Right of Passage: Chapter Three

Esheru was celebrating. Esheru was mourning. Wakyme and Moutai, Oruvashi's sire and mother, stayed away from society for six days, as was customary for families mourning the loss of a child. Their stone mansion, which was positioned close to the largest bubon mine in Esheru, was filled with sympathisers. Moutai was beside herself with grief, refusing to be comforted, wailing till her throat hurt and her eyes bulged. Her skin grew dry and her hair stiff. She refused to be bathed, fed or touched. Even after the six-day mourning period elapsed and she was expected to state how she wanted her daughter's memory to be honoured (since there was no body to bury), she ignored everyone, including her husband, who was trying his best to stand strong for the two children left. Oruvashi had two younger siblings, Mayame and Jatu, twin boys who had only seen five Night Suns and did not understand why their sister had not returned home. They cried for her every day, bombarding Wakyme with an endless stream of questions that he did not know how to answer. On the other side of the city, Feyni, Tzhu, and Nayeru were preparing for a journey to Shuvahala, the city's capital, where the royal family of Esheru resided. Children who survived the Journey of the Waking were summoned by the king afterwards to state how they wanted to serve the planet. Esheru was a society of many crafts, all carefully curated to sustain the cycle of tala. They were expected to serve Zawela with any craft they chose, and if one grew dissatisfied, they would have to return to the king after two Night Suns to be granted permission to change crafts. The children tried to rejoice, but the horror of watching Oruvashi die was still fresh. Feyni lost his sleep, Tzhu would not stop crying, and Nayeru grew angry. A day before they were to go to Shuvahala, Feyni sent word to Tzhu and Nayeru by way of teve, an instrument carved from bubon pearls in an intricate shell-like shape with a seal. To send a message, the sender would speak into the shell and seal it. The shell would be delivered through the teve courier to its recipient, who would unseal it, release the sender's voice, and hear the message. After listening to Feyni's message, Tzhu and Nayeru rushed out of their homes and went to his. Feyni's sire served under Wakyme as a forger. He was in charge of the forgery of special shields for the Tlatdons, the king's army. Bubon pearls occurred in a variety of colours, weights, and strengths. If it was dark, thick, and heavy, it was set aside for weapons, buildings, and heavy machinery. Feyni was testing a spear in his sire's home forge when a dooj brought Nayeru and Tzhu to him. "You have visitors, master." Feyni nodded and waved them over. He waited for the dooj to leave before speaking. "Tell me what you thought of my message." "I think you are insane. Have you mentioned this to your sire?" Nayeru said. "Only to both of you. If I tell him, he will insist I become a spirit guide," Feyni said and wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thought. "There is honour in joining the spirit guides, Feyni. Why do you speak of it with disdain?" Tzhu asked. "Because I want to be a Tlatdon. I want to fight, not read tala and talk to dead people," Feyni spat. Tzhu walked over to him and smacked him upside the head. "I swear by the gods, Feyni! Your mouth will bring you shame if you do not control it!" Feyni grabbed her arm, annoyed. Nayeru moved closer. "Unhand her, or I'll break that arm," he warned. Feyni smiled and released her arm. "Chivalrous. She still won't marry you. Your tala will not satisfy her." Nayeru looked away, a neon flush lighting up his green face. "Don't be stupid. His tala is strong, and he'd make a good husband. You, on the other hand... I'm not sure," Tzhu said. Nayeru opened his mouth to speak, and she waved a hand to silence him, still glaring at Feyni. "You said you were visited by a haan. What did it tell you?" Haans were special spirits, servants of the gods who delivered messages to people through dreams. Feyni frowned. "It said that our sires would arrange for us to travel to Shuvahala together, and on the way, our caravan will be attacked, and we will be taken... by Naru-Kai. It said to follow them." "I was right. You are insane. Perhaps you took a whiff of jaan before you slept." Nayeru said. "This is not a joke, Nayeru!" Feyni spat. "It has to be, because we all know the Naru-Kai don't exceed the boundaries of the forest. They are creatures of the forest, not of society!" Nayeru argued. "So you are saying the haan is lying?" Nayeru opened his mouth to respond and thought better of it. Tzhu looked exhausted and ran a hand through her thick curls. "Look, if the haan really told you this, then it will happen. The question is... do we report this, or do we wait to see if it will actually happen? I cannot conceive being abducted by... let's just... I am confused." "I say we wait and see if it will really happen," Feyni said. They went silent for a moment, then Nayeru spoke. "And if it happens? If they do come for us...?" Feyni raised his head defiantly. "We go with them." And so it happened the next day, that as the caravan of three Budderbeasts, saddled with tents that housed the children and surrounded by fighter doojs, made their way to Shuvalaha, they walked right into a swarm of Naru-Kai. In minutes, the bodies of the fighter doojs lay dismembered in the sand. The creatures met no resistance as they climbed up the beasts (a shocking sight, as it was believed that the Naru-Kai were creatures that favoured the ground and did not climb), tore through the tents, captured the frightened children, and disappeared into clouds of dust, leaving three Budderbeasts to run back into the city in a frenzy.