Ember of a New World (7 page)

The last to come forward was a young man who wished to take a mate. Everyone held their breaths as Vance stepped forward. Vance was a hunter from a close village to the east. He had short black hair and dark eyes. Vance wore a finely crafted leather vest and leather wrap around his waist, as did many of the men at the dance. His face was crossed by a single dark streak of paint from ear to ear, the cu
s
tom of his people. This declaration from Vance had been anticipated for quite some time, and many waited eagerly to see what would ha
p
pen. It was said that Ember's cousin Heather w
ould be the woman Vance chose.

“Great Elders
, I have need of you this night,”
He said.

“Oh..., do you now, young hunter? Step forward and tell us
about it,”
Black Rock said.

“I am Vance, son of the hunter Bael. I come from Dark Forest village, to the east. I have come to join with The Great River People as a hunter and to take a wife. What say you?” Behind Dark Rock, a young woman stood in the crowd with a look of worry. Behind her stood an older and eager woman who resembled the younger woman quite well. The older woman had an impatient look about her.

Get too it... you take too long Dark Rock
, that older woman thought. Dark Rock came upon Vance suddenly and with a fierce e
x
pression. Vance was visibly shaken, but he held his ground in the face of the mighty old hunter. Dark Rock's eyes belied a touch of
respect for the young hunter.

“You need more than skill to join our people. You need a link whi
ch binds your loyalty!”
Dark Rock said. Heather's impatient mother West, Ember's aunt, had told Dark Rock to keep it simple and quick. The decision to allow Vance to join the tribe had been made the previous day by the Elders, in secret, and the theatrics now occu
r
ring were causing Heather unneeded stress. Heather was a shy woman and was too nervous for anything too long. Dark Rock now addressed the mass of people with the scripted words of the ritual. Behind a group of people, Heather waited with her mother for the coming m
o
ment. The entire ritual was scripted, but the meanings were true. If she became scared and ran, it cou
ld prevent Vance from joining.

“Is there a woman here who w
ould be with this man as wife?”
Dark Rock asked.

“Have you a woman to call out, Vance of the Dark Forest vi
l
lage?”

“I have!”
Vance said. He turned and looked to where he knew Heather was.

“Heather, daughter of the crop grower Dargen and West, will you be my mate?
Will you stand beside me now?”
he
ask
ed
with as much gusto as he could create. For a moment, nothing happened as a bead of sweat rolled down Vance's face,
and then
Heather walked forward from the crowd. She wore a long leather wrap with black stripes and a leather shirt with the circle pattern of the tribe across the front. Heather had long brown hair let loose, as was the marital custom.
Around her waist, a simple leather thong with attached river mussel shells was fastened. It was said only a virgin could wear the shells without them breaking or falling off.

Ember didn't know were the saying came from or even what it meant. Ember had fashioned such a waistband a harvest before, and she and Blossom had both worn it without err. The custom had been adopted from other tribes and had become a fad of sorts. Ember saw Yellow Flowers watching and her mind could not keep silent.

I bet she can't even lift a shell. They probably turn into powder in her hands. Perhaps they will paint
them on her when the time comes;
but would the paint run?
Ember nearly laughed and caught h
erself. Such naughty thoughts.

Heather stepped forward and came before Vance as she spoke,
“I will stand with this man. He is a hunter and will bring us good luck. We can pla
nt our crops and eat fresh meat,”
she said. Morning Dew stepped forward and moved both Vance and Heather together to face
her.

“Vance, son of Bael, and Heather, daughter of Dargen and West
,
do each of you understand that you will now vow to live as one for the rest of your lives? Is this yo
ur choice?” Morning Dew asked.

“Yes
,”
both said at the same time looking at each other as if only the three of them existed. Heather's mother West looked as though she might melt into the ground, her e
yes welling with happy tears.

“Then it is so. From this night forward, Vance is a hunter of our people and joined with Heather. May the Gods bless you
,”
Morning Drew pro
claimed.

Vance and Heather embraced passionately as the tribe cheered. Kanter was glad it was over. He turned to say something but found both Ember and Blossom staring with wide glistening eyes and lon
g
ing expressions.

Why... why is it always this way with girls. Well, if they just stand there I am going for some food. Half of the tribe is now stunned so they won't notice me
.
W
ith that thought
,
Kanter snuck off to eat his fill
of mussels, his favorite food.

As the people cheered, Heather was lifted off of her feet by Vance and gently carried away to some secluded place where they would consummate their joining. This was the way of things, and with any luck
,
a child would come by early thawing season. As Heather, carried by Vance, passed Ember she gave her younger cousin a wink
and a smile. Ember and Blossom continued their feminine antics while Kan
ter filled his face with food.

After much dancing and talk of the new couple, the boys and girls who were to be declared Men and Women were called to the ci
r
cle as the Elders returned. Sometimes, there would only be one boy or one girl,
sometimes
a few. This harvest's festival was overflowing with children coming of age. The unseasonably warm weather, co
u
pled with the massive number of children and other “signs”, which the Elders had seen lately, suggested that this would be a special fe
s
tival. Perhaps one of the boys would be sent on a journey, a far reaching goal, to another tribe or a distant place. This was not co
m
monplace, and it was dangerous, but any boy who completed such a task would return a man, more of a man than many of the men already present. He might even return with a mate from another tribe. Many boys secretly hoped and feared such a task at the same time, though it was rare for such tasks to be fa
r reaching.

Luckily we girls get easier tasks. Who wants to go kill a deer or chew on a tree?
Ember held back a laugh at her foolish thoughts. E
m
ber's head was always filled with strange thoughts and observations. She had made a habit of observing her own people and could often be found watching people do their daily tasks. She had long ago learned that this was not the common way of
thinking amongst most people.

A collection of four boys and two girls came forward to become adults. Each stood as tough and stern as they could, though fear and anticipation were easily seen in their eyes. The boys were
the
first
to be seen.

Best for last
, Ember thought as she strode forward to join Yellow Flowers, the other girl who was to become a woman. Yellow Flowers gave Ember a jealous look as she eyed the beautiful green tunic which contrasted Ember's red hair so well. If lightning could burst from her eyes into Ember, it would have. Yellow Flowers wore a tunic of cor
d
ed fiber, much like Ember, but of a more earthy color and without the beads or feathers. Yellow Flower's family could have obtained a greater dress, but probably felt it unneeded, given Yellow Flower's well known effects on any traveling men who came to the village. This realization seemed to matter little to Yellow Flowers.

As the ritual continued, each of the boys was ceremonially brushed with a leafy branch by elder women to “remove” evil spirits from their bodies. The
tribe’s
markings, small circles, were applied to their faces, and a spear, or other such defensive weapon, was placed
in their hand by elder men. Each
boy’s
name was announced out loud. Some had changed their names from childish to adult, thoug
h not all boys opted for this.

“Where there was once a boy named Warm Sands, here now stands Strong Arm son of Flint Blade, defender and protector of the People
,”
Dark Rock announced.

We are going to run out of new names eventually
, Ember thought.
There are only so many different things to use as a name! Flint, w
a
ter, east, west, north, south... Perhaps we might all ch
o
ose two, or even three names! No...
Who
could remember three names for each
person?
Perhaps a family name than a personal name, but maybe...
Ember was always thinking and rarely about what she should. Her thoughts were interrupted by a flash of light in the sky. It was another s
treak of light, just as before. The streak was short and few seemed to notice.
As she touched a pensive finger to her cheek, the ritual conti
n
ued.

The Eldest woman, Morning Dew, would come forward and touch the head and hands of each boy looking for signs or other s
u
pernatural indicators of special tasks which must be performed for the Gods. Generally, each new man or woman would be given a simple task to complete. Men often would be given the task of hunting once alone or crafting an item of some quality. Women would be given tasks of creating beautiful works of weaving or pottery. On rare occ
a
sions a man, or even more rarely a woman, would be sent off on a long journey to some Gods known place. Ember wasn't worried about a journey as it was uncommon for men and basically didn't happen to women. The last known time was a story told of a woman tens of generations before. It was a tragic story. Ember recalled a bear being involved. She would most likely end up making some pot or other such ob
ject.

Ember waited with a nearly unhealthy anticipation to see if any of the boys would be sent on some silly and dangerous task. Each of the new men was given hunting tasks, except for Strong Arm. He was the most accomplished of the new men and had already hunted a deer by himself. Morning Dew found various undisclosed “signs” on him. They told her that Strong Arm needed to journey to the east, to a nearby tribe, the same tribe Vance came from, and seek a brown haired
woman that would be his mate.

As it just so happened, such a girl was part of a traveling group which had stopped by the tribe just this thawing season. This was the
way Elders played their match making game.
Ember
ha
d caught Warm Sand's eye and he, hers
. As the newly created Strong Arm, he could join with her if
Ember
was both amen
able and wasn't already taken.

What ironic luck that there would be signs found by the match maker herself, old Dew
, Ember thought ironically. Where were her friends to discuss this with? She looked back at Kanter, his mouth full of food, and Blossom, giving them an exaggerated wink. Ember wanted to gossip, but her turn was coming up and she wanted to be on
time for at least this event.

When the men were fully created new, they each hurried off to assert themselves as the new men they were by immediately claiming a woman they had eyed for a time
,
if she would have them, or by starting their tasks. After a few awkward interactions between the new men and several delighted, but embarrassed women, two of the men had proposed their feelings successfully. The delighted women had accepted, by their right, leaving the third man to find a mate in a nearby tribe sometime soon, and the fourth to do the same as part of his ta
sk.

One of the women, a young woman named Butterfly, agreed for an immediate joining, while the other woman, Cold Stream, opted for the next full moon. The second joining followed a similar theatrical ceremony as the first. Afterward, everyone returned to the festivities as a young hunter carried his new bride off, presumably to the
river bank for joining bliss.

After a short recess, Dark Rock came forward and waved the two girls, Ember and Yellow Flowers, forward. As the two girls came forward, Yellow Flowers stood ahead of Ember nearly pushing her aside. Dark Rock placed a h
and upon her head as he spoke.

“Yellow Flowers, daughter of Dancing Herd and Evening Flo
w
ers, you have been known to me for a long time as but a child. You have played and laughed at my feet, and yet I no longer look down to see you. Could you have become a woman while I grew old?”