Tribes of Anowara: Crumbling mountains Chapter 7

Éil searched for the tools needed for the ritual; namely the incense. He only needed a rattle, whose head depicted an otter’s face, and a ritual song to accompany it.
He immediately retracted his hand from the shelves when he heard the door open. He looked, and it was his apprentice.
“I wanted to talk about something before I left.”
Éil gave a gentle smile. “Go ahead.”
“While we were trying to get back home a large group of sea otters came up to us and grasped onto us, helping us float. Then just above us came a flock of ravens, and the clouds just above us cleared somewhat, making it easier for us to get back.”
Éil stood with his eyes wide, but not overly wide. He had a look of excitement and contemplation, but mostly excitement. “The spirits made way for you. The ravens must have been messengers from the raven spirit.”
“I know,” Dleit said, “but why is he helping us? I’m sure he has far bigger things to pay attention to- wait... those creatures! We’re headed in that direction soon, they must be near Noow Gei!”
Éil gained a distressed look. “This may be far larger than we realize.”
“We should go as soon as possible?”
Éil nodded “Eat and then head out.”  


The lodge was filled with the strong aroma of smoke, salt, and seal oil. In the center of the lodge were whole, massive animals that were smoked with all manner of spices: halibut, seal, and, of course, the lingcod that X’aseek had gotten earlier that day. There was plenty of kelp: salted and dried, as well as clams, hooligan, crab, and salmon. All of it gathered by hand or teeth. The drinks consisted of water, as well as various juices made from berries and crabapples.
All of the visitors’ eyes were fixated on the herring eggs, a pure delicacy. They were mostly in bowls, ready to be served with a spoon to be placed on the eater’s plate, but there were also served as cakes that had a thin bit of kelp through the middle in order to hold it together. Another noteworthy dish were Geoduck: a kind of clam that is too large for its shell. They live beneath the sand and most of their bodies were made up of a long siphon that reached just above the sand to feed on various creatures too small for most people to see.
Yaxté and X’aseek’s family were already sitting; they gazed at their guests with welcoming smiles. At the same time some of them were trying to keep their children from taking food. The chief of their house, Yaxté and X’aseek’s uncle, Shu’xas, stood up from the far end of the lodge. “Come and sit.”
X’aan sat first, then Kanat’á, then Dleit, X’aseek, and Yaxté. “Let us eat!” Shu’xas said, and everyone cheered.
The servers took food from the center with bouts of energy that only an otter could have. The eaters responded in kind, grabbing them with high amounts of speed and enthusiasm. Despite this, not much of a mess was made. From the adults and teenagers at least. Parents at the feast had to keep a very close eye on their children. Two pups, who were cousins, who were sitting next to each other, grabbed the same crab by its legs and pulled them clean out of their sockets, and the one on the left immediately took the body. The one on the right reared up, but both of their mothers held them back and scolded them.
Dleit took a herring egg cake first, he adored the chance to have one. X’aan on the other hand enjoyed crabs the most, so he snatched them. Kanat’á had a strong love for clams, which was second only to crab.
“What did you talk with Grandpa about?” Kanat’á said before trying to bite open a crab’s claw.
“I forgot to tell him about the animals that helped us out at sea, and I wanted some of his insight.”
X’aan swallowed the crab in his mouth, “What did he tell you?”
“He knew what we already did; that it was probably spirits. But we also figured out that…” Dleit paused, contemplating the weight of the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He took a sip of crabapple juice and spoke, “My part of the dream is probably going to happen soon.”
“How did-” Kanat’á said before catching herself. X’aan also clearly contemplated, but didn’t say a word
“Éil said that we should go as soon as possible.”
X’aan beckoned a server, took handfuls of salmon fillets from her, shoved an entire fillet into his mouth, and handed the rest to the other two. Dleit and Kanat’á fumbled a little bit with the fish they were suddenly handed before looking up and gazing on in wordless shock as X’aan chewed and then swallowed his fillet with a wince. “Then let’s go!” he said.
Dleit, still a bit shocked, got up and began his goodbyes. “Excuse me.” The feast’s attendants all looked up at him. “I’m sorry, but we must be going. We have a long way to go to get my brother healed. Thank you all for your hospitality.”
Shu’xas stood and held his hands out with the widest smile imaginable, “We wish you luck.” he said with a bow of the head.
“Thank you.” X’aan said. The three of them walked out.


The three of them arrived at the boatyard, “Which canoe is it?” Dleit asked his brother. X’aan pointed at it and they walked up to it. It still sat belly up with two paddles sitting on it.
“What are those things called again?” X’aan asked
“Paddles.” Dleit said
“How will we get it in the water?” X’aan asked. “Do we just drag it?”
“The people at Noow Gei normally carry them over their heads.”
The three of them looked hesitant: their arms could only reach about seven inches above their heads. “Worth a try I guess.” X’aan said.
Dleit moved to the back and lifted it above his head. X’aan quickly went under and lifted with his back by its yoke. Kanat’á moved to the front and they walked to the beach. It was easier than they anticipated.
“Alright,” X’aan said, “let’s get our gear.”
Dleit and Kanat’á went back to her lodge while X’aan went to his room. Dleit donned his ceremonial clothes once again, as well as his staff. He also took a satchel filled with the ritual essentials: herbs, a rattle, a drum, and a mask. Kanat’á took her bow and quiver, along with her snares, skinning knife, and a dagger; everything but the bow sat on her hip. The two of them grabbed the tail and left. “I’ll try my hardest to find her.” Éil said to his apprentice as he walked out.
Dleit stopped and paused, and then turned his head. His eyes were filled with distress. “Thank you.” He and Kanat’á walked out.
X’aan donned two long daggers with bladed pommels, as well as a warrior’s outfit, which was a single piece of cloth that went down to his knees. He also had arm and shoulder guards made of wooden strips, and that was all the armor he had, they didn’t wear much armor since they were already extremely lithe and needed to swim quickly, and such things would just weigh them down, and their hides were already tough.
The three of them arrived at the beach once again, placed their food and other equipment inside and pushed the canoe into the water. They grabbed their paddles, and off they went.
Their techniques were at first rather awkward due to their inexperience and short arms, but they eventually made a much quicker pace.


Éil knelt down and shook his rattle, singing a rather ecstatic song. The incense he lit filled his nose, everything else was undetectable. His eyelids became heavy and he gradually leaned back, and back, and back, until he laid down. He appeared asleep, and in many ways he was, but he was highly aware, but not of another place. Every one of his bodily senses faded away. It was as if he was dreaming, and in many ways, he was.
Éil began to see strange shapes and then colors. What he saw looked almost like animals that were floating about, but they had no depth to them. He could not tell how far away they were; they all seemed the same size. One caught his attention. One that looked all too familiar. It’s appearance was like that of a wolf, but two things stood out. It’s tail wasn’t the fluffy thing that simple wolves had. This tail was longer and flattened out until it fanned out into a fin; it still had fur, but it didn’t fluff out as much. It’s limbs were also slightly shorter.
This creature was a Wasgo; a sort of very large, semi aquatic canine. In art they were depicted with fins like a whale, but that was to clearly distinguish them from land land wolves in heraldry. They were reclusive and rarely seen, and as such it was considered auspicious to see one. They, like many creatures of the sea, ate fish, but any kind of animal would do. Large prey was only taken in packs. They were, however, primarily solitary hunters, but groups did exist, and these were known to take whales, and occasionally even men. Their coloration was primarily black on top and white on the bottom, somewhat similar to a Killer Whale, but their coloration did vary. Unlike a Killer Whale however, there wasn’t a sliver of blubber on them. Instead, like an otter, they relied on their thick coats of fur to keep warm.
This was Éil’s first guide. One that he met from many days of fasting when he was teenager a year younger than Dleit. He felt a sensation of happiness from the sea wolf spirit, and they shared an embrace. He felt calm and happy; they had not seen one another for a long time.
Éil’s sense of the world around him increased greatly; he knew where every spirit was around him. This sense couldn’t be classified under any bodily sense; it was the sensation of presence. His sight was better, but it paled to the other sense,
He allowed his guide to take him where he needed.