The Frogmen of the Apocalypse: Gongaga
By TacomaSquall
Chapter 3
We walked for about an hour in silence through the forest gloom. As we walked, I began to hear the sounds of the forest around me. I could hear the soft breath of the breeze as it blew through the trees, and the soft cries of the nocturnal denizens of the rainforest. It sounded to me that I was making enough noise for a Behemoth, while both Patter and Hieros moved with a silent fluidity that made them both seem to be mobile pieces of the night.
We passed through a dense copse of trees. These trees were taller than the ones near Gongaga, and they were gnarled and intertwined. The trees, in some areas, were twined together so much that you could walk, in the trees, for a hundred yards or more, without ever coming down to the ground.
As we neared the edge of the copse, a form streaked from the branches above and struck Patter full in the chest. My friend went down in a windmilling tumble of arms and legs and spear. When he stopped rolling, he was being held by another Frog-man, who carried the same type of short spear as Patter did. "And you say, you're a better hunter, Patter. I caught you fair and square that time!" He extended on of his hands to Patter and helped my friend stand.
Hieros shook his and sighed. "Yager, this is not the time."
The Frog, who stood a little bit taller and broader than Patter, looked defiantly at the Sahugin. "And why not? Just because old Scarface here is walking with the great messenger of our people does not make him exempt from being shown that there are better hunters in the forest than he is."
"Because I am taking him, and the human girl, to see Tara." Hieros sounded like he was running out of patience.
"So?" Yager looked over at me, and swept his gaze up and down my form. I had not seen such a predatory look before in my life. "Why don't you just let me sing to her, and the problem will be resolved."
"Because we are being brought to Tara for her judgment. I broke the edict forbidding contact with humans. I know you don't have much respect for those older than you, Yager, but Tara is the wisest of our people." Patter seemed almost amused by Yager's attitude. "This is no time for us to continue our contest. I promise that we will continue things later."
"Oh…" Yager was thoughtful for a second, and then he grinned (a strange expression on a Frog). "Well, good luck with the Old Hag, Patter!" He looked at me and chuckled. "If you want to have some real fun after you see Tara, come looking for me! I am definitely better company than drop-dead serious old Patter is!"" He hopped back into the branches above and vanished.
As we continued walking, I turned to Patter. "Are you alright?"
"Yager and I have been competing against each other for the last two years. Yager likes to make himself out to be the best at everything in the village, and I won't let him get away with it." He laughed. "Yager's not a bad guy, but he is full of himself."
We exited the copse and came to a less dense expanse of trees. I stopped and gasped in surprise at the sight I beheld.
The trees stood tall and straight, and were larger than any I had ever seen. There were branches that extended from one tree to the next, and elevated walkways. Cradled in the boughs of the giant trees were small houses! Forms of both Frog and Sahugin moved along the walkways of the small village.
"You live here?" I breathed.
Hieros turned to me, and the smile on his face was made bittersweet by the sorrow in his eyes. "Welcome to Nuavalan, the last city of the Frogmen of the Apocalypse."
We climbed up into the trees, and made our way toward one of the two largest houses in the village. It was nestled in the lowest boughs of a tree whose truck was thicker than our house in Gongaga! As we climbed, we passed a handful of Frogs, who stood out of Hieros' way, and waved of nodded or croaked friendly greetings at Patter.
The Frogs shared the same fascination, tinged with wariness, that the Frog children had shown to me earlier, and I heard a number of them start singing when they saw me. Every time they sang, I heard the same almost-voice underlying their song, and I realized that the Song of the Frogs was some type of magic!
We walked around the other large building in the village. It was a strange building, with no walls, just columns that supported the roof. Within, there stood a wrinkled Sahugin who was spreading some type of ointment on a ovoid shape that lay on its side in front of him. As the Sahugin applied the ointment, he was chanting.
"From balance to ruin, and back again.
I call the Sleeper that he may awaken after the Change.
The Change is passing, it is time to live again.
Frog no more, you are Sahugin.
Once-Cetra, once-Human, now once-Frog.
Forever Frogman, as the Apocalypse nears.
Waken from the Rite of Transformation."
When the Sahugin reached the end of his chant, he began it again, from the beginning.
We walked on. I turned to Patter, and asked, "Who was that, and what was he doing?"
He grimaced. "He is Grennek. As to what he was doing, I'll let someone tell you what he was doing, because I am still not sure that I understand it exactly."
As we drew closer to the old house, we could see that there was a stairway in the bole of the tree, spiraling down toward the ground below, and climbing toward the top of the tree. The steps of the stairway seemed almost to have grown of their own accord, rather than being carved from the living wood.
The house itself (for lack of a better term) had no sharp edges, but seemed to flow outwards, like some growth, from the giant tree it was nestled in. There was a round door that opened onto the branch pathway that we walked on. It opened soundlessly to Hieros' touch.
"Come in, Hieros and Patter. It has been a long time since you visited me, either of you." A withered, old Sahugin hobbled forward. Unlike the other Sahugin I had seen, she was only as tall as Patter was. She smiled in my direction. "Come in, child. It has been a very long time since Nuavalan has been graced by someone like Maiji Carpenter." I was stunned. How did she know my name?
She must have been able to follow my train of thought, because she laughed. Her laughter seemed to contain all of the amusement of the elderly towards the young. Her laughter burbled like a spring brook, threatening to overflow its banks and sweep everyone who heard it away.
"My young friend is not as good at keeping secrets as he thinks he is." She snorted in amusement. "A surprise for my Transformation Day! As for how I knew your name, my child, before you leave here, you will know how I know you, and you will also know about us."
"Eldest!" Hieros was aghast. "Do you think this is wise? She is a human. Have you forgotten the slaughter near Corel a hundred years ago? The events in Wutai just five years ago?"
Tara turned to the Sahugin and shook her head slowly. "I am tired, Hieros. I have seen the fall of the Cetra and the rise of humanity. I have seen our rise and subsequent fall. I was alive when Jenova arrived, and I fear that I shall never see her final defeat. Her arrival is the only harbinger of the Apocalypse I have seen, and I at last know that our people shall survive. My time is coming, and soon another will take my place." She sighed and slowly walked back into the interior of the house. Wordlessly, we followed.
She led us into a large, open chamber in the center of the house. The central feature of the chamber was a bowl that was hollowed into the floor. I would guess it was about fifty feet in diameter, and there was a small fire pit in the center of the depression. Near the fire pit was a tattered blanket. Tara lowered herself onto the blanket, and gestured for us to be seated on the floor nearby. Hieros and Patter both sat quickly. I, a little hesitantly, sat down next to Patter (on the side away from Hieros).
In her soft, musical voice, Tara spoke. "Maiji Carpenter, it is my judgment that you will be able to return to your people. Your trespass was not intentional, and you will not bring harm to our people by being here.
"If you wish to return to Nuavalan, and keep your friendship with one of the warriors of the Frogmen of the Apocalypse, you must do something more. You must hear our tale. If you choose to be Patter's friend, then you will choose to become part of our story.
"What is your choice, Maiji?" The Sahugin elder turned her piercing gaze upon me. She was waiting for my answer.
I looked at the others. Both Hieros and Patter were looking at me. On Hieros' face was unbridled amazement. He could not believe that Tara was offering to tell me all of the secrets of the Frogmen of the Apocalypse.
Patter's eyes were bright with hope, but he also seemed uncertain. There was something dark and mysterious in their story. Something that made him unsure whether he wanted me to discover it.
My mind screamed at me to leave and never come back. Patter was just a Frog. My parents had to be terribly worried about me. And Jon! He'd never understand about this, and did I want to jeopardize what could be to be a Frog's friend.
However, the allure of the mystery surrounding these Frogs and Sahugin called to me. I wanted to know what the Song was, and they used it on me. I wanted to hear the story of this elder's life. I wanted to draw these people in my sketch book, to immortalize them – Tara's serenity and vivacity; Patter's sudden smile, and his serious, caring mien; Hieros and his flaming sword; the frenetic energy contained in the Frog children I met before; even Yager's cockiness! I wanted to find out what Patter meant when he said that he used to know someone like me…
Most importantly, I wanted to know who and what were the Frogmen of the Apocalypse.
Heeding to my heart, I nodded my assent to Tara. Tara leaned back and began, "This is my story. It is a story of beginnings and endings. It is a tale of children lost and a curse invoked upon those who turned away from the Planet's dire need. It is our story."
To be continued …