Chief Oris spat at the fire and as his spit landed a coal leapt from the blaze and stuck onto Eduro’s left cheek. Pain swam through Eduro’s body as the coal slowly burnt out, but he did his best to remain still.

“If I had nothing worth listening to,” Chief Oris assured the five young men assembled before him, “I would say nothing at all.”

“The wandering mind means death to friends,” the chief reminded his students as the black ash fell from Eduro’s face. “If you cannot keep your will intact then you are better off left out in the cold. Let Eduro’s scar be a reminder to all.”

Eduro shivered as he thought about surviving on his own. The world outside the cave was dark and bleak and cruel. Not a place to be without a tribe.

Even as Eduro’s mind wandered from terror to terror, the warrior Pern darted to the back of the cave and leaned close to Chief Oris’s ear. Pern’s furs clung to his body and sweat poured down his pale brow. He spoke soft, but Eduro’s ears were sharp.

“It’s Bestia, Chief,” Pern whispered. “Been spotted less than a day’s run away.”

Eduro pretended he had not heard the great bear’s name, but he could not keep his muscles from tensing with fear.

“Who saw him?” inquired the chief.

“Furca, Chief, just before the teeth of the mountains.”

“Which way is he heading?”

Pern didn’t answer. His mouth looked liked it had been frozen solid by the wind, but there was no need for him to speak. The fear on his face told everyone where the beast headed. Bestia marched toward the cave.

“I will take the boy with me,” Chief Oris announced. “You have done enough this moon, Pern. Go and rest. The boy and I will leave at once. None of the other warriors need be troubled.”

Chief Oris’s hand aimed right at Eduro’s chest, but it still took Eduro a moment to realize Chief Oris was talking to him. Eduro was the oldest of the young braves in the tribe, but he was still far too young to be called upon. The other young braves stared at him incredulously. Even some of the hardened warriors had never been asked to accompany the Chief.

“Me, Chief?” Eduro inquired, his eyes rooted firmly to the stone in front of him.

“Rise,” Chief Oris commanded impatiently. “I have no time for your doubt.”

*

His rawhide furs scratched his skin as he threw them over his shoulders. Eduro’s hands shook. He could barely hold the straps of his belt as he tied it taunt about his waist. Dreams of Bestia had haunted him since he first learned of the great beast. It kept him up at night and the thing he pictured waiting for him in the darkness.

“Chief Oris is waiting,” his father reminded him. His father’s wrinkled hands stoked their tiny fire with a long bone and his solemn stare never left the glowing embers. “You must not keep him from his task.” His father’s voice sounded calm and steady, but Eduro could hear the concern in his voice.

“Yes, Father,” Eduro answered. “I’m ready.”

Eduro lifted his bone-tipped spear from the stone beside him and moved out from his family’s corner of the cave. The cave was unusually quiet. The large fire at the center of the cave provided the heat that kept them all alive, but each family was responsible for maintaining their own flames to cook and clean with. Fuel was hard to come by, but no corner of the cave fell dark on any night. To allow a fire to diminish was a taboo worthy of great scorn. Each family’s fire crackled as they threw their light upon walls and the sound seemed to thunder in Eduro’s ears. The eyes of his friends and cousins followed him as he stepped passed the main fire, but none spoke.

“Son,” his father called out behind him. “Do whatever you are asked and hold your spear true.”

“I will,” promised Eduro.

He moved passed the main fire, trying his best to hide his fear. He could see nothing beyond the mouth of the cavern. A shadow cloaked the opening. But he knew Chief Oris waited somewhere outside.

*

A thick blanket of clouds obscured the stars, but Eduro and Chief Oris did not walk on in total darkness. The river-stone hanging from the chief’s neck glowed like the ember of a dying fire. It cast red light upon their path, revealing little except snow and scattered rock. A steady wind swept across the rolling hills around them, its bite unhindered by the branches of the few gnarled shrubs clinging to the hillsides. The unlikely pair had left the protection of the cave nearly two hours ago, and still the whip of the wind was the only sound that had passed between them.

“Are you going to ask your question?” asked Chief Oris so suddenly it nearly made Eduro stumble over his own feet. “Or should I have left you at home?”

Eduro opened his mouth to talk, but no sound came out.

“If it’s alright with you,” continued Chief Oris, “I’d rather not spend the night listening only to my feet.”

“Why did you choose me to help you?” Eduro managed to say though his voice came out cracked and whiny.

“And what makes you think I need anyone’s help?” Chief Oris asked with a chuckle.

“That’s just it,” Eduro retorted. “I can’t think of any reason why you want me here.”

They had climbed to the sloped summit of one of the taller hills and for the first time that night Chief Oris slowed his steady pace.

“My light is leaving me,” he said, “like the light of our star.” He came to a complete stop and gestured toward the horizon. “Our world wasn’t always as it is. There was a time when Astrum burned yellow in the sky. When great trees were as common as stones and the sky shone blue at midday. This was long ago. The light retreated as each new father was born and died. I have seen many come and go. My magic has stretched my life as far as it will go. But my light will not fade over centuries. There will be no long twilight for those who surround me to struggle through. I am not like our star. I have only hours left.”

“But you haven’t passed on your magic,” said Eduro nervously. “Father said you wouldn’t die until you taught another your ways. Who would protect us if you died?”

“I have lived many lifetimes of men,” Chief Oris explained solemnly, “and in all that time I have never met anyone else who shared my gift. It is not something I can teach. Believe me I’ve tried. I am the only one. And that is no bad thing.”

“But my father said…”

“Your father and the others believe what they must,” interrupted the chief.

“You have lied to us?”

“No, but I never corrected them,” Chief Oris admitted. “I let them tell their tales as they would.”

“Then, why are you telling me?” asked Eduro with tears turning to ice on his cheeks.

“Because you are strong enough to be brave and foolish enough to do what is right.”

“I do not understand,” pleaded Eduro.

“You will soon enough,” answered Chief Oris. And he would say no more.

*

The great bear’s nose hovered inches above the ground as it swayed with each tremendous step, flinging large chunks of dirt, rock, and ice aside like so many grains of sand. Its square jaw hid teeth half the size of a full-grown man and each of its massive claws extended as long Eduro’s arms. The beast towered twice as tall as Eduro’s worse nightmares told him it could be, and yet its size was not why he couldn’t breathe.

“It’s not alone,” Eduro whispered. “I thought there was only one.”

Eduro’s eyes locked in an unblinking stare. He huddled close to his chief, the small boulders around them offering their only camouflage. They nestled on the highest hill around. He could feel the snow melting beneath his chest, but his heart beat so fast he could not feel the frosty sting. The valley below was crowded with the enormous bodies of five great bears. They seemed larger than the slopes they tread upon. Each of their footfalls shook the ground. Around their massive legs swam of a herd of elk a hundred strong. The elk darted about the valley as if chased by hungry jaws, but none of the bears seemed to notice the herd.

“Why don’t they eat?” asked Eduro. “Those elk could feed the tribe for a year.”

“They do not hunt meat this day,” Chief Oris informed him. “They have not traveled so far to chew on just any kill. They are after me and me alone.”

The Chief sighed and rubbed his hands over his face like he was trying to wash off the past. “They have hunted me since the day I was born. They are drawn to me like a cold brave to the fire. They come from far and wide, so often bringing with them death for those closest to me. I cannot say why without doubt in my heart, but I think I know the reason.”

“Why would such beasts be after one man?” Eduro asked. He stood frozen with fear.

“They seek the spark that keeps me hunting while others turn to dust. When we eat the elk we steal some of their power and make it our own. We take their fire and use it to fuel our own. I believe the beasts crave my fire.”

“You mean your magic. They’re after your magic. Do they think they can take it? Do they believe they’ll be able to command things as you do?”

“I do not think they believe anything,” admitted Chief Oris. “They are beasts not devils. They come after me because their instincts tell them to. But devils are just what they may become if they claim their prize. Who knows what power they would have if they took my flesh? I have only strength enough to fight them off one more time. After that I will be at their mercy. Others will come and take my flesh and perhaps my magic with it. That must not happen.” Chief Oris smiled knowingly at Eduro. “That is where you must help me.”

*

Chief Oris moved down the frozen slope at a steady paced, seemingly unconcerned with the giant foes that had so clearly detected his scent. They moved in on him from all sides, two beasts bearing down from the front while the others thundered to his sides and rear.

Eduro shuddered. He knew the chief’s magic well, but he could not imagine a force powerful enough to stop such a tide. Eduro hid safely among the stones of the crest, far away from any danger, but as he watched the beasts charge he could not keep from trembling.

Chief Oris scrambled across the rocky and frozen remains of a river that once wound its way through the valley. He halted halfway across the dry riverbed and drove his spear into the snow at his side.

By now the two bears in front of him had closed the distance and halted their charge. They dug their claws into the frozen ground and let out terrible roars so deep it sounded like the earth itself was calling out in anger. They dashed forward periodically, feigning attacks, but it was clear they only stalled until the rest of the pack was in position.

They did not have to wait long. Soon their companions had Chief Oris surrounded.

Eduro could bear it no longer. He took up his spear and sprinted down the hill. The great bears edged closer and closer to the chief. It would only be a matter of seconds before one of them struck.

Even as Eduro prayed for a few more moments in which to cover some ground, the first bear pounced. For all its weight, it moved much like a cat, springing across the ground with bulky arms outstretched and claws extended toward Chief Oris’ exposed back.

Chief Oris did not move. No burst of light or whip of the wind. But some unseen force swept the beast away. Its body rolled sideways across the valley, shaking the ground as it crashed over the rocks. It landed limp and lifeless more than thirty feet from Chief Oris’s feet.

The rest of the bears approached more cautiously. They stalked forward slowly, leading with their jaws. However, none of their teeth would find their mark. As they lunged forward in unison, the life stole away from their bodies like blood from a wound. Their heads drooped from their shoulders. Their legs gave out underneath them. They flopped upon the snow and stone with an ominous tremor and they moved no more.

Chief Oris soon followed them to the ground. His legs caved in and his knees dug into snow. Eduro reached him soon after and found him a ghost of the man he had once been. His skin was pale. His shoulders and his eyes drooped. His head slumped onto his chest, his white hair flowing out from his drawn hood and surrounding his face like a shroud.

“Chief?” Eduro cried in alarm as he wove around the sprawled out limbs of the chief’s fallen foes.

At first, there was no answer. Then, Eduro heard a muffled whisper. He held the chief by the shoulders and bent low to his lips.

“Do not waste time,” came the Chief’s struggling voice. “Do as I told you. Strike now and do not miss.”

Tears instantly welled up in Eduro’s eyes. “I can’t,” he cried.

“You must.”

Chief Oris managed to lift his arm high enough to grasp the hilt of the stone ax he had given Eduro. “Do as you must.”

“I can’t,” repeated Eduro in a whimper.

“It is all right,” the chief gasped. “Fate will guide your hand.”

Eduro straightened and slipped the ax from his belt. As he did, Chief Oris leaned forward and pulled back his hood, offering his neck.

Eduro took careful aim, but as he struck he closed his eyes. He felt the ax dig through his target. He heard blood dousing the ice. Then, he felt an intense pain sweep up his arms and into his chest. Fire seared his heart. He couldn’t breathe. His body caved in on itself, as if great hands crushed him from within. He collapsed forward onto the headless body of his chief and his mind fell into darkness.

*

A scout must have spotted Eduro approach. By the time he reached the slope leading up to the cave the entire tribe had assembled at its mouth. As he drew closer gasps of disbelief rang from the crowd; not only because Eduro walked alone, but also because the river-stone hanging from his neck glowed like a dying star.