Chapter 2: Illness and Sacrifice
"Have you lost it old man?!" A yell echoed through the village. "The shaman died of this curse and you hesitate in the sacrifice."
Calgara pushed the chief's curtain aside seeing a young warrior yelling at the chief. "Very well tomorrow at sunrise we should sacrifice out best woman."
The council looked at Calgara, and instantly he knew they all had just the woman in mind. Mousse. His little sister. His everything.
"No!" Calgara growled. "Not mousse."
"Calgara, please. Her lineage is the best there is, she has you as a brother." The chief pled. "It is your sister live that will save our entire village."
'What am I to do? My loyalty to my sister of my village? My sister's life of my entire village. 1 life or 1 thousands.' Calgara knew what was expected of him what and he knew what he was going to do.
"Let me tell them." Calgara relented.
"Very well, Calgara do as you wish, we will honor the sacrifices of youand your family."
Calgara nodded, leaving the tent as they got prepared for his little sister's...calgara shook the thought away.
He entered his house seeing his mother and sister smiling and sewing by the firelight. He sighed. "Mother, Mousse." They both looked to him and upon seeing his distraught face their smiles slipped.
"Brother!" Mousse jumped up. "What's wrong?"
He looked at her closely before pulling her into his chest. "You...you are going to become our sacrifice...to Koshii... your life for the lives of our people."
"NO!" Mother yelled pushing her son, the great warrior Calgara, in her grief "No! Not Mousse! Why would you let them take..."
But mousse grabbed her mother pulling her away from her brother and pulling her to a chair before looking out the window for a moment.
"why do you cry mother it really is an honor to be chosen." Mousse tried to comfort her mother but it all sounded like empty words.
However Calgara couldn't stand it, to be there listening to his precious little sister protect the right of her... sacrifice. So he turned away, retreated to the forest to clear his mind and his heart. This, too, did not work for in the forest he found Seto, a motivated and daring young boy. The boy who begged him to tell tale of his conquests over the Outsiders. Seto, the boy who proclaimed far and wide that one day he himself would be like Calgara, a great warrior who everyone respected.
Yet here he was beating his arm with a rock. The green splotch on his arm was not affected though, only turning red with shed blood.
"Seto!" Calgara's voice was thick with shock.
"Great Warrior Calgara!" the boy cried. " I wanted to be a great warrior like you. I wanted to protect the village but now... I... I don't want to die yet!" he cried running further into the forest, away from his village and home.
"Our people suffer.." Calgara thought at the boy's heartfelt proclamation. " I know Mousse's sacrifice is for the best... for the people...but I... I want to save my little sister" I looked up to the sky. "why is it like this?"
He left Seto to his own devices. What could he say...nothing. What could he do...Nothing. Never had Calgara felt so... so... useless
The pain in the great warrior's heart was hundreds of times more painful than any thing he had ever physically encountered.
So he trudged slowly up to his favorite tree the one that was near the outskirt of Shandora. And he sat and waited for what he was not sure, but he waited non-the-less. However, whatever it was never came and finally it was time for the sacrifice. So, with a heavy heart Calgara walked to his sister's sacrifice.