“Shaman…an incredible man and follower of the spirits. I must implement his wise words for the benefit of our clan.”
“We both know what the spirits can bring upon us if we are disobedient. Now, what can they share with us if we live a life that follows their words and their ways?”
I interrupted their intense discussion. “Father, we must follow the herd, but they swim across the lake. Our clan members are not able to swim, what can we do? I am afraid…what shall happen if the spirits take us like Rohar of the Shadow People?”
“Ovark, it is our duty to follow our guides; those provided by the spirits. If they cross…we cross. There can be no doubt or indecision. Narizon, what shall we do to follow the caribou?”
“Tusik, in my travels to the Otherworld, I saw a wondrous vision. Hunters slew caribou; women cut the beasts hides into strips; and children tied the strips around fallen trees. The family worked as one to create floating trees that carried them across a lake. They safely made the journey to the other side on the trees lashed together with caribou strips.”
“Then that is what we must do. Bundan, organize the hunters; I shall talk to the women and they can instruct the children to tie the trees properly.”
Our clan worked feverishly as the herd continued to enter the waters of green. The sound of cooperation rang in my ears. The spirits held the rain from our backs; the sun emblazoned the lands with brilliant rays of gold. Sweat sang out from those who toiled in completing the rafts that would carry us to our new home. As the moon was about to meet the sun, we had finished our task. Before our smiling faces were a collection of crafts, lovingly created by our family members. Our eyes shone as vividly as the sun when it was high overhead.
Father spoke of his approval and his plan. “With the help of the spirits we have the means to cross the waters and discover what shall be our new cave. With the moon just about to rise over the mountains, it is wise not to attempt a crossing; let us wait for the early sun and then launch our vessels. Can we all agree?”
There was a consensual nod of every head… that was a wise decision. The moon would witness our last homeless meal together. Joy!
The moon had not slept, still, most of us eagerly rose from our comforting furs…excitement raced throughout our camp. We would face a new challenge; ride over deep waters for the first time in our lives. There was danger ahead, but also a wonderful reward that would lessen the fear we felt.
“Men, share a raft with the women and children. Stay away from the beasts, we do not want to be amongst them when we are in deep water.” Father was concerned. “Bundan, can you join me and the children? I would feel safe if you are with us.”
“Tusik…of course, there was no need to ask. I had already decided to be with you and the children.”
Our shaman was beating his drum, sweeping oars split the lapping waves, prows slicing through the freezing waters. Having expended a great deal of energy, we made our way across the pristine lake without facing any misfortunes. We touched the jagged shoreline, welcomed by coarse sand, lofty trees, and ancient rocks.
Narizon was the first of our family to step upon the beach; he was partially concealed by a tangle of low shrubs. “Wise One…we are near, we must keep pace with the herd. They shall inform us where to walk next…with speed brothers and sisters.”
The wooden carriers of our people, now abandoned, slipped back into the silent currents of the lake…The beasts met them, and they were crushed under sharpened hooves. A few strips of sinewy hide and a number of split tree trunks, the only testimony of our journey. These artifacts, which would be spoken on the lips of our people in song and remembered in dance for many seasons were consumed by the earliest of emerald waters.
As we formed a line, I noticed this side of the lake differed greatly from the other side. We stood next to a river that emptied into the lake; the water felt cold, like snow, and it was clear. The river bed consisted of small round rocks and many narrow fingers that met the lake. Ahead, were numerous mountains and low hills adorned with bushy trees.
“Ovark…come, you shall be left behind if you stare any longer at the lake.”
My short legs carried me through the icy waters of the river, and as I hurried along to catch father and my siblings, a silvery caribou, young and strong, veered off the chosen path of the herd. It walked alongside the now gently flowing river where the riverplain narrowed, thick grasses on either side. The beast stopped, snorted, and pawed the damp earth vigorously as if to indicate that we had finished our journey. Our future was here. Elation. How could we thank it? It put its head down and dashed past us to rejoin the herd…this was home.
This site varied greatly from my first and only home; we were nestled in an area with flat river banks; there were no protruding sentinels of wind beaten boulders to guard us. There was no steep incline to home. Instead, the path to our cave entrance narrowed, it was an ending; whereas our previous cave was situated on the pathway for the migratory beasts that was a beginning for the endless waves heading to their new homes for the warm season. The spirits choose this location because rock walls soared to the skies…as high as full handful of spears set end-to-end. There were no handholds for climbing or descending from above; hence, a worthy guard that never slept or minded the freezing snow and ice that lashed our bodies and faces during the cold season.
My eyes went back and forth, searching for every detail that would help explain why the spirits wanted us to begin a new life within this cave. I looked down at the dark mud, then looked up to the skies, and saw that a thin strip of black rock overhead cast a shadow upon us; the sun split in two parts. I walked inside the cave, and my breath was taken away…the sun beat down upon the straight rock walls that reached up to the sky spirits. The dirt I stood on was without bones scattered here and there. It appeared that the kind spirits had recently carved out our new home from the string of mountains that held the river and lake in their grasp.
“Members of the Forest Clan; we have been given a new home by the benevolent spirits. Let us set our furs and tools down, and I shall ask our shaman to spread the joy we feel with those who have been so kind to our family. Narizon?”
“My family…sit, here, in a circle, and let me communicate our joy and gratitude to those who watched over us and who shall watch over us.”
We obliged and prepared for what was about to occur next. Our shaman did not disappoint the family or the spirits.
Narizon sunk his crooked fingers into his sacred pouch, fumbling for his rattle. He emancipated it with a quick flick of his wrist. He slowly started to move his hand, silently; then faster, vociferously. They seemed as one; he was the rattle and the rattle was the wise one. Perfect harmony…perfect motion. With all eyes fixated upon the blurred hand, he began to dance in elongated patterns around us…along one side of the cave and down the other. Columns of fine dust accompanied his every movement…it was difficult to breathe.
“Compassionate spirits, fathers and mothers of the Forest Clan members…you have used a beast to guide us to our new home. In this place, the caribou spirit lives with us, provides us, nurtures us. As we are cared for and nurtured…this new site allows us to begin again, to put the sadness of loss behind us, and put gladness alongside of us.”
The rattling stopped. In his other quivering hand, a decorated gourd filled from the river outside our cave. He scattered its contents in each direction that the winds blew from. Each corner of our home received the sacred gift. Most had this sacred water splashed upon their face or body…it felt alive. Full of life, life that would continue with us or without us. Our bodies would yield to the many seasons and change, but our spirit would not yield over many seasons, only remain the same. Life that carried the revered words and ways of the land, sky, and water spirits until the sun and the moon stopped rising and setting; until the rains and snows stopped falling upon the lands; until the hunters and the hunted stopped walking the lands.
“May the waters from the river spirits kee
p our home free from illness and sadness; may the winds blow all evil deeds away from us; may the sun save our home from the snows of the cold season. May the moon light up the darkest of nights and show us the way to safety. Let this journey of the sun and moon end with tears, but they must be shed with happiness and not sadness.”
His words rang in my ears throughout my life’s journey, no matter what path I traveled upon…I still miss him and his mysterious ability to travel both within the realms of the spirits and our lands of the beasts as well.
We had lived in our new home for almost one season…often my mind would return to our old cave and warm thoughts of mother and those others we lost. But every day things were becoming easier, familiar, comfortable…we laughed, we ate, and slept in the protective arms of our new home. We were hugged by the rocky walls of our new protector; at times it felt like we had always lived here. The old cave and its memories brought less pain to my heart. The pain was replaced by joy…joyful thoughts of the times we had as a family.
The fire pits kept us warm at night; we started to create our history here as we buried the bones of the ones who traveled to the spirit world throughout the cave. With thick, dark pigment running through his fingers, Narizon painted an assorted number of shamans in a circle; dancing, chanting, beating their drums. I noticed one very tall medicine man; he remembered my fondness for that special healer and wise one. Our hunters created many figures from the bones of the various beasts and placed them around the cave. Babies were born, the young played; the women cooked, the hunters talked, and old family members passed to the Otherworld…the cycle of life had returned to us within our new surroundings.
Narizon told us that our life would get better; we would have food and we would be safe after leaving our old cave. The spirits spoke of times when we would receive food from their hands, and, they kept their promise to us. Our clan had lost many, but we gained much…food was plentiful as the beasts returned. Our women gave us many children. We received new souls that were healthy, strong…our suffering was behind us. There was still a matter that had to be settled amongst the joy and prosperity bestowed upon us by the benevolent spirits.
“Brave leader, we must talk. Our clan has been in our new home for many moons, and I have watched …the spirits have watched, as you act as mother and father to your children. Your face is as long as the udder of a nursing mammoth beast. Soon a season shall pass, and you still struggle with the children. Tusik, our leader, my friend, and family member…Johar is gone. She has travelled with the spirits many moons ago. The compassionate spirits have seen your pain and now they say that you should find a new mate. She is not to replace Johar. She is not to fill the hole in your heart. She is to make you complete again. A hunter needs a mate.”
“Narizon…don’t ask me to replace the one I loved for many seasons with someone else. I can’t. I have my children and I am happy to toil as the sun rises and until the moon watches over us. I do so for them; to keep them safe and to love them as their mother would have, and as I do under the cold sun.”
“Wise One; the sky, water, and land spirits visited me as the moon held up the skies. They want our clan to survive, to thrive in our new lands, and you must be the leader until Ovark has seen many more suns and learned many things. He is our future, but you are our present. The spirits want you to smile again…to enjoy the warmth of a mate’s hand again, to be proud to bring a wild beast back for her to cook, and to make warm furs for the cold nights we must face after the warm season has run away from the valleys and plains of our lands.”
Father shook his head, and as he did, tears rolled down his bearded cheeks.
“Tusik…you have seen how the spirits can take those we love as we close our eyes for rest. What would have happened if Ovark, Keagan, and Toska had walked the same path as Johar did that rainy night when the skies opened? You would have had no heirs; and you need a son with your strength, your wisdom, and your compassion to carry on. We need your son to be a leader when you are old and can only remember your younger days, the days when you were brave, strong, and wise. The more seasons we travel these lands, the more we lose…we lose our words, we lose our thoughts, and we lose others that we loved and have loved us.”
“Shaman, you are the wisest of the two of us; and yes, your words are true. But, to touch another mate; to whisper in another mate’s ear; and to share our food together…I am not ready to walk that path with another. My insides still cry for Johar. I still feel the pain of her being swept away by the spirits that dark night.”
“You doubt what the spirits say? Have you already forgotten the misery we have endured because we turned our backs upon the spirits? Souls taken. Bodies broken.” Narizon shook his head in disbelief. “I shall not try to change your mind about finding a new mate. I shall do what the spirits asked of me, and then it is your decision to make. Here, take these and visit Johar in the Otherworld. Speak to her yourself, then come back to me and share with each member of the clan what is the best path to take for you, your children, and our family.”
With those words, Narizon dipped into his pouch and gave father a handful of colorful berries. A shaking hand accepted them in disbelief.
“Shaman, I get to be with her again? Talk to her …feel her warmth…hold her as we did during the night she walked away with the spirits?”
“She shall whisper words in your ears…she shall tell you what the spirits want her to tell you. She shall be at your side as you travel into the unseen lands, the lands that live within you and within your thoughts.”
Father’s eyes lit-up brightly as the flames that kiss a moonless night. “What must I do?”
“I see your trust in the spirits has returned to you. This is a wise decision. You shall travel for three suns and three moons to the valley where the land spirits scorn the sky spirits. Where they spit mud into the air and make unworldly sounds; sounds that shall hurt your ears and shake your insides. In this valley, the sky spirits scorn the land spirits. They carry the bad smell of decaying flesh with them throughout the lands. The smell, it is like what an unhatched egg of a foul that has travelled to the spirits before it enters our world. Be warned; the smell shall burn your eyes and take away your desire to walk. If you can no longer take steps forward, you shall leave this land and meet Johar…but you shall not return. You shall not be with your children. They have lost their mother and then they shall lose their father. Be strong…keep your eye on the goal you seek.”
“Yes, but where am I going to meet Johar? You have not told me where…just in the lands that scorn the sky spirits and, in the valley, where the sky spirits scorn the lands.”
“Wise One…this is not a question to ask of me. You have the answer within; it is there but you must listen, and not be distracted by the sounds and smells that surround you as you walk the valley of the scorned spirits.”
“I feel it is my fault that my mate for life has been taken, and now you ask me to find the answer within me. Are the water, land, and sky spirits unhappy with me? Have I scorned them as the sky and land spirits scorn each other in the valley?”
“Do not ask of yourself such questions. Believe the spirits are the Wise Ones, the wisest ones, and they shall lead you down the only pathway to where you should be on. They and they alone know what you need in this life before you enter the Otherworld. Now, you must go while the bright sun can lead the way to where you should be.”
“Yes, I shall leave now, but first I must speak with Ovark, Ava, Keagan, and Toska. I should share the good words that you have given to me. They miss Johar so much, and when I tell them of our seeing each other again…they will surely want to travel with me.”
“No. Share the joy but do not share the journey. The children must not travel at your side to meet with Johar. There are words to be shared between the two of you and not more. When you return, you can share your joy with them. These are the words of the spirits …do not disobey them as a young child disobeys her parents.”
“It
shall be hard, but I must agree with the spirits. I need my spear and knife to help protect me and pieces of meat to feed me.”
“Brave One…you have no need for protection or food; the spirits shall help keep the wild beasts away from you and give everything to you that is needed on your journey. You shall not face the jagged teeth of a lion, the sharp claws of a bear, or the dangerous tusks of a mammoth.”
“What? A hunter without a sharp spear is like a shaman without his powerful medicine. Would you travel the lands without your medicine bag shaman?”
A wild look crossed Narizon’s face as such a fundamental question was asked of him. Without a pause, he answered. “Tusik, this journey is not about me or anyone else. It is about you and your journey to face Johar as she travels in the Otherworld. Listen; what I say is truth and what the spirits shared with me is truth. Now, go and bring only yourself and my sacred berries. May the spirits that travel the lands, skies, and waters keep you safe, brave leader.”
Father needed no more convincing. He met and hugged us before he left on his journey. Black circles danced across our faces…our eyes turned into pools of darkness. With a pat on the head, and one more hug, father left the cave and began down the pathway that would lead him to mother.
“Father…tell mother I love her.” My heart ached to see her one last time.
“I shall Ovark, I shall.” Then he disappeared.
The sun knelt and hugged the uneven terrain that stretched as far as his eyes could see. There were interminable swaths of trees, rivers that crisscrossed between the forests green, and jagged boulders that spoke of their dominance over the lands. At each step, his mind was alert to the penetrating eyes of a cast of vicious beasts that questioned his presence, but never pursued him for their next meal. The wily Narizon said that the spirits would protect him, and after following the sun for the day, the shaman’s message was truthful.
A cold wind began to blow down through the passageways that formed between the rocks. While Tusik had a thick layer of furs wrapped around him, he thought that the moon would move slowly and appear too long before surrendering its place in the sky to the sun. He settled for a shallow cave next to one particularly interesting rock; along the side were numerous scratch marks, running overhead from the height of an outstretched arm down to his knees…cave bears had walked this pathway and sharpened their claws in preparation for the kill. He felt uneasy, but he had the words of the shaman ringing in his ears to cast aside any doubt for his survival.
Birth of the Chosen One Page 14
