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.
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.

Xinti Forthtelling

The Index -|-

After much discussion, Kpleeb and Thoka agreed that Uuiit was something different, not a caveman. Thoka decided to assign an around the clock watch of Uuiit’s village. It was entirely possible that could be very, very dangerous, and it was imperative that they knew when he was present at the Xinti village. Of course, practically speaking, it was not as simple as it seemed. In the dark there could be no way to watch, and Thoka was concerned about how Uuiit had apparently taken notice of Kpleeb before. She felt certain that somehow Uuiit had used his device to detect the invisible forces that Kpleeb had been using to magnify his view.

When Kpleeb returned from searching the far side of Uuiit’s village, he described something that made no sense to Thoka. A large angular device of unknown color resting on a single, bottom-most point. They had talked through it over and over, and finally, Thoka had decided that she needed to see it for herself. She had taken a couple of days to design and build some new devices that she thought would be useful for experiencing a genuinely new thing. Sensors she called them.

Now they were close to the angle’s area and traveling slowly. Thoka had created a small-ish, floating enclosure for Zara, and had decided to walk on her own two feet. The Ganix warriors had been surprised. They expected her to ride like a queen, but she was tired of being coddled and felt as if she needed the exercise.

Thoka sighed. She would never admit it, but she silently acknowledged that it would be nice to sit and ride for a while.

Xit pointed to their right and grunted softly.

Thoka nodded and moved forward carefully. Zara’s carriage hovered a few paces behind her. With a second thought, she paused and turned back toward Zara with her finger on her lips. “Time to be quiet, okay, Zara? We need to be sneaky.”

Zara put her tiny, chubby finger up to her lips to pantomime what Thoka had done. “Sneaky,” she said in a whisper.

The group moved forward until Xit held up his hand and pointed. Several Ganix warriors slipped into the clearing, and returned after a moment. “Nobody, Pale One.”

“Good,” Thoka said. She stepped into the clearing. The angle was just what Kpleeb had described, down to the dimensions. He had apparently been quite accurate, and she confirmed each specific thing he stated.

Kpleeb put his hand on the angle’s side. “Just like I said, huh?” What do you think about it?”

“I wouldn’t touch it until we know what it does,” Thoka said with a small smile.

“Urh, yeah right.” Kpleeb quickly took his hand away. “It feels fairly normal though. Just like stone, but very smooth.”

Thoka tapped into her plethora of sensors. “Did anything feel strange?” She began to slowly scan the area that he had touched. To her enhanced eye, it appeared that he had left a hand-smudge on it, but the smudge did not exist to her naked eye.

“Nothing.” Kpleeb looked suspiciously at the edge where the top angle met the bottom. “This looks fuzzy here, but it should be sharp, at least logically.” He made an angled point with his hands.

Thoka stood up and slowly moved a bank of hand-sensors near the edge. “it is a sharp angle.” She squinted. “It doesn’t look sharp though. I would not touch that part until we know for sure that it won’t harm you.”

“What do you think it does?” Kpleeb walked to the furthest point and looked down the edge.

“I don’t know. Let me obtain my scans.” Thoka turned and walked to the strange vertically angled side with the bumps. After a few moments, she called out. “Kpleeb, come here.”

“Yes?” He came jogging around the corner of the angle followed closely by Xit.

“This is the flying angle that I dreamed of.”

“How can you be sure?

Thoka pointed at the bumps on the longer portion of the indention. “The forces flow here in a similar way they flow there.” She pointed at Zara’s carriage. “It’s what makes it move and float on the air. The structure appears to be different though. It’s new to me, but the pattern is the same.”

“Wow,” Kpleeb muttered. Then louder. “So it moves into the sky.”

“And higher, I think,” said Thoka.

Xit looked up into the sky. “Higher?”

Thoka nodded. “There is more out there than you may suspect.”

Kpleeb smiled at her. They had discussed the structure of their land and had done some minor sleuthing on the subject weeks ago. “We have to assume that this may be a carriage for Uuiit.”

“He… It go above sky?” Xit looked a bit concerned even for a deadpan Ganix.

“You said you saw the angle before, right Xit? Where was that?”

Xit lifted his chin and pointed at his feet. “Here.”

Kpleeb looked fairly disappointed. “I assumed you had seen it fly.”

“No,” said Xit.

Thoka looked at Kpleeb. “It’s time we gain some more knowledge. I will spend time analyzing this device.”

“What if Uuiit comes?” Kpleeb held up his hands. “He may have some great weapons, right Xit? You must have seen him fight?”

“Never fight,” said Xit.

“Well that would make sense if he has the Xinti to fight for him. Anyone who fought him would have done it before the Xinti came to him.” Kpleeb turned to Thoka. “Is Uuiit’s device more advanced than what you have seen?”

Thoka nodded. “Yes. Certainly, but I will obtain its secrets.”

“If that is the case, we have to assume he is strong in all areas. If he comes here while we are here, he may kill us.”

“Xit,” Thoka said.” I need some time to build a few devices. We need lookouts to ensure that we are undetected while I work.” There was a silent flurry of activity while Thoka brought out a portable workbench, Ganix warriors encircled the clearing at a distance and Zara was fed. In a few hours, Thoka was finally ready to leave. It was only shortly past mid-day.

Thoka put out the sensor devices that she had created and attached them to various trees around the clearing. “These detect motion, which inform these other devices. The other ones will send the impression of its viewing area to one of my devices.”

“Even back at our village?”

“Yes. We cannot be nearby when Uuiit comes. Let’s go back home.”

Kpleeb, Thoka, Zara and the handful of Ganix warriors collected their belongings, covered any signs that they had been there, and began the long trek back to the village.

“I want to capture Uuiit,” said Thoka after a few moments.

Kpleeb looked concerned. “How? We don’t know yet how dangerous he can be.”

“I know. Based on the devices he has, he must be very powerful.” In Thoka’s mind, she pictured a being of almost unlimited power and knowledge. But then she thought that he must be one of many. No entity existed in a vacuum. They were born or created from a parent or some higher being. They had a culture passed to them from another.

[Where are the rest of the Uuiits? Is that a name or, a title? What is his name?]

“Xit, have you seen another person like Uuiit? Or have you heard a tale of another like it?”

Xit remained silent for a long moment. “I no see. Prophesy say Uuiit has brother.”

“A brother,” Thoka looked at Kpleeb. “Maybe it’s time we heard this prophesy.”

Kpleeb nodded and walked onward in silence.

Thoka fell into thought.

[If there is a brother or some family, as there is likely to be… it- they must be distant since no Xinti has seen them. Or maybe they are secretive and hide well. Anything is possible, almost. If we harm Uuiit, the other will know and come to its rescue. We are not yet strong enough to defend ourselves against a strong warrior that uses the invisible forces.]

[I must be able to defend, and attack, to protect our family.]

Thoka resolved to build her knowledge using Uuiit’s devices. She looked at Zara floating along next to her and smiled. Zara was incredibly smart for such a young age, and Thoka knew that she could be a key part of her plans.

In her floating carriage, Zara’s legs kicked randomly. She held her hands up and counted her fingers. “100, 110, 120, 130…”

The Ganix warriors padded along at the edges of the group. They were silent and watchful. [The strange warriors do not appear to know anything about Uuiit except that he rules the Xinti and is mentioned in the prophesy. Why aren’t they more curious?] Thoka sighed. There was so much to do and quite a few gaps in her understanding of the situation.

The Index -|-

Kpleeb was on the ridge again, but this time he had Thoka’s new detector device. When he had returned from the large rock the Ganix called ‘The Fist,’ Thoka had been pacing back and forth in front of her workshop with Zara playing nearby in the sand. Thoka muttered to herself and examined her detector for hours. A few days later, here he was, on the ridge watching Uuiit’s village again.

Thoka had redesigned her device from scratch. Now it was curved around his arm starting at his elbow. The clockwise curve wrapped his arm twice like a thin, pale snake. The end was anchored on the back of his hand by a bracelet. Protruding away and slightly upward were two curved horns that did not quite touch

Kpleeb had no idea how these things worked. He had spent some time off and on for months trying to “see” or “feel” the forces that he knew Thoka could touch. It did not matter how he held his hands, his mouth, his feet. He had even tried to stand on his head once, when nobody was looking of course. If he did not know better, he would swear that the forces were just a myth. But- he did know better. Thoka had proven their existence over and over.

With an exaggerated sigh, Kpleeb returned his focus to Uuiit’s village. Below, the grid of huts occupied a clearing. Inside that grid, Uuiit’s unique dwelling – the one with the raised porch – registered on the detector. When he moved his arm side to side, panning over the building, the detector bumps turned a pale green color. At the building, it was solid red.

“I’m picking up a big red from Uuiit’s house,” Kpleeb said.

“Mmm,” said Xit.

Kpleeb had found out that the Ganix warriors had a strange quirk around Thoka’s abilities. They did not gawk, and they did not run away. It seemed to him as if they were caught in the middle between terrified and awestruck. They were a stoic group, and their respect for their Pale One seemed to run deep.

Kpleeb scanned the area outside of the village and found that there were several large red-zones. The lak store house was one of them, but there was another one further into the jungle that he could not see.

“How far to walk there?” Kpleeb pointed toward the spot on the other side of Uuiit’s village.

Xit squinted and looked at the sky for a moment. “One day. We go?”

Kpleeb pondered. He looked back toward home. Everything was quiet on all fronts. “I think we should go. We will have to stop when it gets dark.” He paused and pointed with his knuckle. “Down this way?”

Xit lowered his chin. “Big cliff. This way better.” He looked along the ridge further to their left.

“Alright, lead on then.” Kpleeb stood. They had not seen Uuiit, but there was a good chance that he was there. Thoka had told him about the angled shape that flung itself through the distant sky and into the clouds. He had been incredulous at first and a bit disbelieving, but he trusted Thoka. After considerable discussion, they were not sure if what she had seen was a message being sent or some kind of large bird. The perspective seemed very distant, which would mean it was large. They considered that it might be a false image, smaller, or perhaps an illusion.

Xit disappeared over a large rock ahead of him, and Kpleeb moved quickly to catch up. There was a winding path that navigated leftward and down through the rocks into the tree covered hillside. The trees there were evergreen and sparsely scattered among the stones. The ground was covered in a brown bed of needles that made it easy to walk silently. with minimal underbrush they made good time and soon it was dusk.

“When do we camp?” asked Kpleeb. His stomach grumbled, but he had seen very few animals and the party only carried a small meal for each of them.

“Soon,” said Xit.

Xip behind them spoke up. “River ahead.”

Kpleeb saw Xit nod.

“River camp.”

“Thank the great spirit tahr,” muttered Kpleeb. He kept moving, but imagined a nice, flaky fish roasting over a fire. The weather was still warming, and all of the snow was gone, but it would still be chilly overnight. The idea of a fire and food was tremendously appetizing. Soon enough, the sun was low in the sky and mostly covered by distant trees. Kpleeb heard the sound of rushing water. When they crested a small rise, he saw the gleaming thread of sunfire shimmering on the river.

The river wound from their right to the left before turning to angle away from them. It was a wide and placid river, and they were very close already. In a handful of long moments Xit spoke.

“Camp here.” He knelt next to a pile of stones that Kpleeb recognized as an old fire pit.

“You know this place?” Kpleeb looked around the area and saw that there were other signs of a previous camp.

Xit grunted and began to light a fire from the coal he had extracted from his leather bag. Xip dropped a small pile of sticks next to the stones and left again, presumably to collect more.

“I’ll go fish,” said Kpleeb quietly. Had had only caught a few fish since he and Thoka had found themselves in this place, whatever this place was. He had spent a little more time working out a special spear made of yellow stone. The spear had five thin barbs, and when it was thrust, the four outer barbs extended momentarily. The few times he had used it, the fish always seemed to be caught by surprise.

This night, he caught two fish, and it was only because the light shone perpendicularly across the river and illuminated the top hands-breadth of water with a greenish light that reflected off the fish’s scales. he arrived back at the fire just as the final rays of sun disappeared. He felt as proud as ever until he saw that Xip held three rabbits.

Beginning to feel sour, he scoffed. “Kill the whole family, did you, Xip?”

Xip nodded silently and resumed skinning the animals.

That night, Kpleeb, Xit, and Xip ate like kings, and when they were done, they packaged the remaining meat inside leather wrappings for the following day. The night was quiet and the fire crackled comfortably. Soon Kpleeb was asleep.

The next morning, they ate while moving, and soon enough when the sun was high in the sky, they approached the far side of the village. Once Xit had confirmed that they had successfully skirted the village itself, Kpleeb had regularly checked his detector for the most direct route. The bumps on the detector lit up brightly, which Thoka had explained meant that the detected object was large.

Xit raised his hand and crouched low. “Close now.” He pointed at a spot in the trees.

Kpleeb could see nothing there, but he swept the detector in the direction and it lit up nicely. “Well, okay. Let’s have a look.” Kpleeb tiptoed forward and brushed aside a section of the wall of wide, green leaves. Behind it was a clearing surrounded by a low, wooden fence. In the center was the angle.

Xit and Xip appeared silently behind Kpleeb and stared at it.

“Xit see before,” said Xit.

The angle was an uncertain color. Kpleeb would have said that it was grey at first, but the daylight bounced off of its surface in strange ways. He raised his arm with the detector and slowly swept from right to left. The red bump stayed lit, but brightened at the center. The angle was a tall as he was and as wide as six or more cavemen laying foot to head. Its edges were sharp, yet blurred and rounded to the eye.

Kpleeb stepped out into the clearing after looking in all forward directions for a sign of any living thing that might want him to stay away from this place. He walked around the large device slowly and examined it from every perspective. Finally, out of curiosity, he reached out his arm, the arm that the detector was mounted on. He wanted to put a finger on it, but as his finger came within a hand’s span, he felt a fuzzy sensation in his fingertips.

He pulled his hand back quickly. The tingling sensation reminded him too much of his time in the caves.with Thoka. It seemed so long ago that they were imprisoned there. He had been so angsty, and frustrated.

He tested his internal temperature. Am I less angry at the gods now? He felt like maybe he was, but then another idea occurred to him. Maybe I am just busier now. Being cooped up in the caves had given him so much time to think, and everything there was so fresh and new to him. The truth is, the gods gave me some useful things, but it was still terribly wrong to take me away from my family. Okay, so I left in anger, but I would have gone back. The gods took Thoka as well. She is the smartest cavewoman and was probably going to be a leader in her tribe someday.

Kpleeb brought himself back to the present. The gods, or entities as Thoka called them, had done evil towards them. They would pay for that eventually.

“I think we need to go back and maybe bring Thoka here, and someone who can watch.” He began to pace out the measurements of the angle. On the side they had entered, it was eight paces wide. He raised his hand and took note that it was maybe a hand’s span taller at the edge than his own shoulder, but that it angled upward towards its center.

“Maybe an extra arm’s length,” he muttered to himself. On the other side, the angle was acute and measured the same eight paces, but the other side was different. It was split in two in an asymmetrical indention, and there was no middle edge. The first of the edges was three paces and the second was around five. There was a tri-cluster of large bumps near the mid-point of the larger edge. The bottom was angled inward and lower just like the top, and Kpleeb stooped to look under the edge.

“What in the pit of the damned?”

The angle’s undercarriage came to a dull point and touched the dirt. Aside from a few finger-lengths of surface, no other part of it was supported. There were a few tri-clusters underneath, and when he checked, there were matching tri-clusters on the top.

“Interesting. We definitely need to get back,” Kpleeb said to Xit. “Thoka will want to see this.”

Xit and Xip turned immediately and led the way back. Kpleeb followed and remained in thought as they traveled.

The Index -|-

She awoke with a start. Someone had spoken. Staring into the darkness, her senses focused. There was a breeze outside, gusting and insistent. The fronds that covered the roof above her shook slightly, but not in a scary way. The hut was not drafty. There was a cough in the distance, probably a pale warrior sitting around the fire with his mates.

Thoka closed her eyes and sighed deeply. She drew her breaths slowly and calmed herself. The darkness slipped in from the edges and in a moment, she was asleep again.

The air shimmered with heat. She squinted in the bright sun and raised her right hand to shade her eyes. Trees in the distance fluttered gently, and she blinked to see if it was merely the dancing air. The leaves moved in a pulsating pattern now, and then the branches began to move as well. Rising above the tops was a triangle, low and flat. Its edges were blurred and uncertain. The shape quickly receded in a wash of sunny rays, and Thoka heard a voice.

“Mama.”

Thoka’s eyes opened suddenly, and she turned her head. Nestled next to her torso was Zara. She was sitting up and staring at Thoka. The heat from Zara’s body radiated fiercely, and Thoka began to rub her back gently.

“Why are you awake, Zara?”

“Hungry, mama.” Zara raised her hand toward Thoka. Her fat little fingers waggled beggingly.

Thoka reached out her hands and scooped Zara up to rest on her lap. She offered her a drink from her breast and Zara took it and began to suckle noisily. Thoka heard voices outside and gestured at the door. The hanging reeds slid aside with almost no exertion of the invisible forces. She saw there Kpleeb across the village center talking to Xit. She touched her necklace and then angled her wrist just so and whispered.

“Kpleeb, can we talk when you’re done?”

Outside, many paces away across the village, Kpleeb’s head jerked slightly toward their hut. She had spoken to him this way once before, and he was not used to it, yet. After a few more moments with Xit, he turned and headed toward their hut.

“How do you do that?” he asked.

Thoka tossed her long, pale hair back over her shoulder and smiled at him playfully. “It’s magic!”

“It’s the invisible forces,” Kpleeb said with a deadpan face. Apparently, he was not amused.

“Okay, sure, but can you see them?”

He shrugged. “No. Can you?”

Thoka rolled her eyes at him. “Only in my dreams. I can wield them though.”

“So then, how did you do that?”

Thoka paused to think about the answer. Zara burped loudly and then her butt also rumbled before she went back to eating. She was becoming quite the eater, and for a moment, Thoka realized that she needed to find a solid food source for the growing babe.

“I create a pocket of air next to your ear and another next to my mouth. Then I speak into it quietly. The air reverberates with my voice, and you hear it.”

Kpleeb nodded as if he expected nothing less.

Thoka knew that he was a very smart caveman, and she pondered the reasons why he could not see or use the forces. He isn’t well-versed on the invisible forces. I wonder if something about my dreams or being a girl caused me to be able to know the forces.

“So, the vibrations in that pocket are close and I can hear. So how do you get your voice to that pocket of air?”

“Um, well the two pockets are connected, so that when I speak on this one, the other receives the same effect.”

“So, magic then,” said Kpleeb with a slight grin.

“If magic can be understood, its reactions can be relied on, and only certain people can use it…” Thoka trailed off. “Maybe it is magic. Do you think Uuiit has magic too?”

Kpleeb shrugged. “It is hard to imagine what could possibly happen with a death-white. They did not speak to anyone except the chief. I never heard stories about threats or anger from them. When I was a cave-boy, I remember death-whites being odd, but not magical characters. Maybe they all have magic, or maybe just Uuiit.” He paused and looked out of the door. “If he is a user of the invisible forces, then we are in danger. I need to know just what kind of trouble he will be.”

“Not having seen anyone else who can fiddle with the forces, it’s hard to tell.” Thoka brought Zara up to her shoulder and bounced her a few times before setting Zara on her lap facing the door. I will make a rod that will detect the forces and let you look at Uuiit’s village again. But I will need Jial to monitor Zara while I work. Can you call her?”

Kpleeb bent and tweaked Zara’s cheek. “Got a good drink, huh, sweet thing?”

Zara nodded clumsily. “Dada!” Her bright smile always seemed to cause one of his own to appear. He straightened, patted her head, and left.

Soon after, Jial’s frame darkened the hut door. “Pale One?” she said.

Thoka continued bouncing Zara on her knee. “Can you watch Zara for a little while? I have some work to do.”

“Soon,” Jial said over her shoulder as she turned and left the hut.

For a moment, Thoka was surprised that she had been blown off so easily. Feelings of frustration quickly arose and were followed by a sense of anger. How dare she walk away from me like that? Reason set in shortly after as she remembered her ma. Ma had told Thoka as a teenager that the best leaders were humble and did not expect to be catered to. Thoka almost instantly felt a bit foolish. Jial has other things to do, after all, she is the only healer in the tribe. It’s not fair to expect her to babysit for me.

After a moment, Jial reappeared with a very young cavewoman that Thoka knew as Kora. “Kora watch Zara,” Jial said nodding at Thoka.

“Thank you, Kora. I have some work to do.” Thoka stood and handed Zara over to Kora’s outstretched arms. Zara remained quiet and analyzed Kora’s face. Thoka knew that Zara would be talking to Kora by the time Thoka was done with her task.

Kora smiled at Thoka and then turned her attention to Zara and began to coo at her.

Thoka followed Jial out the door. “Thank you, Jial. I know that you are busy. Can I continue to rely on Kora to help me?”

Jial lifted her chin. “Kora good cavegirl. She honored help Pale One.” She turned without saying another word and walked toward her hut.

No doubt she has someone waiting for her. Thoka put Jial’s brusque attitude aside and approached her own workshop. It was small, but Kpleeb had built a low workbench there for her. It was insulated and quiet, too, which was something she needed in order to work with the stone and the invisible forces.

“Light on,” she said quietly. A globe of white light appeared over the workbench. She sat down cross-legged and began to work. This particular project was one that she had never created. She did know the various pieces and was confident that she could produce what Kpleeb would need. Soon, she became absorbed in the process and lost track of time.

When she was done, the entire morning had passed. Thoka stretched slowly and stood up. She had aimed the new rod cluster at the light globe above her and one of its protrusions had briefly glowed red. She was not sure about the angle of detection, but only a more distant test would reveal that. She turned and stood at the door to the hut and pointed the device at the yellow stone wall that Kpleeb had been erecting on the far side of the village. The tiny protrusion glowed all along the wall, but she new that the wall was huge and so could not be a true test of accuracy.

The wall there was as tall as two cavemen. It spanned the entire side of the village in a large arc. Kpleeb planned to create a complete wall, a fortress that would protect the village from every side, but it took time. The yellow stone grew slowly and Kpleeb kept the growth to the night hours only in order to prevent the secret of the stone hidden from watchful eyes.

Kpleeb was standing near the wall talking to Xer and pointing to various parts of the wall as Thoka approached.

“We will light a fire here soon, in just a handful of moments, Thoka,” said Kpleeb when she approached.

“Not understand fire reason,” Xer said. He nodded at Thoka politely.

“Fire will strengthen the wall, and make it black, too.”

Xer shrugged as if it made no sense.

“Light it,” shouted Kpleeb.

Ganix warriors up and down the wall stepped forward with torches made of tightly-wrapped reeds. Along the wall were thin poles on which were mounted bundles of sticks and reeds. The dry wood caught quickly and everyone stepped back. Where the fire touched the wall, it blackened the yellow stone. Thoka and Kpleeb knew that fire deactivated the stone’s capability of growing or changing. In effect, fire killed whatever force was embedded inside. All that was left was a brittle and tough structure.

When the fire died out, Thoka smiled at Kpleeb. “It looks great. How long for the rest of the wall?”

Kpleeb turned and gazed along the village perimeter for a few moments before answering. “I believe it will take at least a moon-cycle, maybe two.”

“I hope Uuiit does not decide to attack us.” Thoka looked at Xer. “Do you think he will?”

Xer tilted his head, and Thoka recognized the sign of uncertainty. “One moon-cycle. Uuiit no attack,” he said.

“Maybe he is preparing,” said Kpleeb. “Or maybe he is unconcerned. Maybe he is spying on us. It would be wise for us to know.”

“I have a detector rod for you, Kpleeb.” Thoka raised her hand and showed him the device in her palm. It was the size of a pika fruit, but with more rounded edges. “I need to test the accuracy a bit more. Can you go up to the rock and let me tune this?” Thoka pointed at a large stone spire that rose in the distance. The Ganix warriors had dubbed it ‘the fist’ due to its shape.

Kpleeb looked at the wall and at the sun. “I think we have enough sun for this. I will take Xit and Xur and maybe another.” He turned to Xer. “Can you continue to build the wooden structure?”

Xer lifted his chin and then bowed slightly to Thoka and trotted off.

Thoka stood next to Kpleeb and pointed the device at her workshop. “When this bump turns red, that is a sign that it has detected a concentration of invisible forces.”

Kpleeb watched as Thoka moved the device in a panning motion. “I see,” he said. “Is it always on?”

“Yes. Now go. Maybe you can be back by dark.” Thoka handed him a bracelet and then kissed him on the cheek. “I need to see how Zara is doing. I will aim the detector at the fist every few minutes. Just go to the fist, stay there for a few long moments and then come back.”

Kpleeb slid the bracelet onto his arm and went to find Xit.

Thoka watched him walk away, and minutes later she was sitting on a large log near their hut with Zara on her lap. Kora had quietly handed Zara over and bowed. She appeared to be shaken, but she did not speak of the reason.

“Zara, do you like Kora?”

Zara awkwardly turned her head toward Thoka. “Yes,” she said as she bustled out the door.

“Did you talk to her?” Thoka’s hand gently strokes Zara’s hair. Her birth hair had fallen out and was growing again. This time it was pure white.

Zara smiled, her pudgy, baby cheeks bunching up. “I asked her questions.”

Thoka nodded. That explains it. Kora is probably freaked out. “That’s okay Zara. Kora will become accustomed. She is a good girl.” She picked up the detector and aimed it back and forth at the land between the fist and the village. The bump lit up a time or two, and Thoka was happy to see that it was working. Kpleeb did not appear to be even halfway to the fist yet.

“Mama, why is Kora not the same as us?”

Thoka pondered the answers and potential lies that she could tell, but she knew that Zara was special and very smart. There was no way to prevent her from hurting feelings if care was not taken. Thoka also did not think it would be wise to hold her daughter back. They were a new generation of cavepeople, and the world would have to mold around them.

“We are special, Zara.” She paused and then continued what she assumed would be one of many lessons that only she could pass on to her child. “We are caretakers of Kora, Jial, and all of their people. We must treat them with respect. Do you understand?”

Zara was silent. She stared at the device in Thoka’s hand. “Can I hold it?”

Thoka was surprised, but held it in front of Zara. “I will hold it do that we don’t drop it.”

Zara reached out and touched the device. She traced some of the raised lines and rods with her finger. “Pretty,” she said quietly.

Thoka frowned. The device was basically shades of yellow except for a blackened handle. It was interesting maybe, but not pretty. “Why do you think it’s pretty, Zara?”

“Colors move, mama.” The fat little finger traced to the hub where all of the lines intersected opposite of the handle. The bump turned red.

Thoka adjusted the device toward the fist again, and the red disappeared.

“What colors, Zara?” Thoka certainly knew that there was a flow of forces there, after all, she had designed and built the device.

“Jiep, gjeel, wuuop, and aaint.” Zara punctuated with her fingers in a spreading gesture.

Thoka sighed. Maybe she can actually see what I only interpret. I guess I need to get a color chart and teach her the names of colors. Thoka leaned back and watched Zara play with her device. There is so MUCH to do.

Thoka heard a somewhat frantic voice outside. “Pale One!” She sighed again and carefully climbed to her feet. Zara dangled from her arms still holding the device. She swept aside the hanging reeds and looked out over the village. Kora stood there pointing.

There in the distance, beyond the far ridge a shimmering angle rose. It was so distant that it was merely an angled blur. Thoka took the device out of Zara’s hands and aimed it.  The protrusion was red as it passed the partial village wall. It blinked off, and then came on again as she pointed it directly at the fading dot.

Red appeared again briefly as it passed over the distant fading object.

“Uuiit,” said Kora under her breath.

Thoka looked at Kora and then back toward the ridge, but the object was gone.