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Administrator Posts: 254 |
Kaywan looked down the little, bubbling stream. At the end of it, stood a huge bear, hunched over eating salmon with its back towards Kaywan. The young elf slowly drew back the arrow, which was already knocked to his yew bow. Aiming, he carefully pointed the arrow at the bear and -- ROAR! Kaywan quickly turned just in time to see another huge bear jump out from the forest behind him with its claws out and mouth open. Kaywan tore out his silver knife just in time to... | |
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Administrator Posts: 254 |
SLASH! As Kaywan tore out his knife, it caught in the bear's thick pelt and led a bleeding scar. Quickly, Kaywan ducked beneath the bear and ran for the woods, with the bear still roaring. He ran the 5 miles to camp without stopping. Breathless, he entered the camp and quickly ran over to Raindog's tent. Ducking in, Raindog looked up questionly. "What is it, son?" Kaywan quickly explained the circumstances, that there were two dangerous bears 5 miles from camp. On the way back, he had also scented more bear, so either the bears were getting closer and closer to their camp, or there were more bears. Raindog bowed his head and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he opened them and replied, "Send me Wakoyantanke." Kaywan quickly sprinted over to the biggest tent, which was shaped in a circle and over 10 meters across. This was the Senior Warriors' tent. He dropped into the enterance, and went over to the far side, where the "lion" warrior would be for sure sleeping. Waking him, Kaywan explained that the tribe leader wanted to talk to one of his trusted warriors. Wakoyantanke quickly got up and walked out of the tent and into the tribe leader's smaller, but nonetheless, still big, tent.
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Administrator Posts: 254 |
"Everyone, you shall now gather under the great Sycamore for a tribal meeting!" Raindog's summoning call brought the tired Tahatan Indians out of their tents. The day before had just been the Day of Akecheta, where they brought food offerings and burned them at a huge bonfire built just for the occasion. They had sung, danced, and grown closer to each other the whole night. Most of the Tahatans that had not gone out hunting or patroling had retired to their tents to get some more sleep. As most of the Tahatans gathered under the great, gigantic Sycamore tree in the middle of the camp, Raindog blew on a huge horn, silencing everyone. "Today, we have received information that there are two huge bears within 5 miles of camp." A gasp rose from most of the Tahatan. Earlier in the year, a starving full-grown male bear had terrorized the camp, eating not only half a year's supply of fish, but also killing 3 Indians and wounding 2 along the way. At the end, the Tahatan's neighboring allies, the Eyanosa, had finally came to the rescue with a full armed patrol and killed the bear. "Thank the Great Spirit that this information has come soon, but the Spirit have also informed me that we shall reward this brave young warrior who warned us of this impending danger and even nearly got mauled by one of the bears." Raindog stepped forward into the sitting crowd, which moved quickly to form a path for their leader. Raindog walked over to his son, Kaywan, and put both hands on his head. "You were brave, my son," Raindog whispered. With a sweeping gesture, Raindog motioned for Kaywan to stand up. "You have been in training for 20 moons now. It is time for you to become a warrior. If anyone objects, speak now, or forever hold your peace." Raindog looked over his tribe, nobody daring to speak up. After 10 seconds, Raindog took both hands off Kaywan's head. "So now, before the Great Spirits, honoring our ancestors, I award this fine Tuari his Warrior name. He has waited long and hard, and has diligently trained for 20 moons. From now on, this young warrior shall be known as Sinopa, or "fox". Because of his cleverness, this warrior has earned him this name." The new warrior, Sinopa, walked over to where the warriors were sitting, and sat with them. All the Tahatan warriors hooted loudly, as part of the custom. The Tahatan now had a new warrior. | |
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Administrator Posts: 254 |
"Before this meeting ends, I would like to announce one more thing," Raindog said as he walked back to his position in front of the sycamore tree. "Wakoyantanke will be leading a patrol of warriors to scout, and kill the two bears if possible. If you are called, please meet me and Wakoyantanke in the senior warriors' tent after the meeting. The warriors who will be going on this mission are: Wakoyantanke, Kwahu, Dustu, Kohana, and the new warrior, Sinopa. You are now dismissed." As Kwahu, Dustu, Kohana, and Sinopa strolled over to the senior warriors' tent (Wakoyantanke already went with Raindog to the tent), Sinopa caught a string of words muttered by Kohana to Dustu, "...new warrior. He'll never keep up. We might as well kick him out of the group now before..." As they entered the great tent, they were greeted by Wakoyantanke, who slammed his staff down on the ground. "It is time for us to claim our territory back." | |
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Administrator Posts: 254 |
*** They had been discussing for at least half the day now. It was getting close to evening, the sun had already started setting. Finally, they came up with the plan. Raindog summed it up one more time, "So, this is what's going to happen. I will take Kwahu and Dustu with me, and Wakoyantanke will take Kohana and Sinopa with him. We will circle around the location where Sinopa reported seeing the two bears, outlining the outer edge of the forest. When we get to about the middle, we will turn directly to go inside the forest into the heart of it, where there is a plain and where the bears were reported to be seen. "You all will have to take your bows, and we will try to kill them from both sides at the same time. But this is bound not to work. I have already spoken with the Spirits, and they say that it will result in a hand-to-hand battle. But if we are not careful, someone from this group will be severely injured and possibly die. So we must act with the utmost caution. "If it does result to "hand-to-hand combat", which I'm sure it will, be on your guard. Each of you bring your most trusted weapon. Be aware, that if there are more bears in the area, we may have to split up. Whatever happens, happens, and may the Great Spirit go with you." *** | |
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