Tribal Legends 1 - The story of Ti'Kan and Ka'Mi
#1 of Tribal Legends
Tribal Legends
a suite of stories
Written down and translated by Sharpfang '99.
You can copy this story freely as long as no contents are changed
The story of Ti'Kan and Ka'Mi
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The Story of World
A tribal legend by Aris, translated and written down by Sharpfang.
Dedicated to MJK and Gere.
In this story, I will include the RL environment of the telling of the story, to give the impression of my listening to it - in the other stories, I won't interrupt.
As I did every other day, I went to the railway station to go to my university. I had some time to spare, and it was the first morning after a long weekend. The first train arrived, but it was so crowded that I decided to wait for the next one. It arrived pretty soon after, and I got in, but unfortunately it was even more crowded than the previous one. I had to give up my plans of drawing some furry art.
- So I'm forced to spend this hour with you two," I sighed.
- Hey!" Mistress of Pain tapped my back with her hoof.
- Yeah, sorry. I'm just looking forward to standing for an hour in a hot, crowded corridor.
- Ok, ok. I'll try and make it a bit more pleasant for you by telling you that story again," said Aris.
- Again? What a story?
- A tribal one. You'll like it. You've been thinking about modifications to index.html instead of listening when I was telling it to you two the first time.
- Damn me... I'd love to hear it.
The train started. I stood at the window looking away from the crowd.
...There was a tribe of wolves that lived on plains over a big river. In the tribe there was a young, brave warrior whose soul was bright, muscles strong and howl clean. His name was Ti'Kan. There was also a she-wolf whose shape was as beautiful as the Full Moon...
- Was she so fat?
- Silly. You've watched the full moon a few days ago. What did you feel?
- Yeah, I was just joking. Go on.
...In fact, some furries from the tribe suspected that she had no earthly father, but that her mother was impregnated by the Moon... but these were just rumors. Not only beautiful, Ka'Mi was also very good-hearted and above all, she loved Ti'Kan. He also loved her deeply, and she was his greatest treasure. It was not long after their handfasting, and they were extremely happy until the morning I will tell you about.
Cold water woke them. They looked out from their tipi and saw the plains covered with the water from the river that had been passing by the village calmly, and posing no threat for years. They hurriedly packed their more precious things, and followed the others to the only two low hills on the plains that rose above the nearby water. They climbed the higher of the two hills, and watched sadly as the water took their tipi and the rest of their property.
The water was still rising. It was already reaching to the feet of the furries on the lower hill. They were shouting, asking for help. Someone had to go there to help them move to the higher hill. Brave Ti'Kan decided to do it.
- That reminds me of a joke about an old man in a plane which was losing its bottom...
- Hey, stop it! You're the worst listener I've met. Do you want me to continue, or will we listen to the joke instead?
- Sorry...
...Ti'Kan swam there to help them. When he reached them, the top of their hill was already underwater. The furries crowded there, those on the edges of the group often taken away by the flow. Nothing could really be done to help them. Ti'Kan turned back. Heading to his hill, he faced angry furries - "Go back! We do not even have enough space for ourselves here! Go away!" - The water already reached the feet of the furries standing on the sides of the isle. Ka'Mi was one of them. The shouts were followed by rocks thrown after him forcing him to turn back. Ka'Mi, in tears, stepped off the hill and swam to him. Some unfriendly comments were made, and she knew she wouldn't be able to return.
They drifted in the dirty water, embracing each other. Soon fog rose from the water's surface, and no land was visible anymore. They floated like this for a few hours, when they saw a canoe in the mist. That were furries from a friendly tribe. The canoe was almost full. They rowed closer and offered a lift to one person. Ti'Kan wanted Ka'Mi to go with them, but she wouldn't leave him. The furries in the canoe were full of respect for their love, but they couldn't take them both, so they left them.
More hours passed. Night approached. Ti'Kan and Ka'Mi were cold, hungry and tired. The river carried them far from home, which had been swept away anyway, and there still was no land visible. Ti'Kan felt as if he had slipped into semiconsciousness, and had a vision.
The Great Spirit promised him that before morning they would find an island, and told him to build a house there. It had to be a strong wooden cabin, not a tipi. Ti'Kan asked how is he supposed to build a cabin having no tools, and how they would survive with no food?
- You will find a lot of fruit there, it will be your food. Make the tools of stone and wood, later I will teach you how to make iron.
- Was that me, that Great Spirit?
- Nooo, silly! You're not the Great Spirit. You're just a sexually obsessed woof.
- Oh, continue, please :)
...Ti'Kan woke up, shivering from cold, held above the water surface by Ka'Mi. The night was cold, the water even colder. They were growing weaker. Finally Ka'Mi couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. Ti'Kan held her face above the surface as long as he could, but he was losing his strength too. Finally his eyes closed and he felt the end was near.
Gentle waves and warm Sun woke him. He opened his eyes. A terrible thought crossed his mind, but he turned his head and saw Ka'Mi lying on the sand a few steps from him, breathing softly. He stumbled towards her, and carried her gently to the shore.
The island was beautiful. The jungle was full of fruit and flowers. He brought some of the fruit to Ka'Mi when she woke.
- Wait! Look! A horse!" the three of us gazed through the window.
- Hard-working. You have a hard day of work before you!" said Mistress.
- I know. Ok, Aris, Continue.
- Where was I?.. Oh, yes.
"...They rested and recovered soon. Ti'Kan found rocks and sticks suitable to make tools out of, and they had soon built the hut. Their work was difficult, but they enjoyed it and they felt happy. Before their new home was ready, Ka'Mi noticed that she was pregnant. Ti'Kan was worried, because there was no shaman who would ask the elements to protect his child. He climbed the highest mountain on the island, and prayed to the Great Spirit for advice.
After a day in the burning sun, on the barren rocks, the moon began rising, and the Great Spirit came to him.
Oh, Lord, a dark cloud covers my mind. My child... Ka'Mi will give birth to my son or daughter, and there is no shaman who will introduce my child to the elements, and ask them to protect it.
With your clean heart and open mind, you're ready to be the leader and shaman of your new tribe. A tribe you will give origin to. Your sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters...
But...
You've been given a special gift. Your children and children of their children will be able to live and have children no weaker nor less intelligent than children who have parents from different families. Your furthest ancestors will give their blood for your tribe so don't be surprised if amongst your children not all are wolves.
Thank you, my Lord, but there's one thing more I wanted to ask you. The land you gave me is beautiful, we feel very happy, we live with no worries, but... is there anything we're not permitted to do? Something that would force us to leave this place?
No, there's no such thing, except that this place will be what you make it, and the tribe will be as their father teaches them to be. Your fate says, that you and all of your children will not be able to find happiness elsewhere in the world. Now go, and love your wife, and have no more worries.
So he returned, told Ka'Mi about the vision, and lived with no worries. Years passed and they had many children, and as the Great Spirit had said, only few of them were wolves. Some were the foxes, some horses or deer, and even a few reptiles and birds appeared. They gained and learned way more than Ti'Kan's tribe ever had and knew. Old Ti'Kan, before his death, left the shaman's duties to his eldest son, and the leader's duties to his eldest grand-son. He passed away quietly in his house after dusk, and before dawn, Ka'Mi followed him.
The gift of The Great Spirit caused no bad leader nor faithless shaman to appear. When the old shaman was dying, his eldest son or daughter accepted his duties, leaving the leader's duties they fulfilled to their eldest children... and there were never any problems with this system.
Hundreds of years passed. The tribe designed ways of traveling across the ocean, but they weren't greeted cordially by the tribes of furries in the west. To the east their travels brought them to to lands inhabited by humans. Here, they weren't welcome either. They found a tribe of humans that took them for gods. With their help, they erected enormous constructions in the desert to observe the sky, and for other scientific purposes. But after hundreds of years, the humans began realising that the furries weren't gods, and as the situation started becoming unstable, the furries retreated, demolishing their constructions first... though the humans learnt much of their art already, and constructed similar buildings as tombs for their new lords, and many of them still believed in the deity of their old lords, and often drew them on walls.
- You mean Egypt? It was Earth?
- You said that.
Meantime, still wandering east, the humans met furries from the old Ti'Kan's continent. Sometimes they fought, more often lived in friendship, and often indulged in cross-species relationships. Unfortunately, the humans' genes were much stronger, and all children resulting from cross-species relationships were human.
- Naah! "genes" is not a good word for a tribal legend!
- If I didn't use it, I'd have to use some more sophisticated descriptions...besides you understood what I meant, didn't you? If so, everything is fine.
The human population grew, and the furry population dwindled. Some of them hid in the mountains, trying to save their species, but instead they gradually turned into wild animals. Finally, there was no more of the first furries... all that was left was some of their culture and rituals that humans learned from them.
More years passed. The tribe of Ti'Kan and Ka'Mi had learned most hidden secrets of nature. They had traveled all around the world in flying ships, and those who had wings - using them. Later they traveled through space, exploring distant stars... but found no happiness anywhere, only on their green islands and each of them, when they felt death coming, traveled back home, to die in the land of their happiness.
One night, The Great Spirit appeared to the shaman of the tribe and warned him. "Mother Earth demands her debt to be paid. She wants you to return those isles to her. You must leave.
The Great Spirit directed them to a distant planet that was beautiful, wild and green - like Earth in its first days. It was beautiful, but not as beautiful as their home. Shortly afterwards, they left in enormous spaceships, and the ocean swallowed their islands. They were safe... but they had lost their happiness.
- Is that all?
- Well, almost. Some day they will return. They will ask Mother Earth to return their islands... But they won't stay here, if humans are hostile towards them. So... much is in your hands. Ah, and unlike the first furries, their genes are stronger than humans', so from cross-species relationships, new furries would be born.
- Sounds great... Now tell me, is this story true?
- You must answer this question for yourself, you know.
- Ah, yes... Sure, it's as much the truth as you are. I think we should start preparing the world for their arrival. The furry community online could be a great help...
- But how are you going to tell them about it?
- First I'll write this story down and then post it somewhere on the net, Ok?
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Sharpfang
Mon Oct 11 20:13:38 CEST 1999