The old man was shivering with cold and he was trying to wrap himself more tightly into the shabby blanket embroidered with black-and-red images of huacu. Despite of midday summer heat, the old shiver had started to shake him again. The fever had been tormenting him already for many long years, it was not just a simple illness, it was a punishment. The old man was sitting under sprawling branches of a breadfruit tree and observing fondly two little boys who had come again to his deserted rock, despite of a strict ban of their parents. He was watching their clumsy attempts to start their birds into the sky. An involuntary smile appeared on his skinny sun-burnt face. He remembered his childhood, his friends, his bird ... all those distant memories... But they were as clear as everything just happened yesterday. Having rubbed his insensible breast in another attempt to drive away the everlasting cold, the old man got a pipe from folds of his blanket. The notorious pipe out off a bone of the Midday animal. He has not still learned how to use it for all his life, but he could do something. Having blown on tiny accurate instrument, he sighed deeply and put the pipe to his prickly lips.
"A little confidence" the common phrase flashed in his head.
The first sounds of the ancient relic were similar to a singing of distant alarm horns and to low moans of a dying deer. Having heard the melody of the flute, the birds shattered, spread wide wings and smoothly flied up into a clean blue sky from the cliff's edge. Kids yelled joyfully and seized the strings hard not to lose their favorites. With each new note, the dark blue and green silhouettes rose higher and higher, then they reached zenith and began to circle in a strange smooth dance around the shining solar disk.
The old man put off the pipe to take a breath and glanced at the sea which azure waters seemed to be so peaceful and quiet that day. But he didn't trust their calm appearance since long ago. A queue of tides and ebbs, seasonal arrival of sea dwellers from a simple small fish-thimble to a huge sea worm, catching octopuses among rocks, collecting of oysters after a storm, behind all that routine.... there was something else, something hidden from the eye, a secret, ancient as an ocean itself. Once, he had encountered it. That day the sea had shown him another face of its.
#
This story happened when the old man was absolutely young. At that time his name was Small Shield and he had just ended up a training to become a Caller. That memorable day he passed examination on that lowerst priest degree. He and his mates still had years of study ahead, but the cheerful company of students went to celebrate their little success and to say last goodbye to the childhood. By an old tradition they should spend the whole night ashore at a bonfire in singing of flower songs and dancing. When their noisy company was passing the last accurate small houses of Topan's suburbs, Small Shield suddenly saw Prankish sadly sitting on a stone bench near the road. The look of the merry fellow was so unusual that the young man slowed down his steps and stopped. His friends ran ahead, noticing nothing. Trying not to breath, the future priest approached the huacu who looked like a petrified sculpture of a deep thoughtfulness. The young man never saw him in such a distress though Small Shield suspected that it might be a trick of the well known knave. But all his suspicions disappeared when the young man saw tears on pale cheeks of the local favorite.
"What has happened, Prankish?" - he asked with excitement - "what could hurt you so much"?
"Don't ask me. Better keep going" - huacu responded and began to sob.
"But I can't leave you in such a despair!" - the compassionate fellow said - " Can I help you"?
"I do not know... maybe ... "- Prankish replied, then leaned back on the stone seat and carefully examined the young fellow all over.
"I feel an approach of the emptiness, the Great Emptiness. It will be established in the Topan soon. It's already close by..." - huacu murmured.
At that moment the student suddenly remembered that just the day before their teacher had spoken about an army of the northerners, settling horror along the whole seaside. But those savages never were a serious threat to their glorious Topan, so the young man paid no attention to that news. Instead of that he looked at the daughter of their teacher, Good News by name. She had brought a breakfast to her father exactly at that moment. Having imagined her black braids with funny bony amulets on the tips, Small Shield smiled softly, but then he reminded himself to stay serious. It was necessary to ask huacu about the reason of this approaching trouble. But Prankish had disappeared already. He left only something wrapped in a piece of an ocelot skin lying on the stone bench. Huacu's farewell gift. Having opened the package, the young man found a smooth polished spearhead. Two accurate hieroglyphs was cut on it: the Spine of Headstrong. The student grinned, it was the name of the well- known city master. Now he knew from whom Prankish had "borrowed" such a valuable thing.
Their festivity was a good one. The future priests sang and danced in the light of fires, interrupting themselves only to drink some sour beer from the flasks. It was their first experience, and alcohol struck in young heads, spreading off the habitual world and opening new horizons to them. Should Sower himself come at that moment to a circle of dancers, they would not recognize him. Such cases happened before. Sower was a good huacu, he was able to fulfill any men's dream, and it was the top desire of every Topan citizen to meet him face to face once in a lifetime. Disguised, he used to sneak into a circle of dancers and having been not recognized he danced with passion together with humans. It was the greatest disappointment to young priests every time when they started to realize the very next morning that they had missed their unique chance of a life-time and had not recognized their visitor.
Therefore the first thought of the awakened the next morning Small Shield was to check out his companions faces, which should be painted dark blue in case Sower was among them last night. Huacu usually left such sign to unlucky students. Having got up from sand, and looking around, the young men noticed a human coming out of the sea waters. No doubt he was a human not a huacu, cause he was stumbling and even ready to fell down every time the tender wave caught up with him. But how very unusual and terrible he looked! A tall, mighty man, his face overgrown with dense beard. Extraordinary fair, almost transparent eyes. The force and persistence were written on that face. This expression did not leave him even when having reached the water edge, the stranger silently tumbled down on the sand and stayed still.
#
The old man remembered very well his own feelings during that moment. He tried to guess who that unexpected guest from the sea might be, but there was not a single clue in his head. He touched the stranger lightly, checking whether that person was real. Other students began to wake up and one by one they surrounded the mighty stranger in admiration. And began to state guesses and nearly fought because know-it-all Sixth House persuaded that it was a fisherman from the South and he had been brought by the current so far from his home place. But Small Shield saw southerners, small and dark, they had no resemblance with this fair visitor. At last their noise and shouts woken up the stranger, and he jumped up from sand as if he were stung by a scorpion, looking around like a wild beast, the stranger hold a glittering weapon in his hand.
The old man remembered well the face of the newcomer at that moment. It was so attractive and so disgusting at the same time! It seemed, the stranger was ready to attack the students who had surrounded him. But when he noticed their smiles, he put down his weapon and smiled too. Even the sun looked through the pink morning clouds to have a look at that smile. Future priests began to question the stranger interrupting each other, but he didn't understand them. Even when they spoke in the Universal language understood by the most out-of-the-way savages, he did not get a single word. The only thing they could extract from their visitor, was his name "Ctucheck", as strange, as he himself. Moreover the stranger, having understood their inquiries in his own way, draw a circle on sand, and within it another two smaller circles. He knocked a fist at his chest, pointed at his picture and at the sea behind his back. But they didn't understand him again. After awhile the know-it-all Sixth House guessed that those two circles could mean islands in the ocean, their visitor had come from. But it was well known fact: nobody had ever lived there. So the question raised: how the man got to those islands.
Eventually, they decided that their visitor needed rest, and that it would be better to continue questioning after they would invite their teacher. Small Shield was the first one to have found the stranger and nobody questioned his right to offer the man his house' hospitality. Students cheerfully leaded the way to the city, and all townsfolk they met threw away their own business to join the noisy company. They stared at the stranger, as at some magical being and everyone wished to touch him. When future priests reached Small Shield's house, the big crowd of curious people surrounded them. Two old men welcomed the son and his visitors. His mother began to fuss at the oven, his father set a stranger in a place of honor and offered him a bowl with juice of a dried fig. Then the bowl went on a circle while first aroma flat cakes were cooking on fire. The stranger began to eat as a hungry animal, and all the onlookers stopped breathing, they had never seen one person finishing the week stocks of the whole family with such a speed. For so many guests had come so the young priest did not notice that huacu of his house, famous for their hospitality, were absent. They did not come out to the guests.
When night had come, Small Shield climbed on the roof, whence billions of stars seemed to be a little bit closer. The guest who was sleeping all the rest of the day, joined him, and they together began to look at the transparent sky in which thirteen animals continued their slow movement within their eternal circle. The stranger suddenly began to speak in the unclear guttural language, pointing out to the Five, towards the sea and on the house. Having seen that his host didn't understand him, he became silent and leaned back on one of the straw mats covered the roof. Then the stranger fell asleep, but the young man couldn't sleep, he tossed himself for a long time without understanding of the reason of his anxiety. At last he realised that there was no sound of the Ruined Tower Owner's lament which he mourned every night crying over Girl-With-a-Beautiful-Smile, buried under its stones. It was strange, but presumably even huacu's mourning had the beginning and the end, as well as everything in this world.
Young priest didn't manage to sleep that night. Near the daybreak, when stars have started to grow dull and die away in the brightened sky, he was woken by Sixth House:
"Rise! Alarm! The army of northerners is closing! Huacu have left the city, our single hope is in the help of the Templers!" - he chattered and it was so unusual for the ever well-behaved Sixth House! "The teacher has sent me for you, the supreme priest will listen to you, lets run! It might be late!"
The news was so sudden and unexpected that Small Shield couldn't understand at once the most extraordinary thing, - huacu had left their city! It was unbelievable! Such thing had never happened before, and the future priest couldn't think up any reason of their flight. Then he suddenly remembered Prankish's words, he told at a roadside bench: "I feel a great emptiness approaching ...". What kind of power the northerners must have brought so even huacu preferred to fly away from their home town! True, only the priests of the Great Temple with their power over the Master-of -the-Night could save city. It was no time to waist! Having stepped carefully over the sleeping stranger, young man picked up huacu's gift, the spearhead wrapped in a skin of the ocelot, he would carry it always, and hurried after his excited mate.
#
Yes, the supreme priest knew the Small Shield since the childhood. It began when the old man saved the kid's life once, he pulled him out of the city water canal. Shield was half-drowned and out of breath, almost dead. Old man brought the scared little boy to his senses and presented him a beautiful blue lizard amulet which the grateful boy had never taken off since then. But he couldn't think that head of Templers remembered him. It was a great surprise, when many years after the great priest was visiting their school and he recognized the young fellow and even called him by the name. Since then the teacher began to charge Small Shield with all affairs connected with the temple of the Night Lord. The supreme priest was always glad to see the young men. And now he allowed him to join to Templers ranks to observe the ongoing battle from behind of the priests backs.
Two armies met in a valley, in a view of Topan and stopped to express their contempt to each other before the final fight. Endless ranks of warriors and heroes, sorcerers and priests, elders and chiefs... all in colorful fighting war gear with multi-colored flags behind the backs. There was cream de la cream of the Topan and the numerous irregular red and black army of northern barbarians opposed them. Small Shield carefully examined the enemy ranks. The chief and three sorcerers stood in front of the enemy's army. One of them possessed such a power that was capable to frighten huacu and even Soldier-With-the-Lame-Knee, the patron of their city. Young priest squeezed Prankish's gift as a knife in his hands. The young man knew that huacu never did anything without a solid reason so if he had left the weapon, that means there is a chance to win with this weapon and to ward off disaster from the city. It was necessary to spot the target for this special weapon now...
Northerners began the battle. And what an ordinary beginning it was! The first sorcerer waved his staff, and venomous snakes got from beneath the earth, they opened the jaws with poisonous teeth and began to hiss loudly. The snakes were preparing to attack the defenders of the city when one of Templers struck his staff about the earth, and the sun grown dim, hidden by a dense veil of clouds. Flocks of night birds gone down from the black sky, they began to catch coiling snakes and tear them apart.
The second sorcerer of northerners stepped forward and struck in the tambourine made out off a human skin. The howl of thousand throats was heard immediately and the huge pack of sandy dogs rushed on soldiers of Topan with glowing red eyes. Small Shield grinned. All that reminded their teacher's lecture on a call of other beings. One of temple's priests whistled in a whistle, and the huge black predator from caves arose in front of their army. He began to roar loudly, showed his terrible fangs and began to whip itself with his spotty tail, preparing to attack. Sandy dogs, having seen the eternal enemy and murderer of theirs, drawn in tails and rushed away. The beast roared loudly and followed them, breaking sickly dog backs with blows of his powerful paws.
The savage's chief came forward and rose up his both hands, the curved knife covered with hieroglyphs of secret language was grasped in one of them. The enemy leader made a deep cut on left palm by the knife and blood flew down. As soon as its first drops touched the ground, huacu, noble ancestors of northerners came out of it. The whole army of ancient warriors painted in colors of war and death. They started singing a song and rushed on defenders of Topan. There was nothing unpredictable in this move of the opponent and it was strange why these savages had managed to defeat other coastal cities. The supreme priest grinned and struck his famous staff about the earth. The song of enemies ceased, having given way to a strange silence, even the city dogs started a melancholy howl. Ancient warlords begun to kill each other, ruthlessly stabbing and cutting bodies of the companions. Supreme priest got a dried human head out off his sash and threw it into the ranks of the fighting enemies. The head swept along the ground, jumping up on hummocks, and began to increase in size. Its shape changed, and there it was already not a head, but Lord Dead with the millstone himself. He was tall as a high breadfruit tree, the earth trembled under the steps of his ugly sharp-clawed paws. The giant rolled a millstone out off grinned dead heads. With singing and growling he directed into the center of huacu's fight and began to reel up their bodies on the huge tangle. Topan's army burst out with victorious shouts. Who could resist such a power!
The last, third sorcerer of northerners stepped forward. He was tiny in height and nothing to look at, whether a shabby man or a kid. Having got a pipe from the folds of his old black blanket, he blew in it, and a lightning fell from the sky, transforming the giant raging on corpses of enemies into a burning log. The little sorcerer blew in his instrument the second time and the sky was cleared, vanishing rule of the night. The sun begun to shine again. The sorcerer blew in the third time and enemy's huacu stopped to kill each other. They were looking around with amazement for a while and then they rushed on the real enemies with terrifying scream.
Small Shield grasped the weapon in his wet palm and stepped forward, it was clear now who was their main opponent in this battle. Meanwhile supreme priest struck his staff about the earth, and immediately the roots of trees appeared. They were alive and they began to catch enemy's feet and stop them on the run, and finally tore them to pieces. Supreme Priest laughed loudly when the roots stretched towards the tiny black figure, but the third sorcerer played on the pipe again and a flame wall stood up before him. Roots turned back from the breathing with heat fire. That little enemy possessed really great power, it seemed his pipe had unlimited stocks of miracles inside ...
"It's a Daydreamer" - supreme priest exclaimed, and Small Shield shuddered. A Daydreamer! It was a myth, a legend, a living deity, the higher degree of an enlightenment to which all holy men would target and would never reach. Because Daydreamer possessed such a power that could change the reality by his wish.
Obeying to the pipe's sounds, the wall of flame stepped up to hiding roots and burned them down. Having finished with them, it moved on town people. Topan defenders understood that they had lost the battle and their army started to fly away. Only a figure of old priest remained still in the view of coming flame. He accepted his defeat with an honor. Small Shield looked at him for the last time to remember the picture of the wise man disappearing into a wall of fire. During that moment future priest noticed their visitor, the person from the sea with the strange shining weapon in his hands. The man shouted something to the running away citizens and strode towards approaching roaring flame. And then something strange happened: the flame departed and passed the stranger through, and then disappeared completely as a winter hoarfrost at the sunrise.
The bearded warrior alone as if he was huacu himself attacked the stoned enemies, cutting off their heads as if they were barren flowers. Daydreamer blew again in his pipe, causing a huge monster made out off uncountable set of tentacles and mandibles. But the new creature only peeped painfully and scattered into a heap of harmless termites. The tiny sorcerer tried to play again, but this time instead of a melody he got only damped whistles and rattles. Small Shield frozen to ground trying to get what was going on. He saw Daydreamer banged the pipe about the left hand as if trying to beat some sand out of it. He saw red-black savages doing protective signs against huacu trying to stop the bearded warrior, their younger sorcerers tried to read spells. But all was in vain and the stranger all over in blood, cut off again and again their heads. The bearded warrior didn't notice their main enemy at all. Having accepted him for a child, he passed by, having jumped easily over the heap of crawling about insects. And Small Shield somehow suddenly felt with all his being that it was their unexpected visitor who had taken off the flame wall. It was he who didn't allow Daydreamer's creature to become real and he made silent the all-powerful pipe. This stranger was wearing another world. The world without huacu, Callers and any sorcery, the world of disbelief, and that disbelief was so great that the belief of Daydreamer had been broken by it in an instant. That coming world caused huacu to leave their own city. They had scented it from far away and got terrified, even always cheerful Prankish was frightened to tears by the coming "Great Emptiness".
Small Shield looked back at the townspeople who had stopped running away, reading their faces he saw how far they were from understanding of the moment. He was sleeping with open eyes and saw a vision, a vision of a future. Henceforth their life would change, they would appeal to their patrons, but those would not come any more on the call. Never again they would perform a dance of shades with people, never would console ones in a difficulty and wouldn't give unexpected advice. Never would step into the war for them and never begin to demand sacrifices. They would simply disappear. Forever. Temples would become empty, shrines would grow with weeds. And soon only a small piles of stones on forgotten ruins and light of the Five in the empty sky would remind people of former times.
#
When northerners had trembled and started running away, the smiling stranger, with his nostrils inflated after fight came up to Small Shield and patted his shoulder, telling soothing words in unknown language. The future priest tried not to look at his eyes. He put up the spearhead and stuck it into the neck of the man from the sea, separating one vertebras from another. At last, he got the answer to why he was given that weapon.
Ever since he lived alone on this very rock, the exile who had broken laws of hospitality. Nobody talked to him and didn't lift up one's eyes on him, only innocent kids came here, despite of all bans of their parents. After all this rock was the best place to start flying birds who loved the sounds of his pipe so much. That pipe out off a bone of the Midday animal had been gifted to the young priest by Daydreamer after that memorable battle.