“The last part of a story should be the longest. The most exciting. It brings the parts together into a unified whole. But as I have said, I am no talesinger. And there is a part to this last that I will not speak of. A place that should not be known or found.”
“It is not for the ears of the waishu”
“I will say that Stone Turtle said that the next path led to Greed. To Avarice. And we found an item that we needed. Warpaint.”
Daniel offered a small muslin bag to i’Topa. “There is still some of it left. To the greatest in station.”
“When you paint your face with it –it allows you to see a distance through solid rock or earth.”
“I will say that independent of the Turtle we decided that the way to defeat Greed was through sacrifice and charity. And all of us sacrificed and all of us left something of ourselves in that place. I do not think it was part of your challenge, i’Topa, but it made me very proud to see and do. It made me feel that in some small way I was honouring the
Sacrifice. Our time in that place was… magic… and awe. And if I never get to return I will carry the memory of it till my death as a wonderful treasure.”
Daniel fell silent for a moment lost in the unspoken memory.
“Stone Turtle then told us the location of the burial mound where it had hidden the heart of Middle Brother. The servants of the Eater of Souls still quested for the heart. Still desired to make the pledge of Middle Brother’s spirit speaker a thing of air. Empty and broken.”
“Stone Turtle told us that the heart was warded. When the seal of the mound was broken the wards would drop revealing the place of the heart to the Eater’s minions. And that there was already a burrower circling the location waiting for the exact location of the
heart to be revealed in order to claim it for its master.”
“This creature we were told could only be killed when it was least vulnerable.”
“And it was Spirit of Stone who first voiced the answer to this riddle of Turtle’s. When is a burrower at its least vulnerable? When it is under ground. And the purpose of the warpaint became clear.”
“We broke the seal of the burial mound. There was the heart sitting atop a pedestal. And beneath us writhing in the earth we could see the great length of a wyrm creature. A great centipede worm thing with a pincered maw. And it was racing for the heart.”
“Spirit of Stone got there first. Shifting to Hispo he leapt for the heart and caught it in his mouth ahead of the erupting wyrm creature.”
“The battle plan formed quickly. Spirit of Stone raced in a great circle around the inside of the barrow. Seeks and myself made use of two spears to attack the creature while it coiled under the earth. Miakoda hounded the creature with summoned spirits and other
burrowers to eat at it from below.”
“The fight was long. It stretched for over an hour. Our jabs into the earth with the spears were barely pinpricks against its tough hide. But when it erupted from the earth to grab at Spirit of Stone our spears were not even pinpricks and could not pierce its armour.”
“We circled and stabbed. And healed. Spirit of Stone was not always able to evade the erupting creature and once had to be pulled from the jaws by myself and Miakoda, both of us straining against its incredible strength to allow the ragabash to slip free while Seeks struggled to keep it from disappearing back into the earth with its prize.
“I was caught by surprise when the creature’s tail erupted from the earth to strike and sting. But in the end it fell to our blows, the speed of the ragabash and the wisdom of our Spiritspeaker.”
“Here is the heart that you asked for, i’Topa. What will you do with it now?”
He used the question as the ending of his story falling silent and waiting for the Elder’s judgement and response.
Itopa's Response:
The Elder Wendigo stands for the entirity of the tale, arms clasped behind his back. He is unmoving, just watching Daniel intensely as he relates the story. When Daniel poses his final question, i'Topa holds out his hand and accepts the heart.
"This stone, once a thing of living flesh, shown to us in tales, placed before us by the memory of out Brother, and delivered by your hand, will become a vessel of spirit. The pathstone of the Sept of the Back Mountain was cracked when the Wyld attacked. This heart will become the new Heart of that Caern."
"You have completed the task I set before you. You have related the tale of that task, though part remains to be told. I will hear those other words among our Tribe, as is desired by our Judge. For my part, your Challenge has been met, and I recognize the Rank you have declared. By my admission, you are an Athro of the Tribe and Nation."
He pauses at this point to give any who would interrupt time to congratulate the Philodox. He does not wait long, however, before speaking in such a way as to inspire silence. The Elder Galliard, it would appear, has more to say.
"But as an Athro of the Wendigo, you must represent your Tribe to its fullest. There is something that must be fixed before you can claim your rightful place. You carry a waishu name. It was a good name for a young Garou, and I in no way intend insult upon the Elder who gave it to you, though he was not so at the time."
"But it is time to cast off the trappings of youth. You will carry a name from the Tribe, as I speak for it. That by which you were known is but a memory. You are mediator and judge, seeker and warrior. We have all watched Turtle's way guide your path, and we have seen He expects still more of you. You are Turtle's Hope, and I see no reason to call you less."
With a stern gaze locked on Daniel, the Elder gives his final word. "This is a difficult name to live up to, and I expect you to rise to the challenge it presents, Daniel, Turtle's-Hope, Athro Judge of the Wendigo." After finishing his speech, i'Topa Calls-Down-the-Mountain stands like a being of stone, staring at the Philodox awaiting his acceptance of his new mantle.
((Note: Itopa's Response was written by Ed Robinson))
Topic: Daniel's Athro Challenge (last part honest!) (Read 3718 times)