Legends of Belariath

Sinja{Bara}

The Fate of a People

Prologue

Every day brought new signs of the terrible fate befalling her people. Sinja, now called Stalking Wolf, sat in her father's council as the elders discussed the atrocities that had been plaguing their peoples now for several months. Thousands of the plain's oxen that the people were dependent upon had been found slaughtered on the open grasslands. Swarms of flies and maggots rotting the now useless flesh, the animals destroyed for only the price their hide would bring in some foreign market, the skins of great value in far off towns. But with the dwindling numbers of oxen decreasing with every rise and fall of the Belarian suns, the tribe was facing a serious decision of having to leave the migration routes they had traveled for an unknown number of generations, passed down for as long as any of the eldest elders can remember. Along with the hunter’s desecration of the sacred beast that was the lifeline of the Sheykan tribe, the hunters now were making raids on the villages, burning teejas randomly and stealing valuable horses. The invaders were unlike anything the people had ever seen or heard of and no account in the people's spoken language could account for the race of beings that seemed to have suddenly swept from the far mountains, intent on destroying everything in their path.

So now they sat around the fire of her father's teeja, thoughts lifting slowly from the elders, as the business of the council was something that always tended to proceed without a rush, no matter the urgency of the crisis at hand. And so Shimok spoke softly, a wisp of smoke rising from his lips as he passed the sacred pipe that was passed always at such an occasion, and he spoke slowly, never hurrying his words or his thoughts, as was the custom of the people. And in the unhurried words that flowed from the elder's dark and leathery lips, a plan was slowly forming, settling in the minds of the other elder's as they nodded in agreement with the sagely Shaman. Rich violet eyes heavy with the sadness he felt for the changes his people would soon face, and even more worried for the future he had failed to see of recently. Now the suggestion he made was a wise one and the council agreed that it would be so.

The suggestion was that four warriors would be sent, two to go to the north and the south and two to go to the east and the west, and these warriors would seek a new home for the peoples, the Shantinok of the Plains Sheyka. And they would return to the tribe at the time of the Great Gathering, the gathering of all the tribes and all the clans of the Sheyka that happened every three cycles of nature's life. The next gathering was not for another cycle of the seasons plus two seasons, for now it was the season of snow and ice, and the gathering was always held in the season of sun and fire. So the tribe now discussed the warriors of the tribe that must go, and the Shaman, seeming to know the true fate of the tribe that was his own, suggested the strongest or the fastest. And so four warriors were chosen and commanded to leave the village in search of a new home, a serious quest of great honor and courage for the warriors chosen. And so there were celebrations and much showering of pride was placed upon the families of those selected for it was considered a great honor to be allowed to find a new home for the people. And so the four warriors were brought to the teeja of the Shaman: Stalking Wolf (sinja), for her speed and wisdom and the blood of the great chief, Shinok for his intelligence and knowledge of the ways of others, Tinkal, for his mastery of the bow and his swiftness, and Masirok, for his courage and prowess in the battlefield.

And so the four warriors set off in their particular directions: Stalking Wolf was sent to the North, Shinok to the South, Tinkal to the East and Masirok to the West. Each holding the vital purpose of finding a new home for the people's of the Shantinok tribe of the plains Sheyka. And amidst the tears and hugs, the fear and the excitement of the unknown future that lay before the people, the four young warriors bade their good-byes and rode out of the village on a search to preserve their tribe.

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