POV Liang

  I watched Jie Mins leave my father’s tent, escorted by the ritual guards.

  We do not usually keep more than two. There is rarely any need for that kind of force in the hands of the ritual leader. But Jie Mins being an Omen had given my father the pretense needed to draft more from the tribe, under the disapproving looks of both the Chief and the Hunter Elder.

  With people being taken away from the hunts to train, we were short on manpower everywhere. To maintain things, the hunters had to go farther, hunt longer, and bring back more to make up for the loss. We also had less meat in our diet now, using what we gathered to supplement it.

  “You did good.”

  I hear the words from my right. My father looks down at me and smiles, the one he only wears when we are alone. I smile back.

  He must keep his stern persona in front of everyone, even the Chief.

  That is his role.

  And I do mine.

  “It is good that you played to the goodwill of the individual,” he says. “I needed him to understand the gravity of the situation he finds himself in. I do wonder what that liquid he claims he can make truly is. I have never heard of any liquid, aside from certain herb mixtures, that dulls the mind, and I have certainly never heard of one that gives courage. Did he speak of these things to you when he nearly broke a taboo?”

  I shake my head. “No. But I think he was likely trying to gain access to tools. I do not think he lied originally, but he seemed desperate for something to do, for some way out. It seems he did not enjoy being stifled in this tribe.”

  After a moment, I ask the question that has been bothering me.

  “Why is he still alive? After he broke the charm of the mountains, the one used to ward off anything unusual, I thought the elders would push either to hand him to the valley for grain or to put him to a sacrificial death to appease any angry spirits.”

  The death of a man in our tribe was no small matter.

  It is only because my father stepped in and silenced the warriors in training who had been at the field, binding them with the Oath of the Cold Mountain, that every man and woman in the tribe was not already storming Jie Mins’s tent in search of retribution for his actions. Forced actions, from what I had heard, but still actions.

  I am certain word will leak. But fury can be redirected if enough time is given. Other outlets can be found for it.

  It is not as if I wish death upon Jie Mins.

  In a way, I find him interesting. The way he keeps grasping for anything familiar, always trying to compare our land to the one he came from. And it is not as if he acted entirely of his own will. He likely acted on my advice, though not in the way I expected it to unfold.

  A pang runs through my chest.

  I will go to Marek’s parents and offer them words of peace in these sorrowful days.

  Father is still smiling at me, and I make myself calm down.

  “What do you think, little Liang?” he asks encouragingly. “You are smart. I will listen to what you think.”

  I think hard before answering. The whole situation is confusing, and I am not allowed into the elders’ meetings. Most of what I know comes from what my father lets slip and what I manage to piece together from the wives of the other elders.

  “I do not know much, Father,” I begin, “but I know things do not look good for the tribe for some reason. We seem cornered by something. Based on how long the hunters must stay away and how deep the gatherers must now go into the forest, I assume there is a lack of food. We do not go hungry, so it must not yet be too bad, but I do not know why we cannot simply move the tribe early from this place, or perhaps expand our grazing lands.”

  I pause, thinking through it.

  “But we cannot, for some reason. So we need another source of food. Likely the valley, since they have plentiful grain from the earth and fish that swim past their village. They will not share, and the elders believe Jie Mins will be the key to forcing the situation. Somehow. That is why Yuren is training him. And, finding him lacking, he let Marek get himself killed by accident.”

  Saying that last part makes me lower my head, but I continue anyway.

  “He was searching for something that would spark Jie Mins, and we found it. Even if there is no spearplay in his muscles, his pure strength and height can bring fear into the valley.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Father nods.

  “That is why the Chief and his confidants want to keep him, even after what happened. They justify Marek’s death by saying they played with an Omen and got burned. That way they can continue to keep and train him. They will likely move away from spearplay now and turn to something else, now that they have made this discovery.”

  Then, to my surprise, he continues.

  “But why do you think I let him walk back to his tent? After all, he has already been pushed once, and Yuren and the Chief will likely keep pushing him further so they can shape him as quickly as possible. That will breed enmity in him toward them, and likely toward the tribe as well.”

  His expression remains calm.

  “The Hunter Elder wants to exile or sacrifice Jie Mins, and is trying to hand him reasons and tools to betray the tribe early so his response may be swift and final. Since I refuse to make my stance clear, he cannot use me against the Chief. With all this in mind, why would I let Jie Mins walk away, when he may yet blow foul winds and enmity toward the tribe?”

  I freeze.

  My father was contemplating sacrificing him?

  I mean, he would have the authority to decide such a thing, since Jie Mins is an Omen, and playing with an Omen is dangerous. We had already been burned once. What would stop it from happening again? Father could cut the flower before it bloomed into something poisonous.

  And although nearly everyone, aside from perhaps the Hunter Elder, would be furious, they would be unable to do more than curse him to the Spirits.

  “I... I do not know, Father,” I answer honestly.

  He works within the traditions and customs of the tribe. Hearing him even suggest he might act against them leaves me unsure how to respond.

  “It is all right not to know,” he says.

  Then he stands and walks deeper into the hut, into the section where he contemplates the will of the Spirits and the teachings of our ancestors. I follow.

  “It is simply because I believe his knowledge may be powerful, if true. That knowledge may be poisonous, but in the upcoming times I fear it will be chaotic, and I must take action for the future of the tribe. So I must make him prove that he is not weaving illusions to deceive you.”

  Then he adds something more.

  “Let me ask you a question, little Liang. What do you think of traditions?”

  “They must be followed,” I answer without hesitation.

  He nods and smiles, but what he says next shocks me.

  “It is wonderful to have an obedient child, but you must look deeper than that.”

  What does Father mean?

  Is he saying there are times when it is right to go against custom? Against tradition? Seeing that I do not know how to respond, Father chuckles softly and continues.

  “Liang, have you never found it bitter that the first daughter of the ritual leader must be wed to the new Chief when he takes his predecessor’s place?”

  Why is Father asking me this?

  “No,” I answer. “It is my duty. Just as it is the duty of a warrior to die for the tribe, so must I follow the arrangements made by my ancestors.”

  Father gives me a tired, sad smile, and my heart stirs with worry.

  Why is he sad?

  “Answer me this,” he says. “Beyond tradition, think deeper. Why would you need to be with the new Chief?”

  I think carefully.

  I struggle against the urge to answer only with tradition and force myself to look deeper. If I were not being bound by tradition alone, then why else would this be required?

  “Is it perhaps to ensure that the power and influence of the ritual leader do not grow too great and threaten the Chief?” I say slowly. “After all, Father, you hold the power that comes with the knowledge of the Spirits. If a ritual leader were not as honest as you, he might bring harm indirectly by calling down the fury of spirits, or directly by trying to seize power from the Chief, using the pretense of the Spirits. And I would be used as a piece to keep you in check.”

  He smiles proudly at me, and I cannot quite fight the urge to puff out my chest.

  “It is true,” he says. “But you missed another detail.”

  That immediately makes me deflate, but I listen carefully. His teachings are valuable, and though I will not be the next ritual leader, I may still one day advise the next one, whether it be one of my brothers or another chosen by the Spirits.

  “You forgot that the exchange runs both ways,” he says. “The next Chief will use you to keep me in check, but you will also be used to keep the Chief from growing arrogant and abusing his position.”

  He pauses.

  “The position of Chief is not one of ruling. It is one of guiding. If he were ever to attempt something that would harm the tribe, it would be you who must stand as the last, but most important, barrier against him. There have been times when the struggle for the position of Chief became fierce, and when one finally took power, his first actions were to destroy those who had wronged him. If such a thing were to happen, it would be your duty to stop him.”

  I stay quiet, taking it in.

  “The reason one follows tradition blindly,” Father continues, “is only when one does not understand why those traditions were formed. That blindness exists to protect us from repeating the mistakes of our ancestors, who bled and paid terrible prices to pass down their knowledge. But in times of chaos, when the earth rejects us, we must look deeply into why certain traditions exist, when they must be broken, and when new ones must be formed.”

  Seeming to be done with his lesson, he heads for the exit to the meeting with the elders. I remain where I am, still turning his words over in my head.

  I do not fully understand what Father meant in that last part of his teaching and i wonder about the crises the tribe is facing. How much time we have before the elders are forced to push some the issue.