A Taste of History Past

by Forrest Brant

  Smiling at Kal, Sabohl stated, “That’s not unusual for you. It seems that ever since you and your mate visited that site that all you have is questions, but one doesn’t learn if one doesn’t ask, so I have a few moments before I must get back to those student papers, so ask away.” Sabohl leaned back and put his hands behind his head and took on an air of patience, and waited.

  “Okay, going back to that site, I see that the place was divided into different areas. The area for the warriors, with the leader within this area, the area for the females, and within this one an area for the offspring, but it’s this third area that I question.”

  “Ah, the one where the priests lived and performed the ceremonies to the gods, is that right?”

  “Yes, yes that’s right. If I can remember what we saw there,” and here he needed to be careful since what he was asking had not been directly answered, but again it had been a while since their visit and he was hoping that it would be a natural pathway, “it appears that these priests had their own breeding herd, why? From what we were taught only the warriors had the right to breed, as the term was used back then. Yet here seems to be a contradiction to that.”

  Laughing a little Sabohl couldn’t help but get a little dig in, “Ah youth and always hung up on breeding. But I know what you mean.” He paused for effect, “Okay how do I word this? Priests were their own class then. They had power equal to the warriors, and the lead priest was equal to the clan leader. In a way they together ruled the clan. The warrior leader, and it always was a warrior who led the clan, and the head priest were on the opposite sides so to speak – the warrior leader dealing with the physical world, and the head priest dealing with the gods and spiritual world. It was one of the reasons for the separation that we saw at that site. That separation represented the division from the physical and spirit, and both ruled each. Allowing the priest caste to be as the warrior caste, allowing both to have their own breeding herd, and the offspring from those unions remained in each realm. In a sense, from what we have been able to learn, priests were considered warriors against the ones who had passed into the spirit world. We’ve found enough evidence to be pretty sure that this is accurate. I know that it had been consistent to all the permanent sites we’ve worked. And along with the few records we’ve found this is how we believe it was. Does that answer your youthful question, Kal?”

  Shaking his head Kal said, “Yes, quite well, thank you. I really never thought about it in that way. But now that you’ve explained it, it makes perfect sense, thank you. I’ve got to head back, but you’ve left me much to think about.” Once again he thanked him, and took his leave. He really had much to think about, and it strengthened his determination to find out who this Sara was, and why a female in that time period would have a name, and why would she claim to be a priest of the gods, it was something that was so inconsistent that it rang on myth. Yet, what made it more fantastic was the fact that it appeared that the head priest had accepted this as fact, and how could that be? He hoped that Sabohl didn’t suspect anything; after all it was a dangerous question. Still he may have considered it a privilege that one of his students would want more information than just what was taught in the learning centers. But, if he knew the truth as to why he had asked … well he had no way of knowing, so at this point and time it would be better to leave well enough alone. And not to go back, no matter the temptation, and ask a pointed question once again for some time.

  The seasons were approximately 135 days long, given their path around their suns, a total of 540 days, and their cycles were broken into those four parts, and within these four parts they further broke their time down to fifteen parts of 9 days each. They began each turn on the official first day of the Season of Green, and ended it on the last official day of cold with celebrations marking the passing of each season, and one that marked the time of the gods (TOG), that supposed day when they had revealed themselves in what had become the mythological Valley of the Gods. As he had read over the events of that day, or truly dusk to dark, it must have been something to have witnessed. Smiling inwardly he thought, yup, if this thing ever did happen. I can see, in my mind’s eye, joining that large contingent of warriors, preparing for a campaign, the excitement and the anticipation that had to be going through every one of them. And to have been the leader of all of this, looking over the assembled might that was there, knowing that they were yours to control, and feeling the pride, and yes I’m sure the power, must have been quite a rush. And knowing in your heart that you were the first to bring the warring clans and tribes together, to fight a common enemy, ones hidden in the places of the spirits, and that on past campaigns that you had been victorious, and that was why all of these warriors were still with you. Yes, to have been at your height of strength and with your confidence soaring as high as the fliers, and with the conferences with other leaders as the strategies were laid out, all going as planned, only to have it end. End when the gods appeared to you and the tribes and clans in that valley, ordering you to end this war against their servants, and to be told it had been the gods who had protected the females, and to learn that the god of the earth was female had to be such a shock. This ran counter to everything in their culture, but explained much.

  Yes, I wonder what it would have been like, to be a primitive, with the superstitions and fears I would be living with, and to have the actual gods appear to me? I might just up and die right there from fear, or at least pee my pants from fear. Yet, my ancestors were warriors, ones used to going into battle against one another, and while I’m sure that fear was a normal part of their life – heck it had to be – after all every part of that culture had something to fear in it. So whatever happened on that fateful day that we celebrate every turn it had to have been pretty spectacular to leave the impression that it obviously did. So why does the learned ones of today feel that all of this did not happen and was only a myth? It just doesn’t add up at all. He found that he was outside his shelter and had no knowledge that he had traveled that distance between the learned centers of his village to his home. Taking a deep breath he opened the door and went inside still deep in thought and realized that Jura had said something, “What, sorry was thinking about what I learned today, can you say again?”

  Shaking her head with a knowing smile she said, “All I said was welcome home, and did you get the information that you wanted from Sabohl? But I can see that you’re kind of out there right now.”

  “Okay, you’re right, I am. And that’s kind of why I am. He more or less confirmed what we had wondered.” He then went on and explained the conversations and answers he had gotten, “And that makes what we’ve read here in this so out of place.” He picked up the huge document with both hands, since it was quite heavy, shook it slightly before setting it back on the working table. It’s an anomaly just like their description of the disappearance of those travelers. You know, one minute they were there, and a large dust cloud blows across their camp, and when it clears it was as if they were never there. And of all that we’ve worked, this disappearance of the travelers would be the one I would put to myth, or at least to an overactive imagination. But if we are to accept that this confrontation of the mythological gods happened, and that a female actually had a name and not only that was of the priestly caste, then we must accept this also. Either all is as they saw it, or all of it is myth. I just wish I knew which it was.”

  Placing her hands on her hips Jura thought a moment before answering, “We weren’t there, nor were we privy to what our ancestors believed, or their true culture, so who knows, maybe all of it was imagined. In many ways it just seems to be a big fantastic story, a fantasy, and there’s no way such a thing could have happened. I can see why all of those learned ones would go in that direction. I can hear them saying, “Look, it’s impossible for such a thing to have happened, so it has to be one of those things that happened in their minds, a product of their lives and superstitions, so it is myth. After all there is no proof other than what our
ancestors said, so why should we believe them?”

  She did such a great imitation of one of the learned that he couldn’t help but laugh. “You should have gone into acting – that was great. And you’re probably quite right. Yet I was told once that if you throw out everything that you know is false and then what is left has to be the answer – the truth, no matter how fantastic it may appear, and I’m coming to that conclusion now. Yeah I know we don’t have access to all that the learned ones have, but they don’t have this either. So I guess both sides don’t have all the facts. Look, I’ve got some time coming to me, and I know that you will have some free time also, so, I was thinking …”

  She quickly interrupted him, “Stop right there – when you begin to think, if I remember right, that was when you used to get yourself into trouble in your youth.”

  He couldn’t help but smile, because what she said was the truth. “Okay, you’re right, but what I was going to say is that we are really not very far from what I’m guessing is the location of that clan I’m supposed to have descended from. Of course this is just a guess. I know you enjoy the outdoors much more than I ever claimed. So this would allow us time to ourselves, and give us a chance to do a little exploring, included in that exploring is each other, of course. And it would give me a chance to begin to learn more about this, what was it you called it, oh yeah camping. I know it was something you and your family did a lot. The only thing I can relate it to was the caravan trips I took with my father, but then we had many people around us, and I suspect if I compared it to what we’ve read, we were more like a tribe from that time period. Not really roughing it like you did.”

  “You males always are thinking about that. But you’re right, we used to do that all the time, and it was fun.”

  Smiling now he asked innocently, “Doing what, getting physical or camping?”

  Now laughing she pushed him away, “You know the answer to that one, so don’t put something into what I said that wasn’t there.”

  Again laughing he said, “Why not, after all you females do it all the time to we males.” And this got them both laughing.

  She raised her right hand and through the tears from laughing so hard she said, “Guilty as charged sir.” Then giving time to get the laughing back in control she said, “Look, I think it’s a great idea but not now. If we begin to do this then you need to be a lot more prepared than you are. And what I mean is this; there are still dangerous beasts out there. And if you really think about it you would remember that in your father’s camps they posted guards. Now I know part of the reason for those guards was the possibility that some bad individuals would try and steal what your camp had, but part of it was to protect both the pack and cart beasts. So I suggest that first we go and take a couple of days in one of the local wilderness areas that have been set aside for that. They have what they call rangers who patrol these places and make it safe for villagers and such who really just want to experience the wild without the danger or experience to protect themselves. Then you need to practice with the sling, throwing knife, and staff. And if you get reasonably good with those we’ll add the bow. But right now neither you nor I have bows, nor do we have the funds to add any – so for now it will be those other items.

  “After all where this crude map shows the location of that ancient clan site, while possibly close, is pretty isolated, meaning that we would have to do the protecting. And right now that would be me. I know that’s not very female of me, or very male of you, since our culture was originally built on the males doing the protecting and with the females returning the favor with, as they called it, breeding. But so much over the time since then has changed, and we are no longer truly warlike, not that there’s no fighting or battles happening. We both know better than that. And with our populations rising as they have, we have tamed much of the land to our use. This has allowed us the ability to specialize, and so many of the skills that were necessary for survival back then have been lost. I really think that the reason we go camping is to try and capture a little of what it must have been like for the tribes who were always moving, and even the clans would camp through the times they hunted the wild herd beasts. But, of course, I don’t need to tell you this since history was one of your favorite subjects, and with this ancient document literally falling into our laps, we’ve seen even more, up close and personal.

  “Besides, we have nothing to camp with. No portable shelter, no cooking pots, no clothing, and no portable sleep sacks, let alone the necessary packing equipment.” She paused a moment to catch her breath and continued, “Look we don’t even have the funds to get most of what we need, and I’m the one who shouldn’t be telling you this, normally it’s the other way around. Still, as you so aptly said, I’m the one with the experience here. So if this is what you really want to do we need to start getting this stuff together as we can afford to do so. I’m sure that for a couple day getaways into one of the reserves that I can borrow from my family. But this is something I don’t want to make a habit of. So if this is the beginning of many trips, and I suspect that it is, we need our own stuff, and it will have to be quality, which means not cheap.”

  He sat quietly as he listened and realized that everything thing she had said was true. Here in his excitement he was ready to just go out and do, but now knew that this was a foolish thing. “Okay, I get it, and once again you’re right,” he laughed again.

  She asked with a half questioning look on her face, “What?”

  With a smile as she sat across from him he stated, “I was just imagining that if a warrior back in those times had heard what I just said, and then had to take instruction from a female as to how to protect one’s self that he’d been laughed out of the clan or tribe.” And once again this set them both to laughing as she saw the image in her own mind. “Okay, you’ve convinced me,” he said, “so when do we begin the training with that stuff, you know the staff and such. So, do you think it’s a good idea to borrow your family’s camp gear? And when do you think it would be a good time to try this camping out?”

  “I probably can get the gear anytime I want it, and as you said, you have some time coming to you. So let’s see if I can get what we need from them, and then get the foodstuff that works best for that kind of living, so maybe at the end of this nine day, which we still have seven left. Yeah I think with your help that we can go away for a couple at that time. We’ll make it a two nighter, that way you can see how it is to sleep on the hard ground, and how little sleep you get when you’re not in your own bed. But I have to admit that being in the fresh air, the smell of the morning meal being cooked over a campfire is wonderful. Still there are downsides also, and the only way to learn about them is to experience them. So I guess we can make it three days and two nights, with travel there on the first, and travel back on the third.”

  “Okay, let me know when you have the camp stuff, and I’ll let the bakery know that we’ll be gone for three days. Of course you’ll do the same for where you are working.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  COMMUNICATIONS AND CAMPING

  “Hey look, a letter from Sabohl, I wonder what he wants to discuss? He rarely writes, prefers to remain aloof in his place as the leader of history.” Looking around the table there were four or five who were considered, next to Sabohl, as the experts on their culture’s history and sociology. It was one of the meetings that they had scheduled at the change of seasons. Sabohl rarely attended these things, leaving the sentiment that he was above these meetings and wouldn’t lower himself to their level feeling that he was so far above them that talking and discussing anything with them would be a waste of his time and intellect.

  “What does that ole stuffed beast want to pass on to us mortals anyway?” Jaie asked. This brought out a chuckle from the others.

  Still standing Tesam looked over the group with a smile, “Okay, I’ll read it to you and then we all can have a good laugh.” He shook the letter importantly and read out loud. “Fellow learned ones”
, laughing at the opening Tesam said, “Look he’s actually admitting that others might have learned something.” Again this brought out laughter. But as he perused the writing deeper into the letter his demeanor changed and the rest at the table could sense that change. There was a silence for a few moments that appeared to fill the air with apprehension. Tesam then continued, “We may have a problem developing that could threaten our very positions as experts in our history and our views and understandings of the sociology of our ancient ancestors. I’m watching, with concern, one past student of mine who has shown a strong interest in our history. It may be of no consequence in the end, but the questions that he is asking are very pointed and direct, and I fear where they may lead. From the way these questions have been presented I would suspect that he knows more that he is telling, and the questions are to either confirm or deny what he already knows. The last question he asked more or less gave him away to me, since the subject that he was questioning has never been taught in any of my classes, let alone any that all of you have presented.

  “It may be that he or maybe someone he knows has located a piece of our past that has been unavailable to any of us, but this, of course, is all speculation as he has been careful to give away nothing, and to appear to be just another student wanting to learn more. I plan, discreetly of course, to have their, he and his mate’s shelter searched to find out if they have something in their possession that could be the source of this interest. And if so will have it removed so that he will have nothing to support whatever theories and truths that may exist. Without that said proof, he will come off as any other crackpot, and allow us to remain in the seat of leadership within our fields. I have learned, since I as all who are in this village, frequent the bakery, that he and his mate will be away for a few days providing us the opportunity and time to do a complete search and after leaving, to leave the shelter as it was before we entered, so other than this missing document, if indeed that is what it is, there will be no sign that any has entered. They will not be able to claim theft, and with this item gone, they will not be able to prove that it ever existed.