\n Chapter 2 of a story I started almost a year ago. This takes place at the same time as Chapter 1, from Shaman Len's perspective. I encourage comments and constructive criticism, and I hope you enjoy!
\n ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

\n Shadows danced along the tan fur of the Lahu that swam upriver, swishing his thick tail side to side, propelling him against the current. The near silence was music to him, and Len couldn't imagine a more soothing symphony of sounds. The crickets chirped in a chaotic chorus, creating an unorthodox harmony with the chattering of the flowing Kahawai.

\n It was hours before the rest of the tribe would begin to rise from their slumber, with the sun still only hinting at the vibrant day that was yet to come. The horizon was beginning to light up with an amber and crimson glow, which was sneaking its way slowly into the sky. Len enjoyed being up before the sun, finding the feeling of the morning breeze to be refreshing. He stopped to take a deep breath of the crisp, cool air and went back to swimming.

\n Len swam with purpose; he knew how important this day was to the tribe. As the shaman, Len had plenty of important duties. However, the blessing ritual that was performed on the first day of the year was the most crucial.

\n Preparing for the ritual was simple. All Len had to do was stop the flow of water, design a few patterns on the dam itself, and then swim back to his hut to change into his ceremonial garments.

\n On the bank of the river just ahead, Len glimpsed one of the other few Lahu who happened to be up at the same time as him. He veered his course to the side and climbed out of the water, on to dry land. He waved and called out to the younger Lahu.

\n "Kui! Good morning," Len padded closer as he spoke, running his paw over his body to expel the water from his fur. The natural oils in his coat kept water from adhering too much, and a quick swipe of the paw was all that was needed for him to become mostly dry. "If you're up already, that means old Mekala can't be far behind."

\n "That's right. Mekala plans on starting work today as soon as the sun is up in full. I'm just out searching for some fruit for breakfast. I remember there was a tree around here somewhere..." Kui was short for a Lahu, with his muscles built up through the years of his apprenticeship. He looked up above at the canopy of the nearby forest, and then down to the forest floor, eyes scanning for signs of fruit.

\n Len's muzzle spread into a smile and he bent down to one knee. Using a claw, he scratched a quick pattern into the dirt. He closed his eyes and placed his paw down, spread out, palm first, over the symbol. For a short moment, the sounds of the crickets and the river softened, and the wind seemed to pick up around Len, rustling the leaves of the trees. When Len lifted his paw, everything returned to normal.

\n "There's fruit just a little further into the woods, Kui. Look for a small clearing; it should be falling around there." Len said as he looked up at Kui, rising from the ground.

\n "Always a showoff, shaman." A voice whispered softly in Len's ear. The numerous whiskers caused his ear to twitch.

\n A smile spread onto the shaman's muzzle as he glanced over to his shoulder where he could vaguely make out the black nose of a fellow Lahu in his peripheries. "Mekala, how good it is to hear you this morning."

\n Mekala took a step back and Len turned around to face him. "I can't say I'm surprised to see you up this early on a day like this, Len."

\n Len let a small chuckle escape his muzzle. "I'm up this early every day, Mekala. You two are up earlier than usual, though."

\n "That we are. We're a little bit back logged from last year and we don't want to start off a new year behind. Kui and I both agreed that it would be best to get an early start today and try to catch up."

\n Behind Len, Kui nodded in agreement. "As soon as we get something to eat, of course."
\n "Just make sure you're not late to the ceremony today. It'll be starting around mid-day. I'd hate to see anyone miss it this year." As he spoke, Len turned his head to glance at Kui and then turned back to Mekala.

\n Mekala placed his paw firmly on Len's shoulder. "We'll be there, no problem, you don't have to worry. Now, don't you think it would be a good idea to go wake up Stahl before it gets too late? You know he has trouble waking."

\n Len gently used his own paw to brush Mekala's from his shoulder. "Of course he isn't the most responsible pup, but he's still learning. He was just a little bit slow to pick up on what really matters in the tribe."

\n Mekala snorted, his whiskers twitching as he held back a fit of laughter. "He isn't a pup anymore, Len. I don't know what's going to happen to him if someone doesn't set him straight soon. I find it hard to believe that Alaka still lets him come along on the salvage trips. The only reason I can think of is that he doesn't want to lose Kai."

\n Len nodded gently in agreement, looking Mekala in the eyes as he spoke. "Kai and Stahl are friends, after all. It'd be hard to lose the one without losing the other." He paused and glanced away from Mekala before resuming. "Stahl might be better off if he weren't a salvager. He could be my apprentice, and I'd be able to teach him the things he never learned from his parents."

\n "You can't hold his hand your whole life, Len. Sooner or later, the tribe isn't going to put up with him anymore. He is barely providing any useful service and anything he does do is thanks to Kai." Mekala looked over to the forest where Kui was returning with an armful of freshly fallen, bright orange fruit. One of the fruits was already in his open muzzle, hanging out comically from his maw.

\n "I know...I'd better go prepare for the ceremony now. I'll see you there later, Mekala. Kui." Len nodded to each of them as he made his way back to the river bank and slid back into to crisp water, which now felt a couple of degrees too cold.

\n Len had spent the better portion of Stahl's life trying to get him to act like a proper member of the tribe. Stahl's biggest problem, as Len saw it, was that he didn't grow up with his parents, and as such, he had never had anyone to teach him proper tribe values. Len had tried his best to instill those same values in Stahl as he grew, but the boy's insistence on hunting for treasure over learning to salvage useful materials held him back from becoming a good salvager and a good tribe member.

\n It was Len's close relationship with Chief Allwaters that gave him the authority he needed to convince the tribe that he could change Stahl. That was years ago. Over time, Stahl became sort of the joke of the tribe, but Len never really gave up on trying to help him.

\n Up ahead, Len could make out the silhouette of the dam. As he swam closer, he couldn't manage to shake the mood that Mekala had caused him to fall into. Mekala wasn't wrong, but Len would prefer not to think about it when he didn't have to. With his heavy paws on top of the dam, he lifted himself out of the water with ease and slipped on top of the cold metal structure and set to work.

\n The sun had risen by the time Len finished painting the runic symbols and shapes onto the top of the dam. The somewhat repetitive work of painting the patterns helped put Len back at ease. The sun was strong and bright, causing Len to squint slightly as he looked out over the symbols for one last check. When everything seemed to be in order, he stepped carefully around the patterns to the water on the far side of the dam and slipped in, careful not to splash any water across the intricate runes.

\n He made his way to the side of the dam and climbed onto the river bank, next to the lever that controlled the floodgates on the dam. He wrapped his webbed paws around the handle of the lever and pulled on it, straining only slightly to bring the floodgates to a much smaller passage, slowing the river to crawl. Looking over his work with satisfaction, Len padded down the bank towards the village before splashing into the deeper center of the river. His strong tail and legs combined with the current of the river made it an easy swim.

\n Len reached his holt withing a few minutes of swimming in the soft current. He planted his paws on the mud as he approached the bank and pushed himself up into a standing position, and then bent down to wash the mud off of his paws in the water behind him. He kept his tail bent upward, tip lifted into the air, to keep from trailing it in the mud as he entered his home.

\n Len's home could be properly described as the complete opposite of Stahl's. The holt was large and sturdy, with no cracks in the roof or sides of the walls. Len even built a window into one wall, to allow sunlight in through when he wanted, and he had a small curtain for the rare occasion that he wanted to be in the dark. Being a shaman, Len needed more work space than Stahl, so his hut was nearly twice the size, almost all of that space on dry land. Towards the back of the holt was an expertly crafted wooden cabinet, in which Len kept most of his possessions, from his clothes to the various tools of his trade.

\n Len wrapped his paw around a cord hanging next to him as he entered and pulled on it gently, causing a curtain to rustle gently into the open doorway, shutting out the bright daylight. Len smiled slightly as he walked to the back of his holt, taking a seat on his hammock to rest his legs.

\n All in all, Len had been performing magic now for the better part of thirty years, though not all of that was as the shaman. The shaman's apprenticeship was the one apprenticeship in the tribe that was taken before the age of 13, and continued until the master shaman stepped down or could no longer perform his duties. Len absently wondered how long he would be able to keep going. Without an apprentice, if something happened to him, the tribe would be in a bad position.

\n Len winced as his curtain was pulled to the side by a large, darkly furred paw, the light from outside assaulting his recently adjusted eyes. "I have a curtain of privacy for a reason. Privacy."

\n "That only matters if you're doing something private." The muzzle that belonged to the paw was stuck in side, and Len recognized the brutish face of Alaka. Alaka bore the distinctly dark fur of another tribe, a result of the fact that one of his parents was an outsider. However, he grew up as a full member of the tribe, and located on his right shoulder were light tan markings, the crest that designated a salvager in the tribe.

\n "How would you know if I were doing something private or not unless you looked first?" Len asked, moving to stand up from his hammock.

\n "I guess I don't care either way. I didn't hear any gasping or moaning, so I assumed it was safe." Alaka said as he walked into the holt without Len's invitation.

\n The tips of Len's ears showed a slight red flush, part embarrassment and part annoyance. "What do you want, Alaka?"

\n "Is it possible I came merely to enjoy your oh-so-welcoming company?" Alaka kept his brows bent, all of his words spiced with hostility.

\n Len chuckled, tapping one of his paws on the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust. "You don't think anyone's company is welcoming. You wouldn't be here unless you wanted something from me. Since I know that, why beat around the bush?"

\n Alaka's heavy frame was silhouetted against the sun outside, casting a dark shadow into the holt. He let go of the curtain and it fluttered back to where it belonged, once again blocking out the sun. "There's something I need you to take a look at. I'm telling you first because I don't want to cause a panic in the tribe. You know how everyone reacts to the smallest little thing."

\n Len narrowed his eyes, his interest piqued. "Is this something we need to run by Chief Allwaters?"

\n Alaka turned around, kicking up dirt towards Len by sliding his tail on the ground. "I'll leave that up to you to decide. Just drop by my place this afternoon." Alaka stepped towards the curtain.

\n Len waved a paw in the air, fanning the dirt away. "Do me a favor in return, will you?"

\n Alaka grinned, stopped with his paw on the curtain. "Anything for you, my friend."

\n "Anything? Don't lie like that, Alaka. Just drop by Stahl's place on your way to the ceremony and make sure he isn't late, alright?"

\n Alaka didn't afford Len more of a response than a half hearted wave as he slipped out of the hut. Len sighed and watched as the curtain fluttered gently in the morning breeze. Alaka wasn't the kind of guy who asked for favors. Wondering what he was up to, Len walked to his dresser and pulled out his ceremonial clothes. Priorities, he thought, ritual first. Then Alaka.

\n The ritual, in Len's opinion, went about as smooth as he could have hoped. Most Lahu were too afraid to miss it, and even more afraid of causing any trouble. Len remembered the first time he had experienced the ritual as a child, the first time he comprehended it. He had spent his whole life holding tightly to that feeling of oneness, of unity. Before he became the shaman's apprentice, there was an emptiness not only inside of himself but also in the world around him. He believed, as a child, that the world seemed like a husk, a mere facade. It wasn't until he began to practice magic that he realized that it wasn't a facade, but there was more to it than the eye could see.

\n It was that knowledge, that there was a world within the world, a living spirit, that defined everything Len lived for. The tribe always managed to find at least one sucker per generation to fall into that niche. The price of using magic, he was prepared to pay that. He didn't practice magic to be popular, he did it because life was the most important thing to him. If everything was living as it was supposed to, then he was doing a job well done.

\n The particular patch of forest that he was observing currently, that was not a job well done. Next to him stood Alaka, whose paws were crossed against his broad chest. Len wondered why he seemed so proud of his discovery, when all he did was stumble upon it. The pair were gazing over a circular patch of dead trees, dead plants, and dead grass. The forsaken field was perfectly circular in shape, and was a crushing display of decaying plant life. Len bent down and ran a claw through the barren dirt. Simply touching it sent a chill down his spine, and Len wasn't the kind who spooked easily.

\n "Any idea what's causing it, Shaman?" Alaka asked, wearing the same look of smug superiority as always. What he was really saying was I know you have as little idea as I do.

\n It was true. Len shook his head, muzzle open slightly, ready to speak, but he didn't know what to say. "I don't know. This could be magic, but there's no inscription. Inscriptions need to be touching what they affect, and I don't see one here. The circle is perfect, though. Nature is organic, chaotic. This isn't natural." He stood and crossed his arms the same as Alaka. "You didn't wake Stahl."

\n "Sure I did. He just didn't get up." Alaka said, not even turning his head to look at Len.

\n "He would've mentioned if you had, and we both know you didn't do it, so stop lying. I'm the one guy you can't lie to, and yet you try so often." Len glanced over at Alaka.

\n "I keep hoping I'll get away with it, someday. Then I'll be home free. So, should we get Allwaters involved or what?" He reached up to run his claws through the fur on his chin, keeping his eyes on the scene in front of them.

\n Len watched as a bird flying overhead veered to avoid flying over the desolate ring. To his sides, some of the plants that were on the edge of the circle were literally half dead, partly green and thriving, with those parts inside the circumference a sick, shriveled brown.

\n "Whatever it is, it's bad. The animals won't even go near it, I'm starting to wonder if we should even be standing this close to it. Did you go inside when you found it?" Len took a step backwards, away from the circle.

\n Alaka glared at Len. "You sound so worried about my well being. Yes, I walked through it, and I'm still the same charming guy I usually am." He managed to speak with even more distaste than he usually did.

\n Len smiled. Alaka was a jerk, but he was also a friend. "You really think you're charming?" He sighed as he thought it over. "I'll see what I can do about it first. Then we'll tell Allwaters. It could be an attack by another tribe for all we know. Also, don't agree to a favor and then not do it, it's bad tact."

\n Alaka nodded his head. "Tact is my best trait, after all. What, you want me to apologize to the whelp?"

\n "No, I already talked to him about it. It's in the past now. I just don't understand why you sabotage him like you do, and then rail on him for being useless. Maybe if you supported him, he'd get off his ass and do something. You were his master for five years, didn't you learn anything about him?" Len turned around and started back for the Kahawai.

\n Alaka followed suit. "I learned he's boastful, he's a coward, he's useless. At least, I have no use for him. He has his head in the clouds, impossible to teach. All he wants to do is look for treasure. He doesn't understand how useless treasure really is. Who cares what happened to the ancestors, Len? It doesn't help us now."

\n Len felt more at ease as they made their was through the bright green foliage of the living forest, getting further from the death circle. The breeze brought another gentle breath of comfort to his fur. "You just gave up on him because he was too hard for you to bully into learning your lessons. He might seem like a coward, but as much as we've tried to force him to do what the tribe needs, I'd say its more endurance on his part, than laziness. He's a fighter, he just isn't fighting for what we want."

\n "Bully? Me? I don't know what you're talking about." Alaka chuckled and punched Len on the arm, playfully but still with quite a bit of force.

\n Len hardly stumbled as he absorbed the blow gracefully. He narrowed his eyes at the other Lahu. "Brute. Lying to and assaulting the tribe shaman? You're lucky I'm not more strict, I'd be completely justified in having you exiled." He slowly turned his frown into a grin.

\n Upon reaching the river, Alaka waved a paw at Len and aimed downstream, towards the ocean. "Keep me updated, alright? I found the thing, I want to know what's going on with it. Now I've got a salvage run to oversee."

\n Len called out after Alaka as he swam downstream. "Don't be too hard on Stahl. You owe him one!"




\n After stopping by his holt to gather a few essentials, and change out of the intricately patterned ceremonial loin cloth into something more mundane, Len returned to the death circle. It was just as dead as they had left it, which Len considered to be a good thing. He halfway expected it to have grown while he was gone.

\n In a bag hung over his shoulder, Len carried some different pigments and dyes used for inscription. He pulled out three of the most common colors used in his inscription patterns, a bright blue the same color as the sky, an ocean teal, and a deep forest green, as well as a knife with a thick, blunt edge. He dug the knife into the jar of blue dye and scooped some out. He then bent down, running the dye along the dirt, leaving a trail of blue on the ground as he walked. He outlined the edge of the dead circle in this fashion. He then wiped off the blade and added a semi-circle parallel to the blue one in teal about an inch towards the inside of the circle from the blue circle. He made another semi-circle opposite that one, in green, another inch towards the center. The patten got more and more complicated as he approached the middle, with the semi circles rapidly becoming small curves, which began to cross each other. By the time he was finished, the dye had dried in the sun, cracking on the dry dirt.

\n Len placed his knife in his bag and gently hung it from a nearby branch on a living tree. He turned back to the circle with apprehension, once again his instincts telling him to get far away. He did the complete opposite, walking directly to the center of the field. He bent down to his knees and placed his paws pad down into the dirt.

\n He closed his eyes, and he concentrated, muttering a few arcane words. The wind picked up and rustled the leaves in the forest, as well as his own fur. Silence seemed to overtake Len, and for a second, the world stopped for him. He began to search, feeling around the circle, through the runes, hunting for the cause. At first, there didn't seem to be anything wrong. Everything had been alive one minute, dead the next.

\n Len was startled when he felt something twist, something he had never experienced before. He tried to yank his paws back, but it was too late, whatever killed the plants was already inside of him. It was frigid, and the deep chill gnawed at his bones. The cold slithered up Len's arms and legs. It reached toward his head, where it intensified, searing at him. He opened his muzzle to scream, but nothing came out. He clawed desperately at his pounding head.

\n Len fell to his side, arms wrapped around his head, eyes wide and muzzle open, but silent. Convulsions racked him, staring forward, conscious thought retreating from the pain. Eventually, the pain began to fade, and the convulsions eased off. Slowly, he lowered his trembling paws, and he rolled onto his back, gasping for breath.

\n "Oh, Alaka." He worked to slow down his breathing, as his voice returned to him. He lay there, too sore to move, just staring at the sky. "We're definitely going to need to get Allwaters involved."

\n The sun was sidling off to the side of the sky, it was almost night time. Whatever had done this, Len couldn't say for sure. It was unlike the curses he had encountered in his past, and he didn't sense any physical sickness. No, this was something new. Even curses didn't have such a severe backlash. He needed to go tell Alaka, or Allwaters, or anyone. He couldn't work up the strength to stand, though. For now, there was nothing he could do. Shadows from the trees danced along Len's tan fur as he passed out from exhaustion.



\n