Tribes of Anowara: Crumbling mountains Chapter 1

In the far northwest, on the east shore of an island known as Yáay, in the far south and west of a long chain of great islands there lived a village of Kayéil’ Kushtaka known as Laax Aan.
Laax Aan was a simple place with its lodges of logs and herald poles of cedar. It was isolated, but its people did not mind, not entirely. From the great salmon runs, to the tall trees in the interior, to the plentiful berry bushes, their island and the neighboring waters provided much. The forests were filled with trees ranging from stout cypresses, to tall pines, to cedars, great spruces, and bountiful elderberries. Despite how far north they were, the winds from the sea made the winters bring only a dusting of snow, and made the summer skies perpetually covered in clouds and always bringing at least a drizzle of rain.
Their lives were far from easy, however. For the past twenty five years, they and the rest of the Kayéil’ Kushtaka had been at war with many clans of the Kígáat; the human tribe that they had once been kin with. They may have been at war with a small portion of the clans, but there were few that they were truly friends with. The Ch’akéish were one of these clans. They made their home due east of Laax Aan, on the coast of the mainland, with their primary village being Noow Gei. Between there and Yáay was an island known as Nóosk. On its south end was a village of Kayéil’ Kushtaka known as Kechnáa and on the north end was a village of Kígáat known as Ilaka. The Kígáat who resided there were the Ikan’gáayi. They were one of the most belligerent of the Kígáat clans. They were responsible for the catastrophic raid on Laax Aan that began the war, and had harassed Laax Aan and Kechnáa endlessly.

It was early summer; the first day of the fishing season. The sea was calm, the sun had risen enough to end the early calls of the birds, the sky was clear enough for the sun to be visible, and almost everyone in the village was out and about preparing for the busy day ahead. All but one. In a house in the middle and front of the village, a young man of eighteen winters was fast asleep, for he had stayed up far later than the rest of his tribe to prepare for the blessings he would give in the morning. He was of average height, his fur was a lighter shade of brown, and the fur behind his ears was long. His name was Dleit Kageet, the apprentice of the village’s elderly shaman, Éil Siteen. He had a dream the night before.
In the dream there was a young Kígáat man, who had long, black hair and wore nothing but a breech cloth, foraging in the forests outside of his village. After being there a little while he heard a terrifying sound. The sound was part screech, part roar, but it could only be truly described as a howl. After taking his dagger from his belt, he walked toward the hill he heard the sound come over. When he got to the top and looked down the hill he saw a trio of monsters that weren't like anything the man or the dreamer had seen before. The creatures stood on two feet, but their feet were cloven, their arms were long, their skin pale and taut, their hands had long claws on them, and their heads looked almost like a deer, but their mouths were filled with flesh rending teeth. It did not take them long to catch his scent. One of them charged up the hill. The man took out a long knife. The creature swiped at him, the man ducked, and stabbed it through the head. The man ran back to his village, fleeing from the now icy forest.
The dream then showed a Loon, an Eagle, and a Raven flying in from over the sea to the village. By the time they got there, the people there had all been killed.

     Dleit stirred. He could hear the sound of his brother and father sparring outside the door of their lodge, people speaking outside, and birds of all kinds calling from within the forests.
Their lodge home was about as long as a mature tree is tall and had an entrance facing the sea. It had a cedar split log frame, split log planks lining the side, and a roof made of slick waterproof bark. Along the inner sides of the lodge there were beds lining the entire length, with a fire circle in the middle. At the entrance were herald poles representing the family's kinship along with the family’s clan animal, which in Dleit’s case was the Raven. Eight other families lived in the village in very similar lodges.
Dleit took off the pelts that covered him in his sleep and got out of his bed; which was on the far south and east corner of the lodge, and went to get his clothes and staff. The staff was one that his beloved, Kanat’á, made and gave to him during a Potlatch party years before on the eve of his fifteenth birthday. It was carved from a single cedar core and had a raven with its wing spread wide on the top. The inexperienced craftswoman left knife marks and uneven surfaces here and there, and it wasn’t nearly as elaborate as others like it, but Dleit did not mind at all. When Dleit held it, it meant he was the leader of a dance. He was the one who sang first, and all would repeat his words. The clothes were mostly made of wolf skins with several animal designs on them. They covered just his waist and a bit on his shoulders. There was also a large necklace with a stone amulet depicting a mother Sea Otter holding her pup in her arms. He received this piece from a shaman who was traveling from the northwest of them. It was carved in a more simple and realistic style than what his people used.

As he put the waist piece on, he heard a grunt by the door. He looked behind him and saw his black furred older brother, X’aan Ch’aak, fly in through the door like a leaf in a hard wind and land face first onto the floor. X’aan groaned and began lifting himself up.
“Morning.” Dleit said, “I see Dad’s dragging you by your tail again.”
X’aan stood up and cracked his back, “Oh, shut up.” He said. “You couldn’t last nearly as long as I could.”
“But I could say a word and stun him.” Said the other. The two of them laughed at Dleit’s all too lacking humor.
It was just then that their father, Gugaan Kóon, walked in with two sparring sticks in his hands. “Alright son,” he said in his deep, gruff voice while walking in, “grip your weapon more gently and keep a close eye on what comes near your feet.” He handed one the sticks to X’aan, and turned to his other son.
“Morning, Dleit.” Gugaan said.
“Good morning, father.” Dleit said, now fully dressed, “Is mother back from Ketchna yet? She was supposed to be back this morning, right?”
“No, she isn’t.” The father said.
Dleit sighed in disappointment “She’s been gone for seven days,” He said, “I know we have clan members over there but I’m starting to miss her”.
X’aan seemed to notice something. He began sniffing the air. “Something else troubling you little brother?” he said.
“Yeah uh... just a dream I had last night.” Dleit said.
“What happened in it?” said the father.
Dleit rubbed the nape of his neck. “Well...”
His brother opened his mouth as if to say something, but quickly caught himself.
“It was more of a vision really.” Dleit said. He looked down for a moment. “It started with a man…”
Afterword, Gugaan stood in silent contemplation for a short time before speaking. “You and I both know who can quickly discern what it means.” He said. “We’re probably going to start the blessings soon, so I hope you can figure it out quickly.”

       With that, Dleit exited his lodge. The village was indeed busy: several people were making late check ups on the equipment such as the harpoons and gaff hooks, and sharpening them when necessary. Everyone was speaking with utmost excitement for the upcoming hunt. Dleit had a smile on his face as he made his way to his mentor’s family home, which was at the south end of the the village in the back row. Well, almost the whole way. Just before he arrived at his mentor’s home, he overheard two people talking. They were a little older than his father “The Kígáat have been awfully quiet the past few months.” One of them said, “I wonder what they’re up to.”
“Maybe they’ve been too weak to fight.” Said the other, “Maybe we should come in and put them out of their misery.”
Dleit shook his head and continued walking. “We’re not even at war with the whole tribe.” He said under his breath. They looked in his direction, but didn’t say a word.
Éil’s home was newer than most of the others in the village, since his family had only lived there for the past twelve years. They were driven from their old village, to the north, by a Kígáat raid, and traveled many miles to find a new home. They settled down quite well, especially since the village needed a new shaman, as the one before Éil died without a successor. Dleit remembered the day they came quite well, despite how young he was at the time.
When Dleit entered the lodge he found it empty, except for elderly Èil, who was sitting by the fire with his eyes calmly shut. He had rather faded fur from his age, and his teeth weren’t as sharp as they used to be. Dleit thought he was all alone, but upon his fifth step in, he heard a scratch from the rafters behind him. He had no time to react before someone leaped onto him. Their arms wrapped around his waist and they fell to the floor. He was surprised, but he wasn’t afraid. He knew exactly who it was. Belly down on the floor,  he was flipped onto his back to see a smirking woman with beige fur, bright brown eyes, and the long fur behind her ears hanging on a braid. Her knees were on the ground, her arms were on his shoulders, and her face was mere inches from his.
    “Hi Kanat’á.” Dleit said. They then kissed each other before she finally got off him. When he got up, Dleit then turned around to see Éil, eyes open, smiling at him.
“Come here.” he said, and Dleit and Kanat’á sat down right next to him.
“Can I talk to you about something?” Dleit said.
Éil looked into his eyes. “You had a vision, didn’t you?” He said.
Dleit’s eyes widened slightly. “Yes, how did you know?”
“Kanat’á had one as well; tell him about it Granddaughter.”
“A Raven and a Loon on an island had an Eagle friend that needed new feathers,” Kanat’á said, “so they went to ask eagle spirit in his sky domain if he had more. But when they got to over the mainland they noticed a village burned to the ground, it’s inhabitants dead. The birds then went over to the east to find what did it.”
“Wait.” Dleit said, “In my dream there were these… monsters that came and attacked the village.”
“Monsters?”, Kanat’a said.
“Yes.” Dleit said, “They came in from the forest, but from where I don’t know.”
“Do you know what the birds most likely represent?” Éil said.
“Hmm... Loon, Raven, Eagle... Loon... Raven, Eagle- they’re us! I’m the loon, Kanat’a is the Raven, and X’aan is the Eagle; it’s all in our names!”
“What do you think that means for X’aan.” Éil said.
“A bird’s feathers mean everything to them, they allow them to fly and attract mates.” Dleit said, “but they grow ba-wait. Why did they have to ask a great spirit for new ones? No, no it couldn’t have been that bad.”
“Something happened to the eagle to make him lose them.” Kanat’á said, “But…” She closed her eyes and tapped her hand hard on her leg. “I just can’t remember.” It was then that the people by the shore started calling out in loud clicking squeaks, signalling all was ready.
“Alright Dleit, I hope you remember everything we went over last night.” Éil said, “We’ll have to speak of this later.” The three of them exited the lodge; all of them knowing there were far more bad things that were to be revealed.