Revelations of Delirium
He had been born in a Tuchuk Wagon.
During the Winter of the plains.
Matters of honor left his raising
To his grandfather’s pains.
Before the time of his Courage Scars
From a Kaiila he was thrown.
The injuries to his body
Had shattered nearly every bone.
He was sent to relatives in the city
His body now to mend.
And he thought his time in the wagons
Was forever at an end.
So he trained in the city
To know the Green caste ways.
Healing the bodies of others
Was how he spent his days.
Now a grown man with children
And Grandchildren due any day,
The life of the wagon called him
his spirit would claim the way.
His Tuchuk clan did welcome him
His uncle granted him a chance.
To earn the scars denied him
His soul was ready to dance.
Go forth and steal a slave girl
Then we will scar your pretty face,
And call you then outrider
You will have earned that place.
He went out to a village
And a graceful Kajira he found,
With just some charm and patience
She would soon be bound.
At first he was not certain
How to win the day,
He pretended to be lost
And asked her to show the way.
A cloth with capture scent hidden
In the cuff of his sleeve,
used on the edge of the village
Before she could take her leave.
When she lay unconscious
with ropes he had her bound.
Then spirited her away
Before alarm could sound.
The Elders were quite impressed
With this graceful creature,
The lost son had brought,
Of raven hair and comely feature .
The time of his Scarring was appointed
The preparations made
And in a tub of Paga
His body cleanse they bade.
More Mead, More Wine, More Paga,
And in Tuchuk fashion he got drunk off his ass
For when the Scarrer came
This night might be his last
When the Scarrer stood before them
The victim was offered to be bound
But being born a Tuchuk he chose to stand
And not cry out or make a sound.
For as the knife drew
Across his cheek
He could not flinch
Or be thought weak.
Stubbornly he refused to move
Into his tongue he bit.
As the Scarrer sewed in the pigment
And made sure every nerve to hit.
When it at last was finished
he spat blood upon the ground,
He wanted so to curse him
But words could not be found.
Soon the fever claimed him
And he writhed upon the ground
The Visions of Delirium
Would be those most profound.
Through the dancing fire
He saw a figure with hair of flame
And he heard her call out Papa,
For to her that was his name.
For the loss of this child
He felt himself to blame.
After the visions of Delirium
He would never be the same.
In that night of fever
She beckoned him to death,
And tempted him in that moment
To breath his own last breath.
Desperately he tried to Follow
Where the figure lead,
But his son was right behind him
And knocked him on the head.
The son dragged him back to the fire
And bound him for his own good,
And through the long fevered night
The lonely watch the son stood.
His body now was bound
But his soul wandered free.
So it went out traveling
There was much to see.
He found himself with a Black Larl
But this Larl was an old friend,
And to the Tuchuk’s troubles
The Larl his ear did lend.
“You are foolish to seek death outrider
And this truth should not make you cry,
You can’t control what others do
No matter how hard you try.”
In a moment of clarity
He knew the Larl was wise,
And he thanked his friend
For helping to open his eyes.
He bid the Larl thank you
And the Larl went on his way.
But there was still much for the outrider to see
Before the break of day.
Along the prairie he wandered
Till he met a Kaiila mare.
Strangely she looked familiar
So he could not help but stare.
He could not help but wonder
If like the Larl she spoke
He knew he had to ask her
Before his fever broke
“What advice might you give me?”
He calmly asked the mare.
And as she spoke her wisdom
On his neck rose every hair.
“Be aware of the world
All around you
Think carefully
Of what you must do.
Always seek out knowledge
No mater what path you take.
It will guide you through decisions
You will be forced to make.
But also this Outrider
Seek yourself to know,
And always be true to your spirit
No matter where you go.”
She bade him climb on her back
And away the two did ride.
As they went on their journey
He felt a change inside.
And as she left him by the camp
Just at the rising sun.
“Remember this Outrider
Your path has just begun…”
Once more he lay by the fire
His body securely bound,
And though he felt himself waking
He did not make a sound.
Once more through the fire
The flame haired figure stood.
He wanted so to hold her
But knew he no longer could.
The figure knelt down by him
And whispered in his ear.
The words that she had for him
Were exactly what he needed to hear.
“I want to thank you Papa
For the time that you did give.
But you must keep on going
You still have life yet to live.”
And seeing a tear
come to his eye,
The figure faded
with one last kiss goodbye.
It was not to long after
The fever finally broke,
And now a full outrider
The Tuchuk then awoke.
The story is not over
There is still more to tell,
But on what the future holds
I do not care to dwell…
by Lyda Mae Dameron (aka Peter Six Hirokin)