Myth of the Cougar

Prologue: Deep Slumber

Dark was the night, void of any moon or sound of living things. No rustle in the undergrowth, nor scratching in the trees overhead or flapping in the wind. The forest was silent as death and black as a raven's wing. The only sound to be heard was the crunch of leaves under the feet of my brother and me as we tried in vain to lead the young girl trailing behind us back home.

We had gone hunting to prove we were worthy of the tribe and that our time as children was over, that we had learned enough and could now help in providing for the tribe. I had chased a wild boar deep into the forest and led everyone astray. Along with not catching any prey, we had also gotten ourselves lost. The path was no longer visible and we had traveled much too far to call to the others. Even if we could be heard, none of us would have asked for assistance because that would destroy any chance we had of keeping hold of our dignity.

I grew frustrated with what little progress we were making and cried out, "I can't take this anymore! We are just walking in circles! If I had left the boar alone we would have been home by now."

"It is not your fault," My brother, Raging River, admonished. "What is the point of returning home without a kill, anyway? If we stay out all night and bring down something bigger than a boar will the elders not be more pleased?"

"I suppose so," I grumbled. "But there is no way we will survive the night out in the open."

"What about bedding down in that cave?" Rain, the lovely girl about a foot shorter than my brother and me, suggested.

We adjusted our course, climbing up the short incline and after making sure nothing else had nested in the cave, we squeezed ourselves in. A long tunnel branched off the back wall of the cave, but other than that, the walls were smooth. I peered closer at a pattern on the stone and found painted stories adorning every inch of the wall. They were hard to make sense of and I didn't even know where to begin so I left the drawings, disinterested. Glancing around the space, my brow furrowed. "Where has Rain gone?"

"I thought she was near you, brother." Raging River crossed the short distance to my side and examined the ground for her footprints. "She went through the tunnel," he said in surprise, his brow rising. Rain was not the curious type.

"We must go after her," I stated firmly and the tall man beside me nodded in agreement. We shuffled through the cave hastily and followed a series of small sparks ahead. As we neared, I saw the sparks were coming from beneath Rain's fingers where they graced the stone wall.

"Rain!" Raging River pushed ahead of me and peered into the darkness over the girl's head when he reached her. "We do not know if it is safe to travel down this tunnel, please stay by our side."

"I am not a weakling, I will be fine," Rain growled and continued on, her fingers lighting the space in front of her. She was acting strange and didn't seem to notice that what her fingers were doing wasn't normal.

I studied her hands a moment then placed my own against the cold wall. No sparks appeared, though I caught flashes of a ferocious beast in my mind. I puzzled over this for several minutes before I was startled from my thoughts.

"Little Moon?" Raging River noticed I had paused and turned back in concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Hmm?" I mentally shook off the fog that had enveloped my mind and turned back to him. "Yes, I am okay." I hurried to catch up and the three of us entered a large room carved from stone with pillars in each corner holding up the roof. The pillars depicted an eagle sitting atop a cat's head, each with different patterns in the cat's fur that obviously meant something, but what, I couldn't begin to guess. Rain's voice distracted me from admiring the statues further.

"The eagle..." She murmured under her breath and spun with a dazed look across her face. "And my dress..."

I frowned. She wasn't wearing a dress, she had on her hunting tunic and leggings. "Rain," I began softly. "Are you feeling alright?"

She ignored me and not a moment later she cried out in pain, her face contorting as she slumped to her knees.

"Rain!" Raging River was at her side in a heartbeat and caught her just before she fell to the ground. "Help me move her to the ledge, Little Moon."

I lept to action and helped lift the young girl to the shelf of rock protruding from the back wall. I watched as she relaxed and fell asleep, though she still whimpered softly as if she were trapped in a bad dream. My brother and I looked to each other with identical scowls creasing our faces.

"Something is very wrong here. We need to leave." Raging River glanced at the tunnel then turned back to me. He opened his mouth to speak but a flash of bright light interrupted him.

I threw my hands up to cover my face and gritted my teeth, feeling my eyes water from the sting. The light was blazing orange and yellow with brilliant flashes of white. When my eyes had adjusted enough to peek out, I split my fingers and gasped. The light was emanating from Rain, creating patterns on the wall beside her and dancing on the ceiling above. The effect was not unlike the northern lights I had seen as a small child. The lights played out someone's life story, but not one Raging River nor I were familiar with. There were great smooth mountains rising from the ground where large gray bear-like creatures stampeded on paths carved from black stone and many other things that I had trouble making sense of. The light grew ever brighter until I could feel the pain penetrate my whole body. My muscles clenched and I felt as if my skin was on fire and my core was aflame, burning hotter than I could bear. My arms flung wide and I thrust my chest up as I tried to lessen the agony I felt in every bone. I heard a scream and didn't realize it was mine until I heard my brother's cry join mine. My feet left the ground and I knew this was the end. There couldn't possibly be anything more after this. My body burned and my soul ached.  Just as I felt my mind leave my body, I thought one last message;

Goodbye, brother. I am sorry, Rain.

I have failed.