by Watson, Tom
All seemed to be over for many moments, when suddenly a boom was heard, startling everyone! Ember could not imagine why she would hear a loud sound, presumably from the falling star, so long after it had apparently exploded overhead. A long moment after the boom had left, many started to realize that the event was truly over. Ember sighed once more. For a few breaths, not a sound was heard. Ember stood with a slightly sad if not resigned look about her.
The silence was broken as Morning Dew, calm throughout the entire encounter, suddenly let loose a cackling scream and fell to her knees before Ember. The effect was stunning, many nearly jumping out of their skins by the sudden sound. She looked up into the night sky and babbled, much more frantically and loudly than normal, in that language only she seemed to know. After several moments of intense, “otherworldly” rant, Morning Dew slowly regained her senses and stood. She stared at Ember for a short time with an incredulous look on her face before turning, suddenly, to look upon the tribe with her arm and fingers extended.
Go on... say it, you know you want to…, Ember thought.
“It was a sign!” she proclaimed!
Here we go, Ember thought.
“A great sign! At the very moment I prayed to the Goddess for the correct task of womanhood, the skies themselves gave their will!” Morning Dew stated.
East stood just beyond the ritual giving Ember a fearful look. Before she could consider what might come next, Morning Dew looked from Dark Rock to Ember, then back again, and started speaking once more.
“Ember, you are directed by the very sky and the Gods to seek a goal to the west. You will journey at first light two days from now, along the Great River by boat and seek the farthest edge of the world, many ten-days travel. There the Gods have something planned for you!”
There were gasps and looks of shock from all around. Ember stood with her mouth open, and a gawking stare. What was going on!? Was she not supposed to make a basket or decorate some pots? At worst she might be sent to a neighboring tribe as a wife, but a journey!? Quests and journeys were the lot of men; and only experienced hunters took on such a task at that! This was an epic quest! Ember was not alone in her thoughts as much of the tribe stood in various states of shock.
Dark Rock turned from Ember to East and then to Morning Dew. He placed a hand on Morning Dew's old shoulder.
“Are you sure of this? This sign was seen by all, but surely this is a grave task. Perhaps there...” but Dark Rock was cut off by Morning Dew's sudden retort.
“You knew this would happen! Her father, the warrior Winterborn, came from the North West so long ago. This is the work of fate and the Gods. Are the signs not there?” Morning Dew looked at the others of the tribe as she made her case.
“What color was the light? What color is Ember's hair? What colors are her eyes and her clothing? Such a journey needs luck! Who has found the most flint? Who has the most of the yellow stones? What of the unusual heat and the strange crops in the western fields? She has been given a task, and she must follow it or be a child forever! This is the way!” With that final word, Morning Dew left the stunned circle and walked towards her longhouse.
Ember had been effectively damned by those words. If she chose not to take the task she could probably be made a woman by another elder, but there would always be the stain of an unfinished task. Worse, if the harvest went badly or something unfortunate happened within the next few seasons Ember would most likely be blamed. It would be said that she had upset the Gods.
I have to go..., she thought... she knew.
Ember stood very still with everyone gathered before her. The loud sound of the fire in the sky still replaying in her memory. At first she thought she might start crying but then she caught sight of East. Her mother had a mixed expression of both fear and admiration. The look took Ember in the moment and steadied her before she could cry. Instead, she just turned and walked slowly towards the safety of her longhouse. As she started passing through the throngs of people, the hunters one by one gave her a short bow of their heads, a sign of respect normally only offered to warriors and hunters. As she passed them, Ember's breast filled with pride, and she felt reborn.
Ember passed by a stunned looking Yellow Flowers without a single word. Ember was stunned, yet she felt an odd sense of amusement at the look on Yellow Flower's face. Yellow Flowers appeared to Ember like she might wet herself in shock. Somehow, that brief touch of amusement, so non-sequitur, helped Ember keep her composure. Adrenaline and her inability to fully grasp the events of the night did the rest.
Emerging from the people, she paused and allowed a moment to collect herself. Ember always had an odd way of looking at life. Her views were based on a sort of self-humor and an uncanny ability to see herself plainly and beyond her own immediate situation. Ember, sad, afraid, and generally overwhelmed, smiled to herself as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She turned to the expectant people and forced a smile.
“I will journey in two days’ time to the ends of the world, to the west. I will face whatever the Gods have dealt me, and I will return. Until then, let the festival continue!” With her smile and the exclamation, much of the tribe let loose yells and whistles. Kanter and Blossom both ran forward and grabbed Ember in an all-too-tight embrace! The night had become surreal as Ember walked in a daze. After a few moments, the three friends were walking off towards the mat where the sacred drink was poured.
Ember was in too much shock by now to cry. The actual insanity of her predicament had not yet fully sunk in. Kanter gave Ember a poke in the ribs and offered what he considered his impressive advice.
“Now that you’re leaving for a while, you had better drink up tonight! Wouldn't want to leave without a bowl full first, eh?”
Ember gave Kanter a grimace and a shake of her head, accepting a shallow clay pot with some of the precious, sacred brew. She brought it up to her lips and drank down the bitter-sweet drink. Fire arose in her stomach and her skin beaded with sweat. After a long while of dance and drink, Ember started to think that she might actually succeed! The drink always had that effect.
The liquid was made from water, honey, herbs, and some of the special porridge. If consumed too early, the liquid could make you very sick or cause your mouth to become red and irritated. Luckily, the sacred drink was always given at least two or three full moons to sit. Ember was quite sure a squirrel would willingly attack a wolf if given enough of the fiery liquid.
It might even win, she thought as she lay on a mat next to Blossom and Kanter absorbing the night. As she lay back on the warm grass, Ember caught sight of a few more small falling stars. She laughed sarcastically.
Chapter 4: The Great River
“The Great River”, what is now called the river Rhine, has been an important waterway for European peoples for millennia. The river generally flows east to west, flowing through various parts of Europe, in some places actually flowing north, but the result is a west by north west route. The River starts in the Swiss Alps as runoff from glaciers and flows thousands of miles from Switzerland to the Netherlands, passing through Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and France. As a result, many sorts of ecological environments exist around the Rhine, from thick forests to wide open fields.
Our heroine encounters the Rhine in what is now south western Germany near the present day city of Mannheim. As the story progresses, so too does the river, changing from thick forests and deep valleys to wide open fields with tree covered banks. The only feature which remains is the steady flow of water and travelers. The Rhine has cut deeply into the land and into the hearts of humanity.
To navigate such a mighty river, people need boats. Boats were very difficult to produce by Neolithic peoples. The most advanced boat available to Ember would have been a dugout boat made primarily from a dried log. The center of the log would be dug out, hence the name, using axes and small fires. The digging leaves an inch or two of wood on each side and perhaps a little more in the bottom. The outsides would be sanded with leat
her and grit and the bow pointed. Such boats were heavy and not easy to maneuver. Ember would have had quite a struggle keeping such a boat in a straight line on a river. Unfortunately, the boat was also the fastest way downstream, perhaps twice as fast as walking, and without fear of animals. Rivers may have been used as, and in lieu of, roads in this way, though we may never know for sure.
Ember awoke the next morning with a throb in her head. She was lying on a mat with a deer hide loosely across her. Her dress had been removed and hung on the wall nearby. Ember looked around and noticed East by the hearth cooking some sort of meal.
Breakfast! she thought. Her wits came to her slowly as she shook off the sleep and a pounding ache in her head. Breathing deeply brought the warm smell of breakfast, filling her with hunger. Ember vaguely recalled staggering into the house and removing her dress, then falling flat on the mat. Apparently, East had found her and helped her to bed. Ember was still wearing her anklets and the necklace, and her skin was still stained quite blue.
“I see you're awake,” said East in a stern tone, causing Ember to flinch when she turned, but the look on her mother's face was calm and a little sad.
“If I were about to do what you are set to do, I would have been just as you were when I found you last night.” East gave her daughter a smile and brought forth a wooden tray with food and sat it beside Ember.
The wooden tray had a reed basket full of roasted game bird meat with salt and a few small tubers with a sauce of wild onions and salt, mixed with the drippings of the birds. Ember was surprised both by the fancy breakfast and by the way her mother was treating her. Ember sat back and ate her breakfast, quite hurriedly as East sat beside her with a worried look. When she was finished, Ember put aside the tray and started to speak, but before she could, East interrupted her with her hand held outward and started to speak.
“These many seasons have been hard for both of us Ember. Life is never how we expect it to be. If you do not follow the will of the Elders, know that I will always love you.” She placed her hand on Ember's head and gently stroked her hair in silence for a while.
“I know mother, but what if the harvest fails? What if the Gods really do want me to go?”
East wanted to say something profound to her daughter, something that would fix everything and make her feel like she was helpful in some way. This was one of the moments when a mother was supposed to give her daughter advice and make everything better. All she could do was stroke her daughter’s hair, with one ever so slightly quivering hand. In her heart, she had long ago given up hope in the Gods..., after her husband had fallen. He had been killed by raiders so suddenly that she had never had a chance to say goodbye if she ever really could have.
Winterborn was so much like his daughter. He had long red hair and those same green eyes. East used to sit and listen to him speak his funny musings of life. He was so adamant to fix the wrongs of the world, the injustice, the pains, to the glory of the Gods. The Gods didn't help him as he lay on the ground with an arrow in his chest. Now, they supposedly schemed to take her one and only child.
East kept her thoughts to herself. Ember believed in the will of the Gods and held them in her heart with a sense of wonder. It was that same need for goodness she had first seen in her beloved Winterborn's eyes. East wanted so many times to say what she thought, but those green eyes of her daughter held too much innocence to taint with her own secret grief. In the end, she knew what Ember would choose. Ember had a part of Winterborn's spirit within her, and she would travel to the ends of the world. It was just her nature. This time, East would have a chance to say goodbye. As though she could read East's mind, Ember turned and looked at her mother with a sudden streak of tears.
“I will come back. It might take a few seasons, but I will return. You saw the sign, the whole world saw it...”
“I know Ember. You had better get cleaned up and prepare yourself if you are to do as the Elders say,” East said with a smile barely holding her composure. Ember gave her a hug, which caused whatever East used to keep her face neutral to fade. Ember scampered off with her clothing to the river to clean and prepare for the day. As she left the house, East fell forward and burst into sobbing tears of uncontrollable pain and grief. East remained in the back of the longhouse for the first part of that day. She lay sobbing for a long time.
We are our own Gods and our fates change with the winds, she thought.
Ember walked down to the river wrapped in a deer hide, not wanting to soil her clothing. The Great River was free of most people when she arrived. Off in the distance some of the women could be seen gathering tubers and berries for the midday meal. Ember knelt in the soft sand and ran her hands through her long hair while holding her head back with her eyes shut. She slowly cleaned herself by the river and then donned her normal clothing of a flax skirt and doe skin shirt. Ember would be leaving the next morning for a journey too wild and sudden to be real. Of all of the thoughts which danced in her head, one stood before the rest: Ember had better say goodbye to her friends and family.
I'll be returning within a season or three, so it's not a big deal, she thought. Deep down Ember wondered how truthful she was being with herself. She quickly shook the feelings away and walked towards the front side of the village were Blossom's family lived. She would need to spend some time with her cousins and perhaps even go for one last swim before returning home.
As Ember came upon the longhouse, she spotted Blossom and Kanter sitting on a log bench talking. Kanter noticed Ember immediately and waved at her with a wide smile.
“Ember! Come on over here and see what Blossom has!”
Blossom was sitting with her back somewhat turned towards Ember. She became angry, or so her body language indicated, by placing her hands on her hips in an angry sort of way. Ember couldn't see her face, but she could hear Blossom's yelling, easily.
“Kanter! I told you to keep quiet! I don't know why I tell you anything,” Blossom ranted, suddenly turning upon Ember and standing. Her tone and expressions changed, too quickly, from angry to happy. She was too “innocent” looking. Something was amiss, but her hands were behind her back. Kanter was staring with anticipation. Ember already had enough of a smug look that Blossom was unable to retain and her mock innocent demeanor. Before Ember could voice any objections, Blossom swung her hands forward thrusting them into Ember's face quite suddenly.
“Here! I have a present for the journey!” Blossom said. She opened her hands to reveal a Goddess pendant made of deer antler. Goddess figurines were quite common to have in a home as they provided blessings, though Ember thought them more likely ornamental. The little pendant was the size of a man's thumb and intricately carved with a hole for a leather thong.
“My mother gave it to me when I was young,” she continued.
“But, I can't take this, it's special and...” but Blossom countered Ember's worries with an outstretched hand.
“Take it! When you return, you can bring it back with you and with my present from far away! You are bringing us gifts, right?” Blossom finished with an inquisitive smile.
Ember wanted to point out that she might not return... The thought had occurred to her the night before, and again that morning by the river, but she had been ignoring it.
“I...” Ember stuttered.
Ember was interrupted now by Kanter seizing on the moment to add his opinions,
“You'll only be gone a season or two. Next warm season you will be back with stories to tell! You will be as respected as the hunters, maybe more. You'll immediately be in line to become an elder... but that will take a while. I bet that...”
“Kanter!” Blossom interrupted before he could go off into a tangent of some species.
“He's right though, you'll be back soon enough,” Blossom said.
“I guess... I wonder what the end of the horizon looks like?” Ember wondered aloud, changing the subject. Ember wondered if the world merely ended or even started anew. She was brought back to rea
lity as Kanter started openly pondering the same questions... in his own odd way.
“I bet there are giant bear people, or talking fish, at least,” Kanter said matter-of-factly.
With that the three friends spent much of the rest of the day talking and saying goodbye in their own ways. As the evening came, Ember, Kanter, and Blossom visited each of Ember's cousins and friends. The village was actually a little larger than Ember had recalled, but she rarely visited each of her extended family all in the same day. When Ember finally walked to her longhouse, she was quite tired and in need of rest. She had waved a huge good-bye to her friends, smiles all around and spent every last moment around them. Ember now took careful inventory of her memories, as she approached the hide door, ensuring that she could fully remember each face. She hoped she would see them again.
As Ember opened the hide door, the tasty smell of a vast array of foods slammed into her nose. Before her, Ember's entire immediate family sat laughing and starting a grand meal. That night Ember, East, Na Na, Heather and Vance, her cousins Red Flowers, Fox, and their parents, all sat around the longhouse main hearth eating the large meal. East had made it a point to make Ember one last huge dinner, and everyone had helped. Ember was known for her love of food, and might not eat well for many days to come. This was a good chance to “fatten her up”, the family had thought. Na Na had even guilt-ed one of the village women, whose husband was a consummate hunter, into giving up a fully roasted deer rump and legs.
