How Tetesh Won a Silver Pelt (2,924 words)
Author: Plilt
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« | How Tetesh Made the World | The Tetesh Cycle | Tetesh and the Bridge-Weaver Play a Prank | »
It was many lifespans after Tetesh had made the world. They had wandered all the Desert. They had lived many mortal lives in many guises. They had done many great deeds. The other gods had arisen or arrived from distant lands not long after the world's creation, and along with Tetesh—who might not be a god any longer, but walked amongst them and retained some of their talents—they created the People of the Caravan. But in those days, the People of the Caravan didn't have their special gifts. The tzic lacked their venom. The Spider People couldn't make silk. The kah-rehm had no hooves, just paws. And the yaka had fur the color of sand rather than purest silver.
The story of how Ret-har found the four gifts is another story. But Tetesh first heard of his accomplishment when they were sharing a fine jug of thinned blood with Deneck. A kah-rehm messenger arrived at Deneck's house while Tetesh was there. "Deneck, god of fog. Ret-har requests the presence of all the gods at Yearhome," he proclaimed.
Deneck assured the messenger that he would begin the journey tomorrow, and Tetesh quickly added that they could go together. But when the messenger examined his list with all the names of the gods, he did not find their name. Tetesh cared not. "Clearly Ret-har forgot to invite me," they said. "You know how much he cares about protocol. He would never ignore I, creator of Taá and Shimreth, mother and father of all the yaka, maker of day and night." Then they shoved the messenger out the door.
Tetesh and Deneck left together, taking their time to wander as yaka do. Despite being the first to start the journey, by the time they arrived at Yearhome the meeting had nearly begun. Deneck was allowed in. But when the guards saw Tetesh, they crossed their staves to bar their way and stamped their feet. Tetesh's hackles raised and they snarled up at the guards, baring their teeth. "I am Tetesh. I made the sea. I made the mountains. I made the plants and the animals. Do not stand in my way."
"We see no god before us," answered the guards. "No matter your deeds, no matter what you once were, you do not belong here." And no matter what demands and threats Tetesh made, they would not yield. But Tetesh was resolute. They would be in that meeting, one way or another. They left the guards, swearing that Ret-har would hear of their conduct, but they had no intent of telling Ret-har anything. Instead, they circled the city until they found a hole in the walls, one they had discovered long ago in their wanderings. It was too small for anyone but a mortal yaka to get through, but Tetesh was god no longer. They fit through easily. Once through, they followed the scent of divinity to the amphitheater, walking through the sacred city as if they were born there. Inside, the gods knew they were no god. But they assumed that Tetesh, who moved through both mortal and divine worlds as easily as they breathed, had been let in. Few guards were watching within the city; none challenged them.
Tetesh sneaks into Yearhome
The amphitheater was full of gods in all their glory. Tzic queens sat next to Spiders illuminated with a halo of fire. Gods of craftwork bearing tools of polished iron stood beside yaka gods of the hunt with serrated fangs. The Winds hovered above mountain gods. And in the center, on the stage, stood Ret-har. He bore a pith-bone staff, ornately carved and rubbed with precious oils. His horns bore ornaments of papyrus marked with gold calligraphy and gifts from dozens of gods from all across the Desert. Two members of his honor guard flanked him, and while they were unarmed they held themselves as warriors. Before Ret-har stood four objects. One was a hank of purest silk, too large to grip in a hand. One was a simple clay jar, but it smelled of poison and Tetesh's hackles rose just looking at it. One was a set of foot coverings made of horn. And the last was a coat of woven silver fur.
Deneck sat in the back, and Tetesh quietly slipped in next to him to listen to Ret-har. "My fellow gods!" Ret-har was saying. "There are four gifts, and four kinds of people in the Caravan. The only fair thing to do is divide them four ways." There were murmurs of agreement from the audience. "I will draw lots to decide which species gets what." Ret-har was wise in this, but the other gods objected. Everyone had their own ideas for which species should get which gift and no one wanted to leave it to chance. Tetesh stared at the gift of silver, and while they knew how much it would aid the yaka in their wanderings, mostly they thought about how pretty it would look on them—and especially on Tetesh themselves.
As the murmurs from the gods grew louder, Ret-har stamped his feet and banged his staff on the ground. "Enough!" he shouted. "I have the gifts, and I say we're deciding by lot. None of the rest of you can agree. I'll draw lots tomorrow." He gathered up the gifts and left the amphitheater, bidding Et-raht, god of pottery, to craft jars and tokens fit for the purpose. Many of the gods began to leave unhappily, but Tetesh and Deneck lingered.
Tetesh told Deneck the gift of silver should go to the yaka. Deneck agreed, but pointed out it likely wouldn't. He asked Tetesh to steal it from Ret-har, and Tetesh refused, for Ret-har was an honorable and generous god. Again Deneck asked, reminding Tetesh of the insults they had suffered from Ret-har's guards. Again Tetesh refused, for stealing from Ret-har would not punish those who wronged them. Finally Deneck pleaded with Tetesh, for if the yaka had a silver pelt they would never need to hunt at night again. Alone of all the people of the Caravan, they had great need.
This time, remembering the Desert's first nights and how many of their descendants had died at the fangs and claws of other predators, Tetesh relented. They would not steal from Ret-har, they told Deneck, but they would cheat at the drawing if Deneck helped them. Without hesitation, Deneck agreed, and Tetesh told him to meet them at the ruined arch before dawn.
Tetesh did not waste their time before dusk. Knowing that one of Et-raht's apprentices had a great love of sugar silk, they went to the ancient pit-well, where the sweetspinners wove silk from the nectar of goldenspray and wildflowers. They burned smoke to drive the sweetspinners from their nests and took great bundles of sugar silk, then gathered fallen fruit and drizzled their juices over the silk. Then they went to Et-raht's workshop and waited outside, where the first fired tokens were already being set to cool on enormous racks. Et-raht had had to erect them quickly and they were unsteady, but Tetesh was careful not to touch them. Few were around, since Et-raht had sent most of his apprentices and all of Ret-har's guards away, so it was some time until the one apprentice remaining next emerged with a rack of freshly fired tokens. When they did, Tetesh trotted over to her, carrying two bundles of sugar silk, and bid her share some sugar silk with them in the shade of an alleyway.
The scent of fruit and sugar wafted to the apprentice, and she set down her tray of tokens and joined Tetesh, and they began to talk. Tetesh amused the apprentice with tales of their wanderings. As the apprentice slowly grew drunk and the sun crept higher in the sky, Tetesh steered the conversation towards their wanderings in Yearhome. They told the apprentice about the old pit-well—how nice the shade there was, the beauty of the goldenspray and sunpads, and how more sugar silk just like what Tetesh had brought her was there. And then, when the apprentice's interest was perked, Tetesh excused themselves, saying that they needed to go find something more filling to eat. The apprentice got up too, but she went to find the pit-well rather than returning to work. Before anyone else came to investigate, Tetesh slipped into the yard where the tokens were cooling and stole many of the ones with pictures of yaka on them. Then they knocked over one of the large racks. Tokens went flying everywhere, and Tetesh darted away before anyone could see that they were there.
Tetesh crept into an alcove in one of the ruins and curled up to wait for night. They watched the workshop and saw much. They saw the guards take the jars and the tokens to the storehouse where Ret-har kept the gifts. They saw a pale Suyyu tzic, ghostly as the dead, creep into an abandoned building right next to the storehouse; when next they emerged hours later they were covered in soil. They saw the air currents shift in the night as one of the Winds went into the storehouse, invisible. The intruders were not silent. Tetesh could hear sounds from within the storehouse, and so could the guards. They could not find the sources, though, and redoubled their security each time. They patrolled a wider section of Yearhome. They closed the windows. Guards went inside the storehouse. This worried Tetesh. But each time, the guards grew more and more nervous—and when Tetesh saw that, they were pleased.
Come the hours before dawn, few but yaka skulked through the streets, and even they were nervous. Tetesh might once have been a god, but they were a god no longer, and for all that Deneck was one the wariness ran deep. Both kept to the shadows for more reason than avoiding Ret-har's guards. When the pair met at the the arch, Tetesh carried a bag of tokens, a dead fowl, papyrus, and a bundle of sticks. "Give me fog," they told Deneck. "Give me mist. Shroud me from sight and muffle sound and scent. Let me move unnoticed. But keep the fog low, so that my eye Shimreth is not too clouded. That is all I will need."
Deneck drew more fog from the sea on the night's winds. In minutes the mist became so heavy both could barely see, and they knew that the guards would have an even more difficult time of it. But clever Tetesh knew exactly where they had to go. They hurried to an alleyway just in front of the abandoned building the tzic had entered, then scrambled halfway up a ruined wall, keeping to the shadows. Ret-har's guards were coming, but Tetesh took the papyrus and shaped it into a monster. Attaching it to a pair of thin sticks, Tetesh held it up to Shimreth's light and made it move. The shadow looked like a terrible serpentine creature lurking in the fog. Then Tetesh let out a scream. The fog made it impossible to tell where their cry came from and made it unrecognizable.
Ret-har's guards were foolish and arrogant. But they were no cowards. Seeing a monster in Yearhome, they charged forward, intent on protecting the gathered gods. Their path took them past Tetesh's alleyway, and they quickly darted down to race for the abandoned building. Within, Tetesh could smell recently upturned soil. They found the tunnel easily, under an old pallet, and slipped underneath it. Below, Tetesh could not see a thing, but they didn't need to. The tunnel went straight towards the storehouse.
When they emerged, they found themselves behind a set of crates. By now the mist had crept into the storehouse, and Tetesh could hear the guards talking about the horrible monster that had gotten past the walls. They were worried. Tetesh waited for them to feed each other's paranoia, then they bit into the fowl and tore them open with their fangs. In one fluid motion, they flung the fowl through a window. The glass shattered as the fowl's body landed outside, and every guard's eyes were on the window. As the scent of blood hit their nose, several raced off to check outside, and the one guard that was remaining was distracted. Quickly, Tetesh crept over to the jars, moving as quietly as they could. Carefully, they poured out the tokens from the gift of silver's jar into their bag and replaced them with only tokens of yaka. The tokens clicked as they worked, and Tetesh was worried the guard might hear her, but Deneck's mist did its job and muffled the sounds.
Their work done, Tetesh slipped back into the tunnel and left unseen. The guards would figure out the prank in time, but by then Tetesh hoped it would be too late.
Come morning, Tetesh wished to see what came of their work, so was one of the first to arrive at the amphitheater and sat in the front row. Deneck joined them. As more gods filed in, the sounds of their speculation as to who would win what filled the air. Tetesh watched the stage and did their best to keep their tail still. They knew what was coming, but they had to keep their sense of triumph from showing. Ret-har was studying them, and while they were sure he didn't suspect them yet, they had to hope he wouldn't put it together until after the gift of silver had been given to the yaka.
Finally, Ret-har stamped his feet and called the gods to attention. The gifts were brought out by his guards, and so were the jars. There was no mention of the events of last night, but Tetesh suspected the guards wished not to call attention to their failures.
Ret-har drew from the gift of silk's jar first, and held up a token with the image of a Spider on it. The Spider People, he called out, would receive the gift of silk. It would serve them well in their weavings. Cries, both jubilant and frustrated, came from the audience, and Ret-har brought down his staff on the bundle of silk. It shattered into dust that swept over all the Desert, moving in strands along the air currents, and all the Spider People found themselves changing.
Ret-har drew from the gift of venom's jar second, and held up a token with the image of a tzic on it. The tzic, he called out, would receive the gift of venom. It would serve them well to defend their hives. Cries, both jubilant and frustrated, came from the audience, and Ret-har brought down his staff on the jar of venom. It shattered into a choking cloud that made even the eyes of the gods water and swept over all the Desert, and all the tzic found themselves changing.
Ret-har drew from the gift of silver's jar third, and held up a token with the image of a yaka on it. The yaka, he called out, would receive the gift of silver. And Tetesh did not hear what he said next, because this time they and Deneck was among the ones letting out a cry of jubilation. Ret-har brought down his staff on the silver fur. It shattered into glittering powder that swept over all the Desert, and as it settled in their fur Tetesh felt themself changing. The kah-rehm won the gift of horn, but Tetesh was too pleased with themself to pay much attention. And it would not do to linger. As the air cleared from the gift of silver, Tetesh made their way to a side exit, promising to meet Deneck later.
But they did not get very far before Ret-har fell in beside him, walking unsteadily with his staff. He noted that Tetesh seemed very pleased. Thinking quickly, Tetesh flattered Ret-har, telling him what wonderful gifts he had given all the people of the Desert, and that now they looked even more handsome in their silver coat. They asked Ret-har to tell him how he found the gifts.
Ret-har replied in turn that he thought the story of how they were handed out might be a better one. Tetesh feigned ignorance, saying that surely the story of a lottery would be very boring. Ret-har told them that he saw only one kind of token when he looked into each jar this morning. Again Tetesh feigned ignorance, telling Ret-har that it was probably a statistic. Finally, exasperated, Ret-har told Tetesh that a yaka left tracks on the storehouse's dusty floor leading to a tunnel. Tetesh admitted that the story of how that happened did sound very interesting, but said they would be as interested as Ret-har to hear how it was done. But they could not keep themself from saying that surely Ret-har would not have proceeded with the drawing, if he thought sabotage was likely.
Ret-har looked down at Tetesh with a gleam in his eye, and he said that regardless of how it happened, everyone had gotten what they needed. With that, he tottered off.
Tetesh thought about Ret-har's words. They thought about how Ret-har himself had not stood watch over the jars. They thought about how the alarm had never been raised for monsters, nor had his guards tried to hunt the ones who pranked them. They thought about the first gathering, when none of the gods could agree on who should get what.
And Tetesh laughed and laughed and laughed as they wandered back into the dunes.
« | How Tetesh Made the World | The Tetesh Cycle | Tetesh and the Bridge-Weaver Play a Prank | »