by Watson, Tom
The deer provided enough meat for everyone to have their fill. East had made boiled lentils and salt with roasted tubers, a sauce of chopped turnips, deer liver, salt, coriander imported from the south, and mashed peas. For dessert, roasted early nuts, a nut which was harvested in the warm season. East only had a small pot of coriander for which she had traded ten blue dyed clay beads. The use of exotic spices from the south and east was reserved for only the most important events. To East, this was worth the trade. The family dined, talked, and laughed long into the night.
As the family settled in for the night, East was left again stroking Ember's hair as her daughter drifted to sleep beside her. East was worried, deeply worried. Perhaps her daughter would return, even if it took many seasons. If any woman could brave the world were only men tread, it would be her Ember. She was so much like her father. East wept again that night.
A short life is the fate of those who burn bright, she thought with sadness.
The next morning Ember awoke to find her mother asleep beside her. She sat up, and with a startled look for she had awoken before anyone else!
Well, at least I did it once before I ran off to be eaten by Kanter's “giant bear people” or whatever lives out there, she thought sardonically. She spent the next few moments carefully stretching out all of her muscles. Ember adored a good stretch after a long night of sleep. Carefully, Ember flexed each arm and leg until she felt relaxed.
Ember stood and wobbled, still very sleepy, over to the family's food stores. Ember loved to eat more than most and today she had leftovers to “help” clean up. She plopped some dried meat, and turnip pieces from the previous night on cooking sticks, loading each stick with alternating meat, turnip, meat…, and started a fire. The rest of the family awoke that strange morning to the unprecedented sight of Ember cooking them breakfast. Truly, the Gods must be crazy or at least in a humorous mood. East awoke and rubbed her swollen eyes.
Brightly..., she burns so brightly, East thought with both sadness and admiration.
After breakfast East, Na Na, and the rest of the family went to the river's edge for a quick bath and hair washing. Ember missed this communal cleaning most days. She opted for solo swims when the water was warm enough, for she normally overslept. Much of the time the world was too cold and only rarely warm enough for the sort of swimming Ember had enjoyed of late. Regardless, cleaning was still very important and even in the cold season, cleaning was still a group exercise. If the river was too cold for washing outside, it was performed in the longhouse by applying mud, warmed in clay pots by the fire. The tiny bits of mud were applied, then rubbed off, leaving the skin clean and exfoliated.
The family cleaned by themselves at the river bank. Ember stood by the water, whipping her head back and forth, causing her waist length hair to sling back and forth freeing the water. This was a way to help aid in drying, but there were side effects... As Ember became dizzy, East put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from falling.
“Watch yourself before you fall over. You shouldn't whip your head that hard. Try letting the hair sling more than your head,” East said with a laugh to hide her sorrow. East was living in the moment now, escaping her fear and sadness by occupying her mind with what she was doing. This only helped a little.
Ember didn't notice the sad look in her mother's eyes and the emotions of the others, but gave her mother a hug regardless. That last day was full of family bonding and additional goodbyes. Ember met with many of her extended family and friends once more. She was becoming nervous and wanted to start the journey as soon as possible. The longer that she waited the more time she had to think of what was to come.
That final night, Ember slept as East gently stroked her hair, much as she had done when Ember was very young. East was now coming to a full acceptance of what was to come, but was still frightened deeply. That night she knelt alone and prayed for the first time since Winterborn had died, whispering under her breath.
“Oh Gods of the night, listen to my plea. Protect my little Ember and see her safely return. Take what you want for this request but not from her.” East doubted the Gods listened and often doubted they even existed. East hoped she was wrong.
The morning brought anticipation from everyone. Ember felt like a puppet while she was prepared for her trip by her family. As the time approached, East and Na Na carefully applied little circles made from black paint across Ember's face, the tribe’s symbol for strength. Her skin was still stained blue from the festival, but the blue was very light and faded, appearing as more of a light stain than rich coloring. It was the way of Ember's people to stain and paint their skin and Ember had wished for a deeper coloring, but she had used much of her blue paint during the festival. She decided that her current coloring would have to do.
Ember wore her doe skin shirt, her best green flax skirt which fell to just above her knees, and a pair of leather boots. On her side, she wore her father's obsidian dagger in a leather sheath fastened by a leather cord tied around her waist just above her skirt loop. Attached to the other side of her belt was a small leather bag with her best pieces of un-worked flint; quality pieces, pure of color and with the perfect shapes for pressure flaking. In that same bag, she placed Blossom's Goddess pendant wrapped in a thin leather scrap. She planned to create a nice braided necklace for the pendant on the long boring ride down the river.
With a final look around the longhouse, Ember left her home for the water. Her mother and family followed carrying some additional supplies. As Ember emerged from the longhouse and began walking to the river, other people started to follow behind her. When Ember passed the central hearth, women lifted their children and followed behind forming a long procession. Many people touched Ember on the shoulder as a sign of reassurance and faith in her choice to honor the will of the Gods. Ember was doing this as much for herself as for them. Following the Gods could assure a safe mild cold season, and the people of the village knew it.
Ember approached the river bank with most of the tribe at her back. Before her, several men had prepared a small boat which would take Ember on her journey. The little wooden boat was about one and a half times the length of a man, made from the hollowed out trunk of a tree. The sides had been carved to a width of one half of a finger's length, and the front had been angled into a bow. The boat was very strong, made of one solid block of wood, but heavy and hard to control. Many who used such a boat would fight hard against the currents of the river, incorrectly using brute strength. Ember had used such a boat before and knew that only a soft hand could coax the boat into the currents and keep it straight and right. The trick was to find the best path down the river and allow the boat to be swept into the path, not fight the water.
Inside of the boat were many leather thongs lashing items in place. The men of the village had packed the boat with gourd-shaped blackened clay jars full of water as well as bags of dried meat, tubers, and some assorted supplies. The entire boat had even been blessed by the tribal Elders that very morning.
Darkwood, one of the best hunters of the tribe, was finishing the boat loading by adding some reed mats. He turned with the other men by the water to regard the daring young woman who now approached.
“Best of luck Ember. Me and ‘stubs’ have gone west many times before, a ten-day once. It's not so bad. Just stay close to the water,” Darkwood said as reassuringly as he could.
“I... I will be fine, Dark. If the Gods wish this, why would they allow harm to come to me?” Ember said, more to convince herself than Darkwood. Several of the men nodded their heads in agreement. It seemed to Ember that the tribe was still in as much shock as she was and many were very unsure of the wisdom of this journey. Darkwood looked deeply into Embers eyes and could see her fear.
Good, be afraid, and let that fear guide your hands to less daring deeds, he thought. Darkwood had seen what happened to those who were too brave.
They don't call my friend “stubs” for nothing, he thought considering his friend who ha
d lost his hand many seasons before in a tragic accident while gathering wood.
Several of the Elders, including her grandmother and many of the tribe, were starting to wonder if Morning Dew was still of sound mind. If she questioned the Elders, Ember could probably get out of this trip now. But, if she did, the confusion and a split amongst the Elders could cause a rift within the entire tribe.
Besides, I really want to see what exists at the edge of the world, she thought with both irony and a little truth. Ember turned to her teary-eyed mother and held her tightly in an embrace to which her family joined.
"I love you mother," she said to a speechless East.
“I will return, by the Gods will, maybe next warm season!” Ember announced to the crowd, showing much more bravery than she felt.
Quickly now Ember, before you lose your nerve or start crying, she thought as she smiled and turned towards the boat. She stood for a moment merely staring at the boat when suddenly she heard the faint sound of East chanting a song.
East began to chant a song of strength, and others followed. The Great River People were singers and dancers at heart. One by one they joined with East chanting and singing. With the entire tribe now singing and chanting behind her, Ember mustered her will and climbed into the small dugout wooden boat. She settled her traveling supplies and a fishing spear and took a deep breath.
Before her, the Great River flowed. Once, the river had meant home and family, but now it carried her away, flowing with fear and adventure. Ember had lost herself in thought for a moment, but the sound of a change in the chanting drew her back. With a final whisper to the Gods for aid, she looked over her shoulder to her mother. East's eyes were wet with tears of sadness and admiration. East gave her daughter a short nod, a final send-off.
Ember was almost glad to start. The anticipation of such a quest could do more to unnerve a person than the actual quest. Several of the village men came forward to help push the little boat into the water with a resounding splash. Ember breathed deeply and set to work pulling free the steering pole, long and with a flattened end, which she would use to steer the little boat through the river.
Floating down the river was a sort of controlled chaos. The more you tried to fight the river, the more the river fought you back. The most you could hope for was to use a small pole to steer the boat away from the bank and rocks and towards an open path in the flow of the river. The Great River flowed the same way the sun moved across the sky, though it turned north and even south at points. Its flow was not fast, but the sheer amount of water pushed everything in its way.
Ember removed the last leather thong and the pole came free. She secured it to the back of the tiny dugout boat where a groove had been cut for the pole. The current would be the driving force behind the journey. Behind her, the sounds of the chanting and singing became faint.
Ember couldn't bring herself to look back for fear she would start crying or lose her nerve. Instead, she concentrated on the river. The boat was small and splashed from side to side as it rolled through the choppy waters of the Great River. For a while, Ember looked at the shore for landmarks. She could see the familiar places near the tribe slipping away like the last glints of sunlight at the end of a day. Soon, the little boat had gone so far that she no longer recognized the land. Ember spent the remainder of the first day watching the slow change of scenery along the river bank. The thick trees and deep ground cover were slowly replaced with more reeds and smaller trees. Ember lived in a heavily wooded part of the land with thick trees and dark forests. Traders said patches of open area and even high valley walls were not uncommon along the river.
Ember had never seen anything beyond her tribe. Traders and the few hunters who had journeyed to and from the Far East, like Darkwood, said the forests were greater and deeper as they had journeyed farther inland, while fewer people were found outside the banks of rivers. Those who had come from the south described forests giving way to lighter wood, such as the banks she now moved past, as well as more stones coming from the ground. Of all the directions a person could explore, the west and the south had always interested Ember the most. The south had large villages and exotic peoples. The north and west were quite unknown as most trade was with the south and the east. Now, she too would know the strange lands where the sun traveled to each evening.
After a while, Ember opened her leather bag and removed some dried meat and a boiled tuber. She chewed on the food while sipping from one of her four clay pots of water. She would need to fill them each night when she pulled ashore and heat them by a fire to make the water safe to drink. It was said that fire cleaned the wayward spirits from the water. Failing to remove these wayward spirits could allow them into one’s body, causing illness.
Many of the gourd-shaped water pots in the tribe had blackened sides from this heating process. One had to be careful not to place chilly water during the cold season in a cold pot too close to the hot fire or it would surely crack and leak water all over the offending hearth. Such incidents were one of many reasons why each longhouse had two hearths.
As the first day rolled along, Ember spent the time singing to herself. As the songs became repetitive, Ember relaxed, entering a state of half-awake day dreams. She had always been one to lose track of what was happening to her, easily slipping into the world of her quirky mind. Ember's day dreams and considerations of her people slowly rocked her into a stupor. She once nearly lost the pole dozing off!
The water sure is dull. Fish must sleep all of the time, she mused to herself.
As the evening settled in, Ember directed the tiny craft towards a small sheltered bank. Good camp sites were always important. A protected bank could often be found at a bend in the river. Powerful rock spirits imbued many large boulders with the strength to hold back the river, creating these small pseudo ponds aside the shore.
The Great River will one day claim these boulders, but not without a fight! she thought with a bit of mirth.
Ember sat up high in the boat and held her arms wide to the river and yelled a challenge to the river.
“Bring forth a mighty storm to destroy these proud boulders, Great River!” With a laugh, she dug the pole deep into the water to maneuver, feeling the bite of the current. With a little luck and careful motions of the pole, Ember steered the boat up onto the bank; a bank created by one of the large rocks. The boat actually slid half way up the bank with the force of the impact. Ember removed her leather boots, to keep them dry, and stepped from the boat into the ankle-deep water. Her skin had been warmed by the sun all day, and the cold flow of the river water and the smooth pebbles beneath her feet felt delightful.
Ember stood for a moment in the river, ankle-deep, stretching her arms. The water felt cool and refreshing as always. It was these moments which brought Ember the most joy. After a moment of stretching, Ember set to the task of securing the little boat; quite a difficult task. She pulled as hard as she could, losing her footing several times before slowly bringing the boat ashore. A boat must be pulled from the water and secured to protect it from the weather. After securing the boat to a sapling, Ember bent low in the boat and removed the three reed mats Darkwood had placed with her gear. She used one to cover the opening of the boat, keeping out rain and animals. There were simply too many items in the boat to flip it upside down, the proper way, and she wasn't sure she could right it if she did.
Ember turned to see two rabbits standing on the bank not far from her. They both sat in a perched manner watching her intently.
“Well, here I am rabbits!” Ember announced suddenly, to which the rabbits answered by scampering off.
“Fine, leave me by myself...” she said. The rabbits didn't reply.
The darkness was now rolling in as the air grew a little cooler than it had been during the day, yet not unpleasant. Tonight would be mildly warm, but Ember still wanted a fire for protection and food. She walked a short distance inland finding a small clearing of grass.
This will make a
good camp, she thought. The other two mats were placed on the ground as a sort of bed. With a camp site picked out, Ember began looking around for kindling and wood for a fire. Luckily the Great River always provided, for rivers often have piles of tangled wood and fallen limbs from storms, conveniently left by the shore to dry. Ember found one such a woody tangle and removed many choice pieces for her fire. As she returned, she noticed the boulder forming the inlet where she had come ashore.
“I thought I told the river to wash you away. I guess we're not having a storm tonight then.” Ember laughed, returning to the camp site. Carefully, Ember placed the large pieces of wood in a crisscross stack. She stuffed the kindling and leaves into the holes, leaving enough room for air. Fire spirits were known to love air and wind as much as they loved wood and leaves. A fire without proper holes for air would quickly fail if it even started at all.
Before a fire could be started, some food would need to be secured. The strips of salted meat and boiled tubers were not very tasty and really more of a lunch-on-the-water sort of food. The only problem was that Ember was not much of a hunter. She doubted she could catch any animal on the land, but the water offered a large selection of tasty fish. The Elders wouldn't have let her go if they had thought she couldn't find food. All woman of her tribe could fish, gather, and trap with decent skill.
Ember removed her green woven flax fiber skirt and doe skin shirt, placing them safely by her camp. Her skin was the best attire for the water. She still wore her breechcloth in the very unlikely event travelers came by. Mostly, she just couldn't help getting into the water. The unseasonably warm weather had given her more swimming time than she had ever had in her life. She was going to use any excuse to be in the water.
Though she had brought a good fishing spear, Ember had the spear lashed to her boat. Creating a quick spear from a stick took but moments. Ember picked up a long stick, as tall as she was, and quickly sharpened the end of the stick with her obsidian blade. The bark and wood simply slipped off the stick as though they were not even attached, so sharp was the blade.