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Path-finder's Tale Week 6


3. Kassir left the temple after receiving his instructions. He was in an in-between state now. He was supposed to avoid places where people might spot him. The priest had given him a map, so he could see where the creature had struck previously and determine where it had its hideout.

Kassir stood outside the temple, panting harshly. He had the feeling the priest had deliberately given him a hard task that would make him make him fail – or get him killed. He had never hunted a wild beast before. He had never killed before. He did not think he could. The urge to run home to Malna was overwhelming. But that was not his home, now. He had to win it back from the Gods.

A few years before, an old pilgrim to the Temple of the Sun Gods had stopped in the village. He was worn out and ill and he knew he would live long enough to catch sight of the Temple of the Sun Gods – and no more. He spent several days in the village to regain his strength. And in the evening he would gather the children around him and tell them stories.

He told them why he had taken such a journey upon himself when he was so old. He used to say that the Gods and Goddesses were never cruel, but they were always just. They did not make unreasonable demands from the people of the desert. But they did not make life easy for them, either. And that was because they knew their people could handle it. Any task, no matter how hard, was given for one reason: the Sun Gods and Rain Goddesses thought you could handle it.

Kassir thought hard about these words, now. He had not made much of them before. He had been too young to truly understand them. Back then, he had mostly been impressed by the old man’s stubbornness and strength of will. But now he realised he could relate to those words on a deeper level. He told himself that he should not be afraid. The priest was not trying to kill him. He had given Kassir a more difficult task simply because he knew Kassir could handle it.


Kassir moved away from where he had been leaning against the temple wall. If he had to hunt the creature, he would need weapons. He had a small knife, but he knew he would need something more. Since he could not ask for weapons, or take any from the village, he would have to make some himself. He looked for long sticks and picked up as many as possible. Then, he found a bent tree branch and picked that too. He had string in his pockets – no boy his age went anywhere without string. It was enough for him to make himself a bow and some arrows. Next, he went to a hiding place he and his friends had at the other end of the village. There was no point in him going out into the desert right away. The creature would not come out before the sun set. He had time to make his arrows until then.


All day, he worked diligently. He was so bent on his task, that he almost forgot it had a purpose beyond its accomplishment. When he finally remembered, the world was no longer bright. Evening was approaching.


Kassir left the hideout and headed out into the desert, following the instructions of the map. Very soon, the village was far behind. He did not look back, not even once.

As he walked, he was trying to imagine what kind of creature he was after. He did not have a lot to go on. All he knew was that it came out at night and attacked livestock. It had to move fast and leave no traces behind, otherwise it would have been discovered before then. It also had to attack alone. The damage would have been greater, otherwise. He wondered if it was not a dog that ran away from one of the settlements and had now become maddened by the desert heat. Or, it could have been a jackal. They usually went out alone in the summer, although they mostly ate animal carcasses and did not go much after live beasts. Or maybe it was a wild cat. Those things could do a lot of damage too.


All the while, he did not think even once that it could have been something out of this world, a creature sent by the demons to do battle with the people of the Gods. The priest had hinted something like that. But the priest was bound to think along such lines. Kassir was not. He was the son of a herder and they knew a thing or two about the wild creatures of the desert. Heat enraged them and they acted as if possessed. Many talked in whispers about manticores and basilisks and other such monsters that were said to populate the desert. But common wild beasts could do just as much damage.


Kassir reached the cliffs as the sun was sinking. Night was near. He did not enter the caves, even though he was sure that was where his quarry had its lair. There was danger in confronting a wild animal in its territory – and he did not want to confront the thing at all. He wanted to lie hidden in wait. When the creature came out, he would follow it to the settlement it chose to attack that night. Like this, he would spring on the creature when he knew the element of surprise would be on his part. After all, he could see just as well as the creature in the dark. And, for the first time, he was grateful for it.


He did not know how long he waited. The sun was completely gone now and night was all around him. Clouds were billowing in the sky. Rain was near. Kassir fervently hoped it would not rain just yet. If it did, the creature might decide to stay inside that night, and he would have to go after it himself, after all.


Kassir was alert to all the sounds around him. He realised the night was quite noisy. There was nothing of the silence travellers would frighten villagers with. In the distance, an owl was calling to its mate, its cry as mournful as the desert itself. Insects were buzzing all around him in an incessant rhythm. Somewhere close by, there had to be a spring, as Kassir could hear water trickling. And, further away, there was thunder. It was still muffled and he was sure no one else would have been able to hear. But to him, it sounded like beating of the drums heralding a great battle. Maybe it was his confrontation with the creature. Or maybe it was a different conflict, one that would take place in a distant future he could not see just yet.


Presently, his keen ears picked up something coming from inside the cave - the heaving of some great creature, and even though it was trying to move stealthily, it was still making quite a lot of noise. Kassir crouched low in his hiding place. This was it. He was about to come face to face with the creature that would earn him a place among his people – or have him cast out into the strange world beyond the desert.


The beast finally emerged out of its cave. For a moment, it was only a black speck against the dark desert night. But Kassir could see it clearly. He realised immediately what it was. And, for a moment, his heart stopped.


It was a shadow bear. The name was poorly given as there was nothing insubstantial about the beast. But it was called that way because it could blend in with the shadows and thus walked unseen. Its fur was the colour of the night and the darkness it delighted to inhabit.


Shadow bears were rare in the desert. Some said they were remnants of much darker times, before the Sun Gods and Rain Goddesses turned their attention to these lands. There were many who even doubted they really existed, as sightings were few and far between. And there were those who whispered fearfully that the creatures came from the dark chasms of the underworld and could not be fought by mortal men.


Kassir hesitated. He wondered if he should not abandon the task. He should go to the village and tell them what he had seen. After all, he had not been expecting a shadow bear. Neither had the priest, surely. He would not have given such a task to an inexperienced fifteen-year-old. If Kassir failed, they would have an even bigger problem on their hands. The shadow bear would still be there, only this time it would be enraged.


But then Kassir realised he could not ask for help. The tasks for the initiation rites were chosen by the priest, but the priest was guided by the Gods. The priest might not have known the creature was a shadow bear. But the Gods did. And they still entrusted the task to Kassir. So he had to do it. He could not pass the task to someone else because it did not belong to anyone else. It belonged only to him.


The bear moved away and Kassir realised with horror that it was heading straight for Red-stones. So far, the bear had not gone anywhere near Kassir’s village. It was further proof that this was Kassir’s bear, the one that would shape the boy’s destiny. It was easier to follow the bear, since Kassir knew the way. He had to be careful, though. He might have had sharper eyesight and hearing – but so did the shadow-bear. If he was not careful, it would detect his presence.

The shadow-bear moved swiftly and quietly as the shadows that surrounded him. He did not seem bothered by the increasingly frequent thunder and lightning. Quite likely, he would not be bothered by the rain, either. The creature reached the enclosure where those from the settlement kept the herds. Kassir knew that was the time for him to act. He put an arrow in his bow and made ready to fire. He had no illusions. He knew a wooden arrow would do nothing against a shadow bear. But he hoped it would enrage the beast enough to come at him. Then, when it got closer, he could use his knife.


He fired. The arrow hit the bear on the shoulder, but bounced harmlessly against it. The creature let out a furious roar and twisted around, ready to jump at whoever had dared to attack it. Before the bear could spot Kassir, the boy fired two more arrows at it. They did not hit their mark this time, although they were quite close. The bear bounded towards Kassir and he fired his last arrow. Every instinct was screaming at him to get out of the way. But he forced himself to stay put. He already had the knife in his hand. He was feeling a little wild. He knew there was only one way he could fail the task now, and if he did, he would no longer have to ask the Gods for a place among the people of the desert. The dead did not need places among the living.


The bear froze suddenly. Its puzzled eyes sought Kassir’s. There was a strange kinship there, as if their minds had linked somehow. Kassir wavered. He tried to shake himself out of the spell. The confusion could not have lasted more than a few seconds. Then the bear was bounding once again, and Kassir braced himself for the impact. The creature flung itself on him, sending him to the ground. Kassir plunged his knife into it. Dimly, he heard the bear give a pain-filled cry that nearly deafened him. Then, it stilled above him.


Kassir panted sharply beneath the shadow bear’s weight. He tried telling himself there was something important he should remember. But he was too dazed to think clearly.


Copyright Simina Lungu 2022

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