Current Issue + contents + contributors + thanks News Next Issue Submit Links About Contact     The small clan of men and women trudged for three days nonstop, hiding from view as much as possible, always frightened they were being pursued. Women trailed the clan sweeping the ground with tree branches to wipe away their footprints. They had killed four members of another clan and were now on the run. They traveled with a pack of dogs used to warn of danger. If food became scarce, they would eat the dogs. In a light rain the clan arrived exhausted at the sea shore and the edge of their world. The twelve men and eight women, there were no children, huddled under a rocky overhang awestruck at the great, infinite sea before them. Some had never seen the ocean before and stared out in silence. On the other side of the sea was a promised, peaceful green island foretold in a dream. First the dogs were sent down the steep rock overhang in hopes that they would find an easy trail and to make sure there were no other people waiting below to ambush them. When the dogs reached the sandy beach and began barking, the men and women descended, holding on to each other in a line, handing down their spears and then their small satchels of food and water. The most important objects needed for rituals were carried on the backs of the women. When they reached the shore below, they discovered a cave in the rocks and built a small fire and huddled with the dogs for warmth and protection. Quickly a strong storm came in and the black skies cracked with lightning and crashed with thunder. It was a good omen. Anyone trailing them in the storm would have a miserable time. As a precaution, the dogs were sent out to guard. Revenge never changed in the world. The clan's leader was Grunder. He was tall, bearded, and wore a brown bear's skin to signify his leadership. Around his neck he wore a collar of bear's teeth and an amulet of amber, encased inside of which was a dragonfly. He also carried a spear with a black obsidian spearhead. Grunder had identical twin sisters, Altos and Femos. Because of their looks and dreams they were said to be touched by the spirits. All the clan believed and trusted in them. The two sisters and their older brother made a good match. The first night on the run, Femos had a dream that if they travelled west across the great sea they would find the green island and a safe life. Grunder asked his other sister Altos, if she had visions of the green island too. Silently she nodded her head and looked to the west. But it was up to Grunder to make the decision. Like any wise leader he listened to all and then looked for answers his way by reading small bones tossed on the ground. All the next day, Grunder sat alone, thinking, afraid to cross the great sea. His tossed bones said that the journey was very dangerous. But the lure of the green island and the dreams of his sisters were too strong an omen to be ignored. But how to cross the great water? Altos said that a wooden framed boat could be made with branches and then covered with animal skins sown together with animal sinews. The fat from the animals would seal the skin from the water. What would that look like, Grunder asked and Altos said it would look like a great bowl and it would hold all the people and the dogs. When asked how she knew this, Altos said she just knew. Grunder did not argue or question his sister further. He knew that in their world there were many things beyond understanding and one just had to accept or reject them. Knowing the difference made life possible now in the chaos of their world. Later that day they killed three deer, which was another good sign. Then Grunder knew he had enough skins and enough meat to construct the boat and fill the bellies of the clan for the long journey. At the directions of the sisters, the men gathered and twisted the wooden branches to make the floating bowl. Then all the women sowed the skins together and rubbed the fat over it. The bowl was finished in one long day and night. Femos said that they should make a sail to help push the bowl with the wind, but Grunder was afraid. To rely upon the favour of the wind was too risky. He knew that the spirits of the wind were jealous, and that if they were also resentful their journey would end in death for all. They had been guided by his sister's dreams and good omens so far, and he hoped that they would not let them fail. That night they built a great fire and ate most of the meat for strength and courage for the next day's journey on the great sea. The dogs were fed until their stomachs bulged. Even if the fires were seen by their enemies, the clan would be gone in the morning. Next day, when the land was in shadows and the sun had not yet come up over the mountains they filled their skin bottles with water. Then they gathered for a small ritual fire and sacrificed a rabbit for success. Only when the fire had died and the smoke wafted out to sea did they load themselves and the dogs into the bowl of greased skin and sticks and float out away from land. All were terrified to be away from the land and in the hands of the great sea. The dogs did not bark, but huddled with the people, instinctively afraid of their perilous voyage. For two days no one talked except when they ate or drank. Silently they floated past giant crystal towers, and Altos said they came from another land and time. On the third day, Femos awoke and revealed she had a dream and the clan would be delivered up whole. In the afternoon they spied the green island in the distance and all shouted and screamed in joy, the dogs barked and they almost capsised. But by the end of the day, jealous spirits, as Grunder had feared, floated them out and away from the land. Then the sky turned gray, the winds swirled round and the waters rose and pitched. They all felt that they had angered the spirits and that now the great sea would swallow them up. In the calm of the morning of the fourth day, they again espied the green island, and throwing some of their food into the water to appease the water spirits they drifted ashore. On reaching land they all screamed and ran about and Grunder could not stop from smiling. Like a good leader he gave credit to his sisters, the men who built the boat, and their collective faith in the ability to read the signs that guided their daily life. The land was everything Altos had dreamed. It was green grass for as far as they could see and elk and deer raced in herds across the land. Even the dogs ran around and played with each other and slept during the night, a sure sign that there was nothing to fear. After two weeks of walking and searching they felt completely safe on their green island. But on the night of a full moon a dark structure was sighted and the men hid in the grass nearby and watched for fire smoke. Finally after watching and seeing no smoke, Grunder walked alone up the hill to the structure and then called to the other men to join him. They cautiously walked around the stone structure and all agreed that the large stones were set there by a race of giants. But how could a race of giants perish? Surely they would be victors in any war or battle. Among the stones they found one mysterious metal object. On one object were marks that only could have been made by a man. The object was shown to Femos and Altos to interpret what it was and more importantly, what it meant. The two sisters stared at it, dreamed on it. They drank powerful teas that gave them visions and looked at the markings in the moonlight. They copied the marks with a stick in the earth hoping her hand strokes would reveal what the markings meant. Finally they agreed the object was of the people that came before them---the great people. These people could fly and were wizards. All the women were beautiful and could have as many children as they wanted. The inscription on the metal object read: Dan Dooley Rent-a-car. Altos and Femos said the metal object was before the time of the great wars. Wars that took away all that people believed in. Do you have a comment about this piece? email your thoughts to Harbinger. Top Next article