Fantasy The Paintings in the Caves

[Charming Mouser]

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In the deep jungle; several days journey from the desert-waste, there is a group of people who live in a beautiful place. This is a place filled with caves, and the walls of these caves tell stories. All of these stories lead to one place; one entrance, which is protected above all other entrances. The men who stand watch over this special portal are known only as "Guardians". There are warriors, fishermen, gatherers, weavers and stone-workers, as well as other workers within the tribe. Each has their role to play. Each is dependent on the other for survival.

The characters that you will play are young; individuals who are soon to find their place in life. All young males are forced to survive in the jungle for three days, looking for a totem of honor; something left behind by their ancestors. Those who find a totem are capable of choosing their place within the tribe. Those who do not find a totem are to be assigned by the Elders; wise-men, and leaders of the tribe.

The rest are those who do not survive, those who have succumbed to the horrors that face them in the darkness.

Who will you be?

What will you decide?​

 

[Charming Mouser]

The early morning was cool and bright; the clouds rolling gently through the too-blue sky. The wall of the above was thick and sturdy, made of young, strong trees, a foot in diameter. The wall had been there for as long as the village itself. It had been the first protection for their ancestors so long ago. It was not known the generation when the wall had been built, but it was what kept danger out, and allowed their culture to thrive. It was what allowed them to see the night skies; to hold the festivals, like the one that would take place this night.

The entire village was bustling in preparation. The fishers were cleaning their catch from even earlier that morning. It was quiet at that dark time, and the biggest fish from the under-pond always came during that early hour, before the rest of the village had risen. The catch today had been grand, a fortunate sign from the heavens for the next generation of the tribe. The hunters were just walking in through the gate, a glorious success of a hunt after three moons on the trail.

The hunters were a powerful group, and though they were not trained for warfare, they were capable of ending life. Their wirey, dirty figures entered the compound with confidence. They had done their job exceedingly well, bringing back two monstrous, pig-like creatures, and five massive slabs of meat. It was unknown what nightmare creature the slabs came from, but it mattered little to the village.

A shout rose up from the crowd, welcoming the hunters home. They were filthy from exertion, and one of them was nursing a wound. Two others, younger, raced each other toward the massive opening in the ground which lead to the under-pond. Each of them pulled a lazy somersault as they descended into the cool waters below.

The Elders were also busy, though only a few of them were in the above, mingling with the common folk, testing samples of the food that had been gathered earlier in the moon. The majority of them were men in their 10th cycle or older. There were only about 20 of them in total, and each of them was severe, with wrinkled face and whitened hair. Many of them were easy to smile, having deep crow's feet stamped permanently on the outside of their eyes.

Sylva, one of the "Guardians" watched from the sidelines, not yet willing to commit himself to the crush, but not yet desirous of sleep. He hung in the borderline between darkness and light. His was the night watch, and he would not be attending the festival. He didn't have a true desire to attend it, either. Perhaps in his younger years he would have been more eager to visit with the people around him, now all he did was watch, and wait.​

 

[dawnfire321]

So long as she was not in the fray, Asani loved festival days. And it wasn't the festivals themselves that intrigued her. It was the preparations before hand. No one was idle today. It was like watching an overturned anthill, everyone in the village scurrying this way and that. Each with their own job to do, and each person doing it flawlessly, without question. It was perfectly ordered chaos.

Asani had a job to do herself, but she was one of the few hold outs. She was to be helping her stepmother and the other hunter-wives gut, clean and prepare the meat the hunters brought back. It was a disgusting job, especially when the hunters had returned with two full animals to be prepared. She couldn't tell what they were from her perch in the tree; perhaps boar.

Asani knew she ought to go back to the village and help. But she hoped that if she waited just a while longer the worst of the gutting would be over and she could start cutting the meat and root vegetables for the stew. Stew was one of the easier dishes to make for an entire tribe. They would also be making skewers of meat, onion and peppers. Other dishes would also be made, but these were the only ones Asani would be assisting with.

She slid down the trunk gracelessly, hitting the ground with a small thud. She walked quickly back into the heart of the village. She passed a group of young boys, second and early third cycle. They were playing a fighting game, stray sticks in place of clubs, staffs, spears and knives. They were naked, as boys their age often were. When she had lived half the time she has lived now, she too had an aversion towards clothes.

"There you are, Asani. Grab a knife, and start helping." Layla scolded. Asani shot her stepmother's back a dirty look and started to help.​

 

[The Drift]

Arko was chatting with some of his friends. He felt proud when he found out that his father had got one of the biggest catches for the festival. He didn’t brag, and knew that his friends would never feel competitive whenever one of the parents- fathers in particular, had a great day. For example, today Arko’s parent wasn’t the only one who was blessed by the gods; Rana, her father was a hunter who had brought by a humungous amount of meat for the festival. They had just seen them stroll past, swagger in their walk, faces up and smiling, some also rejoicing. Maybe the festival was blessed; he hoped so at the least.

Arko had been working hard, the whole day. He had spent the whole day gutting fish that his father and his colleagues had been bringing back with his trusty knife that he made himself. He didn’t enjoy the job, but felt happy that he was doing something worthwhile. The other reason he did this was because he wanted to impress his father. That’s all he was looking for- an impressed look on his father’s face. A pat on the back from his dad. Some show of affection more than a grudging nod. Till now, nothing, but that wasn’t entirely Oro’s fault [Father]. He worked harder than the rest of the fishermen, but most people didn’t know that. But Oro wanted it that way.

Arko then made his way to the heart of the bustling village, smiling here and there, giving and receiving warm nods; everyone was in a festive spirit. His friends were nowhere to be found- probably separated, but not worrying, though, everyone knew the streets and corners by heart.

(Those names I mentioned are just NPCs)​

 

[Flawless]

Sana lay casually draped across the branches of a tall, sturdy tree, watching the festival preparations while he sharpened a smooth flint arrowhead to a fine, razor edge with his knife, not even looking at what he was doing. His silver eyes were focused on the turmoil that was the preparations for tonight. When he was younger, maybe then he would have been down there, running around and getting under everyone's feet as children did when they were that age. But he preferred to stay away from crowds, hating pulling those fake smiles and saying meaningless words; he didn't dislike people in general, as long as there weren't too many, but there were three he was hell-bent on avoiding. His mother, father and his eldest brother.

His face displayed no outward emotion as he watched the people scurrying below. One would say that his eyes were cold, yet they contained that spark of curiosity and life that never completely disappeared.

Sana, unlike many members of the tribe who were clad only in loincloths and possible a few other smaller garments, wore soft deerskin leggings of a sort, strengthened around the knees, which proved invaluable whenever he was climbing or out in the forest. But by wearing them, he gained a few odd looks shot his way.

He sighed, giving the arrowhead a final inspection, blowing the dust off before he slid it into his quiver which he swung over his shoulder; standing up, and grabbed his tall bow that was hanging on another branch. He placed that over his other shoulder, before he started climbing swiftly down the tree, landing softly on the ground. He weaved in-between the turbulent, excited people, eyes focussed straight ahead, ignoring everyone else around him. But then a large hand descended on his shoulder, stopping his progress and making him flinch slightly.

"Little brother!" chuckled a voice behind him. " I've been looking for you."


"What do you want?" he said flatly, his back to his older brother. How did he find him so quickly?

"Oh, why the attitude?" Leonas said, a smirk evident in his voice. "I only came here to tell you that father wants to see you."

A cold feeling of apprehension settled in his stomach.

"And what are you, his personal messenger?" he retorted with a sarcastic tone, covering the slight nerves he felt. It wasn't wise to antagonise his brother, but he did it anyway; in return, Leonas's grip on Sana's shoulder grew tighter, painfully so. There was a significant pause before he spoke again.

"I would watch your tongue, Sana." he growled into his ear. There was a definite threatening tone to his words.

He released Sana's shoulder, and walked off, disappearing into the crowds.​

 

[Charming Mouser]

Baruch, leader of the warriors stepped out from his hut, raising his hand to cover the sun from his eyes. It was a beautiful day, and he had been peacefully relaxing. Festival days were one of the few that any of the warriors had a chance to laze about. This was a day for the Guardians to take over the daytime village watch. There was a reason for this; many enemy raiding parties had attacked on those days, and the Guardians were the best that the village had to offer. Baruch took no shame in admitting this to himself, though never to anyone else.

Baruch's gaze shifted from the sky to Sylva, who was in one of the most well guarded areas. The strategic positioning was uncanny, Baruch noted. He would have never thought to place himself there, just behind a cluster of huts, near enough to the wall that he could deal with a threat, but just far enough away that he wouldn't be easily ambushed. Clever. Baruch's gaze shifted once again, his eyes scanning the flurry of activity for something, though he wasn't sure what that something was. Suddenly his eyes found what he sought for.

Setina, Daughter of Col was moving quickly through the crush of the crowd, her hair pulled out of her eyes by two beautiful blue stones. Baruch knew that he couldn't have her, as she was not even yet considered a woman, but it couldn't hurt to look. She flitted in and out of groups of people like a fish flitting through the rocks and reefs of the waters of the under-pond. Setina's eyes were set upon another; a handsome, light haired, fair skinned boy. Baruch smiled; he knew the boy's father, Chael. The girl couldn't have chosen better.

"Hello, Asani!" Setina said, floating past the younger girl. She gave a vibrant, warm smile. The two weren't the best of friends, but they had always been friendly. Setina was there and gone again before Asani had a chance to register that she had been greeted.

Setina's sights were set on another target, and suddenly she disappeared behind a group of huts. As she arrived at her destination, she overheard just a snippet of the conversation that had taken place.

"I would watch your tongue, Sana." Leonas said, then disappeared. Setina moved into the boy's absence, giving a bright smile.

"Hello, Sana!" she said, "Would you like to go for a swim?" she asked, a glint of mischief in her eye. She was standing just a little too close to Sana, her smile a little too bright...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three boys burst out of the crowd, tackling Arko to the ground. He would have been able to dodge it, were the bustling crowd not so thick. The boys were laughing, and whatever Arko's reaction, the others didn't seem to notice. They were picking him up, and back to laughing in just a moment.

"You should have seen the look on your face, Arko!" Trilani yelled, ignoring the calls of alarm and discomfort given by some of the people working nearby.

"It was hilarious!" Borruk, Son of Baruch, stated loudly, his contagious laughter flying into the air. The boys were dragging Arko along. They had known the boy for quite some time, and they had been friends since no higher than their mother's knee.

Gilrig, the third in their group was smiling as brightly as the other two, but there was more excitement in his eye than the others. He pulled the other boys to a hut nearby, giving a large grin.

"Hey, guys, I just had an idea..." he began, looking around. Seeing noone, he continued, "Let's go sneak into the Elder's cave! All the Guardians except for one are up here! We could distract him, and then we could see what's inside! What do you say, Arko? You're the smartest, you can come up with a plan, right?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tari, head of the Gatherers, watched Asani interact with her stepmother. Tari had noticed that Asani held some disdain for Layla, and she couldn't blame her. When Tari's mother had died, she had been stricken for many moons. When her father had chosen another within less than a full cycle, it had burdened Tari's heart for many more moons than her mother's death. That was 5 cycles back, now. Tari's father had died, and now she and her stepmother were the best of friends. It had taken time, though, and Tari understood. Maybe Asani and Layla would never be that way.

"Hello, little Truthseeker," Tari began. She had known the girl since her infancy, and had always been good friends with Asani's blood mother, when they were girls, "You almost got away from the worst of the cleaning..." She said, giving the girl a sly wink and a smile. Another woman piped up, in good cheer.

"It's almost like she was trying to escape these rotten guts!" The woman nearly cried out, a smile widening her face as she picked up a pile of fish entrails and shook them in the air, her smile turning into hearty laughter. Several of the other women began laughing as well, Layla included.

"Is there something wrong, Asani?" Tari asked quietly, waiting for the commotion to die down. She looked to Layla, who was a few tables away, now, already working on some of the roots and other vegetables that needed to be prepared.​

 

[The Drift]

Arko fell to the ground with a loud thud. Ow. His friends stood over him, laughing- not at him, with him. Arko got hauled up on his feet, looking flustered, as his friends kept on bellowing with laughter. Arko personally had to admit that these practical jokes weren’t funny anymore; they were in their late fourth cycle. The gang was way too old for this, though his friends thought different. But everyone was in a festive mood, so he let it go pretty quick. Arko laughed and joked with them, until his friends suggested something he wasn’t willing to do with all his heart. "Let's go sneak into the Elder's cave! All the Guardians except for one are up here!” Gilgrig suggested. Arko was in for it, the dilemma making his head spin. Go, and have fun with my friends, with a chance of being caught and bringing disgrace to the family, or stay and do what my father would have done. The temptation got to him. Arko warily looked around, hoping that they don’t come across any adults, took a deep breath, and began telling them his complicated, fool proof plan. Or so he thought.

 

[Flawless]

Sana shuddered slightly, checking his brother was gone before he started off towards his hut. But he was quickly stopped in his tracks by a girl the same age as him whom he quickly recognised as Setina, the young, beautiful daughter of Col.

"Hello Sana! Would you like to go for a swim?" he heard her ask. He immediately noticed how uncomfortably close she stood to him, and he had the overwhelming urge to back a few steps away, but he held his ground. His quicksilver eyes quickly met hers, and he looked down at her for a few short moments with a cold, piercing stare.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" he asked bluntly, knowing perfectly well who she was, and almost as importantly, who her father was. But he did nothing to soften the crushing, cold remark that had come from his lips.

Any normal boy in the village would have leapt at the chance of such an appealing and flirtatious request, especially coming from Setina, but not Sana. At the current moment in time, he wasn't in the mood to deal with her politely. He knew she was beautiful, but he had barely ever spoken to her, and knew next to nothing about her. She held no interest for him.

He swiftly brushed past her, continuing on the way he had been going before. He couldn't ignore his father any longer.​

 

[dawnfire321]

Asani didn't know how to reply. There were many things on her mind, although she wasn't sure if they were wrong. Or if she wanted to share her private thoughts with anyone. Tari had been like an aunt to her in the time before her mother's death. They had drifted apart after that, but Tari had always cared for her when her father was away on a long hunt, or she had a problem she couldn't exactly share with a man.


Growing up without a mother had been hard on Asani. She had to learn to take care of herself, and in many ways her brother as well. Grandmother's and Godmother's just weren't the same. And only ten moons before his father married Layla, a woman just a cycle older than she herself. It was hard for her to let herself trust adults.


She'd been silent for much too long. She wanted to unburden her mind, wanted to tell Tari everything. Instead she only said, "I'm fine. Just excited for the festival."

 

[Charming Mouser]

Much of the day, and much of the preparation had passed, bringing almost all of the preparations to a close. The time was beginning to dawn for the beginning of the festival, but that was still a short time distant. Now all of the young one's in their 4th Cycle would begin to prepare for their time to shine. The Showing was to be the highlight of the festival, starting a time after the beginning of the Feast, and ending a time before the watching of the Stars, where everyone would sing before the end of the night.


There were still people running around, but now it was with much more reserve than had been previously shown. Hundreds of people had gone back underground to take a nap after their hard labors, and to prepare themselves for the time of joy and anxiety that was to come. There were many younger people climbing up the walls of the under-pond after a long session of swimming and exploring the water beneath. Setina was one of these young people, climbing the wall with the aid of another young woman.


Setina had gone for a swim by herself, and though her feelings had been hurt, she didn't let it bother her.Sylva had gone to a nap. Arko and his friends were preparing for their break-in, and Sana was either talking to his father, or had already done so. Asani had been dismissed, and was off doing whatever her heart desired. Soon, dark would begin it's inevitable descent upon the village of Potwa; it would prove to be a very dark night, indeed...