Neophytes of the Stone

by C Lee Tocci

  The rest could go with the other rejects to the lesser clans.

  “THE FLAME VOICE BECKONS THOSE WHO WATCH AND WAIT.”

  The voice of the thunderbird echoed back from the buildings, pounding their eardrums far more than was needed. With a smirk, Nov’m took his hands from his ears and waited. You could depend on Those Who Watch and Wait to scare the dirt off new pledges.

  Nov’m was disappointed. Although the Seven were startled by the arrival of the animal guardians, they didn’t screech in terror when the massive wolves descended on them. In fact, they didn’t seem exceptionally frightened at all.

  As per the ancient customs, the wolves sniffed their inspection of the newest neophytes. The matriarch of the wolves showed a special interest in the smallest one. Not surprising, thought Nov’m, she probably smells as strange as she looks.

  Within the Hall of the Flame, the Seven sat together on the dirt floor. Nov’m snorted with contempt. How could they not know that pledges were supposed to stand during their induction? He reminded himself to bring this up with his father as well. Yet another reason why outsiders should not be allowed to pledge to the Stone!

  Gil-Salla sat, as was her custom, along the western wall of the great earthen hall. The hearth in front of her flickered brightly, yet no smoke rose from the flames.

  “We welcome the seven new neophytes. The Stone has found you worthy of the call. Yet you, with the other neophytes around you and those yet to come, still need to prove yourself worthy of this call.”

  Gil-Salla’s voice rang soft and clear in the chamber. These were the same words she used to welcome each wave of pledges that managed to reach Kiva. Nov’m listened with half an ear, watching the new pledges with revulsion. They had no discipline. The smaller ones leaned against the older children with a most unattractive familiarity. And that small weird one, she wasn’t even pretending to listen. She was practically asleep. Nov’m averted his eyes.

  “Here at Kiva you will receive the training necessary to tap the power of the Stone. And, when the Stone Voice rises, then will come your opportunity to prove your loyalty and pledge your fealty. Then, and only then, will you be able to tap the full potential of your stone.”

  Same as before, thought Nov’m with a sigh. Gil-Salla’s mention of the Stone Voice was as vague as ever, as if she did not know when, or from where, their new leader would eventually rise. With a frown, Nov’m reconsidered. Perhaps the Infant Stone Voice was not among the Seven. He studied the faces of Gil-Salla and Keotak-se again, but there was little to read there.

  “There are those among you,” Gil-Salla continued, “that have arrived with some knowledge of the lore and history behind the power of the stones and with the expectation of becoming Stone Warriors. And yet many of you came with a blind faith, not knowing where you were headed, knowing only that you were called. You followed that call and we honor you for your obedience to the Stone.”

  Nov’m tensed. This was new. And a little unwelcome. How could following the call of the Stone in ignorance be better than having studied the teachings of the Stone since infancy? Yet another issue Nov’m must raise with his father. Really! The old woman was practically senile. There needed to be some big changes here at Kiva, changes he knew his father, with the others Elders of the Council, would be sure to address.

  “Yet know this, young stone pilgrims,” Gil-Salla’s voice was barely more than a whisper, yet it sliced through the murmurs. “Stone warriors cannot rule the full powers of their stones until they learn what it truly means to be servants of the Stone.”

  A long silence followed this announcement. Nov’m put on his most pensive expression to hide his sneer. He had no idea what the old woman was talking about and he doubted that anyone else did either.

  Yet the little ratty girl appeared to be moved. Shaking off her sluggishness, she tugged imperiously at the sleeve of the tall dark boy, Todd.

  “Now can we eat?” Lilibit’s whisper echoed through the chamber.

  A wave of snickers washed through the hall. While Todd’s face stayed stony, a wave of red on his cheeks betrayed his embarrassment.

  Gil-Salla did not reveal by so much as a twitch of her cheek that she had heard, yet with a signal so subtle that not even Nov’m detected it, she ended the audience. On some unspoken cue, the People of the Valley stood and, after nodding a faint bow to Gil-Salla, began a stately exit from the hall.

  A woman slowed to hand Lilibit a loaf of corn bread, which she accepted with a broad grin and an exuberant “Thank you!”

  Nov’m stood. His clan obediently rose to their feet behind him and waited for his direction. After the Others Who Watched and Waited left and the People of the Valley had filed past, Nov’m led his clan out to the Crescent courtyard. The rest of the neophytes followed.

  There, the ancient Hihomay stood waiting with thinly veiled impatience. By the time the Seven wandered out to the courtyard, he was irritably tapping his walking stick against the cobblestones.

  The old man stared unblinkingly at The Seven. And they stared back: at the long grey braid that hung down his back; at the hairline so receded that he looked bald from the front; at his tunic that was so decorated with silver and stone beads, you could barely see the brown leather behind it. They said that it was not his age that caused Hihomay’s back to hunch over, but the weight of all that ornamentation that bent him. His eyes held a hard glitter as he inspected the Seven.

  “I am Hihomay, and it falls to me to oversee your living arrangements,” he said with a flat dryness. “You will now be adopted into your tribes. The Clan of the Tiger may call first.”

  Hihomay offered a small cold smile to Nov’m, who nodded back with paper respect before strutting forward. The pledges watched him warily. All but the little rat. Still munching on her cornbread, she looked at him with detached curiosity; Nov’m wanted to slap her.

  Nov’m took his time inspecting the Seven, eyeing them carefully as if debating his choice. Of course, he had already made up his mind, but he reveled in his authority; it was a game he learned at his father’s knee.

  With a careless flick of his finger, Nov’m rapped the shoulder of the girl, Nita. “I claim this one for the Clan of the Tiger.” He turned quickly back to his clan, assuming the girl would follow.

  “We claim her for the Clan of the Timber Wolf.” Gwil spoke quickly, indicating the black girl, Marla. Not surprising, thought Nov’m with a secret smirk. Both tall and darkskinned, Gwil and Marla were of the same people.

  “No. We’re staying together.”

  Nov’m spun as the little rat, Lilibit, spoke. He glared poison at her, but she just stared back, unmoved, her dirty face littered with cornbread crumbs.

  “Lilibit is right,” Todd spoke quietly. “We stay together.”

  Nov’m then turned to face him. He had to smash this defiance now. Their unity was a threat to his dominance over the neophytes. Any insubordination would undermine the web of control and intimidation that he had so carefully woven.

  Chapter Four

  Raven Rising

  It was at that moment that Todd knew he had created an implacable enemy.

  Nov’m turned onTodd, flaring. “That is not how it is done here at Kiva. You pledge your loyalty to your clan and your obedience to your chieftain. You have been called to the clan of the Tiger. You have no choice but to obey.”

  For the love of crows, thought Todd. It had only been a couple of hours since they’d first stepped foot into the Valley, and here he was already in the middle of a nasty quarrel. Todd looked to see if any adults were around to step in, but there was only old Hihomay, standing off to the side, ignoring them, his attention on a hovering dragonfly.

  Devon edged out from behind Todd. “Gil-Salla said that we are to pledge our loyalty to the Stone, not to a clan or a chieftain.” Only eight years old, Devon was a slight, quiet boy, with light brown hair and solemn grey eyes.

  Nov’m spat like a viper. “If I were to take you into the clan of the Tiger,”
he hissed, “it would only be so that I can take my time while I snap you in two!”

  Bewildered by so much malice, Devon blinked in confusion before sidling back behind Todd.

  Todd stiffened, anger drowning doubt, but before he could speak, Jeff stepped in, his bright red head splitting the tension between the two older boys.

  “Are you the pleasant one? ‘Cause if you’re as charming as they get in the Tiger Clan, I’ll take a pass.”

  Nov’m’s face burned red. “This one and this one!” he snapped, indicating Todd and little Nita. “The rest can go to the dung heap where they belong!”

  “We stay together.” Todd deepened his voice, trying to sound assertive. This could have been impressive, but it was at this particular moment that his voice decided to change and the last syllable squeaked up several octaves, destroying the effect.

  “TogeTHER?” Nov’m mocked. “TogeTHER? What will you be? The Clan of the Field Mouse?”

  The rest of the Tigers joined in, creating a scornful chorus.

  “Or maybe the Clan of the Prairie Chicken!” a tall brawny girl brayed loudly.

  Todd he clamped his jaw shut, his teeth grinding painfully. He felt betrayed by his own voice and he didn’t want to try to speak again.

  “We’ll be the Clan of the Raven!” Lilibit declared.

  With a snap of his head, Nov’m turned and raised his hand to strike at Lilibit, but Todd was quicker and grabbed his wrist. For a long moment, Todd and Nov’m stood nose to nose and Todd could read the threat in the older boy’s eyes.

  The voice of Hihomay pierced the conflict, calling the combatants into an unwilling ceasefire. They broke apart.

  “Do you declare your own clan?” Hihomay’s question was casual, oblivious to the quarrel.

  Todd glanced over at Marla, begging her silently to answer for him. If his voice cracked again, they’d laugh him into the ground. Marla nodded.

  “Yes,” she said, “we followed the raven to get to Kiva. We shall be the Clan of the Raven.”

  Nov’m spun to confront Hihomay. “There can’t be four clans! Where shall they stay? All three hogan towers are taken!”

  The meanderings of the dragonfly seemed of far more interest to Hihomay than Nov’m’s tantrum. With a stab of his head, he gestured to a modest two-story building on the eastern edge of the crescent. Ramshackle and apparently abandoned, it was easy to overlook.

  “The old stable?” sneered the tall brawny girl as she stepped up to stand besides Nov’m. “Well, that’s appropriate! They can stay in there with the rest of the dung heaps!”

  Nov’m said no more but it was obvious to Todd that he was furious at the events of that morning. He would be a dogged enemy of Todd’s and the Clan of the Raven’s from that moment on.

  Chapter Five

  Raven’s Nest

  Todd was surprised that Keotak-se had not seen Nov’m’s hostility before he gave him the chance to beat Todd into baby food. As he sat on the edge of the Quaybo court, resting his aching head in his hands and sulking, he felt Keotak-se’s shadow on his shoulders. Looking up into his face, Todd wondered if he would now apologize for setting him up for such a beating, or at least explain why he did it.

  No such luck.

  “One of your clansmen is absent.”

  Todd sighed. He didn’t even bother to look around. He knew who it was.

  Rage propelled Todd down the slope and across the fields toward the Crescent Courtyard. He was tired of the constant mocking of his clan. With only seven pledges, the Clan of the Raven had the fewest members, and Devon, Nita and Lilibit were by far the smallest of the neophytes.

  In the other clans, there were a few younger pledges who, like Jeff, Marla and Donny, were eleven or twelve years old, but most of the neophytes were between thirteen and sixteen. Devon and Nita were only eight and Lilibit, even though she was eleven, looked like she was seven or eight years old.

  And the Tigers never ignored an opportunity to remind them that they were the odd clan.

  The Clan of the Tiger had the biggest and strongest of the neophytes native to the land. Their rival clan, the Timber Wolves, had the largest of all the other races. Before the arrival of the Ravens, the Rabbits, which took all the neophytes that the two stronger clans didn’t want, were ridiculed as being the rejects, but Todd saw that, despite being physically weaker, the cleverest of the neophytes tended to end up there. In the series of contests and games set up between the clans, the intelligence of the Rabbits often made up for their lack of brawn and they tended to hold their own.

  No such claim could be made for the Clan of the Raven.

  While it was said that Jeff was as clever as a Rabbit, or that Donny was as strong as a Timber Wolf, overall the Clan of the Raven enjoyed few victories and usually suffered very embarrassing losses.

  With his recent defeat in Quaybo still burning, Todd tore across the Crescent Courtyard to the door of the Raven’s hogan. He pulled back the colorful tapestry that hung in the opening and blazed into the large common chamber that filled the first floor of the building.

  In the three weeks since they’d first commandeered the hogan, many changes had come to the old stable, few of which could be seen from the outside and none of which Todd was in any mood to admire today.

  That first day had been spent exploring their new quarters and shoveling out the piles of clutter and litter that had accumulated over the decades of vacancy. But when the clean up was finally done, their hogan echoed hollowly. The few possessions they had, which they’d carried in their knapsacks on their journey to Kiva, couldn’t begin to fill the emptiness.

  The center portion of the common chamber had a two story vaulted ceiling with a chimney hole in the roof above a simple stone hearth dug into the middle of the floor. Above the chamber, along the exterior walls, lofts had been built which were reached by climbing up ropes or ladders into openings cut into the ceiling. Each of the children had claimed one of these rooms as their own private den, but since they were as empty as the rest of the hogan, they spent most of their time down below in the common chamber.

  They’d sat around the hearth that evening, talking about all the things they would like for their hogan… big soft cushy chairs around the fire… colorful hangings on the wall… lots of shelves for stones (Lilibit’s suggestion)… tables and chairs. And then they’d dozed off.

  When they awoke, they discovered that, apparently, the hogan had heard them.

  Overnight, strange plants had grown; creating tables and chairs. The legs of the furniture were branches with leaves, yet the tops were woven into surfaces as smooth as still water. Huge colorful mushrooms blossomed around the hearth, soft and cushy and perfect for sitting. Upstairs, similar mushrooms appeared in each of their dens creating soft, sweetly scented beds. On the walls of Lilibit’s den grew a network of vines that had nooks and hollows for keeping her ever-expanding collection of stones. And throughout the hogan, the walls bloomed with flowering vines that filled the rooms with soft color and a gentle aroma. At night, the blossoms glowed brightly, casting gentle pastel lights.

  “Check this out!” The glee in Devon’s voice was muffled by the foliage that hung like draperies from the ceiling. Pushing through the blossoms, they found Devon and Nita, splashing in the corner. Where last night sat a dry, dusty stone trough, now stood a deep bubbling basin, steam rising off the surface as it gurgled over the lip to disappear into a crack in the floor. Todd dipped his hand into the water and brushed aside the sage creepers that floated on the surface. The water was warm and soft and had a clean herby scent to it.

  A scream like a banshee made him turn in time to see Lilibit swinging from her den in a curving arc, hanging from one of the vines, her legs kicking wildly. He ducked as she sailed over his head and released her grip to fly across the hogan. She landed with a flop onto one of the mushroom poofs in the middle of the room. Pushing her hair from her eyes, she leapt to her feet and ran to grab her vine, ready to go at it again.

&nbs
p; “Cool!” Jeff grabbed a nearby vine and within moments, the air was thick with swinging bodies, mid-air collisions and plummeting Ravens.

  Marla’s voice was hushed with awe. “This is not the strangest thing to happen to us in the last month or so.”

  “Yup,” Jeff agreed as he rolled to the ground near her feet, “but it’s definitely on the list.”

  At this moment, however, Todd did not pause, as he usually did, to enjoy the glory of their new home.

  “Lilibit!” he bellowed. The rest of the Ravens, piling through the archway, arrived just in time to hear his voice crack again, which did nothing to soothe his temper.

  A rustling from above and Lilibit’s head appeared in the opening to her den.

  “What’s up?” she asked, puzzled.

  “What are you doing up there?” Todd asked.

  Lilibit dropped to the chamber floor, forgoing the wood ladder and the dangling rope, to land nimbly on her feet, a dog-eared book tucked under her arm.

  “Reading,” she answered simply, showing him a tattered copy of A Field Guide to Herbs and Flowers that young Garen from the Rabbit Clan had lent her the day before.

  Todd glared down at her. She cocked her head to the side and smiled up at him, oblivious to his frustration.

  She was eleven years old but she looked a lot younger, maybe seven or eight. She was tiny, barely four feet tall. Her face, though it looked less thin than when he’d first seen her, was still dwarfed by the slant of her large, dark Polynesian eyes. Her hair, short, black and choppy, had grown out some in the three weeks since they’d arrived at Kiva, but only her fellow clan members knew of the transformation that had happened to her since she’d first arrived at their foster home in Valley City, six weeks ago and many miles away.

  She’d arrived there a cripple, horribly disfigured. Social Services had dumped her, expecting her to waste away in a few weeks. But she hadn’t. Something strange had happened on that mountaintop, that first morning after her arrival. Everyone had felt the earthquake, but only Todd had seen the way the Earth had convulsed, almost turning itself inside out to give to her a stone. A stone of great power. A stone that would slowly heal her. A stone that would lead them all from their old, dead-end, lonely lives to a new life here in Kiva.