By Vulcan 1
Macie leaned closer to the fire and stirred up the stew cooking in the skin pot over the flames, wondering what the journey that lay ahead of them would bring. "I am so glad that we decided to set up a shelter here and stay for a while", she mused to herself, "We can hunt and replenish our supplies, and I love the sound of the water nearby." She looked out at the small river where they were camped, thinking about all that needed to be done in the next few days, and waited for her mate and their small daughter to return.
Later that evening, she sat by the fire mending one of her daughter’s leather shirts, talking quietly to her mate, who was knapping some new spear points. "What did you find today?" she asked. Thorian looked up from his work-"We saw a field with a lot of tracks running through it, looks like a deer herd uses it regularly. It should be a good spot to try our luck hunting tomorrow. There are a lot of berry bushes, too bad it is so early in the season, they aren’t ripe yet, but there is a big patch of daylilies we can harvest. Have you looked for the best fishing spot yet?" he asked with a gentle smile, for he knew her weakness for fishing. "You know I did," she replied, I’ll get us some fresh salmon tomorrow, and there are a lot of cattails for flour and stalks." They worked together companionably for the rest of the evening, finishing their projects and putting the little girl to bed with a story.
The next day was a busy one, they started out very early in the morning to the field, and made their plans to hunt the deer herd that was feeding at the far end. Macie led their little girl to a secluded shady spot and sat her down, "Wait for us here honey", she said, "while we hunt." "Mama" the little girl said, "Can’t I help?" "No, you are not old enough, stay here and watch us, we will be back soon." Then Macie started back around the edge of the field, thinking about her daughter. Although she was always eager to join in their daily activities, sometimes the little girl got upset being so close to dead animals and seeing the violence of a hunt, but hunting meant survival, and the couple did not shield her from any aspect of their life.
"Macie", her mate whispered as she got close to him, "I think if we go after that young buck on the right side, the one standing a little away from the others, we will have our best chance." They both moved around the edge of the field to get the best advantage, and as the deer started to bolt, Thorian threw his spear, striking the buck in the neck. The deer made a last desperate bounding leap, then collapsed. They ran to their prey, made the first cut, then tied the buck’s legs together and threaded their spear shafts through them. They carried the deer back to their camp, picking up their daughter on the way.
The rest of the morning was spent working on the deerhide, cutting the meat into strips for drying, and cleaning the other usable parts. In the early afternoon, Macie and her daughter went back to the field. Macie dug the daylily bulbs and collected other plants growing there, occasionally giving the child a fresh bite of food, and then they joined Thorian on the bank of the river for fishing. Of course, Macie was true to her word, and caught a good supply of salmon for them, and since Thorian did not have any luck fishing, he had to clean the fish and put them on the drying rack while Macie and the little girl went to collect the cattails. After their meal and a bath in the river the travelers sat by the fire, drinking tea, and playing games with their daughter. Thorian was tired and went to their sleeping roll early, taking the child to her bed while he was at it, but Macie was restless, so she stirred up the fire, made more tea, and stared into the flames thinking.
End part 1
She saw herself in her mind’s eye as a little girl, standing up and raising her fist into the air with a fur cape draped around her shoulders, proudly declaring to her family that she was going to do something GREAT when she grew up. And she remembered her mother laughing and shaking her head at her antics. "Well," she thought to herself, "I’m not sure if this journey is the great thing that I envisioned as a child, but it certainly is different from the way most people’s lives turn out. I guess I still have this vain foolish wish that the Mother would allow something from me or my family to last forever."
Then she saw herself as a young woman, just after her Coming of Age Ceremony, full of curiosity and wondering what her life would become. When her Home Camp traveled to their People’s Summer Gathering she and her parents joined many others in looking for mates for their children. When she saw Thorian for the first time, she thought he looked so appealing with his dark hair falling over his forehead and his gray eyes, full of intelligence and gentle humor. At first he was just one of a crowd of handsome eligible young men, mingling with the young women during the Gathering, as they all got to know each other during the feasting and dancing.
One of the girls she met there, Janelin, had a brother that knew Thorian, and after Macie and Janelin drew close as friends, Janelin told Macie that Thorian had been asking a lot of questions about her. He mentioned to her brother that he found Macie’s ashy blond hair and blue eyes very attractive. After that, she and Thorian began to spend more time together, and found themselves very drawn to each other. He had a quick mind, and was eager to explore the world on his own terms. He wanted to spend his whole life meeting as many new people as he could and seeing as much of the world as his feet could trek over. It was a very strange idea, everyone she had ever known stayed close to hearth and home, the two week trip to the Summer Gathering was about as far as they ever went, but more and more she found herself wanting to head out into the unknown with him.
Macie closed her eyes and thought back to the horrible time when her parents rejected Thorian outright. "YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!" her father had roared at her-"That young man does not have a brain in his head! He has been filling your mind with his tales of wanderlust and adventure, he does not have the first clue on how to take care of a mate and raise a family! You will starve to death alone if you go off with him." Macie was stunned. Her parents had raised her with care, and had always encouraged her to make her own decisions, to have her own opinion. She couldn’t believe her shy, gentle father was so angry and her mother so set against her wishes. Macie tried to explain how she felt, "But Father", she said, "We have strong feeling for each other. I think we can make a good life together, whether we stay in a Home Camp or go off on our own. I want him for my mate." Her parents were adamant, however, and she despaired of having things work out for her and Thorian.
Thorian’s parents liked her very much, but were also very concerned about the young man’s wanderlust. They couldn’t see how the young couple could survive without a whole Camp of people around them. Thorian and Macie sat down together to talk it over. They really wanted to be together, but could see no way to do so without giving up Thorian’s dream of a life of travel. It seemed that the only possible way for them to be together would be if they agreed to live among people in a Home Camp. "At least we can be together," Macie said, "We can still have a life together in a Camp, and isn’t that the most important thing?" Thorian agreed, for his feeling for her was very strong, but he hoped in his heart that at some point in their life, after they had proven themselves, they could take themselves off into the world. So the young couple met with both sets of parents to make the arrangements.
Macie thought back on that time, it seemed to be made up of dizzying highs and lowest lows. All during the arrangements, the setting of Marriage Price, the gift giving, the sewing of the ceremonial outfits, the discussions with her mother on keeping the hearth, she was both saddened and elated. Thorian seemed happy, and made a good showing of his talents, especially his flint knapping, bartering, and hunting skills, trying to prove to Macie’s father that he could provide for her. But there was still an undercurrent of sadness hanging over the young man.
At last the day came, it was the last week of the Summer Gathering, and the traditional time for Matrimonials among their People. Macie remembered that day-her nervousness as her mother and aunt dressed her and pinned up her hair, the voice of the Shaman speaking about love and commitment before the Mother to all of the couples being mated, the feasting and dancing that followed the ceremony. In her memory though, the things that stood out most of all were her mother’s tears during the ceremony, and Thorian’s smile when he first saw her in all of her finery. Later hat night, when the newly mated couples went in to their special ceremonial tents, he kissed her warmly. Together on the soft furs, they learned each other, shared the Pleasures that were given to them by the Great Mother, and in so doing, cemented their hearts and minds together fully as one.
Macie realized she was staring into the fire with a foolish grin on her face. She threw on another log, and wondered why she was thinking of the past. She decided to let her imagination play itself out, and in her mind, went back in time again.
She recalled the end of the Gathering. In her People’s tradition, the man usually went to the Home Camp of his new mate. She remembered Thorian’s sadness at saying goodbye to his parents, with plans to see them next year at the Gathering, and remembered too the trek back to her people’s Home Camp. They worked hard at setting up their new shelter of tanned hide, set on a wooden frame near her parent’s shelter.
The placement of the Hearth and the arrangement of household goods were very important in her People’s lives, it indicated their status and stability as a new family. Macie and Thorian strived to do the best job that they could, to prove themselves. During the Fall that followed, they settled into a comfortable routine in the Camp, helping with community activities like group hunts and collecting food. They reserved time to just spend with each other, working on projects that interested them. And they especially enjoyed nights of storytelling and dancing that were held regularly in the Camp.
It seemed that their life would mirror that of many of the other families that they knew, but two things marred their happiness. Macie was saddened that she had not yet conceived a child, and sometimes she noticed a faraway look on Thorian’s face when he thought no one was watching him. She knew in her heart that he was dreaming of his lost adventure.
end part 2
The Winter that followed was one of the hardest and longest that the Camp ever remembered. The memory of Fall was forgotten as snow came constantly, and it was bitterly cold. In spite of a whole season spent furiously gathering, the food supplies ran low. Many of the people became ill, and it was especially hard on the young and old. Macie’s beloved aunt lay near death in her shelter. Macie and her mother attended her as best they could, but the old woman’s reserve of strength was just about gone. "Mother," Macie whispered, "What is that strange glow on her face?" Her mother looked up, startled. "Macie," her mother replied, "Step outside for a moment." They went out, and her mother said, "You saw the glow? Some call it the Spirit Fire, only a few of our People can see it-it means that the person’s life force is gathering itself to leave. She probably only has a few hours left with us."
Macie thought about this for a moment, then said, "My poor Aunt! I was afraid she was about to leave us, but I have seen people die in the past, why have I never seen that glow before?" Her mother was silent for an instant, then said, "I think sometimes that hardship brings out the ability. We have all been suffering with this Winter. It does surprise me though Macie, you have always been the most practical child, you never seemed interested much in the Spirit World, but the Mother gives gifts as she sees fit. Come now, put on a happy face, and let’s give her the best that we can until she leaves us. We can reminisce, or whatever she wants, until she goes. Let her lead the way. Are you ready now?" Macie and her mother entered the shelter to begin the death vigil.
Macie returned with a heavy heart to her own shelter a few hours later. Thorian was still sitting where he had been for days, wrapped up in furs before the fire, coughing. He was usually a strong man, but the constant cold, the low quality food, and the anxiety over knowing that members of the Camp were so sick had left its mark on him. Macie felt doubly bad, both Thorian and her father were ill, and she knew that they had been giving Macie and her mother the best of the available rations and not taking enough for themselves. "Thorian," she said as she went in, "I have to tell you that my Aunt is gone. She just went to sleep and then stopped breathing. Mother and I were with her when she died." "Oh honey," Thorian replied, "I am sorry, I know how much you loved her. She was the only one who stood up for us when we wanted to leave on our journey. When will they have the Remembrance Rights?" Macie and Thorian discussed this for a moment, then she noted how sunken in he seemed to look. "Thorian, you seem so weak, are you feeling any better?" "A little." He said, "But not much. I just seem to have no energy left. This weather will never break, it has been freezing forever….I can’t fight it too much longer." He stopped and stared into the fire, but seemed to be looking through it. " Our life, our dreams, all wasted…," he added in a soft, hollow voice. Macie made him some more broth with the dried meat that was all that they had left, and sat cuddled up with him in the furs. Thorian became very quiet, and she knew that he slept. Once again she was grateful for the fact that she almost never got sick, and could help take care of the others, but Thorian worried her. She couldn’t believe how weak he looked, and how strange he had been sounding.
Macie woke in the middle of the night with a start, her heart beating frantically. She looked around the shelter, trying to figure out what had frightened her, and then realized how the sound of Thorian’s breathing had changed. His whole face seemed to be glowing softly and his chest was hardly moving. "THORIAN!" She yelled as she shook him awake. "Don’t even think about leaving me! I love you and I need you here." "Macie," he mumbled as he woke, "I dreamed that the Mother was calling me, and I did not know if I should stay or go with Her. It was so hard to resist Her, but I was trying to because of you. I don’t want to leave you!" Thorian seemed to slip back into sleep, and his breathing grew ragged as his fever increased. Macie spent the rest of the night sponging his body with cool water and begging the Mother to spare him. Finally, right before dawn his fever broke, and he awakened, shivering and sick, but himself again.
Macie shook herself, realizing that she had come back to the present. Her cheeks were wet with tears and she was shaking. "Mother", she thought, "What are you trying to tell me? Why am I reliving my life in my mind?" But there was no answer.
Finally, the long terrible Winter came to an end. The Camp had very little left, either in food or energy, and it took until well into the warming Spring for Thorian and Macie’s father to recover completely from their sickness. As the days warmed, the Camp spilled out into the open air from their shelters, eager to gather fresh foods and hunt, to replenish themselves in body and spirit. Just letting the warm sun beat down on their upturned faces was a blessing. Macie felt herself renewed, and repeatedly gave thanks for Thorian and her father’s life and new found health. As they started to make plans for their Summer Gathering,, they talked much about the events of the past year. Finally, they went to Macie’s parents.
"Mother, Father, we must speak to you", Macie began. "It took the sickness and almost losing our lives for us to realize that we can’t waste the time we have left. Thorian and I have decided that we are going to the Summer Gathering with you, especially so that he can say goodbye to his parents, and then we are going off on our own. It has been Thorian’s dream ever since he was a little boy, and it is my dream now as well. I think we have proven our love for each other and our ability to survive by making it through this terrible Winter. I want you to give us your blessing, we don’t want to leave with bad feelings between us, but we are going to do this even if you are against it." Her parents looked at them with sadness and over the next few days they spoke much about the matter. Finally they agreed to give their blessing, realizing that the young couple’s minds were made up, and they did not want their last days with them to be tainted by anger. Also, her parents realized just how much they had all grown up over the past year.
Macie sat up and laughed a little to herself, remembering the elation, the fear, the sadness, and the hope that swirled around them as they took their leave of all that they had known. Thorian’s goodbye to his family was especially painful, since they had not seen them in a year and only had a few days with them before they set off on their journey. However, Thorian’s father proved to be exceptionally good at trading, begging, and demanding the supplies that they would need from other members of their community, and they left the Gathering feeling ready to take on the world.
End part 3
They stood together on a hilltop, two hundred miles South of the great Beran Sea, and West of what would in later centuries be called the Caspian Sea. They looked down one last time on the Gathering below, waved, and turned into the unknown. They first journeyed far South, to a place that was much warmer than their old home, and traveled in the southern lands for two full years. They hunted, fished, sometimes went a bit hungry, but saw many new things. There were new ways to knap flint, dozens of styles of clothing, animals that seemed strange to them, and people of different colors. Every group of people that they met revered something, most, the Great Mother, a few, animal spirits, some, the sun, and one group believed in a benevolent Father as the creator of all life. Some groups of people welcomed them, some did not, but most were friendly. The land was so large, so humbling, and groups of people so small, that they realized that they needed each other. Macie and Thorian came to realize that a journey is made up of many new friends, and many partings.
After two years, they decided to head in another direction. They skirted around the bottom of the Caspian, until they were on the Eastern side of it, then they headed North. It proved to be a torturous trek, the land was mostly arid mountainous desert, but the peoples that they found there were very gracious, and willing to share any resources that they had. When they had traveled some distance, they stopped and rested for a long time with a group of people they met called the Makat. They soon became favorites of the Village, and were asked to stay, to be adopted. While it was a great honor, they knew that they wanted to see more of the world.
One day, Macie sat talking with a friend that she had made. "Macie," Emba said, "Are you really happy moving from place to place, never setting down roots?" Macie thought about it for a moment, then replied, "I am surprised how happy I am. This journey was Thorian’s at first, but I have come to enjoy it as well. Only one thing mars my happiness, we want to have a child, and it doesn’t seem like it is ever going to happen.." Emba had wondered about this, for she saw how happy Macie was when she was helping with the children of the Village. "Macie", she began, "I don’t know how you would take care of a child on your travels, but I know how your hear aches for one. We have a custom here, we believe that the Mother has a Sacred Lake a few days journey from here. Many people that have bathed in the lake have been healed from diseases, and if a couple bathes in the lake together they will often be blessed with a child. I would be glad to take you and Thorian there with me." Emba continued, " If you decide to go, you will need to bring some of those unusually shaped spearpoints that Thorian makes, and some of your fine furs, we will need to give gifts to the Guardians that live at the lake. I must warn you however, that many of the children that are conceived there turn out to be, well, different. They often have unique destinies, and unusual abilities. Sometimes the children are just average, but most of the time they are exceptional. The Lake has produced children that have gone on to be great leaders among our people, and also children that had to be outcast because they couldn’t live among normal men. I feel I have to tell you this before we go, not everyone wants to raise this type of a child." Thorian and Macie talked it over, Thorian thought the whole thing was a little silly, and did not see how water could make a difference, but Macie was so aching for a child, and reasoned that the people who lived near the lake knew something special about it. They decided to go and try. They left a couple of days later, and were surprised that the Lake turned out to be a small sulphurous smelling pool of hot water, set at the base of a large hill with a few other hot pools around it. They gave gifts to the wizened old woman and her mate that lived at the Lake, and then Macie and Thorian bathed in it together before going into the Ceremonial Tent that was kept there and falling together onto the soft furs.
"Thorian, help me!" Macie was moaning early in the morning a few weeks later. "I think I am going to die, I am so sick! Did I eat something spoiled? I have never felt this bad." Once again, she reached for the tightly woven basket kept by her bed and heaved into it. Thorian rushed for the Village healer, terrified because she was never ill and he feared that Macie would be dead before he got back. An hour later, they were sitting with the healer, giddy with joy, laughing as they realized that their long wait was over, they were going to have a child.
Macie went into the tent, and looked for a long moment at her sleeping daughter. She and Thorian could not explain how it had happened, they never knew why bathing in the Lake helped them, but she had always been grateful that the Mother saw fit to finally give them their heart’s desire.
She knew that she was foolish to sit up all night, but she couldn’t stop herself from sitting down once more by the fire and letting her mind carry her back.
End next part
They knew that they must stay with the Makat until the child came. The Village had a good healer, and although there were limited resources in the area, they hunted and gathered what they could. Thorian also went with the other Villagers on trading missions in the surrounding area to obtain supplies. They planned to leave as soon as the child was old enough to make travel possible.
When the time came, Macie’s natural hardiness made it easier, but her labor was long and tiring. Thorian waited, pacing around outside the healer’s shelter with the other men in the Village trying to distract him, until he finally heard the sounds of a newborn crying. He rushed into the tent. "Thorian!" Macie was exhausted, her hair plastered to her head with sweat, but a smile of radiant happiness on her face. "Come and meet your daughter." When the healer passed him the tiny bundle, he couldn’t believe he was finally holding his child. He couldn’t get enough of looking at her, her tiny fingers and toes, her blue gray eyes, the wispy blond hair already on her head.
"What shall we name her?" Thorian asked Macie, for it was their People’s custom to let the mother choose the name. Macie thought for a moment, then replied, "I would like to name her after my Aunt who died during the long Winter. It will be good to have her name carried on." Thorian thought this was a fine idea, and the child thrived from the start.
They decided to wait and leave after the upcoming Winter, for the child would be a year old. At the appointed time they made ready to leave. Macie and Thorian hugged and shed many tears with their friends, but the time seemed right to journey on.
They went North to the top of the Caspian Sea, once again staying with peoples they met, and then they headed towards the East. Eventually they turned in a back in a Southerly direction and headed West for the land on top of the Beran Sea. As they neared the Sea, they heard from villages where they stopped that they were heading into Flathead territory, and to be wary. Both Macie and Thorian had heard of the strange half-human half-animal beings that everyone seemed to know about but few had seen, and they felt lucky that they did not encounter any packs of them on their way.
All together, they traveled for more than three years with the little girl in tow. As much as they liked staying with and meeting new people, they enjoyed each other’s company more than anything, and as the child grew, they taught her to speak, to swim, to laugh, and they delighted in her.
Macie stood up and stretched, she was finally winding down and felt that she could sleep, and the fire had burned low. She banked it for morning, then crawled into their shelter. She pulled the furs up around the little girl and crawled in beside Thorian. He woke up, and whispered to her, "Are you alright?" "Yes," she replied, "I had the oddest experience, it felt like I was reliving my whole life in one night." Thorian looked at her, startled, and he said. "Macie, I was dreaming all night about our life together. What do you think that it means?" "I am not sure,’ she replied, except that it made me realize just how much I love you and our life together. I don’t think there is a more contented person anywhere. When we set out, I was a little bit afraid, but we have proven that we can take care of ourselves and be happy wherever we are." Thorian reached for her, with all of the love he had for her showing in his eyes. They shared Pleasures in the passionate but comfortable way of long mated couples, and fell asleep in each others arms.
Dawn was breaking, and the travelers slept on. No one was there to see the soft glow that had settled on the faces of the adults. Macie half awakened, hearing their daughter beginning to stir, and knowing that she would get up and play quietly for a while. She sent a quick thought to the Mother before falling back to sleep in Thorian’s arms. "Mother, please watch over my little girl as she goes out this morning, keep her safe, my little Noralia…"
… The naked child ran out of the hide-covered lean-to toward the rocky beach at the bend in the small river. It didn’t occur to her to look back…
The End