Language
We were three weeks into the discussions when Meical’s Father, who had been sitting in a chair at the side of the room for almost the entire time, during a bit of a lull where we had been discussing what we would eat, suddenly broke in:
"Shoonta!" and held up a chair.
Most of us had heard all of the stories about the various language learning sessions that the famous first Spearmen and colonists had gone through, and we all responded “Shoonta.”
For the next week we all did language learning. Meical’s Father had already taught his family, and they each took turns teaching in the assembly room. All other discussion stopped, by mutual accord, until we could continue it in our new language. I took the shift with Meical.
Everyone did really well. Really, really well. After the first few days, we were using words we had never learned. It was as if our brain was wrapping itself around this language.
But however well we were doing, Benedicta was doing better. She had not helped at all with the 'assembly' process; probably because, as a female, she was not really even supposed to be in the discussions and came only because I did. Indeed she, Seamus' wife, and Meical’s wife were the only women that ever came. And they never participated either. All of the women and children came to the language learning sessions, however, and she had obviously taken it as my 'will' that she learn the language, and so would stay up (as Spearmen can) for the first seventy-two hours of the new sessions. Then she would retire for about eight hours of sleep and awake to do it all over again.
Soon she was in a corner with other women, and they were discussing subjects that were way over my head, or, perhaps, beyond my ken.
We had only been in language learning for about three weeks when we suddenly noticed two things: a young Fishermen couple was missing, and strange loud sounds were coming from their apartment-- sounds like that of mountain lions arguing over the body of a deer.
We were all shocked. Somehow we had anticipated the first to transform would be Sean and his family. Even others, who with more wisdom, realized that it was much more difficult for an entire family than a young couple, had envisioned one of the more powerful and dynamic individuals going first. I think only Sean and Meical's Father were not caught by surprise. Probably because they had spent time discussing how everyone was doing. And of course, they had changed before.
It was two o'clock in the morning, and Meical and I were involved in a discussion, an argument almost, about whether it was a legitimate part of inventing a new culture to invent a new game to go along with it-- and whether a game that involved throwing rocks at each other was an appropriate training exercise for fighting Dragons, when they came in.
Crawling Forward
We almost didn't notice. Of course, that was the point. Low to the ground, wide based, padded paws, with fur of a dull grey; to say they 'slunk' in would be to describe a meaning to their actions which they didn't have, while describing the actions themselves perfectly.
And it wasn't as if they didn't call attention to themselves. Their first act in entering the room was to crawl up the nearest wall and, crawling along that, to the front of the room. The one creature crawled first, then paused, utterly still, while the other crawled over it and past it. Again they repeated this, until the first creature to enter stood, or clung, to the middle of the wall in the front of the room.
/Call the others,/ it said.
Meical and I were near the door, and we went racing down the hallway.
/Come, come,/ we whispered... in that commanding and urgent whisper that was our new language. /Come, come to the meeting room. Come now, you are called./
And come they did. Fathers, Mothers, children... without organization or pattern, they came together to the assembly hall. The tables had been pushed to the sides (the smallest children placed on them) and the rest had entered and sat (in the front) or stood (in the back) and stared at the creatures we were all to become.
And they stared at us. Motionless except for the slow lashing of the tail of the one at the side, their eyes stood on their heads so that they could look at us while pressed flat against the wall; flat as only the creature we had designed could do. Each eye proved that it could, as we had discussed, move independently. Eyes that caught and reacted to each new movement stared at all of us as we came in, until we all sat or stood, crammed in as never before, staring at them in utter silence.
/We have changed,/ said the one in front. /And we have come to show ourselves to you before going out on the mountain. We must leave soon, but we are here to answer some few questions that you may have./
Sean began, /You say that you must go out soon. Why?/
The tail on the one on the side lashed more furiously. The one in front said nothing for a minute and then, /Before you have changed, we cannot answer that question. Once you have changed, you will not need to ask it. All I can say is-- it is where we need to be right now./
Meical’s Father asked the next question, /What are your names?/
/We do not yet have names. When we come back, then we will have them. Much of what we have to do is not yet done. Until then... you may call me 'Adam', and her 'Eve'. We are, as yet, the only male and female of our race./
Only a Spearman would have asked the next question, /You say that your are male, and she is female, yet I can see no differences. How are we.../
The creature on the wall launched itself in a blinding flash across the room, and was, almost before we realized it had moved, clinging to the Spearman’s chest and cocking his head so their eyes met. /When you change, you will know. Until then, we know./
Spearmen have no concept of fear, so he couldn't have been afraid, no matter what it looked like. But they do understand dominance in combat. And the new creature’s claws had been, as it clung to his chest, on both sides of his neck... where one casual movement could practically have decapitated him. So he bowed in respect as the creature moved quietly back to the wall.
/Three questions. That is enough. We will return.../ he paused, / when we return./
And he and his wife, again in that odd way, crawled back out the door. I had the bizarre feeling that they would be crawling up the stairs from the ceiling. Sean went to the front of the room.
/Now we know./
And over the next few days we knew more and more. The young couples were virtually all first, although Sean's family changed a day before the last of them. Then the families started to change, including mine. I won’t describe the change as we went through it, I couldn’t. The pain of the last forty-eight hours we were together was incredible. When it seemed we could handle no more, my parents dismissed us to our rooms, and it got worse.
I awoke to the sound of mountain lions- except it no longer sounded like that to me. It was, instead, a comfortable sound, of protective adults. A sound to sleep to, not to listen to. So I went back to sleep, hardly glancing at my new body.
Island People
Island People is a young adult fantasy book centring on a young prince. The book starts with his kidnapping and follows his adventures as he not only escapes from his kidnapper but gains critical allies and friends.
The entire book is scheduled on Substack, and there are several sequels. This is a book I wrote years ago, so it is in a bit of a rough form. Critiques and comments are more than welcome, they are requested.
Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!
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Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von