Visions 1:1 There was a people called the Kuwapi. They were not
as a small band only, living from day to day upon the wide
plains. They were of more account than that, though no blood
bound them together as a tribe, nor even as a clan among the
people. They stood apart.
Visions 1:2 In the beginning they came out from among the Oglala
Lakota. They were those who had been cast away. It was for
offenses of a sacred kind, things not spoken of lightly. These
were set apart and sent out, not wholly cut off, but made to
wander.
Visions 1:3 In the language of the people, Kuwapi is “they
follow.” So they were named, for they went after the others
upon the hunting grounds, never before them. They walked where
the tribe had walked and took what remained.
Visions 1:4 The measure of displeasure was not hidden. Each one
bore it upon his back. The scars of the whip were counted, and
by that counting it was known how greatly he had offended. These
marks were not forgotten, nor did they fade from the memory of
the people.
Visions 1:5 The Dakota people held the Black Hills and all the
wide plains that lie about them. These the Kuwapi called the
northern raiders. Sometimes the Oglala Lakota would stand
against them, but not for the sake of the Kuwapi. It was done so
that the hunt might continue, and that the game should not be
driven away.
Visions 1:6 To the east, where the grass was stronger and more
plentiful, there were the Pawnee people. These were fierce in
war, and the Kuwapi did not go there lightly. Many times they
turned back before they had gone far.
Visions 1:7 To the south along the road the whites had made the
Arapaho people were strong. Also there were white settlers, and
the soldiers who guarded them. These did not know the Kuwapi,
nor did they make a difference between one people and another.
Visions 1:8 To the west the land held little grass. There the
Cheyenne people were to be feared. And beyond, toward the
northwest, the thought of the Crow people and the Blackfeet was
enough to trouble the mind.
Visions 1:9 So it was that the Kuwapi had little land that was
easy to them. Yet in the narrow strip that remained, where the
grass was poor and always changing as the Oglala Lakota moved
before them, the Kuwapi hunters rode.
Visions 1:10 There was a man called Takoda, and he led the
hunters of the People. He brought them downwind of a herd of
bison, which stood drinking at a ford where a great creek ran
slow. This place was the upper vale of a stream that in later
days the whites would name the Pison River.
Visions 1:11 When Takoda made the sign to halt, the men stopped
their horses. They tied them to the roots of dead trees that
stood like old bones in the earth. Then they went forward on
foot, moving low through the brush, so that they might come near
without being seen.
Visions 1:12 But the animals were not at ease. Some lifted their
heads and grew restless, though no man had shown himself to
them. The beasts cast no shadows upon the ground. The day had
become dark, as when a low sky presses down.
Visions 1:13 The great bull ceased from drinking. He stood and
looked down the stream, as if he knew of danger coming.
Visions 1:14 Then Takoda judged the time. He rose up from behind
a shrub and sent forth his arrow. It struck a cow in the flank,
but the wound was not one that brings death at once. The cow
cried out.
Visions 1:15 At that cry the whole herd was taken with fear and
they broke into panic. The men loosed many arrows in haste, one
after another, yet their aim was troubled. Some shafts went
wide, and others struck but did not bring death.
Visions 1:16 So the herd of bison fled together, and passed
upstream into a place ringed by low hills where there were
boiling springs and drifting mists.
Visions 1:17 Then the hunters turned back to their horses and
followed after. As they rode, the men were embraced by a warm
fog. They held their bows ready in their hands, and looked to
the left and to the right, but they could not see the animals.
The world was closed about them and all things were hidden.
Visions 1:18 In the midst of that hollow the herd went upward.
They climbed a rise, and there the fog became thin. It broke
apart, and there were places where the blue of the sky showed
itself again.
Visions 1:19 Then it was seen that three of the animals were
apart from the others. They stood exposed upon the slope. The
hunters made ready and loosed their arrows. This time the shafts
went true, and one of the beasts fell.
Visions 1:20 But the two that remained did not stand. They
turned and ran down again into the fog, seeking the many, where
there is safety.
Visions 1:3 Then Takoda spoke, and the young men set upon the
fallen bison and opened it with care. The flesh was cut and made
ready. It was placed upon skids of wood and hide, to be drawn
away behind the horses. Nothing was cast aside, for the People
do not waste what is given.
Visions 1:22 When he saw that the younger men labored well,
Takoda turned from them. He rode his horse up the slope, going
alone, until he came above the clouds.
Visions 1:23 There the hill stood apart, rising like an island.
Beneath it lay a great sea of white, and all around was a circle
of other hills, holding that sea within them. It was a thing
seldom seen, and it was beautiful.
Visions 1:24 Takoda looked upon it, and his heart was moved. He
spoke no word aloud, but within himself he gave a name to that
place. He called it the Island in the Sky.
Visions 2:1 After a time the herd came again out of the mist.
They moved slowly, feeding upon the grass of the high place.
They were watchful, yet they did not run. It was as if they knew
the hunters had taken what they would take, and would not
trouble the rest.
Visions 2:2 But as Takoda lifted his eyes to the highest place
of that hill, he saw that he was not alone. Nor were the animals
alone. Something was there. A white man-shape sat on the ground.
It was a smooth figure with no eyes nor mouth nor ears. And it
was not white like the men from the east who are called whites,
but white like the purest snow.
Visions 2:3 Its body was smooth, and it had no eyes, no mouth,
and no ears. It was like a form made, but not finished. And in
its hand it held a dark rod. This it put forth, as a man gives a
gift.
Visions 2:4 Takoda came down from his horse. He did not go
quickly. He walked with care, and with respect, for he did not
know what spirit he beheld. When he had come near, he reached
out his hand and took hold of the rod. The figure did not move.
It did not resist him.
Visions 2:5 Takoda stood with the thing in his hand. He turned
it, and as he did so, there came from it a flame. But it was not
as other fire. It was black, and it made a low sound, like the
hiss of something that lives. The flame was as a hollow place,
the size of a man’s head, and it seemed to draw in the air and
swallow it.
Visions 2:6 Then Takoda saw that with this strange fire he might
cut the very earth itself. He set it to the ground, and it
opened the hard stone as though it were soft.
Visions 2:7 After a little while the dark flame grew less. It
drew back into itself, and was gone, as if it had a will. Then
the arm of the white figure went down again to its side. It made
no other motion. It did not turn, nor breathe, nor give any sign
of life.
Visions 2:8 Takoda stood alone upon the height, holding the
thing that had been given to him. And the figure remained as it
was, and he never saw it move again.
Visions 2:9 After a time the companions of Takoda came up to the
high place. They saw the white man-shape, and they saw Takoda
standing near it, with his horse beside him. In their sight
Takoda lifted a great stone and set it down close by the figure.
Visions 2:10 Then the others came forward and did the same. They
gathered many stones and placed them one upon another, as men
make a lodge, but this was of rock. They worked in silence, and
with care, for they believed the place to be made holy by what
had been shown to them.
Visions 2:11 When the work was finished, they stepped back and
looked. The white shape was no longer seen. It was covered over,
and a mound stood there, like a cairn raised with purpose.
Visions 2:12 And the men said among themselves that it was
fitting. For they believed that Wakan Tanka had made himself
known to them upon that height, and that the hunt had been
blessed. So they left it there, as a lodge set apart.
Visions 2:13 But Takoda alone knew what else had been given. The
dark gift he kept hidden within his clothing, and he spoke of it
to no man.
Visions 2:14 When the People made their feast from the slain
cow, the horns were taken and fastened with thongs of leather.
Then one of the wives of Chief Tatanka came forward and set
those horns upon his shoulder, as if he himself had gone out
from the lodge and struck the animal down. So it was shown
before the People.
Visions 2:15 For a short time Tatanka and Takoda looked upon one
another, and no honor passed in that glance.
Visions 2:16 Then the Chief spoke, saying, “There are five
tellings of how this animal was taken.” Takoda did not answer
at once. He turned his face aside and sent forth a ring of smoke
into the air.
Visions 2:17 Then the Chief spoke again, and his words were
sharp. “Speak now of the hunt. What say you say, who hunts as
a woman?” At this Takoda’s eyes came back quickly, as if he
had been struck. But he held himself firm, and did not give way
to anger.
Visions 2:18 He said, “We followed the herd into the hollow
where the waters smoke, and the air was thick. Soon I could not
see even those who rode with me. The herd led us to a lone
height, and each man went up by himself. There the clouds were
broken, and we took the animal.”
Visions 2:19 And there was one called Plenty Lice who added to
Takoda's tale, saying, “The Great Spirit then came forth from
the cloud and blessed the hunt.”
Visions 2:20 At this the Chief looked at Takoda with hard eyes.
“You have taught your hunters to speak false words with
ease.”
Visions 2:21 Then Plenty Lice spoke again, and he said, “Wakan
Tanka had the form of a man, but he was white as snow. He sat
upon the top of the mountain.” And those who had gone with
Takoda made a low sound of agreement. They had seen the white
shape also, though not the thing that had been given.
Visions 2:22 But the Chief did not soften his heart. He said,
“And what did you do, when you saw this man of snow, you who
speak falsely?” And Takoda said, “We built a lodge of stones
for the Great Spirit, that we might honor him for what had been
given.”
Visions 2:23 Then Tatanka drew forth his knife and came near. He
lightly across the cheek, so that the blood came but a little.
He did not strike deeper, for he knew the true worth of the
man before him, who held hunger back from the People. Then
he spoke and gave a name, saying, “You shall be called
Hole-in-the-Cheek.” And so he named him.
Visions 2:24 Then Takoda put his hand to his face, where the
blood was, and he went away from the fire with a steady step. He
did not hurry, and he did not look back. Chief Tatanka laughed,
but no other man joined him. His wife, Yuha, rose also and
followed after him, leaving the circle of light.
Visions 3:1 Takoda and Yuha went to their lodge. There she sat
near him and washed the wound, and bound it so the blood would
cease. While she did this, his son, who was called Shy Bear,
spoke and said, “Father, did you truly see the Great Spirit,
or did you speak so to trouble Sad Heart Bull?”
Visions 3:2 Takoda looked upon the boy, but he did not answer at
once. He waited until Yuha had finished her work and the wound
was closed. After a time he said, “Yuha, that which we spoke
of before, now is the time.”
Visions 3:3 Yuha did not question him. She showed that she
understood, and she brought forth a pouch of leather. In it were
many colors, and the things with which to place them upon the
skin.
Visions 3:4 Yuha took these and began to mark the face of her
son Shy Bear with care. Then Takoda rose and brought out a
garment that was set apart. It was made from the skins of the
bison, and it was adorned with feathers and with many beads. He
held it ready, and there was purpose in what he did. Visions 3:5
Shy Bear turned his head to look upon what his father held, and
in that turning the paint was marred. Then his mother grew
troubled and said, “Stand and be still, my son.” Visions 3:6
Takoda placed the garment upon the boy and made it fast, while
Yuha finished her work. When all was set in its place, Takoda
spoke. “You will have no answers from me,” he said. Visions
3:7 Then he put the boy’s own bow into his hands, and said,
“I will give you no meat.” Yuha stepped back from her son
when she was quite finished, and she looked upon him in silence.
Visions 3:8 Takoda said, “Until this day, I have only lent to
you the name Shy Bear.” Then he opened the door of the lodge,
and the night stood outside.
#D7 Visions 3:9 “Go now,” he said, “into the darkness, you
who have no name. Take your food for yourself, if you are able.
And if you are not?” He made a small motion with his
shoulders. “Perhaps, in your hunger, Wakan Tanka will send you
a vision.” Visions 3:10 At these words the face of the boy was
full of wonder and fear, for he had not looked for such a thing.
Shy Bear looked upon his father’s face, and then his gaze
followed the arm and the hand that pointed outward into the
night. At last he understood, and he bowed his head. Visions
3:11 But he saw also his mother, and he knew that her heart was
not easy. She did what was required, for the thing had a form
that must be kept, yet her spirit was troubled. Stiil, she spoke
the words that are spoken: “The boy goes out from us. The man
will return.” Visions 3:12 And Shy Bear heard her, and he
feared that the shadow upon her face was not only sorrow, but
the knowing that sometimes came to her before a thing was
fulfilled.
#D8 Visions 3:13 Shy Bear did not speak again. He went out into
the night. There was no moon, and the darkness lay heavy upon
the land. He walked upon the prairie and stumbled often, yet he
did not turn back. He climbed the rim of the hollow of the
smoking waters. Then he looked behind him, and the fires of the
Kuwapi people were far away, shining like small red stars upon
the earth. Visions 3:14 When the night was deep, he came to the
first rising of the mountain which his father named the Island
in the Sky. He climbed it slowly, placing his feet with care,
lest he fall in the darkness. And he came to the top as the
night was ending. Visions 3:15 When the light of morning came,
the boy sat down so that his shadow fell upon the stones his
father had raised. He did not move. He watched as the sun
climbed slowly, and the shadow drew back little by little, until
at last it no longer touched the cairn. Then, as the day went
on, the shadow of the stones reached toward him in its turn.
Visions 3:4 Yuha took these and began to mark the face of her
son Shy Bear with care. Then Takoda rose and brought out a
garment that was set apart. It was made from the skins of the
bison, and it was adorned with feathers and with many beads. He
held it ready, and there was purpose in what he did.
Visions 3:5 Shy Bear turned his head to look upon what his
father held, and in that turning the paint was marred. Then his
mother grew troubled and said, “Stand and be still, my son.”
Visions 3:6 Takoda placed the garment upon the boy and made it
fast, while Yuha finished her work. When all was set in its
place, Takoda spoke. “You will have no answers from me,” he
said.
Visions 3:7 Then he put the boy’s own bow into his hands, and
said, “I will give you no meat.” Yuha stepped back from her
son when she was quite finished, and she looked upon him in
silence.
Visions 3:8 Takoda said, “Until this day, I have only lent to
you the name Shy Bear.” Then he opened the door of the lodge,
and the night stood outside.
Visions 3:9 “Go now,” he said, “into the darkness, you who
have no name. Take your food for yourself, if you are able. And
if you are not?” He made a small motion with his shoulders.
“Perhaps, in your hunger, Wakan Tanka will send you a
vision.”
Visions 3:10 At these words the face of the boy was full of
wonder and fear, for he had not looked for such a thing. Shy
Bear looked upon his father’s face, and then his gaze followed
the arm and the hand that pointed outward into the night. At
last he understood, and he bowed his head.
Visions 3:11 But he saw also his mother, and he knew that her
heart was not easy. She did what was required, for the thing had
a form that must be kept, yet her spirit was troubled. Stiil,
she spoke the words that are spoken: “The boy goes out from
us. The man will return.”
Visions 3:12 And Shy Bear heard her, and he feared that the
shadow upon her face was not only sorrow, but the knowing that
sometimes came to her before a thing was fulfilled.
Visions 3:13 Shy Bear did not speak again. He went out into the
night. There was no moon, and the darkness lay heavy upon the
land. He walked upon the prairie and stumbled often, yet he did
not turn back. He climbed the rim of the hollow of the smoking
waters. Then he looked behind him, and the fires of the Kuwapi
people were far away, shining like small red stars upon the
earth.
Visions 3:14 When the night was deep, he came to the first
rising of the mountain which his father named the Island in the
Sky. He climbed it slowly, placing his feet with care, lest he
fall in the darkness. And he came to the top as the night was
ending.
Visions 3:13 Shy Bear did not speak again. He went out into the
night. There was no moon, and the darkness lay heavy upon the
land. He walked upon the prairie and stumbled often, yet he did
not turn back. He climbed the rim of the hollow of the smoking
waters. Then he looked behind him, and the fires of the Kuwapi
people were far away, shining like small red stars upon the
earth.
Visions 3:14 When the night was deep, he came to the first
rising of the mountain which his father named the Island in the
Sky. He climbed it slowly, placing his feet with care, lest he
fall in the darkness. And he came to the top as the night was
ending.
Visions 3:15 When the light of morning came, the boy sat down so
that his shadow fell upon the stones his father had raised. He
did not move. He watched as the sun climbed slowly, and the
shadow drew back little by little, until at last it no longer
touched the cairn. Then, as the day went on, the shadow of the
stones reached toward him in its turn.
Visions 3:16 When the sun went down, Shy Bear had seen no vision
from Wakan Tanka. A wind came up, and it was strong. When the
light was gone, the cold entered into him.
Visions 3:17 Then he gathered the dry brush that grew upon that
high place. With the edge of a stone he cut it, and with the
same he made a spark and kindled a fire. But the flame did not
stand steady. It bent this way and that, and the smoke went in
many directions, as if it did not choose one path.
Visions 3:18 The boy watched this, and he took it for a sign. He
believed he was called to remain upon that place, and to pass
the night within the lodge of stones that his father had made
for the Great Spirit.
Visions 3:19 So he went to the cairn and drew away some of the
rocks, making an opening. Then he bent low and went inside. And
there, in the dimness, he saw the white form of a man, just as
his father had said, though Chief Sad Heart Bull in the camp had
not believed.
Visions 3:20 The boy was hungry, and the hunger pressed hard
upon him. But the night had come, and it was too dark to seek
the small runners of the grass. The fire he had made gave little
warmth, yet he was glad for the stones that kept the wind from
him.
Visions 3:21 Within the cairn there was not room for him to lie
at ease, so he lay upon his side and curled around the white
man-shape. He took care not to touch it, for he did not know its
power.
Visions 4:1 In the middle of the night he was awakened by the
sound of many feet running together. He rose and went out. He
saw that his fire had gone low, and only the coals were left.
Visions 4:2 But the wind had carried living embers down the
slope, and from these a fire had begun in the brush and came to
encircle the small mountain.
Visions 4:3 The small creatures of the land fled before it,
running over the height. The boy saw them and he knew he might
take one then and have meat. But the fire did not wait, and each
moment lost brought danger nearer.
Visions 4:4 At first Shy Bear went down toward the fire, that he
might have light to see his way. Then he turned and moved toward
the west, seeking a place where he might pass beyond the flames.
Visions 4:5 But the boy could go no farther. Before him the
earth was broken, and there was a deep cut in the land. He heard
water moving over stones far below where it passed around the
mountain. The darkness lay thick there, and he could not see how
to cross.
Visions 4:6 Behind him the fire grew, and it spread to the
north, closing that way. The wind drove it, and the flames were
many.
Visions 4:7 Then the boy looked down into the chasm. He saw a
small light, very bright, like the strongest star. It moved
along the side of the slope, rising and falling, as if it ran.
Visions 4:8 At times it went north, and at times it went south,
yet always it climbed higher. At last the light came up to the
rim. In the glow of the fire Shy Bear saw that it was worn upon
the head of a person, and that person was taller than he.
Visions 4:9 Then a voice was heard, and it was the voice of a
woman who spoke in his own tongue, as one who had always known
it. She said, “Follow me, and you will live.”
Visions 4:10 The young woman turned, and she went back the way
she had come. The boy followed after her. He did so to live, for
he thought of the water below, and how he might stand within it
when the fire came down.
Visions 4:11 The path before them was clear, though the ground
was rough. At times the young woman looked back to see if he
still came behind her.
Visions 4:12 As they went, the sound of the water grew less.
This seemed strange to the boy, for they were drawing nearer .
Visions 4:13 When at last they came to the creek, it no longer
ran. It stood in small pools, one above another, like steps of
water leading upward to a low opening in a wall of dark stone.
Visions 4:14 Then the young woman bent herself and went within
that place, passing through the water with her high boots. The
boy did not delay, but followed after her.
Visions 4:15 Inside there was a pool, and around it a narrow
ledge of stone. The light that she bore upon her head filled the
cave, so that he could see clearly. Then he looked upon her.
Visions 4:16 She was like a young woman of the Kuwapi, yet she
was taller than any he had seen. She did not seem much older
than he, yet there was something not the same as in others. The
light rested upon her brow, and it shone steadily, and he did
not know from where it came.
Visions 4:17 The young woman placed her hand upon her chest and
spoke a name. “Vretiel,” she said. Then she looked upon him,
and it was plain she waited for his name in return.
Visions 4:18 The boy did not wish to seem foolish before her, so
he answered, “My father once gave me the name Shy Bear. But
now he has taken it back, and I have no name.”
Visions 4:19 This pleased her in some way, though she did not
laugh. It was as if she understood the path he had been set
upon, that he had gone out to seek a vision, and would not be
called back soon.
Visions 4:20 Then the young woman named Vretiel took from her
head the light she bore and cast it into the water. It sank, and
its brightness faded as it went down. Yet the water did not grow
dark. Instead it gave forth a dim green glow, as if something
within it had awakened.
Visions 4:21 After this Vretiel went down into the pool. She
turned herself and passed beneath the surface, and he saw her no
more. Visions 4:22 The boy waited. He thought she must come up
again, for all who live must breathe. But she did not return.
Visions 4:23 Then the water began to move. It rose and spread,
and it went beyond the place where it had stood before.
Visions 4:24 Shy Bear knew he was kept from the fire in that
cave, yet still he was not safe. The air was growing thin, and
what he needed to live was being taken from him. So he did not
wait longer. He chose, and he went after Vretiel, passing down
into the unknown.
Visions 5:1 When Shy Bear came again to the air, there was much
light about him, more than in the place from which he had come.
Many hands reached down to him, and they lifted him from the
water, for his garments were heavy and drew him down. Among
those hands were the hands of Vretiel.
Visions 5:2 Then he stood upon a place made smooth with worked
wood, set all around a wide pool. At the outer edge there were
many small lodges, and beyond these there grew a forest, green
and full of life.
Visions 5:3 He looked upward, and the sky was not as he had
known it. It held many soft colors, and the sun had a shape that
was strange to his eyes. Yet the air was cool, and the wet
garments upon him brought a chill into his body, so that he
began to tremble.
Visions 5:4 Vretiel also was wet, yet she did not seem troubled.
She took Shy Bear by the hand and led him into one of the lodges
near the water. There she closed the entrance behind them that
they might not be seen by others in a state of undress.
Visions 5:5 Then, without shame, as one who does not think in
such ways, she removed the wet clothing from him, and from
herself, that they might be free of the cold.
Visions 5:6 Vretiel opened the door once, and the wet garments
of the boy were given out to those who waited. When she moved,
Shy Bear saw that her limbs were strong and well-formed, as one
who runs often and far.
Visions 5:7 Then she took a narrow band, marked with signs he
did not know, and she set it against his body in many places,
measuring him. After this she spoke through the door in words he
could not understand.
Visions 5:8 Within the lodge there were already garments laid
out, dry and folded with care. They were of green and of dark
purple, mingled together. These Vretiel put on.
Visions 5:9 When she had finished, another set of such garments
was given through the door. These were smaller, made to fit the
boy. Seeing what was meant, and taking courage from her, he
clothed himself in them.
Visions 5:10 Then Shy Bear looked upon what he wore, and he saw
there was thought in it. The colors were as the forest, and the
shapes broke the form of the body. A man so dressed, with his
face and hands marked, might pass unseen among the trees. And he
wondered within himself whether, in that place, the women also
went out as warriors.
Visions 5:11 Then Shy Bear looked again toward the water, and he
saw another woman standing there. She was clothed in leather,
made strong, as for one who goes into battle.
Visions 5:12 She spoke, and her voice carried clearly.
“Welcome to you, Shy Bear of the Kuwapi. I am called Gabriela
of the clan of Haivri. All that you see here is the lodge of
Wakan Tanka.”
Visions 5:13 Shy Bear knew he was called to answer, and he said,
“Why have I come to this place, Lady Gabriela?”
Visions 5:14 The woman said, “Here my daughter Vretiel shall
teach you the speech of the white-skinned people, if you are
willing. When you return, you will then teach your own people
this tongue.”
Visions 5:14 At this Shy Bear was troubled, and he spoke
plainly. “If I return speaking as the whites speak, the People
will be afraid. They will beat me, and perhaps they will kill
me. They will say I am Coyote come in the shape of a man.” So
he said, and he did not hide his fear.
Visions 5:15 Gabriela answered him, and her voice was steady.
“Do not let your heart be troubled by these things, Shy Bear.
Wakan Tanka has already placed into the hands of your father
that which will keep you from harm. When you return, he will
rise up and be chief among your people.” Visions 5:16 Shy Bear
listened, yet he did not set aside his doubt. He asked Gabriele,
“Why must these things come to pass?”
Visions 5:17 She said, “Because there is a time that is
drawing near. In three winters, a band of white wanderers will
come and meet the Kuwapi. They are led by a man called Joshua.
This man also will be brought here, as you have been brought.
You will see him with your own eyes.
Visions 5:18 Gabriela went on to say, “These people are strong
in their will. Some say they are proud, and they do not easily
turn from their own ways. They look upon your kind as children
who do not know the path. But you are much more than they think.
Visions 5:19 “You will show this, not by taking their tongue
from them, but by learning it for yourself. They do not believe
they have anything to learn from you. Yet it has been set down
that they shall learn, and that you shall teach. Visions
5:20 "For it is ordained that these people, and my house, and
your own, shall come together and live as one people, in
peace.”
Visions 5:21 Shy Bear had seen many things that were beyond his
knowing, and his heart was drawn to the other world. He desired
to remain, and to look upon more wonders. But the thought of his
father, Takoda, and of his mother, Yuha, was stronger in him. So
he turned again to Gabriela and said, “I will return. I will
do as you have said, and teach the People the speech of the
whites.”
Visions 5:22 Gabriela was pleased, and she smiled. “It is
good,” she said. “You shall no longer be called Shy Bear.
Now you shall be called Jashen. When you have learned, and when
you go again to your people, this shall be your name as a
man.”
Visions 5:23 The boy heard this, and he said, “If I
remain here long, my father and my mother will think me dead.”
Visions 5:24 Gabriela answered him, “Do not let your thoughts
dwell on that. However long you stay in this place, when you
return it will seem to them that only a short time has passed,
not more than the turning of one moon. In time you will
understand how this is done, and you will see that it is not
magic.”
Visions 5:25 But the boy said, “To me it would always be
strong magic, Lady Gabriela.”
Visions 5:26 Then she said, “When I teach, that which is
called great magic becomes small. And that which is small
becomes known, until it is no longer called magic at all.”
Visions 6:1 The pool from which Jashen had come was fed by a
stream that passed beneath a great house. This house was made of
stone and of clear shining walls, and of wood, and it stood over
the water as a bridge stands.
Visions 6:2 Upon the top of this house there was an open place.
There Vretiel brought him, and she showed him a device that was
set toward the sky. She said, “The people you call the whites
have such as this.”
Visions 6:3 He looked, and he saw far beyond what his eyes could
see alone. The land stretched out, and it did not lie flat, but
rose and bent, as if it turned to meet the sky. He saw places
where many people dwelt together, and the courses of rivers, and
the spread of forests. He saw also a great water, which she
called Mori, and the tops of the clouds that moved above all
these things.
Visions 6:4 Then Vretiel spoke to him of the Song of
Remembrance, which she had written down upon many skins. She
recited it before him more and more in the speech she was
teaching him.
Visions 6:5 So Vretiel instructed him. But once Jashen stopped
her, for something in his mind would not rest. He said, “Were
you truly that running girl?” For though he had seen many
strange things, still it was hard for him to believe that she
could run swifter than the fleetest of beasts, even more than
the pronghorn of the plains.
Visions 6:6 Vretiel said to him that he should bring his bow.
Then she took him by the hand and led him out from the place of
the water, and through the trees, until they came to a wide and
level ground.
Visions 6:7 There she went apart from him, standing many paces
away. Then she spoke in the tongue she was teaching him.
“Shoot an arrow at me.”
Visions 6:8 At this the boy cried out in protest, for he thought
she made sport of him and wasted his time. But she answered him
again, saying, “I speak truly. Do your best. Try to strike me
down.” So he set an arrow to the string. Yet he did not aim to
kill her, but sent it a little above her.
Visions 6:9 Then Vretiel moved. Her body sprang as if it had
been released from a cord. She ran backward across the open
ground, and her speed was greater than that of the arrow in its
flight. The shaft fell to the earth and did her no harm. And she
did not stop.
Visions 6:10 Even as she ran, she turned, and passed into the
trees at the far edge of the clearing. In a moment she was gone
from sight. And the boy stood where he was, filled with wonder
at what he had seen.
Visions 6:11 In a glade among the trees, Vretiel came upon her
mother, who sat upon a fallen log. With her was a young man of
the Kuwapi, and Gabriela spoke his name, calling him Coyote Cub.
Visions 6:12 Vretiel had run swiftly, and now the hunger came
upon her. The young man reached into a dark bag and brought
forth many small loaves, still warm, and he gave them to her.
She ate eagerly. Visions 6:13 As she did so, she said to him,
“Whoever you are, you have the making of one who will be dear
to me, as a close companion.”
#DO Visions 6:14 The young man named Coyote Cub smiled and
answered in a light way, “I hope it shall be so, grandmother.
It would trouble my heart if it were not.”
Visions 6:15 At this Vretiel paused, and she looked upon him
with surprise. “Grandmother?” she said. “Yes,” said
Gabriela, and there was a knowing in her voice. “It is as he
says. Before this day you could speak in jest, as men often do,
and say you were not certain you had children. But now such
words are no longer yours to speak.”
Visions 6:16 Vretiel considered this, and she said, “I see
what you have set in motion, my mother, and I do not turn from
it. I can think upon a long time, even many lifetimes, spent
with Jashen, and it does not displease me. Yet I believe he does
not hold me in his thoughts in this way.”
Visions 6:17 Gabriela answered her, “That is why the teaching
is as it is. You are set near to one another, and time is given.
What is to grow will grow.”
Visions 6:18 “It is not as I hoped,” said Vretiel. “We
have come as far as the council of rulers in the Song
of Remembrance, yet Jashen grows more distant from me, not
nearer.”
Visions 6:19 Gabriela answered her, “His spirit is as one who
is carried in deep water. From the moment he followed you, he
has not stood upon ground that he knows. He depends upon us for
all things, for food, clothing, the path of his return. So he
does not feel as a man among his own people, who walks by his
own will.”
Visions 6:20 Then Coyote Cub spoke and said, “It is the same
with Remiel, as I see it now. I remember well how it was when I
first came into this place.”
Visions 6:21 Vretiel said, “I went to the world of his people
and brought him forth. How different can it be?”
Visions 6:22 Gabriela looked upon her and said, “You were
there only for a short time, and in the dark. You did not see
that world as it is. It is far greater than this one. The light
moves across the sky. The land does not rise up to hide the
stars.”
Visions 7:1 In her lodge Yuha wept in a quiet way, and many days
passed thus. Takoda sat near to her and spoke what comfort he
could, yet there was little a man could say.
Visions 7:2 At last she spoke, and her voice was worn. “Almost
a full moon has gone since we saw our son. Has this going out
for a vision ever been so long?”
Visions 7:3 Takoda answered her plainly. “I will not speak
falsely to you. When I went out, it was ten nights, and no
more.”
Visions 7:4 When she heard this, her grief came upon her without
measure, and she could not hold it back. Takoda sat with her and
endured it, hoping she would not set her sorrow against him,
though he knew she might.
Visions7:5 Yet in his heart he knew there had been no other
path. The Kuwapi were already cast out from among the Oglala
Lakota. If he had denied the boy this trial, the boy would have
stood outside even among the Kuwapi. He would have remained a
child in the sight of all, and his spirit would have turned
bitter against his father.
Visions 7:6 After a time Yuha grew more still, though the sorrow
remained in her. She said, “The last thing our son saw was
that even his mother’s heart was as stone.”
Visions 7:7 Takoda answered, “A heart of stone is part of what
must be done. There must be a cutting away. It cannot be made
soft. This has always been the way among the People.” So he
spoke, though the words did not ease her.
Visions 7:8 Takoda remembered how his son had spoken the name in
mockery, calling the chief “Sad Heart Bull,” and though the
boy had said it lightly, Takoda could not wholly deny the truth
of it.
Visions 7:9 For Chief Tatanka laid daily burdens upon him, small
and great, until even Takoda’s patience had been strained
near to breaking. This day was no different. Visions 7:10
Without warning, Tatanka entered the lodge. He did not wait
for invitation. He pointed at Takoda and spoke in anger.
“You have brought no meat into this camp for a full moon,
Hole-in-Cheek.”
Visions 7:11 Takoda answered him calmly. “The fire still burns
to the south. It has driven the herds away.” Visions 7:12
“Then go around it,” said Tatanka, “or I will name you
Hole-in-Neck.”
Visions 7:13 Takoda said, “It will take two days to reach
where the animals now are. Another day to take them, and to
prepare them. Then two days to return. By then the meat will
spoil.”
Visions 7:14 “The nights are cold,” Tatanka said. “It will
not spoil. I am weary of dried meat. Go.”
Visions 7:15 Before he left, Tatanka’s eyes passed over Yuha,
and lingered. She saw it. Without a word she drew the blanket of
bison hair closer about her, and covered herself from his gaze.
Visions 7:16 When Tatanka departed, Takoda went alone to where
his belongings were kept. From a hidden place he brought forth
the Dark Gift, the thing he had never shown to any living
person, not even Yuha. He wrapped it again and set it upon his
body where it could not be seen.
Visions 7:17 He did this quietly, for he knew that while he was
away upon the hunt, nothing would restrain Tatanka from entering
any lodge and taking what he wished.
Visions 7:18 Then Takoda and his hunters made ready. They
saddled their horses and gathered what remained of the dried
meat belonging to the People, for their stores were now small.
Visions 7:19 Takoda mounted his own horse, Kaleetan, and for a
moment he considered how it was that the horse had been given a
true name, while his own son had been sent into the world
without one.
Visions 8:1 The fires of the burning land lay far off, even when
seen from the height of the Island in the Sky. Yet Takoda led
the band southward, toward that place, that they might look upon
the wound in the earth and see if the cairn raised for Wakan
Tanka had been disturbed.
Visions 8:2 They crossed the line where the grass was no longer
green, but black and dead, as though the land itself had been
struck. Then they climbed once more to the Island in the Sky.
Visions 8:3 When they reached the summit, they saw that all had
been burned. The stone and earth were darkened as by great fire.
And there, upon the high place, Takoda saw his son. Shy Bear was
alive, and he was moving among the stones, setting them back
into their place, as though restoring what had once been taken
away. Visions
8:4 Shy Bear wore the garments his mother had made for him, but
they were changed in a way that was not of the Kuwapi. They were
fitted close, and covered with many beads of bright color,
worked with great skill, though not by the hands of the People.
Still, there was something in them that answered to the old
ways.
Visions 8:5 Beside him stood the one called Vretiel. The hunters
looked upon her, and they were struck with wonder. She was like
a young woman of their own kind, yet she stood taller than any
among them, even more than the tallest men. And the people of
the plains are not small. She also wore garments like those of
the boy, though more simple.
Visions 8:6 Before the cairn was closed again, Takoda saw within
it the white form, still seated as before, unmoving, as if it
had never known breath.
Visions 8:7 And upon that blackened summit there walked a single
bison. It moved slowly over the burned ground, as if it searched
for some green thing that might yet remain.
Visions 8:8 Takoda looked long upon the face of his son. It
seemed to him that the boy had grown beyond the time he had been
gone, as if more days had passed for him than for those who
remained. This was a strange thing.
Visions 8:9 But the sight of him overcame all thought. Takoda
forgot the harsh words, and the taking away of the name, and the
sending out into the night. “Shy Bear!” he cried, and went
forward to embrace him.
Visions 8:10 Yet Jashen did not receive him so. He stood firm,
and stayed his father where he was, no more than a single pace
away. Then he reached out his hand and took Takoda by the arm,
near the elbow, not roughly, but with strength.
Visions 8:11 “You forget yourself, my father,” he said. “I
am no longer called Shy Bear. The name of my manhood is Jashen.
I have come back, and I bring with me my wife, Vretiel.”
Visions 8:12 He spoke further, and said, “Wakan Tanka has
commanded that we return to the People and dwell among them for
a time. Yet there shall be going and coming between this place
and his lodge in the other world.”
Visions 8:13 Then Vretiel stepped forward. She bowed her head
with respect, and she spoke in the tongue of the People, with no
fault in her words.
Visions 8:14 “I greet you, Takoda,” she said. “My mother,
Gabriela Haivri, sends her hope that the Kuwapi may dwell near
this place, and that it may be well with them.” So she spoke,
and there was quiet among the hunters.
Visions 8:15 But Takoda said, “The People must follow the
herds, or we will perish. I cannot believe that Wakan Tanka
would have us remain here and make our graves in this place.”
Visions 8:16 Jashen answered him, and his voice was steady.
“It has been sworn that the Kuwapi shall live and grow strong.
Do I not speak truly, when I say that favor has already been
shown to you, in a way that you alone understand?”
Visions 8:17 At these words all doubt left Takoda. He knew what
was spoken of, and that his son had seen what no other had seen.
Visions 8:18 Then Takoda said, “My heart is made glad to look
upon you again, my son. Forgive me that I sent you away from
your mother, Yuha.”
Visions 8:19 Jashen answered him, “I also am glad to see you,
my father. I hold no anger for what you did. Had you not sent me
out, I would not have found Vretiel, nor received the name of my
manhood, nor the many things that have been given to me, which
would take long to tell.” So he spoke, and there was peace
between them.
Visions 8:20 Takoda said, “Your mother will rejoice even more
than I, when she sees that you have returned, and that you bring
with you a woman of beauty. We believed you were lost to us. The
moon has gone full since you departed.
Visions 8:21 Jashen did not speak of the long time he had passed
in the other place, nor of the years that had come and gone for
him there, nor of how he had come to love Vretiel and take her
as his wife.
Visions 8:21 He saw that the eyes of the hunters had turned
toward the American bison that stood upon the blackened ground.
So he said, “This animal is given by the Father-Spirit as a
sign of this meeting.”
Visions 8:22 At once the hunters raised their bows to strike it
down. But Takoda lifted his voice and said, “Hold! If we take
this beast and bring it back, the Chief will place its horns
among his trophies, and make it a sign of what he has not done.
I will not see a gift from Wakan Tanka turned to false honor. I
will lay hold of one gift with another gift.”
Visions 8:23 Then Takoda reached into his garments and brought
forth the thing he had kept hidden. When he held it out, the
dark flame came again upon its end. It was as a hollow in the
world, black and without light.
Visions 8:24 He turned it toward the bison. The dark fire
touched the head of the animal, and passed over it. And where it
moved, nothing remained.
Visions 8:25 The hunters stood in silence, for what they had
seen took the strength from their speech. But Jashen was not
troubled, for he knew the telling of that thing. From the Song
of Remembrance, as Vretiel had spoken it, he understood the path
of the Windgate, which is called Shahar Haruach, and he knew it
had been placed into the hands of his father.
Visions 9:1 Before they came near to the camp, word had already
gone among the People that the hunters returned sooner than was
looked for. Many feared they would bring no meat, and that the
fire had cut them off from the herds. So the women went out to
meet them, and Yuha was among them.
Visions 9:2 When she saw her son, her heart broke open with joy,
and she forgot all restraint. She cried out his childhood name
again and again, “Shy Bear! Shy Bear!” and she ran to him
and took him in her arms. He held her, and then spoke softly.
“Jashen, my mother. I am now called Jashen.”
Visions 9:3 But she did not hear him at first. Her hands moved
over him, touching his face and his shoulders, as if to know
that he was flesh and not a spirit. Then he took her hands
gently and drew a little away, that she might look upon him
fully. And he showed her how the work she had made was now
changed, and how the hands of the Lilim in the other world had
added to her beadwork, making it into something new.
Visions 9:4 Then Yuha’s eyes were drawn to Vretiel, who was
clothed in garments like those of Jashen, yet shaped and fitted
with great skill. Jashen spoke and said, “My mother, this is
my wife, Vretiel, who is held in honor among her people.” Then
Vretiel bowed her head and spoke.
Visions 9:5 “I greet you, Yuha, mother of my husband. In the
lodge of my family, there was no day in which Jashen did not
speak of you and of Takoda with a love that could not be hidden.
And in time, even the love he bore for me could no longer be
concealed, though long he sought to keep it so.”
Visions 9:6 The return of Takoda and his hunters was a great
thing. Greater still was the return of the boy who had gone out,
now come back as a man called Jashen after the passing of a full
moon. And greater than these was that he brought with him a
wife, tall beyond any woman of the camp.
Visions 9:7 Yet Chief Tatanka gave little thought to these
matters. That evening, when the People gathered again to share
their meal, his mind turned to another thing. He looked for the
horns of the bison, that they might be set among his regalia, as
had been done before. When he did not see them, he spoke no word
of thanks for the meat that had come swiftly, in one day instead
of many. Instead his thoughts were troubled.
Visions 9:8 The absence of the horns grew in his mind, and it
took the place of all other things. His anger rose, little by
little, until at last he spoke openly, accusing Takoda of
keeping back the head of the animal for himself.
Visions 9:9 Tatanka, who was already filled with anger, became
as one consumed by it when Takoda did not answer. He drew forth
his knife again. It was a blade of steel, such as the whites
carry. He said he had taken it in battle, though many among the
People spoke otherwise, saying it had come to him by chance from
the dead. He held it out and cried, “This will make your
tongue speak, Hole-in-Heart!”
Visions 9:10 Then he went toward Takoda, thinking the man would
turn away as he had done before. But Takoda did not move. He
stood where he was, without fear, for he believed that the favor
of Wakan Tanka was upon him. And this caused Tatanka to falter.
For a moment the chief hesitated, and in that moment his
standing among the People grew less. He knew it, and it troubled
him.
Visions 9:11 Then Takoda moved, but not in haste. He reached
within his garments and he brought forth the thing that had been
given to him.
Visions 9:12 Tatanka’s anger broke loose, and he rushed
forward to strike. Yet he did not come within reach. Upon the
Island in the Sky he had taken only the head of the bison,
offering it upward, that it should not be turned to false honor.
But here, before all the Kuwapi, he did not stay his hand. The
dark flame moved.
Visions 9:13 It passed over Tatanka from head to foot, and when
it was gone, nothing of him remained, not even his moccasins.
Only the ground stood as it had been. Then a great stillness
fell upon the People. Fear took hold of them, and they looked
upon Takoda as upon something they did not know.
Visions 9:14 Those who had ridden with him had seen the power
before, but the others had not. To them it was a thing beyond
telling, and terrible. Even Yuha felt that fear in her heart.
Yet she came and stood beside Takoda, though her spirit
trembled.
Visions 9:15 At Takoda’s left stood his son, Jashen, clothed
in the fine garments that had been made with great care in the
other world, worked over many years. And above them all stood
Vretiel, tall and unafraid.
Visions 9:16 Then Takoda spoke, and his voice carried over the
People. “I have sent the Chief to stand before Wakan Tanka,”
he said. And none there doubted his words. “I will lead the
People now.” He stood with his arms crossed, and the Dark Gift
rested in his hand.
Visions 9:17 Then it came to pass that the hunters and warriors
began to kneel, one after another. They opened their hands
before him, showing that they held no weapon.
Visions 9:18 After them the women came down also, the wives, and
those whose husbands were gone, and the young women not yet
taken. They bowed themselves before Takoda, and before those who
stood with him. And so all the People gave themselves over to
his rule.
Visions 9:19 Then Takoda spoke again, giving his first command
as chief. “In the morning we will strike the lodges and go
south. We will dwell at the Island in the Sky, near the place
where Wakan Tanka made himself known to us, and where Shy Bear
returned as the man Jashen.”
Visions 9:20 So it came to pass the Kuwapi, who had long
followed the herds across the wide plains, ceased from their
wandering. Of all the peoples of that land, they alone chose
this path of their own will. They set themselves to remain in
one place, and to wait.
Visions 9:21 And no longer did the Kuwapi hunters pursue animals
when they grazed far from the camp of the People, for at times
the Lilim of House Haivri, kin of Vretiel, sent beasts from
Kemen to the bowl of smoking waters that encircled the Island in
the Sky, there to thrive and be taken at need by the hunters.
Visions 9:22 And so the Kuwapi occupied until the coming of the
pilgrims led by Joshua Lange, as was foretold.
Terminal Cruise 