even carrying me! Um, no, we don’t talk to the dead. People die. At times, a lot of people die. Aeyli’s mother and father and Alexia’s father all died here. What they’re feeling is the fear that they felt when the attack happened. The demons are the fears of little girls when a monster tried to kill them. It was terrifying. When they got to Tranna, they had nightmares, afraid that it would track them down and find them, even though it was dead. They feared that its mate would find them and attack them and kill even more people. They may have felt some guilt that those people died protecting them.”

  I said, “What can we do?”

  She said, “I don’t know.”

  I asked, “What if I teach them to kill it? Do you think that would help?”

  She said, “Mark, I don’t know. We see people die. It’s a part of life. But, children never survive an attack by a White Ape; we don’t know how to help that. Look what Alexia did to herself until you came. Now she’s like a girl again. She talks again. Do what you think is best. We all love you and trust you. I trust you and love you.”

  I said, “OK. I hope that I do the right thing.”

  I kissed her and put her one my back and hurried back to the others.

  Sashar hopped down with a grin and said, “Girls, you need to try that. It’s better than riding a Thoat,” referring to the large ‘horse’ of this world.

  The girls still stood quietly. Aeyli just stared into the ground, not knowing what she should do.

  I said, “Everyone come here. We’re going to do some training. But first, some teaching. I want to teach you how to kill. It is one thing to know the moves; it is another to know how to use them to kill if necessary.

  Fighting different creatures is different. Let’s start with a man. With a man, fight the way that I trained you. Your range is longer than his. You can strike his head before he reaches you if your timing is good. If possible, let him come straight at you and when the instant is right, bring your sword straight down on his head. It’s a killing blow. Strike very hard. Use everything your muscles can direct into your technique.

  If the strike to the head isn’t possible, strike his elbow. A man relies on his arms and hands to fight. If you break his elbow or shoulder or wrist, he’s not able to fight. His left side is most vulnerable, but after you take away his left arm, you have to take way his right as well. But, if you take away his left arm, his head becomes vulnerable. First his head, or his left arm and then his head, or his left arm, then his right, then his head. Or, left arm, right leg, head. The goal is to take away his ability to strike you, then his ability to protect himself.

  An animal is different. An animal doesn’t react to pain in the same way that a man does. Pain will make a man stop what he’s doing. An animal ignores the pain. An animal doesn’t rely primarily on his arms and hands to fight; he uses his jaws and fangs. Taking away one of his arms doesn’t stop him.

  A four-legged animal, like a Calot or Thoat, won’t stop until either his head or his heart stop. Their head is at the front of their body and the first target that you can reach, but they are also very hard-headed, more so than a man, and the strike must be very hard. Strike down, all the way through the face and jaws. If the animal’s jaw is broken, here’s a chance that he’ll retreat.

  You’re less vulnerable to attack if you are behind your attacker. If the animal charges you and you step to the side at the right moment, turn quickly and strike hard at the back of his head or neck or spine. If you break his neck, he dies. If you break his spine, he can’t move.

  If necessary, if his legs are the only targets, take away a front leg and then the other. Without front legs, he can’t chase you. If you only destroy the back legs, he can still pull himself toward you. When he can’t chase you, take a good position and break his neck.

  With a Great White Ape, it’s like fighting both a man and an animal, and like neither one. His head is not your first target. His arms are too long and he can reach his prey before you can reach his head. You can’t attack him from the front: you have to get to the side or to the back. I killed one with a blow to the head, but I was able to move faster and I’m taller than any of you except Alexia. And I didn’t attack from the front.

  Stand your ground and let him charge you. You have to duck under his arms to his left and let him pass you. As he does, strike hard at his left hip. Because he runs on two legs, if you break his hip, even one, he can’t chase you. If you destroy his knee, he’ll chase you but he’ll be much slower and you may be able to escape. If you get behind him, strike his right hip. If he falls to the ground, strike his head from behind. If he’s standing he’s too tall for you to strike his head. But your next strike can be his elbow.

  So, for the white ape, you have to get behind or to the side. Then the targets are his hip or knee, then his other hip or knee, then his elbows, and finally his head. After taking away his legs, you might run away. After taking way his arms, you might get behind him and use your knife to cut his neck and thro
at.

  If possible, work together. The ape is the most difficult because he acts like an animal and is so very large.”

  Aeyli was breathing hard by this time, and I encouraged her to calm herself if possible. I could see that wasn’t going to work for her yet.

  I said, “Now, go practice. Picture your foe and make up your own Kata to defeat him. Picture his moves and yours. Stay calm. Choose your targets. Strike hard. Be fierce. Remember, he has made the choice to have you kill him…figure out how to help him die.”

  It took a few minutes for the girls to get into the swing of it. I was asking them to do something that they’d never done before during our training: to train on their own without being told exactly what to do. Sashar especially had trouble getting going. The other four had moved off by themselves . Alexia and Aeyli seemed to have no trouble, but Sashar stood not far from me staring into the air, uncertain of herself.

  I went and stood beside her and said, “Tell me about it. What are you thinking about?”

  She said, “It’s easy to do what you tell me, the moves and various Kata. It’s like a dance. I can put emotion into the movements. I even find it fun. But, I have never fought, or seen a fight. How do I know what to do?”

  I said, “Sashar, you told me that you were about 120 years old. Weren’t you born before the Fall of Time?”

  She started to cry. Then she started to cry even harder, sobbing. I sat down on the ground and pulled her onto my lap and held her in my arms. I didn’t say anything, but just held her and rocked her gently in my arms and stroked her hair while she cried.

  I hadn’t expected this. I knew that Aeyli would have strong emotions here; the training exercise was specifically for her and Alexia, so that they could process their memories and re-imagine the outcome of that terrible day when their families were attacked by the great ape. I hadn’t expected Sashar to break down emotionally.

  I wasn’t sure what was wrong. Some students get overwhelmed at a new exercise when they have no idea how to approach it, but not usually with this volume of sobbing and tears. In my years of teaching martial arts part-time, I was used to hitting the point where every student faces a wall that they think that they can’t get through. I always find a way to help them through it. I never knew where the problem point would come for any particular student , they are all different. For some it was being able to hit something at all. For others it was being able to work on their own like I had asked them to do today. For others it was some point of submitting to an authority figure. For others it was staying calm when another student acted aggressively toward them in training, either being too intimidated or too aggressive in return.

  This seemed different. This seemed like if I waited long enough, the crying girl in my lap would eventually tell me a story to explain her sobbing. So I just held her.

  Chapter 33 Sashar's Story

  Sashar cried and I rocked her very gently in my lap. I didn’t tell her to be quiet. I didn’t tell her not to cry. I didn’t make hushing noises at her. I just held her.

  It was a little uncomfortable with our belts on. I didn’t want to suggest that she take hers off, but finally I said, “Sashar, um, the belts are uncomfortable. Would it be OK if we took them off, just to be more comfortable.”

  Sashar nodded as she cried and we unbuckled our belts as best we could, without standing up or having her leave my lap, and set them aside.

  She said, “Make love to me.”

  I held her and said, “Wait, not yet.”

  It was a good sign. She was wanting to move away from whatever pain she was in, but she didn’t have the right answer. Yes, it would have alleviated her immediate anxiety if we made love. It wouldn’t have done anything to work out whatever her real emotions were trying to get her to deal with.

  She didn’t argue with me, but she did settle into my arms and relax a little bit more. I felt her muscles soften just a little and she leaned into me a bit closer. I stroked her hair very slowly and held her in my arms.

  Sashar was my playful little pixie…what was wrong? She’d been in Tranna since Aeyli and the other girls had been born and I had imagined that she’d had a peaceful life in the village since she was a child. Until now, I hadn’t considered that she was already 40 years old when the wars started. She must have seen some awful things. The younger girls had actually been spared living through that horrible time.

  Sashar finally cried herself out and started breathing more regularly. She nuzzled into my chest as we sat together and she smiled at me weakly.

  I sensed that now she was ready and that she needed me to invite her to tell me about whatever she was going through.

  I said, “I love you. I always will. Always.” I hugged her against me. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

  She took a deep breath and said, “Mark, I have never told anyone before. I thought that it was behind me.”

  I said, “It’s OK. Sometimes the things that we put behind us still follow us. Tell me about it and we’ll face it together, if you want me to know about it.”

  She hugged me and said, “You are my prince. Even though I have only known you for a few days, you are my mate and I will share every burden with you. If you had this pain, I would insist that you tell me and that we wash it away together somehow. So I have to let you do the same for me. But I can’t believe that you refused to make love to me, you stupid brute!” she joked.

  I said, “We can talk about that later and I’ll do whatever you want me to do to make it up to you.”

  She smiled and said, “But I have to tell the story first, don’t I? It will be a relief. Mark, you’re right, I was born before the Green Horde Insanity took over the world and caused the Fall of Time. But, if I tell you, you might think…differently of me. You love me now, but you don’t know what I was…before.” She started to cry again. “Mark, I was a monster!” and she cried harder.

  This time, I did try to comfort her. “Shush, my princess. Sashar, my little pixie lover, I don’t know what you were, but now you are my beautiful, kind, fun, wonderful mate. Past things fade and people can change. Trust me to hear the story. Tell me as if it happened to someone else.”

  She sobbed a bit more and then calmed herself and launched into her history.

  “I was born about 40 years before the start of the wars with the Tharks. In the city of Gathol. My parents were merchants. We were OK financially, but not rich. For some reason, after I came of age, I failed to attract a mate. It wasn’t unusual. We live a long time and in those days if a girl reached a hundred years and was still unmated, it wasn’t a big deal.

  In the beginning, we heard of the wars, but we never expected them to come all the way to Gathol. Certainly the Tharks would come to their senses and the navies of The Warlord would quell the uprising and all would be as it was. When the hordes did attack Gathol, I was away, trading for my family’s business. When I came close to the city, it was surrounded by the green men, and the gates were locked and there was no way for me to get within miles of the wall. There were 40 people in my party.

  We fled into the wilderness before we were discovered. When we held a meeting to discuss what we could do, some wanted to run for a nearby city, others to a city in the other direction. There was no real leader among us and we acted like a mob of our own. Some argued that all cities would be just as bad or worse off than Gathol. If they’d attacked Gathol, then the other cities would have fallen already. We were all terrified, and some wouldn’t listen to reason at all. In the morning, when we woke up, some had already left, supposedly to go to one city or another, and almost certainly to their deaths.

  Some of us decided that our best bet was to go farther into the wilderness and hide and wait for the wars to end before we tried to go back to civilization. I hated the thought of leaving my family trapped in Gathol, but we still thought that the navies would eventually drive the mad Tharks away or exterminate them. We figured that if we could exist three or four months at most in the wilderness,
that we would be able to return and see our families again.

  It didn’t turn out that way. The first few weeks were relatively bearable, but hard. We couldn’t go anywhere near a habitable village, or even a good source of water. We existed on moss berries and the food we had with us. Twice we were attacked by other desperate groups who tried to take our food.

  I don’t blame them for that. But for the other things I’ll never forgive them. Both times we fought them off. Both sides fought like animals. People were killed on both sides, but when our group won, and the survivors of the attackers knelt in defeat, the man in our group who had taken leadership swiftly murdered them as the rest of us watched in horror. He claimed that it was necessary; that if they lived, that they would attack us again out of vengeance for us killing their family members and friends. The first died without knowing what was about to happen. The others begged for their lives. When the third died, the last two tried to run…and several of our party chased them and struck them down.

  The second encounter was even more ruthless. I don’t even know if they meant us harm. They called to us and approached and asked if we had food or water, and our group fell on them and killed them. They were already weak with hunger and thirst and they died quickly.

  Mark, it sickened me. I didn’t know how to fight, and in the first encounter, I just did my best to beat against the enemy with a wooden board. In the second encounter, I just stared and didn’t do anything. When it was over, the leader walked up to me and hit me so hard that I passed out.

  For several more months we wandered on the moss. After the day that he hit me, I never spoke. Every moment that I was awake, I thought about how I should leave. Even if I died in the wilderness it would be better than living with these merciless brutes. And the ‘leader’ was a friend of my father’s! His partner in business!

  But, I wanted to live. I didn’t want to run away and die, but I didn’t want to stay and live every day as if I were already dead. They say that it was an insanity the caused the Tharks to rebel against the Warlord, and an insanity that eventually caused the men of Barsoom to turn against each other. It seemed to be an insanity that had taken hold of my former friends, and an insanity that finally took hold of me as well.