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Now, with the filthy commerce out of the way, back to the story! You can skip back to the beginning here or go back to the previous chapter here. In this chapter, Jun goes in search of the answers to what lies beyond the Howling Forest and who Ada actually is.
THERE it was again—the crack of a twig somewhere behind him. Jun urged his horse more quickly down the narrow forest path. He didn’t want anyone from his village tracking him on this particular errand.
He turned into a little opening in the oaks and maples, screened from anyone coming behind. He waited. And waited. Not a sound.
Probably just a squirrel. But he couldn’t be too careful. A tongue-lashing from the Wise Women wouldn’t be too bad, but it was better not to raise their suspicions.
He rode on. The trail wound its way through the forest, sunlight dappling the understory of ferns and cedars. He hoped he was remembering the way. He hadn’t been up here in years. That time, he’d been lost. This time, he’d split off from the rest of his people on their way to the summer Rendezvous, careful that no one noticed or followed. It wouldn’t do to be gone too long.
And then there she was, right in front of him as he came around a bend. Sila, standing in the middle of the trail, hands on her hips, a big grin on her face. A warmth spread through his chest, as it always did when he saw her after any absence, no matter how brief. He’d kept his distance from her these past weeks, ever since that day she’d nearly gotten herself trampled, stirring up feelings he’d long tried to suppress.
Those feelings returned in full force now, seeing her this close. She wore her brown hair in braids, the forest-dappled sunlight making it glow. The glints of green in her brown eyes sparkled. Her bare arms were lean and well-muscled. Buckskin leggings hung low on her hips and clung tight around her legs. Her light summer halter was cut low and cropped short at the midriff, revealing the light brown skin of her toned belly, the deep navel at its center, and the curve below. His mouth went dry.
He tried to keep his eyes trained on hers, but it was difficult. The worst thing was, she probably had no idea what effect she was having. Woe to the hunters from the other villages who would once again face her indifference. And woe to Jun, he couldn’t help thinking.
Her look turned stern. “You’re going to see that crazy old hermit, aren’t you?”
“How did…” he started, but the question died on his lips. Sila was among the best at tracking and circling prey. It was one way she’d earned her spot in the Hunt.
“Did you think I didn’t see you slipping off?”
“You seemed too busy with your followers to notice.” They’d flocked around her, Ori and the others walking beside her horse as she rode double with Brina, her favorite. Everyone expected the pair to declare for each other during the Rendezvous. He’d pretended it didn’t bother him.
She ignored the barb and went on smiling. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“What if I am going to see him?”
“Oh, nothing. Except you know it’s forbidden to speak with one of the Shunned. And the only thing you’ll get from him is more silly ideas.”
“They’re not silly. The Land has to be bigger than what’s inside the boundaries of the Howling Forest.”
“Why?”
He tried to remember Mar Gan’s reasons. “Haven’t you ever looked at the moon during an eclipse?”
“Sure, hasn’t everyone?”
“What do you think makes the shadow that covers the moon? It has to be big. And you can see from its curve that it has to be round.”
“So?”
“So, the thing that’s making the shadow is the place where the Land is, but it has to be much larger. There’s got to be something else beyond the Howling Forest.”
“And Mar Gan told you this.”
He had to admit, he wasn’t making much sense. The hermit had used a walnut, an apple, and a round gourd to show how the shadow was cast on the moon. That was years ago now, and the details were hazy.
“But besides all that, Ada wouldn’t forbid us from entering if there was nothing on the other side.”
Sila gave an exasperated sigh. “I have to get back with our people, or they’ll think we’ve run off together. Come with me. Leave Mar Gan alone.”
“No, Sila. He said he had something more to tell me when I was older. And now I am.”
Sila shook her head. “I hope the Wise Women do catch you, if you’re going to be this stubborn.” She whistled for her horse and stepped aside. “You’d better be on your way.”
Jun rode past her without saying a word, kicking his horse into a canter.
Jun replayed the argument with Sila over and over as he rode. Why wouldn’t she listen to sense? She never saw anything wrong with Ada’s rules. She’d been well rewarded for her skill as a hunter, so why question the way of things? He knew the Great Sleeps bothered her, but she had a plan to never let what happened to the mothers happen to her. A plan that didn’t include him, or any other man.
Ever since his first encounter with Mar Gan at the age of fourteen, Jun had dreamed that he and Sila could dare the Howling Forest together. The meeting had been an accident. He’d gotten separated from a group of other boys during a rabbit hunt, coming across the old man while looking for a way back to the village. The hermit had been busy picking berries, but stopped what he was doing when he saw Jun. The old man asked him a lot of questions, as if testing his knowledge of the Land and his beliefs about Ada. Apparently satisfied, the hermit had revealed his ideas about eclipses, what existed outside the Land, and more, then swore Jun to secrecy before pointing him in the direction of home.
“Come back to me when you’ve joined the Hunt, and we’ll talk more. I have much to teach you.”
The old man’s notions were strange, but no stranger than the idea that everything ended at the Howling Forest. Jun had never believed it, and neither had his father. Jun could remember his father talking about what must lie beyond the forest, that it couldn’t just end. When he’d disappeared, everyone assumed it was to pursue this mystery, and Jun had been left with the same questions. Growing up neglected by his mother and her new mate, he had plenty of time to himself, time to ponder and wonder.
The encounter with Mar Gan only heightened his curiosity, but he’d never been able to get Sila to share his enthusiasm. Maybe it would be better to go without her. That would be easier than seeing her every day, knowing they could never be together. And maybe he’d be ready to leave the Land after this visit with Mar Gan. The hermit must have some idea how to get through the Howling Forest and past the Angel of Wrath. Jun didn’t want to end up like Little Kit, half-crazed and raving.
The trail left the forest and crossed a meadow. Beyond, oaks dotted the low, grassy hills. Yes, this looked right. He dismounted, leading his horse along the base of the hills. The hermit’s cave couldn’t be far.
“Stop! Who’s that?”
The voice came from the hillside above him. He raised his hands to show he held no weapon.
“Ah, young rabbit hunter, you’ve returned.” Mar Gan stepped out from behind a large oak, lowering his bow.
He was ancient, a few gray wisps of hair clinging to his brown scalp, his mouth opened in a gap-toothed smile. He wouldn’t be around much longer if he kept losing teeth like that.
“Bison hunter now,” Jun said. “I earned my place in the Hunt last year.”
“Ah, very good. Did you bring Mar Gan a fat, juicy steak?”
Jun nodded. The old man scampered down the slope. “Come, come! Let us sit and you can show me your presents!” The hermit seemed as giddy as a child with a new wooden horse. “What was your name again? Many young hunters come to visit Mar Gan, he can’t keep track of them all.”
This was news. Jun thought he was the only one who would risk speaking with the Shunned. The others probably came from different villages. “I am Jun, of the People of the Bison.”
“Yes, yes, I know who you are, now come quickly.”
Strange old man! Jun hoped the hermit hadn’t forgotten everything he’d promised to teach.
They came to the camp. The cave opening was sheltered by a ramada of cottonwood limbs thatched with reeds. Great oaks shaded the cleared space in front of the cave, which had a fire pit in the center. Mar Gan took a seat on one of the upturned logs near the banked fire and waited for Jun to reveal his gifts.
First, half a dozen new apples from the trees that grew wild in the valley bottom near the village. Mar Gan laughed with delight as Jun handed them over. “Yes! Yes! It has been nearly a year since Mar Gan had an apple.” He took one and sliced into it with his bone-handled knife, its blade a glossy black, and so sharp it seemed to go through the apple as if it were water. Jun had only seen one other like it in his life. Such blades were exceedingly rare, prized by all, and jealously guarded by all who had the good fortune to possess them.
“Ah, you’re looking at my knife, I see.” Mar Gan munched happily on a slice of apple, juice dribbling down his chin. “Have you seen its like before?”
“Only in the hands of Drin, the Chief of the Hunt. He has a spear tipped with a blade much like it. You’re lucky to have one. Where did you get it?”
The old man looked at him more seriously before speaking. “That’s the wrong question. What should you ask when you see a rare object like this?”
Jun pondered for a moment. “Where did it come from? Who made it?”
“Yes! And?”
“I don’t know. Not from anywhere around here.”
“Good. And how do you know this?”
“I’ve never seen this type of black, shiny rock anywhere I’ve ever been. And there mustn’t be any in the rest of the Land, or one of the other peoples would be making tools from it.”
“Yes, and earning much in trade, since these blades are much better than the usual.”
“Maybe the People made these tools long ago but used up all the black rock.”
“And left only a few behind? I can count on one hand the number of these blades in any of the five villages. Does that seem likely?”
“No. So the black rock must not come from here. Maybe from the Howling Forest.”
“Good. Now, how old is it?”
Jun looked at the blade.
“Here, you can touch it if you want. Maybe it holds more answers for you than for me.”
Jun ran his thumb across the leaf-thin blade and over the indentations along the sides. He imagined its maker chipping away at it with another rock, just as he had chipped away at countless edges and points since he was a boy. But he’d never made anything so fine, not with the gray and white rock available to him.
Jun shook his head. “I can’t tell.”
“Another question then. How did it get here?”
Jun looked at it again, biting his lip. How was he supposed to know that?
Mar Gan persisted. “How would such a valuable object get here?”
Ah! “Someone brought it from far away to trade.” He realized what he’d said. “But how did they get through the Howling Forest?”
Mar Gan shook his head. “Silly boy. Do you think the Howling Forest has always been here?”
Jun looked up at Mar Gan. “You’re saying that some other people, not of the five villages, brought this here more than a thousand years ago?” But that made no sense. Everyone knew that Ada had started with a vast lump of clay, breathing life into it to create the People and the Land at the same time. A thousand summers had passed since then.
Mar Gan clapped his hands together. “First lesson over! And you haven’t shown me all my gifts yet.”
With a groan of frustration, Jun turned back to his saddlebags. He pulled out a package of skunk cabbage leaves containing wild rice and millet mixed with dried blueberries. “Ah, yes, good for Mar Gan’s fragile teeth.” Next, a package of dried bison. “Not so easy on the teeth, but Mar Gan will soak it in water mixed with elderberries. Very tasty.” And last, the bison steak, the size of Jun’s forearm.
Giggling with glee, Mar Gan set the meat down and turned to stoking his fire. When he had it going, he went to fetch more wood from a large cache on one side of the clearing. The old man must spend all his time chopping firewood, Jun thought. But he’d have to, in order to survive winters on his own.
“I’m surprised you have a fire going in summer,” he said.
“Tending the flame, keeping it alive, this is Mar Gan’s duty.”
Duty? Duty to whom?
The old man took his knife back and carved the steak into bite-sized pieces. The blade sliced through the firm meat like it was a hunk of fish. He skewered the chunks on a long shard of sharpened deer bone, setting the ends in two forked sticks on either side of the fire.
Jun waited impatiently through all this, hoping the old man would explain what he had implied. But Mar Gan said nothing, squatting on his haunches before the fire, grinning happily as he turned the sizzling meat.
Finally, Jun could take it no longer. “You mean there was something before Ada created the People?”
“All in good time, young hunter. First, tell me how much you remember of what I taught you the last time we met.” Mar Gan removed the skewer from the fire, moving to sit on a log nearby. He blew on a piece of meat, then bit into it using only the molars on one side of his mouth.
Jun took a deep breath. Of course the old man would want to test him before revealing new knowledge. He should have been prepared.
He recited all he could remember: the size of the moon, the fact that it must be round like a walnut. And so must the Land, or the place where the Land was. Which meant that a man could set out in a particular direction and eventually come back to the place he began. That would be a journey to outdo the Heroes of Old.
“Very good,” the hermit said, coming to the end of his meal. “Want some?” He held out the skewer with the last piece of meat.
Jun shook his head but took a seat next to the old man. “I want to know how you know these things.”
“I like your curiosity, young hunter.” He pulled the last bite off the skewer with his teeth, continuing with his mouth full. “You have done well. You are sharp, and curious. And I can tell you have an adventurous spirit.”
He smacked his lips and set the bone skewer on a rock next to the fire. He moved to sit with his back propped against the log, stretched his legs out in front of him, and clasped his hands behind his head. “We will see what role you will play. Yes, we will see. But first, you must swear not to share this knowledge with any but one you judge worthy, as I have judged you.”
“I swear.”
“Good.” The old man remained seated with his eyes closed and said no more. A moment passed with Jun staring at the hermit, waiting for the knowledge to be revealed. Then Mar Gan snored.
Jun couldn’t believe it. He reached over and poked the old man’s shoulder. “Hey! You said you had much to teach. Let’s hear it!”
“What?” Mar Gan’s eyes fluttered open. “Oh! Now, where to begin?” His eyes settled shut again, but he kept murmuring as if half asleep. “Ah, yes. Earth.” He breathed the name like that of an old friend. But what did that mean? Earth was just another word for dirt, or soil. “That is the name of the place where the Land is. But Earth is much larger, unimaginably huge. You could not walk around it in an entire lifetime. And long ago, long before Ada, humans ruled it.”
Jun sat silently for a moment, unsure if he understood, though the words were plain. Humans ruling the Land, and a place much larger than the Land—what would that even mean? “How do you know this?”
“Shh. In good time, young hunter. There were so many people that no one could count them all, more people than there are stars in the night sky. Their villages made ours look like mole hills. They lived and worked in gigantic lodges many times taller than the tallest tree. They didn’t need to hunt, for animals were tame, like our horses, and easily slaughtered. The people didn’t gather plant foods but had things they called machines to gather for them. They didn’t ride horses but rode in different machines that were many times faster.”
Jun gawked, trying to imagine all this. It was much to take in. “These…machines, you call them? What were they?”
“Hard to know. Inanimate objects, much like our knives or spears, but made to work together with some kind of power like fire. Then they could do work for the people.”
Jun would have questioned him further, but the old man held up his hand.
“Wait, there is more. Still other machines let the people fly through the sky. When you look up at night and see a traveling star, that is a type of machine these people put there. If you could look at the moon close enough, you would see human footprints there, and more of their machines and huts. And know this: Ada herself is but one more of these machines.”
Ada, a machine? He’d suspected she might not exist, but this was worse. All animals had a spirit—he’d seen the light go out of their eyes when they died. He could hear the spirit in the calls of the birds to each other, even in the soughing of the wind or the rumble of thunder in the distance. But if Ada was nothing more than an inanimate object, where did this spirit come from? Or was he only imagining it?
His whole being rebelled at the thought. “No! This cannot be. What proof do you have?”
Mar Gan opened his eyes. “Good. You want proof. Smart.” He rose. “Wait here.”
He walked on stiff legs over to the cave and disappeared within, returning in a few moments with a long object wrapped in leather. Taking his seat once more, he carefully placed the parcel on the ground before him.
“What I am about to show you, young hunter, was given by the First Hunter to the First Boy. And when that boy grew old, he passed it down to another young hunter, and so on from hunter to hunter for a thousand summers, and at last to me. And along with this relic, the knowledge I have shared with you. Of course, the Goddess and the Wise Women do not want you to know of this. It is why the First Hunter chose a boy to receive this knowledge, and to receive it in secret. And it is why I am shunned.”
He began to unwrap the leather, folded many times around the relic. “Behold, the only proof we have of the time before Ada.” He removed the last layer to reveal a knife.
Jun gasped. This knife made Mar Gan’s black blade seem a crude thing. It had a black handle made of a material he couldn’t identify, shaped to fit the hand and fingers. Its blade was of an equally strange substance that glinted silver in the sunlight, like the scales of a trout. It bore no marks of its shaping but was utterly smooth and polished to a high sheen.
Jun gave Mar Gan a questioning look. “You may hold it. But be careful of the blade.”
The workmanship, if one could even call it that, was exquisite. How was the blade attached to the handle? Hard to tell. It had nothing as crude as the bark fibers and leather thongs his people used to fashion their tools. Whatever the blade was made of, it was far harder than any rock he’d ever seen. How would you work with such a substance? And it was far sharper than any blade, sharper than the blade he’d marveled over a short time before. He set it back down.
“That blade, young hunter, is made from a substance called metal, and a very particular type of metal called steel. Humans in those ancient days made many things from this and other metals—metal lodges, metal machines, metal pathways.”
“But why does Ada keep such things from us?”
“No one knows. But we do know she didn’t create us. No, she put the first people here when they were children. Ever since, the Wise Women have taught that the Land is all there is, and that Ada created it, and us. Only a few have held this secret knowledge.”
Jun gazed at the knife, not knowing what to say.
“I can see that you want it,” Mar Gan said. “Any hunter would. But it must never be used, it is that precious. Still, you now have a choice. You could become the next keeper of the knife and the secret knowledge, as I have been. It will be your task to keep the flame alive, even if the People shun you.”
The prospect sounded bleak. He didn’t want to become a lonely hermit like the old man. “What’s my other choice?”
Mar Gan gave a sad smile. “I dared not hope you would take up my mantle and become the knowledge keeper. You are too curious and too adventurous. Your other choice is to make your way through the Howling Forest and past the Angel of Wrath to see what lies beyond. Maybe there is a place where humans still rule and make tools like these. Or you can return to your village and forget everything you learned here today, speaking of it to no one.”
“But you must know a way to get through the Howling Forest.”
“Me? No, Mar Gan is no adventurer.”
“But what of other young hunters? You must have taught others who tried to make it through.”
“In all my years as knowledge keeper, only one other. And he returned raving like the others who tried to leave the Land for more selfish reasons. He tried twice more, and never returned after the third attempt. I like to think he did make it, but reason tells me he failed and received Lytta’s punishment.”
“Then what hope do I have?”
Mar Gan looked Jun up and down. “You have more wits than the last young hunter. And more strength, by the look of you. Beyond that, I can give you no hope. You must decide if it is in you to do this.” He folded the leather back around the knife. “It is time you returned to your people, before you are missed. It will do no good for the Wise Women to guess you’ve been visiting me. Take the Rendezvous to decide. And if your choice is to enter the Howling Forest, I wish you luck.”
Jun rode away with more questions than he’d started with. Who were these people who once ruled this place called Earth? What had happened to them? And what was Ada, really? Why did she keep the few hundred remaining humans penned up here on the Land, ignorant of what had come before? It was much to think on.
If only Sila would come with him! She was as sharp as he was, if less curious. Her speed and strength nearly matched his own. She had a better aim and could move more quietly. Maybe working as a team, they’d have a chance. And most important, they’d be together.
The knife, that was the thing. There must be more like it out beyond the Howling Forest. A hunter like Sila couldn’t pass up the chance to get one. He vowed to tell her during the Rendezvous. If this didn’t convince her, nothing would.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Coming next Friday, Carol and Michael join the resistance to President Cass’s planned breakup of the United States into racial homelands. While they face tear gas, tanks, armed troops, and lethal attack drones, Shondra stays home, worried for their safety.