Thugge: Chapter 2- Part B- At the River’s Edge
Niiqiarqusu pulled his hood low over his eyes, let out a long slow breath and slowly allowed the anxiety to bleed from his frame and posture. Most neighbors of the Thagge think them almost superstitiously secretive, conscious of every little nuance in their facial expressions, their posture, their voice. Everything is controlled, but subtly, to avoid presenting too much of one’s hopes, one’s fears, one’s expectations. It was largely the same reason the Thuge chose to constantly cover their faces with cowls and veils. Its also what made them excellent merchants and negotiators. And so Niiqiarqusu drew his hood close, pulled up his cowl and again forced the anxiety and tension from his frame.
Striding confidently to the river’s edge where his neighbors awaited the return of the ‘Voice of the Will’, he took his place amongst his neighbors, many of whom, like him, stood with casual detached patience, very adroitly concealing the tension they no doubt felt as much as Niiqiarqusu did. As the sun continued its climb and the tide slowly returned to the clay-lined river’s edge, the small raft of the ‘Voice of the Will’ finally returned. The ‘Voice’ was guarded by two men with long spears, their faces also covered under their hoods and veils in masks, one of a stork and one of a frog.
As their barge drew close Frog threw a line to the assembled men and women. A fishermen caught it and adroitly pulled the barge to shore. Stork threw out a plank and frog, in what would otherwise be a humorous impression of his mask’s identity, adroitly hopped to shore. Taking position at the edge of the group, he drew himself straight and seemed to stare
over the assembled neighbors, his spear at the ready. The Voice casually walked across the plank and into the assembled neighbors, his demeanor serene and detached, his robes, fine charcoal-grey cotton, flowing around him in the warm mid-day breeze.
The Voice of the Will (Re-Enactment from Modern Theater)
As Stork took his position at the other flank, the ‘Voice’ uttered a quick incantation, his veils hardly moving as his lips hurried through the prayer. To outsiders, this may seem strange. Whom or what are the Thugge invoking? Is it their god, or gods, their ancestors? The Thugge, as a people, have an active understanding and curiosity of the world beyond our ken and believe in life after death. Some believe that the highest echelons of the ‘Society’ are in contact with the spirits of the dead or with what can only be interpreted as god(s). Many considered the ‘Society’ as a sort of religion with its highest echelons acting as a sort of priesthood. Of course, this is just hearsay and conjecture; the higher ranking ‘Society’ members do not share their secrets and least of all their prayers with men and women of the lowest ranks and would both politely and arrogantly ignore a request for an explanation from one as lowly as the first circle Niiqiarqusu. Quietly Niiqiarqusu wondered at what circle the prayers were taught, when the secrets of divinity, if there were any, were shared. How high of a rank did this man carry? To what circle did he belong? How many circles were there? The fisherman knew only of two, his own and that of his handler. Above that, there was only,
more.
The muffled prayer completed, the ‘Voice’ turned to the assembled people. His words were simple, absolute in their authority, “Gather your possessions and family. Leave your homes upon the river. You have until first sun on market day.”
Not all of the assembled men were able to hide their shock and despair. A slight tremor shook one man’s shoulder. Tension gripped the posture of another. A third tightened his grip on a walking cane, his knuckles turning white. Niiqiarqusu did not break his gaze on the messenger, but within his mind he was breathing out slowly and stretching his limbs. His body did not shake or harden. His breath did not catch and his posture remained calm and serene.
And so it was that over 20 families, over 100 men and women and children lost their homes and not a single person cried out or wept or even spoke. Such was the way of the Thugge.
darn... i was hoping to slip this in before the update.
