HeartSeeker

Some of you think I am mad. I can tell by your eyes. I did not walk through mountains and battle demons of fire and sky to be mocked by the likes of you. Ask yourself this, would the tribes allow a crazy old man to eat their food and share their homes? I do not hunt game, gather berries, or make anything for the tribes. So why would they treat me with such respect? Well, listen closely and I will tell you.

It wasn't easy being one foretold by the gods. Everyone assumed that I was getting special treatment from someone else, so each tribe member took it upon themselves to knock me down a notch. The result was that everyone was hard on me, not cruel, just hard. I'm not complaining, mind you, it made me the warrior and leader I became.

I was not the only child born that morning, and I'm glad. There were over a score of the Sunborn to share the burden of the foretelling. Some died within a single moon and a few more within the first turning of the seasons. The People lead a hard life. Each one of the Sunborn was sent to a different tribe for care and training. Each Spring we would be sent to another tribe. The gods had said we would be shared by all The People, so we were to live and learn from them all. Over the changing of the seasons, more were killed or injured in rock slides, accidents of the hunt, or illness. When the time of First Choice came, there were seven of us left. We were as different from each other as the faces of Kritkala, but we all shared the same desire: to leave and be rid of The People.

Are you surprised? We were no older than the youngest of you. We were full of ourselves, foolish, and ignorant. We felt that we had been mistreated and held apart. We were the "Hope of The People", never allowed to enjoy life, form friendships, or become part of a family. Instead, we were always training and working toward fighting the "Doom of The People". Oh, yes, we were young, stupid, and restless to leave. I don't remember if we had individually decided to leave or if we had decided as a group, but we all knew that our First Choice would be exile. And then, the right of First Choice was denied us.

The night before Kritkala's Festival, the many Chieftains of The People gathered us together and repeated the Prophecy of the Sunborne. Of course, we had heard it many times, so we didn't listen, until they began repeating one phrase over and over: "Upon coming of age, the chosen will leave The People to find their hearts... The chosen will leave The People. The chosen will leave The People."

The seven of us were given supplies, clothing, equipment, and weapons. We were given the blessings of the Chieftains and Tent-Mothers. We were given the name "Heartseeker". We were given seven different directions to travel.

We were not given a choice.

Sunborn

My story begins even before I was born. So, I will tell it to you as it was told to me:

Akala Fishstringer Kulie-Kamana, Chieftain of the Kathal tribe, knew he was dreaming. This dream was unusual, first because he knew it was a dream, and second because there were no mountains, deer, or any of the other pieces of a hunter's dream. No, Akala found himself in a large amphitheater along with all the Chieftains and Tent-Mothers of all the tribes of all The People, something that would be impossible in the waking world. Next to him stood Ithikea Charmweaver, Tent-Mother of his tribe, and the look on her face reflected his own confusion...and fear. For there was no sky, no moon, no stars, only darkness, and the edges of the amphitheater disappeared into it. He knew the darkness as the Doom of The People and it pressed in on them with hatred. Akala and the others pressed together away from the darkness, forgetting old feuds, gathering to defend themselves from the unknown.

Suddenly all eyes were drawn to the center as a deep voice spoke, "Courage! This is not your doom, yet." All present recognized Kavaki, The Ram-Lord and greater god of The People, and the very stone shook with his voice. "But it will be, unless you listen to our words." Next to him stood Theleya, goddess of life, her smile of warmth and kindness banishing fear from Akala's heart. As Akala knelt in silence, her honeyed voice rang clear, "One will be born among you, born of no tribe, born from death, that may save The People. Raised by all, and claimed by none, this child will grow into a great warrior." A third voice, rumbling like thunder, said, "But the hearts of the chosen will lie in a far away land." Akala raised his gaze to see Manethak, god of the hunt, walking among the kneeling leaders of The People, the shaft of his great spear striking like far off lightning with each step. "Upon coming of age, the chosen will leave The People to find their hearts before one can return and save you all."

As the dream faded, Akala heard Ithikea cry out, "But Mother, how will we know this child?" and a whisper replied, "born with the sun."

Akala woke as the night was split by a scream, a woman's scream. He rushed from his tent and saw Ithikea lurch from hers. As their eyes met and another scream sounded from outside the camp, he knew they had both witnessed the dream that was no dream. They found the woman a good distance from the camp and one look told Akala that she was of The People, not of his tribe, pregnant, and apparently about to give birth. Ithikea instructed the men to carry her back to camp and the birthing tent. This was women's business and Akala knew his place was to stay out of the way.

The screaming lasted for many long hours of the night until finally, suddenly, terribly, it stopped. Only the Dawncallers' song broke the silence, a new day would soon begin. Akala and the others stood hopefully as Ithikea stepped from the birthing tent, wiping blood from her hands. Her shoulders said it all, but she spoke the words anyway, "It was a hard birth. The mother is dead and the child does not breathe." And as the tribe began the song of lament, the morning's first rays of sunlight fell upon the tent.

That was when I took my first breath. I screamed my rage and defiance at the world and they named me Keothi Sunborn Naukauma.