Stranger Spirits

Morning Thoughts [Chapter One Part One]

I gazed up from my cot and looked around my room. It was quite empty really; there were just two cots; one for my twin brother Jacob who was still asleep and one for myself. A red and gold tapestry depicting the various gods and goddesses in their animal state hung on the wall. The sun just began to rise, painting my room a dusty brown color. I tried to get out of my cot but couldn't. Looking down I realized that my quilt was wrapped tightly around me creating a cocoon of warmth. I laughed lightly to myself. How do little caterpillars know to make cocoons? Do they just decide one day to experiment and wrap themselves up tightly? How do they even feel within their self-made cages?

I unwrapped myself and gazed silently outside my window. Centuries ago there was a great tragedy that made our homeland uninhabitable. Mintu the God of Wisdom and Goodwill decided to spare us. Nayeli the Goddess of the Great Winds and Lightning led us to our mountains. Katiuska the Goddess of Pathways told us to stay there and be protected from dark spirits.

As my ancestors traveled west many people began to splinter off from the main pack, though this was expected. It's human nature to want to create new paths. My ancestors decided to build homes in the gap between Mount Saqui and Shevere.

Once our tribe, the Quidel, took residence in the Patricot Mountains, we ceased contact with the outside world. Our tribe consists of five basic factions: the shamans, the hunters/gatherers, the caretakers, the workers, and the merchants.

The Council of Shamans are the leaders of my tribe. They are the bridge between the spiritual world and the physical world. They seek guidance from the gods and goddesses who reside in the other realm and together they make decisions for the betterment of our tribe.

At the head of the Council is Shikoba, he's a prodigy amongst the shamans. He's known for having a deep connection with the spirit world and for some reason he detests me. Whenever I pass by him or go to our tribe meetings, he always has a scowl prepared for me. He doesn't even try to mask his feelings and I haven't the slightest clue as to why; I've done nothing! This has gone on as long as I can remember. I've never seen him smile at me. I just wish I knew what was wrong.

Below the shamans in social standing are the hunters and gatherers. Their job is really important because they handle getting food and materials for the tribe. Before they go on expeditions they get purified by the Council of Shamans to prevent them from being attacked by the evil spirits that reside beyond our village.

The medical practitioners help heal the sick, injured, and aid in childbirth. The workmen complete tasks that need to be done internally such as creating more homes along the mountainside or repurposing items. The caretakers are the people who choose to focus on the next generation by raising them as well as teaching them the ways of the Quidel and finally there are the merchants who handle the business transactions amongst the different groups. My family is part of this final group and we mostly handle products that the craftspeople, a subdivision of the workmen, create. There are only a few families who are in this division since there isn't much innovation in our small village.

A couple of years before I was born the Council of Shamans ruled that isolation was not a solution. The Council of Shamans had decided that it was time that we expanded and learned more about the world that surrounds us. My mother and father were paired in the same expedition group when they volunteered for this outreach project. They fell in love as they traveled beyond our mountains and had my brother and me. Once they came back, the Council changed their minds.

"Vaughn," My brother croaked as he stretched out on his cot breaking me out of my thoughts. "What are you doing up so early?"

My mind is just racing as usual. I sighed looking at him as he got up. "You know me, Jacob. My head is always galloping."

"You're nervous about the Winter Solstice Ceremony aren't you?" Well now that he mentioned it, it has been on the back of my mind keeping me restless lately.

"It scares me really." I didn't want to tell him but I couldn't shake off this ominous feeling. "I mean we go into an unknown land where our souls could get stuck to then possibly be chosen by the Gods to do their bidding otherwise we perish."

"Look," Jacob came over to my side and put his hand on my shoulder. His hazel eyes locked onto my brown eyes. "There's nothing to worry about. You don't have to participate if you don't want to. It's your choice." He gave me a shake and I cracked a smile to make him feel better.

"Yeah, you're right." I shrugged his hands off of me and passed my hand through my wavy brown hair. "It's not a big deal."

"We've got a long shift ahead of us today so we might as well get ready." He stood up and dusted himself off. I muttered a simple alright and with that, we began our day.

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Authors Note:

Hi everyone! I'm so excited for you all to read my story! I'm notoriously bad at grammar so just...good luck! haha

I will be ideally uploading every Sunday with fragments of the chapters that I have already written. Trust me when I say that I have a very good buffer so there should be minimal delays between updates. Feel free to subscribe to my story and comment as we venture on with Vaughn's story. If you have any questions I'll be more than happy to answer them unless they contain spoilers! ;-)

I would also like to thank the lovely AlexWolfen for her artwork in this story. All images displayed will be of her artwork. She is amazing! Please follow her on Instagram @AlexWolfen15 because she is the bomb.com!