Here they come (508 hits)
Category: UberMadness! EntryRating: 2 on 1 review (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by loki (View user info) at 2004-04-09 12:09:24 EDT
This post was an official UberMadness! entry. Click here to view the original matchup.
Great warriors say that a battle is often won or lost before it begins. These few last moments are crucial and yet the darkest, like the last waning moment of night just before the sun breaks the horizon to summon the coming day. I stand at the edge of the precipice from which I will command my warriors concentrating on maintaining the outward appearance of calm, confident control. They are my people and because they will follow me to certain death if I demand it, they deserve better than to catch even the briefest glimpse of doubt. They are ready, the battle plan set, the weapons prepared, all that remains to do is wait.
I glance down at Yuma, my nephew. Even at his age, I know he senses the tension in the air. He has taken his position slightly behind me and to my left. I know that despite his fierce facial expression and aggressive stance, he is trembling in terror and fighting down the instinct to run back to the village to the safety of his mother's protecting arms. Perhaps bringing him here had been a mistake. His mother was against it, but he and I are the last of our line. Depending on today's outcome, even in the best of circumstances, he may be the last hope of our people. I wanted him to be here to feel this moment so that forever, wherever fate may take him, he will always remember his people at their finest hour and take strength from the fact that he carries within him, the blood of a true warrior.
The distant drum beats change and increase in intensity. I can feel them getting closer. The woods are silent. There are no birds singing, the wind is still, and even the falling water seems muted. I focus outward seeking the spirits of my enemies, searching for a weakness. I hear a series of low whistles as my scouts communicate final adjustments in our battle plan.
"Leave us."
Suddenly, silently, Yuma and I are alone although I know that with a single signal I can summon the return of my protectors, the four Watchers, the ones sworn to stay by my side until the moment my spirit leaves the world. I turn and kneel down to face my nephew. I look into his big, dark, round eyes so very different from my own steel gray eyes. "Yuma I want you to look around very carefully and absorb this moment. Memorize it. Take your time, study every detail. Now close your eyes and picture everything around you, the rocks, the trees, the sky, the water. Do you see it?"
"Yes Aponi, I see it."
"Good, now look at me. There is something I want you to do. Every night before you go to sleep, I want you to close your eyes and return to this place. Try to feel the sun on your face, the grass beneath your feet, the wind blowing through you hair. Do you think you can do that for me?"
The little boy looks confused but nods solemnly, "yes Aponi."
He is so young and yet when I look at him, I see the shadow of his father, my eldest brother Akecheta. Oh Akecheta, what I wouldn't give for you to be here in my place right now, your rightful place. You were the one born to lead our people.
Akecheta was already a man by the time I was born. The marriage of our father and his mother had created an alliance between two of the greatest tribes of the valley that Akecheta's birth had sealed. Two more sons were born of that union, my brothers, Honovi and Mahkah. They were all three trained to be great warriors, rulers, leaders of the people.
Years after the death of my father's first wife he met Anna, my mother. She was a scholar and academic sent from the outside to study our ways. She met and fell in love with my father abandoning the outside world to remain with him in the valley. She was the first person my father had ever met who dared to question his undisputed authority. I was the second.
I was never destined for this moment. I was trained in our ways along with the other children in the village, but I was also taught the ways of my mother's people. I was to be a bridge between the two worlds gliding seamlessly between the two, but at times, with a foot in each world, I felt as though I did not belong to either. I was with my mother's people when word reached me of the raiding parties.
It was a moment I will remember forever. I returned to my rooms after attending my university classes to find Tocho sitting in meditation on the floor beside my bed. My brothers had been killed and my father mortally wounded by the Nukpana. I had never heard of the Nukpana. Tocho told me that they had journeyed to the valley from a place far away seeking fertile land. When they found it occupied, they decided to take it for themselves. It was not necessary, my people would have shared the valley and welcomed the newcomers, but it was not meant to be. The Nukpana did not share.
I returned to the village with Tocho and went to my father. Up until that moment, I had not fully comprehended how I fit in to the new circumstances in which our people found themselves. His dying words will echo through me every day of my life, "My child, Aponi, I fear that I have failed you. I should have prepared you for this. There is no other. You must lead the people, trust in yourself, show no fear."
I had taken the ancient rites of ascension as the last dying embers of my father's funeral pyre smoked and crackled. My mother said nothing, but I could see the fear in her eyes. I had always been indulged and protected. I was my father's pet, a folly of his advanced age, the cherubic toddler chasing after my brothers. This was never meant to be, but the desire of mortals does not control the tide of fate.
I stand up and look down at Yuma. I feel bad about putting so much on someone so young, but at that same time I am sure that one day he will understand. I look into the trees and signal for the return of the Watchers. "Tocho, take the boy back to his mother and stay with them."
Tocho freezes and stares at me in disbelief. I know I am putting him in the position of either questioning a direct order or violating his blood oath to never leave my side. I turn towards him, put my hand on his shoulder, and look him in the eye. "I release you Tocho. Stay with the boy, his safety is vital to the survival of our people. He is more important than any of us. Keep him safe at any cost."
Tocho says nothing, but I can see in his eyes that he hears the truth in my words. I lower my voice so that only Tocho can hear me, "He is very young Tocho, protect his mother if you can, but he is the key. I am trusting you with my family."
I watch as Tocho carefully lifts the boy onto his horse. Yuma has dropped his brave façade and has tears running down his cheeks. Despite his fear, he was prepared to stay and now that he was being sent away, he is awash with both relief and disappointment. I reach up and put my hand on his knee, "Yuma, do whatever Tocho asks, take care of your mother and grandmother, and don't forget what I told you. I promise that we will see each other again."
As Tocho and Yuma ride into the woods, I feel a stirring in the air.
"Aponi, the Nukpana are in the canyon. They have fallen for your trap. It is time."
User Reviews
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2004-05-19 17:39:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment