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| The New World |
The Fate of Akna
Akna of the Nengahte tribe was busy harvesting corn from the alluvial terraces of the Pine Bluff Creek. It was morning. The sun had not been up for very long.
Once the corn was picked, a task that would probably be accomplished around noon, Akna and the other women would begin picking the squash. Even though the month was certainly going to be hot, Akna didn't really mind the hard work. On this morning, her thoughts were in another place.
In a few short weeks, Akna would be married. It was a traditional arranged marriage, of course, but she had already met her future husband. He was from the Bayou clan, and they got along well. The groom's family also approved of the marriage between their son and the girl. It hadn't occurred to Akna that she would, in the future, simply be picking vegetables as a member of her husband's clan. She would be free of clan Nengahte, but she would never be free of her station in life. Eventually, too, she would have the added burden of childbirth and the duties of motherhood. But for now, she was not concerned with such things.
The day ended as all others did. Akna and the other women returned to the village. They prepared a communal meal using many of the vegetables that they had just picked. Around that time, some of the older boys returned with a multitude of large catfish, which they had caught farther afield in the White River. The fish were quickly skinned, and they were cooked to supplement the various vegetables that were being prepared. The night went quickly and, after a period of fellowship with her compatriots, the exhausted Akna retired. Tomorrow and its work would come quickly.
The next morning, members of a rival tribe swarmed out of the forest and onto the riverbank. The mounted riders of the Sun Tribe slew many of the children and the elderly. The young women, especially virgins such as Akna, were captured. They then embarked on a long march through the forest, into a city owned by their captors. It was a city ruled over by a king and a priesthood. The young women were forced into a structure and held there. There was no communication from those who held them prisoner. Neither was there food, nor drink. The women could do nothing to help themselves.
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