Solí's heart beat in time with the drums outside her family's high teneti; their rhythm called to her. They all waited for her now that the drums had started pounding out their double heart-beat.
It was time. Solí's younger sister Miraka gave her the biggest of hugs. Solí embraced her and took a big quivering breath as her wolf teeth necklace dug into her skin.
"You can do it, sister," Miraka told her. She almost tugged her regalia off her shoulder when she pulled away. Her thirteen-year-old sister replaced the deerskin fancy shawl and patted her shoulder.
Solí couldn't reply around her tight throat. She nodded and turned. To keep the decorative wolf skull in her blonde hair, she dipped her head and ducked below the tent flap. The gathered crowd cheered for her; the men's drums pounded even harder. The women's tambourines joined in, adding their steady beat to the sacred song.
Solí peered through the dusky light as the full moon began to rise opposite of the setting sun. Many had gathered, not just from her village of Itaone, but from the surrounding villages too. Somewhere out there, visiting tribal lords scrutinized her. Would she prove worthy of marrying a fledgling tribal lord? Or would she fail?
Her eyes searched the surroundings and located her father and younger brother standing near the altar and a burning bonfire. Her father also wore a sacred wolf skull on his head. Wolf tails adorned his belt. He wore brand new deerskin leggings and moccasins to commemorate the occasion. His bare chest had been painted red by his own bonded wolf, Wuruhina.
Her younger brother Kuao wore similar attire. Instead of a wolf skull, he had a headband made of leather and decorated with wolf teeth. He held a hand drum and pounded along with the beat.
She had never seen so many people, but focusing on her two family members helped calm her nerves. She strode toward them, forcing her head to remain high, feigning confidence. Could she really call to a wolf? Would a wolf answer her call? What if she failed in front of all these people?
The words of the tribe's old wise woman Waiata echoed in her head. "The makutu will only work if you remain calm and focus on your inner peace. Focus on awakening your soul and calling to your future bonded wolf."
She must remain calm, but with the drums pounding and making her heart dance, she felt her inner peace run away in terror.
"Focus on your breath," Waiata had always coached her. So as she continued to walk confidently up the village path, she took slow, calming breaths in time with the beat of the tambourines and drums.
She approached her father and knelt to show him honor. With her eyes on his feet, she knew he had raised his arms, because the drums rang out one final beat and went silent, and the women tapped their tambourines in a very low rustle.
"Brethren, we have gathered to bear witness to my daughter Solí's right of passage. Tonight she will call forth the sacred animal of our tribe."
Around the silent spectators a low wolf howl filled the air. Other wolves joined in, making their presence known as they watched from the shadows of the trees. The sacred bonded wolves of the village warriors called out to them. If Solí could summon one tonight, she'd mark herself as worthy of marriage to a chief's son. If she succeeded, she'd be able to join her father on a pilgrimage around the nation of Väria in search of a future husband. She'd have a chance to meet many tribal princes, but she would also have the chance to find her soulmate. So she could marry for love.
She was fourteen years old. She'd have seven years to find her soulmate, if he or she even existed. And even if she didn't have a soulmate, she'd be the honored wife of a tribal lord. The chief's right-hand woman. Before Solí's mother died, she had told her all the time how honored she was to be the wife of a chief. How Solí would also have that honor, thanks to her birthright.
No one had ever asked Solí what she wanted, though. And now, as she took her first step toward becoming the wife of a chief, she found herself wanting to fail the summoning.
She shook her head at the preposterous thought. She must honor her father and successfully summon a wolf. So she stood and held out her hands. Her father draped a wolf koroka across her shoulders, covering her decorative shawl with the warm fur cloak. "I believe in you, daughter," he said so that only she could hear. "Honor your mother's memory and summon your wolf."
She inclined her head in a nod and turned toward the outcropping of exposed bedrock on the shore of the Iwanui river. She knelt on the smooth black bedrock, which felt cool to her knees. She dipped both hands in the sacred wooden bowl of white paint made from the petals of the sacred datura, and in a grand gesture, she spread the paint in a circle around her.
Behind her, Waiata started singing in a high warbling voice. Her brother Kuao tapped on his hand drum in time with the song, while all around the village, the women continued jingling their tambourines. Solí breathed with the song of the wise old woman, which had no words, just a calming melody. She sat cross legged outside of her circle and rested her hands on her knees. As she tapped her hands to the beat of Kuao's drum and Waiata's melody, she breathed calmly.
Finally, she started swaying, and the motion awakened the power inside her. She felt it start to swirl deep within herself. Like a red flower blossoming and drifting in an endless circle on the water, her mana opened in a rush at her first sacred circle at the base of her spine. It fluttered up her spine in a soothing dance of pure energy. As it touched the second sacred circle on her body, she felt her mana swell with orange power in her abdomen.
She breathed and opened up, and her mana flowed into her third sacred circle below her ribs. It swelled with a familiar harmonizing yellow energy. She continued to breathe as she willed her mana to climb up her spine. It reached her heart which thudded with the pulse of green power and nearly overwhelmed her. But she had trained with this sacred circle often enough to find this rush of power to be somewhat familiar.
Just one more sacred circle and she could perform the makutu to summon her wolf. She willed her mana to ascend while she visualized the power in her throat opening like a blue flower bud. She had only reached this sacred circle two times before. She knew forcing it wouldn't work. She must wait while she breathed and sought inner peace. She heard the wise woman's voice in her head. Let go of your tendency to withdraw and believe in your ability to communicate.
She visualized herself standing in front of all the tribal lords and speaking confidently. She looked inward and saw a blue flower bud open. Her mana flowed into the sacred circle in her throat; it swelled with blue power, and she sighed deeply.
She reached up to the cloak on her shoulders and drew the koroka around herself. The wolfskin cloak was the requirement to call a wolf. The circle she had drawn with the white paint of the sacred datura allowed her spirit to call the wolf. She need only harness her mana to perform the makutu. "Tehn, haer mah kih ahau e te wuruha!" she said in a strong voice.
Her mana flowed and reached out to all corners of the realm.
~ * ~
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Soulmates Across Borders
Fantasy|| Open Novella Contest 2023 Shortlist || 4x Featured || In a realm where soulmates are bound by the ancient and mystical Värian life bond magic, love and loyalty collide amidst the chaos of an endless war. At the volatile border between warring nat...
