The Shamans at the End of Time, page 24
It is more and more warmer, and under that spell of somnolence, I almost fell asleep when I hear steps disturbing the old leaves on the ground. My hand slips on the bayonet’s hilt, but when I turn I see Mina, and I understand that my day is ruined.
She climbs the path and, silent, she sits next to me. “You did not eat this morning.” Her hand pushes a bag to me.
“I am not hungry.”
“You ate nothing this morning,” she repeats. “You need to eat.”
“Why should you care?”
“I am your mate, Vlad,” Mina insists.
“You are not, and each time I see you, I only remember how I lost the woman I still love.”
For the first time, I feel Mina losing her calm, and tears that not fall fill her eyes. That surprises me, as I know that she is not faking it. There were more things I wanted to shout at her, but they don’t leave my mouth. I turn abruptly and leave her alone at the edge of the forest. Walking down the slope, I make the decision to leave the village. I need food, this is my first thought, and I decide to go hunting, the next day. Mina follows me down the hill, but I ignore her, and I keep my decision for myself.
In the morning, I take my bow and leave the hut with the pleasant feeling of a new beginning. “I want to walk a bit farther today,” I say to Edna, trying to hide what I have in mind. To hide thing seven better, I take only my bow and a club with me. I don’t take my spear – it will betray my decision to hunt. Mina is there too so, inadvertently, I speak to her too, yet I ignore her reaction.
The day is bright, and I walk down until I meet the small river which goes out from the small lake. I follow it, hoping to find animals that come to drink water. After three hour, I arrive at the mouth where it is flowing into the Danube. I can see some deer traces on the ground, but no living thing. I climb back half of the distance, and hide in the forest, close to a place where it’s evident that animals came for water not a long time ago, maybe even this morning. Some more hours pass, but no animal come to disturb the silence of a landscape which seems stone-still, even the wind has died at a moment which I can remember. I am not really observant. Knowing the wind is the first step to become a hunter, a thing I remember from Rune’s stories. And I am not really a hunter. That may stop my plans to leave the village, but I am too stubborn to renounce after only one day.
For almost two weeks, I wander through the forest to find places where I may be able to ambush an animal. Each day I find one that looks ideal, only to discard it, at the end of the day, as no animal came close enough to even have a good sight of it, not to talk about shooting and capture. In the village, they still know that I am only wandering, and I don’t feel the need to tell the truth. I would be ashamed if they knew that I am coming home empty handed, each day
This morning, Mina has a bad dream and wakes me earlier. In her dream, she clings to me, and her naked body stirs my instincts. I breathe deeply, and pull her hands from around my neck. She mumbles something in her sleep, but let me go. This is another reason for which I want to leave the village. Since she found how to open and slip inside my sleeping bag, her wonderful body may stir me too much, and I may lose my control. I am a man after all, and sleeping in the same sleeping bag with a naked woman makes hard to resist the temptation. It doesn’t help that the only time when I made love in this place was with her. Once I will succumb to that hard temptation, there will no way to say that she is not my mate. It’s so early, that even Edna is not awake. It may be my lucky day, I encourage myself.
Out of the village, I walk again toward the small tributary of the Danube. It is for the fourth time I use this path. As in the previous ones, I set my place for an ambush close to the small meadow where there are hundreds of animal traces imprinted in the humid soil. I am still sleepy, and I must fight to keep my eyes open. With all my effort, I flinch when a twig breaks in the forest, only a hundred paces from me. From my place, I don’t see if it’s prey or a predator. At least, I am on the top of a ten feet tall ridge that is not easy to climb. Even the bears would have a hard time to hunt me here. I moisten my finger and let it in the wind: it blows from the right direction, hiding my scent from the incoming animal. There is another small noise, now only twenty paces in front of me, and I realize again that my observation skills are not the best. I had no idea what happened between the first and the second noise I heard. Can I really survive alone if I leave the village? I must leave, I shook my head and focus again on what I hope would be my first kill.
It’s a giant deer. A male. The magnificent animal passes on the path along my ridge, but until I nock my bow, he comes so close, that I can see him anymore. I can wait, I encourage myself, and aim at the place where I expect him to come into my view again. I see his large horns first, and I tense my bowstring. When the full body appears, I realize that the angle is so bad that, at best, I can hit his back. That would not make a kill, and it will be a pity to wound him for nothing. I stand up slowly, trying to find a better position, and I move even slower, afraid of scaring him. Before I can find my place, a strong noise pierces the silence, from the thick bush at the end of the ridge. A bear runs out with a speed that I could not guess for such a heavy animal. He crashes into the stag, and rolls down with him. The fight ends in less than half a minute. I stare at the large male bear, then at the bush. The animal was probably there even before I came here. I was at least lucky that I arrived from the other direction, if not I would have been food for the bear by now. Watching the bear devouring his prey, I think again that both hunting and leaving the village may have not been my best idea. I can’t avoid to observe that the bear starts his feasts with the soft parts, and his huge head is now fully inside the stag’s belly. Just behind the bear, there is an old oak with two twin trunks, each more than three feet thick. There is enough space between them for a man to pass. I climb down from the ridge, keeping only the club with me. My spear is at home; carrying it would have tell everyone that am out for hunting. I walk fast - the bear’s head is still almost invisible - until I arrive at the old oak. I lean the club against the tree, and sneak my body between the trunks. The back of bear is only one feet away from me. I unsheathe my bayonet, and strike the bear on the left back leg. The animal turns with surprising speed, and attacks me. His head passes through the space between the trunks, but the body can’t. I am sure that in normal conditions the bear would have been intelligent enough to avoid the trap. I take my club and strike him hard on the nose. Once, twice. A bear’s nose is a very sensible point. If you look during the night with infrared goggles, you will see that the bear is almost invisible. The only red points are on its soles??? and its nose. Those are the places which stabilize the body temperature, and they are well vascularized. My third strike finds his left eye. The bear moves back, and, in a moment, runs away. The stag is mine.
I am in a hurry, as I don’t know how long the bear will stay away from his kill, but looking at the stag, I realize that I could not have killed it with one shot - the animal is too large, taller than me at its shoulders, and the span of his antlers is almost eight feet. First I cut the head, and turn it so the antlers make a kind of bed. I cut two more branches, six feet long, and tie them tight to the antlers, making a kind of stretcher. Apart of the head which antlers would provide material for tools, I decide to take only the legs, and tie them to the stretcher, the body will stay behind, bait for the bear or other predators.
I harness myself to the stretcher, and I start to pull. After two minutes, I lose my breath, and feel the need to rest. Looking back, I see four deep scratches in the ground, made by the poles and the antlers. The distance to the dead deer is only sixty feet. In this rhythm, I will arrive in the village in a two or three days. In front of me, the slope is even steeper. I measure again the stretcher, trying to calculate the weight of the load: it should be more than a hundred and fifty kilos, maybe even closer to two hundred kilos. With a sigh, I discard one of the forelegs. Before pulling again, I glance at my watch, decided to check again in five minutes, and see how much I walked. I lose again my breath after four minutes, and lay on the ground. The distance to the last place is no longer than a two hundred paces, and the worse slope is still in front of me. Looking back, I see the bear approaching the dead deer. He stops a hundred paces from it, his eyes fixed on me, and a cold shiver passes through my spine. I glance around for a shelter, and go closer to an oak having low branches. His head raised, the bear sniff the wind which blows from me toward him. Slowly, I stretch my arms to the lowest branch, ready to climb. He is still far from me; I have enough time if... The animal seems undecided, and so am I. Maybe he fears me. There is no maybe that I fear him. After a while, he decides that the meal in front is easier than the one which has a dangerous club, or its maybe that human flesh tastes worse than deer. I breathe deeply and, going to the stretcher, I throw away the second foreleg. From now on its easier, yet I arrive at the end of the two miles long slope when the sun is past noon.
Drained, and walking like a somnambulist, I arrive in the village when it’s almost dark. Both Edna and Mina are worried, and Rune was preparing a team to search for me. When I arrive, all three of them and Moira are in front of our hut. They stare at me, and I breathe deeply, waiting for them to praise me.
“A giant deer,” Rune said. “Malva was a toddler when last I saw one.”
“I never saw one.” Mina comes closer and touched the antler. “It’s huge.”
“Did you hunt?” Moira asks.
“Yes,” I say proudly.
“No,” all the women sigh, and I don’t feel any praise in their reaction. Even more, I feel tension.
They are just worried. They know that I am not a hunter. “A lot of meat.” I point at the stretcher, smiling at them. No one is smiling back. In silence, they help me to carry the stretcher on the terrace.
“We will dispatch it tomorrow,” Moira says, then she comes in front of me. “Vlad, we need to talk.” There is something in her voice that sounds upset, and I even feel a touch panic.
“Yes,” I nod and, in that moment, I feel how tired I am. My legs are barely able to move.
“We will talk tomorrow.” She realize my tiredness too.
I walk inside the hut, and sit on the edge of the bed to take my boots down. I wake up while someone is undressing me. With some effort, I open my eyes, and I see Mina taking down my clothes. I fell asleep after taking down my left boot.
“I can do it.”
She doesn’t answer, and continues to undress me, then help me to lie in the sleeping bag. “Oh, Vlad,” she whispers, lacing her arms around my neck, “why did you hunt? The shamans are not allowed to hunt. The council may punish you with death.”
Death? I fell asleep before being able to answer her.
Chapter 23
“I am not a shaman,” Darn said, “but it looks that I am more willing to apply the law than the Shamane of the clan. Vlad killed a giant deer. The shamans are not allowed to hunt. He must be punished.”
There were twelve people gathered at the main table in front of Moira’s hut. The two shamanes, Rune, three more women who had the Shaman Vein and five hunters. They were the village’s council. Mina was there too but, being a Ring Shamane, she acted as supervisor.
“What he should be punished for?” Moira asked.
“For killing. Shamans are not allowed to kill animals. The Mother doesn’t allow it.” Darn’s mouth flattened into a hard line.
“Are you sure that he killed that deer? Vlad is not a hunter, you were the first one to learn that and rejected him from the hunters.”
“He may have deceived us or he learned in the past months.”
“Quite a large animal,” Rune said, seeming absent. “Did not see one for a long time.”
“That changes nothing.” Darn was adamant.
“It’s not easy to kill such animal, Darn.” Rune looked for the first time at the Chief Hunter. “How do you think that Vlad killed the deer?”
“How should I know?”
“You are an experienced hunter. How would you kill a giant deer?”
“With a spear,” Darn shrugged.
“Would you try to use a bow?”
“You must be very lucky to kill it with a bow. Maybe three or four archers, shooting at the same time, can do it.”
“That’s strange,” Rune said, looking absently again.
“You can try to hunt one alone, if you want,” Darn said dismissively. A cripple can’t hunt with a spear.
“Why should I try? I agree with you that a lone arched can’t kill a giant deer. What is strange is that Vlad left his spear at home. How could he kill the deer? What do you think, Darn?”
“Maybe he was lucky.”
“We can’t judge someone based on some ‘maybes’.”
“Then wake up you lazy man.” Darn threw a despising stare at Mina.
“Hunter,” Mina said coldly, and her mind stretched toward Darn, giving him cold shivers. “You don’t give orders to a Ring Shamane.”
“I apologize,” Darn breathed, still feeling the shamane’s pressure on his mind. One day I will pay back those shrews; they should not be allowed to lead us.
“Both Rune and you are right; we can’t continue without Vlad.” Mina stood up and walked toward Edna’s hut. Vlad was still sleeping, and she had to shake him. “Wake up, Vlad,” she said gently, touching his forehead.
“What happened?” Vlad asked, his mind still not fully awake.
“Moira and the council are ready to hear you.”
“What business do they have with me?”
“You hunted.”
Hunted? He shook his head. Ah, yes, the giant deer. The bear hunted it, but why should I tell them? “And?”
“You are a shaman, Vlad. You are not allowed to hunt.”
“Who cares? I want to leave the village, anyway.”
“It will be not so easy.”
“I don’t care, Mina; I want to leave. My place is not here, between Ring Shamanes who torture people and subvert their mind. Some of the meat will remain here; I don’t need so much.”
“Vlad!” Mina snapped, then tapped his head. “You are not listening. Shamans are not allowed to hunt, and you will be punished.”
“Well, you kick me out from the village, and everybody will be happy.”
“The punishment for such offense is death, Vlad. You had forfeited a sacred pledge between the Mother and you.”
“I’ve made no pledge. I am not a Vlahin.”
Entering the hut, Edna exchanged a brief look with Mina.
“Vlad,” Edna says, sadly, and she sat on the edge of the bed, next to him. “If you plead like this in front of the council, there will be no escape.”
“And what escape do you see?”
“I don’t know. It depends of your story. Please be careful. Tell us everything before we go in front of the council.”
“I don’t trust Mina.”
“She is your mate, and a Ring Shamane. The final decision has to be approved by her. Let’s go now.”
“I want to make a statement,” Vlad said when he arrived at the council and sat on a bench that was placed there for him. “I don’t recognize the right of this council to judge me. I am not a Vlahin.”
“You are on our lands. You must respect our laws,” Darn said. He is quite stupid; it should not be hard to at least expulse him, but I want him dead.
“I always respected your laws, bit this is a matter of fate, not common law. I don’t worship the Mother.”
“Please don’t say that, Vlad,” Moira said, a touch of sadness in her voice.
Vlad looked at her, and realized that he probably had said the wrong thing. “Please don’t take me wrong; I respect the Mother, but I am a different type of shaman.”
“It doesn’t matter; you are on Vlahin lands. Mother’s rules apply here.” Darn’s voice was both venomous and daring.
“It doesn’t matter what you want, Darn,” Vlad said coldly. “I’ve already told Mina that I will leave the village. I had enough, and it seems that you want me gone too. Everybody will feel relieved.” He stood up and turned to leave.
Darn, his brother and another hunter close to him jumped and walked menacing toward Vlad. “You will not go without being judged,” Darn growled.
“Do you want to fight me?” Vlad asked, unsheathing his bayonet. “It would be easier to kill you than is to kill a giant deer. He crouched slightly, waiting for the three men to attack.
“Vlad,” Moira said sternly and sad. “Please return and take your place. Darn sit down. I did not allow you to use violence or to enforce a rule.”
“He tried to leave.”
“I will deal with that, Darn. Sit down.” Moira’s voice was now sharp and demanding and, breathing nervously, Darn returned to his place, followed by the two other hunters, who felt relieved. “Vlad.” Moira nodded at his bench, and he returned too.
Mina came to Vlad and, crouching in front of him, took his right hand in hers. “Please Vlad, let the council judge on this matter,” she whispered only for him.
“Why should I trust it?”
“Moira, Edna and Rune are your friends, and I am your mate. Please,” she stopped his protest. “As any Ring Shamane, I oversee the council. What happened, it’s an important matter. Darn hates you, and asked for death punishment. It will not happen. We are not convinced that you killed the giant deer.”
“I still don’t recognize the council’s right to judge me.”
“Please Vlad. Did you kill the stag?” Their eyes locked, and she sent some tendrils of her mind into his.
“You are messing with my mind,” Vlad growled.
“Did you kill the stag?”
“No,” he whispered, against his will.
“That’s what I thought. Let us proceed then.” She stood up and went back to her place, without asking for his answer. “He did not kill the stag.” Her words went directly in Moira, Edna and Rune’s minds.
“Darn,” Rune said, “you are the Chief Hunter. It’s your right to question Vlad on how the giant deer was killed.”
