"Why can't she stay here?" Dyani asked, pleading with her husband as she put another handful of dried berries and nuts into a small leather pouch. "She has done quite well for herself since her husband died. We could use another pair of hands for the winter, and after everything that she's been through..."
Thunder Bear frowned as her voice trailed off. It was true that Hannah had done her fair share of work since joining the tribe but he was certain it was to simply keep busy in the face of her grief. As Dyani continued giving all the reasons why Hannah should stay, which really just excuses for him to not have to leave, he sighed loudly so that she looked at him, her doe-like eyes pleading. "Hannah doesn't belong with our people, Dyani. You know this. There have been too many already who are starting to mutter about her presence," he said, taking the hide sleeping rug and folding it as he spoke. "She belongs with her people."
Dyani snorted. "Only those who came from a time on the Old World when white men and our people fought many battles. This world is different. They have no right to treat her so…"
"This world is different, yes, but for many it is the same. A different place, a different enemy. But in their hearts it will always the same war. The more people that join us here the more troubles there will be among so many different beliefs. This is as it has always been, my little deer. And it will always be no matter how hard we try. The best we can do is look to our own and protect what we have." He looked up to see her frowning so he smiled reassuringly. "The Spirits of this world treat us well, Dyani. Compared to other tribes, and as it was before the Great Change we have done quite well."
"Because of you. Because you lead us. You showed us how to..."
"And I will return to continue doing so, but I need to return Maha to her people before winter is full upon us. Hannah is to go with and from River Sand, she will find her way to her people. I will go as far as to River Sand, no farther, then return. It is a three day trip."
His wife was silent for a time as they continued to pack the things he would need for the trip. Thunder Bear was anxious but he knew the sooner he brought Hannah and Maha to River Sand the better. His mate was not happy with him for letting Zihna go on the quest and it wasn't until he told her he was going to escort the two women himself that Dyani had begun her protests. Her reasoning was sound, but Thunder Bear needed to speak with the elders of River Sand. They were a desert faring people, living no different than the tribes they had come from the Old World. Maha called it Africa but it was a world far removed from Thunder Bear's recollection from his former life.
The world – the ARK – was sick.
The Tower was deserted and Jenny was said to have moved everyone to a place called Arkadia. Thunder Bear had a vague idea of where this was he knew that Jenny would not have moved so many people if she had not thought they were in danger. Thunder Bear, too, was making preparations that were unusual for his people at this time of year. Scouting parties went out every day, and riders on tree-cats patrolled the borders of the forests. The animals were restless; the bears growled, the felines paced, and the tribe wolves howled in the night. Something was not right and Thunder Bear was no fool to ignore the signs.
And the Spirits have chosen Zihna, he thought, though even now he could not know what Zihna had been chosen for. He felt better knowing Tahki was with the girl, however. She was a brave fighter, as independent as the tree-cats she loved so much, but she was still just a girl of barely seventeen summers. A girl that Thunder Bear loved as if she was his daughter in blood as well as heart.
"I will only take three days, Dyani." Thunder Bear walked up to his mate when he had finished with his pack. He took her by the shoulders. She glanced up at him, her eyes dark and sorrowful. "I promise."
"I don't like any of this." Taking a step forward, Dyani let Thunder Bear wrap his arms around her in a protective, comforting gesture. He leaned his head against her plaited black hair, inhaling the scent that always reminded him of winter fires and fresh cut pines. "And why Zihna…why my Zihna…"
"She is a strong girl," Thunder Bear reassured her, his hands stroking her hair. Then he stood back and smiled at Dyani. "Like her mother. Whatever the Spirits have called her for, she will be strong and make both you and I proud." Then his face fell as he watched her, knowing his words had not fully reached the maternal part of her heart. "I fear that whatever has called Zihna away will soon find us. That is why I must go to speak with the elders of the River Sand tribe. While I am gone, Hanska will be in charge. He has already proved to me he can do what needs to be done in my absence."
"Three days," Dyani asked, merely a whisper.
Thunder Bear nodded. "Three days, my doe. I'll be back before you know it."
Quietly, Dyani turned to finish packing the dried fruits and meats for his journey. Thunder Bear watched her for a moment before picking up his packs and leaving her to her thoughts as well as seeking solitude for his own.
The village was quite as he walked to the beast pens that rested partially in a cave as well as several stone and wood structures. Unlike most of the tribes buildings, which were portable, the caves and the connecting buildings were permanent. During the summer months it was often used by hunters and travelers going from the Tower to the mountain villages, or those seeking the longer route to River Sand. Few dared the Deathsands unless they were well prepared for the scorching heat. Even traveling along the edge of the desert could prove fatal for the unsuspecting. As he reached the pens, he noticed several of the animals were already packed and prepared for the journey, including his bear Asku and the desert cat that was Maha's.
He nodded good-heartedly to those that acknowledged his passing, and returned the words hoping for his swift and safe return in kind. The tribe was on edge, which unsettled Thunder Bear but he preferred his people to be alert rather than caught unawares by whatever it was that was diggings dark fingers deeper into the ARK. The World…our world. Thunder Bear thought. Many of his people either did not know or seemed to have forgotten that this island was merely a floating, artificial world in the stars. Thunder Bear only knew from his many years prior to what the Tower-folk called the Crash. His people usually referred to it as the Great Change, for it was when the animals vanished for a year before returning to the world. Only those that could be hatched from previously incubated eggs had given people any hope until the first beast had returned. Plants had continued to thrive and the once military tribes had been forced to turn to farming and gathering. Even after the animals returned, little had changed for many tribes in terms of survival. Many animals resisted being tamed, others were few and hard to find, such as the great mountain lizards the Tower called Tyrannosaurus Rex or the carnotaurus. Plant eaters were more willing but even then, it required skill and patience to tame them. Time, too, changed to a more natural rate. For some this was a relief but to many who had lived ina time when raising a rex took a week or so from hatchling to adult and would listen with a mere thought, or so it seemed, many took to banditry and raiding to survive.
Thunder Bear smiled grimly as he caught sight of Hannah who was being shown how to control the tree-cat – or as she kept referring to it as, a thylacoleo – that she would use on her journey to River Sand. The young beast-trainer seemed almost irritated with her and he could only guess that the biologist had 'corrected' him on more term than one during the lessons.
"You are worried." Kada seemed to materialize next to him as Thunder Bear walked toward his bear. He felt the man's eyes boring into him as he walked, and an uncomfortable, irritated itch began to crawl on Thunder Bear's skin. "About Zihna."
Thunder Bear cast a sidelong glance at Kada. "I am the chief, Kada. I worry about many things. My daughter has rarely been one of them."
"Then what."
Reaching Asku, Thunder Bear scratched the lazy beast's head before beginning to strap on the packs to the leather harness that did more for carrying supplies than actually keeping a rider on the beast's back. "I am the chief of our people," Thunder Bear repeated almost stiffly. "I worry about many things, as I should." He noticed the drawn look on the shaman's face and frowned deeply. "Is there something in particular that I should worry about?"
For a long time, Kada just stared at him, his eyes sad and forlorn. Thunder Bear's heart quickened as a hundred warnings the man could give now raced through his mind. Finally, Kada's eyes met his and he said, "Worry for your own self, Makhkeme." Asku growled softly suddenly and Thunder Bear tapped him on the shoulder to silence the great bear. Kada turned and walked away leaving the chief as cold as if someone had dropped him in the mountain ice lake.
I don't like this.
Dyani's words rang in his ears as an echo of his own growing fear. He finished tying on the extra furs for travel and sleeping, and then began to tie on the snowshoes and several containers for water to keep his hands busy though they shook.
Asku growled again.
"We do this in three days," he told his faithful companion. "And when I return…" Thunder bear looked out past the village where crude yet efficient palisade spikes were being places and a wall trench was being dug. Never once in all his years of being chief of these people, the Red Woods Tribe as many referred to them as, built any type of fortification for something other than the wild animals that shared their forest. Now they built defenses for an enemy they knew nothing of and a foe that seemed as tangible as one's shadow.
Thunder Bear's blood sang a song of war as he finished with his belongings and turned to return to the tent. It had been years since he had fought, though the last time he had been beside Einar Wolfsbane, the man whose spirit was that of a wolf and who's pack had listened to him as if he was a wolf in flesh. He had not seen nor heard of Einar since they had parted ways years ago, before Thunder Bear had taken in so many of similar heritage as his own and becoming chief among them. He was older than he looked – like many who had come before the change in the world, the day he had found Einar, Thunder Bear had never aged. Those that had washed up on the shores after had shown signs of growing older and could have children as well.
Clenching his fists in his hide gloves, Thunder Bear felt himself growl as if he, too, was a bear. Asku shifted, sensing his determination before, glancing up, he saw Hannah watching him. He forced his face to soften as she made her way cautiously toward him. She was dressed in furs made by his people and looking like a timid doe wanting to run. "Hannah…" he started, but she waved a hand to cut him off.
"Are you alright?" she asked, coming to stand closer to him. "You look…angry. That is not like you, Makhkeme."
He forced a smile. Few people outside of his tribe called him by his Alquauin name save a few from the Tower that had known him from before the Great Change. "It is nothing…just words." The look in her eyes made him frown however. "You heard?"
She shrugged, hugging herself. "I heard the words of a superstitious man who believes in spirits and ghosts," she said, with a smile that he knew she meant no insult to his beliefs. "But you know this world is not really a world as we remember of Earth. It's…"
"I know…I know…" He waved her off, taking a deep breath. "But even you Tower-folk cannot explain creatures like Tahki or Einar's great wolf, Tyr." She gave a helpless shrug at that as they moved farther away from the people preparing beasts for the journey. Thunder bear was more tolerant of her scientific outlook on the ARK than others in his tribe who held to the belief of spirits and ghosts, as she put it. "There is much about this place that your tribe has discovered."
"Job security," she said with a slight laugh as she perched herself on a rock. She looked around, her face darkening and he knew that she wasn't going to tell him anything that would make him feel better about Kana's warning. "Makhkeme…as much as I hate shamans…Kana is right. But I'm not saying that because of visions or smoke ghosts…I saw them, remember. It's why Jaxon is...gone..." Her voice choked slightly but she didn't take her eyes off the village chief. "And Richard."
"I know…"
"Your people are not safe here," she said quietly. "You know that…"
"And where do you suggest we go? Arkadia?"
Hannah shook her head. "No…but...yes...I don't know." She cradled her head in her hands, leaning forward with a defeated pout. "This isn't something I like making decisions on without more research, you know. I've only seen those creatures once and I was to busy running to make any...factual observations. Richard I think, knew more, but..." She wrinkled her face up in a way that made Thunder Bear wonder if she was about to cry or become angry. Given what she had already been through, he suspected both. "Listen...I've never ever had any problems with your people. Even those who came from a time on Earth when whites were fighting yours. But I don't want to see anyone else die. Or hear of anyone else dying. Ever since the Tribe Wars, which never really ended as you know. Not technically...ever since then no one on this ARK trusts anyone else. If something is here to end it all - what can we really do?"
"Fight?" Thunder Bear offered, his voice quiet and firm. Hannah looked at him, tilting her head like a curious child. He smiled. "Like you said, too, some of my people have not forgotten their old lives on Earth - and we don't back down easily. We will fight. And we will fight, Hannah. Beside any who will."
Hannah didn't say anything for a time. She stared out at the village, watching the women go about their chores preparing meat on drying racks, herbs and berries drying for the winter months, tanning hides, tending fires, or sewing together furs. Many of them laughed and smiled, gossiping about this or that with no worry on their faces. Thunder Bear, too, turned to watch his people, proud and protective. He saw the warriors practicing on the edges, the beast masters training animals, and a hunting party returning with game. He had done well here, he knew.
"Have you ever considered living in trees?" Hannah suddenly said, pulling him away from a group of children running through the maze of tents, wigwams, and various other living structures that, depending on what tribe they were from on Earth, lay under a fresh, thin blanket of snow.
Thunder Bear followed her gaze to the canopy that stretched above them. "Why would we…how could…" he stammered, for never once in all his years of living in the Red Woods had he thought about building in the trees nor how to accomplish such a thing.
"Afraid of heights?" Hannah grinned. She knew Thunder Bear well enough that the Algonquin Indian just smiled. Then she became serious as she leaned forward to put a hand on his arm, concern on her face. "I will never doubt the bravery of you or your people. You have the heart of a bear and Richard has told me plenty of stories about how you fight from the early days when you lead him through the Woods and Mountains for his research. But…Makhkeme…trust me," ands he squeezed his arm under the thick winter hide as she spoke, "what I saw…what attacked us – what attacked Richard and killed my husband…those were not normal raptors, nor the creatures with them. They are not from the ARK, whatever they are and…"
Thunder Bear placed his hands on hers and she stopped taking. He recognized the panic in her voice and it would not do for her to cause his tribe to panic as well, at least not yet. He was not without plans, for he knew enough from speaking with the Mountain Men who had fled their mines, and from the messages received from Davin's Port. "My dear Hannah…we are not without warning – from both you and others I have a good idea of what is going on is more unnatural than what happened twenty summers ago." He gestured to where Hanska was working with younger warriors to shoot arrows at targets, mostly in the shape of an elk or raptor. "If I am delayed in my return from River Sand, or," he added gravley, "if I die, then Hanska knows what to do. There are places the women and children can go that have...spiritual meaning to us." He grinned when she gave him a dead-panned look, pursing her lips at the religious implications he was referring to.
"And where is that?" she asked, almost sourly, crossing her arms.
Thunder Bear smiled. "A cave…one that we have long considered to be holy and powerful for it is connected to the Spirits of this world." He grinned as he continued to goad her. Her narrowed eyes told him he was starting to push her scientific patients. "The old TEK cave, Hannah," he finally said, laughing when she rolled her eyes and sighed, but he saw the grin pulling her her lips as it made sense why his people believed such a thing. It was fitting after all. Once, that had been a gateway to the Overseer and, in a sense, to the Spirit that guarded the ARK.
Still, Hannah sighed. "Didn't the TEK cave collapse tho?" she asked, holding up a pointed finger toward him like he was a child to be scolded. "Trust me. We've tried to reach the terminal back to the Overseer over and over again. That cave in was complete."
"Oh, it is. But there are still the tunnels and some of the TEK walls remain, as you know. You know..." and Thunder Bear grinned, enjoying this perhaps more than he should as he took a dramatic flair to explain, "glowing runes and markings that even you and your colleges could not explain."
Hannah opened her mouth to defend her tribe's research but Thunder Bear waved a hand, laughing. "Either way, those caves are easier to defend than being in a tree. I've heard that there are creatures that can fly - trees will do us no good."
Her lips pursing tightly, Hannah stared at the snow-covered ground a long moment then shook her head. "Flying ones? Where did you hear about that?"
"Daven Port sent word. Richard and you were not the only ones to be attacked by strange, dark creatures." When she looked at him, clearly waiting for a reply, he took a deep breath. "The village of Vatnby was destroyed," he said, his heart twisting. Einar had returned to his people not long after he had taken in Dyani and her children. If there were no survivors, then Einar was no doubt among the dead. "Jenny has ordered, as you know, the abandonment of the Tower and...High Rock has fallen."
The young woman paled. "High Rock...but...shit..."
"I do not need my medicine man to tell me that there is a Darkness spreading over the land, Hannah. The Mountain Men have abandoned their forge claiming they were attacked by a dragon. Many are making their way to their main city in the mountains where they believe they will be safe."
"Kenneth and Tyler are dead then," Hannah said, her face pained but her voice one she used when trying to solve a problem. "Did anyone survive from Vatnby or High Rock?"
"I was told every man, woman, and child - and animal - was slaughtered at Vatnby. Kenneth's people, mostly women and children he sent to the caves, have fled to Red Falls for the winter."
"They won't last the winter," Hannah muttered. "Red Falls is a military outpost. It isn't prepared for refugees..." She crossed her arms, leaning back against the rock formation she was sitting on. "Kenneth was no idiot. He would have tried to send out warning if he could, if he knew something."
"Everything that was sent to me from Daven Port's leader stated he didn't warn anyone."
"That isn't like Kenneth, Mahckeme..." Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Oh!" Snapping her fingers she jumped up. "Crimson Point!"
Tilting his head, he looked at her as if she had gone mad. "What about it?"
She grinned at him. "Oh, there are some rumors that some of us know are not rumors," she said. "Crimson Point is closest to High Rock, in more ways than geography. If Kenneth was able to warn anyone, it was Caeles."
"The Prince of Thieves?"
"Stupid title...but yes. Him."
Thunder Bear frowned at her. Like many, he knew Caeles and the Dag Rock Valley, ehich Crimson Point was the main settlement of. It wasn't a place that many traveled as it was home to many bandits and thieves, as well as murders and other unsavory characters. "Why would Kenneth bother with Caeles?"
"Have you ever wondered why bandits and Caele's folk don't bother the High Rock Territory?" She didn't wait for him to reply. "It wasn't military might. It was an alliance. A treaty. Kenneth made a deal with Caeles. Caeles and the bandits would get all of Dag Rock Valley and Kenneth would leave them alone - as long as they didn't set foot in the Territory. Kenneth, if rumors are to be believed on this, and Caeles were once allies in the same tribe and very close. Nothing proven, and from what I hear both either avoided the question when asked or ignored answering. Either way...Kenneth and Caeles were close and watched out for each other in their own way. If Kenneth could get word to anyone, it would be Caeles and that, my native american friend, is going to be our last hope."
Thunder Bear still wasn't convinced.
"Trust me...if Kenneth is dead, that lazy bandit king just might actually show the world a thing or two. After all, Caeles claims he watched the ARK's being built...he knows more than he pretends to be." Hannah crossed her arms, confident in her words. Then she sighed wearily. "I just hope it will be enough now..."
"I don't trust Caeles."
"No one does. But...if a crimson bullet shows up in your hands, that's him calling for help. All the big tribes had tokens like that. High Rock had golden feathers made, for example. The tower had old pieces of TEK gear that was broken melted down and formed into coins. We inscribed with the symbol of a tower on a sitting on a book and would send them to tribes we could trust during the Tribe Wars if we needed assistance from our allies. A decent system...flawed but most of the time it worked."
Thunder bear took a long deep breath. "We'll see," he said. Hannah glanced at him, said nothing, then turned and went to return to the waiting animals for the journey to River Sand. Thunder Bear watched her go, his mind thinking about what she had said about Caeles being this world's possible last hope. There were other leaders - better, more trustworthy ones - than the self titled Prince of Thieves. So why was Hannah betting on Caeles and his bandits to be able to stop what Kenneth could not?
The rhythmic thud of a volley of arrows hitting wood turned Thunder Bear's attention to the muddy, well used area set aside for warriors. Hanska stood near a young boy of perhaps nine or ten showing him how to use the bow properly. Frowning, Thunder Bear watched the boy's frustration as he tried to master the weapon which, while smaller than the normal hunting bows, was difficult for him to draw.
Too young, Thunder Bear thought, feeling a burning anger in his stomach and heart as the boy tried again, the arrow flying over the mock target of a stag and into the woods beyond. While many warriors of the tribe began training at a young age, they were usually a few years older when their bodies were beginning to transition from boy to man. Will it be enough?
He glanced at the trees, eyes narrowed in thought. It was true that the flying creatures would not be deterred by the height, but there were ways, Thunder Bear knew, to make it difficult for even a tree-cat to not be able to climb the trees if they wanted to. His years living on the ARK prior to the Change had taught Thunder Bear many things that he never would have learned had he stayed in his homeland in the Canadian wilderness as a trapper and guide to the white men coming to settle the area. He had been from a time when the conflict between Native Americans and the white men had been nearly, though never completely, absolved. Tolerated, was perhaps the best word.
Could he convince his people to change their way of life for the sake of survival if it came to it?
Perhaps.
He watched Hanska, noting the young man's patients with the struggling youth. Hanska was a good warrior and while Thunder Bear preferred him as a possible successor should anything happen to him, and most of the tribe did as well, he worried about the influence the young man's father had on him. Hanska's father had fought the white men many times in wars that, for Thunder Bear, had happened before his birth. Hanska had been brought up on these stories and had, like his father, never liked the alliance the tribe had with the Tower or the tribes of the Mountain Men.
Zihna shares your views, however, Thunder Bear thought, though he felt a sickening feeling in his stomach when he remembered that Zihna was still just a young woman, a girl. If something happened to him, could Zihna help guide Hanska away from the hateful views of his father?
Dyani and Maha came into view, carrying the leather satchel with dried meat and berries for his journey. Thunder Bear's heart twisted at the sight of Dyani, and not for the first time, wished he could have given her more children as she had often wished. Then he took a deep breath, placing his mind back in the present and the now.
Right now he needed to get Maha back to her people at River Sand. He needed to speak with the elders in her village about the events taking place outside of the Red Woods.
What he needed was information so that when - not if - the fight came to him he would be ready.
Straightening his shoulders squared, Thunder Bear went down to the training field to speak with Hanska. Before he left, he would make sure that his tribe would be ready for whatever was coming and, while part of him feared that by telling Hanska would give the young warrior to much motivation to go looking for a fight, or to blame the wrong people, he had to make sure he was ready to take action if something happened while he was gone. There was an unease in the woods - in the world. Whatever was out there wasn't going to bypass the Red Woods. Eventually, his people would be faced with the same horror that had taken down two powerful tribes.
The cool mountain air tugged at the fur around Thunder Bear's cloak as they ascended the mountains toward the Ridge. Behind him, Hannah and Maha rode close together, the Tower-woman looking uncertain riding the big tree-cat but managing quite well. Maha, was telling her a story from her land in Kenya back on the Old World and Hannah was letting the woman talk, her eyes darting to every shifting bush and shadow as they went. Thunder Bear had decided that only the three of them would take the journey. His return trip would be faster if it was just himself and Asku.
The village had been long left behind and Thunder Bear paused a moment to glance back along the trail they had come. He had made sure that his people were prepared as best he could and they were no doubt, as they passed out of the trees edge and up toward the slender path along the Ridge, starting to implement some of them. Hannah had provided diagrams to build platforms in the trees and instructed several of his best craftsmen in their construction. Thunder Bear had spoke with Hanska and the other elders, telling them that the people should be prepared to move to the caves and, perhaps, to move there in three days, with or without him. He didn't like the warning from Kada but he was not one to deny the possibility that anything could happen. Life on the ARK was not 'walk in the park' as some said. Fate often had its own idea of what should happen when one walked out of the safety of their home, no matter their experience or skills.
The best thing Thunder Bear could hope for now was to complete his errand quickly then return to his people to protect them. If he didn't need to speak with the Elders of River Sand he would have sent Maha and Hannah off with a simple escort.
Just three days, Thunder Bear thought, already feeling the hot dry air as they crested the top of the ridge known as Dead Man's Drop. below them, the golden plains known as the Deathsands stretched out for miles, a haze of heat rising as if trying to warn travelers to stay away. In the distance, the fertile lands near the river rose up in a green blur amid the haze. Thunder Bear glanced in the direction that they would be going and began to turn Asku along the ridge trail. Only one of the beasts could safely traverse the steep cliff they stood upon as tree-cats were experts in scaling such, but Asku and Maha's desert-bred sabercat would be hard pressed to survive such a feat. They would follow the Ridge and come down on the other side of the River Sand. A longer journey but safer.
"Makhkeme," Maha said suddenly, and pointed.
Turning, he followed Maha's finger to the distance oasis farther south of where River Sand sat. A darkness seemed to lurk there, hovering against the ground like a shadow. Hannah pulled out her telescope device and peered into the distance to try to get a better look at it.
"It's just...a shadow." she said, though her voice sounded uncertain and confused.
"A large shadow, hovering against the mountains where no shadow should be," Thunder Bear said, not needing the spyglass to tell him that the phenomenon was unusual, even for the ARK and all its strange wonders.
"We must hurry," Maha said, clenching the reins of her cat. "It is close to my people."
"It doesn't seem to be moving though," Hannah said, seeming to answer the healer though Thunder Bear was certain she had just been thinking to herself out loud. Putting the spyglass back in her pocket, she looked at Thunder Bear, her frown of concern evident.
"Yes..." Thunder Bear said, turning to look back at the forest behind him. "Maha, can your cat keep up at a faster pace?"
The healer snorted. "He could outrun that lumbering hulk you call a bear. Just because he was bred in the desert doesn't mean he can't handle the mountains."
Hannah smirked. "Sabertooths are normally in the mountains," she said. "Are you sure your bear can handle the desert?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Thunder Bear.
The village chief laughed. "Who said Asku was coming with me to the desert?"
Before they could ask more questions, he guided his bear down the path and set them on a steady, swift pace that would, if all things went well, would bring them to River Sand a half a day earlier than he had originally planned.
By the time they the path had shifted back into the thicker woods again and away from the Ridge, Thunder Bear was certain that the patch of shadow had moved. It was getting bigger, spreading, and River Sand was indeed in its path.