SABIS the SURVIVOR

Chapter 5: Tribal Markings

Burying bodies in this frozen tundra is near impossible. But we still have a duty to treat the bodies of our fallen tribe members with dignity and respect. Committing their bodies to a fiery grave would be akin to sending them to hell.

It therefore seems just and proper to bury their skeletal remains in the nearby lake. First, we debone the deceased, make use of their sinewy remains, then send their bones into the deep water.

Excerpts from the personal journal of Gadi Reyes, leader of the Survivor tribe, @ 2052, two years after the earth had its orbit altered.

Chapter 5: Tribal Markings

Sabis proceeded slowly along his chosen path wearing only his clothes, knapsack, and his jawbone blade. He had buried the rib spears in the Sea of Serenity, as was his tribal custom in the ritual-of-fire.

The ritual-of-fire marked the birth of a new member as well as the anniversary of their birth. After three hundred and sixty-five steam cycles, each member has the opportunity to cast their clay pot into the Sea of Fertility, the body of water that holds the remains of the bones of the Ancients and the more recent members who have passed into the stone.

As Sabis inoculated the emerald Sea of Serenity with the rib spears from his former prey, he gave little thought to the potential utility of these ribs. He had the bones, he saw a lake, and therefore he was going to bury the bones in the lake. Almost automatically, he sliced his palm horizontally with the sharp edge of his jawbone blade and recited his prayer:

"Open up your channels, bring down your drawbridge. Let in these offerings, accept them and bless them. May the blood of my heart mix with the bones of your creation, then bloom into flowers, bear fruit, and connect my life with those of the Ancients. Let it be."

Normally, as per tradition, he would have heated the seawater in a clay pot before consuming it but in his relaxed state, he decided to skip this part of the ritual. So he scooped up a small serving of blue-green water in a remaining piece of broken shell and drank his consecrated elixir.

Feeling buoyed after connecting to the ancient energy that the rib bones added to the Sea of Serenity, he continued forward.

Cavern wall emerald-green stones lit up even in the dim light of this underground oasis. However, the gemstones only marked the walls at certain intervals, so without these light-bouncing reflections, Sabis could not discern the adjacent wall markings that depicted the cave's unique geological history─past ice-age glaciers cutting into and shaping stone, like a potter jiggering and jolleying his clay plaster. Over vast stretches of time, Mother Earth's core heat forced new materials onto her surface while SkyGod's icy rains carved, penetrated, and shaped the new land masses, be they solid blue-gray stones or softer dark brown soils.

Still consciously replaying the encounter with the Sea of Serenity creature while walking in the dim light, he missed the steep slope and suddenly careened off balance into the side of a sharp stony crag. His subsequent groans echoed off of the history-rich walls as his extended left hand bore the brunt of this impact, then dissolved in the moist air of these underground caverns that reminded him so much of his home.

"Where are the lights in this place? I need a torch."

A throbbing left hand and wrist gnawed at his concentration. Waves of pain spread from his left palm and shot up that arm all to the way to his neck. He leaned against the nearest wall to steady himself. As his eyes adjusted to the inky blackness that blanketed his path, he could make out his bloody handprint on the sharp crag.

"Just like the other creatures in these caverns, I'm leaving my mark."

Sabis' contribution to the natural history of this oasis would not be limited to inoculating the Sea of Serenity and leaving a bloody palm mark on a rocky crag. So far, his historical ten steam cycle journey into uncharted regions of SkyGod's domain had planted in him a seed of nagging doubt that his long-standing tribal rituals might be out of sync with the natural forces that abound both on Mother Earth's surface and underground, closer to her core. Therefore, he now regarded this cavern as a portal to another way of life, another way of viewing his solitary life in the grand scheme of things, and perhaps another way of seeing himself at this very moment.