Chapter 2 - 1-2
While the Three Sages were gazing at the stars, a deformed child was born in the northern part of the plains. The area is ruled by the Wolf clan of the Kosa people. They are a meager clan, as if a chieftain were nothing more than a mud doll splashed with semen. However, Tenge Wolf believed that their souls were the most noble on this earth.
Tenge was riding alongside his father, Zuft Wolf, heading toward the tent where the birth had taken place. About ten women surrounded the tent. Tenge leapt lightly from his horse. He was eleven years old.
"I heard my younger brother was born, Sil-ba."
"He was born, Tenge."
An assistant woman brought a torch closer, illuminating Sil-ba's hands. The old woman's hands were covered in blood. It seemed it had been a difficult labor.
"That's terrible," Tenge said.
From behind, his father Zuft Wolf approached while still mounted.
"Is Elko safe?"
"Her vagina was violently torn," Sil-ba said, looking up at the chieftain.
"And the child?"
"He is healthy, but large. I will bring him now, so please take a look."
"Tomorrow will suffice," the chieftain said, yawning. "More importantly..."
"Go see him, Zuft. He is worth it."
Sil-ba began to walk, leaning on a short staff. Because she wore a pitch-black garment over her head, the way the old woman walked resembled a beetle crawling across the ground.
Tenge waited with a racing heart. He looked at the tent, scanned the women, and turned his eyes to his father on horseback. The chieftain's expression, which was often hidden by his thick eyebrows and beard, was utterly calm. Suddenly, his father's eyes flew wide open.
Sil-ba emerged carrying the infant. A low, animalistic voice was muffled within the old woman's arms. A young woman was assisting and supporting her. The chieftain reached out a hand from his horse.
"He really is huge." Zuft Wolf hoisted the child up.
"What a fat child. And besides," Zuft frowned. "He is misshapen. He has a terrible face."
Tenge was itching with anticipation. Even before hearing his father's words, he knew his younger brother was no ordinary child. His first cries were unusual. Pugii, pugii—it sounded just like the squealing of a pig.
"Father, let me see."
He held out both hands. His father handed the infant to Tenge while maintaining a look of displeasure.
Tenge felt the weight of his younger brother. It felt heavy, like a stone. It was a massive body, difficult to hold continuously. He was crying with his limbs tucked inside his swaddling clothes and his back arched. He had a large mouth. His face was roughly twice the size of an ordinary person's. He was an infant with a strangely well-developed skeletal structure.
"Tenge."
"What is it?"
"Take that thing to Mor's place. Set out tonight."
"Father." Suspicious, Tenge peered into his father's black eyes. "It will take three days on horseback to reach Aunt Mor. If you make an infant who can't even hold his head up go on such a long journey, he will die."
"If he dies, cast him into the wild and let him be food for the wolves. In exchange, I promise you this: if he grows up safely, I will appoint him as the chieftain or something."
Tenge's face brightened. "Then, I will deliver him without letting him die. After all, I have taken a decisive liking to him."
"Foolish boy. Tenge, if you want to become a chieftain, kill him secretly and return. I will not hold it against you."
"Even if he is of a different mother, he is my younger brother. Everyone here heard your promise, Father. He will become the chieftain, and I will help him."
The infant cried as if in anger. All newborn children are somewhat similar, but this child's ugliness was exceptional. He was black and wrinkled like a bat. Tenge was trembling with emotion. That ugliness was unbearably precious to him.
"He is a deformity. He won't grow up properly no matter what. I decisively dislike that child. I want the next one—a normal child. You, woman!" Zuft Wolf shouted at a girl of fourteen or fifteen. "Come with me."
The girl shook her head and stepped back. "No, I have a husband. I am Marji's wife."
"Is there no untouched woman!" His voice was so loud the horses grew restless. "I am the partner. Whoever wants to bear my child, step forward!"
Not a single person stepped forward.
Zuft Wolf snorted in boredom and pulled the reins. The red light of the torches drew circles upon the sweat-drenched bellies of the horses.
As the sound of hooves receded, people began to emerge from the surrounding tents. The elderly, adults, boys, and girls. They gathered to see the newborn child.
"He's huge."
"And ugly, too."
"A strange child."
Astai pushed through the crowd and approached. Astai was Tenge's childhood friend.
"This guy is the chieftain?"
"Yeah."
"Man, Tenge, I thought you were going to be the next chieftain again."
"Astai, stop your pointless meddling." Sil-ba pushed Tenge's back. "Tenge, come. I have something to say."
Since his arms were getting tired, Tenge handed the infant to Astai. He followed Sil-ba into the darkness where no one was around, matching the pace of the old woman, whose hips were poor. Sil-ba lowered her voice.
"Elko died."
It was said they could not stop the bleeding from the birth.
"Right before she died, she said to me, 'Kill him.' 'I have given birth to a demon.' She begged me to kill the infant and then died."
"...And, Sil-ba..."
"I refused, saying I couldn't. I even thought about drowning him in the birthwater."
"A demon. Do you believe that, Sil-ba?"
"Who knows. It might have been delirium. But they say that at the moment of death, people see things that are not visible to the living. I told Astai as much, but Tenge, I also think you are the one suited to be the next chieftain."
A ripple of laughter passed through, and Tenge looked back. Astai must have made a joke about the baby. I'll take Astai with me, Tenge thought. He had a younger sister and a young younger brother. He surely knew a lot about taking care of babies.
"Sil-ba, that infant is already starting to be loved by everyone."
"They're probably just finding him unusual."
"He has a mysterious power that draws people in."
"Why do you think so?"
"I don't quite know myself. I fell in love with that child in an instant. Please bury Elko quickly. It isn't good for the mother's spirit to wander the plains searching for her child. I will prepare now and depart for Aunt Mor's place with Astai."
"Very well, it is not for me to worry about. By the time that infant becomes a man, this life of mine will have turned to smoke."
"Sil-ba, please name him."
The midwife's eyes gleamed in the darkness. Just as Tenge wondered if they were tears, Sil-ba looked down and muttered.
"Then, the name of the most noble hawk among the spirits of the thirty-six. I shall give him the name Geraha Wolf. In prayer for the protection of the Great Bird God."
Tenge set off with satisfaction after making preparations. The women swarmed around him, teaching him how to handle the infant.
By the time dawn broke, Tenge and Astai had reached the riverbank, two ri away from the settlement.
He moved the horse slowly so as not to rock the baby. Geraha was lying in a basket, lashed to the saddle. Perhaps exhausted from crying, he was sleeping peacefully now.
"Tenge, look."
Astai pointed at the sky.
It was a dawn upon the plains that was beautiful even without such things. An orange band reflecting on the horizon was gently stretching out a pattern of light and shadow. Looking up, a massive cloud towered. Upon the belly of the cloud, which undulated in sturdy, layered folds, a faint five-colored radiance shone. The cloud was shining like a rainbow.
"It's auspicious clouds..." Tenge muttered.
Against the backdrop of the seven-colored clouds representing good fortune, a large hawk—also a messenger of the gods—soared leisurely across the sky. Tenge's heart leaped.
"Astai, did you see?"
"Yeah, I saw. The auspicious signs are piling up."
"This child might be more than a chieftain; he might become a King, a Great King."
Astai's laughter burst out. "A Great King like Aframa? That child?"
"He might."
"Well, it's not like there's no way."
"Again? You—" He started to say, you have an opinion on everything, but was interrupted.
"Tenge, you become the King. After that, you can hand the country over to Geraha."
This time it was Tenge's turn to laugh. Astai was smirking as well.
"I'm serious. A brave man shall lead the Kosa people. Tenge."
"I am a coward."
"I know. But I respect the courage it takes to say that under this sun. I'll go on ahead and look for a hollow where we can take a nap. I want to reach Nors's tent by nightfall. The Great King hasn't had his mother's first milk. Sheep's milk will eventually upset his stomach. If we go to Nors's, there should be women with full breasts."
With a spirited shout, Astai's horse began to run.
Tenge took off his hat and threw it toward the Amta River. It was the custom to drop gifts upon the earth when seeing a sign of luck like the auspicious clouds.