Prologue Previous Chapter

Jiant

“Why are we going this way?”

Jiant turned to Nash. “Are you challenging me?” He snarled, trying to ignore the twisting emptiness of his belly.

Nash held up his hands and backed away a step. “No, Jiant. I am asking a question.”

Jiant pointed down the path. “The red children came this way. We are going to find them.”

“Why are we looking for them? ” Nash asked, pushing his luck. “We were going to head south to the buffalo runs. Why west through the mountains?”

Turning back to the path, Jiant started walking again, stepping over a fallen tree. “There are buffalo in the mountains.”

“Not nearly as many.” Nash protested. “Jiant, I’m starving. We’re all starving.”

Jiant’s stomach heaved unpleasantly, the emptiness clattering against his ribs like stones down a mountainside. “You’re making me angry, Nash.” He said, fingers twitching.

Nash held up his hands again. “Never mind, then.” He dropped back, and Jiant was alone with his thoughts again.

Closing his eyes, Jiant let the anger fade away. Nash had been his friend since he was just a boy, even when the others mocked him for his small size. “Jiant the Short“, they had called him. “Jiant the Stunted.” Nash had been different, letting him tag along on his explorations and journeys.

“Nash, Look at this.” Jiant had said, holding up the carcass in his hands, the surf pounding behind him.

Nash had walked over and stared down at him. “What is that?”

“It’s a baby bluebird.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jiant,” Nash snapped. “That’s much too big to be a bluebird.”

“It is.” He protested. “I found the nest two weeks ago, and watched the babies hatch. And then one day I found that this one had pushed the others out of the nest. It kept growing, and this morning, it was so big that the branch snapped, and it fell to the ground.” Jiant fought back tears. “Its parents wouldn’t feed it. I tried, but I didn’t know what to feed it.”

“Alright, alright, quit blubbering. It’s a huge baby bird. So what?”

Jiant brightened. “I figured out why it got so big. I found this in the nest. The nest was full of them.” He held up a golden pebble. “It must have eaten one of them.”

Nash stared at him. “Jiant, you’re an idiot. That makes no sense.”

“You’ll see.” Jiant said. “I ate one too. Do you want one?”

“No.” Nash snorted. “I’ll pass.”

Sighing, Jiant stopped again, and turned to his old friend. Perhaps he deserves an explanation. “I had a dream, Nash. I had a dream that the golden-skinned girl knew a secret. A secret that could end our hunger.”

Nash stared at him quietly.

“I mean to learn that secret. And I will track her down for the rest of my days if it will end the pain in my stomach.”

“But Jiant..” Nash protested.

“Enough.” Jiant growled. “You didn’t believe me before… Why would I listen to you now?”

Nash backed away again, saying nothing in response.

=-=

Jiant stood on the shore of the long lake, staring at the mountains to the west. His hair whipped across his face, as a wind from the northeast blew hard across the lake surface, making the water choppy and gray. He pointed at the ground. Small footprints littered the muddy shore.

“They were here.” He turned around, examining the nearby birch forest. “They made a raft, and crossed the lake.”

“How do you know?” Reva asked, doubtfully.

Jiant pointed. “Bits of vine here.”

He swung around, and pointed at a thin trench dug in the dirt. “And something large was dragged into the water here. They must have thought that these things would be washed away. But we are faster than they thought.”

They were close. His mouth watered at the prospect of catching them.

He looked at the sky. The sun was still high in the heavens. He turned to his followers. “Nash, Tamu, Reva – Go.. find food. After we eat, we will cross the lake.”

They scrambled to obey him and he watched them hurry off with great satisfaction. Too often, I was the one sent scurrying to run errands.

It was good being the chief.

He sat down on the bank, staring fixedly at the far side. After a while, his eyes grew tired. Was that movement? He shook his head, cleared his eyes, and looked again. It was too far to tell for sure.

A little while later, Jora Lina approached him from behind. “We don’t have enough wood for a raft.”

Jiant shrugged. He would not let a little water get in his way. “Then we will swim, or wade across.” he rumbled.

“It is too deep.” Jora Lina protested. “And some do not know how to swim.”

Jiant whipped around and snatched Jora Lina by his furs. “Then you had better learn!” He shouted, casually flinging the small one into the air. Flailing helplessly, Jora Lina’s back hit the surface of the lake and with a great splash he sank into the depths.

Jiant waited for him to surface…. and after a few moments became impatient and stormed to the edge of the lake. Down in the depths, he could see Jora Lina, on all fours, crawling towards the shore. Odd. Why isn’t he floating?

Jora Lina burst from the water near the shore, and shambled forward a few steps, collapsing on the ground, gasping for air.

“Why didn’t you float?” Jiant growled. If this is a joke, I will rip off one of his arms and make him eat it.

Jora Lina shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. I just don’t.”

Jiant grunted and turned towards the water. “Watch me.” He said, striding into the lake. As it cleared his waist, he expected to feel the buoyancy of the water lifting him, but it was like he was made of stone. He continued forward into the water, unwilling to concede defeat. He took a deep breath as the waters covered his face.

Two more steps, and he was completely underwater, and still he felt no lift. He might as well have been walking on the ground. He tried thrashing his arms, pushing downward to shoot out of the water, like he had so many times as a child, or even when he was a normal-sized man, with no effect. Pausing, his heartbeat thumping in his ears, he looked around. Sunlight shot straight down into the depths. Before him, just a few feet ahead, a deep chasm loomed. Falling into that would be certain death.

Turning, he retraced his steps back to the shore. Dripping wet, he stomped over to the small copse of birch trees, ripping trunks out of the ground. Bundling several together under his arm, he strode back into the water. If he did not float on his own, he would use the wood to carry him across the lake.

Back into the water, back in over his head and…

Nothing.

He let one of the trunks go, and it immediately bobbed to the surface. He roared with frustration, a trail of bubbles bleeding upwards towards the surface. And then he was out of air, and he had to rush back uphill, fighting the pressure of the water to breach the surface.

No one met his eye as he climbed back out of the lake. Taking one of the long shafts from under his arm he let the others drop. Seething, he swung it hard at one of the standing trees. With a satisfying crunch the tree split in two. But then, so did his club. Tossing it aside, he whipped around, smashing his fists into the next tree. “Why won’t I float?” With each word, another tree shattered.

The rest of the trees stood silently, mocking him.

Before long the ground was littered with kindling and leaves and broken treestumps. A single birch remained, shivering in the wind. “Do not defy me.” He said, eyeing the tree. “Remember this lesson.”

Everyone stayed well out of his way after that.

As the day went on, he tried several experiments. None of his followers floated, at least the ones still in camp. Jora Lina floated, if he held onto a large tree, but no one else did. Angrily, he sat down at the shore, staring at the choppy surface, searching for answers in its gray depths.

And then the hunters returned, buffalo carcasses slung over their shoulders. As the sun sank between two mountain peaks, the bodies were skinned and dressed and spitted over a roaring fire, the mouthwatering aroma of fresh meat soaking into his skin. Finally, the hunger was too much. Shoving everyone else out of the way, he seized one of the buffalo, sinking his teeth into its thigh, blood and grease pouring down his beard. Moaning in pleasure, he devoured the meat as the others watched.

Afterwards, he went back to the water, to wash the gore from his skin and to stare at the waves as the last rays of sunlight disappeared. Sometime later, Jora Lina came to him. “Jiant – there is something you should see, across the lake.”

Glancing across the water, Jiant stood up, but he saw nohting but blackness. “What?”

“You can’t see it from here. I was climbing the hill behind us-” Jora said, pointing back to the east.

“Show me.” Jiant interrupted. Obediently, Jora led him halfway up the hillside and then turned back to the water, he pointed. Following his finger, Jiant saw a faint yellow light flickering far, far away across the lake, and well to the north.

“Excellent.” Jiant sat down. He had a new problem to solve now.

“Should I put out our fire?” Jora Lina asked.

Jiant turned and stared at him. “Why would we do that?”

Jora Lina swallowed nervously. “If we can see their fire, they may be able to see ours. I thought surprise-”

Jiant cut him off. “No.. no surprise. I want them to know that we are coming for them. I want them to feel the fear of the hunted animal. Their fear will make them cautious, and that will make them slow.”

Jora stared at him for a moment, and opened his mouth as if to disagree.

Jiant stared back, daring the boy to challenge him.

Jora Lina nodded, and left.

Still it was maddening that they were in sight, but still days out of reach. Jiant stared at the fire all night, seething. The fire flared up once, suddenly, early in the night, but burned low and was invisible by dawn.

The next morning, they set out north, to work their way around the lake. An opportunity to cross would present itself. It was only a matter of time.

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Sunday, June 25th, 2006 at 5:02 pm.
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