The Proving

By Douglas Ellingson

Xulu, (pronounced Shoe-lou,) the Wintaka Prince, has left the protection of home and family to prove himself a man. Living hidden and alone for two months in the close proximity of his bitter enemies, the Mandalla tribe, he must not only survive, but thrive in order to claim his right-of-ascension as village Chief. Failure to adequately complete The Proving would lead to immediate execution. The last thing on his mind is finding a companion, a friend, a lover, but that’s what he finds in the Mandalla Princess, Yax’chilan, (pronounced Yash-chilan.) That’s when an ancient evil rears it ugly head and they become hunted. Can they survive when even the elements conspire against them?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Douglas Ellingson
• Release date: May 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463197677

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The Proving

By Douglas Ellingson at Smashwords

Copyright 2018 Douglas Ellingson

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Foreword: Although I told my children literally hundreds of stories as they were growing up, they always came back to a small, core group of stories that they liked the very best. They requested I repeat those stories over and over. The problem; however, was that I made the stories up as I went and more often than not, I could not remember the details of the story so I could never tell the same story twice. I remedied this by casting a central group of characters and building different adventures and stories around those characters. I didn't have to repeat the same stories; I just made up new ones as we went along.

However, there were still a few stories that they continued to request over and over. This is one of those stories. I told this story the first time when my oldest daughter had her first slumber party; although it was toned down a little and for the sake of the little girls present. it focused more on the love story. She had me retell it many, many times; essentially, each time there was a new friend at the house. I have tried to re-create it here as true to the original as possible, however, I have updated it some and lengthened it just a little bit as well.

D.G.E. 5/19/2018

Front Cover Art: The Xaman, by Mikko Melgar

(This is purely a work of fiction. I take full responsibility for the contents of this story. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, whether through verbal description or graphical representation is purely accidental.)

Table Of Contents

Pronunciation Key & List of Characters:

Chapter 1 – The Valley.

Chapter 2 – The Beginning.

Chapter 3 – The Proving.

Chapter 4 – The Beauty.

Chapter 5 – The Cave And The Tree.

Chapter 6 – The Day of Plenty.

Chapter 7 – The Kidnapping.

Chapter 8 – The Mourning.

Chapter 9 – The Bandana.

Chapter 10 – The Plan And The Gruel.

Chapter 11 – The Mushroom.

Chapter 12 – The Big Cat.

Chapter 13 – The Evil Within.

Chapter 14 – The Healing.

Chapter 15 – The Xaman Plots and Plans.

Chapter 16 – The Far Side of the River.

Chapter 17 – The Obsession.

Chapter 18 – The Stone Structures.

Chapter 19 – The Obsidian Lance.

Chapter 20 – The Beach Home.

Chapter 21 – The Rain Falls.

About the Author

Pronunciation Key & List of Characters:

(Note: The letter ‘X’ is pronounced as the English Sh sound.)

Klitska - Kl-it-ska. The ancient, enormous tribe that dissolved in a bloody civil war.

Mandalla - Man-doll-a. The northern tribe that was formed after the civil war.

Sipakna - Si-pak (as in talk) -na. Xulu’s father as well as Great Chief of the Wintaka tribe.

Wintaka - Win-tak (as in talk) -a. The southern tribe that was formed after the civil war.

Xaman - Sha-man (One Xaman.) Village healer.

Xamen - Sha-men (Two Xamen.) Plural for Xaman.

Xulu - Shoe-lou. The young man undergoing The Proving; our hero.

Yax’ chilan - Yash - chilan (chi as in chicken.) The Princess of the Mandalla tribe. Our heroine.

Yaxuna - Yash-una (as in tuna.) "Yax’chilan’s old, toothless financee.

Chapter 1: The Valley.

Though the large, lush, green valley is now empty and totally devoid of people, it was once populated by two very powerful, rival, warring tribes. To the north lived the fierce Mandalla tribe, and to the south, the cunning Wintaka tribe. These two tribes hated each other with a passion that could only be described as evil and all-consuming.

Generations earlier, there had only been one tribe; one massive, formidable tribe which ruled and controlled the entire valley with brutality, force, and violence. No smaller, remote tribes dared hunt, fish, or even tread upon the Klitska lands (for so they were known.) If the Klitskas felt their hunting or fishing lands had been violated in any way, they would sweep through and destroy entire villages; asking no questions, taking no prisoners, and leaving no one and nothing alive.

Once they had caught a small band of fisherman from a tiny nearby river tribe carrying a string line of four salmon through their lands. With scornful fury, they fell upon the band of men, outnumbering them 20 to 4, slicing open their chests and ripping out their hearts. So fast and furious was their attack that each opposing tribesman was still alive and stumbled around in a slippery, red puddle of gore, ooze, and slime before falling into his own viscera.

The Klitska then swept through the small river village slashing, burning, and killing everything, including men, women, children, dogs, pigs, and goats. Such was their fury and violence.

As is often the case when powerful nations are ruled by a single family, a dispute arose between two brothers as to who should succeed their dying father as High Ruler and leader of the tribe. The argument became violent and intense, consuming the entire tribe. Father fought with son; mother fought with daughter; brother fought with brother; and sister fought with sister. Knives were pulled and blood was spilled throughout the tribe. It seemed that none were spared the violence that followed. Finally, the civil dispute escalated until each side sought the total extermination of the other; a full-on genocide. Lines were drawn and armies gathering to battle one another; both sides were drunken with wickedness and lusted for blood.

Eventually, because of fear that all would be completely annihilated, the younger brother, Mandalla, took those who would follow him and departed into the far North Country.

The Valley was certainly large enough for these two new tribes to live and never see one another; however, each tribe claimed the right to fish and hunt in the fertile grounds surrounding the confluence of the two great rivers flowing through The Valley. They clashed many times as they came upon each other hunting the lands or fishing the rivers. Over the following generations the onslaught of death grew until both tribes dwindled to alarmingly small numbers.

As the generations slipped away, the two tribes developed divergent cultures, languages, and traditions. The Mandallas to the north became steeped in violence; they loved and honored bravery, ferocity, and brutality. Upon their northward departure, they immediately abandoned any form of written language. They saw it as superfluous, wishing to spend their time in preparation for war rather than learning to read or write.

The Wintakas to the south became much more cunning and educated. They spent time maintaining and teaching the pure, original language of the Klitska. They preserved new ideas and ways by writing them down and sharing them with each other. It was through the reading of ancient records that the Tribal Xaman learned the healing arts and spread that information along to members of the tribe; eventually passing it to his replacement when he was old and ready to die.

Over the course of their battles, it became apparent to the Wintakas that their very best survival strategy was to completely remain out of the Mandalla's sight. However, this does not mean that the Wintakas would run and hide from a battle. When it came time to kill, they were as willing and as able as the Mandallas to spill blood and take lives. They just became much more stealth in their movements; more often than not, their attacks were ambushes; whereas the Mandallas preferred, nay, reveled in the blood and gore of a straight frontal assault.

As their separate rituals and traditions developed, it became the customary rite of passage into manhood for a Wintaka young man to leave the protection of his family and tribe and slip into Mandalla lands without being seen or captured. There he would reside for two moon-cycles, hunting, fishing, and surviving alone within close proximity of the Mandalla tribe. If, at the end of the proving time, the young man came back healthy, strong, and holding evidence proving he stayed within the lands of his enemies, he was rewarded with a woman to wed, his own obsidian lance, and the status of warrior and man within the tribal councils. He would also be given his Warrior Name, the name by which he would be known in the counsels and discussions of men. The Warrior Name was hallowed and was only spoken at sacred and important times.

If the young man came back early, or maimed, he would be ceremoniously killed by cutting his throat and spilling his blood into the two rivers, thus purging the tribe of bad, weak blood and preserving within the tribe honor, cunning, stealth, and bravery. The ritual was known simply as The Proving.

The Mandallas were much less steeped in traditions and ceremony. A young man simply became a man when he proved himself in hunting big game, fishing for food, and killing his enemies in battle. Their young men were taken into battle at a very, very young age; therefore, many of them died young. Over time, this left the Mandallas with an over population of unmarried females, both young and old. For this reason, men married often throughout their lives. Old warriors had first choice of the young maidens when they came of age. This was their reward for having bravely fought and survived many battles through the years, protecting the safety of the tribe. If a young maiden was not chosen by an elder to wife, then the young men could fight over her. This ensured the Mandallas that only the strong and brave bred and therefore fathered only strong and