The New World (The Last Delar) (23 page)

Akelou looks around him but sees only foliage.  Staring at the trees, he takes a step closer and makes out two large eyes staring down at him.  He sees the creature with its long legs gripping the tree and a dart blower pressed to its lips.  The Pokwa, realizing it has been spotted, leaps from the treetop.  It lands with a splash.  The horses become restless and start kicking around in the muddy water.  The Pokwa puts its dart blower away and grabs a weapon from its back.  It is a staff with a large stone tied to it with Pokwa rope.  Akelou has never seen a creature like this.  It resembles a common tree frog but stands taller than a man. His skin is a dark muddy color with large stripes, and he wears body armor made from the bark of trees.  On his face there are three thin markings carved into his skin.

Leotie has taken a defensive position behind Mia-Koda with her bow drawn.  Tib stands on Leotie's horse with his fists clenched, ready for a fight.

"You can tell the other Pokwa guards they can lower their dart blowers . . . we come to aid the Pokwa, not to harm you."

The Pokwa croaks and stomps its feet at Mia-Koda.

"I was summoned from a scroll by King Theopa.  We came as soon as we were able."

The Pokwa swings its weapon and inflates its large throat, making a vibrating sound that disturbs the water around it.  Akelou hears other Pokwa leaping from the trees overhead.  They land in blurs, showering Akelou and his companions in muddy water.  The horses become frantic and throw Tib from their back.  He lands on the ground and sinks into the mud.  Struggling to free himself, he screams, flailing his arms and legs to stay above the water. Mia-Koda rolls her eyes and helps Tib up from the mud.  The Pokwa guards surrounds them, brandishing their weapons and communicating to each other in their language.

"Let them pass, Doa, she is friend to the Pokwa-she was a friend to my father." The circle opens, and a very large, battle-worn Pokwa walks through.  His armor is greater and finer than the others.  His helmet is covered with large teeth, and a strange symbol is carved on it, similar to Akelou's necklace. When this large Pokwa mentions the death of his father, all the Pokwa fill their throats with air and bellow.

"You must be Oboe, son of Obe.  I knew your taken father well.  He was a great warrior and leader of the Pokwa.  I hope your family is healthy and your mate strong," Mia-Koda says and she bows to the Pokwa.  "We have traveled with speed by means I will not explain.  I have read the scrolls written by your king.  We have come to the aid of the Pokwa and seek to hold a council with the court.  This is Leotie, a fierce warrior and skilled tracker." Leotie lowers her bow and bows to the Pokwa.  "This is Akelou, adopted son of the Meno farmer Dirty Hands and nephew to Black Claw, who was known to the Pokwa."

Oboe looks at Akelou, "I mourned the loss of the Menoli warriors killed by the cursed beast that now plagues us.  I led a small war party to aid the fallen city, but we arrived too late.  Come, Mia-Koda . . . we leave for the city.  You will be safe while you are under the protection of our guard."

They follow Oboe deep into the swamp and Akelou watches the Pokwa walk awkwardly in the shallows but once they are in the deep mud they move with great agility.  Leotie and Akelou struggle to wade through the swamps, tirelessly defending themselves from the many biting and pestering insects.  This is the land of the Pokwa and they are well suited to survive here were most creatures could not. The Pokwa wait for the hordes of insects to come, engulfing them by jumping through the swarms with their gaping mouths. The Pokwa keep circling the swarm, trapping the school of insects into a tight ball. When they are done only a few bugs are left.

  "How is Theopa dealing with the kidnapping of his daughter?" Mia-Koda asks Oboe.

"Like any parent whose son or daughter has been kidnapped.  He is filled with rage, and no Pokwa sleeps soundly until his taken daughter is returned.  The guard is tense, and the armory is busy carving darts and shaping weapons." He holds out his large hands, "Wait here as I talk to the inner guard who will tell others of our coming."

Oboe crouches down and leaps high onto a nearby tree.

"What do they mean by 'taken' daughter Mia-Koda?" Leotie asks.

"Well, their young are sent away to survive alone in the swamps after they hatch.  The Pokwa eggs are fertilized randomly by males who have earned breeding rights.  When the talepoles return from the open swamps, they are adopted into families.  After they are adopted, the young Pokwa are treated as if the same blood runs through their veins.  It is why the bond between the generations is so strong."

Akelou thinks to himself how wonderful a system this is.  He wishes he had lived here as a child where he would not have been ridiculed for being different.  Oboe lands beside Mia-Koda, splashing Akelou and Leotie and stirring the horses, which toss Tib from their back.  He splashes mud and shakes his fists at the Pokwa.  "Come . . . we are close now.  The king will be waiting for us," says Oboe.

They come to the city and begin to see the half submerged mud homes of the Pokwa.  Eyes pop out of small openings as they walk to the muddy home of the king.  Younglings jump in and out of the water wrestling with each other.  Their bright skin makes them easy to see against the dull colors of the swamp.  The thinner and taller Pokwa females chase after their young.  On their arms and wrists they wear jewelry made from bone and local stones.  These bracelets and necklaces define their marital and social status within the city.

A crowd begins to gather around the visitors.  Akelou can feel their stares of distrust, and he is reminded of when he first came to the Enopay. But at least the Pokwa are not throwing stones at him. The males and a few female Pokwa rise from their huts with weapons in hand, responding to the commotion outside.  Akelou and his companions approach the entrance to the Choa, a mountain made of dried mud, stones, trees, and grasses, home of the Pokwa king and his court.  In the center of the mountain is a monumental boulder with a flat, chiseled face.  Akelou wonders where and how such a massive rock came to this swamp and what powerful magic was able to move it in this mud.  High on the boulder is a carved opening that leads into the king's court.  A terrace protrudes over the swamp below, and Akelou watches a figure disappear from it.

Mia-Koda turns and speaks, "Tib, stay here with the horses.  We will not be long." He quickly agrees and throws her a scowling look while standing on Akima, still covered in mud from his falls.

Walking through the guarded entrance, they come to the breeding hall where they follow a narrow path between the breeding pools.  The Pokwa females attending to the pools leap onto the edges of the path. They aggressively guard the pools and appear ready to strike at any moment.  Their eyes are filled with the gaze of a mother defending her young, and Akelou understands he must be careful.

Once they are out of the breeding hall, Oboe leads them to a circular stairway made from tree roots, and rock.  Both Akelou and Leotie struggle to climb the steps.  "You could not use the Maura Stone to bring us to the top of these stairs could you Mia-Koda?" asks Leotie with a tone.

"And what do you think the Pokwa guard would do to three strangers that appear out of nowhere, only footsteps away from their king's door?"

Once up the stairs, they come to a hallway that leads to a single, heavily guarded door that is finely chiseled and engraved with Pokwa symbols. Mia-Koda explains, "That is the entrance to the hall where Theopa and his court sit.  The king is powerful and well respected by the Pokwa, but the Pokwa court is equal to him.  They share power, forming a balance of governing over the Pokwa.  Not all Pokwa can speak in the common tongue, but the king does, hard as it is to understand him.  Follow my lead, and make no sudden movements or outbursts."

Mia-Koda approaches the guards defending the door to the hall, she indicates that Leotie and Akelou should leave their weapons behind.  The guards lower their spears only after Akelou's and Leotie's weapons are on the ground.  The hall is carved from the great Choa stone.  A few crude, chiseled columns connect the mud-covered floor to the ceiling.  The king sits on a throne made from an uprooted tree, and below him is a round table carved from the Choa stone.  The nine Pokwa members of the court, who are of different ages, colors, and sexes, sit at this table.  The eldest members of the Pokwa court sits closest to the king.  Three of the nine are female, two of whom look to be of a high social class, for they wear jewelry covering their arms and wrists.  The third Pokwa female could almost be mistaken for a male warrior if not for the feminine decoration on her arms.  A handprint made from their own blood appears on the stone in front of their place at the table.  Mia-Koda walks to the stone and bows to the court and to its king.  Akelou and Leotie follow.

"We come before you, Theopa, answering your scroll." The only response Mia-Koda receives from the court and its king is a defiant silence.  The king rises from his throne and speaks.

"This is the answer the chief of the Enopay gives me.  I ask for aid in a time of great need, and he sends only two of his people.  He sends the Pokwa two children and an old woman.  This is how the Enopay disrespect the Pokwa in a time of great crisis." The court fills the hall with croaking and the stomping of feet.

Mia-Koda calmly raises her hands and speaks, "The Enopay chief has allowed two great warriors to come to your aid wise King.  Leotie of the Enopay is their greatest tracker.  She is a fierce and proven warrior.  She will be valuable in finding and rescuing your daughter."

Leotie looks up to the king, "I will not stop until your daughter is returned.  This I pledge with my life on the honor of my people."

The king looks at her, unimpressed.  "What of this other child you bring before me?" The court turns to look at Akelou.

"This, Theopa, is no child, for he is the last of an ancient race to which all Pokwa owe their allegiance.  He was raised by Meno parents, and is the nephew of the murdered Salali, Black Claw, who was well known to the Pokwa." The mention of Black Claw's name seems to have an impact on all of the Pokwa in the room.  "His name is Akelou, and he is the last of his race.”

"What do I care of his bloodline? My daughter has been stolen from me, and my people grow uneasy without the presence of their princess.  I need warrior men, not a boy with a forgotten ancestry."

Mia-Koda walks up to the king and points back at Akelou, "He is a Delar, and he wears the necklace of his people."

At the mention of the Delar a great commotion rises among the Pokwa.

"You lie.  The line of the Delar was destroyed."

"It was never destroyed, Theopa.  Only hidden from the world.  He is a true Delar."

Akelou stands and shows his necklace to the Pokwa with great pride.  He looks at Leotie, and she gives him a cold stare.

"Is this true, son? Are you a child of the Delar?" Akelou looks up to the king.

"Yes, King.  I am." He raises his wrist, showing everyone in the hall his bracelet.

"Then my daughter is saved." The king lifts his hands in the air, and all the Pokwa rejoice in a loud, croaking, foot-stomping celebration.

---

The king steps down from his throne and moves through the celebrating Pokwa.  Theopa puts his long, gripping hands on Akelou's shoulder and escorts him into his private chambers. "Come, son of the Delar." He points to Leotie and Mia-Koda, "See to all of their needs and wants Oboe.  Prepare a small scouting party to lead our allies from our borders." Oboe bows to his king and leaves the hall, followed by Mia-Koda and Leotie.

Theopa takes Akelou to his chambers through a door behind his throne.  The room is open, wet, and filled with the skins and teeth of the grey crocodiles, the oldest and deadliest enemy of the Pokwa.

"Sit, Akelou, and take counsel with me." Akelou notices a change in the king's voice from stern and solemn to wavering and unsure.  Akelou sits on a stump near the bed of the king. The bed is made from the soft red clay of the Noshota swamps. "Mia-Koda came to me some time ago, telling me of a strange child that had come to her in the night.  She told me what that might mean, and she told me of signs and visions.  She advised me that the winds of change have begun to blow and that they will only become stronger with time.  I did not heed her warnings, and now I am paying with a father's, anguish.  Mia-Koda believes in you, and so must I . . . do you know why the Pokwa so revere the Delar?"

"No, I do not know much of my kin or their stories."

"A very long time ago the Pokwa were just small, simple creatures surviving in the swamps and wetlands of the world.  They were preyed upon by many beasts, most of all the grey crocodile, which still to this very day the Pokwa fear most.  It is told that in the ancient times, a child of the Delar who loved all creatures, from the deadliest cats to the smallest leaf crawlers, took a Pokwa into his hand and with his great power he changed us.  The Pokwa grew with him and they become like brothers.  The great Delar taught us the powers of speech and the skills of combat.  Once the first Pokwa came of age, the Delar left.  The Delar, not wanting the Pokwa to be alone in the swamps, remade another of the Pokwa's kind.  It was on that very day that the first Pokwa swore an allegiance for all his sons and daughters.  Our first king swore with his blood that his children would be loyal to the Delar until the end of time. 

Many generations later, the same Delar came back to the Pokwa and asked them to honor our first father's oath.  The darkness had come and the wars had started.  The Pokwa, soon learned the cruelty of war and the treachery of evil.  The deceiver came masked as an ally and a brother of the Delar, and he turned Pokwa against Pokwa.  It was the darkest hour of our people.  The Pokwa became divided and many perished.  Those who let the whispers of evil cloud their minds changed, no longer resembling their kin.  When the wars ended, we drove these new creatures away, slaying all we could.  We hear about the changed ones rarely, for they live underground in the filthiest of mud, away from the light, left to rot with their wickedness.  It is said that they have the power to speak into the minds of their enemies and bend them to their will.  Legend says they learned this skill from the great deceiver himself.  Time went on, and the Delar slowly disappeared from this world.  We Pokwa became more and more alone.  We now have only our stories and a few precious gifts left to us by the great fathers.  But now a new darkness has creped back into our lives.  We can feel it in the swamps around us-the plants whisper ancient fears to our females and younglings who can still hear their voices." Theopa turns his back to Akelou and opens a wooden chest beside his bed.  Reaching into it, he takes out an object wrapped in cloth.  "You must rescue my daughter, for she is the future of the Pokwa . . . she is the key to our survival." He turns to Akelou and places the wrapped item on the young man's lap.  "This is the Nol.  In the tongue of the Delar, it means 'blade of wind.' This axe was made by the forgotten craftsmanship of your people.  The Pokwa king who saved us from the Dark Age wielded it.  The Nol is our most sacred possession, and there is great power within it.  I return it now to you.  May it help you on your journey."