The Mantooth by Christopher Leadem
Copyright (C) 2000 by Christopher Leadem.
THE MANTOOTH(Science Fiction/Fantasy)
Copyright 2000 by Christopher Leadem,All Rights Reserved
Christopher Leademwww.aragornbooks.com
THE MANTOOTH
In loving MemoryEdward and William,gentle cousins
PART I
Sunrise in the Valley
My words cannot say it if the heart will not feel it.---Jeremiah, son of Kalus
Chapter 1
Kalus* was wakened that morning by the sound of stalking footsteps.Reaching instinctively for his spear, he raised himself slowly andturned to face the sound.
*which means, 'The Carnivore.'
There before him, shrouded in the shadows of early morning, he perceivedan ominous silhouette. It was Akar, the lone he-wolf that had followedhis tribe for some time, living off the gnarled scraps of meat that thehill-people left behind after every kill. Kalus had often wondered whatunaccountable circumstance caused it to leave the safety of the pack tostrike out and fend for itself.
At first he was relieved. For this was only a scavenger, probablyhoping to steal an unguarded morsel and slink away unseen.
But his instincts told him otherwise. There was something unnervingabout the way the beast just stood there, as if unsure of its ownintentions. Even in the dim light of the cave's entrance he could seethat it had not eaten for many days. Arching ribs protruded sharplythrough an emaciated chest, and his eyes were wild with the blood-lustof a carnivore.
Something stirred deep within the young tribesman as he realized thetrue hopelessness of its plight. Cut off from the pack it could nothunt successfully, and there now, it stalked a prey it had no chance ofkilling. For all around him his comrades lay sleeping, and if aroused,they would kill the intruder without hesitation.
Reaching into a crude deerskin pouch slung across his shoulder, hepulled forth a long strand of cooked meat. Holding it outwardenticingly, he motioned toward the terrified hunter.
Slowly, haltingly, the shadow moved forward, too near death fromstarvation to be cautious. When it was close enough Kalus tossed themeat gently into the air, where it was snapped up quickly by the waitingjaws of the hunger-crazed wolf. Smiling inwardly, he reached into hispouch once more and prepared to repeat the procedure.
Suddenly from behind him came the sound of angry voices. Whirling abouthe saw that the tribesmen had woken, and seeing the wolf, had armedthemselves to attack. The frightened creature turned, but found therewas nowhere to run. Barabbas, leader of the hill-people, had blockedthe entrance to the cave and stood there waiting, a long spear claspedin his hairy hand. Forming a circle around the intruder, the tribesmenbegan to converge. Helpless, the wolf rolled over in the dirt, as if tobeg for mercy. But the tribesmen showed it none, continuing to advance.
But then a strange thing happened, something that had not been seen onEarth since the disappearance of modern man from the continent. Notunderstanding why, or even how he did it, Kalus stepped forward anduttered the first word spoken since the day of destruction when allhuman tongues had been silenced.
'No!' he cried angrily. And that was all he said.
A deep silence filled the chamber as his comrades cowered back indisbelief. The he-wolf slipped out silently---grateful, but puzzled asto why he had been spared.
Regaining their senses, the hill-people's astonishment was quicklyturned to anger and resentment. For many months they had grown wary,and suspicious of the young, tawny-haired hunter. They could notunderstand how this youth could be born of their own flesh, and yetstill be so completely unlike them. For the color of HIS hair waslight, and his eyes were a deep blue. And what of his peculiar desireto be on his own? Unlike the others he did not seem to need theprotection of the clan, nor sometimes even to want it.
It was Barabbas who confronted him first. Speaking through primitivesign language, he told Kalus he was angry that he fed and protected theintruder, and that if he wished to remain among them, he would have tocome to accept the ways of his people. Shaking his spear menacingly, headded a final note of warning to his primitive demands.
To the end of his days Kalus would not understand what was about tohappen next. But in that moment of high emotion, it was as if somethingin the true nature of his comrades had been revealed to him for thefirst time. The darkness and evil of their merciless aggression nowrepulsed and infuriated him, as if some grotesque and twisted visage.Bitter, roused beyond words, he let out a cry and leapt wildly towardthe brutal hill-man.
Surprised but not defenseless, Barabbas met the attack head on. Whirlinghis weapon with savage skill, he struck Kalus square in the face withthe butt of his spear. Stunned, Kalus fell to the ground, and before hecould move, found the point of Barabbas' spear held threateninglyonly inches from his throat.
And so, as quickly as it started, the battle was ended. Though a sternand forceful leader, Barabbas was not without compassion. Combining signlanguage with angry, animal grunts and gestures, he told Kalus he mustnow leave the tribe and never return. For by questioning the authorityof its leader he had committed the one act of disloyalty that couldnever be forgiven. The other males huddled silently behind him, addingtheir mute support.
It was only then that Kalus realized the full significance of what hehad done. Though Neanderthal and ape-like, the hill-people were the onlyfamily he had ever known. Looking to the back of the cave he saw hismother whimpering softly in dismay, and the other women clutchingtightly to their children, as if uncertain as to what it all meant.
Searching the faces of the men, he found sympathy but not forgiveness.He had been banished, and knew he could never return.
Utterly confused and dejected, he turned and walked slowly through theopening and down the shallow, sandy incline which led to the grasslandsbelow. Looking back one final time, he felt a warm tear trickle bitterlydown his reddened cheek. For he knew that his destiny had been changedforever, and that life could never again be the way it was before.
Chapter 2
Truly alone for the first time in his life, Kalus wandered aimlessly,trying to put back the pieces of all that had happened, and think of thethings he must now do to survive. Though rarely forced to do it, heknew he was capable of hunting on his own.
But hunger was not the real danger. The valley in which he lived wasfull of game, but as a result, was also full of predators, many largerand more powerful than himself. He also knew that some were highlyspecialized killers, and ruthless in their struggle to survive. Mostwould kill him without hesitation if they thought he had encroached ontheir hard fought, territorial boundaries.
His mind filled with such thoughts, he was easily startled by the soundof padded footfalls behind him. Whirling about he saw that it was onlyAkar, and that this time there was no danger. His belly glutted withthe fresh meat of a recent kill, he now followed the man-beast more outof curiosity than anything else. He was deeply puzzled by the presenceof a lone cave-dweller, and even more so when he discovered it was thesame creature who had saved his life only hours before.
For Akar, unlike his primitive ancestors, was a being capable ofrational thought. And though resembling in appearance the gray wolvesof northern Canada, that was where the similarity ended. Althoughunable to formulate intricate patterns of thought, the wolves of theValley had long since existed in well-defined clans, not unlike thewolves of Kipling or Tolkien. The two studied each other a moment insilence.
Then suddenly both man and beast stiffened, simultaneously aware theywere no longer alone. Kalus' sensitive hearing had detected thehissing breath of a nearby predator, while Akar's keen nose (he heardthe breathing as well) now caught the thick and unmistakable scent of aCommodore. Not wishing to remain and discover its source, the wo
As the rasping hiss grew louder and nearer, Kalus headed instinctivelyfor higher ground. Trapped among the shadows of a narrow canyon he wasunable to see his pursuer, but knew from the sounds of shuffling stonethat it was gaining on him rapidly. Moving to the craggy bluff upon hisright he began to climb, hoping his enemy would be unable do the same.
Unfortunately, he was wrong. Emerging from the darkness the nightmaretook a shape. Raising itself stiff and hunchbacked to the top of amassive, sunlit boulder, it took flesh as an enormous reptiliancarnivore, like a tiny lizard slowed, and swelled to immenseproportions. Throwback to the rock-climbing monsters of an age longforgotten, it moved among the lesser stones with terrifying grace.Desperate beyond words, Kalus began searching wildly for shelter.
His efforts were not in vain. Coming to a crumpled shelf jutting out ofthe rockface, he spied a small opening just ahead and to his right, andwith the giant reptile just a few short yards behind, rushed headlongand breathless into the welcome shadows of a small cave.
But the danger was not yet passed. Though unable to fit the whole ofits body into the small enclosure, the lizard was not so easilydefeated. Forcing its head into the mouth of the cave it shot forth along, snake-like tongue, hoping to catch the man-beast as a frog mightcapture a fly. After several narrow misses, Kalus realized that hisonly hope was to delve deeper into the ever-increasing darkness of thecave. His eyes not yet accustomed to the failing light he movedcautiously, not wishing to exchange the present danger for that of ablind fall. Feeling his way slowly along the grainy, lichen-coveredwalls, he tried to be certain of each advancing step.
But in spite of all his caution he slipped, and found himself plummetingdownward through illusory darkness, a silent scream ringing in his ears.Seconds later he landed abruptly. His last thoughts before losingconsciousness were that something must have broken his fall. For he haddropped a considerable distance through the blackness of an undergroundshaft, and knew that by all reason he should have been killed.
*
Hours passed, as the Mantooth's subconscious struggled to keep himalive. A severe blow to the back of the head had brought him to thepoint of death, and only sheer desire and a tireless will to survivecould save him now. Such was a daily occurrence in theValley---nature's way of separating the weak from the strong.
But Kalus had always lived up to such trials in the past, and this wasto be no exception. Fighting his way back to consciousness, he openedhis eyes to find himself lying on his back in a bed of cool moss coveredwith furs, his wounds being treated by the soothing hands of awoman-child. Raising himself weakly, he turned as if in a dream to lookupon the face of his redeemer.
She was, without question, the most desirable female he had ever seen.Young and fair, her sun-streaked hair and gold-flecked green eyes werehighlighted and contrasted by skin of bronze and trinkets of silver.Her muscles were smooth and round; the outline of her breasts showedfull beneath a woven garment the likes of which he had never seen. Herraiment, indeed her very face tones and gestures, appeared to himstrange and exotic, and it seemed apparent that she had come from a landfar away. Using simplified gestures, he tried to ask her who she was,and what hidden passage it was that he had found. For he sensed that hewas still deep underground, and was puzzled by the dancing firelight andwarmth all around him.
'Not now,' she whispered softly.
Giving him water from a clay vessel, she motioned for him to lie backand rest. Though he still had many questions he obeyed willingly,knowing that his strength was all but gone. Lying back painfully hetried, and finally succeeded, in falling asleep.
The girl remained beside him on the covered lip of rock that formed herbed, looking up at the shaft and wondering at the impossiblecoincidence. She reached out once, as if to touch his brow, but drewback the hand when she saw that it was trembling. She gazed at himthoughtful and misty-eyed, wondering.
Chapter 3
Kalus had slept poorly, dreaming of lizards and spiders, and for severalterrifying moments after first awakening, could not determine where thedreams ended and reality began. Sylviana had watched his troubledsleep, and tried to wake him gently when his limbs began to tremble.
But the girl, gifted from birth with the power of speech, could notbegin to understand the anguish that a mind without words was subjectedto at such a time. There could be no gentle self-reassurances, nosoothing thoughts or voice of comfort from within. Only her presence,and the apparent safety of the chamber, helped bring him back slowlyfrom the wordless world of darkness and terror in which his spiritseemed to linger. She put a hand to his shoulder but he only pushed itaway, sitting up and looking about him bewilderedly.
Sensing that the time had come for him to be given some answer to hisunspoken questions, the girl tried speaking to him slowly, using theprimitive analogies she hoped he would understand.
'My name is Sylviana,' she began. 'This place you have foundis called Trialis (a purely fictional name, spawned by the need of themoment). It is a holy place---the temple of our father, the Sun.'She turned and pointed toward a long, altar-like projection of polishedstone that jutted unnaturally from the worn granite behind it. Severalfeet out from its base, ringed by a circle of stones, burned a smallfire. This in turn cast dancing images of light and shadow back upon anoval mirror, tinted blue-black and mounted securely into the wall abovethe slab. In truth they were neither altar nor mirror, but the girlcould think of no other way to explain them.
Not that it mattered. Her words were entirely lost upon the youngoutcast. He had listened intently, seeing that she wished tocommunicate, but could make no sense of the seemingly infinite barrageof varying sounds and expressions. He shook his head and looked at herruefully, an expression that betrayed more of himself than he knew.
Realizing that her words meant nothing to him, she decided to summon theSpirit (for so he called himself), to see if His words held true.Helping Kalus to his feet, she led him slowly and gingerly toward thealtar.
He offered no resistance. Instructing him to remain behind her, shestepped carefully past the flame and ascended the three steps leading tothe polished projection of stone. Approaching the mirror she hesitated,as if afraid or unsure, then reached out over the stone and touched herfingers lightly to the glass, activating the machine. As the unseencircuitry behind it whirred and came to life, a message was carried bythin beams of laser light deep into Space. She waited a short time,then spoke.
'Great Spirit,' she began, 'Though I do not know your name.Come and be among us. For the man-child has come, even as you said thathe would. But I am confused, and he doesn't seem to understand thewords I speak. I'm terribly afraid that I will do something wrongand drive him away, and be left alone in this place. . .forever.Please, if you're really who you say you are then come and showyourself to him. Say something to make him stay. Please, you must makehim stay.'
Though he could not understand the words, Kalus felt the desperationwith which they were spoken, and saw plainly that they somehow dealtwith him. Her softness was unlike anything he had ever known. Whatcould it mean?
A moment later a deep silence fell over the room, and in the gentletension it brought, an outside presence was felt. Barely noticeable atfirst, and then undeniably, the two felt another dimension being addedto the room. The colors around them grew suddenly brighter, edged withgold, and in the back of their minds they felt the vicarious sensationsof a great, bodiless spirit swooping downward from the heavens, like agiant eagle diving towards the Earth. The room became dark, all savethe misty blueness of the mirror. The fire dimmed, as if on cue, and apinpoint of brilliant light appeared at the very center of the glass.There it grew in size and intensity until the magnitude of itsbrightness forced Kalus to shield his eyes and look away. Sylviana stoodmotionless, face turned and arm raised, disbelieving. For until now theSpirit had spoken to her only as a voice, a signal translated into wordsby th
Then a different Voice was heard, deep and alive, like the whisper ofthe wind and the roar of an ocean. It was an eternally resilient andyet melancholy sound, time-wizened and thoughtful, never fully joyous orsad.
'Sylviana,' it began solemnly. 'Sylviana, I have come. Yourvigil has not been in vain. For the Mantooth has been brought to you,even as I said that he would. Be at peace, I will speak to him now asyou ask.' Seeming to turn its attention toward Kalus, the Voice beganagain. And somehow, though not miraculously, he understood.
'Come, look upon me, young one, and do not be afraid. There is muchthat I would say to you.' Slowly Kalus turned back toward the glass,beholding for the first time a sight that few men had ever seen. Therebefore him, floating gently amid the vastness of heaven, he lookeddirect and unhindered into the glowing white-light majesty of a livingdwarf star. And whether the true source of the transmission or not, theimage itself was real.
Steady and unwavering, the Voice continued. 'Long ago, when my heartwas younger, the being that became my flesh gave birth also to manyorbiting spheres. Most were stillborn, as is often the way ofheaven. But three lived on. These have been called by men Venus, Marsand the Earth. Each in its own way and in its own time was capable ofbearing and supporting new life. But of the three, the one called Earthwas fairest. Like a fertile womb it lay sleeping, a perfectcloud-veiled globe of wide red lands and mighty oceans. Already thethrobbings of life could be seen, as tiny colonies of cells swamrestlessly among themselves, waiting only for direction. It was herethen I chose to sow my seed, that life should come from life, and myspirit be continued.