Ember of a New World (10 page)

The water sure is dull. Fish must sleep all of the time
, she mused to herself.

As the evening settled in, Ember directed the tiny craft towards a small sheltered bank. Good camp sites were always important. A protected bank could often be found at a bend in the river. Powerful rock spirits imbued many large boulders with the strength to hold back the river, creating these small pseudo ponds aside the shore.

The Great River will one day claim these boulders, but not without a fight!
sh
e thought with a bit of mirth.

Ember sat up high in the boat and held her arms wide to the river and yelled a challenge to the river.

“Bring forth a mighty storm to destroy these proud boulders, Great River!” With a laugh, she dug the pole deep into the water to maneuver, feeling the bite of the current. With a little luck and careful motions of the pole, Ember steered the boat up onto the bank; a bank created by one of the large rocks. The boat actually slid half way up the bank with the force of the impact. Ember removed her leather boots, to keep them dry, and stepped from the boat into the ankle-deep water. Her skin had been warmed by the sun all day, and the cold flow of the river water and the smooth pebbles beneath her feet f
elt delightful.

Ember stood for a moment in the river, ankle-deep, stretching her arms. The water felt cool and refreshing as always. It was these moments which brought Ember the most joy. After a moment of stretching, Ember set to the t
ask of securing the little boat;
quite a difficult task. She pulled as hard as she could, losing her footing several times before slowly bringing the boat ashore. A boat must be pulled from the water and secured to protect it from the weather. After securing the boat to a sapling, Ember bent low in the boat and removed the three reed mats Darkwood had placed with her gear. She used one to cover the opening of the boat, keeping out rain and animals. There were simply too many items in the boat to flip it upside down, the proper way, and she wasn't sure
she could right it if she did.

Ember turned to see two rabbits standing on the bank not far from her. They both sat in a perched manner watching her intent
ly.

“Well, here I am rabbits!”
Ember announced suddenly, to which the rabbi
ts answered by scampering off.

“Fine, leave me by myself...
”
she said. The rabbits didn't reply.

The darkness was now rolling in as the air grew a little cooler than it had been during the day, yet not unpleasant. Tonight would be mildly warm, but Ember still wanted a fire for protection and food. She walked a short distance inland finding a small clearing of grass.

This will make a good camp
, she thought. The other two mats were placed on the ground as a sort of bed. With a camp site picked out, Ember began looking around for kindling and wood for a fire. Luckily the Great River always provided, for rivers often have piles of tangled wood and fallen limbs from storms, conveniently left by the shore to dry. Ember found one such a woody tangle and removed many choice pieces for her fire. As she returned, she noticed the boulder forming the in
let where she had come ashore.

“I thought I t
old the river to wash you away.
I guess we're not having a storm tonight then.
”
Ember laughed, returning to the camp site. Carefully, Ember placed the large pieces of wood in a crisscross stack. She stuffed the kindling and leaves into the holes, leaving enough room for air. Fire spirits were known to love air and wind as much as they loved wood and leaves. A fire without proper holes for air would quickly fail if it even started at all.

Before a fire could be started, some food would need to be secured. The strips of salted meat and boiled tubers were not very tasty and really more of a lunch-on-the-water sort of food. The only problem was that Ember was not much of a hunter. She doubted she could catch any animal on the land, but the water offered a large selection of tasty fish. The Elders wouldn't have let her go if they had thought she couldn't find food. All woman of her tribe could fish, gather, and trap with decent skill.

Ember removed her green woven flax fiber skirt and doe skin shirt, placing them safely by her camp. Her skin was the best attire for the water. She still wore her breechcloth in the very unlikely event travelers came by. Mostly, she just couldn't help getting into the water. The unseasonably warm weather had given her more swimming time than she had ever had in her life. She was going to use any excuse to be in the water.

Though she had brought a good fishing spear, Ember had the spear lashed to her boat. Creating a quick spear from a stick took but moments. Ember picked up a long stick, as tall as she was, and quickly sharpened the end of the stick with her obsidian blade. The bark and wood simply slipped off the stick as though they were not even at
tached, so sharp was the blade.

Obsidian, really volcanic glass, was black with a smooth dull shine. Obsidian could slice razor-sharp cuts with very little pressure. The blade, a dagger really, was heavy in her small, but nimble, hands. Ember carefully used the dagger and slid it back into its sheath. The dagger had belonged to her father, Winterborn, and had been in his hand when he fell in battle. Ember was proud to carry the dagger on her long jour
ney.

Bare from hair to toe, except for her leather belt and a small strip of leather, she strode into the water with an ad hoc fishing spear. Ember's task came to her naturally but only due to a lifetime of practice. Fishing with a spear was a complex task which required time. Performing this action in a pond or lake was very difficult due to the fish noticing the huntress. A river always moves, allowing Ember to stand still and let the fish swim near her. The problem was seeing the fish and actually hitting it. Luckily, Ember was an excellent fisher. The light was leaving fast when a fish finally got close enough to spear.

If only a deer or rabbit would swim by I'd have a real meal
, she thought.

Rivers were populated with many spirits. Spirits of the dead, spirits of animals, and of the water element itself. The water spirits tricked the eyes, making you think a fish was in a different place than it really was. Being an experienced spear fisher, Ember knew not to aim for the fish, but for a place right beside it where the fish really was. Even better, Ember would place the tip of the spear into the water a little. The spirits couldn't recognize the spear for what it was and would play their illusions with the spear too, showing Ember where the spear would really hit. To ensure that her efforts were enough, Ember whispered a fishing song to the fish spirits. The song would comfort the spirits and help weaken their resolve. With any luck, Ember might have fish to eat.

The water was hard to see through as the light was nearly gone when a fish finally swam beside her spear. Ember thrust her spear through the fish and hauled the arm-long cat fish from the water in a smooth practiced motion. She flung the fish onto the land where it would soon die. Small fish were easy
to kill
, but large fish required beating from a cudgel to kill! The peaceful singing didn't really match up well with the beating, so Ember kept her songs short.

Now how to cook the fish, roast or blackened?
she pondered. Ember strode from the water and considered what she needed for her fire. From her bag, she removed a fire bow, used to start fires. Now
,
Ember merely needed a small stick with a point, about half as long as her arm. She would point it straight down against a piece of dry wood and rotate it rapidly using the fire bow, generating friction, which would create heat for a fire. While this rotating action could be performed by hand or by rubbing your hands together with the stick in between, the action would be tiring and hurt the skin. Ember's people used a bow, which looked like a tiny hunting bow, about half an arm's length. The bow string would loop around the orthogonally mounted stick, rotating it as the bow sawed back and forth.
This rotation created
the fire
with little work
. The top of the down pointing stick would be pressed lightly by Ember's hand with a smooth piece of wood in between. The wood she used to press with had a dimple in which the stick held fast. The bottom of the stick rotated against a very dry piece of wood with leaves and dried grass to act as
tinder
.

Ember pulled the bow quickly, back and forth, until smoke trailed from the piece of wood. With that, she dropped to her belly and gently blew into the tinder. She kept her hands cupped around it to keep the tinder from blowing away. Long slow breaths brought life to the fire which suddenly flared into a tiny flame. Ember used dry leaves, and grass to set fire to the wood and kindling. Within a short time, a small but steady fire was burning. Ember wished she had been named for skill with fire and not her fiery red hair. Ember had seen many of the men of her village perform this same feat in
moments, much faster than she.

Now, it was time to prepare the fish. Ember checked the fish to ensure it was dead. Killing a fish was one thing, but burning it alive was totally different and Ember didn't want to anger the spirits of the fish by being so cruel. Ember stared at the fish for a long moment and saw no movement. She poked the fish several times,
again without movem
ent. Using her dagger, she slit open the stomach of the fish and spilled its innards into the river. Ember was careful to keep the liver, eyes, and heart. She would eat these as well, tiny as they were. It was known that these tiny little bits of the fish could keep the body feeling well, even when fish was all there was to be found. She cleaned the empty cavity with her fingers and placed a stick in the fish's mouth.

“There you are fish. Sorry, but your guts have to go. At least I killed you first.” Ember had heard hunters tell of wolves and their prey, often not fully dead before they started eating. Ember shivered at the thought of wolves. Suddenly, the fire really seemed like a good idea. Ember felt more alone at that moment than she had all day. With a glance to ensure she had enough wood for the night, Ember moved closer to the fire and prepared her meal.

The stick was placed into the ground at an angle allowing the fish to cook over the fire. Every few moments the stick was rotated a quarter turn. While she waited for the meat, Ember used a tiny twig to roast the organs and quickly ate them. Ember always liked the taste of fish hearts, though they were so small that often they were
missed when cleaning the fish.

As the night rolled in, Ember knelt before the fire and gave thanks to the Gods for her good fortune and the large fish she had caught. As she knelt, she lifted her arms towards the sky, palms out, and slowly lowered them to rest upon her stomach. The fire crackled and the heat radiated over her skin bringing relaxation. Such simple rituals were commonplace in the tribe and nearly second nature. Thanks were generally given in the mornings, before eating, and at night. Besides, the camp was lonely, and Ember couldn't see more than four lengths of a man beyond the fire. She could use the extra security her faith afford
ed her.

With her cupped hands, she “pulled” the badness from herself, symbolically, and let it burn in the fire as her hands moved quickly through the flames. Ember hummed the words of a short song of blessing, an old habit by now. The fish had fully cooked by the end of the ritual and Ember moved it away from the fire to cool. After a few moments, she sank her teeth into the crispy skin of the fish tasting the succulent, if not oily, meat. Catfish was very oily, but also quite filling. Some fish produced bones which could be used for various purposes, such as charring for black pigment. After her meal and a few near misses with such bones, Ember walked to the edge of the water to clean of
f before bed.

The water's edge was just barely visible from the fire. Ember's skin crawled with fear as she suddenly realized how vulnerable she was standing bare skinned, without even her dagger, by the
water’s
edge. She was far from her people and even her small protective fire. Ember cleaned off very quickly and returned to her fire.

“Run!
For
the monsters of the night love a tasty girl
!
”
she scolded and then laughed. She pulled her doe skin shirt over her waist and laid back to
watch
the stars in the sky. The wind was warm and felt incredibly good as it lazily drifted over her bare skin. If only she could sleep like this every night,
she
thought as she slowly drifted into sleep. During the night, a warm breeze blew in, growing in humidity and strength as th
e night drew steadily forward.

The next morning, Ember awoke to a deep red sky and warm wind. With her fire having long ago died to a smoldering heap, she found the warm wind welcoming against her skin. Ember spent a short time simply stretching each limb in the warm wind. The feeling of her muscles being gently stretched always sent waves of pleasure through her body and left her in a much better mood for the day. After the blissful stretch, Ember sat up and
rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

The red sky was often an omen of a coming storm and Ember considered the wisdom of having challenged the Great River spirits the day before. Perhaps they would show her their power. That thought was unsettling to someone about to venture forth in a tiny dugout boat. Ember considered being a little more humble around the river and perhaps even giving the river a few offerings over the next few days. She decided to spend the day pondering these and other helpful activities as
she traversed the Great River.