Protector of Mankind

By Angela Castillo

A young Native American woman dies days after she gives birth to her son, and his father Longbow is now left with the task of raising his son. Longbow resents the fact that his wife died, and was not able to raise their son. Raised by the women of the village, Protector of Mankind grows up ridiculed by the braves and warriors of his village.

Protector of Mankind leaves his village to get away from the intertribal fighting that exists among the villages to seek peace and happiness. As he journeys through the hot New Mexico desert, he encounters the beauty and dangers hidden throughout the desert. Months of traveling through the New Mexico desert, the elders lead Protector of Mankind to his mountain in the sky where he finds the peace, and happiness he is seeking.

After many years, Protector of Mankind, returns to his village, and brings his parents, and the villagers to live with him on his mountain in the sky. No longer ridiculed by the braves and warriors he grew up with, Protector of Mankind is now respected for his knowledge, wisdom and compassion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 29, 2006
• ISBN: 9781467079211

Angela Castillo

Magic is all around us, and Angela Castillo works to capture this magic in words and ideas. She lives in the small and inspiring town of Bastrop, Texas. In addition to writing stories, she also designs greeting cards. You can find her cards at http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/fairygirlcards

Book preview

Protector of Mankind

by

Angela Castillo

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AuthorHouse™                                AuthorHouse™ UK Ltd.

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Phone: [phone]                  Phone: [phone]

This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental.

© 2006 Angela Castillo. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 8/21/2006

ISBN: 1-4259-5247-X (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2006906618

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

This book is dedicated to my parents,

Rafael and Rosita Gabaldon, had it not been for their inspiration this story would not have been written.

Special thanks to my husband, Ruben R, my sisters, Beatrice, and Genevieve (Jan) for their help and suggestions. I also dedicate this story to my precious children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Chapter One

Many, many years ago in the Land of Enchantment, a young Native American woman died days after giving birth to her baby boy. Her husband was a powerful medicine man, and a healer who was respected; yet feared among the people of his village.

Longbow having learned the ways of the medicine man from his father, and grandfather used the medicinal herbs, and plants Mother Earth provided to not only heal his people, but used them for spells to frighten them as well. As his wife lay dying, he begged the holy ones to help him save his wife, but they did not listen to him. All Longbow could do was to hold Little Fox tightly in his arms as his powers were of no use to him.

Before Little Fox died, she named her son Protector of Mankind, and made Longbow promise he would take care of their son. She wanted her husband to promise her he would always look after him. She also told her husband their son would one day come to his defense, and would be loved by many. After Little Fox died, Longbow was angry, and wanted to abandon his son, but he knew he couldn’t because he made his wife a promise. A promise he knew he had to keep.

Days, weeks and months passed and Longbow continued to mourn the loss of his wife. Even though he vowed to take care of his son, he was angry that Protector of Mankind lived and his beautiful wife died. Longbow often ignored Protector of Mankind’s needs and left his son alone. Many times the women from the village heard Protector of Mankind cry, and told Longbow they would help him take care of his son. Longbow angry and bitter chased the women away. He told them he did not need their help and would raise Protector of Mankind by himself. Longbow did not need anyone feeling sorry for him and his son, but he often wondered how than was he going to raise a son he no longer wanted. Longbow was angry, and hurt that Little Fox would not see her son grow up to be the warrior he was destined to be.

Longbow was not like the rest of the men in his village. When he was growing up, he was often compared to the corn stalk. A corn stalk that was scraggly and windblown instead of a stalk that was slender and tall. At six feet, with dark brown stringy hair, and deep dark hallow eyes that looked as if they were bottomless pits, set Longbow apart from the men in the village. The villagers knew Longbow’s anger was not only from the many years he had been teased, but because the elders did not save Little Fox.

To the villagers who had the courage to face Longbow, it seemed as if his eyes were on fire from the anger and rage in his heart. Women and children were now more afraid of Longbow because they knew he had the power to see what was in their soul through their eyes. When the women and children in the village meet Longbow, they lowered their head so he could not look into their soul and see how much they feared him. Little Fox was the only one who knew Longbow for the kind, and gentle person he was and even that was taken away from him when she died.

One evening Protector of Mankind began to cry and again, Longbow ignored his son and fell into a deep and restless sleep on his sheepskin bed. He began to dream, and in his dream, Longbow heard someone call him. As he turned around, he saw Little Fox holding Protector of Mankind. Little Fox was hurt and angry because Longbow had broken his promise to take care of their son. In her anger, Little Fox threatened to take Protector of Mankind with her where she would take care of him. Longbow would then be free to do as he wished and would no longer have to keep the promise he made. Not only would Longbow then mourn the loss of his wife, but the loss of his son as well.

Startled by the dream Longbow woke up and realized Protector of Mankind was not crying. Longbow got up from the earthen floor where he was lying and checked on his son. He wanted to make sure Protector of Mankind was all right, and that Little Fox had not taken his son from him. That night, Longbow finally realized he did need help raising Protector of Mankind as he did not want Little Fox to take his son away from him because he did love him.

The next day Longbow went into the village and asked the women if they would help him raise Protector of Mankind. Longbow was not surprised when the women agreed to help him raise his son because on many occasions they had offered to do so. Besides, Longbow knew the women were afraid he would cast a spell on their family if they did not help him as they said they would. Soon, the entire village was involved in raising Protector of Mankind. Now not only would Protector of Mankind have many mothers to take care of him, he would also grow up with many brothers and sisters.

As Protector of Mankind grew up, he, like the rest of his adopted brothers and sisters learned how important it was to respect the Creator, the holy ones, his elders, Mother Earth, Father Sky, and how important the medicine man was to their village. Children of the village also learned the importance of listening to the elders and the importance of their language. The elders told the children how powerful words can be. How words can destroy, or heal a family and their home. The elders went on to tell the children how special their language is, and how it could be used as a weapon against sickness and wickedness. We must take great care in using the language the holy ones gave us. Our words can hurt Mother Earth, Father Sky, the holy ones, and all living things that depend on them, so be careful how you use your words. They also spoke of the importance of keeping and sharing the knowledge of the ceremonial dances, the importance of keeping the rhythm of the ceremonial drums, the chants, and how to contact the elders that were no longer with them. These were some of the sacred rituals taught to Protector of Mankind, the young braves and warriors of the village.

As Protector of Mankind grew up, he tried to fit in with the older boys, but no one wanted to play with him. None of