Ember of a New World (34 page)

“Be silent! The Gods have again shown us their anger! We can no longer wait to see what they want. We must act to protect ourselves. I think it very likely that Brigdha is the reason for their anger. You must not be angry at Brigdha. It was not her choice to escape death. Any of you would have tried in
h
er pl
ace! But fate must be corrected
,
”
he
said.
As he spoke
,
many nodded in agreement. Poor Brigdha cried in fear, understan
ding where events were headed.

“This is-not right
,
” Ember said to
Kis’tra
, Sv'en, and a few others from the gr
oup who were nearby.
“They will-kill her
.
” The others said nothing, but their looks were in accord.
Duruth con
tinued (translated b
y Nor'Gar).

“It is the determination
of the Elders that Brigdha the W
idow will be given to the Gods in three
days’ time
. She will now be taken and pre
pared for the offering
.
” Duruth finished his speech with a look of regretful necessity. Ember stood, unable to move as the enormity of events sa
nk in. Brigdha was to be killed!

Ritual sacrifice has been an aspect of humanity for probably as long as there have been humans. The reasons vary, but the root is probably a product of our sentience. Being sentient means humans comprehend their own lives and mortality. To die is one of the greatest fears of humans and as such, probably amounted to the ultimate “gift” to appease a deity. Human sacrifice is not always
unwilling;
the Aztecs were known to engage in ritual sacrifice of “willing” participants, though it could be argued that
commonly
drugged
participants
may
agree to many things.

It is easy to look at the people of Nes as being somehow evil or wrong, but from their perspective
,
the Gods were very real and failure to appease them could mean the death of scores from famine or disease! Without knowledge of diseases, how might they have looked upon Brigdha being spared an illness which killed everyone else? Perhaps Ember will do something about this before another falls to the “will of the Gods”.

Many of Nor'Gar's group were shocked to hear of this. Human sacrifice occurred in some places, and many had heard of it, but to witness it firsthand and especially of a young
woman,
whom fate had already left for dead
,
were
more than many could
bear
. As the group returned to the huts
,
Ember stood and watched Brigdha being escorted into the large hut with the priest. She couldn't stand for this! She would have to do something, but what? She briefly considered trading the hard water, or was it fallen sky?, for Brigdha's life. She knew that wouldn't work. These people needed to feel like they had done some
thing to stop an unseen enemy.

Ember caught up with the rest of the group who had gathered in one of the huts, leaving E'lyse and her baby alone with the travelers from the true south. When Ember stepped in, she had fury in her eyes. Nor'Gar saw her and calmed his people down
so they could rationally talk.
Nor'Gar spoke in his native language, and
Kis’tra
translated what pa
rts Ember couldn't understand.

“Borjk, stand by the door and keep watch. We want privacy. This is an evil. Gods can take life, I should know this better than many
,
”
Nor’Gar said,
referring to his wife, dead from
child birth long ago.

“Gods can smite with light
n
ing! What God hits someone over the head? Each victim had a bump on their head. A man or woman is killing these people. We must leave before we are a part of this. In three days, the woman will die,
and we must be gone before then
,
”
he stated.

“What-of, Brigdha
?
”
E
mber spat in the trade language.

“We-cannot let-her, die
,
” Tor'kal added, most unc
haracteristically
as silent as he normally was.

“How, would-we stop-them?” Nor'Gar asked as much as pleaded.
Emb
er stood, and all eyes met hers.

“
We, will sneak into, the-main-hut, and sneak her out,
after we-have seemed to, leave
,
” Ember explained in the amalgam language while
Kis’tra
translated, the plan f
orming in her mind as she spoke!
The plan sounded a little less convincing when she heard it said
aloud, but she stood behind it.

Sv'en
thought for a moment then added
(
Kis’tra
translated for Em
ber)
,
“We could probably sneak in and get her out in two
days’ time
. She could hide in the woods for the
night and await our departure
.
”

Ven'Gar frowned, “No, that would seem
too
obvious. She could also die in the woods left alone for a night. That is no place for a woman
.
” He stopped when he saw that Ember and Aya were both independently giving him scolding looks, for different reasons
,
while
Kis’tra
struggled to keep the tr
anslations going in real-time.

"I don't k
now why I even speak some times
,
" he said. Ember and Aya both
laughed
,
then caught sight of each other laughing
, and stopped.
A
na stood and made a suggestion.

“What if we leave ear
ly the day before and come back to get her, maybe a small group?” Nor'Gar smiled and looked like
he was putting things together.

“You have the mind of a hunter Ana! Yes, that is a good idea. There are other tribes south, and we can avoid this one for a few harvests. They will forget in time, and
once the killer is caught...”

“Are you sure it isn't the Gods
?
” Aya inter
jected.
Nor'Gar stared her plainly in the face for a moment before he spoke.

“My young woman, while some have eyes clouded by goals and wants, I see clearly. This is the work of someone
who schemes and not of the Gods
.
” Aya swallowed and remained quiet. Ember bit her lip trying to keep from laughing. The remainder of the night was spent discussing the details of the plan. Nor'Gar sat back and watched as Ember t
ook a key role in the planning.

You have changed from the dancer in the moon to a warrior, Ember the brave,
he mused to himself.

The next day, the entire
group
was on a state of high alert with both their plan and the danger of an unknown killer. Most of the tribe, as well as Nor'Gar's group, walked in groups of two or more where ever they went, and no one wanted to go out at night. It had been ten ten-days since the group had arrived and the general mood of the tribe was dower. The deaths had seriously worried the people, made worse by the announcement by the priest that Brigdha had angered the Gods by cheating death. Ember didn't believe this notion as she had already learned how random the God
’
s will
s
could be.

Unfortunately, the general consensus among the people tended to affect the “conclusions” Duruth “came” to when he gave his speeches explaining the mood the Gods were in. As a result, he made populist and often wrong choices. Ember and her friends would make the right choice. Ember wondered if the real will of the Gods could be known by any person. Perhaps the very deeds of a brave person were their true will. If so, Ember concluded that these priests merely existed to help people become comfortable with their ow
n decisions.

The early morning on the second day after the meeting, only one day before the sacrifice, the group from Tornhemal had finished preparing to leave. The ground had some light snow, and the days and nights were cold, but the cold season had been decently manageable, and it was probably safe to journey a full two ten-days earlie
r than usual. The group would move
slower with the cold, but everyone was ready to leave. Even E'lyse was able to move
,
having gave
birth a full three ten-days ago. Her son, Vander, was wrapped in a large beaver skin bag with a handle attached and looped around her neck. Vander was further warmed by several of the gray rabbit furs which had not sold. E'lyse's kept her open vest pushed into the bag and under the furs. This would keep both of them warm and allow him t
o feed as needed along the way.

Nor'Gar had kept his tone neutral when the elder, and spokesmen of the tribe, had come to him asking why the group was leaving early. He had informed the man that his people looked poorly on human sacrifice and that they could not attend. He wished their tribe the best of luck, and that he would be on his way. Within a short time, the people of Tornhemal had said goodbye to any friends they had made and the people from the true south who were not planning on leaving in such cold. And then they were off, all twenty-three, counting Vander, back towards the camp a full two ten-days or more away to the north east.

That night
,
Brigdha sat on a mat near the back of the large hut. Her hands and feet were bound. Over the last two days, the Elders had performed a number of cleansing rituals to prepare her for the Gods. Her hair had been washed, and her body cleaned. She had been stripped and coated in scented oils by the elder women. She now wore a thin leather ceremonial one piece sleeveless tunic which hung to her knees. Brigdha was very frightened. She had only seen nineteen harvests and yet here she sat being prepared for sacrifice. This was not the way it was supposed to happen! Her lover, husband, and friend Mohdan had died in her arms from the sickness. She had hoped it would take her as she had watched him die, but somehow she had been spared. Now she would be killed by these frightened people to appease their Gods. Her mind raced through fear after fear. Her greatest worry was that her spirit would be somehow lost if it were given to another God. If she died and was offered to a God other than those of her land, how could she be with her family in the afterlife? That fear worried her more than any thoughts of death. Duruth returned a moment later and sat beside her. He looked at her tear stre
aked face with a deep sadness.

“I do not want this, but if it is the will of the Gods than it must be. Will you take food your last night?” Brigdha wouldn't even look at Duruth. She gave a sarcastic chuckle which turned into a
sob. He stood and walked away.

Duruth felt bad for her, but in his heart he knew he was doing the will of the Gods. The streak through the sky last warm season had signaled the attention of the Gods. They sent signs when they had need of people to do their will. It had taken him until now to realize that will. He felt sad for those who had died before he understood the messages. Walking outside, Duruth was comforted by the light of a full moon. He walked over to the sacrificial area, a large wooden frame where the person was tied, arms and legs spread, and their neck was cut open. The frame was set so that the person would lie at about a 45 degree angle with their head pointed mostly down. At the bottom was a large clay pot which would catch the blood for the ritual afterward. He could almost see the young woman on the frame, and the thought pained him. He would risk the ire of the Gods and give her herbs to make her calm, he decided then. That shouldn't anger them much as they seemed only displeased that she had escaped death, not for any deed which warranted pain or suffering. She wouldn't know what was happening and woul
d slip away without much pain.

It was at that moment that he saw a rustle in the bushes not far from the palisade. Most of the tribe would be asleep by now, and few would be out wandering. Duruth wondered who or what had rustled the bushes. As he walked forward to see what was happening, the whole world suddenly went black and stars fill
ed his eyes.

The
club had been aim
ed at his head and was already swinging to hit when Duruth started moving. His abrupt and sudden motion forward had taken the man swinging the club by surprise, and the end of the club had only clipped his head. Truly, luck was with Duruth at that moment. Duruth stumbled forward and fell onto one knee. His head swam with confusion as he looked behind
himself and saw a man, a farmer from one of the outer parts of the tribe, walking forward with a club in one hand and a rabbit fur in the other.

*  *  *

As the
group moved off,
four scouts were sent aft of the group to ensure no one was following. The rescue team had been selected before they left: Sv'en, Ven'Gar, Tor'kal, Ember, who refused to be left out, and Aya, who refused to let Ven'Gar run off with Ember where she couldn't watch. Nor'Gar had tried to argue with the women, but Ember had reminded him that he had called her a warrior, and she had survived wolf attacks and crazy hunters too! Aya had just ignored him. He had conceded, finally giving up with either of them. Nor'Gar opted out himself, due to his age, entrusting the leadership of the rescue to Ven'Gar.

Before leaving, Ember had coated her face and body in a soot-based coloring to darken her appearance. After seeing how hard she was to see in the dark, the other four rescuers had also applied various designs of the dark paint.
Kis’tra
was almost startled when she saw how the group looked as she came to wish her husband good luck. With a double check of her bow string and wink to
Kis’tra
, Ember and the group were off. The rescue team broke off from the main group and carefully moved back to camp taking a roundabout away to avoid detection. They waited until the dark of night within sight of the village, upon a hill.

*  *  *