It was determined by the tribal elders that only the proven, young, able bodied men would be allowed to compete. However, the pure number alone was staggering! Every tribe within one hundred miles wanted to see the beautiful goddess Phoenix. The tails of her beauty and her power were stories of legend.
It actually had gotten to the point that my tribe had to promise another bonfire dance. They set the date for when the supermoon would next fall. That is when the moon is at its fullest and at its nearest position to earth. This year it would fall in the middle of July. The weather would be warm and the land would be alight from its light.
As many tribes that could come, came to see this amazing spectacle. I on the other hand felt like a pet doing a trick. I knew it was for good reason. But I did not like showing my power more than I had to. It just felt wrong. I did not know why I had such power, where it came from, or even how to wield it. To be honest it scared me.
I told my fears to the chiefs wife. She told me that my fears were just. But, if I were to marry the strongest, capable and most compatible man, he should be able to help guide me. He will teach me when to use my powers. Then and only then should I show my powers from then on out.
That did not feel right to me either. But ever since my accident, I could not remember who I was. All I could do was except the judgement of the tribal elders, and trust they were right. I still had a feeling that something was going to go very wrong.
As we waited for the supermoon my nerves just got worse and worse. I still had a steady stream of men that would be led in and out of my tent each night. I would pick none of them. This was just to introduce them to me. The chief had moved me into his tent until the trials were completed.
The chiefs wife treated me as her own daughter. She brushed my hair every morning and braided it. She walked with me every where as did most of our tribes maids. All of us were looked at as potential. But none as much as I was. I was considered the prize.
I did not like all the attention. But the men kept themselves in check. There were never any fights as we walked through. That was one of the tribal elders rules. If any of the men were caught fighting before the trials they would be sent back home.
As we would walk by the men would stand straighter, walk taller, smile more, show off muscles, or knowledge of some kind. The men loved to show off for us. The other women loved watching the show. It was interesting! But it did not get my attention. The men would go to great lengths to impress me, from riding bare back, to wrestling matches.
My favorite I have to admit though, was a young man with short black hair. He wore a different kind of hide for clothing. It was black in nature and tighter to his skin. At first he tried showing off his archery to me, then he tried wrestling. But when he started making weapons he began to get my attention.
You see, when he was working on an arrow head or a knife, he would tell stories. Stories of war and battle I admit, but he made them interesting. Like he told a story about a war that happened in a place far away named Troy. It was so romantic and sweet! He had started to catch my attention.
When the chiefs wife noticed,' she made a point of hurrying me past him each time we walked by. We did not have a choice but to walk by either. The tents surrounding our tribe kept growing daily. We had to go to the river to get water for cooking, cleaning, and bating.
The chief insisted on us using a hide bath for me each time I bathed. His wife and the maids would bathe with me as well. The chief did not trust the amount of men that were gathering around. To be honest I thing he was starting to distrust all these neighboring tribes. Some of these tribes he did not even know existed and they spoke weird languages.
There was a new tribe that showed up just today that claimed they had my soul's other half. There tribe believed that every soul was cut in two at the beginning. We spend our lives looking for the other half. They called themselves Viking's, and one of their gods was called Surt. Surt is Muspelheims ruler. The Vikings want to bring Surt to the trials and see if he is my other half.
Wow! Another tribe is bringing another God! I know this tribe thinks I am a god. But another tribe is bringing their own God?! Maybe he knows who I am! Maybe he can help me remember something! I can not wait to meet this guy!
The tribal elders decided it would be better to have a large area for the trials to take place in rather than out in the open air. There were just to many different tribes, people, religions, and ideas to have an open trial. Also, that way I could sit on the side and watch the action down below.
So, the elders had the men go search for a good spot to have the trials. They found a large mound in the middle of a huge field. The tribal men began digging down and placing stones to build walls around the edges of their arena. When they were through it looked like a large football stadium had been dug out of the ground and walls around the edges made of bricks. It was huge! It was also all dirt. But the tribal men were proud. Nearly all the preparations were ready.
Now comes the ceremonial bathing. To help keep prying eyes out, my tribal maidens invited all the other maidens to come to bathe with us. It ended up being such an undertaking of women that I was well hidden in the crowd. My tribal women treated me just like the other women. Because of this none of the other tribal women knew who I was.
Because of this we were able to walk to the near by caves. In the caves was a natural hot spring. We were able to go there in this gigantic group. We had no guards. The chief ensured we entered the caves alone, and no one went in after us. It was going to be an enjoyable and enlightening experience.
It is so interesting too what women will say when they don't think you can hear them. Several women said that I must be so ugly. The rumors said I was beautiful but it must not be true or they would have seen me before now. I was told I was rude, degenerate, and selfish, and hostile towards women of the opposite sex. Some said they could not believe any woman could control fire. Many women thought I was some huge entity and they were curious where I was from really. Some of the women wanted to meet me just to warn me off of Surt, Herald, Dan, and multiple other names. I got a full list of bad news guys that were in the trials.
My tribal women brushed and braided my hair after they helped me clean. The other women thought I was some princess. I just smiled and nodded as did my friends and family. There was no need to cause hard feelings. Besides, they would all be taught a lesson very soon. I have to admit, some of their statements hurt. But I was ready. I could only hope they would be too.
When we were coming back from the caves several of us went to the lake to gather some water to cook with at tonight's supper. This time we were followed. The men could not tell which woman was which though. Except my story teller. He picked me out of the crowd and quickly. He offered to carry my water bucket for me. As we walked he told me more about the war in Troy. How it started, who was involved, and what gods helped with it.
He asked me if I remembered any of his story. I was honest with him, the chiefs wife had rushed me off before I could hear much of it the other day. That is when it occurred to me. He was walking side by side with me. I lowered my head and let him get in front of me. It was highly disrespectful for a maid to walk equal with her suiter.
He put his arm through mine and pulled me back up next to him. I blushed from the intimacy of the act. He grinned and continued telling me his tail. I kept my head down, I did not want anyone to get the wrong idea. He leaned in to speak in my ear, "When I win these trials, I want to take you home and play some marital games. I have missed you! It feel so nice holding you like this."
I stepped back this was to intimate. I grabbed the handle of my bucket and jerked it out of his hand. I almost ran back to my tent. When I told the chiefs wife she just laughed it off. "When you are married you will be doing more than playing sweet loving games. You will have children to bare, a home to keep, and food to cook. Be prepared for your life to come. You will be such a good wife!" She leaned over and kissed the top of my head. I was not sure if I just got a compliment, or if I was just put in my place. But her little speech really did bother me.