Tor found himself trying to fit in with these people. As a Thal, he was used to travel and meeting various clans and tribes. He had observed his father's facility when it came to negotiating and trading in the language of the people whose land they were passing through. Even in a small raiding party, his people had the power to cross borders without being challenged. Tor observed and learned all he could from Tsen, but it was far less that he would have learned had he been able to raid and trade with his father in the years to come. Without that prospect, he was learning as fast as he could how he could become a part of the people of the Po.
In the morning after the feast, as was his custom, he left the sleeping male unmarried youth in the place he was assigned to sleep before the others woke up from their heavy partying the night before. Tor reached the river just as the sun broke over the mountains and began driving the fog off the water. He was already wet from dew that sparkled off every blade of grass and leaf on his way there.
Disrobing to his loincloth, Tor slid into the water and swam out some distance. The current was strong, but lazy, so he easily glided into an eddy feeling the freshness of the cold water against his skin. Reaching the shallows again, he vigorously rubbed himself all over with wet sand to remove the stench of underarm and other areas that tended to creep in from exertion and overeating like he did the day before.
Before Tor left the river and found his warmer leathers and furs, a group of young children from the encampment had gathered at the river's edge laughing and pointing at him in the water. They seemed amazed that he could swim so easily. They had given up swimming much earlier because the water had turned so cold. How was it that this young hunter could swim in such frigid water?
As he got dressed and the children gathered round, Tor could see that by his feat of swimming in icy water he had become a sort of physical hero to these children for his prowess, not only with hunting, but now, for swimming. All is good. If the children love me, so will their parents. He thought to himself.
But all was not good when it came the rest of the clan. While he was given deference by the elders for his inability to communicate because of his heroism in bringing back the girls, there was a certain suspicion, especially among young males more his age, that he may be a spy or someone that would bring harm to the community. To fit in, Tor readily took on tasks like gathering firewood, helping with making tools and hunting implements, and tried to remain cheerful in spite of his anxiety.
The hierarchy in the clan strictly separated the males and females except for married couples with small children. Tor missed conversing with Gael and Rena but there was no way. They were always kept apart. But there was a growing discussion among the elders about the possibility of Gael and Tor marrying in the following spring or summer because like all clans, they had learned from experience that intermarriage among closely related people tended to lead to very weak children. Why they tried to find mates for their young people from outside the local clan if they could. The elders argued whether or not a Thal in their midst would be a good thing. Gael's father, Lucius, considered their counsel carefully. And he approached Tor with that in mind.
"Young man. We welcome you into our community for as long as you want to stay. At least for the winter, because it will be too dangerous for you to leave alone with the gods of ice and snow piercing your skin. Stay by the fire with us. I have talked to my daughter and she favors you. Would you consider marriage to her in her 14th year?"
Tor felt that he would have to answer carefully. "Thank you for your hospitality and offering me the opportunity to stay the winter. I have grown very fond of your daughter in the two moons that I have known her. It is because of her teaching me your language that I am able to talk to you about my thoughts of her. Your offer is very gracious, but she is so young and not yet able to have children. I will wait until the coming of inserted therein the spring to tell you whether or not I would want her by my side."
Lucius sensed Tor's trepidation. "I am glad that you have decided to stay. It is too dangerous out there in the cold wind and snow. And it will please me to know that you have also decided to wait on my daughter. I know that she will bloom into a woman very soon. Have many babies and treat a man well."
Tor acknowledged Lucius with a nod, hoping that he did not see his real feelings. He missed his mother daily and wanted to get back to her, to feel her arms around him and to protect her from the men that he knew would come after her in his father's absence. All he could think of was either stealing Gael away in the night or marrying her and then leaving the clan. Either way would be difficult and dangerous for them both. He had a lot to think about and a lot of time to think about it as it grew colder with full force of winter coming on.
The leaves were gone completely from the trees and sometimes the winds came down from the north and howled, echoing the howls of the wolves that tended to encircle the encampment to pick up on any food they could scavenge from hunts. The autumn plenty had been put away, but there wasn't enough in the short growing season they had for the whole clan to be fed until spring.
The people of insert after would be full of the clan were primarily fishermen. They used hand woven nets and traps to catch fish and were quite good at it. Unfortunately, their late move to this location had not only hurt their crops, it hurt their fishing. There wasn't enough dried and smoked fish to last much beyond the solstice this year.
Tor was one more mouth to feed. He knew it. So, he offered his services in preparation for the Solstice celebration, to help lead hunting parties to gather more meat. Even the three aurochs butchered was not enough meat to sustain the whole clan through the worst of the winter.
Snow came and went. But the river did not freeze over. Tor continued his morning ritual, smelling much better than the young men who he slept with every night. But at least their bodies provided warmth in the stone and mud structure with a small fireplace on one end to provide some heat and light while burning as little wood as possible.
Soon, as the elders decreed, preparation in earnest began for the Solstice celebration. It snowed, enabling Tor to lead parties of young men to engage in drives so that they could kill red deer, fallow deer, wild boar, porcupine, and even a bison. So that the clan was assured another feast for the great day when the sun would begin to turn from its wintry ways and bring back the warmth of spring and the plenty of summer. Everyone in the village was very happy with what the hunting parties brought back. Although he lost some arrows, Tor was able to shoot some sitting grouse and snare some rabbits and squirrels, adding a special treat to their holiday fare.
The women began preparation by cooking special stews and porridges from handed down clan recipes in preparation for the feast. The aroma of the cooking filled the air. There was a cry that came up from the edge of the encampment that two people were coming. It was the tradition of the clan to welcome travelers this time of year and allow them to join the festivities. These two were special because they rode horses and had one, loaded, tethered behind, carrying supplies. The clan and Tor had heard of horses but had never seen any before. The children were wild with excitement.
But the two moved slowly and hunched over as the children ran out to greet them. When they reached the encampment they were met by Lucius and the others. But there was something strange about these travelers. They were not happy to arrive. They were sick. Filled with some evil spirit that showed on their faces, all sweaty and wan. They spoke a similar language, but had difficulty expressing their happiness at finding the encampment in their condition.
The couple, a man and woman, were ushered into the women's quarters for care and were given some of the special porridge early because they obviously needed food, being half starved. While the two ate the food with the gusto of someone starving, they soon threw it all up. And were reduced to lying in bed cared for by the women who gave them small servings of porridge and native tea, kept them warm from constant sweats and shivers and other signs of spirit encampment of their souls.
The couple was nursed and prayed for through the two nights prior to the Solstice, but they died the night before. It was an obligation for everyone in the clan to greet the sun on that morning designated by the elders. So even the women that had worked so hard to keep the couple alive had to attend and then help prepare the feast that would be held all day and into the night. Oh how the women suffered. Tor remembered his mother going through such stress in the throes of winter. Much worse than this place. The women were strong. In this case, much stronger than the men.
The celebration was somewhat subdued by the loss of the newcomers who they knew little or nothing about except an opportunity to trade and perhaps find suitable suitors for the young that need to mix with more distant individuals like Tor for the vitality of the community. A vitality that soon came to haunt them. When let free, the horses lingered. The clan did not know what to do with them. Tor thought that he might try to ride them like their owners, but he had to get permission from the elders.
Soon, the celebration was over and the encampment settled in for a routine that would allow them to survive until the new sprouts of spring would provide fresh food after several moons of not having anything fresh to eat. And the river would be full of fish in the spring spawning runs. But soon after solstice, first the women who had cared for the couple became ill, and then gradually, all the others.
At first, Tor did not experience any of the symptoms that the others had. One by one, they developed headaches and fever and withdrew to their sleeping quarters covering up with furs trying to keep warm. The sick begin caring for the sick until the entire clan was in danger. The elders, who held out the longest, raised all kinds of prayers and incantations to drive out the evil spirits that were causing such a malaise, but in spite of their efforts, they all fell ill, too. Tor did what he could but he was helpless to help everyone. He focused on helping Lucius, Gael and her mother and grandmother. Bringing them water and porridge and making sure that they what warm as they convulsed and shivered in their fevers and delirium. It was almost overwhelming for him. He didn't know what to do.
And then, he felt a headache, followed by shivers, and he knew he had the evil spirit, too. Tor was also off to bed. In his delirium he had dreams of his mother tormented by men. man. Other more, horrifying visions of being mauled by a bear. Torn apart by wolves. Having his eyes plucked out by ravens. It never let up, it seemed.
But he slept through the fever and those awful dreams. By the second morning, was feeling better and weakly able to get up and see to Gael and her family again. He was shocked to find Gael's grandmother covered with sores and dead. Her father and mother were sleeping peacefully, but Gael was still feverish and when he tried to cool her fever with water he saw sores developing on her body the same as her grandmother.
Tor stayed by Gael's side, but within the next night, by the light of the small fireplace that he kept going, Gael stopped fighting and grew immobile. Tor cried out and impeached the gods to grant her breath again, but she only grew colder. Beside himself, Tor left the hut and walked the encampment fearing the worst. No one was moving about but he. He went to the river and swam, washing off the sweat and grime of the evil that had befell him and the others.
When Tor finally returned to their home, Gael's mother and Lucius were stirring and needed to drink. They were gradually coming to their senses and horrified to find their daughter and their mother dead with no one to care for them in their death. Tor's grief energized him and he quickly gathered up others who had survived to care for the dead in the way that the clan always had during winter.
Since it was the dead of winter and the ground was rock solid, all of the dead were brought out and taken to one place in the snow to freeze. And then, covered over with snow and watched so that animals would not get at them until the spring when they could be properly buried in the fashion of the clan. It was terrible business bringing all the dead to that place, piling up. In all, over half the clan was gone. Some of the key elders as well as many of the children and those of weak disposition. Only the strong of health survived. It was the gods way to keep the clan strong, but oh so cruel.
At least the food that had been harvested would now last until spring. The horses would not have to be killed and eaten. They needed little and grazed in the snow by removing it with their hooves and snouts. Amazing to watch. Tor knew they would be useful. But he didn't think of using them to move the dead to the gathering place.
By way of consolation, Lucius talked to Tor while they carried out the gory work. "We have to encourage many babies born. It seems like every winter, the evil spirits come into our encampment and kill people. This is the worst that I've seen. But I have heard tell, in the past, that when food ran out before spring, that our ancestors would eat the dead to stay alive. I am glad we have enough food, because I would not want to see anyone eating my daughter." He started crying. Tor joined him in his sorrow.
By way of consolation, Tor felt compelled to reply. "I have heard that among my people as well. When food becomes too scarce and people are starving, they will resort to such behavior. Isn't it against the gods to eat one's own flesh?"
"It is. But it is what we do to survive. This life is not for weak men. I can see that you are one of the strong. The evil spirit didn't even affect you like it affected me. You are a blessing to our clan. I will see if you can marry Rena. I saw her walking about. She survived."
Tor just nodded in agreement. Inside, he knew that Rena favored him, but he didn't see himself being with her or any of the other young girls, some quite attractive, and in his need to get home to his mother. When spring came, he would be gone.
Copyright 2019 © Ronald W. Hull
9/10/19
