Ember of a New World

by Watson, Tom

  Chapter 14: The South

  By 5500 B.C.E., Europe was experiencing an influx of peoples from the east and south. Most of the greatest cultures, labeled cultures by their pottery most often and not necessarily by the modern usage of the word “culture”, were centered on rivers or lakes. As Ember moves south, she will encounter more and more tribes who stand apart from the water. These tribes rely on farming and trade more than the quasi-Neolithic-Mesolithic methods of the river dwellers. Ember's people were actually slightly Mesolithic in their methods. As an example, they did not typically keep animals.

  It is a common mistake to assume that changes from Mesolithic to Neolithic suddenly happened, or that changes were homogeneous within a geographical area. Like all new things, time is required for adaptation and assimilation. Not only did new advancements likely progress slowly and asymmetrically, but some likely spread, and then died out, and then again spread, before finally becoming accepted.

  The southern tribes were the most advanced within Europe and often many times larger than Ember's. Their structures were complex with unified religions, a dichotomy of class, and the first stirrings of politics. Hopefully, Ember will fit in with these more advanced and alien people.

  After a single day following the river in an easterly direction, the group caught site of their first indications of people close by. Borjk had come forward with a report of animal traps to the north, which meant they were entering the lands of a tribe and were probably not far from a village. Signs of a village along the banks of a small river were the final indication that the group was on the correct path. Women could be seen smoking fish by the river while children played a sort of game with little wooden spears and some sort of target. Ember smiled to see that life continued as normal everywhere she went. Ember was starting to wonder just how large the world really was.

  After so many long ten-days of walking and riding in her boat, Ember continued to come across people much like herself. They looked a little different, dressed somewhat differently, and even had distinct languages, but the basic trials of life seemed to permeate all people she encountered. Across the river's bank sat a small girl picking the last few flowers of the season. She had long brown hair and a large smile, which she flashed at Ember, who smiled back. Ember realized that little girl could easily have been her, here, in this distant land.

  Traveling really opens the mind of the traveler, she thought.

  The group continued east, following the small river the next day. Towards the afternoon, the forward scouts excitedly returned to report they had found the village. Just beyond the next bend in the river. They reported a large village, perhaps three hundred people or more, and by all looks, a trade village. A few villages in the south obtained a considerable portion of their wares from trade. Every warm season, daring people would brave the passes through the mountains and bring wares to and from the True South. In reality, such towns still provided many of their food and wares internally, but they were cultural and material showrooms for others in the area. The ability to serve as a cultural clearing house for ideas and wares was a new one, and only specially placed villages were afforded the convenience of a ready food supply, the placement between differing cultures, and the pure luck of their own design to serve in this capacity.

  The group walked around a small knoll and the village proper came into view. Ember was taken aback by the sheer size of the construction. The village was set within a depression in the side of a set of small hills. To the south west, beautiful and vast mountains were visible in the background. Around the outside of the village was a palisade of pointed wooden poles. The pointed poles surrounded the entire village affording a small degree of security. Each of the poles had been painted on their tips with a chalky white paint made from clay. Interestingly, entire sections of the massive palisade were different in size, age, and construction. Ember considered how many seasons construction of such a wall might take. This was truly a large village.

  Inside the palisade, the houses were round and wooden, with roofs of mud and branches, coated in the same white clay which coated the palisade walls. Each stood twice the height of a man and four times as wide, or more. In all, they were probably no larger inside than a longhouse, but they were strange and exotic to Ember. Many houses sported colorful designs on their roofs and sides, but most of the roof designs looked to be washed away. Red and white checkerboard patterns wrapped around walls, with a significant number of variations in the size of coloring of the squares. The whole place was quite strange, indeed.

  The center of the village had a long path made of dirt and caked mud with large drying racks and other wooden constructs, of what purpose Ember couldn't deduce, here and there. At the far edge of the village, there were wooden fenced pens with what looked like goats! The people were apparently breeding and keeping goats to eat. Ember knew of some tribes who kept animals for food, but this was still a very rare practice in the north. In the center of the mass of houses, Ember saw what looked like a larger hut, but she couldn't get a good look. The enormity of the village held Ember in a state of awe.

  When they approached the walls, hunters from the village came forward with wooden frame stretched-leather shields and spears, spears not meant for animals. These men were not hunters she realized, but warriors. A warrior was a man who trained to kill men, not animals. Ember had been called a warrior, but she still wasn't sure how serious the claim had been. The warriors wore leather leggings with thin leather shirts, much like Ember's, and extra-long breechcloths. Their feet were garbed in rough ankle-high wrapped shoes, and their faces were painted with a light ocher. The men wore their hair tied in a bun with one or more small and thin hair sticks holding the bun together.

  The warriors approached the group, which slowed to a stop while Nor'Gar came forward with his right arm raised in a gesture of friendship. Nor'Gar spoke to the warriors in what sounded like the trade language, though she couldn't make out the words as they were spoken quietly. After a few nervous moments, made more so by the appearance of several more warriors with bows and a few hunters, the warriors nodded and came forward to inspect the troop. They walked forward and looked at each person slowly and with care. One of the warriors walked past Ember, taking in her red hair and bright green eyes, to which he issue a smile and winked his eye. Ember was not completely sure of what that meant, but she had a feeling it was some form of compliment. After a short time, the warriors walked back towards Nor'Gar. An elder had come from the village and started speaking with Nor'Gar while the warriors satisfied themselves of the groups “true” intentions. The warriors now gave their nods to the elder who smiled and threw his arms wide open in greeting.

  “Welcome, Welcome!” he spoke in the trade language and ushered the people into the village. The elder wore a set of leather “robes”, open in the front. His waist was covered with a leather-wrap, and his feet were kept warm by a set of well-made leather boots. The elder had little remaining hair, an affliction of men, but his facial hair was extremely long, by the conventions of Ember's people, falling more than two hands lengths down his chest. The facial hair and bald head gave the man a sort of wild look, which intrigued Ember. He was a stark contrast to the people of Tornhemal or even her own tribe, who often, male or female, had hair down their backs.

  The group followed the path through the village towards the center. On each side, houses were placed a short distance apart with many women and old men sitting outside working on various crafts and chores. They looked different than Ember had expected. Their skin tone was a little lighter than Ember’s or those of Tornhemal, though they were tanned from the sun. The predominate hair and eye colorings were darker than hers, tending towards browns and even blacks, while a few had green or blue eyes. Most people had brown curly or wavy hair, which the men tended to bind into a bun with crisscrossed sticks to hold the hair in place. Women tended to bind their hair into dual buns, one of each side of their heads, with a significant portion of the hair remaining loose
and flowing down their backs. Ember was impressed to see many of the men and women with colorful beads in their hair and quite complex facial and body paints. Dark red, likely from berries, and ocher were the two most common face and body paints.

  The people wore leather clothing much like Ember's people in the cold season, but they also wore exquisitely woven reed or plant fiber jackets and flax clothing. Flax grew in the north, but it was imported most of the time by traders, such as these people. The fiber was very hard to obtain, requiring the freshly dug plants to be placed in large wooden tubs and allowed to rot. Afterward women would use large rounded rocks and wooden bats at various intervals to remove the unwanted outer part of the plant releasing the fibers. The fibers could be carefully turned into a thin cord. The process was fully by hand and would take many seasons from plant to string. Many of the older women were sitting around creating such string as Ember watched.

  If only string could be made more quickly..., she pondered. Of course, Ember knew that the best things in life took many long days or more to make.

  Ember watched one woman walk by, quite close. She had hazel colored eyes and long honey colored wavy hair in twin side buns with a long portion of hair flowing to just below her waist. Her hair was decorated with white beads and little blue feathers. Her skin was coated in a brown coloring with thatched lines for decoration. She was wearing a long leather skirt and a flax vest open in the front for her baby, which she held in her arms, to feed. The baby was wrapped within a soft leather blanket to keep it warm. The woman wore a cloak over her back of woven plant fiber of with a quality Ember had never seen. The fibers had been braided and carefully woven into a corded panel rather than just the basket-like methods her people used. Her feet were wrapped in soft leather boots. On her back was a bundle of sticks she was obviously bringing home. She smiled as she passed and gave the group a nod.

  Wow! This is amazing! Ember thought. She was becoming quite happy with exploring the world. Ember expected celebrations that night, as were performed by her tribe when traders came. It was a good enough excuse. Besides, everyone was too busy looking over the wares and the people to worry with work. Nor'Gar and the troop were ushered by the elder and two of the warriors to a set of four large huts which looked as though they were used often by guests. Beside the huts was a large court yard with a large hut near it. The large hut looked to be the most significant and was painted with various imagery of animals and anthropomorphic figures. Ember wondered what went on in that unique building. Before she could get a closer look, the group was motioned to enter the huts.

  Once in the huts, the Elder explained that the group could remain in the town during the cold season. Nor'Gar handed the Elder a small leather sack, no doubt containing something of value, and gave the Elder a hearty slap on the back. The Elder looked a little rattled by the slap but nodded and left the group. Ember and Kis’tra laughed at the confused look on the Elder’s face at having been slapped. Ember supposed that life in a large village made such men unused to the ways of men like High Hunter Nor’Gar.

  After the Elder left, the group quickly began to spread out. Ember took in the hut, which was actually much larger than she had realized, once inside. In the center, each hut had dried dirt floors and overly used hearths. Towards the top of the huts, holes were propped open by poles to allow air in and smoke out.

  As the travelers began to split up between the huts, obviously setup for traders, a man who looked much different from the people of this village stepped out of one of the huts. He smiled and gave a nod to Nor'Gar. He was shorter than the other people with darker, tanned skin which had seen lots of sun. His hair was dark and straight, unlike the scraggly and curly hair of Ember or Kis’tra's people. He had a more prominent nose and thicker eyebrows than Ember, as well. Kis’tra explained to Ember, after the man and Nor'Gar stepped aside to talk, that this man was from the True South, probably a merchant from over the mountains. Ember and Kis’tra's vocabularies in the amalgamated Trade-Tornhemal language were now quite large and, at least between themselves, they could speak quite well now and without as much word coupling.

  “Do-people, look different, where ever you-go?” Ember said.

  “I-do not know,” Kis’tra said, “But-it seems so.”

  The troop split into four groups of five to six people to share the houses. Within the house that Ember, Kis’tra, Zhek, Ena, and Borjk entered, was the odd dark haired man from the true south as well as another such man and woman. All three had dark hair, tanned skin, and the same rich features. Their clothing was similar to the people of this tribe, other than the colorful designs on their clothing of dye made with reds, purples, and blues.

  Ember was taken aback by the beautiful colors of their clothing and longed to journey to the true south. What wonders would await her if she did? But also, what dangers? The mountain passes were dangerous, and the trip could prove deadly as many had learned. The group set mats into place and laid out furs to make beds. They would all be living here for an entire season, perhaps nine ten-days!

  That night, there was no trading or celebration, which took Ember by surprise. The customs of the village dictated that travelers would be given a few nights to acclimate before any such events. This was absolutely the opposite custom of her people and really difficult for Ember to understand, but these people were also accustomed to much greater numbers of travelers than her tribe. Perhaps the number of frequency of travelers made this practice of some importance. Either way, Ember figured that she would spend those first few days exploring this large and beautiful village. Ember took the time, otherwise mostly sitting around in the huts, singing her songs, or making final tweaks to trade wares, to explore the village and meet some of its people.

  The next few days were cool, but Ember and Kis’tra walked around each day observing the people and scoping out potential trades for later. The village people were inviting and even offered Ember and Kis’tra occasional treats, such as cooked meat on a stick or a reed wrapped salted tuber. The village was also very busy, with people working all day and children running this way and that way. Each of the houses contained at least one full extended family, by Ember's reckoning, perhaps twenty individuals. Most of the houses were single floored, but Ember noted that a few had smaller caverns dug beneath them or smaller hut-like structures built on top of the their roofs, specially supported with heavy logs.

  After a while, Ember and Kis’tra came upon a burned hut with a wooden fence around it. On the ground beside it were long extinguished torches. Torches were used for light or to scare off animals. They were only carefully used within a village as they could burn down huts. When a hut burned, there was a risk of secondary fires forming from the primary fire.

  Who would use a torch to burn down a hut, in a village, Ember thought? This seemed quite odd indeed. Ember approached a warrior, one of about ten who seemed to be very good at merely walking around looking tough, and inquired about the house.

  “Hello. Why, this, house-burned?” she asked. Ember hoped he understood her trade language. The warrior gave Ember an inquisitive look before answering.

  “It, the-sickness. People, in-hut, sick. We-burn,” plainly stated. After giving Ember an odd look, he walked off to protect a less talkative area. Ember was not satisfied by the odd and featureless answer. Further inquiries would be required. By the end of the day, the two friends had spoken to many and had learned that two harvests ago a group had come to the village from the extreme far north west. The group had been three men and two women. They had been traders of exotic dyes and beads. Not long after coming to the village they had become ill with something called the “sweating sickness”, and had been confined to this building. Several who came into contact with them had also died. Apparently the High Priest of the village had used his magic to bless some of the women of the tribe and had sent them in to care for the people, and they too had died. The five were kept in the building until only one of the women lived. Whatever evil spirits had killed th
e people, they seemed to have spared one girl. She seemed to not become ill and after a short time was removed and placed in another building. The building the people died in had been burned. No one knew what the sickness was, but that being close to someone with it could be deadly. Perhaps the spirits became angry at those who aided their victims.

  The only survivor from the trade group had been accepted, barely, into the tribe and now worked in the fields as a widow. She was quite young and had only been joined with her now dead husband for a season or two. The whole story was quite sad to Ember and Kis’tra. The young woman was obviously not well thought of, and it was even rumored that she had somehow cheated their death God and brought bad luck. No one would say more, but Ember got the feeling that something else had happened. Ember decided that she would eventually have to meet this woman. She was from the far North West, the place where Ember was “fated” to go. Perhaps she could provide some insight on what Ember could expect to find.

  On the fourth day in the village, the elder came and informed the group that the time for celebrations was come. The day was chilly but warmer than any other had been and the Elders felt that a celebration could occur before a day of trading. That evening, Ember and her friends prepared for the celebration. They painted their skin with the black soot and the streaks of the Tornhemal people. Each adorned their hair with feathers and some beads. The three traders from the true south wore colorful skirts and shirts featuring horizontal stripes of color. Their necks sported colorful and heavily beaded necklaces. Each painted their face with a deep red paint. Ember and the girl from the true south, Napana, each pointed at the other and laughed. They were more amused by the differences in the way people decorated themselves than any humor at how each looked. After the laughing had ended and everyone was fully garbed and ready for a good time, the group left the guest huts to join the festivities.