Read Online Beyond the Valley of Mist by William Wayne Dicksion - Free Book Online Page B

selected leaves that her father had
taught her had medicinal values and made a bandage to draw out the
poison. She then made tea from the bark of a willow tree that she
found growing nearby. This tea was well known among the Lalocks for
its ability to relieve pain. They fed him broth, and his eyes
became brighter.
    The girls built a wall of
stone around their new campsite, kept the fire burning day and
night, and cared for the little man for several days. Ador
continued to apply poultices to the wounds. The infection went
away, and the man became stronger and tried to talk. They couldn’t
understand his language, but in time, he conveyed to them that his
name was Lox, and that he had come from a place where the river
emptied into a large, salty non-flowing body of water.
    Lox tried to tell them that
the elders of his tribe relayed stories about a man named Zor, who
had come down the river many lifetimes ago and had shown them how
to create fire. Zor had eyes and hair the same color as those of
Ador, Lela, Zen, and Jok. Lox's people thought this blue-eyed man
was a god, and that is why he was so surprised when he first saw
Zen and Jok. He thought he had died and that they were
gods.
    Zor told the villagers long
ago that he came from a place on the other side of a Valley of
Mist, and that the river that emptied into the sea near their
village came from beyond the Valley of Mist. No one had ever heard
of a Valley of Mist, and they thought Zor was just making the story
up.
    Two summers ago, their
tribal leader sent Lox and two other men to find out if such a
valley existed. They found the valley but as they were crossing it,
the other two men were killed by lions. Lox managed to escape. He
was so badly wounded he was dying when Zen and Jok found him. Lox
was afraid that his tribe would never know that there really is a
Valley of Mist. He wanted Zen and his companions to accompany him
to his village so he could tell his people what he had
found.
    “ We would be afraid to go
into your village; your people might harm us,” Zen said.
    “ Oh, no,” Lox replied. “They
won’t harm you; they will treat you with great respect. The
legendary Zor looked just like you, and he taught my people many
useful things. He cautioned us never to worship fire, but to
worship Sun and Earth, that Earth is the mother of life and Sun is
the father of life. Together, they are the givers of all life. He
taught us that the first man and woman were fathered by Sun and
born of Earth, and that when we die, we go back to Earth to be born
again. He said the gods are good and that we must never make human
sacrifices to them because that displeases them and diminishes us.
We believe Zor was a messenger from God. My people will think that
you are also messengers from God.”
    “ We are not messengers from
God,” Zen replied. “But Zor was my ancestor. He said that Fire was
not God, and that they should not worship Fire. In turn, the
priests said that Zor was smart but was a very bad man. Our people
banished him into the Valley of Mist to die. We thought we were the
first Lalocks to make it through the Valley of Mist, but Zor must
have survived and followed the river until it ran into the sea. We
would like to meet your people. We'll go with you, and we’ll leave
as soon as you are able to travel.”
    “ I will be able to travel in
a few days,” Lox said, “but before we go, we must make bows and
arrows for you and Jok.”
    “ Why do we need bows and
arrows?” Zen asked.
    “ I will show you what I can
do with those weapons,” Lox responded.
    “ Let’s go now,” said Jok. “I
want to see how you can use such tiny spears as
weapons.”
    Lox took Jok and Zen to the
river and told them to hide nearby and wait for a deer to come to
drink. They didn’t have to wait long before a buck.
    Lox placed the end of one
of the tiny spears against the tie on the bent stick and pulled the
tie in the middle. The stick bent more on each end. He released the
tiny