Due to the lack of feedback on my Story of the Eanko novel thread, i decided to simply write a short story
The attached image is that of Teno, the main character.
Author’s note: Eanko (plural; Eanko) is a race or species created by me, they stand approximately 5’8”, are incredible archers, have two knees, no hair, a lizard like face, though they are covered in skin not scales and they have two hooves, one at the bottom of both feet. Most are pretty strong, clever, but are a tribal race – somewhat similar to perhaps the hunter gatherers than roamed across Europe in the latest great ice age.
They are a highly religious people, have great shaman who can meditate and split mind from body, meaning they can travel great distances in just seconds, though not physically of course. They believe in one god called Soloron, Soloron is the major god of the eanko. He controls things such as life, death, thought and emotion, so, without further ado, I present you with my short story entitled:
The Striking of Soloron
Along the path were another two people, they stood waiting, solemn expressions on their faces.
Teno and Auud quickly stepped up their pace, and Teno followed Auud as Auud followed the two men, silence hung in the air and all that Teno could hear was the distant bird call, animal moan and the sound of their hooves against the stones below. They had started off in the dark, not being able to take in their surroundings but always hurrying – in a rush. A little further ahead as another man, this one looked close to tears, but when he saw the four people in the darkness, he leapt onto his mule and made haste in the way they were all now going.
The wind was cold and choppy, so much so that Teno had to push through, as they were travelling against the wind. All he could now see were the hooves of Auud ahead of him, and the uneven rocky ground below.
Their movement was slow, and Teno could hear the two feet of the mule getting further and further away all the time, it was as if they were going slower, and his very large pack on his back didn’t help much either, he constantly had to make it more comfortable by adjusting the furred straps, or swinging it around to his other side. An awkward journey.
Sometime later they arrived at their destination, Teno lifted his face to hear quiet murmuring and then he saw the gate way – made all from wood with names of the gods carved into the posts. There were many people at the gate, waiting for them with the man who rode the mule at the back, feeding his animal. As Teno got closer and closer, the strong smell of tobacco smoke overcame him, he walked up through a meadow, the grass wet with dew, and followed his two guides in and through the village gates, once inside, three dogs immediately leapt out of some nearby pens and charged at him but the two guides quickly sent them back to their shanty’s.
Nobody moved, the air was heavy as was everybody’s faces, and Teno spotted an old woman holding a small lantern in a doorway – waiting.
Inside was a young man on a bed, he had severely broken his arm a few days ago, had got a fever and had been lying on the bed screaming almost constantly. When Teno and Auud entered, the stifling heat and putrid smell of blood and sweat overcame them even more than the tobacco, but Teno overcame it, choking slightly. The village had been helping this man all they could, but none were skilled in medicines and Teno suspected that they had probably given him some sort of drug which had increased the pain, not eased it off. Teno had had to come quickly, there wasn’t much time left, a lot of blood had been lost and the man was running an incredibly high fever. Due to the screaming, many of the men had wondered off to a far part of the village – to muffle the frequent screams, and possibly so they didn’t have to look at that house, one of such pain.
The man was writing in pain when Teno walked through a hanging curtain into his room, he was lying on a low bunk, on top of sweat drenched covers and screamed a very untimely scream just as Teno saw him. By the bed sat the man’s father, he was smoking a pipe, but the utter shock and fear was still apparent on his face, even after the many days of staying there by his sons side.
“What shall we do?” whispered Auud, but Teno did not answer, he was somewhat taken back in surprise, the sight was tremendous, enough to scar anyone for life, the lower bone of the arm had protruded right through the man’s skin of his elbow, rotting flesh hung off it in various places and he was covered head to foot in blood, some dry, some very fresh. It was more than both Teno and Auud had expected. Teno was afraid he hadn’t brought the right equipment.
He got to work straight away, he knew the next few hours were vital for the survival of this man, he quickly barked out orders; taking charge immediately.
“Auud, remove this man’s father from the room, then return immediately and help me set out my stones.” Auud instantly complied, grabbing the older man by the arm, gently getting him rise to his feet and then leading him out of the room and out into the village square outside, there he would wait, whimpering, slumped against his shanty.
Teno was just removing the first few stones from his large bag and placing them on a clear spot of the floor, in a circular shape. Auud quickly helped him move the large rocks out of the bag. Each and every rock was extremely smooth, grey, and almost spherical in shape. There were an equal number of every size, and when place in the right order on the floor, with their carvings pointing towards the sky, they created an almost mystical pattern which could bewitch the eyes, and hypnotise the senses. Luckily both Teno and Auud were used to the stones, and knew better than to stare at the circular pattern they made for any length of time.
Once all the stones had been placed in a medium sized circle, Teno began to light small fires around the circle of stones, each the same distance away from the last, he then removed two largish bags from his large bag, and sat crossed legged within the rings of stones and fire. Now was the time for the next orders:
“Auud, now is the extremely dangerous part, you will need to gather all of your strength, and be able to keep inexplicable amounts of stamina.2 he began, as the young man wailed another scream which caused Teno to flinch. “You need to grab this man’s arm, and literally push the bone back inside the arm, and keep in there for approximately twenty minutes. I know this will be extremely hard, his bone will always be pushing back, and the man is likely to writhe around in pain, meaning you will also have to keep him in place. It is also incredibly likely that he will be
constantly screaming throughout this ordeal.”
Auud’s face was blanched white in fear, but he walked forwards and grabbed the mans arm, then tentatively put his three fingers on the end of the man’s bone, it was amazing how quick Auud became covered in blood, as Auud did touch him, the man screamed again and Auud let go and flinched back, the screams were unbearable, they made one almost want to break down and cry but Teno knew Auud would do as he had asked, Auud always did.
Again, Auud slowly grabbed hold of the man’s arm and bone, but didn’t push yet, he wouldn’t until Teno ordered, but at the moment he was busy trying to hold the arm in place while stopping the man moving and rolling around, he had to literally lean on the man’s chest which only caused more screams but did stop him from moving.
Teno took one last look at Auud’s face, he was gritting his teeth, covered in blood, white from fear and he hadn’t even pushed the bone back in, Teno once again began to doubt his technique, but he couldn’t stop now.
From the first brown bag, he removed a handful of black dust, and quickly threw parts of it on each fire before it became moist, then entered his hands into the second bag. From this bag he removed a golden crystal; it was almost flat, and about the size of Teno’s palm and almost circular. Just as his senses became intoxicated with the delightful smell the fire emitted, he roared at Auud,
“NOW, push his bone in Auud!!”
“I’m trying,” he heard Auud cry back, “It’s hard, and the smell, it relaxes the muscles!”
“You have to concentrate. Concentrate Auud!” and just as Teno said that last bit, he heard the bone grinding, back cringing sound of the bone being forced back into the arm, and the elbow bone placed back over the top of it. Now it had truly begun.
Over the noise of the fire, Teno could hear Auud whimpering and struggling, and then he heard nothing. He was lost in concentration. From an outsiders view, Teno was floating two feet in the air within the circle of rocks; in his two hands laid the golden crystal which was glowing brighter than the fire itself. Auud couldn’t watch Teno; he was too busy with all his attention focused on the patient, his face sweating bucket-loads and his few clothes covered in blood, sweat, and flesh, but nevertheless, against the screams of the man and the struggling, he kept the bone in, pushing constantly with all his might.
Teno was moving at a great place, he knew where he was going but it was hard to see… Hard to concentrate… When he thought, or rather, when he felt that he had reached his destination in the blackness, he began to chant. The chant was ancient and powerful, and he only hoped it could save the man.
“Hakaya, Hookaya, Soloronya Dama,
Hakaya, Heeliuya, Soloronya Gratuiya,
Septh Tepiya, Marsh-temporan, Solomanya Kako,
Dam faltaf, Jus cambay, Tim beila, SOLORON!” and he repeated the chant, many times, over and over again, until he began to see. It wasn’t that he was seeing in meditation, it was that he was waking up, and slowly moving back towards the dusty ground, as he opened his eyes, he saw relief on Auud’s face, he was still holding the arm but it was healing. Slowly. The man was screaming more and ever louder, but the devil was being removed from inside him… the screams were dying out, and the skin was slowly healing over where the bone had penetrated. The blood was being re-created within the man’s body, the tissue remade, the cells reproduced, and the screams worn down.
Just as the last scream stopped, and the man opened his squinted eyes, with tears still running down his face, Teno collapsed from exhaustion. Meditation was a tiring game.
Teno woke up many hours later, he was in a bed within the shanty, and Auud was nearby looking at the wall.
“How is he?” asked Teno,
“He is… he is fine, but troubled…” came Auud’s reply.
“Why? What is wrong with him? His bone is in place is it not?”
“Yes, the healing went well, the village had planned to hold a feast in your honour, so I was told, but it is his wife…. She was apparently in the next room…. She could hear everything….”
“Go on….”
“Well, we found her in the next room… She was against the wall that was shared with the room the man was healed in, tears covered her beautiful face… but, but… we found her dead.”
“What? How?”
”She had killed herself…. She could no longer bear the screams of her husband… she just couldn’t take it anymore.”
By
Esus
Comments, thoughts? Like it?
The Striking of Solomon (Short Story, no extra chapters)
