Memory of Fear

Wand Unearthed in Syria 

+/- 9000 years ago, Syria

“They sleep!  He sleeps! They sleep!”

Lesh woke up.  The cries of the returning were loud, interrupting his dreams. Could it be…?

“They sleep! See!   Bor and Dar, they sleep!”

The entire village was being awakened, Lesh could see the fires getting bigger, and women coming out of their huts, cautiously, with torches.  Two hands of men walked through the cluster of huts, chanting as they did.  In the darkness, Lesh could see two groups of men moving slower; they were carrying two bodies. Could it be…

Bor and Dar had been brothers, hunting together since they were old enough to carry small spears.  Their mother had died birthing a girl, who also died with no one to feed her.  Their father had left them with his own aging brother, never to be seen again.  The two boys had become good hunters, starting with rabbits and foxes and birds.  Later they had killed wild boar and even a she-bear off far off in the mountains.

At some point, they had begun to steal and kill the cattle and sheep of the small villages scattered around the grasslands. And then one day, they killed the young shepherd in the village nearest to Lesh and his families.

From the three nearest villages all the able men had come out to hunt the brothers and make them pay for the death of the young shepherd, as well as provide meat for that village.  Four hands of men had gone; only two hands returned.  The rest were forever asleep.  The wailing and crying of the women had continued for many days.

Bor and Dar began raiding villages often after that.  Sometimes they would kill the sheep in cattle, leaving them to rot in the fields so the meat was wasted. Other times they would descend into the village and grab a young girl, or ensure more of the young men slept.  Children grew up in fear of the Bor and Dar. It was a time of terror.

Lesh had marked the water seasons on a stick, also marking those who forever slept because of these two rogue brothers.  The years were two hands, and the marks of young men was far more. Even some women were now dreaming the endless dreams, thanks to the viciousness of Bor and Dar.

Lesh gathered his things, and went out to the men.  The bodies of Bor and Dar lay on the ground, bloody.  No longer would they terrorize the village.  There were many dangers in the world, but these two were gone.

The men moved as Lesh approached the bodies.  Standing by Bor’s head, holding his sacred knife in one hand, and the long cow bone in the other, he raised them above his own head. Echoing their victorious cry, he said. “He sleeps!” The villagers shouted in unison, “He sleeps!” As Lesh moved over to Dar, a gasp was heard. Dar was not sleeping; he was moving and his eyes opened.  A terrible sound came from his throat and fresh blood came forth.

The village screamed, men fell back and women screeched, grabbing their children. Lesh looked down at the grievously wounded man, long enough for a blink of the eye.  Then Lesh took his sacred knife and struck at Dar’s throat.  Blood sprayed everywhere.  Lesh struck again and again, until Dar’s head was separate from his body.

“He sleeps!” he called out in his strongest voice.  “He sleeps!”  Slowly the screaming stopped. First the men, then the women began chanting, “He sleeps. He sleeps. He sleeps.”

In the first glow of dawn, the men first took the head off of Bor, to ensure he would always sleep, then buried both the bodies.  Always, this group and their sons would take off the head, so no sleeping man could return to destroy or even scare the village.

As the daylight grew, Lesh retreated back to his small hut.  The time of terror was at an end.  Taking another smaller knife, Lesh grabbed his wand.  Onto it he carved the faces of the two wild brothers, so their horrifying ways would never be forgotten, nor tolerated, again.

The Neighbors

Humans face Neanderthals across the Danube

Danube River valley  =/- 40,000 ya

            Muka trudged through the brush and trees in the gray light of dawn.  He stopped sometimes, using his spear handle to gently part the grass or low branches on a bush.  Then he would move forward again, his large head swinging from side to side, sniffing the air.  Almost every morning, just as it was getting light, he would walk like this, a different route every day.

            Approaching a small meadow, he slowed, inhaling the air.  Going completely still behind a small shaking tree, he peered between the branches.  There were four deer, quietly munching on grass.  Muka knew he could hit the one closest to him. She was small, but it would be enough to eat for him and the clan. He raised his spear slowly, taking one final sniff-

            --and stopped short. Smoke, different smoke, was in the air.  His own home was high on the ridge behind him, and all the smoke was going upward in the still morning.  This smell was different.

            The deer forgotten, Muka stood quietly, inhaling the air again, and looking for the signs of a big fire. It couldn’t be too large, as none of the animals or birds were fleeing the area. The deer had even been calm. The smell was strongest in the direction away from the meadow, and toward the fast water.

            Even more slowly, he followed the odor to the edge of the water. Hiding behind a large tree he looked up and down the edge. Now he was hearing some odd noises, like several little ones calling and crying out. Suddenly he heard a male voice, but making noises he had never heard. 

            Crawling out on his knees, he cautiously searched for the source of the noises.  He found them. The sight made him fall flat on his stomach, and his mouth was open.

            On the other edge of the fast water was another meadow, ringed with trees. In it were strange wood objects that were tall, like trees in the cold time.  A large fire burned in the center, and two tall figures were holding a pig carcass over the flames.  Several small ones were indeed running around and making all sorts of noise. Muka was sure there would be no game around for  a long ways with all these strange loud sounds.

            A tall figure, who sounded male, came among the small ones.  He made two of them follow him to the edge of the fast water.  He gave each of them a small sharp spear. Then he walked into the fast water up to his knees. Muka was shocked. When one entered the fast water, one fell in and was gone. This tall one stayed, standing still, not falling in.

            The tall one held his spear for what seemed a long time, then plunged it into the fast water.  When he brought it out, there was a water animal flapping on the end.  The two small ones stood in the water and watched, trying to copy the tall one.  One of them plunged his spear in and toppled over, falling into the fast water.

            Muka was startled and cried out.  Not sure how, he found himself standing.  The other small turned quickly and seeing Muka, froze. The tall one went into the fast water and helped the fallen small one back onto the land.  Muka gasped aloud.  This time the tall one heard it too.  The three of them turned and looked straight at Muka.

            Tapoh laughed as his son, Tipunu, tried to get the hang of fishing.  Tipunu came out wet, but with a smile on his face.

            “A fish, big!”

            “Tipunu learns.” Tapoh patted him on the shoulder, proud. Then he heard a strange sound.

            Across the river, his large face in shock, was a heavy set stranger. His hair was long and matted.  He wore no clothes and  held a very simple spear. Tapoh stared, and the stranger stared back.  After a long moment, Tapoh raised his hand in greeting.

            Muka scurried away, terrified. What were these creatures,  tall, with power over fast water and water animals?  When the tall one had raised his hand, Muka was terrified that he would have power over him as well. Muka ran the entire distance  back to his cave, his clan, scared of something he could not understand.

Best in Fantasy : The Cold, by Aura Burrows

Re-blogged from bestinfantasy.blogspot.com

Best in Fantasy : The Cold, by Aura Burrows: As my regular readers know, I'm always looking for great, inexpensive reads by indie authors. I have stumbled across a wonderful we...

Life is Red

Ochre hand imprint 

Koh woke as cool breeze drifted across his face.  The fire was low and the light was growing.  Standing up and stretching with a loud grunt, he looked around the cavern.  Ta was outside, sniffing the air. The others were still asleep.

            Koh  joined Ta as they looked over the valley where they came as the days got short.  It smelled cool and had the tang of dying leaves in the air.  The thing was going to happen before the night sun faded again.

            Others were waking now.  Nee squatted near the warm coals and gently blew on them. She had small sticks and dried grasses ready to catch the flame. In a moment the coals glowed and she dropped the grasses on them. A flame burst up and she quickly dropped the sticks on it.  More flames leapt up and Koh brought in some larger branches and wood. Together they broke them and put them on the growing fire.

            All the cave was awake now, and the little ones were babbling or crying.  Nee fed her youngest at her breast while the others scrounged around.  The biggest girl went down to some trees to gather nuts for the smaller ones.

            Koh and Ta wandered back outside, sniffing the air again. After a short while they both wandered down to the woods.  Ta’s last spear had broken when he used it to cross a cold fast stream.  Koh had a spear, but wanted another one. They found two long branches that would make good strong spear shafts.  Bringing them and some grasses and sticks for the fire, they returned to the cave.

            Ta took a sharp stone and chopped at the smaller limbs on his spear branch.  Inspecting each of these, he put it aside or tossed it near the fire.  Koh’s branch didn’t have as many limbs, so he began scraping the bark off with his sharp stone.  They both worked on their spears until the day sun began to go down. 

            Koh stretched and walked outside again.  Being hungry, he grabbed his other spear and left.  Sniffing the air, he headed toward the stream.  Once there, he crouched in some reeds, waiting and watching.  After a long time a creature waddled to the water to drink.  Koh remained still until just the right time, and then his spear flew, hitting the body in the chest. The creature squealed one high pitched scream, then was still.  Satisfied, Koh picked it up and went back to the cave. 

            Nee came out to see him as he approached. Without a sound he handed the creature to her.  With her sharp stone, she quickly took off the skin, then chopped off the head, scooped out the insides, and put the rest on hot rocks surrounding the fire.  The smell of roasting meat had all of them standing or sitting near the fire.  When the meat was done, Nee used two sticks to grab it and gave it to Koh.  Koh ate and then gave it to Ta.  Ta ate and gave the remains to Ree, his mate.  By now there was very little left, and it was tossed on the floor where the little ones scrambled and screamed for it.

            Koh and Ta went outside where it was getting dark. The night sun was up, getting smaller. Koh knew what he would do during the next day sun.

            A cooler breeze woke Koh, and he sniffed it hungrily. The smell of leaves was stronger, and there was another musty smell, faint, but definitely there.  Ta was already outside and the two men stood, sniffing and nodding together.

            Grunting, Koh gestured to Nee.   She came out and sniffed as well. Koh took a finger and swiped it across his face. Nee understood and left, walking down a rocky bank.  Koh and Ta went in and grabbed their spears.  Ta called to  Ree, and showed her his spear. She also knew what he needed and left a different way than Nee had.

            As Koh and Ta finished smoothing the spear shafts, both Nee and Ree returned.  Nee went over to a corner of the cave where there was a natural basin that held rainwater. She took her smooth stone, dipped it in the water, then began grinding the red rock she had gathered for Koh.

            Ree had sap from the green trees and some long fibers from near the stream.  Carefully she tore the fibers into long thin strips. Each strip she coated with sap, then held it briefly over the fire, making it soft.  Ta grabbed one and used it to attach his spear point to his spear shaft. Koh did the same.  They let the sap cool, then carefully tested the spears in soft dirt. Ta’s was coming loose so he added another fiber coated with soft sap.  Then both of them coated the base of the spear point and all of the fibers with the remaining sap.

            Nee had ground up her rock into a red mud .  Calling Ta and Koh over, she muttered a series of sounds under her breath (Lah erk da lah erk da.)  Putting down her stone, which was red from all the grinding, she put all her fingers in the mud.  Still muttering, she carefully put her hand on Koh’s cheek, leaving a handprint that looked like blood.  She did the other cheek. Then she used three fingers and drew red lines across his forehead.  Swiping both hands in the mud again, she made long blood lines along his arms, then legs.

            Ree came over and began the same muttering, and she put her hands in the mud.  On Ta, she put her fingertips under his eyes, then drew lines down his face.  With blood red hands she cupped his neck, so he looked as if he’d been strangled.  Moving his skins aside she put bloody hands all over his trunk.

            Both women then made their man’s feet red, up to the ankles.  Ta and Koh stood still, for all of this.  As the women finished the men walked to the edge of the cave, then lifted their spears and said as one,” Lah erk da, lah erk da!”    Then they left together, walking quietly down to the valley where the large herd of horned beasts awaited them.

Bak!

Tools and Language Developed at the same time 

 The African Savannah, =/- 2 million years ago...

“Bah-bah-bah! Bah-bah-bah!” Little one was hitting her hands together, making the noise. Sniffing the air and looking around, Mama made sure her little one wasn’t attracting danger.  Satisfied, she waddled the short distance across the stony bank to get water.

            The others were not far away, most of them searching the tall grasses for the remains of the beasts’ kills. Papa had one stone with an edge he had found long ago, and they would use that to cut parts of the killings to eat. Every time it took longer to cut off a leg or part of the back.

            Mama stayed back to care for little one. Little one could not walk far yet, but was too big to carry much. Mama began to scoop handfuls of the stream to her mouth. She had just finished a handful when the noise from little one changed.

            “Bah-bah-bah!” and with each ‘bah’ was a little clink. Mama looked back and saw little one bashing two small rocks together. She returned to her water. As she looked into the stream, she noticed a rock that was shinier and rougher than the others were. Carefully she pulled it out. One edge was thinner, and running her hand along it, she could feel the hurt. If she pushed hard enough, the red would come.

            Suddenly there was a loud cry from little one. Mama turned and saw that the rocks little one had been playing with had broken, one of them cutting little one’s hand. The red was dripping over little one’s legs. Mama ran over to her and picked her up before little one could cry too much in pain…that would bring the beasts.

            Inspecting the cut, Mama could see it was small, and would stop bleeding soon. She set little one back down and picked up the two rocks little one had been banging together.  One was still round, but the other was broken, and the edge was what had cut little one. Mama looked again.

            A rock had broken a rock. Mama went back to the rock she had dropped when little one had cried. Sitting down next to little one, she gave her two more small stones, then picked up two herself. She began hitting them together like little one had. Little one joined in.

            “Bah-bah-bah! Bah-bah-bah!” they made the noise together, each time banging their rocks. “Bah-bah-bah! Bah-bah-bah!

            Suddenly there was a sharp crack, and Mama felt the sharp hurt and saw the red dripping. One of her rocks had broken, leaving a sharp edge, much like the one she had just found. Mama had to stop. Now she had two sharp rocks, both could cut into the remains of the beasts’ kills.

            After the heat the others returned to the edge of the water where they’d made their night nests. Hearing the strange noise, Papa and another came upon Mama and little one. Beside Mama was a small pile of stones with edges.  Seeing Papa, she held up one. Then she made a noise that was not a scream or an alert of any kind.

            “Bah-bah-bak! Bak!” and she showed him the sharp edge. “Bak!” another rock with and edge.

            “Bak! Bak! Bak!,” cried the little one, holding up her tiny broken stones.

Some days later…

            Papa and many of the others crouched on the ground with piles of round rocks nearby. Each would grab two, then put one on the ground. Almost in unison, they would make the rock noise, “Bah-bah-bah! Bah-bah-bah!” When a rock got a sharp edge, the maker would make the “Bak!”sound.

            The group now had many baks, and these they used to cut the remains of the killings from the beasts. The cutting was much faster for they all had sharp edges now. The group was eating very well.