The Mermuring Maiden, page 23
The medicine man stood up in shock. Someone was watching him. He could feel it. His heart started to rapidly beat. He looked in every direction, even up in the trees to see if there were any signs of an intruder, but the forest was still. How could he belch up a solid but spit out a liquid? He knew whoever was trying to scare him was also afraid of him so he relaxed and got back on the path toward home.
When he finally made it through the gate he collapsed on the ground and turned onto his back. He reached his arms and legs out as far as he could. He needed the earth’s energy now. He dug his hands into the soil and stared directly into the setting sun. As he aligned himself with nature he made a vow. “I will erase those beings who have polluted the land. I will restore our people to their natural pure state. I will strengthen the earth so it never needs to crack open again. This I promise you, dearest Amma. For I am king now!” he quietly said. And then the man rolled over and crawled into his granary.
As he entered his lodge he circled eight times to the left and then eight times to the right. The knees of his pants were filthy and caked with red dirt. He pulled his legs toward him and brushed off as much soil as he could, before removing his pants altogether. He sat bare bottomed on the earthen floor. Next, he took off his shirt and sighed. He knew what he had to do but he didn’t have the strength to do it. The medicine man had to make a sacrifice and no chicken or any other animal but he would do.
The medicine man rose to standing and lit the lamp in the eastern quadrant of his lodge. He then went to the western corner and washed himself with spring water. Next he went south and lit some Wenge incense and then he faced north and blew twenty-two sharp tones into the ceremonial flute he had made from the breastbone of an eagle, and a strong gale came through the cracks in the wall extinguishing the candles and the lamp. All became quiet. “It is time,” he said.
The shaman lifted his arm toward the sky with his fingers outstretched revealing his wide-open palm. He took a sharpened tooth from his medicine bag and sliced open his raised left hand at the base of the index finger. He dropped the tooth and quickly drew a square into the earth as he made a fist with his left hand. He slowly brought down his arm and pointed into the center of the square, and he let the blood run down his finger until it made a perfect red spot. “Dearest ancestor, I am Temne. Wash the beasts from our lands. Burn our enemies in the fire and mark those traitors to our cause. Restore the primordial flow of life so the First Being may take dominion of this earth! So it will be, for it is as it should be!”
The medicine man fell to his knees in front of the smeared diagram of symbols the orange lizard had given him. It was exactly the same pattern as the blisters on the Herb-Woman’s chest. There were eight symbols that spiraled like a conch shell and they rose like a ladder into nothingness. They were an abstraction of the strange bone reading. In fact, the strange symbols were now appearing everywhere. Why had he not seen this before? He began to chant. His voice was so steady and gentle that the sound blended perfectly with the stream that ran the length of his farm.
“Ahm ma ka mer ka ba ba am ma ka mer ka ba ba am ma ka mer ka ba . . .” he droned. And he continued chanting well into the night. When he stopped, he opened his eyes and saw a pool of water surrounding him. It was already three inches deep and it covered the entire floor of the granary. “The vision!” he screamed.
The medicine man grabbed a piece of charcoal he used to cleanse the colon and began drawing the symbols on the walls of the lodge. Frantically sloshing through the water he managed to recreate four of the symbols before they were washed away and disappeared into the mud. The small piece of charred wood was worn down to a nub. He had to save the rest of the vision exactly as the lizard had presented it to him otherwise he knew his judgment would taint the pure message.
He began pouring out the contents of every jar in the room so he could place the empty containers over the bean diagrams but it did not work. The beans simply floated inside the glass like little aquariums. He cursed his guides and whoever was trying to destroy his world, as he knew it only yesterday. He had to rebuild Frill Lebo’s directions of how to cleanse the watery evil from Librebe. He knew this. He felt it in his bones. His bones!
The medicine man quickly gathered his divining tools from the earth and placed them high up in the dry corners of the granary. His heart was pounding. He had to calm himself. He grabbed a handful of poppy seeds and slowly chewed them until he eyes focused on what was, not what had been only seconds ago.
It was a mess. It was total chaos. The oracle had begun. All was upside down and spilled on the ground. All his medicine was poured out on the table and mixed together. The flowers and herbs were now moist and beginning to mold, and his little drum from his first ancestor was floating like flotsam in the muddy water. It circled creating an eddy-like effect, making him dizzy or maybe it was the poppy seeds making him feel ill all over again.
The Man-of-Medicine began to laugh a hysterical cruel guffaw. “Do you think you can scare me!” he screamed to no one and everyone. “I am Temne! I accept your challenge. I am king here!” Then the shaman began to chant the numbers that held the world together and the water began to recede. He mumbled them so fast it was indiscernible in any language.
“Onesixninefoursixeighttenzerozerooneoneeleventwentytwoeight
nine . . .” he recited at break-neck speed and he continued reciting them over and over again. He demanded his mind to stay clear and not question why this was happening, but like the myriad of numbers he spoke, a million questions entered his mind. Then it stopped. The poppy had worked its magic. Now the shaman felt peace. He looked around his medicine lodge and saw the pattern forming. “Things have changed, my friend,” he quietly said to himself.
The man did not need a vision or premonition or omen or even a summoning to tell him what he must do. The earth had called on him to do what he must. It was not the watery spirit of the Nummo he was to avenge. He was to correct the imbalance Amma herself had created. The children had simply been the messengers. Why had he not seen that? Those little ones the queen defined as “of no one’s womb”, were indeed someone’s children. They were as elemental to their story as he was to his own. They were here. They had been created and found their way here. They were not evil to be eliminated from the village. They were the elements that would make the village stronger. They were challenging him to become that which he was meant to be.
The Man-of-Medicine knew there was no right or wrong in nature. The lizard ate the fly and the snake ate the lizard and the eagle was the predator of the snake and it went on and on until fire itself purified it all. “Or water,” he thought. Yes! This was an elemental story. This was a fight to the end for the love of Amma herself. If he was to save this earth, his home Librebe, he had to correct the creation of it. He had to avenge its first inhabitant, his true first ancestor. He had to avenge the jackal!
BOOK III
FIRE ~ DIRT ~ SEA ~ BREATH
Chapter One
“Listen! Listen . . . listen. I know you are excited and a little frightened too, however let’s simply listen to the message again before imagining its meaning,” said Manulir.
The mob of anxious mermen calmed a bit however their dorsal fins still twitched and trembled, agitating the water around them.
“Its okay, my friend, I’ll take over from here,” said Sedina’s father upon entering.
The Mer-king floated to the right side of the Mrage and began centering himself for a conversation he was not ready to have.
Manulir hid his annoyance of being interrupted by the king but his disappointment of not seeing his queen was obvious, and it did not go unnoticed. “Thank you, Mer-grace,” he replied before floating back among the coral behind the consul table.
The Mer-king was tired. He felt like he was being drained of his life force. The message clearly stated his granddaughter, a child he had not known existed until just moments ago, was being preyed upon by two-legged mammals. Why was all the feminine energy he loved most being stolen away from him, one mer-one by mer-woman? “I agree with our wise sage,” said the Mer-king. Let us all listen to the new species’ message again.”
As the school settled, Manulir guided the gelatinous orb toward the spinning vortex and with amazing care he placed it into the eddy. The jelly-like blob slowly slid into the spiraling waters. Then it separated like the white of an egg from its yoke. When the law of gravity completed its task and released the albumen-esque message from its silvery container, a gentle Boom was heard and the message began.
Oh my, dear mer-ones, of the sea
I have been asked to appeal to thee.
Your lost mer-one, Sedina, travels nearby
Accompanied by a seahorse, far and wide.
She needs your help to save her innocent mer-baby
Who lives with her father upon land in Librebe.
The earthen ones are not fond of the mer-girl
For she was born of water and not of their world.
The love of their prince for a mermaid made illegally
Inspires hatred and it is spreading well into the sea.
Fueled by the first mammal created from vapor and earth.
This jackal wishes vengeance for his disgruntled birth.
But in three days your Sedina will come back to thee
And together you must save her daughter, Mianshe.
“A daughter with a Hu-man!” toned someone from the school.
“But Sedina is of pure lineage,” muttered another and aloud.
“Please, I hear your concerns,” said the even-tempered Mer-king. “May I hear the message again,” he asked?
The entire school listened to the message over and over again. The Mer-king submersed himself so profoundly into its sound that the crowd finally subdued their anxious toning. On the eighth time of playing the humpback-dolphins’ message, the Mer-king had an epiphany. “Eight,” he said with awareness.
“Yes, eight,” said Manulir in agreement although he was unaware of what he was agreeing to.
“If the message is on point, my family, we have three days before Sedina returns. So let’s try to be as prepared as possible for what is to come. Now I bid you all get some rest and if perchance your dreams illuminate something in the message, please include me.”
The Mer-king signaled Manulir to follow him and the two majestic mermen darted out of the hall toward the king’s private cavern. As they swam by, a strange silence surrounded the crowd until their water’s wake no longer rippled around them.
“So much opposition,” sighed the Mer-king.
“Yes, binary,” inferred the Mrage. “Land and earth, fish and Hu-man, jackal and mermaid. It’s the jackal reference that baffles me most. Why would a jackal desire a mermaid? Are they not land scavenger creatures?” asked Manulir.
As the Mer-king and Manulir settled into a bed of soft algae, a young mermaid attendant entered with conch shells filled with water hyacinth tea. The Mer-king took a sip and toned a compliment before continuing his conversation with the wise merman.
“I have no idea of the habits of a jackal or of two-legged men for that matter even though I have inherited half their genetic ladder. Sad isn’t it. So, my wise friend, maybe we should familiarize ourselves with their culture,” said a solemn Mer-king.
“I could not agree with you more, my heart,” said the Mer-queen upon entering. “It seems our granddaughter hails partly from a small country off the Lumerian waters called Librebe. They are an ancient culture with Amman roots. Their creator nurtures balance between the genders.”
“And their creation myth?” asked Manulir. He was excited to see his queen. He wished he had left a space for her to finish her thought before introducing his question, but he had to ask just then. He had to look into her eyes and he had to do it immediately. It was nothing he could control. The best he could do was to keep his thoughts of love as pure as possible.
The Mer-king bristled at the sage’s tone. No matter how equable the question he still felt its arrogance. No one’s creation was myth! “Ah, my friend, you are either here or not. There is no myth to it,” said the Mer-king. The king didn’t understand his need to point out the obvious to Manulir, but when the auric field of the waters surrounding the sage merged with his queen’s when their eyes met, the Mer-king understood all too well and it made his point all the more valid.
“So my love, they honor balance. This is good given our granddaughter is half them and half her mother,” stated the Mer-king.
“But their creator Amma’s first creation was born out of balance. She bore a solitary jackal,” the Mer-queen quietly stated.
“The jackal, is that not a dog? I was under the assumption dogs were Hu-men’s most loyal fans,” said Manulir.
“But dogs are pack animals, my friend, and this one was alone,” said the Mer-king.
“Thus he masturbated using the earth, his mother as his passage,” said the Mer-queen. Her dorsal shuddered at the reality of her last thought.
“And?” asked the Mer-king.
“Chaos,” answered the Mer-queen.
“Why?” pondered Manulir.
“To begin the spiritual journey,” said the Mer-king finishing everyone’s thoughts.
“So, in summary, we have a misanthropic male dog from Hu with abandonment issues who wishes to avenge his Mother’s creation, thus himself, so he can return to his father, his source?” asked and incredulous Manulir.
“Yes,” the Mer-king sadly said.
“Incredible,” the Mer-queen quietly replied.
“Who is the father,” asked the Mer-king.
“It is not clear being that Amma was both male and female. Amma’s second attempt at creating outside of itself was the Nummo spirits and for some reason they sound very familiar to me. They too have both male and female capabilities and can birth forms into matter singularly, each by itself. They are watery and use vibration and sound to create. Their moisture made the land regions green like it is today.” Then the Mer-queen became silent.
“So we have an orphaned dog with a carnivorous nature but with no other animals to feed it nor another of his kind to procreate with. Ahh, charming,” said Manulir.
“With a grudge against his siblings who are exactly in their creator’s image—both being male and female entities, watery and fluid, with the secret of changing vibration into matter. Most interesting,” said the Mer-king.
“And your granddaughter, my king, is watery in nature and has the ability to speak loving truth and could inherit her father’s kingdom, given her status in birth,” and then Manulir stopped speaking.
“Yes,” said the Mer-queen. “My granddaughter is in a great deal of danger.”
The Mer-king’s head was splitting. Everything was. His school was not content about taking on the burden of a stray princess who had shown no attention to one of their own and those that wished to be of service, did so blindly, or to gain the attention of the royal line. The Mer-king’s head ached. He had no idea if his daughter left of her own accord. He used to believe she was jetted away by a strong current or possibly eaten by a blue whale. He had just made peace with those
answers but his daughter would be home soon to answer the question herself.
The Mer-king’s head truly hurt and it continued to throb. Why? This was not the time to address that. There were more important issues to deal with, like the anomalies going on around them. The toxic waters were splitting their DNA. It had already created humpback-dolphins. A jackal wanted to devour his granddaughter and create a new discordant movement on land against the sea. Nehtoon’s heart was breaking for his family. His poor unknown granddaughter would be torn apart by having to choose an allegiance to her mother or to her father. It was an unnatural choice for any child. It would create division and malice between Hu-men and peace seeking Merfolk. His soul was being shattered because all this had to matter more than the merman standing beside him holding the hand of his beloved.
“First we must arrange a celebration for our daughter’s return, something comforting and humble in nature. No fanfare or ostentatious displays, this must feel soothing. Familiarity is what she needs now. She needs her family,” said the Mer-king.
The Mer-queen looked at her mate with admiration. He was a most remarkable merman. A true king almost god-like in his desire for truth and love in all he did. There were times all she wanted to do was to listen to him tone. He brought understanding and consolation to even the water surrounding him. She adored her king.
“Yes, my daughter has never been fond of public recognition. She is a stargazer,” said the Mer-queen. Then the queen remembered her last conversation with her daughter and her gracious smile flat-lined. The memory rose up in her, chilling her down to her bones. “Oh my!” exclaimed the Mer-queen.
The Mer-king and the wise merman quickly swerved and faced their queen.
“The day before we left for the Sacred Ceremony she asked me about a prophecy. She asked me how something that had been created could disappear and exist no more. I did not take the question seriously,” cried the Mer-queen.
“What prophecy,” asked the Mer-king? “We need to speak with the one who had this premonition.”
“Yes, of course,” said the Mer-queen. “Upon her return, I will ask her at the appropriate time.”
