Keeper of the People (Book One)

by Karah Quinney

  “Now we will give thanks to welcome our new daughter Kii into our band.” Taikiuu rose and walked to where she had laid Kii’s gift aside. Carrying her gift gently she approached her daughter and signed the words which Jon’lan spoke aloud for all to hear, “Welcome daughter.” After kissing Kii on both cheeks Taikiuu presented her with a bracelet also carved out of jade stone. Delicate stone flowers sat in a ringlet that circled the girl’s wrist. Kii sucked in her breath at the sight of such a beautiful piece of jewelry. Surely she had never felt more welcomed or wanted in her entire life. Truly this was where she belonged and this thought echoed in the minds of all who now stood around the circle of the fire.

  The Hetmos Village

  Sirion looked upon the desolate place that had once been her home. In one night the island of Hetmos had been turned into a desolate wasteland. A land that had once thrived with life and vitality was now smoldering and turning to dust. Everywhere she looked there was smoke and ash. The palm trees that had lived on the island longer than any of her ancestors had burned from the falling ash and lava. Sirion raised her hands in front of her face and once again started a mourning cry that echoed over the burning village.

  Those who had managed to survive stopped where they stood and looked up to see the daughter of Doud mourning the loss of their village. So many people had perished that it seemed as if they would never recover from the loss. The waters were polluted by the lava and for days no fish had been welcomed into their nets. The coconuts that were used for everything from food to healing oils were gone. It seemed that the mountain had taken everything from them except for the garments on their backs.

  Many people had already taken to boats, leaving the island behind to journey to the Sun Island or some of the smaller islands that were farther away. Several others had remained waiting for Doud to recover and tell them what they should do and how they should live. As it was, Doud had not appeared before the People in many days and all but three of the village elders had perished. Their warriors were gone, perhaps lost to them forever. Many of their families also died; people old and young had fallen into the crevices that opened as the ground shook beneath their feet. Their screams still echoed in the ears of their loved ones.

  Sirion continued to wail until she had the attention of all who had gathered at the foot of the stone steps that led up the mountain. Even though the steps now crumbled at the slightest shift of her weight she knew without a shadow of a doubt, that she must gain control of what was left of her people before they were all lost. Her father had trained her well, she knew the fine arts of leadership and control and she craved power, just as he did. She understood that the weak must be led by the strong and she herself had been created for just such a purpose.

  Her father rested near death inside of her Haik, even now his chest labored for each breath as his heat-seared lungs fought for air. Sirion would not mourn her father’s passing, although she would strive to put on a great show for their band. Her father was an evil old man who only sought power no matter the cost. Sirion desired power as well, it was in her blood and it was time that she took her rightful place as leader of the People. Finally her keening cry came to an end and she stood before her people in regal splendor.

  “The time has come to leave our island home.” Sirion closed her eyes as if the thought of this pained her. “We must follow in the footsteps of our warriors who have left to pave the way for us.”

  The boy Giad had returned to their village during the night, seeking out the Haik of Sirion as he had been directed by her son Marad. He had informed her that Marad would continue on his search for the Ada’na until he had captured her and could return to the village with honor. Marad did not know the true extent of the damage done to the village. Sirion realized that once again her son had disappointed her. The messenger boy stood trembling in front of her, forgotten as she pondered his words.

  Giad was too afraid to even ask after his family and their welfare. Sirion stood over Doud, paying him little regard as he lay gasping for air on his bed furs. She motioned for him to wait outside her Haik not even offering food or water even though she could see by his appearance that he had traveled far without resting. As he waited by her entrance flap he finally looked at his village and tears filled his eyes.

  Never had he imagined such destruction though the village elders were always warning of the fury of the mountain Gods if left without sacrifice from the People. But never had he imagined that any God could be so vengeful. His shoulders shook with uncontrollable sobs as he realized that his sister and father could not have survived such destruction.

  Only Sirion’s Haik still stood, the other villagers lay as they were wrapped in sleeping furs for warmth. Giad realized that they had not even been able to properly mourn the dead. Some still lay where they had fallen, covered with ash or dried lava, turned into rock or stone. Giad heard someone sniffle beside him and he looked in their direction but all he could make out was the shadowed form of a child. It was a little girl he realized as she drew closer, her eyes wide with shock, her face was smudged with soot and at first he didn’t recognize her. But as she stopped and stared at him he realized it was his sister Yaa.

  He called her name, but she looked at him without comprehension, he closed the distance between them and grasped her shoulders, so happy to see someone that he loved. She only stood staring as if he were not her brother. Even as he hugged her he realized that she was not responding to his voice. She seemed to be able to hear him but lost in her own world. He gathered her close and realized that he could feel her bones through her skin. How long had it been since she had eaten?

  He counted the number of days that it took him to leave on his search and return. It had been six days since he had last seen his family. His sisters lips were cracked and broken, her cheeks which before had always been plump were sunken and her usually bright eyes were uncommonly dull. His sister seemed to respond to the warmth his body heat provided and he took his bed roll off his back and unrolled it, wrapping this around her thin shoulders.

  She came to his shoulder in height and he had always teased her even though she had only seen eight summers that she was tall for her age. The blanket dragged on the ground behind her as he pulled her to stand with him in the shadow of Sirion’s Haik. He pulled his last strip of dried beef from his warriors pouch and thrust this into his sisters limp hands, but she only stood there, staring out into the distance. Finally he pushed bits of the food into her mouth little by little until her body took over and she began to chew greedily as she tasted the salty meat.

  He watched as she devoured what little he had to offer her and then licked the salt from her fingers. He did not scold her even though her hands were filthy. It was plain to see that she was starving. Grasping his water skin he gave her the last of his water and watched as she drank with relish. Older brothers did not usually care so much for little sisters, but Yaa had been Giad’s only friend in this village. She followed him everywhere, standing in his shadow at all times.

  Giad remembered her eyes lighting up at the sight of him, her smile brightening when he smiled, her laughter ringing in his ears at his jokes. She was his best friend, though he dared not tell her. Girl that she was she would probably only gloat. So he kept it to himself, even as he allowed her to follow behind him wherever he went, even telling her the secrets that only warriors knew.

  Yaa was too young to put the warrior’s secrets to any use and Giad reminded himself of this now. His father, elder of the Hetmos people was often too busy to spend time with him or listen to his stories. His mother was lived only in his memory and now the woman that lived as his father’s new wife was young and selfish and she did not wish to be bothered with two children not born of her body.

  He remembered his father’s pinched faced wife who was unable to cook or clean. She treated them as slaves instead of the children of her hearth. Giad had sought only to protect Yaa from the woman’s tantrums and rages. Again he addressed his sister waiting
for her to respond and this time she looked directly at him but did not speak.

  “What of father and his wife, do they live?” Giad asked in a whispered voice less Sirion hear him from inside her Haik. Yaa simply looked at him and then shook her head. It was beyond Giad’s ability to understand how a man as powerful as his father could perish.

  “How many of the elders still live?” he asked and watched as his sister held up three fingers. Giad felt his body begin to tremble, never had the island of Hetmos had less than seven elders. Now only three still lived and one of those was Doud who lay weak as an infant on his bed furs.

  Inside the comfort of her dwelling Sirion sat with her legs crossed and anyone looking in on her would have thought that she prayed over her father as he lay clinging to life. The truth however, would have shocked a trusting villager. Sirion took a blanket and laid it over her father’s face until he gasped and wheezed for breath, this she did again and again until he faded into unconsciousness.

  She did not wish to kill him, not yet, for now she wished only to keep him weak and under her control. In her mind everything that she did was for the well being of her people. Even the death of the Old One would be a blessing to her people. For too long they had lived under the rule of an old man, unworthy of the power or honor that they bestowed upon him. Even his fumbling attempts to control the Ada’na were laughable. Sirion knelt beside her father now and forced more tea into his mouth until he gagged and swallowed convulsively. She had added baneberry root to the tea, which over time would cause a slow and painful death. But she would not allow her father to die until she wished and not before.

  Now she needed to decide how to best use her son and his desire to please her. As Marad’s mother and the new ruling matron of what remained of her people she could direct him to return at once. Yet she saw no benefit in issuing that directive. The Ada’na had not simply disappeared from the forgotten land. She had gone somewhere else, perhaps some secret route that only the trader knew. Sirion smiled to herself as she thought of the trader and his rich bounty. As she thought of the trader and his wares, an idea occurred to her. She wondered about his people and where he came from, surely it was a land rich in food and trade. It seemed that by staying on this island as all of their ancestors had before them, the Hetmos people had condemned themselves to a life at the mercy of the mountain.

  Now was the time for change. Her heart raced as she thought of how she would demand that they leave their island home for the first time since time beyond beginning. They were many, though their numbers were less than half of what they used to be. With so many people they could start over in a new land, building upon what they would take from the trader’s own people. In the process they would gather the trader’s people as slaves. He would rue the day that he had spurned her!

  Sirion pushed open the flap of her Haik and looked for the boy Giad. He almost escaped her notice hidden as he was in the shadows. Finally she saw him and motioned for him to come forward. He whispered something to the child that was with him, huddled in a blanket and Sirion felt her temper flare. She would have boxed his ears had he not rushed immediately to her side and bowed his head awaiting her instructions.

  “You will go and tell my son that his people have lost much. But now they will join him on his quest to find the Ada’na.” She made him repeat her words back to her several times before allowing him to go by. She saw that she had bruised his arm by grabbing him so roughly when he mumbled the words instead of speaking clearly.

  The boy did not flinch when she spoke harshly to him and a part of her respected his bravery. Her own son cringed when she spoke to him in the same manner and he was a grown man. She gently patted the boy’s hair and smiled at him, but after being dealt with so harshly Giad could not return the woman’s smile. She was evil and he knew it in his heart.

  In that instant Giad made up his mind, he would not relay the woman’s message to Marad. He was taking his sister and following the path of the Ada’na. She was the true savior of his people and their village was lost without her. Perhaps he could convince her to return and if not, perhaps she would allow them to stay with her.

  Giad had been the only one to explore the cave where they had lost the trail of the Ada’na. He alone had seen the secret exit from the tunnel that the Ada’na must have used to escape Marad. He had not given in to the temptation to tell Marad what he knew. The man had not allowed them even a second to rest or sleep as they hunted all night for some trail of the woman and those with her. Giad only thought to keep the trail of the Ada’na secret for one day allowing them to rest before going after her.

  Now he realized that he may well have saved his own future and Yaa’s by unwittingly allowing the woman to escape without pursuit. Taking Yaa by the hand he led her away from what remained of their island home. She allowed herself to be led with a trust born of knowing that Giad was her brother and would give his life to protect her.

  Sirion rewarded the boy with a small pack of food and a new bladder of water. She knew that his father had perished in the devastation and did not spare one thought for the boy or his sibling. She wished only that he remain strong enough to carry her message back to Marad so that he would expect them in a handful of days.

  She looked at the sunken flesh of her father as he worked to draw breath into his lungs. She used the blanket to smother her father again and again. Each gasp of his breath made her eyes light with pleasure. Her face twisted with exertion and Sirion noticed that even as he lay dying her father fought to live. Sirion smiled into his beseeching eyes as he stirred. His cries for help went unanswered as once again she placed the blanket over his nose and mouth, her voice rising in a death chant as she wished him farewell.

  Giad had no intention of going back to Marad. He did not care of the shame this would bring to his father were he still alive. He did not care of the honor that awaited him if he were to return to Marad with Sirion’s message. All he cared about in the entire world was the little girl who gripped his hand so trustingly. Yaa followed behind her brother with firm steps, he told her that he would take care of her. Yaa listened and she trusted her brother even as the words fell from his lips.

  Giad smoothed Yana’s hair and nestled her into the crook of his arm as he walked. His sister was shivering with cold, even though to Giad the air felt warm and moist. He led Yaa at a quick pace, but his little sister kept up and slowly she withdrew the blanket from around her shoulders as the chills left her. He took the blanket and rolled it so that he could tie it to his back for their journey.

  Finally as energy returned to Yaa and her limbs warmed from the constant motion he and Yaa began to run stretching their legs in a smooth stride that carried them through the darkening night. Giad knew that Yaa could run for long stretches of time, just as he was able to do, from long practice. She was careful always to keep up with him when he trained for his runs.

  Yaa never told the other boys or girls that she could run as her brother Giad could run. She knew that Giad trusted her to follow him only because she kept this a secret. What would the other boys say if they knew a girl could run just as fast and as long as they could? Being a runner for the People was an important role, given to boys and young men, never a girl or a woman. It was a special honor that Giad had been given at an early age.

  Giad had been running for as long as he could remember, always building the strength of his lungs and his legs. Still he felt brotherly pride as Yaa raced at his side, pacing herself as he had taught her, her breath coming in little pants as she found her rhythm. It was too bad that girls could not serve as Runners for the People. Yaa would make a good runner.

  She had only seen eight seasons, but she could outrun boys three seasons older than Giad. It wasn’t just that Yaa could run fast, it was that she could pace herself as Giad did and keep the same pace over long distances without faltering. Giad continued to take breaks, ignoring his sisters disapproving glances.

  She was eager to join the Ada’na, but per
haps she did not realize the limits of her own strength. She had not eaten for days before Giad had found her. It would not help if she gave out somewhere along the way and a Runner had to protect their body from injury first and foremost. Giad found himself telling his sister these things as they rested, this time she acknowledged him when she spoke and even laughed out loud when he teased her. He watched as the smile lingered on her face. It was a good thing that they had found each other and it was a good thing that they were leaving their people, following in the footsteps of the Ada’na.

  Giad stood, brushing the sand and dust from his body and started off at an even pace. He was headed towards the sacred cave that had hidden the Ada’na from Marad. He would bypass the warriors on his way, this information he held back from his sister, she had seen enough horrors to last a lifetime, he did not wish to burden her with more worries.

  If they were discovered Giad would say that he had grown weak with hunger and gotten lost. But he did not think that Marad would take pity on him. Surely it would be a bad thing indeed if they were caught. Yaa increased their speed by treading lightly at Giad’s heels and this time he could not deny her a full fledged run, for when else did the heart sore free like the eagle? Giad felt a burst of energy course through his body and making sure that Yaa kept close on his heels he ran ever onward.

  Chapter Twelve

  Taikiuu woke to a fog shrouded valley. She could barely see those laying to her left and to her right. Somewhere in the night her husband had drawn her close, sheltering her body from the cool night air. Taikiuu had relished the feeling of being held in his strong arms for mere seconds before Mar-ee awoke and seeing her parents cuddled together she had worked herself into Taikiuu’s arms, not closing her eyes until Jon’lan held her as well.