What Spirits Know- from the memories of Ysbry

Raven by Kaelycea
http://meadowsweetsage.deviantart.com/favourites/#/d36v6ry

"There is a fire burning . Not here, but in the spirit lands. The birds bring the 'fire in the head'. I must go..."

This was years ago, but it is well remembered by the Black Paw Tribesmen. As long as they had known, their shaman was their own, whose duties were solely to the two hundred or so active tribesmen, and left the pursuits of the primal spirits to the heroics-those who had something to prove. Those who lived on adventure. None from the recent generations understood those duties only the shamans held. Perhaps they weren't meant to understand everything.

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"Bright morning Mama! Wake up Ysbry! Bright morning Wadi!" Yowyn said as he hastily put on trousers at the crack of dawn. Wadi, their mother's pet pine marten, yawned sleepily and hopped out of the small caribou skin yurt. He would most likely be back in a half hour gorged on starling eggs, and dragging back a rabbit for the family to eat later. Ysbry moaned his discontent as he shrugged off his favorite woolen blanket and began to dress for the day.

Their mother was already outside the yurt, boiling water for the morning tea that she and the other women drank communally. She, her sister, and the other widows always drank first, then the married wives, then the single girls. The men checked the storage tents, counted the heads of cattle, and scrounged up any local fruits for breakfast. It was nearly the height of summer, and the trail this year had been good. Two babes had been born, and there was no struggle to feed the extra heads. It was a joyous time for most, certainly hard work still filled their days, but times were going well. Only Wenna the shaman, and tribal leader was not smiling that morning.

After a few sips of her tea, she addressed everyone weakly "Children, help your parents with any chores they need, I cannot teach you your lessons until later in the afternoon.... Chuvi, do not roam far with the ewes today, And Danu, keep your archers aware for me, watch the skies today everyone...I must rest this morning." Most continued to go about their business; most but Yowyn. The young boy let out an exaggerated sigh, hoping for more lessons that day. Ysbry was just glad his mother allowed him to cut and gather wood rather than sew skins or do some other task that required sitting for long periods of time fiddling with bone needles, or drying herbs, or the smelly dyes for clothes. Their mother knew something was worrisome about her sister, but had her own tasks to do--had to pull her own weight, so asking after her would have to wait.

Eventually, Wenna threw open the white door to her yurt, and the small handful of children made their way to her tent for lessons: some sooner, others later. Yowyn had run to his favorite spot so quickly he tumbled to the ground and hit his head against Wenna's kettle. The other children laughed, and later, in mirror image, Ysbry also ran and tumbled into the tent...but he did so because he had missed her signal and was running late. When the giggles had subsided, Wenna sat opposite of the half moon the children formed into naturally. "Today's lesson is not about nature's beasts or plants, nor numbers or tribal history. Today I am going to tell you a story..." Wenna paused, a grimace of pain on her face.

"\\Stop it.\\"
Wenna whispered under her breath. At least, that's what Ysbry and Yowyn had understood it to mean, the other children merely heard a smoldering hiss like a fire being put out. It was primordial, the language of the sprirts, of the elements. Ysbry and Yowyn were "learning" the language from their mother, as much as it can be taught. The ability to speak to elementals and spirits had always run in that particular family line, and the boys were taken aback by this seemingly random usage. They both, however, knew better than to speak out of turn.

"Every being and organism that has lived on this planet is possessed of some level of spirit. Those that proliferate, or do well and make many, go on to eventually shape the spiritual landscape. What happens then?" she asked her students in review before her story. Yowyn shot up into a standing position, so excited was he to answer. " The spirits of the living things move on into death as they are supposed to do, but some stay to represent the living, and become archetypes of the living things. The fastest rabbit alive might become Great Rabbit, the spirit of those things which are hunted. And we can pray to Great Rabbit when we need to be fast. Oh yeah! And the spirits mirror the things that are alive, so when the primal spirits and elementals are gone, so are the elements and the living things! " Yowyn said incredibly proud.

"Very good nephew, that is a very rich understanding. Now, I'm going to tell you about how one of the local great spirits came to be here. Who amongst you knows the name Hyfanfah?" Wenna went on, a natural educator. Dimu, a young boy with a snaggle-tooth piped up "Papa curses Hyfanfah's name when it rains early in the mountains, and when the edges of the meat turns green and smells like farts!" The children laughed and when they settled again Wenna continued.

"Hyfanfah is the name of Great Crow. One of many Great Crows, as you understand, but here her name is Hyfanfah. She has been around since the time when the earth's bones were not yet sturdy. When man, and plant, and animal, and element sometimes flowed together. There was a great giant who roamed the lands. Some say his name was Yolo..." "Like the mountains!" interrupted a plaited haired girl. "...Yes, Annai, please listen. Yolo was so great in size that many places, though chaotic, knew peace, because they feared his wrath. A tribe of wolf-men, elves, who knows exactly, but one tribe offered up their tribal princess as a wife to Yolo. Whatever she was, she was very beautiful, and her name was Hyfa. Hyfa and Yolo lived together in happiness for some years, but overtime, she fell in love with a hunter from another land. Not knowing the peace Yolo brought the people, he assumed Hyfa was a sacrifice, and to save her, he brought war against the giant. His people flooded to this land from his, but they were no match for the giant. He slaughtered them endlessly. Their bodies lay covering the valleys and forests, the creatures ate well for s time, but many plants choked and bodies rotted. The land was riddled with the dead and was growing sick. Hyfah had loved the hunter, but loved her husband, her land, and her people more. She used the changing tides of the world to become a great cluster of birds. And with her many black bodies she devoured the dead...the rot...the old and disgusting, to save her land and people. The crows cleaned up the lands, but Hyfah would not go back to her old life. She had found freedom as the crows, and stayed that way. She would fly high to be with her giant lover, and come to ground to feed on the decaying things when no other animal can. Eventually, she became Hyfanfah, the Great Crow, and that is how crows came to this land. And when she was only spirit and no longer living, Yolo too, gave up his life. He laid down, never to rise again. The crows ate his body until he was only bone, and his teeth became these mountains."

"That's so sad, but she was so brave, and she loved this land so much... are we really living in teeth? And..." trailed off Annai, as the other students noticed the pain on Wenna's face when she finished the story. One very young child ran from the tent to seek help, but mostly comfort. Wenna whispered under her breath again "\\Come here, please\\" she said in the language of rocks falling, fires burning, and winds moving silently through night. Her spirit companion appeared in the tent, a she-bear on her hind legs, standing eight feet tall. This surprised the older children, and frightened the younger. The three eldest boys recognized their most venerated spirt. Nunyinini was there to help Wenna, though the boys didn't know how, or what was really happening. They merely stared in awe. Finally, Danu came into the tent, holding his little one. "The skies have been bird-less all day, it's been unnerving, are we under attack? Is this why you've called upon the Great Mother?" he said catching his breath.

"There is a fire burning . Not here, but in the spirit lands. The spirit birds bring me the 'fire in the head'. I must go..."

"We'll go set up however many warriors you need, we'll do whatev--" began Danu, but Wenna screamed at him, and Nunyinini roared simultaneously" No! This is something only I can do, only shamans and druids can do! Your greatest seekers and wardens only use the spirits, but I KNOW them! I know what spirits know! And right now, I must go where I am needed! I will send someone to take my place while away, already the spirits send word to the Bright Eyes. Now go back to your business, and answer any questions your children will have tonight honestly. Do not make sweet the hard stories. They must learn the way of things."

And in a tizzy of frantic moments, Wenna had left, and the people had gathered to figure out what was going on. So many were outraged. Most were confused, and some felt outright abandoned. Yowyn and Ysbry stayed in Wenna's tent with their friend Dimu. "I can't wait to grow up, and know what she knows. I want to know what spirits know." said Yowyn after a very long time. "Seems scary, it must be tough, when the spirits need you, and so do we. I wouldn't want that, I just want to follow the ram through the mountains like my father does. It seems like the spirits were hurting her..." said Dimu, trying to take in all that had conspired that afternoon. "Fire in the head." Ysbry said to no one, "I wonder what could make you feel like that? The spirits never make me feel..." he trailed off, the boys sat in silence until their parents collected them, fed them, and they finally slept.


Many miles traveled, and more than two months later, Wenna sauntered wearily towards the web of yurts and tents she recognizes as belonging to her tribe. She looked weary and thin. She was battle-scarred, but glad to be amongst familiar faces. Some were ecstatic she was back, like Yowyn, others were unsure if they were prepared to welcome her back at all. Puila, a druid shifter from the Bright Eyes tribe had taken Wenna's position temporarily. The two discussed for three days all that had happened, and then Puila left. And that was the last time anyone spoke of Wenna's leaving in public. Only Yowyn knows more than the rest of the clan.
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Years later, the memories are still just as vivid in his mind as ever. Ysbry often recalls this time when he hears other races of man speaking primordial (as oppose to the elementals and spirits). And right now, he's lost in these thoughts, whilst trying to listen to the conversation being had...