Pangaea Origins: The Raven's Call

In the far reaches of the snowy northern mountains of Pangaea the night sky was hidden above the dark clouds.  The moonlight broke through a crack within the clouds and illuminated a desolate patch of snow within a darkened valley.  In the middle of a thick blanket of snow stood an unusually large pine tree as wide as it was tall.  The green leaves kept hidden anything that took refuge inside.

Not far from the ground concealed within the dense leaves a ten-year old boy sat on the edge of a large branch with his legs dangling in the air.  Jacob was wrapped up warm in thick animal fur clothes with his head buried within a large hood.  Behind him crouched against the tree trunk was his guardian.  Beth too was clothed in animal fur with a scarf around her mouth to protect her face from the chill of the wind.  She had taken care of Jacob since he was taken from his parents at birth.

They had come to the wilderness to hunt.  Jacob had just turned ten and Beth decided he was old enough to learn how to stalk his prey.  They had sat in the tree for over an hour.  Unfortunately, during the winter there was not much light this far north except for that of the moon.  In Jacob’s right hand he held a wooden bow and had a satchel of arrows attached to his back.  In front, there was a gap within the leaves and Jacob could see enough of the land in front.  There was a burrow of hare’s nearby and it was only a matter of time before one appeared.  Neither Beth nor Jacob would speak, the air too cold to open their mouths.

Beth tapped her foot to get Jacob’s attention.  He glanced at her as she pointed to another gap in the vegetation.  He looked and saw one of the hare’s.  The tall grey hare stood on its back legs and used its front legs to scratch its long floppy ear.  Jacob made himself forget about the innocent nature of the animal and instead focused on what he had come to do.  He delicately pulled an arrow from behind and raised his bow.  He licked the end of his finger and thumb, and placed the end of the arrow between them.  He closed one eye and rested the bow near his face.  Jacob pulled back on the string and took aim. 

A gust of wind howled throughout the valley and the tree swayed.  A dusting of snow swept across the land but the hare was unmoved.  Jacob calmed his breathing and closed one eye.  In his head, he counted to ten and released his hand.  The arrow flew from Jacob’s grasp and within a moment pieced the animal through the chest.  The wind died down and against the silence of the valley Jacob could hear the hare kick out against the snow. 

Jacob lay down his bow and took a leap from the tree.  His feet disappeared within the deep blanket.  The large leather boots helped protect his feet from the frost.  He parted the branches with his hands and stepped out into the open space.  The moonlight had once again fallen behind the clouds and Jacob was left in a vacuum of darkness.  He could see the small paw prints of the hare in the snow and followed them until he could see the dying animal.  It rested on a clump of blood soaked snow.  Jacob was saddened by the purity he saw in its eyes.  He pulled the arrow from its chest and used his coat to wipe the blood from the arrow.

Jacob lean't down to claim his prize but heard an unnerving sound before him.  A growl murmured from within the darkness.  Jacob could not see where the sound came from or from what animal.  It was all too apparent when he spotted two dark crimson eyes appear.  The growl came from the large intense mouth of a huge brown bear.  Jacob felt the snow shiver with each step the bear took forward.  Jacob gulped and stood backwards, he was frightened by the bear.  He looked back to the tree for any sign of Beth but she did not appear.  He remembered that before they came out to the wilderness that she had told him under no circumstance was he to ask for help.  If he were to one day leave the northern mountains of Pangaea he would have to learn to overcome any danger he encountered.

The bear approached the dead hare and sniffed its carcass.  It pushed the body with its nose.  Jacob gained his composure and stood forward.  He clenched his fist and stood tall.  The bear looked up at Jacob and growled once more.  To Jacob’s surprise two ravens squawked as they flew past the tree.  They landed in front of the hare and squawked again this time at the bear.  The bear did not respond to the ravens, it sniffed the hare again and walked away.

Jacob was relieved as the bear left into the night.  He looked back at Beth but the tree had disappeared.  In its placed a small fire flickered.  The snow around it had melted to leave behind the dry dirt underneath.  Behind the fire a man rose to his feet, his face was illuminated from the glow of the flame.  His weathered face had a faded peculiar tattoo across the right side.  His left eye was missing but he stared at Jacob with his right eye.

“Esau awaits,” the man whispered.

Jacob was confused, he had never heard of that name before.  The two Ravens glided past Jacob and perched on the man’s shoulders.  Jacob glanced back at the hare and when he turned back the tree returned.  Jacob did not know what to make of his encounter, was he dreaming?  At his age, Jacob did not think too much of it, instead he grabbed the hare and took his prize to Beth, ready to celebrate his coming of age.

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