AUTHORS NOTE: Hey everyone, here's the sequel to "A Hard Road." I hope you enjoy it. Please note: Spelling is in the Australian English so if it looks wrong to an American reader, then I apologise (- Prime example!)
A Crimson Road
(Sequel to "A Hard Road.")
The group of men and boys crouched down low, their quarry unsuspecting as it dug with long claws in the earth. The Mole Rat would feed the tribe for a day. Raven looked around him and nodded to his son, Little Talon. The boy took aim and hurled the spear at the unsuspecting creature below him.
The spear flew through the air, turning slightly to strike deep into the body of the Mole Rat. The creature fell over squeaking in agony, its legs going into spasm in the final throes of its death. With a final 'whuff' it exhaled and died.
Little Talon jumped up in excitement, the fifteen-year old boy had made his first kill for the Sun-Wing Tribe. The men congratulated the boy on his first Rite of Passage. His father looked down smiling as the boy took up a knife and began to clean his first kill.
The group of hunted carried the beat back to their village where the women were waiting. Little Talon's mother and sister were foremost in the group of women. Bluewing, his mother smiled proudly at her son, the feathers in her hair shone. She placed a hand against her son's cheek.
"Today," she said smiling, "My Son is a man of the Sun-Wings!" she raised her hands and cried an ululation to the sky. The joyous cry was taken up by all the tribe. His sister, White Raven came up to him and handed him a necklace made from feathers and bird skulls. Her blonde locks shone in the golden sunshine as she smiled at her twin brother.
The tribe celebrated that night, enjoying the meat from a good hunt, and the fresh foods from a good gathering that morning. They danced around the fires of the camp with feathered dress costumes taken from crows and other birds that had survived in the wastelands.
White Raven sat next to her brother. They spoke quietly.
"Who will you choose?" she asked shyly.
Little Talon looked around the camp fire to the other young women in the tribe; there were four potential mates for him to choose. Their tribe's tradition held women in high regard, for they were the bearers of children and a man must ask the woman's permission before he could court her.
"Perhaps Little Dove, or even Silverwing." He replied to her. "I don't have to choose until the third day of the trial, if I survive it." White Raven hugged her brother tight,
"You will survive, I know it." She sat back and watched the adults dancing against the light of the fires.
The next day, Little Talon stood with the other young men of the tribe who were going to undergo their next Right of Passage into adulthood. The four young men were sent out into the harsh desert with a small amount of food and water. They must discover their adult name after finding their spirit bird and return to their people as a man or not at all.
In the harshness of the Wastelands it was not uncommon for a young man to never return, some took a few days longer, returning to their people in a bewildered and exhausted state, suffering from severe dehydration.
Little Talon sat upon an outcropping of rock and rested his mind. He cleared it and entered a meditative pose. The sun coursed its way across the sky and he felt the heat of the day leeching at his strength. He felt the heady lethargy of a dream drifting through his mind.
He saw himself still sitting upon the outcropping of rock, two eagles flew overhead. They were one of the rarest birds in the wastelands, especially after the great war that destroyed so many species and almost wiped the human race off the planet altogether.
The pair flew together and mated in the air, as they came together two feathers dislodged from the male's wings and spiralled down to land beside the young man. One landed next to his hand, the other missed him completely, but continued down to the valley floor below.
He watched the course of the feather and saw that there were men in red armour making their way through the valley towards their village. Little Talon watched the men as they filed through the valley. There was a flag with a golden horned animal upon it; it looked like a Brahmin, but with only one head.
Little Talon followed along the high ridge watching their progress; he clutched the feather in his hand, crushing the fine strands of the feather. Little Talon opened his hand and smoothed out the gift of the Tiercel. He took a deep breath and returned to his small camp, the mystery of the strange crimson-clad men would have to wait; he had an important rite to complete.
From above, the two eagles separated, the Tiercel's cry was piercing and mournful. Something in it boded ill within Little Talon's mind; it was as if the Eagle was warning him of some danger. The bird circled twice more and called again before heading away to the east. Little Talon was now certain that the bird was his Spirit bird, and had given him his adult name in its cry.
Little Talon held aloft the slightly rumpled feather, "I take the name 'Tiercel's Call!'" he cried after the bird. The bird called again in answer and flew to the distant horizon. He threaded the feather through a braid upon his hair and began to pack up his camp.
Tiercel arrived back in the village to find the men in crimson were encamped a short distance away from the main village. There was a canvas tent with the flag of the golden, one-headed Brahmin upon the field of red fluttering over the tent's entrance and two men in the crimson armour stood guard, there must be a powerful chieftain visiting them.
His mother noticed him as she headed towards the tent with his father; she pulled away from her husband and went to her son.
"My son has returned to us!" she said smiling, "I am proud of you, my son. What name did you receive from your spirit bird?" his mother was the wise-woman of the tribe, anything to do with the spirit birds or guidance of the tribe was her domain.
"I am Tiercel's Call, mother, Tiercel for short." Raven stood beside his wife and greeted his son as a man of the Tribe,
"I greet you Brother, may your wings guide and shield you." He said, taking his son's arm and holding it for three heartbeats. "Come, my son, we have visitors, these men come from a tribe called Caesar's Legion and wished to meet us." His father released his son's arm and turned to the tent.
"They appear to be warriors, Father." Tiercel noted.
"Yes, my son. This concerns me, as we are not warlike as they are." His father admitted. "I feel deeply troubled with the show of force that they have brought, something is not right."
"I felt it too father, as I watched them passing below my place of contemplation in the mountains." Tiercel replied. Bluewing stopped Tiercel, "Go and refresh yourself my son, we will let you know any news from this meeting." Raven looked to his wife, but he knew she had the authority in the village to include or exclude anyone from any important meetings.
Tiercel nodded and headed over to the small rover, he headed downstream a little way and bathed, cleaning the dust and sweat of the two days of his trial from his body. He lay upon the sandy bank to dry and dozed off.
The screaming of the womenfolk roused him from his slumber. He awoke with sand on the side of his face. The young man quickly arose and ran towards the sounds of chaos. His people were being rounded up; men separated from women, children from mothers. Some of the tribe's men fought against the crimson men of the Legion, those men were quickly slaughtered where they stood.
His father was taken to a pole; it had another piece attached to it going crossways. The men of the Legion lashed his father to this cross. Bluewing and White Raven wailed and struggled against the men who held them back.
Tiercel's fury arose at the treatment of his family, and his people, what right did the Legion tribe have to do this to their peaceful people?
The young man reached for a stick that was lying nearby. He ran towards the men who held his people and started to attack. The young man had trained for many years in melee combat, and was quite proficient but when he came up against the Legion soldiers and their superior training, he was soon overwhelmed and brought to heel.
He was thrown in with the group of other young men, beaten and bloodied. He could hear White Raven calling him by his child's name, Bluewing was trying to comfort his sister.
"You are now slaves." Shouted one of the men in red, "Under the orders of The Malpais Legate, who serves on the orders of our most glorious Emperor Caesar, the people of this village now belong to Caesar."
