It hadn't been that bad. Jack's knees had complained at little, but they'd made it through the various obstacles that really were no worse than the courses he'd done as part of basic training all those years ago, then there had been a long run through the woods that was a killer. The real boys, because they couldn't have the dignity of doing this exercise in private, ran ahead of them. They were competing for their men souls with such fierce determination that Jack felt a little humbled and more determined to not let them pull too far ahead. The trail through the woods had climbed steeply and the trees around them quickly became rocks and short and wiry plants clinging to the thin soil. Jack saw the cave mouth and saw a boy pause at the entrance as if steeling himself. He'd asked Daniel what was in the cave, but Daniel had just shrugged. Everyone passed the coming of age challenge, so he theorised that it couldn't be anything actually dangerous, but Jack knew that with their luck there would be something with claws and lots of teeth.
In actuality there hadn't been anything in the cave, other than half a dozen teenage boys and some cave decorations. It didn't even go that deep and there were gaps in the large rocks through which daylight could be seen. Still, it had been dark in the cave and then night had fallen and it got darker. One of the boys had shrieked when the noises started outside the cave, but Jack quickly identified it as the sound of someone banging a stout stick against a pot and told them as such.
It became a game after that, of identifying what was making the different noises that echoed and rang around the cave all night. The boys were still jumpy and they sat close to each other, but a little way from Jack and Daniel, in the dark and occasionally laughed nervously when Jack intentionally made outlandish suggestions for some of the noises. He'd been particularly proud of declaring that one of the noises was the sound of 'the polarity being reversed' even though the boys didn't get it and Daniel just groaned.
At dawn the elders had fetched them from the cave and marched them back down to their village. The boys held their heads high and their chest were nearly bursting with pride at surviving a night in the cave. Jack could believe that they'd gained their new souls, but the ritual wasn't over yet. They had to do this last bit that they were waiting for and Daniel had only just shut up.
'So, what do we need to do?' Jack asked him in a low voice.
'I don't know,' Daniel said with a slight shake of his head at the elaborately dressed man who had joined them in the hall and was performing some sort of dance. He wore a fantastically fearsome outfit and mask, that was a deadly serious caricature of some kind of warrior and the dance contained much snarling and growling. The costume was largely made of furs and the stink of unwashed human body and the smell that Jack knew was stale blood hung moved with it like a wave. Many of the locals were gathered around the edges of the hall watching, Sam and Teal'c among them.
'He's supposed to be Lar'ocre,' Daniel explained quietly. 'He is supposed to have mastered the Chapp'ai and journeyed through it to banish the Goa'uld from this world a long time ago.'
'You reckon he did?'
Daniel shrugged, 'Maybe he did, or maybe something else happened and its a coincidence. I can't imagine one man from here being able to do much damage against any Goa'uld, but then look at us.'
'I bet it's someone's Dad dressed up anyway.'
'Yes, they take it very seriously, whoever will be channelling Lar'ocre's spirit spends a week in meditation before hand. They don't wash at all during that time and consume nothing but calves blood with what sound like hallucinogenic herbs mixed in in order to get closer to Lar'ocre.'
Eventually, 'Lar'ocre' stopped and stood in the centre of the hall. He looked around and pointed at one of the boys. The boy stepped forward, still bold from the night in the cave and stood in front of 'Lar'ocre' with his head held high and eyes staring into the middle distance. 'Lar'ocre' looked him over, appeared to sniff him carefully and then grasped both shoulders to look at the boy.
Four kisses that weren't real and one that was - Part Two
It hadn't been that bad. Jack's knees had complained at little, but they'd made it through the various obstacles that really were no worse than the courses he'd done as part of basic training all those years ago, then there had been a long run through the woods that was a killer. The real boys, because they couldn't have the dignity of doing this exercise in private, ran ahead of them. They were competing for their men souls with such fierce determination that Jack felt a little humbled and more determined to not let them pull too far ahead. The trail through the woods had climbed steeply and the trees around them quickly became rocks and short and wiry plants clinging to the thin soil. Jack saw the cave mouth and saw a boy pause at the entrance as if steeling himself. He'd asked Daniel what was in the cave, but Daniel had just shrugged. Everyone passed the coming of age challenge, so he theorised that it couldn't be anything actually dangerous, but Jack knew that with their luck there would be something with claws and lots of teeth.
In actuality there hadn't been anything in the cave, other than half a dozen teenage boys and some cave decorations. It didn't even go that deep and there were gaps in the large rocks through which daylight could be seen. Still, it had been dark in the cave and then night had fallen and it got darker. One of the boys had shrieked when the noises started outside the cave, but Jack quickly identified it as the sound of someone banging a stout stick against a pot and told them as such.
It became a game after that, of identifying what was making the different noises that echoed and rang around the cave all night. The boys were still jumpy and they sat close to each other, but a little way from Jack and Daniel, in the dark and occasionally laughed nervously when Jack intentionally made outlandish suggestions for some of the noises. He'd been particularly proud of declaring that one of the noises was the sound of 'the polarity being reversed' even though the boys didn't get it and Daniel just groaned.
At dawn the elders had fetched them from the cave and marched them back down to their village. The boys held their heads high and their chest were nearly bursting with pride at surviving a night in the cave. Jack could believe that they'd gained their new souls, but the ritual wasn't over yet. They had to do this last bit that they were waiting for and Daniel had only just shut up.
'So, what do we need to do?' Jack asked him in a low voice.
'I don't know,' Daniel said with a slight shake of his head at the elaborately dressed man who had joined them in the hall and was performing some sort of dance. He wore a fantastically fearsome outfit and mask, that was a deadly serious caricature of some kind of warrior and the dance contained much snarling and growling. The costume was largely made of furs and the stink of unwashed human body and the smell that Jack knew was stale blood hung moved with it like a wave. Many of the locals were gathered around the edges of the hall watching, Sam and Teal'c among them.
'He's supposed to be Lar'ocre,' Daniel explained quietly. 'He is supposed to have mastered the Chapp'ai and journeyed through it to banish the Goa'uld from this world a long time ago.'
'You reckon he did?'
Daniel shrugged, 'Maybe he did, or maybe something else happened and its a coincidence. I can't imagine one man from here being able to do much damage against any Goa'uld, but then look at us.'
'I bet it's someone's Dad dressed up anyway.'
'Yes, they take it very seriously, whoever will be channelling Lar'ocre's spirit spends a week in meditation before hand. They don't wash at all during that time and consume nothing but calves blood with what sound like hallucinogenic herbs mixed in in order to get closer to Lar'ocre.'
Eventually, 'Lar'ocre' stopped and stood in the centre of the hall. He looked around and pointed at one of the boys. The boy stepped forward, still bold from the night in the cave and stood in front of 'Lar'ocre' with his head held high and eyes staring into the middle distance. 'Lar'ocre' looked him over, appeared to sniff him carefully and then grasped both shoulders to look at the boy.
and continued in next comment again...