The Last Sundancer

by Quinney, Karah

  “Do not speak to me of my brother.” Kaichen’s voice warned her that she had gone too far.

  Denoa was a wise woman, she had been forced to grow in wisdom from the moment that she first took her husband’s hand until now. She was not indecisive, she was not weak, but in that moment she felt weakness surround her. She needed Kaichen’s cooperation, she needed his aid or all would be lost. Denoa closed her eyes and she thought of Shale.

  She did not allow herself to dwell on the sweetness of their love or the grief that his death had caused her. It was a simple thing to remember how stubborn and forthright her husband had been. Kaichen possessed those same qualities. The blood of warriors ran through his veins and above all else, he was his father’s son.

  “Your brother was also my son.” Denoa held up a hand to forestall Kaichen from speaking. Her eyes told him that he must remember that she was his mother and he must respect her voice if only for a time. “I ask only that you seek out those that once claimed to be close friends of your father and speak to them of our plight. Our crops drown. The river continues to rise. We will not make it through the cold season with the food that will come to us during the harvest.”

  “You wish to have me act as a mediator between our village and the nearby bands?” Kaichen remembered those that had chosen to live separately, breaking one large band into thirds. Tamol and Farren had once been friends of his father and now they were leaders of their own bands.

  “Tamol and Farren will listen to your voice. They will not heed my call for help. They do not wish to speak of fighting and death, but that is the world that we have inherited.” Denoa turned her face away as she looked to the moon. It was almost full.

  “The attack will come during the darkest part of the night, when the moon is a round orb in the sky. The raiders that roam this land came against us right after the first harvest and we were powerless to stop them as they took whatever we had stored for the time of long cold. We will not survive another raid. Our young women fear for their lives. The young men seek blood and the older ones are not strong enough to fight. We fear for the lives of our children. We will seek our own death before we let our children starve. However, that fate is inevitable if we continue on this course.” The picture that Denoa painted was grim.

  Her tone of absolute certainty was even more chilling. For the first time, Kaichen saw the plight of their people through his mother’s eyes.

  “Is there more?” Kaichen questioned as his mother looked steadily at him.

  Her voice was the voice of song, stirring memories and dreams together. He remembered the sound of his mother’s voice, the soothing sound of her whispered words was an integral part of his earliest memories, just as she had intended.

  The men and women of their band treasured their children. Even today, Kaichen had caught sight of women with little ones cuddled in their arms. The women of their village were never separated from their young children.

  “At first, the raiders were leaderless and in a sense they were weak. Yet, over time they have grown in size and strength, now they threaten our very existence. We have no protection against their attack. They are free to pillage and plunder if that is their desire. We have no defense against them now that they have chosen a leader, a man that unites them under a single purpose.” Denoa’s voice trembled over the last word and she cleared her throat as if to deny such weakness.

  “Where are your warriors?” Kaichen’s question was not meant to be answered.

  He knew the stories of his father. Shale had been born of a savage leader that sought to dominate the land. Strong warriors were bred from the battles that his father fought. Shale was a strong warrior, a leader of men and his mother had come from a village of people that lived off the bounty of the land. There had not been a warrior amongst them.

  Kaichen knew that the people had returned to their land dwelling ways, leaving the way of the warrior behind. There were able bodied hunters, but they were not hunters of men.

  Even as he reasoned this out, he realized that his mother had sent him to Azin and she had to have known what the wise warrior would teach him. Azin did not believe in leaving anything to chance, he had taught Kaichen everything that he knew and in doing so, he created a warrior of unparalleled skill.

  “I will appeal to the nearby bands. I will ask them for help so that our people can survive the cold season, but you must prepare the people to leave this place when the weather warms or they must stand and fight. Otherwise, you will not survive here.” Kaichen told himself that he would seek out the nearby bands for the sake of their village.

  “Our people would rather die than to leave the land of their birth. This is the land of their fathers and mothers. This is the land that our people fought for, so long ago. Your father is buried in this ground that has betrayed us.” Denoa stopped speaking when Kaichen turned to face her with unmistakable fury burning in his eyes.

  “You speak of the land as if it has a will of its own, but it does not. It is simply dust piled upon dust that rests in one place.” Kaichen did not doubt that the ground that he walked upon was sacred to his people.

  He could feel the power held within the confines of the rocks that surrounded them. He understood the need to remain in a place that was familiar. He had never known a time when the land did not hold sway over the future of those that dared to live upon it. The moisture of the soil decided the life and death of those that called green shoots forth. The trails known to the herd animals held each hunter’s life within its fickle hands.

  Yet, his people had to change their way of life or face starvation and death. It was as simple and as terrible as his mother had envisioned. His mother’s voice brought his attention back to her.

  “The people believe that you have a special purpose. They believe that you can request a blessing from the heavens on their behalf. Balance has been lost and it must be restored. Are you the bringer of balance? Is that your purpose?” Denoa spoke of the drought that was common to the land, but the drought that had once plagued their people when his father lived had lasted for season upon season.

  Long ago, the rains came and they did not cease until the ground was nourished and the people had enough to fill their water catches for many moons. Now they faced flooding during the rainy season and their crops and plants could not survive if the flooding continued.

  Denoa asked Kaichen the questions that plagued him night and day. Her dark eyes pleaded with him to listen to her words.

  “You speak nonsense.” Kaichen’s eyes narrowed in distrust as he watched his mother, the woman that gave birth to him.

  Denoa called upon the depth of wisdom that had never failed her and could not fail her now. How could she explain the needs of their band and help Kaichen gain an understanding of his place amongst them? How could she reason with him when he did not trust her and he rejected her words before measuring the truth that they held? Hopelessness filled her, but she called upon the strength inherent within her as she formed her thoughts into words. Bitter words.

  “The people need something to believe in and you are a symbol of their combined hope. Is it so wrong that they seek a way to soothe the anxieties common to their lives? Is it so wrong that they wish to have a sense of security given to them as a promise that they can hold with both hands?” Denoa would have said more but Kaichen held up his palm, facing forward, requesting her silence.

  He was so like his father in that moment that a physical pain lanced through Denoa’s heart.

  “You do not even believe the words that you speak.” Kaichen had always been able to read the truth in his mother’s eyes and he did so now.

  “It is true, I do not believe that one man can call the rain or bring forth the sun.” Denoa’s admission caused Kaichen to pin her with a cold stare.

  She knew that he sought the truth and he would not believe it if it came from her lips.

  “I do believe that your father was especially blessed. I believe that you have been given that same b
lessing. Perhaps it is you that does not believe. Perhaps it has been you all along.” Denoa’s voice was tired and strained with hurt. Her son looked at her with anger blazing in his dark eyes and she wondered how she could have ever thought that his gaze was cold.

  For a moment, Kaichen felt deep regret, he did not wish to bring his mother pain.

  He understood deep loss and the agony that came with it. He kept his deepest pain concealed from others. The death of his father, a man that he would never know and the murder of his brother filled him with regret.

  Siada should have grown to manhood at his side. Regret faded as anger took its place. Kaichen turned and found that his feet carried him away where he could breathe free of the burden that was his birthright.

  Kaichen walked a far distance until he was surrounded by the sounds of the night. He carried his spear with him and his hunting knife. The evening was cool as the wind swirled around him. In the distance, he could hear the late night sounds of his people. They were settling in for rest, content in the knowledge that the one that would save them was near.

  It was wrong to allow the people to believe in a lie. Kaichen’s heart twisted in turmoil. He thought about returning to his people and calling them together, crushing their hopes once and for all.

  It was madness to remain in this place where they had made their home. If the land continued to flood then they should logically move on, but his people were stubborn and they were also hopeful.

  There were enough of the older ones that still lived to remind the younger ones of times long past. When Kaichen was a boy, the crops had been bountiful and their harvest was full of rejoicing. He and Siada had run and hidden from each other. They had laughed until tears fell from their eyes and their bellies ached.

  The cherished memory brought a swell of pain along with it and Kaichen closed his eyes, leaning upon his spear to steady himself. Moonlight pooled around him and he felt the illuminating warmth of light caress his skin. He could not deny that he felt power swell within him when he danced.

  It was like touching moonlight, gossamer and ethereal. Kaichen could not remember a time when dancing had not allowed him to reach out to the world around him. It released the wildness in his spirit, the part of him that was more animal than man. When he danced there was no thought, reason or passage of time.

  It was almost as if he moved between worlds while his feet and hands kept rhythm and his arms and legs found the angles and stance of the dance. He could become a warrior, a hunter or a cultivator of the land.

  Through the motions of his dance he could become a young man seeking a mate or a proud father receiving his first child. He did not know how to still the dance inside of his soul, but he did know that he could not call the rain or tell the sun to stand still.

  The light notes of a flute came to his ears and he found that he was drawn forward without thought or question. Amara was near.

  He told himself that he needed time alone, away from those that needed him and sought his help. Amara awakened feelings inside of him that he would rather deny.

  His footsteps brought him to rest outside of the dwelling where Amara knelt beside the fire that Antuk had built. Antuk was nowhere to be found at first glance, but when Kaichen allowed his eyes to lose focus he easily caught sight of his friend’s hulking shadow.

  Kaichen drew breathtaking sound from the flute. Her fingers moved over the small holes, creating a harmony of sound that commanded his attention. He could feel the beauty of her song and he responded to it with every fiber of his being.

  He stood in rapt fascination as she weaved a story born of sound into existence. The melody brought to mind days filled with sunlight and clear blue water. Kaichen thought of the desert mule deer that ran through the mountain forests. He could feel the pounding of hooves upon the ground, through the song called forth by Amara’s clever fingers and the wind that carried through her pursed lips. Her eyes were downcast, though they were not closed and the intense look of concentration on her face captured Kaichen’s attention completely.

  She was the personification of femininity. Her body swayed slightly and Kaichen was entranced by the gentle motion of her small waist and hips where she knelt upon the ground.

  He could not bring himself to interrupt Amara, though he knew without a doubt that she had drawn an audience. He remained perfectly still as he stood facing her across the fire. Her song danced over him and swirled around him, never ceasing as she wove her story for all to hear.

  Aching loneliness stole over Kaichen and he knew that it was drawn forth from the deepest recesses of his heart. If he were to ask the heavens for a blessing, he knew that it would not be a request for the flooding to cease.

  If a blessing was promised to him then he would ask to be joined with this woman for the rest of his days. Amara spoke to his heart with her song, but it was the woman that wielded the flute that filled his spirit with longing.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Amara trembled from the intensity of Kaichen’s stare. His dark gaze was unreadable and she lowered her eyes, hiding her thoughts from him.

  She hoped that he enjoyed her song. The music soothed something deep inside of her being. She had fallen into a fitful sleep only to be awakened by fear of the unknown. She needed the music brought forth by her flute to calm her beating heart and set her mind at ease. Kaichen was the only thing that remained familiar. Everything else had changed.

  “You will come with me tomorrow, along with Antuk.” Kaichen realized that his words were an order instead of a question.

  Amara raised her luminous eyes to his face eagerly. It stunned him that she wanted to be with him, just as he wanted to be with her. Amara saw him as he truly was and Kaichen knew he had been given a special gift when Azin had joined them together. Amara saw the man beneath the facade.

  “I will go with you, Kaichen.” Amara felt the urge to say more, but she remained silent as Kaichen told her that he would journey to visit the nearby bands. They did not have far to travel.

  “I hope that these men that were once friends of your father will be glad to see you.” Amara wished the best for Kaichen.

  His homecoming had been difficult for him, whereas it should have been full of joy. Amara thought of her own home and lowered her eyes. It was unlikely that she would ever return to her people but she also knew that she was not welcome here amongst Kaichen’s village.

  “Have you eaten?” Kaichen settled himself near the fire as he spoke to Amara. He could see that her face had grown tense with some hidden memory.

  “A woman came with food and water to drink. I wish to thank you.” Amara spoke truthfully though she had not been able to eat the food that was presented to her. Fear and anxiety had stolen her appetite. She drank enough water to quench her thirst and set the food aside.

  “Madra. She is my mother’s closest companion. I have known her since the earliest days of my childhood.” Kaichen provided the woman’s name, sensing that Amara had not been received well, particularly amongst the women.

  “Madra.” Amara tried the name out on her tongue. “Does it have a meaning?”

  “It means old mother. It is a name that bestows honor.” Kaichen met Amara’s eyes as he stared into her upturned face.

  “You are tired.” Kaichen had not meant to voice his concern and Amara lowered her head.

  There had been very little room for privacy or time alone when they had traveled together over the desert sand. “Your music makes me feel the first bloom of the warm season and the first chill of the cold season. It captures my mind and calls forth memories of better times.”

  Amara had never received such a heartfelt compliment. She smiled with gratitude as the small fire crackled and Kaichen added more wood.

  “Do your people wish to see you bring forth the sun?” Amara could not hide her curiosity. She could see at once that unlike her own village which was nestled near a small river, Kaichen’s village was threatened by the life-giving river that overflowed its
banks.

  “My people have always relied upon the land for their food. The men hunt, but it is not our way to rely solely upon the meat from animals of the land. During seasons past, we had a variety of produce that seemed never ending. My people seek an answer. They seek security and hope for the future. They wish to know that all will be well with the birth of a child, the health of their loved ones and the success of their next hunt. ” Kaichen did not want to think about the plight of his people any further. He did not like the way that his words echoed those of his mother. To his ears it sounded as though his people sought the impossible.

  “Do they worship the sun?” Amara’s question drew Kaichen’s full attention.

  He could hear the fear in her voice and he understood the cause of it. Amara feared the leader of the raiders. Kaichen thought carefully about how he should answer.

  “Do you see the fire?” Kaichen’s question took Amara off guard and she stared into the fire until her eyes grew bleary. When she nodded, Kaichen held his hands over the blaze as if seeking warmth. “What if I were to bow low to the ground before the fire, ignoring the one that caused the blaze to grow? What if I ignored the one who worked the wood until the smoke expanded and fed the sparks with finely gathered tender? Would I show gratitude by my actions?”

  Amara did not answer. Kaichen captured the essence of the actions taken by their enemies and those that worshipped the blazing orb in the heavens.

  “My people do not worship the sun. They seek hope. They do not sacrifice their children or offer animals to the heavens. They simply wish for life to return to the way that it was before the river began to flood its banks and threaten their harvest. My people are not warriors, they are men that hunt and women that work the land in hope of a blessing.” Kaichen knew that his answer had satisfied Amara and eased her fear but there was more that he wanted to say. “I will never let anyone take you away against your will.”

  He did not know where that promise had come from but he could not call it back. Amara glanced up at him with appreciation shining from her tear brightened eyes. “You have already done more for me than anyone that I have ever known. I will find a way to repay you for your kindness.”