I was attempting it for what seemed the thousandth time. As was usual now, Markai was there as soon as I achieved Navitas. I was trying to focus it on a twig; trying to snap it with my Navitas alone when suddenly it felt like a lightning bolt had struck me. Every single nerve felt on fire. The twig gave a small creaking sound and shattered! At the sound of this, Markai whipped her head around and looked me full in the face. That stare knocked the wind out of me. Her eyes were ice blue like mine; it was like looking at my reflection. Her gaze locked on me, she stood up and walked over to me, her eyes never leaving mine. I was surprised to see that her shoulder came up to my waist. She sat down next to me and looked up. I could see the piercing intelligence in those eyes.
My hand shook as I reached out to touch her. The moment my finger brushed against her, it felt like I was sticking my fingers into a flame. I jerked my hand away and my Navitas shattered. Every hair on my body stood at attention and I shivered.
I became aware of Wilm and Prea staring at me. They both had a curious look on their faces. “What exactly are you doing there?” Prea asked. “Has the strain of training broken your mind? Must I call the masters, because it kind of looked like you were stroking the air?”
He had a mischievous smile on his face and I gave him a withering look. “Maybe if you paid more attention to your own practising session and less to what I’m doing, you would be half as good as me by now.”
He chuckled and they turned back to what they had been doing.
I walked off to avoid any further questions. It was only then that I realised that I had not told anyone about Markai. At first, this had been because I was practising illicitly, but after that, I had been hiding it without realising I was doing it. The masters had never said anything about your Navitas enabling you to see something that was not seen otherwise. None of my brothers had mentioned anything of the like either. The Navitas enhanced all your senses and could let you focus energy, but it did not allow you to see beyond the normal realm. I was convinced that Markai was unique to me. Once I started thinking about it, I had always known that seeing her was not part of the usual experience, but as to what this all meant, I was oblivious.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
When the Cha announced that my Induction was to begin, I was elated. They allowed candidates three days to prepare. I was as ready as I would ever be and we set off the following morning.
We had been tracking for what must have been over an hour. The moment to strike was coming. A trained ear could probably just have identified that there were more than one of us stalking….. maybe a very well trained ear, for we were masters at what we did. Each step was a calculated move. Fluid, silent and precise. This was what I lived for. As always, I could feel the tension in my stomach build. It formed a tight knot of energy waiting to burst. I looked over to my brothers and I could see the concentration on each face.
Then Jamber held up his hand. Everyone stopped, waiting for the confirmation. He pressed his thumb and forefinger together and I crept over to his position. Then I saw it in all its majesty; both of its heads had five fully-grown horns. This beast had seen a full ten cycles of the season. This was much better than I could have hoped for.
The Almighty had blessed us for the wind was in our favour. I slipped an arrow out of my quiver and nocked it. Taking aim the tension in my stomach built to its climax. I focused my Navitas.
Some distant part of me noticed that Markai was stalking the Jurpa. I took a deep breath and held it. The tightness that had built in my stomach flared throughout my body, racing along my nerves.
A faint blue mist rose from my fingertips, swirling out and around my arrow. My whole body was tingling. Exhaling smoothly, I let the arrow fly. My Navitas forced the arrow through the air. An instant after it hit the Jurpa, Markai launched herself onto it, her claws digging into the hide of the great antelope. She hooked her huge canine teeth into the Jurpa’s back. With one final terrible cry, the Jurpa collapsed.
It was not the arrow to its chest that had felled the great beast, no mere arrow could kill a Jurpa. Their hides were as hard as rock. It took a perfectly focused Navitas to bring one down. That was the real test of the day. That was why we were out here and that was why when it fell, I let out a triumphant shout. My brothers joined in my celebration and we ran to where it lay. I furtively looked over the Jurpa’s back and neck for signs of Markai’s attack. There was not a single scratch on it apart from where my arrow had struck.
Jench gave me an exuberant punch on the shoulder. “I knew today was your day. Now we can silence all the purists. You’re one of us. I’ve always known it and now they won’t be able to deny it.”
Among jubilant chattering and congratulations, there was one stark exception. Brant was glaring at me with ill-concealed hatred in his eyes. Nephew of the Kichwa and with his father a senior member on the village council, he had the typical Tretakai build. Broad shouldered and tall, he had deep brown, almost black eyes and dark hair. Of our group, he was the only other person to have completed the Hunt and was the only one who had completed his Seeking. He was one of the ‘purists’ that Jench was referring to.
In fact, the only reason why he was with us on the Hunt was to act as the Witness. Essentially, to make sure that it was I, my Navitas, which brought down the Jurpa.
We prepared the antelope to carry back home to Predaki. Even with six of us carrying the Jurpa on our litter, the journey back would be hard work, but buoyant from my victory we started our trek back.
As we approached the town border, the watcher spotted us and ran off to announce our arrival. Moments later, Brak, Jamber’s dog was bounding towards us. He looked so excited that it seemed his tail was propelling him forward. He was an ugly dog; white flecks sprinkled his brown and grey dappled coat. His ears seemed too small for his head and his dark purple tongue was always lolling out. In short, a face only Jamber could think adorable. Jamber was hardly ever without him and it had taken a stern word from the Cha to convince him that Brak could not go along on the Hunt.
On each side of the gate was a larger than life stone statue of a rearing Jurpa. As children, Moma used to tell us that the intimidating statues were the guardians of the town. She said that in times of great need they would rise and defend the town and its people. Once again, I found myself wondering what ‘great need’ had prompted the Tretakai of old to build such a wall around our small village.
By the time we passed through the gates a large crowd had gathered. I had hoped that a great cheer would go up across the whole crowd, but as always where I was concerned, there was a divided response.
Amongst the jubilant celebration, there were the expected grumbles. The Kichwa was talking with a group of council members. Each and every one was wearing a scowl worthy of a thunder cloud. Although I could not hear what they were saying, the Kichwa’s face was dark with anger.
One face stood out of the crowd for me, though. Her thick wavy hair was hanging loose. It almost reached down to her waist. She was standing with her friends, her eyes glittering like diamonds as she laughed at something with them.
I knew Aliana. I knew how her beautiful lips twitched at the corners when she was amused, but trying to hide it. I knew she loved wildflowers and that her favourite one was the yellow and orange gazania. She often wore one in her hair. I knew that her mother wanted her to follow in her footsteps and become a dressmaker, but Aliana wanted to learn to be a healer. She was always friendly and ready with a smile, yet she had never shown any interest in me.
She looked up and caught me gazing at her. I tried for what I hoped looked like a casual smile before shifting my attention elsewhere. I could feel my cheeks colouring, but I hoped that the distance between us meant that she would not be able to see it. I kept staring straight ahead as we went past her.
CHAPTER 2 – From Hunting to Seeking
It seemed that the whole village had gathered in the communal square for the Jurpa festival that night. These great antelopes were sacred amon
g the Tretakai and as they were only ever hunted as part of an Induction, the last such feast had been held for Brant.
Rows of wooden houses lined one side of the square – I always envied those living so close to where every festivity took place – and on the other side stood the now covered stalls of the market area.
I had the honour of roasting the Jurpa and serving it to the people. Early on in the evening Moma came over to me. “I’m so proud of you,” she said. “You are turning into a respectable young man and I thank the Almighty every day for sending you to me.”
She gave me a fierce hug and as she pulled away, I could see the glisten of tears in her eyes. She turned and rushed away. I had never before seen her cry.
Throughout the night, there was a steady stream of well-wishers that. They offered congratulations for the day’s success as well as encouragement for what lay ahead. I looked up from the roasting Jurpa to see Lilana bounding over to me.
“Well hello, little sister,” I said. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
Lilana launched herself into my arms and I narrowly avoided toppling into the fire. She gazed up at me with pure joy dancing in her dark eyes. “Moma says you did well today. She says that you are going to show those oily old men that you are truly one of us!”
With a conspiratorial wink, I whispered back to her, “That may be the case, but if you don’t keep your voice down, Moma will have to gather some sweet root to put on your backside after you are whipped for such dishonouring talk.”
She giggled and as she ran off shouted back, “They will have to catch me first!”
Of course, at seven cycles old, Lilana certainly would not be whipped for any misbehaviour, but I often worried about the trouble she could get into with her unguarded tongue.
“Kadin,” a voice said behind me.
Still smiling, I turned at the sound of my name. When I saw whom it was my smile became fixed. It was only out of the respect Moma had drilled into me that I managed to keep a grimace from surfacing. “Good evening, Your Greatness,” I said, giving a stiff bow.
As the leader of the town council, the Kichwa was held in high esteem in the community. Tall, even amongst the Tretakai, with thick black hair and beard, he cut an imposing figure. He wore the glorious Sword of the Navitas. It had a magnificent engraved hilt made of Jurpa bone. The sword held great power, however to my knowledge, the Kichwa had never so much as swung this weapon in actual combat; a waste in my eyes. But for his station, the Kichwa would never have been worthy of a sword such as this. In my opinion, he still was not.
To most people, he appeared a man of great character. He took an interest in the town’s people and their affairs. A seemingly honourable man. However, where I was concerned he showed another side to his personality. He treated me with cold disregard that had only grown cooler since they discovered that I was practicing the Navitas.
He glared at me for some time, his mouth turned down in distaste. “They say you performed well today. I suppose you expect me to congratulate you like all the other overindulgent members of our community. You may have them duped with the mask you wear, but not me. I see the sweat dripping from your brow. I see that every move you make is a calculated effort to make it appear as if you blend in with us. You will never succeed at this, because you are like a blood red rose in a field of pure white moonflowers. You will never fit in, because you simply do not belong here. No matter what happens tomorrow, do not fool yourself. It does not matter.”
He had a hawkish expression on his face. He looked at me for a moment longer, then turned on his heel and stormed off. Disapproval was well known to me, but in the past, it had been simmering just below the surface. This open and hostile approach by the Kichwa took me by surprise.
Up until that moment, I had believed that as long as I was successful in completing my Induction, all the community would accept me. I realised, that they had simply believed that I would never be able to do it. They had not expected me to return from the Hunt that day. If my Navitas had proved to be lacking, the Jurpa would not have taken kindly to being hunted. It was well known that if you failed in taking a Jurpa with your first attempt it would turn on the hunter. Once that happened, it would take a miracle to escape.
I had always known that I was not born into my family, but taken in. Moma had always said that our Cha had foretold my coming to her. Seventeen cycles ago, he’d sent her into the woods to find me. She had raised me as her own, yet there had never been a time in my life that I had not known that I was not Tretakai. Apart from my obvious physical differences, there were those who never for a second let me forget my outsider beginning. However, amongst my brothers, Jench, Prea, Wilm and Jamber, I belonged. I had always known I had a place among them and that I was accepted.
The celebration lasted long into the night. I kept looking out for Aliana, but I never even so much as glimpsed her. As the Inductee, I was obliged to stay until the end of the festivities and I was glad to be getting off to bed by the time the last people retired. I was just settling under my blanket when there was a soft knock on my door. I dragged myself out of bed again and was surprised to see Jamber at my door with Brak sitting by his feet. “Jamber, it’s late and I expect I will have a long day tomorrow. Is this important?”
He swallowed and rubbed his hands together. “Did you notice anything strange today? When you were about to take your shot at the Jurpa…. did you feel anything unusual?”
My stomach gave a twist. Could Jamber have seen Markai? Did he suspect that my Navitas worked differently to everyone else’s? I tried to keep my voice level and gave what I hoped looked like a casual shrug. “What do you mean? I think I managed to focus my Navitas better than ever before, but considering the importance of the day, I didn’t find that strange.”
He shuffled his feet, folding and unfolding his arms. “It’s just that I thought I saw….” He trailed off and I realised I was holding my breath. “It looked like there was mist coming from your hands,” he said. “And... I could swear your eyes were glowing. Look, I know it sounds mad, but that’s what I saw.”
Relief flooded through me and I released my pent up breath. That had been the first time I had seen the mist and I had hoped that no one else had noticed it. Still, much better that he observed that, than Markai. I was not sure how to reply so I waited for him to continue. When it was clear that he was not going to, I sighed and said, “I am sure it’s nothing. It must have been your eyes playing a trick on you. You know your imagination sometimes gets the better of you. Maybe it was just the reflection of the sun on my bow.”
He did not look convinced, but he shrugged and said, “Maybe. Well I guess I need to get off to bed as well.”
He turned and started to walk off. “Jamber,” I called after him. “I would appreciate if you didn’t mention this to anyone else. There is enough animosity in the air.”
He gave me a tired smile. “Of course, you don’t even have to ask. You know I wouldn’t add fuel to that fire.”
I grinned. “Thanks. Good night.”
Troubled, I stood in the door and watched them go. I knew I would not be able to sleep so I took out my sketchpad and charcoals and started working on drawing Markai. For as long as I could remember, I had been sketching. It was relaxing. While I drew, it was all I thought of. I could effectively clear my mind of all that troubled me. I had been meaning to sketch her since the first time I had caught a glimpse of her.
When I was done with the first draft, I drew the moment when she had attacked the Jurpa. I wanted to get it perfect and I made several drafts before I was happy with the result.
After all that, I still lay awake a long time, staring up at the ceiling. Although I had tried to mollify Jamber, I had not quite managed to quell my own worry.
I was confident that I alone could see Markai, but clearly the mist was another matter altogether. And what did he say about my eyes? Glowing? That was worrying. If Brant had seen any of this then I was in for serious trouble. Surely, if
he had seen anything, he would have spoken up immediately, wouldn’t he? Maybe he was biding his time to speak to the Kichwa. No, Brant was many things, but patient was not one of them. He would have said something as soon as he had seen it. One thing seemed clear though. My Navitas was still developing. Into what and to what purpose I did not know, but from what the Cha had told me it seemed like it would be significant somehow.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
After many hours of tossing and turning, I finally gave up on the notion of sleep when dawn flooded through my window. I walked down to Lake Uzuri. Whenever I needed some clarity I would sit at the water’s edge and watch the world awaken to another day. It was so peaceful there.
The dawn birds were taking up their calls. The serenity and calm of my surroundings soaked into my being and it allowed me to collect my thoughts.
I did not know what to expect of the day to come. All I knew was that I was to go off on my own in search of… something. The Cha was going to accompany me into the forest for the first night to give me what guidance he could. The final stage of the Induction was a solemn event and it was strictly forbidden to speak of the specifics of what happened to someone during those days. Once the Inductee returned he immediately joined the Cha in his house and they did not emerge until the Cha was satisfied that he had either succeeded or failed.
I heard silent footsteps approaching. I looked around to see Prea walking up to me. He had wide dark eyes in an amiable face. He sat down next to me giving me one of his easy smiles. “So, are you ready?”
I shrugged. “I guess so. I am a little nervous. I don’t know what to expect. I am ready to do this; I just wish I knew what it is that I am supposed to do.”
Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One Page 2