Chapter 1
13 December 1783 - Kanien'kehá Village, Massachusetts State
Gone.
They were all gone.
The once thriving village stood empty, a shell of what it had been.
Connor walked through the now empty longhouses and thought of a time not long ago when children laughed and played there. He looked at the dead fire pit and remembered the times when he had sat enthralled as a child watching and listening to the Clanmother's tales or playing and dancing with his friends. His hands clenched into tight fists as he tried to control his temper.
This was his home. No, it had been his home. He had been raised by the people and cared for, they had taught him to be the man he was today, and this is how they had been repaid for their kindness. Thrown out of their lands, their homes, and their lives.
What had he done for them? He had tried to help them by winning the war. Now the war was won. But for whom? For his people?
Connor scoffed. No. at the first chance they could the new Government had taken this land for their own, the Frontiersman had confirmed it the last time he was here. After all that he had done, after all they had promised. It was gone.
Connor sat down on one of the abandoned bunks of the longhouse and buried his head in his hands. Mourning for his people and wondering what was to become of them.
He had failed them, his family. He drifted off into a troubled sleep.
The next morning Connor walked through the village in a blur. The only signs that there ever were people living here were the broken looms and trampled fields. As he walked around the empty village he picked up items that had been left in the haste of his people's flight. A vain attempt to fix the damage that had been caused.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that the sky was darkening signifying the day's end. Nor did he notice a snow-covered figure walking into the village and looking around as if looking for someone. The figure spotted Connor and walked towards him.
The sound of the figure's footsteps crunching in the snow was the only thing that woke Connor from his thoughtful wander. He jumped at this sudden sound and whirled around activating his hidden blade, expecting that the Colonials had come for what was now, according to Washington, their land.
They could die trying, he thought.
The surprised Iroquois man stopped his advanced and put up his hands peacefully but no less wary than Connor. His scalp lock blowing in the wind, weather beaten as if from a long journey and wary about the emptiness of the village.
Connor retracted his hidden blade and stood politely to greet the newcomer.
"Who are you, and why have you come here?" He inquired of the stranger.
"I am an Onondaga from the Bear Clan at Little Water," he said with a quiet lilt in his voice, "I have come on behalf of our Wise Clanmother. Where is the Wise Turtle Clan Leader of the Kanatahséton? I have a message for her." The Onondaga messenger looked around as if he thought the village was just all hiding, Connor wished they were.
"Then I am sorry your travel was in vain. My people have gone, they have left the village" The messenger looked puzzled, Connor continued " This land has been claimed for the White Man, they have left to live upon lands where they can be free. I am the remaining member of my Clan."
"Then you are the leader of this Clan?"
Connor looked quizzically at the Onondaga but nodded. The man looked satisfied.
"Then my message can be delivered to you." He reached behind himself and brought out a white beaded wampum belt and passed it to Connor.
Connor turned it over in his hands and immediately recognized the meaning of the wampum.
Friendship.
However, it was in the craftsmanship and design that caused Connor to pause. He looked at the messenger in a bewildered way.
"This is made by my people?" The Onondaga man nodded his scalp lock swaying from side to side.
"It is to signify an old promise between our two clans. It is now time to fulfil that promise."
"Forgive me. But I have not heard of such a promise." The man nodded understandingly.
"A marriage has been arranged to strengthen the ties between our peoples."
There was a dead silence for a moment. The only sound was the wind whistling through the longhouse. Connor almost suspected the man to say he was joking and leave the way he came. But the man stood patiently waiting for a response.
Connor's mind was whirling, he had not expected something like this. His Clan was gone, chased out by the people he thought would protect them, and now he, the sole member, was expected to fulfill an old promise made. He knew he could not break such a promise, for the Clan's honour was at stake. He thought about this for a time and then broke the silence.
"Forgive me for my silence, but I am astonished by the request." Connor paused again, then continued cautiously, "However, I will consider the promise and fulfil it on behalf of my people if possible."
The Onondaga inclined his head seemingly satisfied by his response.
"My Clan's Elders will be pleased to meet with you." He looked outside at the fading light. "I have two horses tied just outside the village. If we start our journey now we will make it to my village on the evening of the twelfth day" He looked at Connor and smiled, "Perhaps ten if we hurry."
Connor smiled back.
"Then let us ride."
So ends the first chapter! I know it's small but hopefully the other will be longer. (I'm not a professional writer so please understand that i write small chapters). Remember to follow/fav and leave reviews!
