Chapter 6 - A Choice
V rushed forward before she knew what she was doing, something compelled her to run to see what it was. Agog and the Great Mother were slow to react, but she ignored their plea to stop. The girl rushed down the earthen tunnels without any need for crouching. Her unblemished dark green skin and long ears were not uncommon, but she had a single gold earring at the base of each ear marking her as one of Chief Mudohoon’s many daughters. Appearing to be five or six years old, the girl beckoned V towards a dead end only to suddenly drop down from sight. A hidden hole. Leaping before seeing the sudden drop, V twisted her foot and stumbled but scrambled forward. The girl who continued to wave her hand in encouragement never slowed.
At the end of the tunnel, V found herself in a high domed chamber that was dimly lit by a small brazier. Her nose was struck by the sharp scent of blood, sweat and waste of something that was not Gobbo. The earthen chamber had only a single figure resting against the back of the chamber. Little more than reclining against the shallow wall, it seemed she lacked the strength to even pull herself into a sitting position. Drenched in sweat and filth, V saw the figure to be close to twice her height and probably four times her size. She knew that she was not of any Gobbo tribe or the hulking Dwellin of the mountains. She stared at the impossible thing before her, a fantastical creature meant to scare yearlings. Mahn.
The girl gestured to V over. The female Mahn was different somehow from the dream, her skin sallow with splotches of yellow and blue flesh. She had a thick black mass of hair flowing from her head that covered most of her delicate and smooth face. A thin shift hung off her shoulders and covered her body, but it could not hide the swelling of her breasts that marked her as a mother. Cradled in her arms, and clutched close to her chest was a tiny lump of red flesh, its head sparsely covered with black hair. She was crying and V realized what she held was her newborn child. Compared to its mother it was quite large, was this normal amongst Mahn?
V looked around at the filth, the blood, and the tendril emanating from under the tunic and she instinctively gulped to clear her throat. Mother and child were still connected, but something was wrong. She did not know what to do as the purple coloration visibly spread before her eyes. Agog and the Great Mother appeared on the far end of the room, pushing through a false wall. The Great Mother plodded forward and stared down at the child, sweat dripped from her brow down and off her nose. Her breathing was hurried and weak as she said, “It still lives. I can still help.”
The Great Mother reached out to take it, but the mother suddenly surged and rolled into a ball to protect the child. While those strong, bony hands probed and tried to pry it free the Great Mother was powerless before a mother determined to protect her child.
The mother cried out.
The Great Mother continued to try, but the mother suddenly lashed out with her left fist and struck the Great Mother in the nose. She let out a pained cry and reeled back as Agog moved to stand between them.
“She does not understand us. She will protect it until it dies. Her protection will condemn it to certain death.” the Great Mother rubbed her nose with her hands, “Even after just having given birth, she is strong. The strength of a desperate mother.”
V felt strange as the Great Mother’s words filled the air. The dream stirred within her, but she was awake. The words filled her head, and everything began to spiral backwards. It was disorientating, but the words branded themselves into her mind. Her body felt as if it was on fire and she stepped forward, a kind smile spreading on her face as she sought to take the child. The grinning face of a Gobbo was often one of malice, but V mimicked her dream and the movements of a Mahn.
She spoke in own tongue.
V said, the words of the dream as it played in reverse through her head, she moved forward and repeated softly,
She turned to V and looked disarmed by the words,
V approached cautiously and the mother allowed V to take the baby from her. It was heavy and so fragile, and warm. She cradled it against her chest and moved to the Great Mother slowly, carefully cradling. The Mother watched, her face twisted by fear, her teeth bared as if she would bite, but she did not move. So even Mahn could make such feral expressions. For one moment it was as if the natural order had been reversed.
The Great Mother carefully took the child with care and stared at it for a moment before turning it on its back and placing it on her shoulder. Arching its belly against her prominent collarbone and gently rocking back and forth, she supported it with the palm of her hand. Suddenly, the hand rose and fell with a heavy smack. Then another smack. The sound of the slapping was loud and reverberated in the chamber. The mother watched; her eyes wide as the Great Mother continued to slap the child. Then on the fifth slap, a gurgle and a mass spewed from its mouth and it began to cry.
V exclaimed with the mother, tears welling up in her own eyes.
the mother crawled forward on her hands, through her own filth and bowed her head at the Great Mother’s feet, weeping with joy as the Great Mother held the child up.
“Gramma saved it!”
“Should have let it die,” Agog grumbled, but his words hardly matched the smile on his face.
With the Great Mother’s instruction, the mother was made comfortable. Agog took a bucket of the fragrant bathwater and the very same cloth V had used to clean her. The cord was cut, and the afterbirth was disposed of, by Agog, who seemed to see great value in it. In the dim light of the braziers, mother and child were strangely beautiful to V. The mother had tried to speak to her, but her words were beyond comprehension now. Only those words; those of the dream were understandable. The Great Mother’s eyes bore through her, and she felt this twinge in the small of her back. It was like claws digging into her flesh and she began to pace nervously as the mother and child settled in.
“How did you get here so fast?” V asked the Great Mother.
“This chamber connects to the other. Did you think I would be so deaf as to not hear her cries? Even through the hatch I could hear her give birth. The crackling of the flames did little to drown out the pains of labor.” the Great Mother looked at her, “And did you not hear or did the spirits take you first?”
V looked at her bandaged right hand and realized she had not felt pain in the moment when she had taken the child, “The spirits?”
“You touched the divine flame and were able to communicate with her.” she shook her head, “No… perhaps you were cleansed by the flame and did not even know it. Yours was the first Gobbo hand upon the child and you scarcely noticed the soot and blessing you gave. You saved a life tonight.”
“Why is she here?” V spared a glance to them.
Agog decided to answer as approached the two of them, “Chief Mudohoon’s raid was successful, but the Karkalo team found her alive and with child. She is important and he hopes to sell her back to them - or at least the child.”
V looked to the Great Mother, “How many Mahn are here? I thought they were just tales.”
“They appear from time to time on the shores. The Dwellin have not ended them yet so the Chief thinks we can sell her back before they are wiped out in the winter raids. If they even manage to survive that long in the first place.” Agog shook his head, “Take their clothing off their backs and they will perish. They are as strong as they are fragile.”
“This then…” V looked at her clothing, “Is this like the hide of a Mahn?”
“Goodness no,” the Great Mother laughed, “They are unable to survive on their own. They are so weak that they spend the whole of their lives toiling away only to fall ill and die if they are out in the rain for but one night. There is no intelligent being in this world as strong or as fragile as Mahn. They are strong because they are weak. That is why the whole of the Host fears them so.”
“If they spread, then it will be the end of us all.” Agog looked at twin flames which lit the room, “If she were not so keen on the divine flame, I’d have finished her off myself. The Chief is playing with what he does not understand. The males are far stronger, but do not forget where the next generation plops out of. I can wait until winter to be rid of them. And better yet if it's not by my hand.”
V did not realize her scowl until Agog glared at her. Timidly reacting with a bow she asked, “So they will die?”
“That is the way it is. They would do the same to us.” he motioned to the small girl to follow him, “Ruha, you need to rest. Come along. Now you know not to speak of this in the nursery-”
“As for you,” the Great Mother placed her hand on V’s shoulder, “We need to talk.”
V felt the nails dig into her tunic and into her soft flesh. The Great Mother’s hand was like a bird of prey, ready to pluck her up and whisk her off. However, it was the Great Mother who was going to be ensnared. She wanted answers of her own.