The Siberia Saga

Meet the Clan

Moonlight shone down upon the endless stretches of wild forest below, untouched by the hand of man. With a whooshing sound, three winged shapes swept through the sky high above the treetops. One of them carried a backpack, while another carried a rather nervous human on her back. Anatoly kept shooting glances at the forest far far below, swallowing through a throat gone tight and dry. He'd been rather nervous about this 'gliding' thing ever since he returned the rental bike and retrieved his stuff from the guesthouse.

"Erm... Are you sure you this is safe? You can hold my weight?" he asked Anya, whose neck he had his arms wrapped around while he rested on her back.

The bird-like gargoyle sighed and looked skyward for a moment, mouth twisting wryly. "Yes, Anatoly Terentyev," she said, for the dozenth time since they left Olkhon Island behind, "I'm sure this is safe. And yes, I can hold your weight."

Anatoly heard the extreme patience in her tone and flushed slightly in embarrassment, barely visible through his swarthy Buryat complexion. "Sorry," he replied. "And you can just call me Anatoly, okay? You don't need to keep saying my full name."

"Alright, Anatoly," Anya said, nodding.

Anatoly peered ahead towards where Saulius, the tiger-like gargoyle who had introduced himself as the leader of their clan, was gliding. He had invited Anatoly back to their clan's sanctuary so that they could learn more about each other. The human student was understandably curious about the gargoyles and the clan they spoke of, while the gargoyles were a bit behind the times, unsure about the current ways of the world.

Something hard bumped into Anatoly's knee, and he peered down to see the weird axe that Anya had wielded against the muggers in Irkutsk and the vodyanoi at Olkhon Island hanging at her belt. "Anya, what kind of axe is that, anyway?" he asked.

Anya glanced down at it, then gave a glance over her shoulder at the human on her back. "That? That is my sagaris," she replied.

"Sagaris?" Anatoly frowned. "I don't think I've ever heard of one of those before."

"The sagaris is an ancient weapon, one our clan has wielded for as long as we've been a clan."

"How long has your clan been around?"

"Since time immemorial," Anya replied, a note of pride in her voice.

Anatoly's brow furrowed in confusion. "And, uh... how long is that exactly?"

Anya remained silent for a time, then shot a glance back at her passenger. "A very long time," she replied after a pause, then noticed the expression on Anatoly's face. She sighed and looked forward again. "I suppose if you wish to get more specific than that, you would have to ask Saulius, or perhaps our clan's enaree when we arrive at our sanctuary."

"Enaree?"

"In your language, you would call him...," she paused to think for a moment, then continued, "shaman, I believe."

"Oh."

Anatoly began to ask another question, but then Saulius led a dive towards the trees below and he tightened his arms around Anya's neck and shoulders. He restrained the urge to yelp as they plowed through a light scatter of branches and leaves to a large clearing below. The three gargoyles landed softly, and Anya let her passenger slide off of her back to his feet.

Anatoly looked around the clearing with wide eyes, and Saulius turned and looked back at him, smiling. "Welcome to our sanctuary."

Gargoyles walked throughout the clearing among round, dome-shaped tents made of felt, dyed in greens matching the colors of the leaves and needles of the surrounding trees. The males wore outfits similar to those of Saulius and his companions, while the females wore the hide jackets that came down to midthigh and did without the trousers; some of either gender wore caps and hoods that tapered upward to rounded points. A scatter of gargoyles led animals around, sheep and cattle mostly though with the occasional stocky-looking horse or reindeer.

The gargoyles themselves varied wildly in their personal appearances, with most of them resembling animals like Saulius, Anya and Gnurus. Among them were ones that resembled ibexes and boars, along with others that appeared like tigers, bears, sables and birds. A relative few were more human in appearance, reminding Anatoly of the pictures he had seen of the gargoyles in New York City; their skin colors were mostly greens and browns, with a few white as newly fallen snow. The males wore long beards and had loose hair that fell past their shoulders, and more of them wore the pointed caps than their animal-like brethren. The females wore their hair long as well, down to the smalls of their backs, with some wearing it loose while others wore it pulled back into ponytails bound by a three ornately designed metal rings.

Dominating the center of the clearing was a large square wooden platform that was topped with a much larger version of the dome-shaped tents, its felt covering elaborately designed with flowing artwork that depicted images of gargoyles gliding, firing bows, wielding sagarai, herding livestock, riding horses, and other activities. A metal chimney rose through the top of the structure, from which some wisps of smoke rose. Two other gargoyles sat at the corners of the platform which were the only portions of the platform not dominated by the tent, the both of them tending to their bows.

Gargoyles shot Anatoly looks as he made his way towards the platform with Saulius and his companions, some of them startled while others peered at him with active suspicion. The human student noticed the latter looks uneasily and stuck close to the tiger-like leader.

Soon his curiosity rose again and he looked around at the tents as they walked through the sanctuary. "These are yurts, right?"

Saulius nodded, and replied, "Yes, that is correct." After a moment, he looked back at him. "How do you know that?"

Anatoly smiled. "I've seen some before, and they're still used in the Central Asian republics and Mongolia."

Gnurus grunted, then peered down at the human. "Central Asian republics?"

Anatoly blinked in surprise, then gestured his hand through the air as he replied, "You know, the former Soviet republics? Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan Tajikistan, Uzbekistan..."

Saulius' eyes widened, and Anya and Gnurus looked startled as well. "Former Soviet republics?" their leader asked, sounding slightly incredulous.

Anatoly looked back at them, just as startled. "Yes," he replied, then watched as they exchanged astonished looks. "You didn't know the Soviet Union had fallen?"

The gargoyle leader appeared even more startled at that admission, then shook his head as if to clear it. "It appears that more has happened in the outside world than we thought," he said. "Perhaps it's just as well that we've taken you into our confidence, Anatoly Terentyev. You should tell Koloksai about this."

"Who is Koloksai?"

"Our enaree," Gnurus rumbled.

"Oh." Anatoly nodded. "Your shaman. Okay." He frowned slightly as he thought that over. When he thought of shamans he had the mental image of wooden masks and rattles around blazing fires. Why would one have any interest in the fall of Communism?

As they rounded the last of the smaller yurts, the gargoyle sitting on the corner closest to them looked up and perked his ears at the sight of Anatoly walking among them. The sable-like gargoyle - maybe the one from Irkutsk,Anatoly thought uncertainly - slipped his bow back into its case and hopped down from the platform, caping his wings about himself.

"Well, it looks like the trip to Lake Baikal was more interesting than I thought it would be," he commented as he walked up to them, looking at the human curiously. After a moment, his face cleared in understanding. "Hey, you're the guy from Irkutsk, aren't you? The one who was... in a bit of trouble." He smiled slightly at his own understatement.

Even though he had fur, a tail, wings and whiskers, Anatoly found himself smiling back despite himself, and held out his hand. "Yeah, that's me. Anatoly Terentyev. I never got to thank you."

The gargoyle clasped his forearm and shook it, waving his other hand through the air dismissively as he grinned. "Oh, that? That was nothing. If you saw some of the things our clan has had to deal with in the past--" Saulius shot him a look, and the sable gargoyle's smile turned sheepish. "Yeah, well...," he trailed off, then continued, "My name's Lycus, by the way."

Anatoly nodded to him, then glanced over at Saulius curiously. The clan leader noticed it, and smiled. "Lycus tends to get carried away talking." A disapproving grunt from Gnurus expressed the hulking gargoyle's opinion of that.

Lycus smiled sunnily up at the glowering face of the bear gargoyle. "You really need to build yourself a larger vocabulary, brother," he remarked. "All that grunting can't be good for you."

"Hmmph." Gnurus glowered down at his easygoing rookery brother. "Impudent little..." But one corner of his mouth turned up in a grudging smile.

"Come," Saulius said, and started forward again. "Koloksai should meet Anatoly, and hear what he has to say of the world outside these forests. From what he has said," and the tiger gargoyle glanced back at him, "it sounds as if there have been great changes, changes that may effect the clan."

They continued forward to the platform, and were greeted at its edge by the other gargoyle that had been sitting on the platform as they approached. She wore an outfit similar to the others, and carried her bow in her clawed hand. Like Saulius, she was tiger-like, but her fur was white with black stripes, and watched them with vivid green eyes.

She caped her wings and nodded to Saulius. "Greetings, brother. How was the trip to the lake?" She finally noticed the human behind him, and blinked in surprise. "And who is this with you?"

Saulius smiled and set a hand on Anatoly's back, giving him a gentle push to step forward. "This is Anatoly Terentyev, the human we assisted in our flight over the city Irkutsk. Some vodyanoi attacked us on Olkhon Island and he assisted us."

The female gargoyle smiled warmly and held her arm down to Anatoly, clasping his forearm. "Then I am very pleased to meet you, Anatoly Terentyev. I am Irina. I welcome you to our sanctuary."

Anatoly smiled and started to answer back, but instead let out a small yelp as Irina suddenly hauled his arm upward and pulled him up onto the platform. His legs nearly crumpled when she set him on his feet, but he managed to catch himself in time. Heart hammering, he looked into the confused eyes of Irina, then back at the four gargoyles still on the ground below. Gnurus was his usual stoic self, but Saulius was smiling while Lycus and Anya were laughing.

"Oh, Ancestors, I don't think I've everseen someone's eyes bug out that much," Lycus said, still chuckling.

Irina looked concerned. "Did I hurt you, Anatoly Terentyev?" she asked anxiously. "I've heard humans are more... delicate than gargoyles, and I apologize--"

Anatoly finally caught his breath and shook his head to clear it. "No, no, it's okay, Irina," he replied, giving her a reassuring smile. "I was just startled, is all."

As she smiled back in relief, a reedy voice called out from inside the large yurt. "Irina, Lycus, what's all the commotion out there? What are you laughing at?"

There was a thumping sound that grew louder until the curtains hanging over the entrance the yurt were thrown aside, revealing an elderly gargoyle hunched over with age, holding a walking stick that was undoubtedly the source of the thumping. He wore a wool robe trimmed in fleece, with a stretch of worn leather stretching down the front with patterns of various animals - from birds, to deer and wolves and tigers, to fish - worked into it in various colored threads. Around his neck he wore an elaborately designed gold pectoral with small figures of gargoyles wielding bows and sagarai between two gold braids, with another pattern of trees worked out of a solid base of gold above that with another smaller gold braid atop it, then small figures of cattle and sheep with gargoyles sheering and milking them, with a yet smaller gold braid topping it. His walking stick was topped with a globe of amber that seemed to glow orange when the light hit it.

The gargoyle himself had the appearance of a reindeer, with velvet-covered antlers stretching up from his head, and fur gone silver and gray with age; a white tuft of fur extended from his chin like a goatee. He peered at the human standing in front of doorway with disconcertingly shrewd eyes, his faded-looking wings caped around himself.

"Well... a human in our sanctuary, and at the entrance to the leader's yurt, no less!" He peered at Anatoly, looking him up and down. "You don't appear to be punctured by any arrows, so it seems that you're expected, yes?" The old gargoyle gave a raspy chuckle, and looked past the human to Saulius and his companions, who leaped up to the platform with flaps of their wings, then caped them around themselves again. "Back from the lake already, Saulius? And you've brought a guest with you, it seems."

"Enaree," Saulius said, nodding respectfully. "This human is Anatoly Terentyev," he continued, and told him of the circumstances of their meeting before turning back to Anatoly. "Anatoly, this is our enaree Koloksai. He is the eldest of the clan."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Koloksai," Anatoly said, and held his arm out. He was expecting the forearm clasp with which he'd become familiar, and so was surprised when the old gargoyle took his hand and shook it.

Koloksai noticed his surprise and gave another raspy chuckle. "Now, now, you honestly didn't think we were completely ignorant of human customs, did you tovarisch?"

"Comrade?" Anatoly echoed, confused, then his face cleared as he recalled how Saulius and the others had reacted earlier. "Oh... we don't commonly use that honorific any more, not since the CPSU - the Communist Party of the Soviet Union - fell."

Koloksai blinked, then stroked his free hand over the tuft of fur hanging from his chin. "The Party has fallen, has it? How interesting." He turned and placed his hand on Anatoly's arm, pulling him along into the yurt. "Come along, my human friend. You must tell me more."

***

The inside of the yurt was large, easily a good twelve feet across, and white fabric lining the inside reflected the light from the cast iron stove in the center and butter-burning lamps all along the edge, making it seem larger still. Full leather sacks lined the edge of the tent on the side opposite the entrance, and among them was a wooden chest covered with boiled leather and reinforced with strips of metal that was covered with yet more leather sacks. Cooking utensils were placed around the stove, and three large beds of fleeces and felt-covered cushions rested at the sides of the tent away from the hoard of sacks and the chest.

It was some time later that Koloksai was sitting propped up against one of the beds, stroking his hand over his chin tuft again after Anatoly finished recounting the events of the collapse of the Soviet Union. He'd listened to the tales of the attempted policies of glasnost and perestroika that had backfired and resulted in the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and, eventually, the Soviet Union itself in silence. Likewise had he listened to the dire straits of the modern Russian Federation and the former Soviet republics. Now he appeared to be deep in thought.

Sitting next to the elder enaree was another gargoyle who appeared younger than Saulius and his companions, but wore a wool robe much like Koloksai's, but much more plain. His features were those of a lion, and his mane appeared to be just growing out; Anatoly got the impression that he was in his teens. His name was Idanthyrsus, and he was apparently Koloksai's apprentice. He had helped his elder to sit, and was watching him attentively, though his eyes kept straying back towards Anatoly in curiosity.

Saulius sat back against his own bed, while the others were scattered around the circumference of the yurt, legs folded under them. They had listened to Anatoly speak as well, and now Gnurus, Irina, Lycus and Anya were all talking to each other quietly, while Saulius had brought his cupped his chin in his hand in thought.

Eventually, Koloksai lowered his hand and sighed. "There was chaos enough throughout our protectorate after the Tsar fell, and now the Communists have followed him and more has arrived." The enaree shared a look with Saulius, who watched him quietly. Koloksai averted his eyes and shook his head.

"Perhaps we made a mistake when we decided to withdraw from the human world all those years ago," he continued. "The vodyanoi revive despite our absence, and our protectorate is overrun with these... criminals our human ally has spoken of." He looked around at the other gargoyles sitting around the yurt. "Widespread corruption, terrorists, and this Russian mafia that has spread even to distant shores."

Saulius straightened where he sat. "You speak truly, elder," he said. "We have been remiss in our duties... remiss to our very nature." He leaned forward and fixed his eyes upon his four companions in turn. "Gargoyles are meant to protect. We have survived, yes, but we are meant for more than that."

The clan's leader looked over at Anatoly and nodded to him. "Perhaps it is indeed fate that has brought us our new ally. He is a sign that our clan should once more involve itself in the human world."

He closed his eyes in thought for a moment, then opened them and spoke in a ringing tone. "From this day forth, I and my elite guard," and with this he looked to Gnurus, Irina, Lycus and Anya in turn, "will resume our clan's patrols over our protectorate." He looked over at Anatoly. "And you, Anatoly. I would like it if you would be our ally in this, our bridge in understanding this new world."

Anatoly drew back slightly in surprise, and looked around to see every gargoyle's eyes on him. "But... I'm just a student," he protested. "I'm no policeman or soldier! I..." He sighed and shook his head. "I'm not the guy you want for this."

"Maybe you are," an unfamiliar voice said, and Anatoly looked up in surprise to see that the quiet apprentice, Idanthyrsus, was looking at him. Saulius and his companions looked surprised themselves, but Koloksai merely watched his apprentice as he continued speaking. "Many great individuals have risen from lowly stations, Anatoly Terentyev. Commonfolk have become warriors of legend, and slaves have become great emperors.

"And besides," Idanthyrsus continued, smiling nervously, "haven't you said that there is widespread corruption? When the warriors are unwilling to fight for the clan, does it not sometimes fall to others?"

Anatoly blinked in surprise, and Koloksai smiled at his apprentice, who ducked his head nervously and again fell silent. I guess there's a reason he's his apprentice, the human thought bemusedly.

"Well..." he began, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his neck, a bemused expression still on his face, "who am I to argue with that?" A small laugh went through the yurt, and Idanthyrsus grinned. Anatoly nodded firmly and held his arm out to Saulius, clasping his forearm. "I'll do what I can to help you and your clan, Saulius."

***

Later, as they all shared a supper of roasted beef and flat cakes to celebrate the momentous decision for both the clan and their new human ally, Anatoly found himself sitting next to Koloksai. Suddenly remembering the conversation he'd had with Anya on their way to the clan's sanctuary, he turned to the enaree. "Ah, Koloksai?"

The elder gargoyle drew his attention away from the flat cake he had been gnawing on and quirked a brow in question. "Yes? What is it?"

"I was talking to Anya earlier, and I was just wondering... just how old is your clan?"

"Our clan has been around since time immemorial."

Anatoly sighed and groaned inwardly at the answer. Koloksai seemed to notice his reaction and smiled, his eyes glinting with humor. "I am guessing you've gotten that answer before then?"

"Er, yeah," Anatoly answered, smiling sheepishly.

Koloksai chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "It's quite alright, my young friend. That is the default answer for anyone in the clan. But luckily for you," he said, tipping him a wink, "you are speaking to the clan enaree."

The elderly gargoyle reached over and lifted one of the leather sacks with a metallic clinking sound, and picked up a sheaf of papers that was under it. "My predecessors and I," he began as he untied the bundle and began sorting through them, "have had the opportunity to research some of our clan's stories and compare them to the work of human scholars. If you're truly wondering about a certain date, that I can't give you. But it is certain that our clan has been around since... let me see... aha! Here we are."

Koloksai pulled one sheet of yellowed paper out and peered down at it, reading through it. "Yes. Our clan has been around, in one form or another, since before 1500 BCE. That would be, hmm, nearly three and a half millenia." He looked up from the page to see Anatoly's shocked expression.

"3500 years?!" the human choked out, astonished. "That can't be possible!"

Koloksai smiled and wagged a finger. "Now, now, it may be impossible for your human kingdoms and empires and republics, but our clan has lived this way of life since our founding." He gestured a hand around to take in the yurt and the lightweight furnishments. "Our clan was formed alongside an ancient people who no longer exist. And they disappeared because they began to settle down, stuck themselves in one place and got themselves overrun by tribes who followed the nomadic life.

"Think about it, Anatoly," he asked, "which lasts longer? The mountain - big, strong and rooted to one spot - or the ever-flowing ocean that moves relentlessly and wears it away? It is why I think our clan has survived where so many other gargoyle clans have been destroyed."

"Hmm." Anatoly frowned slightly as he considered that. "Who were those ancient people your clan was formed alongside?"

"Ah, I was hoping you'd ask that," Koloksai said with a peculiar gleam in his eyes. "They are known today as the Scythians. Have you heard of them?" Anatoly shook his head; history courses were mainly focused on Russian history.

"Well, the legend goes that the first Scythian king was a man named Targitaus, who was the child of a sky-god and a human woman who lived at what is now the Dnieper River."

"Sky-god?" Anatoly frowned as he thought that over. "You mean there was some god who--" He stopped abruptly as he noticed Koloksai's smile and the subtle way he was twitching his wings from where they were caped around him. He stared at the enaree in confusion a moment more, then his jaw fell.

"You mean that woman... and a gargoyle...?!"

Koloksai chuckled. "That's the legend, anyway, and it's why our clan remained tied to the Scythians. We had a blood bond that we shared with them, and their tribes were our protectorate. In return, they taught us their ways and guarded us during the day when we turned to stone. We've followed those ways even after they abandoned them, and we're still here while they're an ancient people you've never even heard of."

The enaree cocked his head to the side, as if listening to something. "Speaking of stone... dawn is approaching. Perhaps we can talk more this evening."

"Yeah." Anatoly now had a lot more questions than he'd had before. Koloksai started struggling to his feet, and Idanthyrsus hurried over to help Anatoly get him to his feet.

"Ah, thank you both. Not as young as I used to be," the enaree commented as he picked up his walking stick and followed Saulius and his companions as they filed to the platform outside. Gnurus, Irina, Lycus and Anya each took one corner of the platform and unfolded their wings, flaring them out and taking fearsome poses. Saulius himself stood in front of the entrance to the yurt and did the same, while Koloksai and Idanthyrsus took their places to either side of him and took more contemplative poses. Throughout the sanctuary, gargoyles took their places in front of other yurts and the pens of their animals, and up on the sturdier branches of the trees above.

Anatoly watched in amazement as the sunlight slowly began filtering through the branches of the forest, and heard a strange crackling sound echo among the trees as the gargoyles of the clan turned to stone before his eyes.

"Wow," Anatoly finally said, and smiled. "Well, it looks like Siberia has just gotten more interesting."