Joe was drooling and leaking from the nose, and the drums beat on.
Joe screamed and his jawbone cracked, and the drums beat on.
Joe grasped at Edgar’s arms and swung wildly at him, and the drums beat on.
Joe looked into the fiery whiteness of Edgar’s eyes and pleaded for release.
“Forgive me! Holy creator, forgive me!”
Edgar held Joe’s head in his hands and lifted his feet off of the porch. He brought the man’s face close to his and whispered to him through clenched teeth.
“I absolve you. I shall deliver you. I am your messenger.”
Edgar squeezed one last time and then dropped Joe’s lifeless body to the porch. He picked up the lantern that had been sitting next to the rocking chair and threw it through a window. It exploded in the house and Edgar walked off of the porch, toward the gate.
The scent of lavender filled Edgar’s nose again, and as he walked across the field he let the grass brush his palms. Behind him the fire rose into the sky as Shein farm burned to the ground, erasing a life Edgar would never know again, erasing everything Edgar had once been.
Erasing Edgar.
Blue ghosts danced around Edgar as he raised his eyes to the sky.
I am the Messenger.
WIND
Chapter 15: A Rite of Passage
The days had begun to feel very long for Evercloud and Riverpaw. Their quest to find the Ancients hadn’t been filled with as much excitement as they had hoped. As the oppressive sun beat down upon Evercloud, he thought back to those first few days when they had embarked upon this quest. Evercloud and his cousin had been at the height of excitement. Running through the forests of the Kingdom, nothing could stop them. Whiteclaw had given them a direction for travel and that was all they needed. There was many a time when Whiteclaw would tell the two cousins to reserve their energy.
“The journey we are on shall be a long one,” he had said.
Evercloud and Riverpaw paid him no mind though. There were fish in every stream and wonder behind every tree. Every breaking twig they heard in the forest was the footsteps of the Great Tyrant’s minions and every breeze through the treetops spoke of an impending doom only they could save the world from. Evercloud and Riverpaw had entertained themselves verily. Whiteclaw had found them to be amusing on a few occasions, but for completely different reasons that he never shared.
When the travelers had finally left the confines of the forest, they were met by the grandiose expanse of the Ephanlarean plains. This had been energizing for all three members of the Kingdom, each one feeling, for the first time, that they truly were on the precipice of a great adventure. The grass reached all the way to the horizon and the sky looked bigger and brighter than Evercloud had ever remembered seeing it. For a long moment, they stared wildly into the great beyond, each imagining great adventures in their heads.
However, conditions and spirits were now soured and the reality of the task at hand had become clear. Without the shade of the forest trees, the sun came at them in a relentless assault, mocking their progress from its perch in the sky. The terrain had little to no variation and provided little fuel for the imagination. Riverpaw had had enough of the sun.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” he nagged.
“I told you to reserve your energy, didn’t I?” snapped Whiteclaw. His demeanor had become rather salty.
The long march was getting to everyone. Food was hard to come by in the plains, as there were less sources of water in which to fish. Grumbling stomachs were becoming a normalcy. The food situation had, in fact, gotten so bad that Whiteclaw had informed the cousins that they were going to have to start hunting the buffalo that roamed the plains.
“I’ve never eaten buffalo before,” said Evercloud in a doubtful tone.
Whiteclaw snickered. “You’ve never starved to death before either. Which would you like to try first?”
The severity of the situation was driven home to both Evercloud and Riverpaw with that statement. Yet it only further damaged their morale.
It did not take them long to come upon a herd of buffalo, as it seemed they roamed the plains in large numbers. Whiteclaw motioned for the other two to come closer to him and then he whispered to them, “Watch what I do, so that you can do this later.”
Whiteclaw got down on his stomach and began to crawl slowly, out to where the herd was grazing. It seemed to the cousins that he was moving at a snail’s pace. Riverpaw and Evercloud waited for some time as Whiteclaw exacted his plan.
“This is taking forever,” Riverpaw whispered to Evercloud as they watched from a distance.
Suddenly, Whiteclaw shot into the air and began to sprint toward the herd of buffalo, his massive legs thundering across the ground. Evercloud and Riverpaw watched in anticipation as they laid their bodies flat against the grasslands. Whiteclaw was gaining quickly on the pack as they ran from his ambush. The two cousins could not believe the speed with which Whiteclaw could run. They had both greatly underestimated his ability. They had always believed that he told them to slow down and save energy because he had gotten too old and could not keep up. That was obviously not the case, and in less than fifteen seconds of pursuit, Whiteclaw had pounced on a buffalo and the hunt was over.
• • •
The plains seemed to never end. A whole week had not gone by and again, they were without easy food. Whiteclaw informed them that another hunt was necessary. Soon, they reached a herd of buffalo and Whiteclaw turned to Evercloud and Riverpaw.
“Your turn.”
Riverpaw and Evercloud looked at each other, hoping that the other would volunteer.
“I can’t run fast enough to catch buffalo,” said Evercloud, shrugging his shoulders.
Riverpaw huffed. “I guess it’ll have to be me then.”
Riverpaw lowered himself to the ground and began to crawl toward the herd of buffalo. This time, it was Whiteclaw who watched with Evercloud from a distance. Riverpaw made his way closer and closer, taking care not to move too quickly. Whiteclaw commented that he was showing good patience for his first attempt. Once Riverpaw had gone far enough that he didn’t dare to creep any closer without spooking the buffalo, he jumped to his feet and began his pursuit. Riverpaw ran as fast as he could but he was no match for the buffalo. He returned to Whiteclaw and Evercloud, dejected and out of breath.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “I’m not fast enough.”
Whiteclaw patted his son on the shoulder. “These animals have been running for their lives since birth. You have not. It will be a while for your legs to gain the strength they will need to hunt buffalo, but it is important that you tried. Maybe if you and Evercloud put your heads together, you’ll be able to figure out how you might aide each other. We’ll move on for now.”
The travelers continued west and it was not long before another herd of buffalo appeared upon the horizon. They stopped at a good distance and watched as the buffalo grazed.
“Have either of you come up with anything?” asked Whiteclaw. “Think of what you can do, not of what you cannot.”
“I can chase the buffalo,” said Riverpaw.
“I suppose I can crawl toward them, maybe even further than the two of you, because I am smaller. Maybe I could get close and hope that they come near me.” Evercloud looked at the bears but neither of them seemed keen on the idea.
After a moment of thinking, Riverpaw spoke up. “They probably wouldn’t just stumble upon you, Evercloud. But…Maybe I could chase them toward you and then you could ambush them.
“Good,” said Whiteclaw. “I knew that the two of you could come up with a plan. Now get to it, I’m starving.”
Riverpaw and Evercloud huddled together to get their plan straight and then they headed off, crawling in opposite directions. They crawled out, away from each other, and continued moving until the buffalo were in between them. Evercloud had crawled out with his golden claw strapped to his arm and from there, he would stay as low as he could
to the ground and wait as Riverpaw chased the herd in his direction. When the buffalo were close enough, Evercloud would leap up and slash at the throat of a buffalo. Evercloud had achieved his position and now all he could do was wait. As he lay in the grass, the entire world was silent. No birds, no insects, no wind, not a sound except for his own breathing. As time passed, the silence made him paranoid and he became impatient. Where are you, Riverpaw? Evercloud thought. Then he heard Riverpaw’s roar come across the plains, followed by the rumble of the herd. Evercloud dug his toes into the dirt and lifted his body up, just enough so that he could see the herd. They were coming straight for him. Evercloud dug his toes even further into the dirt and readied himself for the attack. He moved his hands out in front and kept his elbows bent so that he would be able to get a good push off of the ground. He looked like a wildcat ready to pounce. His claw, strapped tightly to his right arm, glinted in the sun. The buffalo were almost upon him now and they had no idea that he was there. The plan was working perfectly. The fear of Riverpaw chasing them had dulled the buffalo’s ability to sense Evercloud. Evercloud’s heart beat faster and faster and the rumbling of the herd increased in volume and shook the ground, harder with each passing beat of his heart. NOW, thought Evercloud. NOW. GO. Evercloud didn’t move. He was frozen. His heart was beating so fast and the sun was so hot. He stared at his claw in the light.
“NOW!” Riverpaw roared from behind the herd. “Evercloud! NOW!”
The heat was intense and Evercloud’s limbs wouldn’t move. He had no control over them at all. The herd saw him now and began to scatter away. Evercloud’s vision began to tunnel as the herd moved further and further away from him. He had failed. He had frozen.
“What happened?” Riverpaw asked as he approached Evercloud, still crouching on the ground.
“I-I froze. I’m sorry.”
Whiteclaw was running toward them with worry etched upon his face.
“Is he hurt?” he asked as he approached. “Was he trampled?”
Evercloud raised himself up on his knees to show that he was all right and then he lowered his head in shame. “I’m sorry, Uncle. I froze. I couldn’t move my limbs.”
Whiteclaw narrowed his eyes and visibly clenched his jaw. “Get up,” he uttered.
“Uncle, I–”
“Get up!” Whiteclaw roared and Evercloud quickly stood on his feet. “I will coddle you no longer, boy!” Whiteclaw took a few steps toward Evercloud and glared at him. “Look at me when I speak to you!” Evercloud raised his eyes to the ferocious bear, and Riverpaw slightly backed away. Neither Riverpaw nor Evercloud had ever seen Whiteclaw this angry. It scared them both. “Do you think this is a game, boy? That this is all for fun? Your grand adventure? You wanted this and now you have it. This is real. I will not allow you to act like a child any longer. The Great Tyrant has most likely returned and we have been charged with finding the Ancients. We carry the fate of the entire Kingdom in our hands and you can’t muster the courage to kill a buffalo? I will not tolerate this. You will face much tougher tasks before this quest is through and some may very well mean life or death. Will you freeze in the face of death? I will not place my life and the life of my son in the hands of a spoiled boy with dreams of heroism. Do you understand?!” Evercloud was shaking now, but it was not out of fear that he was losing control of himself, it was out of anger. “We cannot afford for you to be a boy any longer. If it’s the last thing I do, I will teach you to be a–”
“A what?!” Evercloud yelled. “A bear? I’m not a bear!” Evercloud turned and stalked away from the two bears, seething with anger.
Whiteclaw called after him, “A man, Evercloud. It is time that you become a man.”
Evercloud walked for a while, but his anger did not abate. It stayed with him, mostly because he had been embarrassed and also because he knew that he was wrong. He kicked at the ground and cursed at the sky. Why did I freeze? Why? What is wrong with me? Evercloud chastised himself for his inaction. How can I learn to become something I know nothing of? How can I become a man when I have never known one? Evercloud sat down and pulled grass out of the ground, throwing it into the wind. And how does he even know what a man is like?
Then, something became clear to Evercloud. Whiteclaw didn’t know what a man was like. He wasn’t really asking him to be a man. What he was really asking him to do was to be accountable for himself and to hold up his end of the bargain. Evercloud felt horrible. He wished that he could go back in time. How can I go back to them now? But where would I go? I have to make this right.
It was time to act. Evercloud knew his uncle had been right when he had said that there would be far more difficult trials than buffalo hunting. He had to prove that he would be ready for them. He had to kill a buffalo and show him that he could do it on his own. He turned around and headed back in the direction of Whiteclaw and Riverpaw, knowing what he had to do.
• • •
“Should we go after him, Father?”
“No, Riverpaw. Evercloud has to return on his own. There is no other way.”
Riverpaw nodded and sat upon the ground. Evening was coming and the sun began its descent over the plains. The world was silent and it was this silence that gave Riverpaw his greatest feeling of discomfort. The Kingdom had always been full of bears and sounds. Even the forests around Gray Mountain were filled with the sounds of birds and other animals, the wind through the trees and streams running over rocks and stones. The silence made him feel as if he had left the world. Not just that he had left the world he knew, but that he had gone somewhere that didn’t exist at all. He was floating in nothing. Lost in nowhere.
The sun became red as it reached for the shelter of the horizon. Riverpaw watched it and as he did, he saw the silhouette of Evercloud coming back to them in the distance.
“He’s coming back.”
“I see him,” said Whiteclaw. “Let him do the talking. I’m sure that there are a lot of things weighing on his mind.”
By the time Evercloud had reached the bears, the sun had almost reached its respite. He sat down across from Whiteclaw with the big, red sun directly behind him, rendering him opaque against the blazing sky.
“I was wrong, Uncle, and I am ashamed of how I acted today. It won’t happen again.” Whiteclaw remained silent. “I don’t ask for your forgiveness, Uncle. I realize that I have not earned it. I have earned nothing, so I will no longer ask for things that I do not deserve. I will not be a weight around your neck. What I do is for the Kingdom, and I shall keep that in my mind and heart.” Evercloud stopped speaking and sat in silence, waiting for a response. None came. The sun descended below the horizon and left the group of travelers in darkness. “I will kill a buffalo tomorrow and I will do it alone,” said Evercloud, no longer waiting for a response.
“We shall see, Evercloud. We shall see.”
• • •
Morning came with grumbling stomachs and Evercloud rubbing dirt all over his body.
“It’s so they can’t smell me,” said Evercloud to the bears.
“I believe the herd moved off in this direction,” pointed Whiteclaw. “Let’s go.” Whiteclaw led them onward, and before midday they came across the herd.
“How is it that you plan on doing this?” asked Riverpaw.
“Slowly,” responded Evercloud.
Evercloud began crawling out on his stomach toward the herd. After Evercloud was about a hundred yards out, Riverpaw turned to his father.
“He can’t be serious about this, can he?”
“Give him his chance.”
Two hours passed and the herd had not been disturbed by anything. It had been sometime since they had lost sight of Evercloud. Riverpaw’s stomach had been gnawing at him and he was beginning to grow impatient.
“Father, I think you should finish this job. I don’t know what state we will be in if Evercloud fails.”
“No, Riverpaw. We have to have faith in each other if we are going to survive out here. Evercloud need
s to do this.”
Just then, they heard a buffalo cry out. They looked out over the plains at the herd and saw a buffalo fall to the ground as the rest of the herd scattered.
“He did it,” said Riverpaw, astounded. “I can’t believe it.”
“Are you going to stand there, gawking, or are you going to come get some food?” Whiteclaw smiled at his son and roared into the air as the two bears ran toward the kill.
Chapter 16: The Plan
“You don’t fear humans, Riverpaw, because you have never had the misfortune of being hunted by them.”
The group moved on westward. The day was cooler than many of the previous had been, allowing for easier travel and less irritable dispositions. It had been almost three weeks since they had departed on that promising morning. Evercloud felt like it could have been a lifetime.
“I still don’t see why we should fear humans,” Riverpaw shot back at his father. “We are bears. Humans fear us. So, if we make it known that we are friendly, they wouldn’t want to anger us by being aggressive.”
“There are things you are not taking into account, Riverpaw. For example, we don’t speak to humans, do we?”
It was true. It was an unwritten law throughout the world that creatures that were not human did not speak to creatures that were human. All bears, as well as other creatures, had been told the stories from the time that they were young of the misfortunes that befell any animal that talked to a human. Riverpaw knew these stories and even Evercloud had heard them. It seemed that most humans had an insatiable curiosity to know everything, why and how. Unfortunately, when they were unable to figure something out, they would label it as evil and become aggressive against it. This was the overwhelming theme of most of the stories. Of course, the bears had hoped they might be able to change these circumstances with Evercloud as ambassador, but that plan had been tabled out of necessity.
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