The Index -|-
Two moon-cycles passed quickly as Thoka and Kpleeb dug into Uuiit’s technology. At first, Jial had pressured Thoka to have Kora watch over Zara while they worked, but Thoka wanted Zara to learn. It seemed obvious to her that Zara could be of some help with a little training. Thoka also intended to work with Kpleeb and the invisible forces.
Thoka began to methodically teach Zara and Kpleeb everything she knew. Kpleeb could not feel or see the forces, but Zara could see them in what Thoka thought must be multiple wavelengths of energy. Zara’s descriptions were limited by her language at first, but her vocabulary and ability to describe detail and nuance grew quickly. As a result, Thoka was able to understand the flows better. Zara was a genuine help.
Kpleeb did not fare as well. He struggled to understand what he could not interact with, and so Thoka made for him a pair of gloves that translated the flow of the invisible forces into vibrations that he would feel through his hands. With only the gloves, Kpleeb was able to detect the forces, but he would never obtain the same sense of connection and ability to manipulate as Thoka and Zara. To his credit, Kpleeb did not complain. He tried the gloves and listened to Thoka’s instruction.
“We have improved seers here,” said Thoka, pointing. “Also, your darts, moccasins, and stone thrower.”
Kpleeb nodded as he looked up from the project he was working on. “We need many more of these for all the Ganix warriors.” He leaned back and stretched. “I am surprised that no motion has been detected at Uuiit’s angle.”
“Maybe the new seers will give us more.” Thoka was surprised as well. Her sensors had detected nothing. She knew they worked because she had tested them and tuned them to ignore the small movements of birds and leaves fluttering in a breeze.
“Have we ever seen the angle in the sky? Maybe it is simply forgotten or unused.” Kpleeb placed the thin, semi-circular ring aside and stood.
“Maybe,” Thoka said doubtfully. “I saw it fly in my dream, then we found it. Perhaps it is used only rarely.”
“How can you dream about true things you don’t know, anyway? Did it happen because you dreamed it or did you dream it because it happened?” Kpleeb grinned.
Thoka shook her head. “I have no idea, nor do I have the time to be concerned about it. It is interesting like the Xinti prophesy, but at lest the prophesy gives us some clues.”
“If we assume it’s not just made up!” Kpleeb shrugged.
“We must take it for what it is, a myth. But, a myth that may have some root in reality. Even if it appears to be inexplicable.” Thoka looked at Kpleeb. “It changes nothing. Our future does not depend on some ancient writing. We are here for our children and our future. No other tribe can do what we can do.”
“Okay. I will get Xit to drop the new seers off at the angle in a few days.” Kpleeb did not look happy. “We are the smartest cavepeople around, and we are slaving over these devices. How can we make enough for all of the warriors?”
“I have some ideas about that, but for now, we must do the work ourselves. Zara is a big help!” Thoka patted Zara’s head.
Zara looked up from where she sat cross-legged on the floor. “Mama, I’m done” She held one of the moccasins.”
“Thank you, Zara. Good job!” Thoka picked up the moccasin and looked at it through her eyepiece. “This is great work.” She looked at Kpleeb. “We need to give Zara all of the moccasins.”
Kpleeb nodded, but then scrambled to his feet as he heard shouting outside. When he reached the door, he saw one of the older children from Kilow’s village running toward the village center. The cavegirl’s torso was covered in blood and dirt.
“What happened?” said Kpleeb as he approached the child. Xit and a number of other warriors appeared almost immediately to surround them.
“Xinti!” said the child breathlessly. “Many.”
Thoka approached and spoke to the child. “Is Chief Kilow okay?”
The cavegirl shook her head wordlessly and began to sob.
“Ganix warriors!” Kpleeb shouted. “Time to fight!” He looked around the village and felt pleased that the wall had been completed, but the gates, they would come in time.
In short order, the warriors had gathered. There were dozens of them with spears and painted faces. Kpleeb nodded to Thoka. He knew what to do. “We will be back.”
Kpleeb trotted out of the main gate followed by the Ganix warriors. They angled toward the pillar of smoke in the distance. It was only due to practice and the moccasins that Kpleeb could even begin to keep up with the pale warriors. The group darted through the trees and brush at what would be a flat out run for most people. Where Kpleeb ran with all his might, the warriors bounded off of boulders and fallen trees. An hour passed and a little more before the group crested the final rise.
Kpleeb paused to take deep,heaving breaths and saw that Kilow’s village lay burning across the river. Smoke billowed from the hut roofs. None were spared. The dead lay haphazardly in pools of blood, and there were cries of anger from the far side of the village. There, Kpleeb saw Molk swinging a large club in a frenzied defense against a handful of Xinti warriors.
Kpleeb took a deep breath and ran again. Xit and the other Ganix warriors were further ahead now and already entering the village center. When he reached the village, he saw the pole in the center and was reminded of how Molk had beat him there. It seemed like long ago, and the sting of the memory had faded. He jogged to where the noise of battle clamored under the trees beyond the huts.
The Ganix had bolted into the fray and blended right in with the Xinti warriors. If not for the yellow armband that Thoka had made them wear, no one could have known who was on which side. A white-faced Xinti spotted Kpleeb and leapt toward him with teeth bared. Kpleeb pressed the trigger in his right palm with his thumb and swatted. The warrior was violently flung aside and crashed into the trunk of a nearby tree. Kpleeb’s wrist tingled with the impact of the invisible forces. He grinned savagely and stepped forward to kick at the fallen warrior.
In a split second the warrior he had flung swept his legs around and Kpleeb felt himself falling. He fell hard and gasped for breath. The only thing that saved him was his upraised left arm. Still, a terrible pain struck him like lightning as the knife entered his forearm.
“Aooow!” Kpleeb yelled. The eyes of the warrior stared down at him coldly, but the face remained absolutely rigid. Kpleeb gritted his teeth and struck with his right hand. The knife dislodged from Kpleeb’s arm and remained in the pale warrior’s hand as the body was tossed aside. Kpleeb did not wait for a second attack. He jumped up and bashed the warrior repeatedly against the ground where he had fallen. In just a few seconds, the warrior stopped moving, and Kpleeb could see blood seeping into the dried fronds that covered the ground.
Though warriors were drawn away from Molk, the battle raged and the Ganix were outnumbered by the ferocious Xinti. More of them seemed to appear every moment. The reach of Kpleeb’s fist was about four or five paces, and he could not strike anything closer. As a result, he hung back and batted at any Xinti target that offered itself. After a few moments, he had drawn too much attention to himself. A dozen Xinti warriors appeared from the edge of a nearby hut. They were on Kpleeb quickly, and though he crushed a few, they overran his defenses without fear and pierced his legs, arms, and torso with many shallow wounds.
Darkness overtook him as he heard an echoing bellow of pain from Molk. Kpleeb fell, bleeding profusely.
Promising to subdue, demanding servitude, the master comes.
Xinti Forthtelling
Ashen face, blue of eye, the master rescues
and grateful Xinti follow.
Relentless, their deadly hands prosper.
Blooded lands and burned terrain in their midst.
Xinti warriors together protect those who serve.
Joyful small ones await her return.
From the mouth she comes,
with child and with vengeance.
Pale and terrible, she will gut the Xinti.
Her beloved will serve penance,
that day a terror among them.
Ruin from above brings eternal affection.
Those who perish survive. The forsakers expire.
The fearful master replies and brother comes with wrath.
Conflicts arise. Fires burn the heavens.
A mortal wound is struck. The seed is stolen.
The builder’s revenge echoes.
Foundations of the empire crumble.
