Children of the Dawnland (North America's Forgotten Past Series) (24 page)

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Authors: Kathleen O'Neal Gear,W. Michael Gear

BOOK: Children of the Dawnland (North America's Forgotten Past Series)
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B
Y NOON, THE survivors of the People of the Dawnland marched through an eerily quiet black blizzard.
Twig cast a glance over her shoulder. The fires in the south were spreading through the forests, and ash fell like charcoal snowflakes. All of the animals had fled in front of the fires. Not a single deer or buffalo could be seen anywhere. Even the slow-moving sloths had vanished.
Screech Owl and Cobia walked out front. Twig, Greyhawk, and Yipper came next in line, and several more paces back, Mother whispered with Grandfather.
Though many people seemed frightened of Cobia, no one complained about her presence. In fact, they seemed strangely comforted to have the most powerful dreamer in the world leading them.
Twig coughed and tried to breathe. It wasn’t easy. The smoke and dust were so thick they were all having trouble breathing. Many people walked with their hide collars held over their noses. But coughs and wheezes filtered down the line.
And in the strange black blizzard, Twig kept seeing things. Huge things, moving around Cobia.
Greyhawk, who was walking beside her, said, “What’s wrong, Twig? You keep staring at Cobia.”
She turned to him. He had the front of his face tucked down inside his coat so that only his eyes showed. “Do you see them?”
Greyhawk frowned. “See what?”
“I think … nothing. I’m probably just tired. My eyes are playing tricks, but—”
Yipper let out a sudden sharp bark, charged forward, and leaped into the air beside Cobia, snapping at something. Screech Owl and Cobia had their heads together, talking. They didn’t even seem to notice him. But Twig and Greyhawk did. When Yipper landed, he stalked around stiff-legged with his hair standing straight up, whining and growling.
Greyhawk’s eyes widened. He carefully searched the torrent of black snowflakes before saying to Twig, “Should I be afraid?”
Yipper trotted back toward them, but he kept looking over his shoulder, growling, as though in warning.
Twig whispered, “Do you remember the story Elder Bandtail told about Cobia? About the—”
“About the armless things that danced around her bed when she was a child?” Greyhawk hissed. “Is that what you and Yipper see?”
“I think so, but I don’t think they’re evil. I—”
Two paces ahead, she heard Screech Owl ask Cobia, “The Thornback raiders are behind us, aren’t they?”
Cobia’s head dipped in a single nod. It had been so subtle people farther back in line would have never seen it, so it could not terrify them the way it did Twig and Greyhawk.
Screech Owl nodded and exhaled hard. “I thank the Spirits that you are here. Have you dreamed where we should go? Where we will be safe?”
Cobia stopped in the trail and waited for Twig and Greyhawk to catch up. When she looked at Twig, her eyes shimmered. “Where will we be safe, Twig? Have you dreamed of it?”
Twig hesitated.
Greyhawk said, “What’s she talking about, Twig?”
Twig took a deep breath, then softly answered, “I—I keep seeing things, and the Stone Wolf is pulling me due west. I think we have to go all the way to the Duskland.”
“The Duskland?” Greyhawk half shouted. “Why?”
The other villagers heard him, and stopped.
Twig wet her lips, afraid to answer. Cobia had told her that too much hope could kill. Finally, she said, “There is
still sunlight there, Greyhawk. Towering trees grow along the coast, and there’s plenty of fish and animals. If we can just get there …”
People came forward, surrounding her. The faces of the elders were especially serious. They all listened intently for her next words.
Twig blinked, astonished.
Elder Bandtail hobbled forward. “Are we on the right path to get there, Dreamer?”
“Yes.”
Elder Snapper shouldered through the crowd next. “How long will it take us?”
“I don’t know, Elder. Many moons, I think.” Twig picked up the Stone Wolf, and it tugged her onward, due west.
Everyone seemed to be waiting for her.
Slowly, hesitantly, Twig walked out in front of them, taking the lead.
Cobia, Greyhawk, and Screech Owl fell into line behind her, and the others followed. They followed her—Twig, daughter of Riddle and Screech Owl, a child of the Blue Bear Clan of the People of the Dawnland.
When she looked back over her shoulder, Screech Owl gave her a proud smile.
Twig smiled back, and as she led them down the winding trail toward the far, far Duskland, hope swelled her heart.
She started to walk faster, and Greyhawk called, “Twig, wait for me!”
He ran up to walk beside her, and Yipper shot out in front of them, running down the trail with his tail wagging.
Greyhawk whispered, “I always knew you were a dreamer.”
She turned to look at his soot-coated face. “I only made it to Cobia’s cave because of you. You are the bravest warrior I will ever know.”
Greyhawk smiled, and they both focused on the ash-coated trail ahead.
As she walked, ghostly images formed in the smoke, twisting and shimmering. Somewhere out there, a mammoth trumpeted, loud, tying itself to the forming vision.
Twig stopped suddenly—as the vision became her world.
… I see the smoke break, and ahead of me is Mammoth, looking back over her shoulder, waiting for me to catch up. Her long silky brown hair has grown back. Her ivory tusks shine, and her eyes are bright and happy. My fear slips away like Buffalo’s winter coat in spring. I trot to the crest, my lungs heaving, and suck in an awed breath.
Below, thick grasses waver beneath the caress of Wind Woman. Green meadows roll all the way down to touch a vast blue ocean, where wolf pups roll on their backs in the sand, biting their toes before tumbling sideways, then rising and chasing each other along the shore. Their playful yips are like music on the sea-scented breeze. And far out in the grass, Mammoth runs, greeting Caribou, Fox, and Raven as she heads for the herd of mammoths that stand belly-deep in wildflowers. When
the other mammoths see her, they trumpet wildly. The entire herd rushes to meet her. They surround her, trumpeting, tossing their heads and gently smoothing their trunks along her sides and over her back in greeting—as though their lost sister has returned home, and they are joyous.
I smile. The air is filled with birdsong and brilliant sunlight.
I can barely hear myself whisper, “The Duskland. This is the Duskland … .”
Why did the Laurentide Ice Sheet collapse and cause the draining of Lake Agassiz? Scientists have recently discovered that around this same time a comet may have exploded over the Great Lakes and eastern Canada. Archaeologists have always been fascinated by the strange “black mat” that covers most Clovis culture sites. Clovis archaeological sites date to between 13,500 years ago and 12,900 years ago, and are never found above this carbon-rich mat. Clovis culture is best known for the beautiful “fluted” spear points its people made to harvest mammoths, mastodons, and buffalo.
Thanks to the efforts of two physicists, the black mat was recently analyzed and found to contain high amounts of iridium, plus carbon spherules and tiny lumps of glasslike carbon that can best be explained by the explosion of a comet in the earth’s atmosphere. When the comet exploded, fragments shot out and slammed into the land, leaving over one million depressions that today we call the Carolina Bays. The impacts set off forest fires and undoubtedly caused the collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet that still covered most of Canada east of the Rockies.
If a comet did explode around 12,900 years ago, it must have happened when the comet entered the atmosphere, because we have no gaping hole, no crater to mark its point of impact. Scientists speculate that it was an
extinction-level event. When the comet struck, it superheated the atmosphere and sent a shock wave across North America, causing the largest firestorm in the history of the world. A few seconds after the explosion, a blast of high-pressure wind, over 300 miles per hour, swept the continent; then red-hot debris started falling. About thirty minutes later, a tsunami 600 feet high, consisting of dozens of massive waves, rolled across the oceans, devastating coastlines around the world.
It took years for the clouds of debris, dust, and smoke to finally settle. By then, the world had been thrown back into another Ice Age that we call the Younger Dryas.
But human beings survived, as did buffalo, deer, elk, and most other life-forms.
The journey ahead was difficult, but the adventures of Twig and Greyhawk had only just begun … .
STARSCAPE BOOKS
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
 
The information, activities, and discussion questions that follow are intended to enhance your reading of
Children of the Dawnland.
Please feel free to adapt these materials to suit your needs and interests.
 
WRITING AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
I. CLOVIS CULTURE
a.
Go to the library or online to learn more about Clovis and pre-Clovis archaeological sites across North America. Divide into small groups to create informative posters about individual sites and how discoveries made there have contributed to our understanding of ancient human history.
b.
Go to the library or online to learn more about mammoths and other megafauna (great beasts) that became extinct around the end of the Ice Age. On a large (at least 4’ X 6’) paper surface, create a mural depicting great beasts in their late Ice Age habitat, using information from your research. On index cards, list 4-5 facts about each beast depicted in your mural.
c.
Divide into four groups to debate the question: How did the great beasts become extinct? Each group should argue in favor of two of the following theories: (1) overhunting by humans, (2) climate change, (3) disease, (4) an extraterrestrial impact. When the discussion is over, have each group reassess their conclusions to include, if they think it’s appropriate, information presented by the other groups. Go to the library or online to research these positions.
II. DREAMS AND DREAMERS
a.
Research and write a short report about the role of dreams in African American, Native American, Chinese, or another culture.
Learn to make a Native American dream catcher or study the importance of the mandala in Hinduism and Buddhism. Think of a favorite novelist, musician, or visual artist who explores the theme of dreams and study one of his or her dream-related works.
b.
Twig’s dreams suggest a troubling fate for her people. Use chalk, watercolor paints, or other visual arts media to depict a scene from one of Twig’s dreams. Share your completed artwork with friends or classmates and invite them to share their drawings or paintings. Are colors, images, or other elements common to several pictures? What was most challenging or exciting about trying to depict a dream through art?
c.
Review passages in the novel, written in italics, in which Twig experiences powerful dreams. Examine the word choice, point-of-view, tense, sentence structure, and other elements of these passages. Then, in a style inspired by the novel, write your own 2-3 paragraph dream story. It can be based on a real, recalled dream, or a fictional dream idea.
III. CHANGE
a.
With friends or classmates, take turns role-playing a conversation between Twig and Greyhawk in which you discuss the animals you encounter, such as terns and short-faced bears, and those which have disappeared, such as mammoths. How do you feel when elders tell stories of lost beasts? Do you worry about the melting Ice Giants or other natural occurrences? Can you imagine what your world will look like when you are Twig’s grandfather’s age?
b.
Twig and her people live in a time of great climatic change. In addition to a threatened environment, our world is undergoing dramatic economic and environmental changes. Divide a sheet of paper into two columns headed, “Prehistoric Changes” and “Modern Day Changes,” listing at least ten changes for each below. Compare and contrast the lists. Does this exercise help you better understand Twig’s world? How might Twig’s story help you gain
perspective on what is happening in the world today? Write a 2-3 paragraph essay discussing one or two comparisons which you find particularly interesting.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.
From whose viewpoint is Chapter One told? What does this perspective help readers learn about the world in which the story takes place? What elements of the landscape seem frightening or worrisome to you?
2.
What are the Ice Giants? How are their actions explained and understood by Twig, her mother and their people? What are Thunderbirds and Cloud People? What do such names reveal about the prehistoric peoples’ understanding of natural occurrences, such as rain?
3.
Who is Cobia? Why was Twig’s grandfather sent to kidnap Cobia as a child? Why are warriors from Buffalobeard Village sent to find Cobia? What happens to the warriors?
4.
How does Chapter Eight change your understanding of Twig’s character and your sense of the story? How does this chapter, and other dream chapters, make the novel unique? Do you believe in Twig’s dreams? Explain your answer.
5.
What frightens Twig about her Spirit dreaming powers? What makes her nonetheless want to understand her dreams? If you were Twig, would you keep your dreams a secret? Why or why not?
6.
On page 98, Twig asks Greyhawk and Grizzly “Do you want the buffalo to go away forever, like the mammoths have?” What is important about her question? How does it help readers to better understand the time in which Twig lives? What resources do we fear losing in our own time? What other modern-day comparisons might you make to Twig’s concern for the buffalo?
7.
Why does Riddle finally allow Twig to study with Screech Owl? What does Screech Owl mean whenhe tells Twig that “ … every great Dreamer, at some point, must step into the mouth of the Spirit that wants to chew her up” (Chapter Sixteen)? How might this also be an important piece of wisdom for Twig’s entire community? Does it have meaning for modern leaders?
8.
How does Water Snake’s spirit help Twig elude the Thornback raiders? What terrors does Greyhawk witness? How does Twig persuade Greyhawk to continue their search for Cobia, despite their village being raided?
9.
What happens when Twig calls for her spirit helper, Eagle-Man? How does this terrifying moment lead her to Cobia? Is Cobia a real person, a spirit, or another type of being in her early conversation with Twig? Explain your answer.
10.
How does Cobia protect Twig and Greyhawk? How do Twig’s dreams help lead her back to her people? Where does Twig tell the Sunpath People they must go? How do you understand the relationship between Twig and Cobia at the end of the story?
11.
Do you think it is important that the final paragraphs of the novel are told from Twig’s dream viewpoint? How does the Afterword affect your understanding of the novel’s end? Had you been Twig, would you have had the courage to dream and to embark on a journey to the Duskland? Why or why not? Do you ever feel you need a similar type of courage in your own life? Explain your answer.

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