Perchance to Dream

by Lyssa Chiavari

  Wakiza’s eyes teared up as he walked. He swallowed, then within his mind begged the Mountain Lion to help provide him the strength to survive so that he could see Aiyana once more. Even if fate decreed that the two could never be together, if he could just see her one more time, he could die happy.

  The Mountain Lion gave no reply, but Wakiza harbored a strange feeling of an entrance into his body, and assumed the Mountain Lion had imparted into him some of its energy.

  By late afternoon, Wakiza had finally reached the foot of the northern mountain. It loomed over him, much like the Mountain Lion’s spirit had during his spiritual journey. But there had been a innate sense of comfort from his animal totem, a security and eagerness to help, that the mountain certainly did not seem inclined to provide. Jagged rocks jammed out of the mountain’s side, poised to slide down upon Wakiza’s head at any moment, and there were no plants around its base, as if even the spirits of the plants found the blackened dirt not suitable enough for nourishment.

  As Wakiza scanned the mountain, he could feel the presence of Kajika within it, though perhaps it was the spirit of the Mountain Lion that allowed him such sensitivity to the energies around him. But somehow, by some means—Wakiza inherently knew that he was in the exact place he needed to be.

  Wakiza approached the mountain cautiously. He had no desire to give Kajika the advantage of sensing his presence before he was able to furnish an initial attack upon the Beast. But as he turned a blind corner around a particularly large boulder, he very quickly found himself looking into the infinite blackness of the mouth leading into a deep, dark cave.

  “This must be it,” he whispered softly to himself, but before the warrior could even ponder a possible advancement into the cave, he was startled by a very low, resonating growl from deep within the hole in the mountain.

  “Who dares enter my lair?” the voice boomed.

  Wakiza stood frozen in his tracks, unsure of what to do next. In his mind, he was kicking himself for not using all of his warrior training and experience he had accrued over his many years of life, but something about this Beast was paralyzing, and he found himself unable to exert any form of aggression upon the creature in his current state. His body was still, yet his mind and mouth were able to work properly. Wakiza realized he would need to snap out of his condition, and asked the Mountain Lion for assistance within his thoughts.

  Call the Beast out, he heard within his mind.

  Are you crazy? Wakiza thought.

  Do as I say, O great warrior.

  Wakiza hesitated for a moment, then called out, his voice shaky, “Kajika?”

  “Fool!” the Beast taunted, though still denying the warrior the chance to look upon him. “How desperate your pitiful intentions are. I know why you’re here, young warrior. Killing me will not save your people. Why, you’ve merely saved me the trouble of traveling out of my humble home to hunt my dinner! Your tribe resides quite far from here, you know.” Kajika laughed, a raspy hiss. “I must say, you are quite brave to sacrifice your own life to save just one of your… tasty people. Tomorrow I will hunt again, and all your efforts will have been in vain.”

  Wakiza quickly considered his options. He knew that if he could lure the Beast out of its cave and far enough into the sunlight, he would have a better chance at fighting him. If he succumbed to Kajika’s attempts at mind-trickery and attacked him in the darkness of the cave, he would surely fail. But most importantly, he needed to avoid looking into the Beast’s eyes!

  Wakiza had always been a warrior acting out of desperation, but perhaps in this particular instance patience and ingenuity could lead to his success, much like the delicate ambush-hunting methods of the Mountain Lion. Wakiza fully embraced the spirit of his animal guide within him, took a step back, and ducked behind the large boulder. Suddenly he understood what he needed to do.

  “Kajika!” he called out, his voice sly and mocking. “O great Beast, if fresh human meat is what you desire, I suggest you get off your lazy rear and come get it!”

  Kajika roared angrily at the warrior’s insolence, then silence followed. Wakiza turned his head slightly, peering just the corner of one eye around the boulder. He did not hear any footsteps approaching. In fact, there was no sound at all.

  But as Wakiza continued to watch, a pointed snout emerged from the darkness, silently sniffling hot breath as it swung around in all directions, trying to catch a whiff of where the warrior was. Then a set of jaws became visible, smacking thin lips around long, jaggedly sharp teeth that spanned the whole perimeter of the Beast’s mouth. And finally, two eyes, yellow and slitted, surfaced from the cave, reflecting the sunlight, pupils retracting their dilation from the dark.

  Remember, don’t look directly into his eyes, Wakiza heard within his mind, though he didn’t have time to consider whether the voice he heard was his own, or that of the Mountain Lion, whose spirit he felt within him. Kajika was becoming more and more visible.

  The Beast was a lizard, though enormous, and he scuttled over the dirt and rocks in the exact manner of his smaller counterpart. Wakiza knew for sure, now, that this was the same creature he had seen in his vision. Muraco’s spiritual guidance had led him true.

  Kajika’s tail was thick, and provided the majority of his balance as it dragged along the ground. Acuminous claws protruded from long, spindly fingers, but there was still no noise, no scratching to be heard as his feet moved across the rocky surface. The Beast indeed walked without sound as he slunk further and further out of his lair.

  As Kajika approached, Wakiza knew that he would have just one perfect opportunity to make a first strike. There was no room for error. Failure was not an option. He clutched onto his obsidian blade tightly and desperately prayed to the Mountain Lion.

  Just a few more steps this way…

  Kajika had ventured out of the cave completely, and crept around the side of the boulder. Wakiza counted his heartbeats, timing the Beast’s soundless approach. Then he leaped forth, his eyes squeezed tightly closed to avoid Kajika’s glare. The blade connected, slashing Kajika across the face. The Beast wailed, and thrashed around, whipping his tail in all directions. The flailing limb slammed into Wakiza, tossing him a good distance backward.

  Kajika, blood streaming down his reptilian features, watched the warrior fall. Then he stampeded over, mouth opened wide to reveal his razor-sharp teeth, jaw gnashing in anticipation of the impending ferocious bite.

  Wakiza rolled back on his feet, snatching an arrow from its sheath and drawing back his bowstring. He sailed the arrow through the air, glancing only at the Beast’s shoulder as he lunged forward. Kajika reared back, and Wakiza turned to retreat, but the Beast bit down hard onto Wakiza’s ankle, latching onto the warrior’s flesh. Wakiza howled in agony.

  Wakiza slashed his blade at the Beast, cutting through the thick skin that hung from his throat, while buying himself a little extra time to avoid another chomp from the Beast’s jaws. Though it was not a deep wound, it was enough to cause Kajika to recoil, allowing Wakiza the opportunity to right himself.

  The warrior crouched low, much like he would if he were hunting, and prepared himself for the next impending strike. Kajika charged back at him, but this time Wakiza ducked and managed to stab his blade upward as the Beast passed over him, slicing a large, gaping hole down the ventral length of Kajika’s body. The Beast looped around and, with a quick flip of his neck, smacked into Wakiza and sent him flying.

  Wakiza landed heavily on his feet. His ankle screamed in pain from the wound, but Wakiza didn’t have time to tend to it now. Kajika stormed back at him, opening his enormous jaws as he took a swipe at the warrior’s head, attempting a clean bite to behead the warrior. Wakiza whirled around and leaped as high as he could, using his good ankle to brace himself. His blade slammed forcefully down through Kajika’s head, stabbing straight into the Beast’s brain through his thick skull. Kajika shrieked and moaned, body thrashing around violently. Then suddenly, the Beast halted, looked Wakiza dea
d in the eye, then rolled to his side before collapsing in a heap upon the ground.

  Wakiza exhaled deeply. His arms hung at his sides, heavy with exhaustion, but he could move. He was surprised by the fact that he had not turned to stone, and wondered if the Beast was indeed able to paralyze one with simply a glare. Or perhaps at the exact moment that Wakiza looked into the Beast’s eyes, it was possible Kajika was already dead, and therefore his glance would not have affected him. All that mattered now was that the Beast was dead. He shrugged, then chuckled wearily to himself. Maybe some folklore was worth paying attention to, after all.

  Wakiza’s attention then turned to his injured ankle, and he began holding pressure on the bite wound to stop the bleeding. He ripped some fabric from his loin cloth and wrapped the gash tightly before pulling himself up and surveying his victory. Kajika had fallen by his hands, and now he just needed to prove it. So the warrior took his obsidian blade and began slowly sawing off the Beast’s head. When the gruesome task was completed, he tucked the head under his arm and began to limp in the direction of his former home as the sun began to set, far off in the distance behind the western mountain.

  ❦

  Wakiza walked through the night, but as he drew closer to his former home, he decided to take a slight detour. He couldn’t stop thinking of Aiyana, and the longer he traveled, the more certain he was that there was something he must do before approaching Chief Taima. So Wakiza ventured in the direction of the Sun tribe, and upon arriving found to his utter surprise that there was already quite a commotion going on.

  As he approached, Wakiza could hear sounds of a battle, the hoots and hollers of both his tribe and Aiyana’s, as well as the sounds of blows being thrown, arrows whizzing through the air, and blades being wielded about. Wakiza halted in his tracks, and chose to creep very quietly toward the irreverent sound of war. Given the fact that he was heading toward the Sun tribe, Wakiza could only assume that it was his former tribe that had prompted the attack.

  Wakiza peeked around a thick tree trunk, and witnessed his former chief, Taima, actively fighting against both Akano and his father, Chief Etu. Taima was doing a fairly decent job of holding his own against the two braves, but from the looks of it was beginning to weaken considerably. Wakiza took a deep breath and stepped around the side of the tree.

  “Stop! There’s no need for fighting anymore!” he cried, holding up the head of Kajika for all to see.

  The two chiefs and Akano paused, staring as incredulously at Wakiza as if the warrior had, in the time of his absence, magically sprouted two more heads upon his shoulders. But Taima quickly snapped out of his stagnation, and aggressively pointed his blade directly at Wakiza.

  “Traitor! I knew you would come here. To turn on your own people and join our most hated enemies!”

  “I have done no such thing, my chief. Look before you! This is the head of Kajika, the Beast that caused all this fighting.”

  Wakiza held his breath, waiting for a reply. Finally, Etu took a step forward, gently placing his hand on Akano’s shoulder.

  “Shunned warrior,” Aiyana’s father spoke softly, “this war was caused by your chief, Taima, blaming us for the disappearance of his people.”

  Taima looked at Etu, clearly appalled by his words. “Don’t listen to him!” he cried. “Etu and his people started this war by praying to the Beast Who Walks Without Sound! They caused Kajika to devour our people, and I’ll be damned if my tribe has to share our land and resources with a bunch of murderers!”

  “Taima, listen!” Etu, whose name meant ‘sun’, implored. “Our people have also gone missing! Kajika did not only attack and devour your tribe. Our people were victims of the Beast as well!”

  Taima grew quiet—more quiet than Wakiza had ever seen in all his years living under the Thunder chief’s rule. Taima’s face looked pensive, pondering Chief Etu’s words as his eyes moved back and forth from the Sun tribe’s chief to the severed head of Kajika delicately dangling from Wakiza’s fingers. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, then suddenly opened them and looked directly into Wakiza’s eyes.

  “Desperate warrior, you have slain the Beast who caused the trouble between the Thunder and Sun tribes. If this is indeed true, then there is no longer a reason for us to fight. You have unified our tribes.” He smiled at Wakiza. “And for that, I accept and encourage your return to the Thunder tribe. You will be welcomed with open arms, and my offer for you to receive one of my daughters as a wife remains.”

  Wakiza gazed back at Taima, his mouth agape, unsure of how to reply. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a slight movement around one of the trees behind Akano and Etu. Then, a flash of shiny black hair, and a set of beautiful, sparkling eyes peering back at him.

  “Aiyana,” he whispered, his breath suddenly taken from him, his ankle no longer throbbing. Taima turned, noticed the woman, and his demeanor seemed to shift.

  “I see,” he said quietly. “Then none of my daughters can possibly be the wife you seek.”

  Etu turned and noticed his daughter standing behind him. He whirled back to glare at Wakiza, but instantly, he softened.

  “So you’re the reason my daughter refuses to take a husband from our tribe,” he chuckled. “I’ve been trying to arrange a match with our best warriors for years. But she always found a reason to disapprove of them.”

  “Father, this is the warrior who spared my life,” Akano spoke up, looking solemnly at Wakiza. “Now I know why.”

  From the ranks of the Thunder tribe’s warriors, Siwili appeared and rushed to his son’s side. He stood behind him and placed his hand on Wakiza’s shoulder. “My son,” Siwili said. “I am so relieved to see you. But what made you come here?”

  Wakiza said nothing, but turned to smile at his father, then glanced over where he assumed Aiyana stood, watching them.

  Aiyana stepped out from behind the tree, then approached her father and brother. “Please forgive me,” she spoke tenderly, “for I cannot help whom it is I truly love.” She embraced her family, then turned to Wakiza, gently taking Kajika’s head from him, dropping it upon the ground, and slipping her soft, tiny hand into his.

  Tears filled Etu’s eyes, and he walked over to the two. “O desperate warrior,” he said softly, “I cannot think of a better match for my precious Aiyana. Will you take her as a wife, and unite the Sun and Thunder tribe for all eternity?”

  Wakiza beamed, his face flushing a bright red as he swung his arm around his bride and drew her in for a passionate kiss. “Nothing on this earth would make me happier,” he declared, amid whoops and cheers from the members of both tribes who had gathered around them.

  Taima and Etu embraced, and from that day forward, the Thunder and Sun tribe forever lived in peace, sharing the land and resources bestowed upon them from the Earth, and each and every day expressing their gratitude to the brave man who unified their people.

  And, with the everlasting love of Aiyana, the brave warrior Wakiza was no longer desperate.

  Gale

  ❦

  LYSSA CHIAVARI

  “This rough magic I here abjure.

  . . . I'll break my staff,

  Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,

  And deeper than did ever plummet sound,

  I'll drown my book.”

  - PROSPERO, THE TEMPEST

  When I opened my eyes, I was outside in a storm. Rain pelted my face, huge droplets slapping my skin hard enough to sting. I rose shakily from my knees as the wind howled around me. It seemed to be shouting strange words in my ear, but I couldn’t understand what it was trying to tell me.

  I racked my mind, desperate to remember what I was doing out here. The sky above me was pitch black, far darker than it should have been from the storm alone. It must be after nightfall. That was more terrifying than the storm raging around me now, because going outside after sunset was forbidden. I dreaded to think what would happen if the Watch discovered me out here.

  Even worse, though, was the t
hought of the other monsters that prowled the dark on Gale. We locked our doors after nightfall for a reason.

  As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I looked around and tried to get my bearings. I was standing in the middle of an unfamiliar street. The windows of all the buildings were blackened; I tried the door of one, and was unsurprised to find it bolted shut. I couldn’t stay out here. I had to keep moving, try to find my way home before somebody saw me out here.

  Heart pounding, I ran down the street, my wet hair plastered to my scalp and dripping down my neck. The powerful winds pressed against my back, spurring me on, at times nearly lifting me off my feet, but the strange street seemed to go on forever. It felt like every step I took sent me three steps backward. Where was I?

  A bolt of lightning illuminated the sky over my head, followed almost immediately by the deafening crash of thunder. I screamed in pure fright, cowering and flinging my arm over my face. After a moment, I opened my eyes, and discovered I was no longer on the strange street. Now a flat, barren plateau stretched out before me. A short distance away, the ground dropped off steeply, disappearing into shadows.

  I stepped forward, hesitantly. As I peered into the darkness, the sky lit up again, revealing the huddle of dark buildings nestled in the valley far below. I was in the bluffs outside town. But how?

  My frustration reached its peak. “What’s happening?” I shouted in exasperation. At this point, I didn’t care if the Watch did find me. It would be better than dying alone out here. “Someone, please, help me!”

  There was a rumbling sound, but it was different from the thunder. It seemed to emanate from the air around me. The ground beneath me vibrated, and I backed away from the edge of the bluff, struggling to maintain my footing. “Hello?” I cried. “Is anyone out there?”