Endless Desert (2)

The person who had left went to report to his tribe. The man looked very different from those from Middle Kingdom. He was bare chested and his skin was a dark brown, colored from years under the sun. He had long black hair that was braided down his back. Around his neck hung a decorative necklace which held the poisonous fangs of various animals he had hunted and killed throughout his young life, marking him as a warrior. The necklace was his pride as a warrior. Each warrior had one and wore it with honor. The more experience warriors had their clothing decorated with the fangs and gifted their wives with some jewelry made from their trophies. Each fang held in it the deadly poison of the animal, and doubled as a weapon.

The young man rushing back to the tribe had a necklace full of the fangs, show casing how skilled of a warrior he was despite his young age.

He went past the tents that held families, and ignored the people moving about handling their daily tasks. When he passed a group of young girls gathering water, they all blushed as they admired the young man. For them, he was an excellent target to be a husband. He was young, handsome, and powerful. In the future there was a good chance that he would become the chief of the tribe.

He didn't look at the girls and their admiring glances, instead he went straight to the largest tent in the tribe. The tent where all meetings and rituals were held.

When he entered, he got down on his knee and bowed his head. In front of him sat a middle-aged man with a long beard that hung to the middle of his chest. His hair was spread out over his shoulders and a young woman was brushing it for him. When he saw the young man entered, he waved the woman to leave. After the woman left, he looked at the young man and spoke, "Why have you returned Adom?"

Having been called the young man, Adom, looked up, "Great Chief a small group of strangers are coming."

Hearing this the chief stroked his beard and ponder [could these people be the ones?]. Putting his thoughts aside he ordered, "Adom invite the Shaman."

Adom got on his knee to bow again and then left to carry out the order.

Hmmm it looked like things would be getting interesting.

Adom went to a tent that was separated far from the rest. It stood sad and alone. No approached it or the area around it. The person who was lived segregated from the rest of the tribe was the most respected person in the tribe, even the chief would have to give them the same respect he would show his ancestors.

The shaman was the most mystical person in the tribe. They were the doctors and prophets, experts in reading the stars and leading the tribe to bountiful land and away from danger. The chief was the strongest person in the tribe, who could protect them and lead them to war.

Everyone stayed away from the shaman. They didn't dare to disturb him, unsure how exactly his mysterious powers worked.

When Adom entered the shaman was sitting in front of a small pot, mixing herbs for some medicine. Adom once again bowed and showed the shaman the same respect as he did the chief.

"Just wait a moment young warrior. I will leave with you soon." The shaman continued his concoction and Adom stayed on his knee and waited.

"Alright, now we can go see the chief," the shaman said pleasantly.

As the shaman and Adom walked through the village, everyone stopped and stared. It was said that the shaman had looked like all of them when he was born, but after a year old he was called upon by the great god to inherit the mantle of a mystic man.

After turning one, the infant's hair turned bright red and his veins black. If he was wounded and anyone touched his blood, they would find that where the blood touched their skin would begin to corrode. No bandages would be able to hold up either, the person who would be able to handle and treat him was the current shaman. When the parents saw the changes in their child, they had to give him up.

He was given to the old shaman to raise, and became the apprentice. The life of a shaman was lonely. Their blood was so deadly that they couldn't have families of their own, so their only family would be their adopted apprentice, and before their apprentice was born all they could do was wait.

The current shaman had no apprentice, and his master had passed away nearly twenty years ago. All this time he had been alone, waiting.

The villagers were not used to seeing the shaman. Usually it was the chief that would go and speak to him privately. He was so different people couldn't look away when they saw him.

A small child stared at the shaman curiously and approached him, wanting to touch his flame like hair. But before the child could his mother ran up and pulled the child away, in fear that her baby could get hurt. She bowed and apologized to the shaman before moving away.

The shaman smiled sadly in understanding. All of the villagers respected him, but they feared him too.

When they entered the tent and saw the chief, the chief bowed in greeting to the shaman and had him sit in a place of honor. Adom stood off to the side quietly as he was not yet of enough importance to be able to speak in their meetings.

"Young Adom has brought news. A small party of strangers are approaching. Are they the ones you spoke of?" the chief asked with intensity.

The shaman didn't answer the chief's inquiry straight away. Instead he sat peacefully and waited for the excited chief to calm down.

"You should send tribesmen to direct them to the village," was all the shaman responded with.

The chief took this as acknowledgment, and powerfully banged both of his fists on the table in front of him. "Alright!" the chief announced enthusiastically, "Adom go gather a group of warriors and see that the strangers make it here…Oh, and when thy arrive they should be alive."

Adom bowed and took the orders and left. The chief hadn't been this excited in a long time. Hopefully these were the people they had been waiting for…if not…murderous thought started to intrude into the chief's head and blood lust clouded around him.

The shaman sat calmly by his side and just wanted to know when some tea would be served, he was very thirsty from all of his work today.