Talon had been shaping a stick into an animal shape and his hand almost slipped on the knife that he held as he tried to process Kahm’s words.
We hunt the whale. It couldn’t be!
“You hunt the beasts of the watery deep?” Talon forced his voice to remain steady. It had always been a dream to hunt such a creature, but his village believed that whales were sacred beings. Could it be that they were only animals, like any other?
“Yes. We hunt the whale, it offers good meat and the bones are strong and fine for making tools of all kinds.” Kahm remembered his exploits at Talon’s age.
He and his brother had hunted together almost as one person instead of two. Where there was Kahm, there was also Miche; it was simply the way of twins. Kahm closed his mind to thoughts of his brother as Talon walked around the low burning fire to squat beside him.
“Tell me. Please.” Talon’s eyes were wide open with wonder.
He didn’t know until now if staying with Kahm had been a good decision. Kahm had appeared to be almost ashen with sickness after making his request that they stay. His eyes had taken on a dazed look that lasted for only a moment, but Talon saw. He hesitated because they had found safety in the cave with Kahm and outside of the fortified stone, there was great danger.
“The Chimar people are great whale hunters. Our fathers were hunters of the whale long before we were born and so on since time unremembered.” Kahm felt the beginnings of the familiar story that he and Miche loved so well. The same story had been told to them by their father when they were young.
Sunflower narrowed her eyes in frustration as Kahm and Talon shared some secret thing. She wanted to know what it was that they said to each other and she could see that Talon had learned something of great importance. Hope flared inside of her belly as she realized that after they were done speaking, she could simply ask Talon to share the secrets that he learned. Each day they rapidly created new hand signs to explain the world around them.
As she waited, she used the tall blades of grass that Kahm had gathered for her and skillfully wove a small basket. Her fingers knew the form of the basket before she had even decided upon it. This was one of her gifts. Water wouldn’t escape the confines of her basket when it was complete. Sunflower believed that each of her baskets had their own life force.
While other young girls played together, Sunflower practiced her weaving. Her mother had placed her fingers around long blades of grass before she learned to speak.
Sunflower could still remember the sound of her mother’s voice instructing her in the rhythmic movements of old. Weaving a basket was the same as creating life and when Sunflower finished her basket, it would be whole and alive.
Kahm motioned for Talon to settle himself by the fire. Both of them looked instinctively at Sunflower and they saw that her attention was held fast by the basket that she wove.
“Long ago, when the world was dark and new and the great waters were born, there was a man that lived upon the land. If he belonged to a village, it is unknown, if he had a family, they had perished long ago.” Kahm paused as Talon settled in to listen and although he spoke the words of the story, he listened and remembered with his entire being.
“There were fish swimming nearby, but they wouldn’t come into the man’s fishing net. He tried time and time again, until his belly curved into his backbone. There were a few days when he was able to catch just enough food to avoid starvation and other days when he caught nothing at all.”
“One day, he set himself adrift upon the great water with nothing but his fishing net and his long spear. When night came the man heard sounds on the water that he had never heard before. A huge beast, the size of which he could barely comprehend, swam up to his boat and showered him with water.”
“The beast ushered the man’s boat back to land and the man lived on a small island with a few more fish than before. He was still underfed and often hungry but it was not as bad as it had been.”
“One day as he searched the sand for food, he found a woman that had been abandoned by her village for following the old ways and left to die. When death didn’t claim her, she became his wife and gave birth to a son that the man was proud to hold up high. Each day, he went out to hunt and returned with less than the day before.”
“Because of his failure, their child would starve. The man and the woman went without eating. When they had grown weak, the man and his wife decided to give themselves to the Great Water. It was from the Great Water that they were born and to its unknown depths they would return.”
“The man was grieved deep in his heart, but he could see no other way. He set them adrift, but out of habit, he carried his fishing net along with his hunting spear and a long vine that he used to haul in the catch each day. They waited for death, but death didn’t come. Their child cried with hunger and deep into the night a huge beast came to their small boat and swam beside them.”
“You saved my life once before.” The man spoke to the water beast. “I ask that you offer yourself so that my family might live. If you will do this one thing, I promise that I will never harm your young and I will only hunt what I can eat each day.”
“The water beast blew up great spouts of water and the man tied a length of rope to one spear and then hurled himself over the side of the boat, thrusting his other spear into the whale. His wife cried out in fright as he landed with a great splash upon the water beast. For a moment, there was nothing but the frothing waves and great plumes of red foam. The woman held her crying son to her breasts as she watched for some sign of her husband.”
“The great beast dived and dived again and still her husband was nowhere to be seen. After a time, the great sea beast grew tired and breathed his last breath. The woman wailed her grief to the heavens and the waters rose and pushed them back to the shore. The boat and the great sea beast landed upon a beach just as the sun began to give light to the day.”
“When the woman made her way inland she saw that she was on the other side of her island home. The water had given her back to her people, though they didn’t want her. She knew that they blamed her for many of their problems, including the hunger that plagued their village. When she returned, wailing her husband’s death song, they followed her to the beach and discovered the great beast. As her son gave a loud cry, the people discovered the whale.”
“The woman raised her son up high and pronounced him the first whale hunter of his kind. She knew in her heart that although the whale had given his life, he had taken the life of her husband.”
“Her son lived to become the first whale hunter and his mother lived on for many seasons. In keeping with her husband’s promise, the villagers never hunted the young whale and they only hunted what they needed to survive day by day.”
Kahm clasped his hands together, signaling the close of the story and Talon sat back on his heels with dreams in his eyes.
“Is it true?” Several times, Talon had noticed the great whales on their fishing trips, but hunting the whale was forbidden by Umati and Sarnom.
“It is the same story passed on to me by my father and his father before him and so on.” Kahm lifted his shoulders briefly and then he rested against the cave wall. He noticed the light in Talon’s eyes as they spoke of past whale hunts. In his experience, only a few men were brave enough to face the beast found in the Great Water and return triumphant.
“The hunters of the Hokum Village cannot hunt the whale.” Talon’s voice was emphatic and certain. “It is simply not allowed.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Sunflower thought it was a good thing that they were allowed to remain with the battle-scarred warrior. She couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to live far away from other people. Her mother had often said that the bond between those of shared blood made strong families, bands and villages.
When the man’s eyes grew dark and angry, Sunflower was not afraid. Instead, she tried to determine how to help him. The whites of his eyes gleamed in the fireligh
t, but the circle inside grew small like the pointed tip of her bone awl.
When he tilted his head sharply, she knew that he heard things that Talon didn’t hear. Wolf’s ears twitched slightly as they did at night when a sound outside of the cave drew his attention.
When the man flinched, she watched Talon move forward to stand protectively beside her. Sunflower remembered the stories that her mother had shared with her each night. She spoke of men of war from times long past called the ancients. They were given a special gift by the Great One of All Things.
A few men, blessed amongst all, had the inherent ability to slow time and amplify sound during battle. While things moved at a normal pace for everyone else, the warrior’s gift allowed him to move rapidly and react with lightning fast reflexes during battle.
Her mother spoke of how the warrior’s eyes changed until they were mere points within a circle. Sunflower wanted to share her thoughts with Talon, but her brother didn’t know the stories given to her by their mother. Ivy told Sunflower that her words were the history of their people, passed down from time beyond memory.
Sunflower memorized each of the stories given to her by her mother, but she also realized that knowledge was without value if it couldn’t be used to help others. The warrior seemed confused by his gift and he didn’t seem to know the importance of the natural ability that he possessed.
When his eyes filled with anguish and he looked at his own hands as if they belonged to a stranger, Sunflower felt his pain in her heart as if it were her own. It was then that she named him. Warrior.
Sunflower woke Talon and Kahm by shaking them urgently. Kahm was instantly alert, but he immediately sensed that all was well. Wolf sat quietly as he watched them out of tawny colored eyes. His ears were relaxed and his fur was not raised. There was no danger, yet Sunflower looked at them with determined expectation.
“What ails Sunflower?” Kahm looked to Talon for an explanation even as he wondered whether or not he should fear the wide eyed girl standing in front of him.
“I do not know what she is trying to tell us.” Talon was surprised by his inability to understand his sister.
She pointed at Kahm and signed her name for him. Talon recognized the sign because Sunflower used it relentlessly until Kahm understood that it was his name. When they both stared at her blankly, Sunflower growled in frustration. The sound was a very good imitation of Wolf’s growl and the wolf walked over to Sunflower and sniffed her thoroughly. She continued to stare at Kahm and Talon with wide, dark eyes that spoke of her growing frustration.
“You must find out what is wrong.” Kahm said.
Talon noticed that Kahm’s voice was full of barely suppressed alarm. It was the same way that he felt on the rare occasion that Sunflower shed tears. It was as if the sunlight had been removed from the world. He took a deep breath as he clasped Sunflower’s shoulders and bent to look into her eyes.
She inhaled sharply and as he watched, her tears dried up and she pursed her lips in silent consideration. She made a gesture indicating that Talon should stand still.
Talon froze and then his sister did something very strange. She ran quickly around him in a circle that set Wolf chasing after her and then she pointed frantically at Kahm.
“I do not understand.” Kahm couldn’t hide his growing apprehension.
“I cannot explain her behavior.” Talon’s voice was defensive as he shook his head in frustration. He couldn’t understand his sister’s behavior and he was concerned by Kahm’s growing unease.
Sunflower turned and looked at Kahm expectantly, but he shook his head in confusion and growing dismay. “What is she trying to tell us?”
Sunflower narrowed her eyes and pointed emphatically at Kahm and he flinched in spite of his attempt to remain unmoved.
Despite their efforts to understand Sunflower, she grew increasingly frustrated. Sunflower growled. Wolf replied. The day went very much the same thereafter. Throughout the day, Sunflower looked at Kahm expectantly. By the evening, Kahm was ready to plead for mercy.
Talon was on edge as well. He studied Sunflower quizzically as she carefully sewed two animal skins together. She used a bit more force than necessary to push her bone awl through the skin.
“As she learns more words she will be able to express herself fully.” Kahm had given Talon something to consider, but it did solve their immediate problem.
“Sunflower!” Kahm pounded the ground and made the sign for Sunflower’s name.
The girl glanced up at the strong vibration as Kahm struggled to make the hand sign for his name. Talon signed his name and Sunflower dipped her head in agreement.
She brushed off her doeskin dress and walked close to the fire circle as she tilted her head quizzically. Her delicate brow lowered and her eyes narrowed dangerously. She surprised them by leaping over the empty fire circle.
Kahm straightened as he watched Sunflower turn toward him and sign his name. Then she pointed to Talon, signed her brother’s name, and leapt over the fire circle. She then signed her own name and stepped across the empty fire circle with exaggerated movements. Next, she pointed at Kahm and signed his name. Sunflower crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.
“She says that we are slow and you are fast.” Talon interspersed his words with hand signs so that Sunflower could reply.
“I am fast and it is just as it should be. I am a warrior.” Kahm’s sculpted forehead wrinkled in confusion.
“And I am not slow.” Talon’s hand rested upon his hunting knife, which appeared ordinary, but became a deadly weapon in his possession.
Sunflower pointed at her eyes.
“Watch.” Talon didn’t look away from his sister as she ran from one length of the cave to the other.
Sunflower was a fast runner and he was not surprised to see how quickly she moved. In the Hokum Village, they ran the beaches together each day, building strong arms and legs. He watched as she suddenly stopped and moved in an exaggerated slow run across the cave floor.
“Though she is a girl, she will one day become a woman. What man can understand a woman?” Kahm saw the look of understanding that flashed across Talon’s features. Sunflower growled.
And so it went for several days as they tried to understand the one thing that Sunflower didn’t have the words to explain. When Talon and Kahm continued to guess incorrectly, Sunflower became very adept at growling. So much so, that Wolf often joined her. It would have become a matter of amusement between the three of them if Sunflower’s shoulders didn’t fall in growing despair each time they guessed incorrectly.
Kahm’s eyes flew open as lightening flashed in the early morning, followed by thunder. Loud sounds often brought out the sickness that lived inside of him. Sweat bathed his brow and his hands clenched spasmodically as he struggled for control of his body. He needed to leave the cave. The thought of harming Sunflower or Talon caused his stomach to spasm with self-hatred.
Talon was adept at weaponry as were most young men his age, but he was no match against Kahm in an enraged state. No matter how valiant the effort, Talon wouldn’t be able to defend himself or his sister. It was for this reason that Kahm felt that he needed to live a life of solitude until the day that he walked the wind forever.
Despite his misgivings, Kahm couldn’t force himself to ask Talon and Sunflower to leave. It was obvious that they had nowhere else to go and no family to provide shelter.
He agilely moved to his feet and started to leave the cave, but a movement from Sunflower stopped him. She walked forward at an incredibly slow pace until she stood directly in front of him and placed one hand over his racing heart.
He grimaced as his heart raced with trepidation and when he blinked, he found that Talon stood before him.
They both watched as Sunflower swiftly moved in a circle around Kahm, before pointing at him with determination glinting in her eyes.
“Even you must admit that she places a curse upon me.”
“No!” Talon said, as
Kahm focused angry eyes upon him. “I finally understand what Sunflower is trying to tell us!”
“Good.” Kahm barely recognized his own voice and he winced over each resounding rumble of thunder. Between Sunflower’s odd behavior and the fading storm, he was barely able to maintain control. “Enlighten me.”
The sounds of the storm pounded through Kahm’s head making it impossible to hear Talon’s response.
“What did you say?” Kahm asked again as Talon looked at him expectantly.
“Somehow, Sunflower knows about the sickness inside of you.” Talon watched as understanding dawned.
“How is that possible?” Kahm’s eyes were mere slits as he tried to block out the glare of the fire. Talon glanced at the flickering light and it seemed the same as any fire. The light barely lit the cave.
Sunflower inhaled the scent of rain and felt the heavy beat of thunder. She welcomed the sensations brought about by the thunderstorm. The ground didn’t shake and the cave floor didn’t vibrate, but she felt the storm and the thunder all the same.
She looked at Kahm as he shaded his eyes from the glare of the fire and she realized that to him it was a blazing light. When he tugged on his ears as the thunder boomed inside of her bones she realized that for Kahm, each sound was intensified beyond bearing.
Kahm looked at Sunflower sharply as she covered her ears and hopped around. When he nodded, she covered her eyes and scrunched her face as she turned toward the fire and peeked at Kahm through her fingers.
“The fire is not bright, the thunder is loud, but it is not overly loud, yet you see and hear what we do not.” Talon translated their conversation.
“Yes. This is the sickness that drove me from my village.” Kahm refused to look away in shame.
“What is it that you hold back from us?” Talon sat suddenly, pulling Sunflower to the ground with him. They blinked in impatience as they waited for him to respond. Kahm shrugged. He didn’t see the point in burdening them with the details of his illness.
Pillar of Fire (Book One-The Whale Hunter Series) Page 7