The Mountain Prophecy: All Chapters
Chapter 1
"RUN! Run as fast as you can!"
Yelled momma, in sheer terror."You must make it to the mountains! That is the safest place for you, look for good shelter!" I had no idea what was really happening at the time, except for the fact that momma was yelling. My momma never raised her voice. I hugged my momma tight as she told me:"I will find you. Don't leave the mountains unless you have to.
"I love you momma!" I sobbed, and ran into the woods.
Suddenly, I heard a loud explosion of sound as my home was devoured by flame.
I didn't look back after that.
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I was only 5 at that time, now I'm-finally- 14. I still had not found a village, but I had relatively good shelter. Momma had told me to endure, and stay in the mountains. I'd grown to love it here, but I still missed my village and my momma.
As I walked along the little stream next to my cave, I spied a berry bush ripe with the first berries of spring. I ran back to my cave to grab my elk-skin pouch-I had learned a few things from travelers over the years- so I could gather the berries.
I filled my pouch, then went back to my cave to cook my supper. The berries would taste delicious with the last of the rabbit stew! I could not wait to devour my supper.
Just as I was starting to eat, I heard a rustling outside my door. I got up to see what it was.
"Hello old friend!" someone called. "My brother went to hunt with a friend of his, so I thought I would pay you a visit."
Of course! It was Cooper. I came out of the bushes.
"Hel-lo Coo-per," I said haltingly. I had not had company for a very long time. Cooper looked like he had been pondering something. I motioned for him to come inside. As we sat down at the table, he was able to elicit some words from me.
Crafty Cooper.
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The next morning I was up early cooking for me and Cooper. He had yet to wake up, because I had decided to let him sleep so he would have energy for his long journey back. I don't remember why Reader, but I kept looking over at where he was sleeping, as if he would suddenly disappear. When I looked over again, he was sitting up and groggily rubbing his eyes.
"Mor-ning Coo-per," I said.
"Morning boy," said he. "I see you've catered in some meat for us!"
"What's cay-turd?" I asked. Cooper told me, and then we sat down to eat breakfast. I asked him to tell me stories about his village while we ate. He told me about his little mountain top village, and how when the sun came up, it was the most spectacular sight in the world. He told me about all the little's running around, smelling the sweet mountain flowers.
I was enthralled. Never had I heard of sights like these! I had seen the sunset, I told him, because our village faced the west.
Cooper told me about wedding traditions, how the bride's mother and Aunt adorn her hair with flowers, and drape her shoulders with cloth. He told me many stories of his village, and I wanted to go there so badly!
"Hey there, settle down," said Cooper. "whats gotten you all excited?" He looked very puzzled.
"Cooper, I wish to go with you to your village."
"What? " he replied, astonished. "but you have this amazing cave, and you want to leave?"
"Yes. I have not had a home for 9 years. I want to live with other people again."
Cooper just shook his head.
"No boy, I can't bring you, my village would be upset. We have rules, you know. And you don't even have a name."
"You know full well why I don't have a name!" I yelled. In my former village, you don't get a name till age 6. I ran away when I was 5.
Cooper waited for my anger to abate.
"Alright boy, I will give you a map to my village. You may not come with me, because I will get in trouble. Come only when you are packed up.
"Oh yes Cooper!" I said excitedly, not thinking to ask why. I didn't care. I would have a home!
Chapter 2
The next day, as I was packing up my cave, I realized how almost sad it was that I would be leaving the home I had lived in for 9 years. I was very excited of course but it was still a pretty sad morning. I had decided to leave the next morning, and split the trip into two days, leaving Cooper enough time to get back to his village before I came. He had told me that if I went all in one day, it would take me 6 hours. Cooper had left yesterday. I would be leaving the next morning, very early. If I could pack up fast enough.
Later that night, I was laying in bed, thinking. Why had Cooper given me the map, after he told me I couldn't come? What would this so called "trouble" be if he brought me with him? As these questions rolled through my head, I knew I was not going to fall asleep quickly that night.
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"Yessssss... he will do nicely... bring him to me... I need to have strength...."
"Master, I do not know where to find him. It all looks the same."
"FIND HIM!"
"Master, I will need your help! I am not so extraordinarily gifted as you are at tracking!"
"Go and get me my spell scroll, Servahcah. I will read to you a spell of scent."
"Yes master, thank you mast-"
"DO NOT FAIL on this. I must have fresh meat. I MUST. Know this Servahcah: If you do not find this boy before the spring equinox, Our plan will fail."
"Master, I thought you-"
"FIND HIM SERVAHCAH, or go to HADES!"
"Yes master. He has already been given a map to a village, I watched though that man's eyes. I will intercept him there."
"Good. Now I must rest. Servahcah, go and find me Levahna. She makes a most powerful sleeping drought. I must be well rested for our plan to come together, and you must find the boy. Learn his name. Use it against him. Names have power, you know."
"Yes Master." The man ran off down a corridor to find the lady Levahna. The other man, the one who was called master, turned in his chair, and looked the boy straight in the eyes.
He seemed to be able to sense that some spirit was there.
"Boy, watch your back. We are coming, and we will not be merciless."
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"AAA!" I screamed, and sat up. What was that? I didn't know I could see people in my dreams. I wonder if that was really just a dream, or if it was a vision?
I slowly got out of bed, and went to my fireplace to cook breakfast. I grabbed my fresh rabbit meat- that was about the only thing I could hunt these days- and some of the berries I had gathered three days ago. The berries were not fresh, but they would make a good sauce. A few minuets later, my food was gone, and I was almost all packed up. The last things I needed were my bedding and my map.
I left as soon as the sun was up, because I wanted to get a good start, and maybe walk 4 hours. I knew I could walk for 3 hours, but I was too excited to to think straight. That weird dream I had, had even slipped my mind. I was being foolish, reader, to think that I would make it to the village without even a scratch.
I whistled as I walked, to pass the time. I whistled a tune about my home, and about seeing my family one last time. It was a sad sort of tune, so I started singing a silly song about five little merabears jumping on the bed. I know, dear reader, that song is a silly 5 year old's song, but It cheered me up a little to know that these merabears only had to worry about jumping on the bed. I smiled, and recalled a song that Cooper had taught me.
O mountain near
Call me to your side
That I may revel in your beauty
Singing songs of your glorious sight!
Mountain near, O mountain near,
How far you really are
When I am so close to your abundant life
I feel so small, you are so big!
My mountain near
I love you so
As you shelter me from storm
And unwelcome forces are no match for you!
Mountaineer,
Be careful near my mountain
She is like a mother merabear
Fiercely protecting her children!
Thank you, my mountain
For all that you do
Shelter, warmth, and food
Thank you, thank you
I love my mountain home!
I finish the song, and I think how very true those verses sound. They are also in a very silly perspective.
When I think, I have a tendency to not pay attention to my surroundings. Suddenly, there was a girl, standing in front of me! She had on a lot of furs, and she was very tall and sleek looking,with severely white hair only past her ears. I blanched.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"My name is Tempest. Who are you?" She replied.
" I don't know. I lived in a cave." I told her.
"Wait, you don't have a name? and you lived, as in formerly in a cave? Why don't you live there anymore?"
"Well, I'm headed to a village east of here." She looked down into my hands.
"You don't need a map then silly! you just need to follow the sun! Don't you know that? or have you been living alone for years?"
"As a matter of fact, I have." I said indignantly "My village was destroyed when I was 5 winters."
"Oh, I'm sorry. But all you really need to know is when the sun comes up walk toward it. It should bring you right to that village."
" Thanks Tempest. I'll remember that now."
"And one other thing," she replied, and I detected a hint of urgency in her tone. "Don't tell anyone you saw me. "
"Why?" I asked, confused. Who was this girl?
"Because I asked you to. I've got to go." She told me, mysteriously.
I watched her run off, and sighed. Facing the sun? Alright. Lets do this. I thought, and promptly fell over asleep.
Chapter 3:
"What a bone-head! Doesn't he know that falling asleep in the woods is dangerous?"
"I know right? I wonder where he came from."
"Is he from one of the four-well, three now- villages?"
"I think I would have seen him- Oh! he's waking up!"
I opened my eyes and yawned groggily, trying to pretend that I had heard nothing. As I sat up, I saw that their were four people around me, and they all looked about my age.
"Hello there, what are you doing standing over me like that?" I wondered.
"Oh! we're sorry! we didn't mean to scare you!" said a tiny, mousy-haired girl. "My name is May."
"What're you talking about M? Of course we meant to scare him! My name is Slip."
This boy was sleek and wiry, probably why he was called Slip.
" I'm Red. And no, Slip. We did not mean to scare him." Red, as she was called, had hair that was redder than poppies in the summer.
" I'm Louie. Slip is the one who called you a bone-head. if you even heard him."
This boy had hair so curly and black, you could pull it with your finger and It would bounce back into shape naturally.
" It's nice to meet you. I'm heading to the eastern village." I told them.
" We're going there too! We've been told th-!!!!"
"Shut it M! You're not supposed to tell!"
"Sorry Slip. I forgot."
I looked around at the group, confused. What had they heard? Would it have anything to do with my dream?
"Hey... would it be alright if I traveled with you guys? We're all going the same way, anyway." Slip looked at me as if I had grown another pair of arms.
"Of course, man! what do you think we were going to do? Make you walk 50 feet behind us?" He said, incredulously.
"Well, no... I guess not." I replied.
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That afternoon as we were walking- er, I should say, slowly plodding single file- uphill, I noticed one thing about the group of four that I was accompanying: they all seemed extremely tense, as if they were on an important mission, and had just had something almost interfere with their plans. Except for May. She was as naive as she was when I met her, and she wouldn't. Stop. Talking. It was starting to get excruciatingly annoying. At present, she was telling no-one in particular about butter. Every kind of butter. I had no idea where she got to talking about butter from.
"...And my favorite butter is raspberry butter and my mom's favorite butter is blueberry butter, and my aunt's favorite butter is plain ole' butter, I dunno why, it's so plain ole', and my dad's favorite butter is peanut butter..."
"Red," I asked, as she was the one closest to me. "Is she always like this? why do you hang out with her?" I wondered.
"Well no, she is not always like this, but mostly. And we hang out with her, because she's our friend." She told me curtly.
"Sheesh, I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't realize you were so protective of her. I've lived in a cave for most of my life, so my manners aren't up to date. I said sheepishly.
"You lived in a cave? Why?"
I had learned my lesson with Tempest, not to tell everything.
"Oh, lets just say it was an emergency and I had to evacuate my home."
"How old were you when you left?" She eagerly asked me.
I decided to be as vague as possible, because to be honest, I was a little shy about all the details.
" I was pretty young, but old enough to know a few things." I said.
"Oh," She said, clearly understanding that I wanted to drop the subject.
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Two hours later, we were finally withing sight of Cooper's village. After I had dropped the subject of leaving home with Red, Slip came back And told me what he was doing with the group. Apparently, he had run away from home as a little kid too, but he had done it because he had wanted to, not out of necessity. He told me that he had an abusive dad, and a horribly addicted mom. His sister had died from being slapped so hard by their dad that she hit her head on the corner of the table and her skull was split open. Slip looked a mixture of angry and sad when he told me this, then looked over at me and said:
"So what's your story?"
I was completely caught off guard by this, and after the initial shock wore off I was a little upset. Had Red told Slip to come pour out his soul to me? Even though I had grown up in a cave, That just didn't seem right to me.
As soon as I though this, Slip said that I didn't have to tell him right now, because we were quite close to the village.
That immediately lifted my spirits by a mile. The village! I would have a real home now!
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The village was everything that I had ever dreamed of. They called themselves the Easterners; and rightfully so, since they were in the east. Right as we got there, we were greeted warmly. Louie, Red, Slip and May were welcomed as if they had been there before. They probably had.
Once we were all welcomed( The Easterners had a ritual for welcoming.) Cooper walked up to me.
"Ah, hello boy, I see you've made some friends. I trust that you've not tired yourself out to much?"
"No, Cooper."
"Good. Let me show you where the guest house is. You can stay there until we figure out what to do with you." I followed Cooper, and I admit to say that I followed him like a little lost puppy. You would too, if he had given you the key to a family.
When Cooper had shown me to the guest house and given me some food, he told me to go and get some much needed rest.
"Tomorrow is going to be a big day boy. We are going to decide if you are worthy to join our village."
"Who's we?" I asked him.
"Tomorrow boy. Tomorrow. Get some rest."
I waited until Copper left the house to close my eyes. Somewhere in my brain I had realized that I had to keep my guard up. I didn't know why, but I felt that tomorrow would not go how it was supposed to.
Chapter 4:
The next afternoon, the village council called a meeting, and insisted that I go. I didn't really know why, but I had a feeling that it was going to be interesting. I had never been to a meeting before, and I didn't know what to expect.
Cooper came and got me when the sun was highest in the sky, and told me that I was to report with him to the Council Hall immediately.
"You are going to be accepted into the village today, if the Council members deem you worthy."
When had he started talking so formally? Whenever Cooper had come to my cave, he had a easygoing, comfortable air about him. I had never experienced this mysterious side of him before.
When we go to the council hall, Cooper turned sharply to me, and said: "Now, son, don't go getting your tongue in a knot. The Council, they know. They've been blessed with powers beyond our comprehension." I think that was supposed to reassure me, but it didn't. At all.
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"Today, we are gathering because of the miraculous arrival of this young boy. He claims to have lived in a cave for nine years of his life. We do not know where he is originally from. Today we hope to get answers, and to put him through many trials to see if he would do well in our village, and to see if he is essential to our survival. I know that may sound quite unnerving, and harsh, but they are precautions that we must take to ensure safety to our people."
I gulped. This man already scared me, and there were eleven other men on the stage. Double gulp.
"Young man!" I snapped my head up to look at the head- or so I assumed- Council member.
"What is your name?"
"I have none." I explained.
"What? How can this be? can you tell us anything from before you were in the cave?"
"Well, I do remember, sir, that the village that I originally came from, the children did not get their names until they were six. I was only five when I left."
"Why, on earth did you leave?"
"Because my mother was urging me to go, and it was being destroyed. I would have died, if I had stayed there."
"Oh dear. How did you come to know of this village?"
I started to say Cooper, but he looked at me sharply and shook his head.
"Sometimes I would give travelers a place to stay, and heard about this place. I was awfully lonely."
"Well. That explains it. How else would come to know of us? We are a village know for its travelers." The way he said it gave me a chill down my spine, and all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
"Young man, are you prepared to go through troubling tests? The first of which is a riddle?"
"Yes of course." I said, a bit to eagerly.
"You realize, that if you pass these tests, you will not only be a part of this village, but you will have the opportunity to be adopted?"
"Yes sir." I told him.
"Then let us begin. Here is your first test:"
I am the thing you look to for shelter
But not made of of wood or bricks.
Whenever you go away, you will always think of me
But I am not a physical being.
I am always open to friends,
But never closed to someone in need.
You dream in me
You plan in me
You love in me
You believe in me
And you will never be without me,
If you have a reason for me.
What am I?
Oof. I knew I was bad a riddles, but this one was so hard for me. At the time, I did not even
have one of these.
I thought and thought. And thought. And thought. It is not made of wood or bricks? Whenever I am away I will always think of it? What?
Suddenly, something my mother had said once to me popped into my head.
"A house is made of wood and beams, a home is built on love and dreams."
"It's a home." I said.
"Wow! No-one has ever gotten that one that fast!" Someone said on the background. I ignored it though, I needed to know what the next part of the test would be.
"Very good. It is indeed a home. Now, for the second part of the test."
The Council member handed me a scroll of parchment, and on it were pictures of a sword, a book, a plow, a cow, a map and a pile of gold. At least, I though it was gold.
"Your next test: identify everything and tell my why it is important, then tell me what you believe to be the most important."
Oh, that would be easy. I thought. A cow would be important, because you need a source of food. A sword would be important, because you would need a way to defend yourself, or your people. A book would be important so that you could document important things, and events in history. As I went through the list in my head, I realized that to me, the most important would be the map. With a map, you could chart unexplored lands, and mark important places. You could explore the world!
"The Sword is important, because you need a way to defend yourself." I stated. I went down the list again, this time out loud. When I came to the map, I said:
"I think the map is the most important. You need a map to explore other places, and you can make maps for future reference for other people." I held my breath, waiting for an answer.
"Ah, I see. As of right now, I believe you would be a very valuable asset. I have never had someone say that the map is the most important. Well done, young man. Well done."
I beamed. I liked getting praised like this. But, I had detected a bit of suspicion in his voice.
"Tomorrow, you will have your final test. Meeting adjourned!"
As everybody started to leave the Hall, The Head Council Member called me over to him.
"Come here, young man. Into this room. We need to talk."
I had the strangest feeling of dread pass through me, then suspition.
"What is it, sir?" I asked, as he shut the door to the little back room.
"We need to know your name. We simply cannot keep calling you young man or boy. Do you understand? I know you don't have any right to trust me, so before you give me your name, I will give you mine."
He said hi name was Mikel, and then asked me again what I wanted to be called.
I thought about it for a while, because I had never had a name, and I wanted it to be a good one.
I had heard some women in the village talking about baby names, and one of the names I had heard was Nolan. I liked that name very much. It sounded courageous and strong, yet humble and kind.
"Nolan." I said. "My name is Nolan."
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After I had left the Council Hall, Slip called me over.
"Hey man! What's up? How'd it go? Anything exciting happen?" He bagered me with so many questions, that i felt overwhelmed.
"Hi Slip. It went fine, basically they asked me a bunch of riddle type stuff, and the final part is tomorrow. Also, I have a name now."
"You do? That's great!Let me go get the others, and then you can tell us!" He yelled, as he ran off. I contemplated telling them, because ever since that weird dream* I had had in the forest, I wasn't sure I could trust them.
"You are right not to trussst them..."
"Huh? Who said that?"
"It wasss me. I am down here."
I looked down, and sitting there was a deep green snake. I almost jumped out of my skin! When had I started being able to talk to snakes?
"How am I talking to a snake? Am I going crazy? Stop it Nolan, stop it!" It felt good to say my name out loud.
"Imbeccccccile! People will hear you! Do you want to get caught?"
"No, but... I... well..."
"Your friendsssss are coming. Quick! Hide me in you sssssshirt!"
"Wait, how do I know I can trust you?"
"My name issss Sssssylvesssster. Now hide me!"
"A snake names Sylvester?"
*See Chapter 2
"RUN! Run as fast as you can!"
Yelled momma, in sheer terror."You must make it to the mountains! That is the safest place for you, look for good shelter!" I had no idea what was really happening at the time, except for the fact that momma was yelling. My momma never raised her voice. I hugged my momma tight as she told me:"I will find you. Don't leave the mountains unless you have to.
"I love you momma!" I sobbed, and ran into the woods.
Suddenly, I heard a loud explosion of sound as my home was devoured by flame.
I didn't look back after that.
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I was only 5 at that time, now I'm-finally- 14. I still had not found a village, but I had relatively good shelter. Momma had told me to endure, and stay in the mountains. I'd grown to love it here, but I still missed my village and my momma.
As I walked along the little stream next to my cave, I spied a berry bush ripe with the first berries of spring. I ran back to my cave to grab my elk-skin pouch-I had learned a few things from travelers over the years- so I could gather the berries.
I filled my pouch, then went back to my cave to cook my supper. The berries would taste delicious with the last of the rabbit stew! I could not wait to devour my supper.
Just as I was starting to eat, I heard a rustling outside my door. I got up to see what it was.
"Hello old friend!" someone called. "My brother went to hunt with a friend of his, so I thought I would pay you a visit."
Of course! It was Cooper. I came out of the bushes.
"Hel-lo Coo-per," I said haltingly. I had not had company for a very long time. Cooper looked like he had been pondering something. I motioned for him to come inside. As we sat down at the table, he was able to elicit some words from me.
Crafty Cooper.
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The next morning I was up early cooking for me and Cooper. He had yet to wake up, because I had decided to let him sleep so he would have energy for his long journey back. I don't remember why Reader, but I kept looking over at where he was sleeping, as if he would suddenly disappear. When I looked over again, he was sitting up and groggily rubbing his eyes.
"Mor-ning Coo-per," I said.
"Morning boy," said he. "I see you've catered in some meat for us!"
"What's cay-turd?" I asked. Cooper told me, and then we sat down to eat breakfast. I asked him to tell me stories about his village while we ate. He told me about his little mountain top village, and how when the sun came up, it was the most spectacular sight in the world. He told me about all the little's running around, smelling the sweet mountain flowers.
I was enthralled. Never had I heard of sights like these! I had seen the sunset, I told him, because our village faced the west.
Cooper told me about wedding traditions, how the bride's mother and Aunt adorn her hair with flowers, and drape her shoulders with cloth. He told me many stories of his village, and I wanted to go there so badly!
"Hey there, settle down," said Cooper. "whats gotten you all excited?" He looked very puzzled.
"Cooper, I wish to go with you to your village."
"What? " he replied, astonished. "but you have this amazing cave, and you want to leave?"
"Yes. I have not had a home for 9 years. I want to live with other people again."
Cooper just shook his head.
"No boy, I can't bring you, my village would be upset. We have rules, you know. And you don't even have a name."
"You know full well why I don't have a name!" I yelled. In my former village, you don't get a name till age 6. I ran away when I was 5.
Cooper waited for my anger to abate.
"Alright boy, I will give you a map to my village. You may not come with me, because I will get in trouble. Come only when you are packed up.
"Oh yes Cooper!" I said excitedly, not thinking to ask why. I didn't care. I would have a home!
Chapter 2
The next day, as I was packing up my cave, I realized how almost sad it was that I would be leaving the home I had lived in for 9 years. I was very excited of course but it was still a pretty sad morning. I had decided to leave the next morning, and split the trip into two days, leaving Cooper enough time to get back to his village before I came. He had told me that if I went all in one day, it would take me 6 hours. Cooper had left yesterday. I would be leaving the next morning, very early. If I could pack up fast enough.
Later that night, I was laying in bed, thinking. Why had Cooper given me the map, after he told me I couldn't come? What would this so called "trouble" be if he brought me with him? As these questions rolled through my head, I knew I was not going to fall asleep quickly that night.
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"Yessssss... he will do nicely... bring him to me... I need to have strength...."
"Master, I do not know where to find him. It all looks the same."
"FIND HIM!"
"Master, I will need your help! I am not so extraordinarily gifted as you are at tracking!"
"Go and get me my spell scroll, Servahcah. I will read to you a spell of scent."
"Yes master, thank you mast-"
"DO NOT FAIL on this. I must have fresh meat. I MUST. Know this Servahcah: If you do not find this boy before the spring equinox, Our plan will fail."
"Master, I thought you-"
"FIND HIM SERVAHCAH, or go to HADES!"
"Yes master. He has already been given a map to a village, I watched though that man's eyes. I will intercept him there."
"Good. Now I must rest. Servahcah, go and find me Levahna. She makes a most powerful sleeping drought. I must be well rested for our plan to come together, and you must find the boy. Learn his name. Use it against him. Names have power, you know."
"Yes Master." The man ran off down a corridor to find the lady Levahna. The other man, the one who was called master, turned in his chair, and looked the boy straight in the eyes.
He seemed to be able to sense that some spirit was there.
"Boy, watch your back. We are coming, and we will not be merciless."
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"AAA!" I screamed, and sat up. What was that? I didn't know I could see people in my dreams. I wonder if that was really just a dream, or if it was a vision?
I slowly got out of bed, and went to my fireplace to cook breakfast. I grabbed my fresh rabbit meat- that was about the only thing I could hunt these days- and some of the berries I had gathered three days ago. The berries were not fresh, but they would make a good sauce. A few minuets later, my food was gone, and I was almost all packed up. The last things I needed were my bedding and my map.
I left as soon as the sun was up, because I wanted to get a good start, and maybe walk 4 hours. I knew I could walk for 3 hours, but I was too excited to to think straight. That weird dream I had, had even slipped my mind. I was being foolish, reader, to think that I would make it to the village without even a scratch.
I whistled as I walked, to pass the time. I whistled a tune about my home, and about seeing my family one last time. It was a sad sort of tune, so I started singing a silly song about five little merabears jumping on the bed. I know, dear reader, that song is a silly 5 year old's song, but It cheered me up a little to know that these merabears only had to worry about jumping on the bed. I smiled, and recalled a song that Cooper had taught me.
O mountain near
Call me to your side
That I may revel in your beauty
Singing songs of your glorious sight!
Mountain near, O mountain near,
How far you really are
When I am so close to your abundant life
I feel so small, you are so big!
My mountain near
I love you so
As you shelter me from storm
And unwelcome forces are no match for you!
Mountaineer,
Be careful near my mountain
She is like a mother merabear
Fiercely protecting her children!
Thank you, my mountain
For all that you do
Shelter, warmth, and food
Thank you, thank you
I love my mountain home!
I finish the song, and I think how very true those verses sound. They are also in a very silly perspective.
When I think, I have a tendency to not pay attention to my surroundings. Suddenly, there was a girl, standing in front of me! She had on a lot of furs, and she was very tall and sleek looking,with severely white hair only past her ears. I blanched.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"My name is Tempest. Who are you?" She replied.
" I don't know. I lived in a cave." I told her.
"Wait, you don't have a name? and you lived, as in formerly in a cave? Why don't you live there anymore?"
"Well, I'm headed to a village east of here." She looked down into my hands.
"You don't need a map then silly! you just need to follow the sun! Don't you know that? or have you been living alone for years?"
"As a matter of fact, I have." I said indignantly "My village was destroyed when I was 5 winters."
"Oh, I'm sorry. But all you really need to know is when the sun comes up walk toward it. It should bring you right to that village."
" Thanks Tempest. I'll remember that now."
"And one other thing," she replied, and I detected a hint of urgency in her tone. "Don't tell anyone you saw me. "
"Why?" I asked, confused. Who was this girl?
"Because I asked you to. I've got to go." She told me, mysteriously.
I watched her run off, and sighed. Facing the sun? Alright. Lets do this. I thought, and promptly fell over asleep.
Chapter 3:
"What a bone-head! Doesn't he know that falling asleep in the woods is dangerous?"
"I know right? I wonder where he came from."
"Is he from one of the four-well, three now- villages?"
"I think I would have seen him- Oh! he's waking up!"
I opened my eyes and yawned groggily, trying to pretend that I had heard nothing. As I sat up, I saw that their were four people around me, and they all looked about my age.
"Hello there, what are you doing standing over me like that?" I wondered.
"Oh! we're sorry! we didn't mean to scare you!" said a tiny, mousy-haired girl. "My name is May."
"What're you talking about M? Of course we meant to scare him! My name is Slip."
This boy was sleek and wiry, probably why he was called Slip.
" I'm Red. And no, Slip. We did not mean to scare him." Red, as she was called, had hair that was redder than poppies in the summer.
" I'm Louie. Slip is the one who called you a bone-head. if you even heard him."
This boy had hair so curly and black, you could pull it with your finger and It would bounce back into shape naturally.
" It's nice to meet you. I'm heading to the eastern village." I told them.
" We're going there too! We've been told th-!!!!"
"Shut it M! You're not supposed to tell!"
"Sorry Slip. I forgot."
I looked around at the group, confused. What had they heard? Would it have anything to do with my dream?
"Hey... would it be alright if I traveled with you guys? We're all going the same way, anyway." Slip looked at me as if I had grown another pair of arms.
"Of course, man! what do you think we were going to do? Make you walk 50 feet behind us?" He said, incredulously.
"Well, no... I guess not." I replied.
මමමමමමමමමම
That afternoon as we were walking- er, I should say, slowly plodding single file- uphill, I noticed one thing about the group of four that I was accompanying: they all seemed extremely tense, as if they were on an important mission, and had just had something almost interfere with their plans. Except for May. She was as naive as she was when I met her, and she wouldn't. Stop. Talking. It was starting to get excruciatingly annoying. At present, she was telling no-one in particular about butter. Every kind of butter. I had no idea where she got to talking about butter from.
"...And my favorite butter is raspberry butter and my mom's favorite butter is blueberry butter, and my aunt's favorite butter is plain ole' butter, I dunno why, it's so plain ole', and my dad's favorite butter is peanut butter..."
"Red," I asked, as she was the one closest to me. "Is she always like this? why do you hang out with her?" I wondered.
"Well no, she is not always like this, but mostly. And we hang out with her, because she's our friend." She told me curtly.
"Sheesh, I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't realize you were so protective of her. I've lived in a cave for most of my life, so my manners aren't up to date. I said sheepishly.
"You lived in a cave? Why?"
I had learned my lesson with Tempest, not to tell everything.
"Oh, lets just say it was an emergency and I had to evacuate my home."
"How old were you when you left?" She eagerly asked me.
I decided to be as vague as possible, because to be honest, I was a little shy about all the details.
" I was pretty young, but old enough to know a few things." I said.
"Oh," She said, clearly understanding that I wanted to drop the subject.
මමමමමමමමමම
Two hours later, we were finally withing sight of Cooper's village. After I had dropped the subject of leaving home with Red, Slip came back And told me what he was doing with the group. Apparently, he had run away from home as a little kid too, but he had done it because he had wanted to, not out of necessity. He told me that he had an abusive dad, and a horribly addicted mom. His sister had died from being slapped so hard by their dad that she hit her head on the corner of the table and her skull was split open. Slip looked a mixture of angry and sad when he told me this, then looked over at me and said:
"So what's your story?"
I was completely caught off guard by this, and after the initial shock wore off I was a little upset. Had Red told Slip to come pour out his soul to me? Even though I had grown up in a cave, That just didn't seem right to me.
As soon as I though this, Slip said that I didn't have to tell him right now, because we were quite close to the village.
That immediately lifted my spirits by a mile. The village! I would have a real home now!
මමමමමමමමමම
The village was everything that I had ever dreamed of. They called themselves the Easterners; and rightfully so, since they were in the east. Right as we got there, we were greeted warmly. Louie, Red, Slip and May were welcomed as if they had been there before. They probably had.
Once we were all welcomed( The Easterners had a ritual for welcoming.) Cooper walked up to me.
"Ah, hello boy, I see you've made some friends. I trust that you've not tired yourself out to much?"
"No, Cooper."
"Good. Let me show you where the guest house is. You can stay there until we figure out what to do with you." I followed Cooper, and I admit to say that I followed him like a little lost puppy. You would too, if he had given you the key to a family.
When Cooper had shown me to the guest house and given me some food, he told me to go and get some much needed rest.
"Tomorrow is going to be a big day boy. We are going to decide if you are worthy to join our village."
"Who's we?" I asked him.
"Tomorrow boy. Tomorrow. Get some rest."
I waited until Copper left the house to close my eyes. Somewhere in my brain I had realized that I had to keep my guard up. I didn't know why, but I felt that tomorrow would not go how it was supposed to.
Chapter 4:
The next afternoon, the village council called a meeting, and insisted that I go. I didn't really know why, but I had a feeling that it was going to be interesting. I had never been to a meeting before, and I didn't know what to expect.
Cooper came and got me when the sun was highest in the sky, and told me that I was to report with him to the Council Hall immediately.
"You are going to be accepted into the village today, if the Council members deem you worthy."
When had he started talking so formally? Whenever Cooper had come to my cave, he had a easygoing, comfortable air about him. I had never experienced this mysterious side of him before.
When we go to the council hall, Cooper turned sharply to me, and said: "Now, son, don't go getting your tongue in a knot. The Council, they know. They've been blessed with powers beyond our comprehension." I think that was supposed to reassure me, but it didn't. At all.
මමමමමමමමමම
"Today, we are gathering because of the miraculous arrival of this young boy. He claims to have lived in a cave for nine years of his life. We do not know where he is originally from. Today we hope to get answers, and to put him through many trials to see if he would do well in our village, and to see if he is essential to our survival. I know that may sound quite unnerving, and harsh, but they are precautions that we must take to ensure safety to our people."
I gulped. This man already scared me, and there were eleven other men on the stage. Double gulp.
"Young man!" I snapped my head up to look at the head- or so I assumed- Council member.
"What is your name?"
"I have none." I explained.
"What? How can this be? can you tell us anything from before you were in the cave?"
"Well, I do remember, sir, that the village that I originally came from, the children did not get their names until they were six. I was only five when I left."
"Why, on earth did you leave?"
"Because my mother was urging me to go, and it was being destroyed. I would have died, if I had stayed there."
"Oh dear. How did you come to know of this village?"
I started to say Cooper, but he looked at me sharply and shook his head.
"Sometimes I would give travelers a place to stay, and heard about this place. I was awfully lonely."
"Well. That explains it. How else would come to know of us? We are a village know for its travelers." The way he said it gave me a chill down my spine, and all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
"Young man, are you prepared to go through troubling tests? The first of which is a riddle?"
"Yes of course." I said, a bit to eagerly.
"You realize, that if you pass these tests, you will not only be a part of this village, but you will have the opportunity to be adopted?"
"Yes sir." I told him.
"Then let us begin. Here is your first test:"
I am the thing you look to for shelter
But not made of of wood or bricks.
Whenever you go away, you will always think of me
But I am not a physical being.
I am always open to friends,
But never closed to someone in need.
You dream in me
You plan in me
You love in me
You believe in me
And you will never be without me,
If you have a reason for me.
What am I?
Oof. I knew I was bad a riddles, but this one was so hard for me. At the time, I did not even
have one of these.
I thought and thought. And thought. And thought. It is not made of wood or bricks? Whenever I am away I will always think of it? What?
Suddenly, something my mother had said once to me popped into my head.
"A house is made of wood and beams, a home is built on love and dreams."
"It's a home." I said.
"Wow! No-one has ever gotten that one that fast!" Someone said on the background. I ignored it though, I needed to know what the next part of the test would be.
"Very good. It is indeed a home. Now, for the second part of the test."
The Council member handed me a scroll of parchment, and on it were pictures of a sword, a book, a plow, a cow, a map and a pile of gold. At least, I though it was gold.
"Your next test: identify everything and tell my why it is important, then tell me what you believe to be the most important."
Oh, that would be easy. I thought. A cow would be important, because you need a source of food. A sword would be important, because you would need a way to defend yourself, or your people. A book would be important so that you could document important things, and events in history. As I went through the list in my head, I realized that to me, the most important would be the map. With a map, you could chart unexplored lands, and mark important places. You could explore the world!
"The Sword is important, because you need a way to defend yourself." I stated. I went down the list again, this time out loud. When I came to the map, I said:
"I think the map is the most important. You need a map to explore other places, and you can make maps for future reference for other people." I held my breath, waiting for an answer.
"Ah, I see. As of right now, I believe you would be a very valuable asset. I have never had someone say that the map is the most important. Well done, young man. Well done."
I beamed. I liked getting praised like this. But, I had detected a bit of suspicion in his voice.
"Tomorrow, you will have your final test. Meeting adjourned!"
As everybody started to leave the Hall, The Head Council Member called me over to him.
"Come here, young man. Into this room. We need to talk."
I had the strangest feeling of dread pass through me, then suspition.
"What is it, sir?" I asked, as he shut the door to the little back room.
"We need to know your name. We simply cannot keep calling you young man or boy. Do you understand? I know you don't have any right to trust me, so before you give me your name, I will give you mine."
He said hi name was Mikel, and then asked me again what I wanted to be called.
I thought about it for a while, because I had never had a name, and I wanted it to be a good one.
I had heard some women in the village talking about baby names, and one of the names I had heard was Nolan. I liked that name very much. It sounded courageous and strong, yet humble and kind.
"Nolan." I said. "My name is Nolan."
මමමමමමමමමම
After I had left the Council Hall, Slip called me over.
"Hey man! What's up? How'd it go? Anything exciting happen?" He bagered me with so many questions, that i felt overwhelmed.
"Hi Slip. It went fine, basically they asked me a bunch of riddle type stuff, and the final part is tomorrow. Also, I have a name now."
"You do? That's great!Let me go get the others, and then you can tell us!" He yelled, as he ran off. I contemplated telling them, because ever since that weird dream* I had had in the forest, I wasn't sure I could trust them.
"You are right not to trussst them..."
"Huh? Who said that?"
"It wasss me. I am down here."
I looked down, and sitting there was a deep green snake. I almost jumped out of my skin! When had I started being able to talk to snakes?
"How am I talking to a snake? Am I going crazy? Stop it Nolan, stop it!" It felt good to say my name out loud.
"Imbeccccccile! People will hear you! Do you want to get caught?"
"No, but... I... well..."
"Your friendsssss are coming. Quick! Hide me in you sssssshirt!"
"Wait, how do I know I can trust you?"
"My name issss Sssssylvesssster. Now hide me!"
"A snake names Sylvester?"
"Yesssss!"
"Okay, okay."
When I looked up again, I saw Slip and his friends running towards me. They looked really excited, as if I had sssssomething to tell them. Oh! Excuse me, dear reader, I think the snake language got to me.
"HEY man! I got my people! Now, spill!
"How do I know I can trust you? I heard somewhere that-"
"Oh, hon, don't worry about it! May said. I had a feeling that she was not as stupid and naive as she looked.
"I'll tell you if you answer this:"
I am a wide mouthed grin going down, and spilling tears coming up. What am I?
"Man, I am so bad at riddles! Why'd you have to do that, man?"
"Because," reprimanded Red. "Names have power, stupid!"
"The answer is a bucket going down in a well." Louie told me.
"Is that your final answer?" I asked.
"Yes, man!"
"Yup."
"Yes, hon!"
"Yeah."
"Okay. My name is-" Suddenly, Cooper interrupted me.
"Boy! What are you doing?" He asked me. "You are supposed to be in the kitchens, cooking!"
I sighed, and followed him dejectedly.
"Is that your final answer?" I asked.
"Yes, man!"
"Yup."
"Yes, hon!"
"Yeah."
"Okay. My name is-" Suddenly, Cooper interrupted me.
"Boy! What are you doing?" He asked me. "You are supposed to be in the kitchens, cooking!"
I sighed, and followed him dejectedly.
*See Chapter 2
NOTE IF YOU HAVE ALREADY READ THESE DO NOT PAY ATTENTION I AM RELEASING CHAPTER THREE SOON!!!
ReplyDeleteYeah!!!!
ReplyDeleteMaya, great work so far! I love it!
ReplyDelete-Lydia
I vote Quest
ReplyDeleteokay, I will put another for quest. Thanks Lydia!
ReplyDeleteUm You should do Nolan Its so cute.
ReplyDeleteO my goodness Quest for sure
ReplyDeleteWow.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys! I have started working on chapter 4 now. Mabey I will use both names! One for one character, the other for another character. BTW I would love to know your (screen)names!
ReplyDelete