Truly there are wondrous things beyond our island. Great and
powerful warriors that walk the world like the gods of legend. This is
the tale of the day that the pale ones came and killed the mighty Devil
Gnu.
Rare are the visits of the sand skinned boat peoples. And the
visits of the people with skin like milk, even rarer still. But
these must have been sent by the gods, as their coming saved our entire
village from the creeping death sickness.
The entire village had been laid waste. From the eldest to the
babes, no one was spared. Only a handful of warriors were even
able to walk by the time they came to our shores. And even these
would surely have perished before long, for the only cure was protected
by the double threat of the mountain beasts and the great Devil Gnu of
the plains.
They great thing of these god-men was not that they were so great in
themselves, but that they helped us all become great warriors
ourselves. They divided their peoples in two. Half to go to
the mountains and half to go to the plains. Each taking what
warriors they could to help them defeat their foes. And it was
good. For a people should fight their own battles, and not depend
on the god-men for their salvation.
The warriors, of which I was one, went two separate ways. Odongo,
Afaru, and Ayira went with the small green haired one, the other
smaller one, and the Jen to the great mountains, while I, Taonga, and
Baako went with the others to the plains to face the great Devil
Gnu. I can hardly believe the stories that Ayira told me of their
adventures.
The small green haired one took the form of a great panther to scale
the mountainside, and called forth great bird horses to combat the bird
lions of the cliffs. Luckily they had not climbed far before the
birds attacked… or they would have all surely perished. Luckily
they all returned alive.
Our party was not so lucky.
Great was the battle that day upon the plains of gnu. The mighty
Devil Gnu stood nearly 50 ft tall at the shoulder, and acrid fire
burned from his nostrils. We challenged the herd from horseback,
and valiantly stood against the charge. SO great was the courage
of Taonga and Baako that they stood firm against the horde, falling
under their hooves even as they struck their telling blows. But
so great was the gnu’s power that no mere mortal could defeat
him. It took the man with the fingers of lightning, and the woman
with the bow of light to bring him down.
Even though I lost good friends that day, I know my life is
richer. For true warrior gods walk among us. And they are
known as troublefinders.