The council of the village of Hath had been called because the shamen of the Torgai had decided during their dream state that a grand council of all the Torgai should be held, the first within the memory of the Torgai present, with the exception of Barco. This decision must now be considered by the council of elders of the village. The dream state had been invoked to allow communication of the events at the coming-of-age ceremony as Hath had recounted them upon his return two days before.
As Barco gazed thoughtfully at the smoke from the fire hole, his thoughts drifted back to the last time a grand council of all the Torgai had been held, nearly 100 years earlier. He was still young at that time, and an apprentice of the former village shaman. When the call came he, the shaman, and the village headman, Hath's grandfather, with several of his hunters, had gone to the council in the northern highlands. That long ago council had been called because the packs of the Kraa had moved south and killed several groups of Torgai hunters, and had even threatened one of the Torgai villages.
The life of the Torgai was sacred; when a Torgai died from the act of any animal, that animal must die. So it had always been. This sacredness of Torgai life was a central part of their culture, and the new challenge by the Kraa could not go unanswered; the hunters of all the clans had been dispatched for revenge upon the Kraa packs of the north. The hunters had streamed through the northern savanna and into the pine forests like an irresistible tide, slaughtering the Kraa on their home grounds. The battle had been fierce and long, with thousands of Kraa killed and Torgai losses measuring well into the hundreds. But since that time the Kraa had not again ventured from the pine forests to the savanna below.
Hath remembered the tales of the battles against the Kraa his grandfather had told around the cooking fire. He had been a leader in the fighting, bearing a scar down the side of his chest where he had been slashed by the claws of a Kraa. And now, Torgai had been killed again, and even worse, the sacred gathering place of the Torgai, where Kraka was called for the coming-of-age ceremony, had been profaned. But this time it was not the Kraa that threatened the Torgai, but a species new to the planet; the species their captive Eric came from. It was time for another grand council of the Torgai.
Barco rose to his feet, assisted by his two apprentices. His 130 years had withered his body and turned his hair white from its earlier reddish hue. His toothless mouth worked for several seconds before he began to speak. His voice was soft, but clear in the surrounding silence. "Torgai of the village of Hath. It has been many years that we have lived in peace. We have hunted the animals provided for our food, and not harmed any creature but those provided to fill our needs, or those which, such as the great cats or the Kraa, have hunted us." He paused, "this is the way of the Torgai. But now Torgai have been killed by the new creature among us called humans. And the Torgai have been killed in their sacred place."
Barco looked around the fire at those assembled, "and this must be discussed. The shamen of the villages of the Torgai have considered this in their dream state, and a grand council of all the Torgai of all of the clans has been decided on. This council will meet in our most sacred place near the village of Suth in 30 days."
Barco paused for breath, leaning more heavily on his apprentices. "It is for the council of the village of Hath to provide guidance on what the Torgai should decide."
After a long pause to regain his strength, Barco continued. "Some among us feel the Torgai must destroy the humans as we destroyed the packs of Kraa many years ago. Others feel we should go to the humans and find out why they did what they did." Pausing, "and some are concerned that the humans may be more than animals and may be under Torga's protection, and if we destroy them he may be angered."
Barco continued, "we, alone among the Torgai know humans, because of the one called Eric who lives among us. We alone have lived with a human. We, alone have heard the stories of the human, and seen what a human can do. The view of the Torgai of the village of Hath will carry much weight at the council. Consider now; can we live at peace with the humans, or must they be destroyed?" With his final question, Barco resumed his crouching position by the fire hole, and fixed his gaze again on the billowing smoke.
Hath, as chief of the village, rose as the next to speak. The human, Eric, was his, and with the recognition of the human's high intelligence and its ability to learn the way of the Torgai, gave it special status in Hath's mind. Hath, above others, had been startled and saddened by the events at the 'gathering', which had displayed the ferocity of which humans were capable; and which, further, had proven that Eric's stories about strange weapons were true. Having finished, Hath resumed his crouching position at the fire hole, as each of the other elders rose to present his view. Some thought the humans should be destroyed, others thought, like Hath, that the humans might be a special creature under the protection of Torga, or that their power was too great. After the presentation of views by each of the elders a lengthy discussion continued well into the morning hours.
The council of the elders had ended, and all had returned to their homes with the exception of Barco and the two apprentices crouched at his side. Barco was deep in thought. No decision had been reached; the opinions too divided. He had listened carefully to the views expressed by the elders, and now must think through the import of what had been said. Tomorrow at dawn he, Hath, and the attending party must leave for the village of Suth in the northern highlands. He and Hath, as spokesmen for the village, would be called upon to speak at the grand council, and to cast their votes on what steps to take. Barco felt deep in his soul that the future of the Torgai was closely tied to what the grand council would decide.
Barco thought about the human who they kept in their village. He had spent long hours in talking with it ever since the human had attained a reasonable grasp of the Torgai language; and the things the human had told him caused him great concern. Barco, like Hath, thought the human was more than an animal. He had few doubts that humans formed 'a people', like the Torgai, which would make their life sacred by the Torgai's religious and moral beliefs. But his insight into the inner workings of the religion led by himself and the other shaman-priests gave him a more flexible view of how those beliefs could be bent if it proved necessary. Like with the Kraa, a primitive 'people' to be sure, but a people still. And when 'a people' like the Kraa was a direct threat to them, Torga would not object to their annihilation.
The fear deep within Barco's mind that he hadn't expressed to the elders was that the power of the humans was too great. He had heard of how the few humans at the gathering had killed so many Torgai with such ease, and at a distance the Torgai couldn't equal with their spear throwers. This bespoke power as well as ruthlessness. He had also observed the intelligence of the human, Eric, and its facility for rapidly learning. This was an intelligence they hadn't encountered with the Kraa. Perhaps more intelligence than that of the Torgai themselves.
While Hath and the others found many of the stories of the human almost too strange to believe, Barco did not doubt. He had seen in dreams provided by his shaman brothers of the north the strange boats which had been seen flying in the air which the human had told about. The human had said they possessed weapons that could kill from afar, and Hath had seen those. The human had also said the new stars that had appeared in the sky two springs before, and then left, were ships that the humans had used to come from distant stars. Ships that had carried hundreds of humans. And now, with the proof of the truthfulness of other things the human had said, Barco also believed that.
Barco was a realist. With his belief in the human's stories had come a realization that they were dealing with something unknown and not understood, and very dangerous. And anything unknown must be approached with great caution until it was understood. This is why Barco was so deeply worried. The Torgai of the other villages must be made to see how dangerous the situation was. They must see the humans for what they were, and hear from the human itself its strange tales. While Barco could share with the
other shaman what he saw and heard by entering the dream state, the village leaders, who spoke for the elders, held power equal to that of the shaman, and they must also be made to see the danger. Barco resolved that their human, Eric, must be brought with them to the grand council for all to see and consider. Only then might they understand the danger the humans posed.
Motioning to his apprentices to aid him in rising to his feet, Barco allowed them to support him on his return to his den. He was fatigued by the long council, and must rest before the long journey began.
October 6, Year 2
It was late afternoon and Eric dozed fitfully in the litter carried by the running pair of Torgai. The long, even pace of the Torgai caused the litter to swing lightly from side to side, making it hard to stay awake. At approximately half hour intervals a new pair would take the litter on the run without slowing the pace. It reminded Eric of a relay race passing the baton. Ahead of him in a second litter Barco lay unmoving as if asleep.
Eric had been routed from his bed before dawn and informed him that he was to accompany Hath and Barco on a journey that would take many days. Eric had objected to the litter at first, but Hath had informed him that they could not be delayed by Eric's slowness; and considering the current pace Eric could only agree. The party had been working its way down from the southern highlands all morning, and in the distance Eric could see the deep green of the tropical forest. By nightfall they should be entering its edge, a days travel estimated by Eric to be well over 150 kilometers at the present pace. They had paused only briefly at midday for a brief lunch.
Eric had no idea what this trip was about, or why the Torgai went to the effort of bringing him along. Hath had been strangely uncommunicative about where they were going, and what the purpose of the journey was; he only said they were going to a place called the village of Suth somewhere to the north. He couldn't explain where it was, but only that it was a journey of many days.
Eric thought back on the life he had led during his year of captivity. He hardly thought of it as captivity any more with his growing acceptance by the Torgai. For that reason he was disturbed by the seeming coldness of Hath and the others ever since they had returned from the 'coming of age' gathering earlier in the week. Hath, in fact, had seemed to avoid him, spending his time in meetings with Barco and the elders. Hath-Boc, as well as some of the hunters, hadn't returned at all from the ceremony, and Hath had simply walked away when questioned about them. He was afraid of what the answer to Hath-Boc's absence was. He was aware, from what he had heard, that the 'coming of age' ceremony was a dangerous event, and several of the young returnees had suffered wounds. He feared Hath-Boc's absence meant he was dead.
A close bond had developed between Eric and Hath, and Eric and Hath-Boc as well. Before Hath-Boc spent much of his time teaching Eric, and Eric had started to accompany either Hath or Hath-Boc on the hunts close to the village. While he couldn't 'run' the herds with the fleet Torgai, he had grown adept at the kill at the end of the run. Now, for some reason, this closeness with Hath had disappeared, and Hath-Boc was missing.
Hath continued his steady pace at the head of the column as the path led down to the trail through the forest. Five days travel along the forest trail and they would be at the river, where they would change to the skin boats which they kept suspended high in the forest canopy. Then five days of difficult paddling up the river before they reached the trail to the village of Suth in the northern highlands, then nearly fifteen more days to their destination.
Barco had described the village of Suth to him as he had remembered it from the grand council of 100 years before. It was the greatest of the villages of the Torgai, and legends said it was the ancestral village of all the Torgai. Over 2000 dens headed by hunters could be counted, with 400 more in satellite villages in the nearby highlands. Compared to the 150 dens of Hath's village the village of Suth was a great city. Suth, its headman, was known as a great hunter and wise leader, and under his leadership the size of the village had expanded greatly; also causing the concentration of satellite villages to develop nearby. Suth was said to be over 80 years old, beyond his prime for an active hunter, but was said to still be able to lead the village hunts.
But the prestige of the village wasn't from its size alone, it was also the home of Cormandai, the oldest and greatest of the shaman-priests. But even without Suth and Cormandai, and its size, the village was important as nearest to where grand councils were traditionally held.
Barco wasn't asleep in his litter as he appeared, but was lost in thought. The night before he and Hath had agreed on the course of action to be taken at the council, but would the council follow their advice? They were but one of many villages represented, and the majority would rule. Whatever the final decision, Barco knew deep in his bones that the danger facing the Torgai was greater than any they had ever faced before, much greater than that posed by the threat of the Kraa 100 years before.
October 11, Year 2
The boats had been assembled for the trip up the river, the evening meal finished, and the party was bedded down for the night. Only Hath continued to crouch before the embers of the cooking fire. He turned the events which had occurred at the 'coming of age ceremonies' over and over in mind, reliving the rituals and their abrupt conclusion.
The trip to the river and to the island for the ceremonies had been uneventful. Torga had blessed the weather, and even the trip across the open water of the ocean had been marked by clear skies and not hindered by the light breeze. Not like many years when they had to paddle against a strong wind. It had been one of the largest gatherings in recent memory; all the villages of their clan were represented with their candidates for the 'coming of age' ceremonies, with over 600 hunters and over 200 candidates. The first three days had been spent in athletic contests, social and religious events, and many old friendships were renewed, new acquaintances made, and intervillage marriages for bonding the clan together arranged. Then came the day for the final ceremonies and the summoning of Kraka. This was the culmination of the yearly gathering; the bringing of new hunters into the clan and the weeding out of the unworthy.
Hath had stood with the other village headmen on the platform overlooking the ceremonial pool where the upper end of the sacred symbol was attached. The symbol, 'the caller', glistened in the sun as it extended in a smooth, shiny arc to where it entered the sacred pool over 15 meters away. No one knew who had caused 'the caller' to be where it was, since it had always been a part of their earliest legends. At the far end the pool itself was separated from the ocean beyond by a large gate. The candidates for the manhood ceremony stood at the edges of the pool in deep meditation. Among the candidates was Hath-Boc, standing with the other candidates from his village.
Hath had stood and watched as the assigned apprentice shaman began to beat on 'the caller' with a heavy hide covered club. As the beating continued the caller began to resonate, emitting a deep, vibrant sound which increased in intensity with each successive beat; carefully timed to reinforce the vibration. Soon the surface of the pool near where the caller entered began to roil, and the air itself came alive with the sound. The beating continued until the assigned apprentice tired, his place being taken by another, and then another, filling the air and ground with a deep resonance. The beating continued for over a half hour, the Torgai remaining motionless, their eyes on the ocean beyond the opened gate at the far end of the pool; while the entire surface of the pool moved as if alive. Torga’s representative would come; he always came.
The sense of tension which had been building was released as the water outside the pool entrance began to agitate with sudden activity. The agitated area moved toward the pool entrance and into the pool as the gate was closed to again separate the pool from the ocean beyond. An enormous 'lobster', well over 40 meters in length, had entered the pool and breached the surface as it crawled to the shallower water away from the entrance. 'Torga’s' emissary, the embodiment of the mighty god Kraka, was here. With a s
igh the assembled Torgai crouched, with hands folded in a sign of reverence. The ceremony could begin. The mood was electric as the sounds of 'the caller' continued to reverberate to the continued beating of the shaman, causing 'Kraka' to thresh with agitation. Beyond the gate the ocean teemed with activity as other giant lobsters threshed and breached the surface in response to the vibrations, attempting to enter the pool through the now closed gate.
Hath-Boc stood next to his best friend, Kra-Mac, on the edge of the pool, watching in mixed anticipation and fear the angry monster. Water from the threshing creature splashed against the edge of the pool, throwing up a spray that covered him from head to foot. The other candidates lining the edge of the pool stood with the same fear and anticipation waiting for the appointed time.
Suddenly the shaman stopped beating 'the caller', the sound continuing but gradually decreasing in volume as the vibrations subsided. Then there was silence broken only by the sloshing of the waves caused by the still agitated lobster.
Clutching his flint-pointed spear, Hath-Boc looked at Kra-Mac at his side, and waited for the sign from the Torgai shaman standing at the front of the platform that the battle was to begin. After what seemed like an eternity the shaman raised his arm, and Hath-Boc and the others uttered a loud hunting cry, which resounded across the water, and leaped into the pool. Soon all the candidates were in the pool surging toward Torga's emissary, Kraka, for their life and death struggle to obtain their manhood right; only in killing that emissary could they share in the sacred spirit of the Torgai. If they were unsuccessful the villages would suffer his wrath until the next ceremony was held: crops would fail and game animals would desert the area of their village.
Hath had watched as the huge lobster entered the pool and now fought for its life against the attacking Torgai youths, each attempting to drive his flint pointed spear into the creases between the sections of the shell, or into the eye or any other vulnerable spot. This was one of the largest lobsters that had ever been called, and it was deadly in the havoc its threshing caused. Blood and bodies from the less fortunate of the attackers began to fill the pool as the lobster's huge claws seized and crushed or sliced through their soft, vulnerable bodies.
The First Colony: Book I: Settlement Chronicals Page 13
