The rebellion

A fiction

They were gathered for the weekly offering in the Temple.  She heard her father whisper his chants. She knew his voice had a whimper. She knew he was scared.

She had always hated her fathers tremendous power. He had the final word in the hamlet. He had power to kill, to pardon. His was the Shamaan. She remembered how others used to wait outside their chateau , for his permissions, for his blessings , for a nod of approval, fearing his anger,asking for mercy. The power that made him rise over the others, that made him ruthless and hard.

But that was in the past. Before the drought,before the famine, before the hunger dawned on their hamlet.

It had not rained for more than a year. The longest period without rain since a century.There will be no harvest festival this year.Nobody had a full meal in days.People were helpless and angry.In the beginning they had been tolerant and had faith. They listened to her father.They fasted, they made offerings, they prayed,they chanted. Then they started to become restless as they saw their children stumble in hunger and heat, their wives walk distances in search of water,their storage getting thinner and thinner, their animals dropping dead.The hunger and heat aggravated them, frustrated them.

Many of the younger lot tried to run away to the capitol. Some of them returned after days, some where found dead in the forest when the soldiers went to hunt. Some went missing and the families frantically hoped they reached the capitol.Forest fires were getting fierce.The predators in the forest had started turning to the hamlet for the food. Many feared attack from other tribes. Things were getting worse.The heat and lack of water was turning their people against one another.There were more fights.More people were falling sick .She knew her father had run out of his herbs. Only thing he could do now was chant and pray and that was not helping the sick to heal.

She feared the whole lot of them was going to perish.Either from heat or from hunger or they might even end up killing one another.It was everybody's fear and all the fear and anxiety was turning into mad anger. Anger against their priest, the one man they had trusted to protect them.Her father.The man who failed to please Aithne, their guardian goddess.

She did not know what these people would do.Being a woman in the hamlet during famine was bad enough. Women were expected to find water, console the hungry kids and remain hungry till every man was fed. Their men vented out their frustrations on them.They , as always, suffered in silence as they had for years..Now being the daughter of a failed priest she couldn't guess what waited her.

The chants were done.He father lowered his eyes and remained silent.The elder circle came forward. They were the next powerful group after the priest. In a way they were more powerful.They were the ones who selected the next priest when a priest dies or becomes old or fails, like her father had.They had the power to do anything they thought would end the drought. She felt her heart pounding.She knew that her father had accepted defeat,he was as scared as her.They had ordered him to bring his family to the temple - herself, her Mother and her little brother.Women were not allowed in side the temple for weekly offering prayers.They were allowed in the temple only during the harvest week celebrations.Yet when she and her mother were asked to be in the temple , she knew her they were going to be tried and chances of their going out were thin.

What were they going to do ?Sacrifice her whole family to quench Aithene's displeasure? She looked at her brother, his face showed no fear, but she knew he was scared by the way he clutched his fists tight. May be they would let him free.He was a boy, barely 17 and was not of age. Did her Mother stand a chance?. Failure or death of a Man was considered his woman's fault. She clearly remembered what happened to Agathe when her husband, a soldier, died during the annual harvest hunting. She was pronounced guilty of infidelity, to have savored on other men's beauty which had resulted in the death of her husband .She was carried into the temple and her father had come out after the trial and had shouted at the other women waiting outside."She displeased Aithne, she was not pure, her man's death proved it. She's to be sacrificed.Let her blood wash off the impurity she had pelted on us". Nobody cried, nobody gasped. They knew it was to happen. As they had seen it happen for years. When a man died a natural death, his wife was subjected to a week of fasting and she was required to mourn him throughout her life.Mourning meant no full meals for life and no other Man in her life. As a woman had no right to work on field or rear cattle, she was entirely dependent on her Man to feed herself and her kid. So mourning meant she had to slave work for the Priest and elder circle or beg to feed her family. So she was afraid her mother would be sacrificed. Her father too might end up dead. Did she have a chance to survive? May be she did- only if, only if they had not found her secret.

"Alcaeus...." Bellowed the oldest elder.Her father looked up tentatively."..You know what we have to do.You have failed to calm Aithne's anger.Her father uttered something unintelligible. The elder raised his hand."...You don't deserve the dias anymore..you have earned the anger of the circle. Now you have the right to explain what caused your failure?"

Her fathers eyes flickered towards them. His glanced lingered on her Mother whose eyes were lowered, her brother who held his glance and the on Her. His eyes met hers and she knew, she knew that he found out and understood what he was going to do.He was going to tell them her secret. He was going to have her dead.

She did not know if she minded.She would have any way ended up dead, if they had tried to harm her Mother because she would have defended her mother. Her only fear was if her father had hurt Amyntas. Her eyes teared up and she silently pleaded with her father. But she knew he would do it-she knew her father too well..

"The mighty circle-I plead before you not guilty" Her father spoke." I know I was not able to avert the immense misery that had dawned upon us. But I assure you I had not wavered , my reverence and faith in the mighty Aithne is as strong a it can be.I have done all the rituals with utmost integrity" He paused.

There was an angry murmur in the the temple.The elder raised his hand and it quieted out."May I ask you then why were you not able to please Aithne?" he asked her father with a hint of sarcasm"What stopped you from putting an end to our misery?"

"Hear me out.I beg you, to hear me out.It was not my integrity that displeased her."The priest continued pointing towards the sculpture of the goddess." My own daughter betrayed me.My only sin would be that I found it out too late,only hours before , else I myself would have finished her off and let her blood cleanse away the misery that has dawned upon us"

She heard her mother inhale sharply, her brother hung his head down.Would he defend her?Would her mother scream as they beheaded her?

There were more murmur in the crowd.She felt all eyes turn in her direction.

"Alcaeus, what is her sin?" Croaked another elder in the circle. the oldest elder was still looking at her with interest.

"She, the mighty circle, defied the law of the hamlet. She  gave herself to an outsider, a man with root outside the hamlet.She fed him with our food, she sheltered him with our cloths and she let him teach her the secret of weapons.She let him touch her."

An eerie silence filled the room. She did not move.She did not dare to look up. Instead she tried thinking of how her father learnt about Amyntas. Was it her brother or her mother that had told him? Or did he follow her in the dawn when she had gone to bid him farewell?Or did he notice missing weapons?

She had found Amyntas in the woods one day when she went in search of the herbs with her Mother. She first thought he was dead. He was wounded and there was blood pouring out of him. It was her mother who ran to see if he was actually dead. They found he was alive, but they found one more thing. He was not from their hamlet, he did not wear their kind of clothes or have their symbol tattooed on his arm. Her mothers instinct was to run away and inform others. But she persuaded her mother to keep quiet. "He will die any way" she had told her mother and her mother agreed to keep mum.

What her mother did not know was that she had returned to him with medicines. Nourished him back to health. The conditions were not as bad then, she could still save some food for him from her share.Being the Priest's family they had more food than the others. He got better and she learnt he was the soldier of a near by hamlet who was on his way to the capitol.He got lost and was attacked by a predator and had barely escaped. "I lost all my weapons. can you get me some so that I can go back?There is no way I can journey back without some weapons and food.I can't stay here because if they find me out they would kill me right away."He pleaded.

She did not want him dead. Not that she had fallen hopelessly in love with her.She would never do that after she witnessed what men did to women in their hamlet. Her act of saving him was a rebellion on her part .Her own way of revenge. Doing something against her father, the circle ,the other men who considered themselves superior felt good.Overtime she had started to like him.She loved to hear him talk about his hamlet and the capitol."Women are treated much better in my place" he used to say. He had told her that women were allowed to work and earn their food in his hamlet. They were allowed to remarry. They were not however allowed to be soldiers or be in the circle.They could own land on the other hand."Its much better in the capitol. Emperor has made a law to let women learn what ever they want.They can use weapons and join the army you know.They are even included in the circle" She had not believed it first. Once she was convinced she felt elated, she saw a ray of hope. That's when she decided she wanted to run away to the capitol.

"That's not easy Galene!!"Amyntas was scared at the idea."It is, and you will help me.Teach me how to fight"

Then he had taught her.She would smuggle weapons from her Fathers collection and he would teach her. She always took them back against his request.She told him she was afraid her father would find out. But what she actually feared was that he would leave without her, killing her last hope. Her Mother had found out about Amyntas and was constantly trying to stop her. She did not dream of telling her husband, because she knew what would happen to her daughter once anyone found out. So she involuntarily covered up for her.She suspected her Brother also knew, but he never confronted her.

Then the drought worsened.She could take him no food. But he had recovered and could hunt for himself. Amyntas  wanted to leave. He kept telling her."We should be leaving now".

She knew what would happen to her family if she did, since now every body was looking for a reason to destroy the priest and his family.So she had given him weapons and asked him to leave.He did not .He kept waiting for her.She did not know if she would do anything like that for him-ever.

She had bid him farewell in the dawn."Go away.I am not sure of coming out alive from that temple. I don't want them to find out about you.That would kill any chance that we might have" He looked smug and had given her a quick kiss on her forehead.She had turned away and run. Is that what her father saw? Did he truly believe that she caused the miseries or was he using her for his own escape?Only thing she could hope was that Amyntas  had escaped. But what if father or who ever saw him had captured him?Was he dead?

"Where is he?" there were voices from the crowd echoing her thoughts. The elder once again raised his hands."Where is he?" he repeated.

"I tried to finished him off -to please my goddess, to free my hamlet.But he got away..he had weapons this traitor had smuggled over.She fed him and made him strong.She warned him and let him escape" Her father said pointing to her. This was his last chance.

Nobody asked her for clarification.No woman was entitled to defend herself here she thought.

"Take the accused to the dark room while we decide"

She was shoved into darkness. She did not know how long she sat there, her ears straining to catch any sound, unexplained fury and fear rising in her.After what seemed eternity the door swung open and she was dragged in to the temple room.

"You have sinned and you will be whipped to death before Aithne. Your father was not able to stop you. How can he be the priest if he can't defend the purity in his family? So he has lost his dias. Your mother will have to sit and witness you dying and if she sheds one drop of tear,one cry escapes her lips, she will lose her Son too."

She looked at her father, losing his power was next to losing his life. She felt no sympathy towards him. The pain she saw on her mothers face was beyond comprehension. She will have to see that pain till she dies.  Can her Mother stop herself from expressing her pain  when she sees her being tortured?Would her brother die too?

"There has to be a new priest. The Choosing ceremony will begin today. After 3 days we will announce the new Shamaan. On the third day if the accused is still alive, she will be executed"

Will she be alive for three days? Enduring the pain?The thought ignited grave fear within her.

"You will wish you are dead" the elder whispered to her his lips curling in a maniac smile.

The whipping began. Each stroke of endless pain engulfed her.The look on her mother face, how she pressed her lips together.How her finger dug into her flesh, how she not cried-added to the torture.

In the blinding hour of pain she looked up and saw the shining deity of Aithne. "Did it end your displeasure..seeing me die?is it going to rain, now that you have quenched your thirst for blood?" She kept looking at the smiling Aithne when the realization dawned on her.She felt immense power erupting inside her.She was ready when the whip landed on her the next time. She tugged the whip with her right hand and pulled the executor down. She saw a glint of surprise on his face when she whipped him back hard. She lunged forward and grabbed the sword in Aithne's hand. She saw figures running towards her from all sides. Whip in left and sword in right hand, she moved forward, frantically swinging her arms. She was ready to fight, but she did not know if she was capable of this feat.

By the time she made outside the temple she was drenched in blood. She did not know how many she killed, whom she killed.She did not know how many cuts she endured, how much blood she lost.She did not know if she would stay alive,if she would escape.When she emerged , she heard gasps and screams from the women and girls who were waiting outside.

"Its time we fought back.Its time we showed our strength" She bellowed.Her voice surprisingly loud considering that she was gravely injured.

"Do you know the reason of  Aithne's fury?Its our silence......."

To prove her point it rained the hardest, drenching her and all around her, washing blood off her face.

Reviews

[Wolfwind]

Wow! This was rather good. I enjoyed reading this through. There are a couple places that you switch into first person, while most of it is in third. I'd suggest making it all in 3rd person so the story has a better understanding to the overall plot.

But other than that. It had suspence, intrigue and a wonderful ending.

Great Ink! Thanks for sharing!
Aaron - Wolfwind

[confused]

Thanks wolfwind words for reading. I have made the changes.Glad you liked it :)