The New World (The Last Delar)

by Matthew Cousineau

  The king looks at her, unimpressed. "What of this other child you bring before me?" The court turns to look at Akelou.

  "This, Theopa, is no child, for he is the last of an ancient race to which all Pokwa owe their allegiance. He was raised by Meno parents, and is the nephew of the murdered Salali, Black Claw, who was well known to the Pokwa." The mention of Black Claw's name seems to have an impact on all of the Pokwa in the room. "His name is Akelou, and he is the last of his race.”

  "What do I care of his bloodline? My daughter has been stolen from me, and my people grow uneasy without the presence of their princess. I need warrior men, not a boy with a forgotten ancestry."

  Mia-Koda walks up to the king and points back at Akelou, "He is a Delar, and he wears the necklace of his people."

  At the mention of the Delar a great commotion rises among the Pokwa.

  "You lie. The line of the Delar was destroyed."

  "It was never destroyed, Theopa. Only hidden from the world. He is a true Delar."

  Akelou stands and shows his necklace to the Pokwa with great pride. He looks at Leotie, and she gives him a cold stare.

  "Is this true, son? Are you a child of the Delar?" Akelou looks up to the king.

  "Yes, King. I am." He raises his wrist, showing everyone in the hall his bracelet.

  "Then my daughter is saved." The king lifts his hands in the air, and all the Pokwa rejoice in a loud, croaking, foot-stomping celebration.

  ---

  The king steps down from his throne and moves through the celebrating Pokwa. Theopa puts his long, gripping hands on Akelou's shoulder and escorts him into his private chambers. "Come, son of the Delar." He points to Leotie and Mia-Koda, "See to all of their needs and wants Oboe. Prepare a small scouting party to lead our allies from our borders." Oboe bows to his king and leaves the hall, followed by Mia-Koda and Leotie.

  Theopa takes Akelou to his chambers through a door behind his throne. The room is open, wet, and filled with the skins and teeth of the grey crocodiles, the oldest and deadliest enemy of the Pokwa.

  "Sit, Akelou, and take counsel with me." Akelou notices a change in the king's voice from stern and solemn to wavering and unsure. Akelou sits on a stump near the bed of the king. The bed is made from the soft red clay of the Noshota swamps. "Mia-Koda came to me some time ago, telling me of a strange child that had come to her in the night. She told me what that might mean, and she told me of signs and visions. She advised me that the winds of change have begun to blow and that they will only become stronger with time. I did not heed her warnings, and now I am paying with a father's, anguish. Mia-Koda believes in you, and so must I . . . do you know why the Pokwa so revere the Delar?"

  "No, I do not know much of my kin or their stories."

  "A very long time ago the Pokwa were just small, simple creatures surviving in the swamps and wetlands of the world. They were preyed upon by many beasts, most of all the grey crocodile, which still to this very day the Pokwa fear most. It is told that in the ancient times, a child of the Delar who loved all creatures, from the deadliest cats to the smallest leaf crawlers, took a Pokwa into his hand and with his great power he changed us. The Pokwa grew with him and they become like brothers. The great Delar taught us the powers of speech and the skills of combat. Once the first Pokwa came of age, the Delar left. The Delar, not wanting the Pokwa to be alone in the swamps, remade another of the Pokwa's kind. It was on that very day that the first Pokwa swore an allegiance for all his sons and daughters. Our first king swore with his blood that his children would be loyal to the Delar until the end of time.

  Many generations later, the same Delar came back to the Pokwa and asked them to honor our first father's oath. The darkness had come and the wars had started. The Pokwa, soon learned the cruelty of war and the treachery of evil. The deceiver came masked as an ally and a brother of the Delar, and he turned Pokwa against Pokwa. It was the darkest hour of our people. The Pokwa became divided and many perished. Those who let the whispers of evil cloud their minds changed, no longer resembling their kin. When the wars ended, we drove these new creatures away, slaying all we could. We hear about the changed ones rarely, for they live underground in the filthiest of mud, away from the light, left to rot with their wickedness. It is said that they have the power to speak into the minds of their enemies and bend them to their will. Legend says they learned this skill from the great deceiver himself. Time went on, and the Delar slowly disappeared from this world. We Pokwa became more and more alone. We now have only our stories and a few precious gifts left to us by the great fathers. But now a new darkness has creped back into our lives. We can feel it in the swamps around us-the plants whisper ancient fears to our females and younglings who can still hear their voices." Theopa turns his back to Akelou and opens a wooden chest beside his bed. Reaching into it, he takes out an object wrapped in cloth. "You must rescue my daughter, for she is the future of the Pokwa . . . she is the key to our survival." He turns to Akelou and places the wrapped item on the young man's lap. "This is the Nol. In the tongue of the Delar, it means 'blade of wind.' This axe was made by the forgotten craftsmanship of your people. The Pokwa king who saved us from the Dark Age wielded it. The Nol is our most sacred possession, and there is great power within it. I return it now to you. May it help you on your journey."

  Akelou unwraps the weapon and looks at the Nol. It is a one-sided axe made from an iridescent ore that glistens in the light. The handle is made from hardened forest wood, with the carved symbol of the Delar through the handle. He feels a strange connection with the axe as he swings it through the air.

  "There is a Delar enchantment on this axe, when thrown it will always return to its wielder's hand. May it slay any enemy that stands between you and my daughter." Theopa points to a far wall in the room and steps aside. Akelou stands up and tosses the axe, lodging it into the mud wall. "Now you must call it back to you, and in time you will have no need for the words."

  Akelou reaches out his hand and calls his weapon, "NOL!" The axe flies back from the wall into his grip. Akelou is impressed, and as he wipes the axe clean, it makes a hypnotic ring that resonates in the king's chamber.

  Akelou bows before the king, "I will not fail you."

  "I believe you, young son of the Delar. Now go and take what you need and be on your way. I fear that war will follow your footsteps, no matter what the outcome of your quest. The wicked king that rules the great tower will not take lightly the insult of my daughter's, rescue. A war far worse than the one forged against the Menoli city will soon be at our door. We must start preparing for it." The king sits on his bed and sighs with the breath of a burdened leader. "Be safe, Akelou. May valor and strength find you and your companions."

  Akelou understands that the time has come to leave, and he departs the king's chambers. As he leaves, he finds the hall empty. Exiting the hall, he walks to the winding stairs. He admires the axe the king has given him, he hears the sound of sloshing mud. He raises his axe and stares down the stairs.

  "Show yourself," he calls out.

  He hears a soft, unsteady, childlike voice, "Do, do not harm me, short-leg. I only very much wanted to see, with my own eyes, whether the rumors are true."

  "What rumors would those be, hidden one?" Akelou asks as he searches to find the voice.

  "That a great Delar has come to our swamp."

  "Show yourself, and I will give you an answer." Akelou looks up and sees an outline of a camouflaged youngling clinging to the muddy wall. Once the youngling sees that Akelou has spotted him on the ceiling, his colors become vibrant.

  "Come down here, child, and tell me your name."

  The young Pokwa jumps from the wall and lands at Akelou's feet. His skin is the color of leaves in mid-autumn, and he has very little of his tail left. "My name is Toe, son of Oboe," he says timidly.

  "I know your father. He is the Captain of the Pokwa, is he not?"

  "HE IS! And he apologizes for his son sneaking into a place he should not be.
Toe comes here even after being told just moments ago not to by his parents." Oboe walks up from the stairs, staring down at Toe. Toe becomes very still, his colors darken rapidly, and his eyes open wide. "Now that you have seen the Delar, I suggest you go back home, tell your mother what you have done, and await my return."

  "Don't make me tell mother. Can't I just wait for you to come home-"

  "You will do as you are told!" Oboe yells.

  Toe jumps onto the wall, scurrying past his father and out of sight.

  "I swear, that youngling fears his mother more than he fears me. I hope that you will take no offense at my son's curiosity."

  "Not at all. A handful he must be."

  "He is that. I took him after my first son was killed by a cursed grey crocodile. My wife took his death hard, and I fear she overprotects this one. Well, son of the Delar, I am to take you to your friends. They have already gathered the necessary supplies for your journey."

  "Thank you, Oboe."

  Akelou accompanies Oboe through the city, the Pokwa seem excited, gathering in groups and gossiping loudly.

  "Word has spread of your lineage, Akelou. You bring hope to these Pokwa, but I do not share in their joy. We have come to a crossroads. If you succeed, then there will be war and many Pokwa will die. If you fail, the city will loose its future queen and our future will be dark. Either way young, Delar, our world will change and never be as it was. I fear for my family, I fear for my kin, and I fear for my king." Oboe turns and looks back to the Choa and sighs.

  When they reach the others at the edge of the city, Akelou looks up at Tib who is riding Broomay. Leotie is ahead of the others, holding her horse's reins and Mia-Koda is talking to a member of the court.

  "Ahh, Akelou, I see you have finished your talk with the king. Thank you for bringing him, Oboe. We leave right away. Is the escort party ready?"

  "Yes, we will meet them further in the swamps, for they are securing our passage north."

  "Very well, Akelou, take this sack of supplies and mount them on Akima."

  Akelou does as she asks, throwing the sack on his horse and catching a cold glance from Leotie. Mia-Koda bows to the one she was talking with and they part ways.

  "It is only a two-day journey to the northern rim of the swamps," says Oboe as he turns and begins their journey. As they travel, other Pokwa emerge to talk to Oboe. Akelou watches some of the Pokwa silently glide down from the canopy above. They remind him of the Salali, but instead of gliding with their arms and legs, these Pokwa use their hands that are covered with flaps of loose skin.

  Mia-Koda and Leotie walk ahead of Akelou and Tib. Akelou has noticed that since they have left the Pokwa city, Leotie has not spoken a word nor made any eye contact. Aware that he is being observed from behind and almost certainly from above, he does not press the issue. The day begins to fade, and Mia-Koda tells Leotie to scout ahead for a place to make camp. Mia-Koda stops and waits for Akelou to come to her side.

  "How are you, Akelou?" she says with a look on her face of one who knows the answers to her questions.

  "I am fine in spite of not knowing the road we travel or understanding why Leotie has yet to speak to me since the gathering at the hall."

  "Hmmm . . . noticed that too I have, though I am not surprised."

  "Can you tell me why Leotie is acting with such foolishness?"

  "Foolishness, huh? And what do you know of foolishness, you are the same person who spoke only a handful of words to me during all the time we spent together in the forest. Now I understood there was a reason for your silence. I knew you were dealing with the pain and confusion of your loss. You, Akelou, are not the only one with a troubled past. It is quite naive to pass such judgment on others' foolishness without knowing much about them, just as it was foolish the way many of the Enopay treated you when you first came to their tribe."

  "Well, then tell me about her past, so I can understand better." Mia-Koda takes a deep breath and looks deep into Akelou's eyes.

  "Do you know anything of the Eastern world beyond the shores, Akelou?" Mia-Koda can tell by the inquiring look on his face that he has never heard of this place. "There is a world to the east across the treacherous sea that no vessel in our land can cross. It is a land filled with different people than you and I. Their skin is pale and their bodies strong. In this land there is a king, and he sits tall on a throne made of a stone whose beauty has no equal. He is a good king who is married to a very clever queen. Their marriage was arranged to secure loyalty and peace in the empire. The king soon had three offspring with the queen, all of them male.

  "After the third child, the queen became cold and meddlesome in the king's affairs. She would often leave the King and take their youngest son to visit her family. Her trips lasted longer each time she left. It was during one of these absences that the King fell deeply in love with one of the servant women in the castle. They had an affair, and this new love filled his soul with joy. They conceived a child in secret. It was a girl, and the King was very pleased. When the queen returned, she found the king and his lover together in bed with the child between them. She became furious with the king and threatened that if he did not banish his lover and their child, then the queen's family would go to war for this dishonor. Not wanting to break the peace, he did as the queen commanded. He threw the servant woman and her child to the harsh streets of the city. The king's lover, broken and humiliated, did not survive long. She died of plague, leaving her daughter alone to fend for herself.

  "The young girl endured many hardships, but managed to survive as an orphan in the streets. Starving and alone, she found her way to the docks and stowed away on a merchant vessel. The ship was lost at sea during a terrible storm, and no one but the young girl survived. When the Enopay found her, washed up on a beach, she was barely alive. They adopted her into their tribe, where she overcome prejudices that you are well familiar with."

  "So, Leotie is the bastard daughter of a great king of a foreign land. But why is she mad at me?"

  "You must open your mind, Akelou. To her, the Delar must be some form of royalty. She knows the cruelty of such people and has many demons in her past that she has yet to fully overcome."

  "So she thinks I could hurt her, like her father?"

  "I believe she will not let herself be hurt or discarded by anyone ever again. Her life has made her a tough and untrusting soul. Until you, I have never known her to be close to anyone. She is quite old to not have a mate and a family in the eyes of the Enopay."

  Mia-Koda rests a hand on Akelou's shoulder and moves ahead, leaving him to ponder her words. Akelou looks at Leotie and understands how she felt as an outsider, for he has been one his entire life.

  "We camp here for the night," yells Oboe.

  While the Pokwa secure the area, Tib piles firewood in the center of camp. Mia-Koda takes some dust from inside her robes and tosses it over the wood, igniting it in flames. The mood around the fire is quiet. Akelou swears he saw Oboe grab a snake-like creature from a nearby tree and eat it while it was still wiggling.

  "Where will you and your fellow Pokwa sleep, Oboe?" asks Leotie.

  "We Pokwa sleep in the trees. It is not only safer but cooler in the heat of the summer months. Before our awakening, we Pokwa mostly dwelled in the trees and tall plants. Do not worry about your safety tonight, my friend. Enjoy your sleep. We will lead you to the northern border by mid-day tomorrow. I imagine a good night's rest will be harder to come by after you leave our swamp." Oboe looks up and points at Mia-Koda. "Mia-Koda, a bit of your counsel and a smoke before I retire?"

  "Yes, Oboe, I would enjoy that."

  Noticing that he and Leotie are alone, Akelou decides the time is right to talk to her. He goes over and sits next to Leotie and gazes into the fire.

  "The trip has gone well so far, do you think?" Leotie sits silently, staring at the fire and chewing on dried Ga-Taga meat. Thinking it best not to mention what he knows about her past, Akelou plays dumb.

  "Have I don
e something to wrong you, Leotie? I feel a coldness between us."

  "Is that a fact, O great son of the Delar? Well, I have news for you. I do not owe you any explanation, your majesty. Did you ever plan on telling me you are some kind of royalty or something? Or was it that you were trying to find a new tribe to rule over?" Akelou opens his mouth to get a word out, but he is not fast enough. "I wonder if your castle with its lords and great wealth misses you. I know how royalty treat those whom they think are beneath them. You pretend to care, but you just use others for what you need, then you throw them out on the street. Well, no thanks, great prince. You won't do that to me," she barks and gets up.

  Failing to get a word in, he looks down at Tib who gets up and kicks dirt at him before walking over to sit by Leotie's side. Akelou stares at Leotie's back, waiting for her to cool down. He takes out his knife and cuts a lock from his hair. He ties the middle and burns an end in the fire.

  He walks over to Leotie and looks down at her. "The night I left the Msa-Oda, you gave me a lock from your hair. I kept it close to me every night in the jungle until it was taken from me and burned." He reaches out to give her his lock. "I give you this in return. Tomorrow will come, and if you want to return home, Mia-Koda will take you. I have to see this through, for I cannot turn back. I do not have your skills with a bow or talent for tracking. I need you, Leotie, for I see nothing but failure without you." He hands her the lock and looks into her eyes.

  Akelou takes a deep breath, "I do not know who my real parents are. I only learned about my Delar blood the night I returned to the Enopay. I was raised by poor Meno farmers. They never told me I was not their true son, but I always knew. I saw my uncle and cousin murdered by the same monster that kidnapped Theopa's daughter. The night they were murdered, Mia-Koda came and took me from my foster parents to live in the wild. I have not seen them since." Akelou sits down and nudges himself close to Leotie. "Mia-Koda has told me about some of your past." Leotie looks away. "I know what it feels like not knowing your parents or having a family or people of your own."