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The First Chief, Ahjeed

By: amicus



~~~One~~~

It was eerily quiet, no bird sounds, and no wind through the sparse short trees. The tall yellow grasses and thistled weeds leaned toward the top of the ridge. Above and below him and to each side, his Guards breathed hard and deep as they slowly climbed.

He was a tall man, in his prime, wide at the shoulders, stomach flat and hard, and his calves tight bunches of muscle, flexing and relaxing as he moved step by step. His beardless face lined with effort, framed by long black hair tied with rawhide that swayed as he continued up the steep hillside.

Wide set dark brown eyes framed by a high forehead marked by thick eyebrows, glanced up the hill as the leading man suddenly stopped. The Chief watched as the First Guard slowly turned his head from left to right and then straight ahead as he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the nearly overhead mid-day sun. He saw the slumped shoulders and the long slow exhale of breath as First Guard slowly lowered himself to his haunches and raised his hands to his face, his back to the Chief and the rest of the Guards.

The Chief moved up the hill just behind and then alongside the First Guard, reached a hand down to his shoulder then stopped as his eyes widened and he quickly inhaled, gasping at what he saw. 

An endless horizon of blackened landscape opened before him; tortured skeletons of evergreen and hardwood, fruit and softwood trees. A trace of patchy greenery followed the winding path of a small fast moving stream.

"I am sorry, my Chief." said First Guard in a ragged voice.

The side Guards moved in close. "Not much game down there..." said one. 

"Not much of anything..." said the other.

After several moments of an awkward and strained silence, the Chief spoke to no one, to himself, to the quiet ravaged countryside, to the Spirits: "My People, all the People, are tired, too tired to travel on, too worn out to see this and look beyond...too tired...too tired..." He closed his eyes.

The journey back was in silence until the last hills opened upon a valley showing dozens of slowly drifting spirals of smoke from the campfires of the tribes that were the People. 

Each group was a family group, related in many ways to the tribes around them. They numbered from a low of about thirty to nearly one hundred. The total of the People was just over twelve hundred, a number that had increased only slightly for many summers.

"Stand easy," said the Chief in a quiet voice.

With grunts and groans from the nearly day long up and down movement, they all found a comfortable windfall or embankment to rest against and opened water containers and trail rations. The four guards formed a small half circle several steps away from the Chief. 

They ate and drank in silence.

At length the Chief stood before them. "We will be back before the sun is gone...I must speak with you now as I have not spoken before. 

"You have all sworn to protect and serve the People; you are the Guardians of the Chief, of the People and of our heritage. It is an honor for you to serve in this way. I must ask you to listen closely to what I must say and then I will ask you to once again give your oath of loyalty to the position of Chief of the People, to the People themselves and to the future of the People.

"I am not a Far See-er; I do not claim the visions of the Elders and wise men among the People. But standing on that ridge far behind, I saw an end to all of us if we travel into the wasted lands. I saw death and pain and misery and the numbers of the People dwindle to only a few that struggled onward. I saw this as clear as I have ever seen anything; so clear that it frightened me and made me feel weak and without power to act.

"I see terrible times ahead, I sense a great change. I am unsure of what I must do but I know I must act upon what I have seen and I need to know with certainty that the First Guard and all the Guardians of the People will be at my side and will follow my commands without fail."

"Hoo Yahh!" All four Guards jumped to their feet with long spears in their right hands and stone knives in their left. "Ooo Rahh! The Guards will serve!"

The Chief stepped up to the First Guard and grasped his right forearm with his hand and tightened his grip. First Guard grasped the Chiefs forearm and looked into his eyes.

"Omaat, you are my brother's oldest son, you are First Guard by your skill, your courage and your loyalty. You are also next to become Chief of the People if I cannot serve."

First Guard gasped and his eyes widened, as this had not been spoken before. Omaat's voice was quiet but firm, "Yes, my Chief."

The Chief stepped before the Second Guard and grasped his arm. "Dumaat, you are my brother's second son. You too have earned your position; it was not given to you because of your blood ties to the Chief. Should Omaat be unable to serve, you will become Chief of the People.

"Yes, my Chief." answered the Second Guard.

The Chief stepped back and looked at the two Guards. "Your father was a good man, he taught you well, and I see in both of you his strength, his courage, his honesty. He was my First Guard and would have been Chief after me. He is greatly missed by me, by all the people."

"My Chief, It has been a hand and another hand of summers since...that we have lived under your care, you must know that we would both call you Father with pride and honor and without forgetting our own father. We want you to know this, both of us." said First Guard.

"The Chief smiled and his eyes sparkled. "And I would call you my sons and be the proudest father of all the People and still honor my brother."

The Chief turned to the two remaining Guards. "Egatt, your father was a Guard when my father was Chief, he still serves when called and he is First Hunter of the People; your father is a good man, you carry forth his efforts with pride." The Chief leaned closer to the Guard and raised his hand. "May I?" He ran his finger along the guard's upper lip and then up the side of his face. "So, like your father you grow hair on your face, very few of the men of the tribe have such hair. Does it trouble you? Or embarrass you?"

Egatt blushed and lowered his eyes as muffled laughter broke out from the other Guards. The Chief turned toward the sound with a question in his eyes.

The Second Guard spoke with humor in his voice. "It is rumored that many maidens complain that his face hair tickles their bellies and their legs, some say it scratches and leaves them red faced."

Laughter broke out again and the Chief turned away to hide the grin on his face.

The Chief smiled and then turned back to Egatt and grasped his forearm. "If that is the worst of your troubles my son, you can probably live with it. I am honored that you serve the People."

The Chief turned to the last Guard, "Subeet? I do not know your family..."

"My Father was Ahmeet, my Chief; he was taken in the same terrible flood that took so many of the People. He also served as Guard but he was first of all a worker of stone; he made tools and weapons, it was his love, what he enjoyed most."

"Yes, I remember Ahmeet," said the Chief, "he was an excellent tool-maker; your mother, Subeet, she lives still?"

The young man smiled. "Oh, yes my Chief, she made this clothing for me with double thickness in the places that wear the most. We live with my Old mother, my father's mother, I hunt for them...I do not have my father's skill at tool making but we do well. My mother and Old mother are very proud that I serve the people as Guard to the Chief. It gives them a special place among the people."

The Chief grasped his forearm. "You serve well, Subeet, you bring honor to your family."

The Chief turned and again faced all four Guards. "You are not to speak of what we have seen. You are not to speak of what I have said. I do not know what lies ahead. I feel very deeply that I will need to call upon you to serve me and serve the People in ways that I have never asked before. I know you will do your best. First Guard! Let us return."

A Guard on patrol saw the approach of the scouting Guards and a squad of ten met the returning men some distance from the campsite and escorted them.

As they entered the camp, the Chief took Omaat, First Guard, aside. "Ruubaat, the Far See-er, has great influence over many of the people, even Chiefs of other tribes. You must learn if any of the Guards are his followers, if they are, they cannot be trusted. You must speak with all the Guards and find those who will take a second oath as you have. Do you understand, my friend?"

"Oh, yes, my Chief, I understand." Omaat spoke harshly. "Forgive me. Ruubaat is rat dung! He thinks he should be Chief. He corrupts all that he touches. I have spoken to the Guards about him and his followers; I will speak to them again. He is an evil man with no good side to him."

"Why have you not spoken to me of Ruubaat before, First Guard?" asked the Chief with puzzlement on his face.

First Guard lowered his eyes. "It was not my place, my Chief, you did not ask."

The Chief spoke quietly, his eyes glazed and unfocused. "It is true, I did not ask..."

The First Guard interrupted. "My Chief, please forgive me, I did not mean to sound as though you had failed to do something you should have done; you did no wrong. I should have spoken out..."

"First Guard, there is much that you are responsible for; you have done your duty well, as well..."

"My Chief, please listen to me now. When you spoke on the ridge over the burned land and said the People were tired, I wanted to put my arms around you and tell you, yes! Oh, yes, the People are tired, but more than that, they are without hope, without a dream. They see no future, the ways of the past are gone, we keep on this unending journey for no reason, it is a quest with no end and no reward, we know it, the People know it and they have lost heart, they..."

Another Guard ran up to the Chief, breathing fast and deep. "My Chief, a meeting of all the Chiefs has been called. Runners have been sent to all the camps; Ruubaat has asked to have counsel with you as soon as you are free."

"Very well, thank you Guard, you may go."

"Omaat, we must talk."

"Yes, my Chief."

"I will bathe and eat and rest for a while before I see Ruubaat, have your men make sure I am not disturbed."

"Yes, my Chief."

Ruubaat was furious. The messenger took a glancing blow from his thick staff as the Far See-er screamed his anger and struck out at anyone and anything within his reach. "He dares to make me wait for him? I will eat his heart; I will roast his manhood over a low fire..."