Dark Moon of the Red Dawn

Chapter 1 A Week of Firsts

Dark Moon of the Red DawnBy: LadyDawn

2013 Copyright © All Right Reserved

Chapter 1 A Week of Firsts

To this day the girl child having been raised by kinfolk, never seen the inside of any type of school–having been schooled in the old ways of her people as it has been for centuries. Just as no-one knows of her name, or her birth some 19 years past. In these back hills where she was born and raised by her kinfolk‒few if any ever know of a birth or death in the community from the outside world. With it being so tight nit and private a community and no outsiders allowed to ever set foot within the boundaries of the sacred grounds. They have no needs outside their community seeing as they live off the land like all their kin that came before them.

On this day just a week before the big celebration the girl child is getting ready to take her final oath–The blood Oath–before family and friends at the site of the great alter nestled in the great hills. The Sacred Site of their fore sisters. It is as it has always been done for a girl child's 19th year of birth. A great circle will be formed, the child will take their final “Blood Oath” to live and protect the community. It is how it has always been since the dreaded night of the dark one all those centuries ago. The girl child must be a virgin and offer her blood to ward off the dark one from the village for another lifetime. Her lifetime.

The last girl child known as the Great Shaman Edwena died just a day ago at the ripe old age of 103 years. It is time for her replacement to step in. The new girl child will get her name and replace the old shamanic woman Edwena that just passed. For the first 19 years of life she has had no name to speak of. Knowing she was going to replace the shaman woman Edwena when her time came as it was told in the great book of knowledge. She has been training for the past 19 years–specifically for this time and reason–taken away from her birth mother at the sign of the Dark Moon of her birth. They had no idea till the next morning after when the sun rose up red in the sky it was the sign. The Sign!

Everyone in the village knew what “The Sign” meant. A special one had just been born the night before, that would rule their people one day. That day is in 7 short days. The only thing that was unexpected was the sudden death of the previous shaman woman 7 days before the new one was to take her place. It has never happened before in the history of their tribe.

The sudden instillation of the girl child as the shaman woman–the one with no name is quite unsettling to say the least‒without a shaman to help her through the ceremony.

The usual ritual was to have the outgoing shaman name the new girl as her replacement during her 19th Winter Solstice blood initiation ceremony. Now she will have to do it herself at the great alter and choose her own name. Totally unheard of in the history of their people. And what will happen during this service seeing as the initiate is usually not awake during the blood letting ritual due to the pain of it all? This is quit troubling. The only other one that can do the ceremony now that the Great Shaman Edwena is dead is the girl child herself it must be done by a shaman of their Tribe of the Red Dawn only.

A Day to Morn Their Great Healer

Edwena's body is prepared for the ritual fires to send her off to the otherworld of her makers, to wait her time along with the shaman greats who came before her. This eve before the great night of nights‒Winter Solstice‒will be the night to send her off to meet her makers and make way for the coming eve that will be reserved for the new shaman to be. Girl Child sets to making the great shaman Edwena's body prepared for the ceremonial fires she will be set upon. She is dressed in her finest furs. Fur boots of white and brown, bright white fur skirt, tight fitting blue sleeveless cotton top with a red fox fur vest trimmed in strands of colorful beads and animal teeth. Her hair has been braided into tiny tight braids with hundreds of colorful wooden beads, gold beads, silver beads, bone beads, glass beads and stone beads with the ends are tied with sacred animal bones. It is how she wore her hair most times. The exception of the gold and silver. These were added as a sign of respect at death, a sort of a fair-the-well ritual send off for their high shaman goddess.